[TS] Surviving in a Yuri Visual Novel

“You…”

I stared at Lumani with a flabbergasted expression as she licked her lips, wearing a bewitching smile. For a moment, I was so surprised that I couldn’t string together a single word.

Then, when our eyes met, Lumani tilted her head slightly and gave a mischievous grin.

“Yeah?”

It wasn’t a laugh that indicated any wrongdoing. Seeing her smile made me want to laugh too.

I had no idea what she was thinking. Was she unaware of Leticia’s blatant grip on my shoulder and her menacing smile? It didn’t seem possible; she must have known and was acting deliberately. I couldn’t understand what was driving her behavior.

‘What are you aiming for? Just for fun?’

I felt like the already tense atmosphere was becoming more frostbitten. When I glanced at Leo, who was alternating between looking at me and Lumani with a dumbfounded expression, it seemed he also didn’t grasp the current situation.

I felt the same way. I really wished someone would explain what was happening. It wasn’t just Leo who was taken aback.

“Do you have something to say? You look like you have a lot to say.”

Her smile, which was out of place for the situation, lifted the corners of her mouth, making her look less like a vampire and more like a flirtatious fox, enhancing her allure even more.

Even knowing Leticia was right next to me, it was hard not to swallow. It felt as if I were responding even though I wasn’t in a man’s body. She had a charm that was disarming. If the situation had been different, I might have approached her to at least say something. If it had just been the two of us, I would have been completely entranced.

“Kiss.”

“…!”

“Was that too sudden? Well, it makes sense. Um, but wasn’t it nice? My lips are expensive in the Demon World, you know.”

Every little action of Lumani closing her eyes, saying that the queen’s lips could not be bought with money, felt threatening to me.

Seeing Leo, now a married man… or rather a married woman, raise his hand again to the holy sword as if sensing the tension in the air, was making my mouth water. Considering Leo had seen Lumani in front of him several times, her beauty was an achievement that could not be expressed in mere illustrations.

I wondered how Lumani interpreted my silence, as she narrowed her eyes and looked at me like a heartbroken heroine while twisting her fingers.

“If you found it unpleasant, I apologize. I just hope you know I had no bad intentions.”

She no longer exhibited the imposing and dignified appearance of a queen. If this were all an act, it would be a remarkable talent. If she had been born on Earth, she would have been an excellent actress.

With wide eyes like a fool, I placed my hand on my cheek that Lumani had kissed. It was merely a light peck, not a deep kiss that would be reserved for lovers; thankfully, otherwise, it could have led to serious trouble in many ways.

Mainly for me.

Calm down. There’s no need to get worked up. Taking a deep breath to steady my heart, I decided to calm Leticia, who looked as if she might cast a spell on Lumani any moment. I gently covered Leticia’s eyes with my hand and whispered softly into her ear.

“You need to calm down a bit, Leticia.”

“…Charlotte?”

“You’re too excited. There’s no need to fall for her provocation.”

As I deliberately whispered soothingly, Leticia twitched as if it tickled. Even though it was me who had been kissed, Leticia seemed the angrier of the two.

I quietly watched her. Leticia, who had a slightly flustered expression as if she were surprised by my action of covering her eyes, was cute, but she couldn’t hide the quivering corners of her mouth.

She looked extremely happy, nearly soaring to the heavens with joy. I squinted my eyes. As I had mentioned before, Leticia had been this way from the moment I had been summoned. Her obsession and affection were unfathomable. It was twisted love. I couldn’t comprehend Leticia’s feelings for me.

Why was she fixated on me?

What for?

Was it to lift Leo’s curse? No. If it were that trivial, there would be no need for such obsession. To put it bluntly, there was no need for emotions or attachment toward a tool that was considered disposable. Up until now, there had not been a single reason for Leticia to cling to me.

Looking back, Leticia had shown kindness to me, a complete stranger, from our very first meeting. Without any apparent reason. She had the demeanor of someone ready to kill someone like me if I had been a demon rather than a mazoku, yet she had kept me close. She had even gone as far as proposing a contract first, hastening it before me, lusting for my lips.

Even though she had wished for a legendary demon. Although she had desired to summon “me,” who exists in a completely different dimension from this place. She could have easily killed me. Still, seeing that she hadn’t even attempted to capture me, who she barely knew for less than a day, made me think there surely was more to her thoughts. The fact that she had saved and entered into a contract with a half-breed mazoku, which she did not even desire, was strange.

