"Haa..."
Inside a dark basement.
A woman let out a sigh, her face twisted with anguish.
"What am I even doing..."
In the woman's eyes—Arphia's eyes—there was a fainted rabbit, bound to a bed and lying there unconscious.
In truth, Arphia had not intended to respond like this from the start.
She had planned to persuade him calmly, little by little, even if it took time.
She had thought she had plenty of time, and that it would be fine. That she could do it.
But that thought began to be eaten away along with the curse as it once again started gnawing at her body.
The body that had been overflowing with vitality began to rot again.
If she hadn't known, perhaps it would have been different. But Arphia knew, and because she knew, she could no longer return to the life she had once lived. In the end, she had crossed the line.
Having regained her vitality, she had also become all the more extreme.
"Right, this guy is the bad one. This guy..."
It was his fault for telling her something like this and then saying no.
It was a typical addict's way of thinking, but Arphia did not realize that.
"...Is he even alive?"
In her excitement, she had failed to control her strength.
Seeing the rabbit's eyes rolled back as he fainted in such a pathetic state, she felt a little guilty, along with a strange sense of conquest.
Arphia did not know the name of that emotion, but once her head cooled, she could tell this situation was wrong.
"Is he breathing..."
Just in case, she took off her glove and brought her hand to his nose. Thankfully, a steady breath brushed against her fingertips.
She wasn't a doctor, so she couldn't be certain, but it didn't seem like there was a problem—
"No... wait."
Then she suddenly realized something strange.
That blow she had just landed.
Was it really at a level he couldn't dodge?
Her physical abilities had clearly improved thanks to the sacred flame.
But she was still a rear guard. She prided herself on being strong enough that she could hardly even be called a rear guard, but to launch a surprise attack against a front-liner of equal or greater caliber?
To be honest, even Arphia couldn't have been certain she'd succeed so cleanly.
And he was a speed type specialized in agility. He should have been even more sensitive to ambushes...
"Was he letting his guard down?"
A little awkward, but nothing else came to mind.
Had he trusted her so much that he never imagined she would attack him?
And she had crushed that trust.
Normally, she would have asked, so what?
Someone else's trust. Even if she took it by force, it would only be a nuisance... or so it should have been.
"..."
For some reason, she now felt like she had done something wrong.
...Only for a very brief moment, though.
She had let her guard down. That was all there was to say.
Honestly, who could have predicted it? That an acquaintance would suddenly stab her in the back.
Especially someone who had once gotten through a crisis together with her.
It was the kind of twist where the village girl turns out to be a goddess all along. No matter what, there was no way to expect that.
...No, was that all just an excuse? Maybe she simply wanted to believe she had let her guard down.
In reality, my reaction had just been slow.
Even with my weakened body, I had overestimated my own reflexes.
And as a result, I was now lying on a bed, bound in some unknown place.
"No, but why am I tied up?"
"You might run away, so I had to bind you."
"Ah!"
I hadn't thought of that!
Was this what it meant to be so dumbfounded you couldn't speak? This was definitely a situation where words failed you.
"I'm not going to run, so could you please untie me?"
I had considered forcing my way out, but these weren't ordinary chains.
They were indestructible chains, mixed with mithril and custom-made to respond to mind.
Where had she even gotten something like this? I'd heard that unless it was pure mithril, processing orichalcum into chain form was nearly impossible.
"..."
Arphia seemed to think for a moment, then surprisingly untied me without complaint.
I had gone to the trouble of binding him, so why was she letting him go so easily? Then I noticed the deep self-loathing etched across Arphia's face.
Maybe now that she had calmed down, she was having a crisis of conscience. Fine by me if it ended this easily.
"Honestly, it wasn't much of a crisis anyway."
Just because they were indestructible didn't mean they couldn't be undone.
Indestructible meant exactly that: they wouldn't break. It didn't mean the links couldn't be bent or twisted.
If you had enough strength, you could deform them by force as long as you didn't stray too far from their original shape.
That meant even if I couldn't smash them, I could probably widen them enough to pull my hand free.
"...Huh?"
Of course, that was only if I had enough strength.
"...Can I actually twist these with my current strength?"
Indestructible wasn't called indestructible for nothing.
It might lose some power, but in terms of durability, it was top-class.
To twist an indestructible item, you needed absurd strength...
Could my current body really produce that much force?
"...Uh, wait."
I hadn't realized it until now.
Was I maybe in serious danger?
A chill ran down my spine, and cold sweat trickled across my forehead.
Thinking about it, this might not have been such a relaxed situation after all.
"What's with you all of a sudden?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing..."
...Well, there was no need to show that.
It wasn't because I was scared of what might happen if she found out I was weak that I clamped my mouth shut.
Yes, that was right.
"By the way, why did you suddenly do something like this...?"
"Hmm..."
Arphia seemed to have something she was hiding, because her answer came out hesitant.
