Chapter5
The Talk on the Bed (1)
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It seems that the castle of Jiwo, where I was summoned, was suddenly attacked by beastlike monsters eleven nights ago.
The creatures, believed to have appeared shortly after sunset, apparently scaled the outermost castle wall with ease and began attacking the houses in the night one after another.
The first report to reach the royal castle said:
“A massive army of barbarians wearing beast masks has invaded from the south.”
To meet the threat, the “Order of Swordsmen” defending the castle, the lord of the castle himself, and Princess Leafa — the fourth princess with blue hair, who happened to be staying there — all went out to intercept them.
However, Jiwo Castle had originally been built as a northern stronghold against the barbarian tribes, so they were not prepared for an attack from the south, and the warning had come too late.
I wondered, Why would the princess be on the battlefield too?
Apparently, for royalty here, taking the front lines in war is considered a tradition — a duty of their station.
It was during that dark night, when visibility was poor and the enemies were moving swiftly, that the castle lord, protecting Princess Leafa from a sudden attack, was struck down and killed.
Princess Leafa then took command in his place and ordered a large number of torches to be lit.
By the time the torchlight revealed the true nature of the enemy — not barbarians, but something that could only be called Beastmen such as werewolves and tigerfolk — many lives had already been lost.
Princess Leafa, one of the few sorcerers in the kingdom, cast the purification spell twice, but it had no effect on the beastmen.
The only thing that became clear was that these creatures were not evil spirits in the usual sense.
The battle continued with no clear understanding of what they were fighting. When dawn broke, the beastmen’s movements slowed, and as long as they weren’t attacked, they did not advance.
Following the princess’s command, the swordsmen temporarily retreated into the inner castle.
Jiwo Castle, surrounded by four layers of walls, sealed the gates of the third wall and prepared for a siege.
When the morning sun illuminated the space between the outer wall and the third wall, everyone was stunned — countless beastmen were wandering there.
What shocked them even more was the extent of the damage.
Of the thousand soldiers in the Order of Swordsmen, around four hundred had been killed.
Among the fourteen hundred civilians, more than five hundred had died.
When night fell again, the beastmen grew ferocious once more, baring their fangs and scaling the walls with savage strength.
The prophecy received through Princess Leafa’s spirit magic said only, “They will eventually be driven back.”
But the situation grew worse — by the fifth day, the third wall had fallen.
And last night, just as the second wall was on the verge of collapse, Princess Leafa performed the forbidden summoning ritual of “The Stranger from Beyond” — a spell that consumes the caster’s life in exchange.
The one who appeared… was me.
Together with Lady Shia-Yun, Princess Leafa’s handmaiden, I escaped from the second wall. Now, we are in one of the inner rooms of the royal keep — the final fortress still standing.
That’s the story Lady Shia-Yun told me, haltingly, while still half-naked — explaining the situation in this other world up to now.
As for why Princess Leafa, who was supposed to have sacrificed her life for the ritual, is still alive and sleeping — that remains a mystery.
While listening to the story, I couldn’t help but see Rika’s face flash in my mind again and again, leaving me distracted.
But I got the general idea — in short, this situation is utterly hopeless.
It seems the kingdom’s sorcery works by invoking ancestral spirits, and that the “Stranger from Beyond” — the marebito — is a being summoned in exchange for the caster’s life to save the kingdom in times of great peril.
…Yeah, how am I supposed to deal with that!?
That was all I could think. But it probably meant I wouldn’t be going home anytime soon.
Even if I did go back, what would I say to Rika?
And what could I even do against monsters like that? I didn’t know if I had any special powers or cheats or whatever — nothing at all.
Still, for now, I didn’t want to go back.
Maybe she’d finally calmed down — Lady Shia-Yun covered her chest shyly and looked up at me from beneath her lashes.
Her smooth belly, the thighs visible through the slit of her skirt — all still in plain view.
Her face, which had regained its pale, translucent complexion during the conversation, was now slowly blushing red.
No, wait—this isn’t one of those moments where you go, “Well then, shall we continue?”
Panicking, I tried to avert my eyes, but I had no idea where to look, so my gaze just wandered awkwardly through the air.
Uh…
So, what exactly should I talk about first…?