It was like she was trying to keep something she couldn’t afford to lose by her side. In that moment, I felt a chill run through me.

“Haah—.”

I breathed heavily. An unsettling thought filled my mind. Hadn’t the goddess Lucifel, just before summoning, warned with a smile that the magic was not only meant to summon a demon but also intertwined with a specific someone’s summoning, advising caution?

‘Leticia, could it be that you knew who I was from the very beginning…?’

I gulped.

“Charlotte?”

In response to Leticia’s worried question, I shook my head vigorously. Yes. There was no annoying quest, and I wasn’t hearing any system voice telling me to choose options—this was all unnecessary worry.

I should hope so.

I gave a reassuring smile to Leticia, who let out a short sigh, then shifted my gaze back to Lumani.

That was definitely a provocation.

If Leo didn’t understand, Leticia had been acting as if she treasured me, which must have tested Lumani. It seemed intriguing to her that a sage, although half-breed, had contracted with mazoku blood, especially because Leticia was behaving as if she cherished that “filth.”

It was a given. Vampires, by nature, had always been that way from the start.

Even the vampire who claimed to be noble, whom I had grown tired of dealing with in the past, was the same. Those vampires who viewed humans as livestock as if they were nobility were mostly beings that acted according to their own pleasures.

Especially the Archdemon, known as the right arm of the Demon King, who were all abnormally strong but were virtually a gathering of oddballs.

To put it more simply and easier to understand, they were like the twelve demon generals. Strong enough to be part of this community without being a noble; it fit perfectly within the mazoku’s philosophy that strength is all. The deformed mazoku that butchered people expressionlessly were all monsters from the previous Demon King’s archdemon circles.

‘…To defeat monsters, I must become a monster myself. That was the war with the mazoku.’

I had killed and been killed repeatedly. Every day was a battlefield. There had been no time for sleep, and I had to stay awake at all times, prepared for the unexpected ambush of the mazoku. It was evident to see that those who believed in nothing but fighting and strength had grown mentally drained as the mazoku signed a peace treaty.

Even the doctors in this world shook their heads, saying a normal life was impossible, for the war had broken me. I had endured all those years simply with the belief that I would return to Earth and see my parents. I never expected to end up in such a relationship with Leticia. It was a miracle that I had adjusted once I returned to Earth.

Moreover, returning to the point, it was just a cheek, not even lips. Cheek kisses could be shared even without being lovers, couldn’t they? And right now, Leticia and I were not lovers. There was no need for her to get so worked up.

“Why? My lips are quite expensive. Wasn’t it nice?”

“Let’s cut it out, shall we? Let’s go back now.”

Even facing Leo’s menacing words as he drew his holy sword, Lumani shrugged her shoulders boldly.

“You’re fierce. Well, that’s fine. I’ve got what I needed, so I’ll be leaving now. And I hope you don’t forget how thankful I am to you for killing that damned father of mine.”

“Crazy woman.”

“That isn’t an incorrect statement.”

“…Tch.”

Laughing darkly, Lumani caught Leo’s gaze with an expression of distaste. I hadn’t expected her to make such a self-deprecating joke. As Leo looked at Lumani with bewildered eyes, she shot a glance at Leticia and said:

“If you ever grow tired of your side, feel free to switch to me. I can offer you as much blood as you want. You can come to my side whenever you want.”

“I have no need for that.”

“We’ll see.”

In response to my firm rejection, Lumani scoffed playfully and continued, “There will definitely come a time when you need my help. Then, at that time, you’ll be groveling at my feet, asking for assistance.”

With those ominous words, Lumani transformed into a bat and disappeared into the darkness without a trace. As I lingered on her words with a frown, I snapped back to reality at Leticia’s tugging sleeve.

And I felt a chill of a different kind. Forcing my mouth, which had struggled to open, I called out her name, her pupils devoid of light.

“Leticia?”

“This can’t go on. I can’t let some woman meddle unnecessarily… I should put an end to this before the Academy starts.”

“…Le, Leticia?”

“Charlotte, we need to go back.”

I didn’t want to go back. Because Leticia’s face looked too frightening. Although those words nearly slipped out, I ultimately chose to remain silent.

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