Chapter 52
-Witchieee! Where are you goooing!!!
-Let me just get a look under your skiiirt!!
-I want Witchie’s panties!!
Bang!
“Yaaay, we maaaade it!!”
“Hah, haaah…… Th-this place is safe, right?”
“Kwahaha! That’s right. This is a secret hideout only I know about. I’ve never been found here before.”
Only after hearing Broad say that did the Hero’s party relax and sit down on the cabin floor.
They were exhausted from evading the thirty dwarves chasing after them.
“Th-that was really scary……. To think they’d chase after you so desperately the moment they saw you, Lady Yubel……. Are all dwarves like that?”
“Hoh, that’s a troublesome misunderstanding. The dwarves still here in what used to be Baelogia are all practically enchanted by those statues.”
“Enchanted? By statues that look like me? Those lunatics…….”
“Kwahaha! Don’t look at them that way. Dwarves generally prefer other dwarves, you see. It’s only a small number like those who were so captivated by your statues that they stayed behind. Humans sometimes like beastfolk, don’t they?”
It was a surprisingly convincing comparison.
However, for Yubel, it was a tremendous tragedy.
‘Uh……. So that means every one of the guys who stayed here is after me?’
Yubel turned pale and clutched her skirt, trembling.
Seeing that, Broad started grinning as though he’d spotted a cute little creature.
“Kwahaha! That’s what you get for being too pretty. You’re about the same height as us dwarves, with perfect proportions and a beautiful face. Of course they’d like you.”
“Wait, then you too……?”
“Me? Kha! Of course I like you. If you didn’t mind, I’d even want to marry you.”
“!!!”
Scramble!
Yubel hurriedly hid behind Se-on.
It was a reflexive reaction.
Se-on drew his sword and became wary of Broad again.
He wasn’t emitting any bloodlust, but he was still plenty threatening.
“Hoh. It’s fine, it’s fine. I don’t have the nasty habit of stealing someone else’s lover. So you can relax now. Put that sword away.”
“…….”
Se-on sheathed his sword again.
However, he was ready to draw it at any moment.
And behind him, Yubel’s face was red.
“Hey! Wh-who said we were lovers? We’re friends—”
“Hmm, weren’t you? I just assumed so since you showed up arm in arm. If that’s not the case, then I suppose I can make a move on you.”
“N-no…….”
Yubel was conflicted.
If she declared they weren’t lovers now, this dwarf would start hitting on her without a doubt.
Still, she felt a little reluctant to pretend to be the Hero’s lover.
The Hero didn’t think of her that way, and Yubel herself absolutely had no such feelings for him.
But while she hesitated, Broad was reaching out toward Yubel.
He was after her soft-looking hand.
As Yubel could only tremble, unsure what to do—
Grab!
“Huh?”
Se-on took Yubel’s hand and pulled her toward him.
“No, we are lovers. So would you mind taking your hand off her?”
“Hmm, so I was right after all? This is terribly awkward.”
Broad withdrew his now-aimless hand and cleared his throat for no reason.
Beside them, Prea stood frozen with a surprised expression.
“……Still, be careful. Plenty of dwarves around here don’t care whether someone’s already taken or not.”
Se-on nodded slowly.
And he didn’t let go of Yubel’s hand.
Yubel was so bewildered by that, she kept her mouth shut.
‘……Did he just help me? Hmm…….’
She cautiously speculated to herself.
Though she didn’t know why the Hero had helped her, a small smile bloomed at the corner of Yubel’s mouth. For some reason, it felt nice.
“Anyway, what are you going to do now? As long as the witch is here, it’ll be hard to stay here in peace, won’t it?”
“I’m not a witch—”
“I know. You don’t look like you could’ve made that ice statue, so it was probably another witch up there who made it in your image.”
“O-oh, yeah.”
An ice statue, and a witch…….
Could it be that woman?
Yubel recalled the Ice Witch, one of the Four Heavenly Kings from her memories.
Since she knew what the Demon King looked like, the Snow Woman had to be the one who made the statue.
‘Is it because I came here early in the game……? This event didn’t happen before.’
Yubel had gone straight to Baelogia after seeing only the Snow Woman’s illustration in the eroge.
Since the Snow Woman happened to be one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Yubel hadn’t been able to use her skills on her, and she remembered being very disappointed.
The Hero’s erotic skills could only be used on someone classified as a heroine, not an enemy.
Anyway, perhaps because it was so early in the game back then,
Baelogia hadn’t been in ruins, and Demon King statues hadn’t been lying around like this.
“Yubel, do you have any idea why those statues were made?”
“……No.”
Yubel answered Se-on with a lie.
If it came out that she knew the Four Heavenly King up on that snowy mountain, it would be as good as confessing, ‘I’m the former Demon King!’
For Yubel, who had approached the Hero while pretending to be a beastfolk in order to hide her identity, this was a secret he absolutely mustn’t learn.