From the expression I'd glimpsed when she hit me from behind, it had looked like she might just eat me alive.
"Was she under some kind of curse?"
She seemed vulnerable to mental attacks, so maybe she'd been hit by some kind of curse and lost her mind.
Of course, the reason Arphia acted like this was not some curse.
Even interfering with the mind of such a powerful witch had only been possible because of divine power. Normally, a mere curse could do nothing to that mind.
Her body being covered in curses all the time had also played a part.
The reason she had been driven to such extreme behavior was the rabbit's push and pull.
Push and pull wasn't something that only existed between lovers.
Wasn't it also used often in negotiations and transactions?
Push and pull, to explain it more simply, was testing the waters.
Hiding your true feelings and drawing out the other person's reaction.
Whether it was love, an object, or something else.
However different the details, all of that could be called push and pull.
So what had the rabbit used to play push and pull with the witch?
His life. The rabbit had unconsciously played push and pull with the witch's life.
At least, the witch had thought so, unconsciously.
And the witch had never experienced push and pull before.
There had been no need to test the waters.
When she wanted to push, she pushed all at once. When she wanted to pull, she pulled all at once.
She had the skill to do it, and the personality to do it.
That was why the witch might have been flustered.
She couldn't get used to being the one on the receiving end.
Even if the rabbit had not meant it that way, she could not endure the situation where her life was in the other person's hands.
It was like a drug.
Once you tasted it, you wanted to taste it again, and before long you wanted to keep it forever.
When you're standing, you want to sit; when you're sitting, you want to lie down. That was human nature.
At first, simply becoming healthy had brought an overwhelming sense of fulfillment, but as the curse gradually built up, the witch's thoughts grew hazy.
I want to keep this forever. I want to light a sacred flame for myself.
I want to hold it entirely in my own hands and use it however I please.
The direction was different, but the nature of it resembled that of a certain superstition.
The only difference was that, however arrogant the witch might be, she was not blind.
She quickly realized her own mistake, sank into self-loathing, and brought the matter to an end herself.
And now, the witch was thinking about how to finish this situation.
If she let him go like this, she would regret it. If she held on, her pride would be wounded.
For Arphia, who had always been self-willed, the current situation felt unbearably awkward.
In her life, there had never been a case where something she wanted slipped beyond her grasp.
If she wanted it, she took it. If she didn't need it, she threw it away.
This might have been the same, if only the other party had been someone else.
"I need your flame."
After much thought, what she chose was a direct assault.
For this gullible man, this should be enough. Her calm reason reached that conclusion.
Even so, the unease in one corner of her heart did not disappear.
What if this man refused? And though it was unlikely, what if he used this as leverage to threaten her?
"Of course, if there's anything I can help with, I'll gladly do it."
And what if those words were a lie?
What if he used the weakness that kept me from refusing to shake me for good?
Setting that aside, was it really right to place the only means in the other person's hands?
Wouldn't it be better to force it so it could never leave my hands?
The means were in the other party's possession. I couldn't even put a leash on him.
It was like the relationship between a drug addict and a drug dealer. To the dealer, she would be just one customer among many, but to the addict, the dealer was the only lifeline.
The more she depended on him, the less she would be able to defy him.
It was miserable. Having her life held hostage by the person in front of her.
Even knowing the other party had done nothing wrong, once she could breathe again, all sorts of thoughts came flooding in.
Because it was something she had only just managed to obtain, losing it was more frightening than anything else.
Herself, and her only hope.
Because this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, her thoughts kept growing more and more extreme.
"Arphia?"
"...Ah, no. It's nothing."
She desperately held on to her wavering thoughts.
She had to be careful not to let go of the reins, because she didn't know what she might do.
More than anything else, she feared herself the most.
"...I was born with an incurable disease."
"..."
Though it must have been a boring story, the man listened carefully to what she had to say.
All the way to the end, without once showing a bored expression.
"—So I'm asking you."
Please, free our curse.
Even as she said that, regret welled up inside her.
To expose her own weakness like this. What on earth was this disgrace?
The sisters' circumstances were close to taboo even within the Familia. Outside the members, there were only a handful who knew.
And yet she had revealed that weakness. With her own hands, no less.
How would the rabbit respond now?
Would he simply pity her?
Or would he seize the weakness and try to take her for himself?
It wasn't something she boasted about, but objectively speaking, her appearance was exceptionally beautiful. Enough that that lecherous old man had come after her again and again.
A figure that would stir a man's lust at least once. She had never allowed such things, since she had never lacked for anything, but if he used this to go after my chastity...
Would I be able to refuse properly?
She didn't know. Even Arphia's brilliant mind could not answer that question.
The current situation was that unfamiliar to Arphia.
That desperate, and that addictive.
"If I can help, then absolutely!"
"..."
The rabbit answered the witch's plea with pure eyes.
His one and only eye held a clear, jewel-like brilliance.
For some reason, Arphia could not bring herself to look directly at that light.
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