‘But why was I hiding the fact that I used to be the Demon King?’
At first, since the Demon King was one of the heroines, she’d kept it secret because the Hero might approach her.
But now, even if she revealed she was the Demon King, wouldn’t it be fine since the Hero wouldn’t see her as a woman anyway?
Besides, she wasn’t the Demon King anymore.
She could just introduce herself again as an ordinary demonkin…… Hmm.
‘Still, the trust we’ve built up until now might crumble. I’ll just keep quiet.’
Yubel decided to let the question of whether she was a demonkin slide.
Moreover, the Demon King wasn’t a demonkin but a demon, though Yubel didn’t know that.
“Then, could we collect or destroy all those statues?”
Se-on asked Broad.
He didn’t like the idea of Yubel’s statues spreading everywhere and being used for all kinds of things.
Broad met Se-on’s gaze and shook his head.
“It won’t do any good unless we eliminate the source. Even now, all kinds of different statues keep coming down from the snowy mountain.”
“Eliminate…….”
Se-on clicked his tongue at the answer.
To eliminate the source making statues of Yubel, he would have to climb that snowy mountain himself and fight the witch.
Witches were generally a bunch who couldn’t be reasoned with, so a fight would probably be inevitable.
But that wasn’t what concerned him.
Fighting the witch wouldn’t be a problem.
Se-on could now feel a power within his body that would let him fight on equal terms, even against one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
So winning the fight wouldn’t be a problem, but he was worried about leaving Yubel behind if he went.
‘It’d be hard to sneak away with Yubel in this situation…….’
Outside, a group of dwarves with a fanatical obsession with Yubel were lurking about.
Even if he fled at full speed with Yubel in his arms to avoid them, they’d catch up eventually.
Unless Yubel’s existence could be erased, those crazy dwarves would keep chasing her.
Tap, tap, tap…….
Se-on tapped the hilt of his sword with a serious expression.
Just then, he felt a finger poking him from the side.
It was Yubel.
“……Hey, I’m fine, so why don’t we just ignore it?”
Her words were filled with kindness.
Se-on felt a pang in his heart for no reason.
‘Is she saying that because she can tell I’m troubled?’
How much more was Yubel going to sacrifice herself?
The person who should be most upset and angry here was Yubel herself…….
Se-on repeated to himself inwardly.
He hated this situation, where a woman with such a warm heart, who never looked after herself, was being called the insulting name ‘witch.’
How dare that filthy witch do this to Yubel…….
“Sorry, this is my selfish desire. I want to meet the witch up there. Come with me.”
And I’ll make her regret it.
I’ll make her pay for making Yubel sad.
Having made that resolution, Se-on tightened his grip on Yubel’s hand.
In response, Yubel screamed inwardly.
‘Aaaagh! You son of a bitch! I just want to get the hell out of here!’
It didn’t hurt, but his tight grip made her feel stifled.
And Yubel just wanted to get out of Baelogia.
You avoid shit because it’s dirty.
For the record, the shit was those dwarves obsessed with her.
‘Sigh, and I can’t run into the Snow Woman.’
The Hero had declared he wanted to meet the Snow Woman together with her.
For reasons she didn’t know, he wanted to stop her statues from being made.
But as she’d said earlier, she couldn’t meet the Snow Woman.
The moment the Snow Woman said, ‘Huh? Aren’t you the former Demon King?’ Yubel would be doomed.
Doomed!
“Still, wouldn’t it be hard to leave now? Um, they’re outside and they’re after me. If they catch me, I’ll be in real trouble, right?”
She babbled.
Fortunately, the current situation was on her side.
As long as she had the excuse of staying here, the Hero couldn’t just take her to where the Snow Woman was.
Just as Yubel was snickering to herself at that thought,
Broad snapped his fingers and looked as if he’d had a great idea.
“Ah, that should be fine! I happen to have made a mascot costume of you. If you wear it and pretend you’re someone else, not the witch, we should be able to manage. Kwahaha! I never thought the day would come when I’d use it.”
Yubel’s face turned sour.
Kwahaha, my ass.
You’re no help at all.
“Really? Then Yubel can come up to the snowy mountain with us.”
“Yay! That’s great!”
Se-on and Riella smiled brightly, looking relieved.
Yubel bit her nails irritably.
‘No! Why are you trying to take me along? The statues are just an excuse, aren’t they? Do you have some other ulterior motive?’
And so, they decided to make Yubel wear a Yubel mascot costume.
***
Ten minutes later.
After Broad went to prepare the mascot costume, with Se-on going along with him,
A strange atmosphere hung between Prea and Yubel.
“Y-Yubel-niiiim……. Is, is that really, t-true……?”
Prea spoke, her voice quivering with tears.
Faced with those glistening, moist eyes, Yubel didn’t know what to do.
‘……Why is she suddenly acting like this?’