Chapter 317 Trading Guards
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Immediately after the incident, I reached out to my father asking for reinforcements. To my surprise, he agreed without a fight; it seemed he’d been harboring the same fears as Diana.
There was a catch, though. He couldn’t send anyone immediately. He told me I’d have to wait a week, which meant it would be ten days or more before help actually reached the frontier settlement. Until then, we had to make do with our current roster. I was back to being a high-value target under twenty-four-hour surveillance, which meant someone was always at my side.
Diana took the morning shift, hovering while I pushed papers in the office. Lewya took the afternoon. But the night – the quiet, heavy stretch of time where the darkness makes it all too easy for someone to slip through the cracks – was the most dangerous. We asked Niya and her team to handle the perimeter, but the task of guarding me while I slept went to the one person capable of detecting a stray heartbeat from a mile away.
”So… what exactly is the plan here?” I asked.
”What does it look like? I’m the guard,” Sia replied.
”Does ‘guarding’ usually involve sharing a bed in a sheer nightgown!?” I hissed.
Sia was currently draped across the mattress in a negligee, lifting the duvet to beckon me in with a predatory glint in her eyes. Her ability to sense mana¹ was unparalleled; she could sniff out an assassin long before they reached the door.
”You didn’t seriously misunderstand the term ‘night watch²,’ did you?” she asked.
”I’m not an idiot. I know you’re on the night shift, but… it’s not even your turn right now. It’s hers.”
Sia pointed toward the corner of the room. There stood Betty, stiff as a board and as motionless as a statue. Even for someone like Sia, staying awake every single night was a tall order. We needed a rotation, and Betty had been the one tapped for the job, thanks to her superhuman hearing and sense of smell.
”If it’s Betty’s shift, why are you still here, Sia?” I asked.
”Because I know that if I fall asleep now, I won’t wake up until dawn. It’s easier if I just sleep here. That way, when Betty needs a break, she can wake me up and we can swap. Besides, the bed is huge. There’s plenty of room for both of us. It would be a waste of effort to drag another bed in here just for a guard, wouldn’t it?”
”I mean… logically, sure, but…”
She had a point, but coming from Sia, it felt like one massive ulterior motive. People might think, ‘You’ve already gone all the way with her, so why start being cautious now?’ But when someone is constantly looking for any opening to devour you whole, your natural instinct is to keep your distance. I still didn’t even know why she was so obsessed with me. Hesitating in the face of the unknown is just basic human nature.
”Well? How long are you going to stand there? I’m catching a chill in this outfit,” Sia said.
Was this somehow my fault?
Despite the sheer unfairness of her attitude, I couldn’t exactly leave my own security detail behind. I reluctantly climbed into bed and lay down. Sia pulled the duvet over us and began staring intensely at my face.
It was restless. Beyond restless. But I wasn’t alone with her. Betty was right there. No matter how much of a deviant Sia was, there was no way she’d start something in front of another guard –
”Ah-!” I let out a sharp gasp.
”Neil! What happened?” Betty asked, stepping forward.
”Nothing! Nothing. I just… I got a cramp in my leg when I stretched. Don’t worry about it,” I lied.
”Oh. If you say so,” Betty replied, retreating to her post.
I waited until she was settled before whispering to Sia. “What are you thinking!?”
”What are you talking about? You knew this was coming the moment I climbed in,” she whispered back.
Obviously, my leg hadn’t cramped. The truth was that Sia had suddenly started fondling me under the covers.
”You better keep your voice down, or Betty will hear us,” she teased.
I’d forgotten – this woman was a total exhibitionist who got off on the risk of being caught. Having a witness nearby wasn’t a deterrent; it was the secret ingredient that pushed her over the edge.
”Haaa…”
She blew a hot breath into my ear, her hand sliding lower until she firmly gripped me.
”Look at that. You’re already reacting, despite all that complaining,” Sia whispered.
”Anyone would… if you did this…!” I managed to grunt.
This was bad. Her movements were slow and deliberate, but every time her hand slid along the shaft, the friction against the duvet sent jolts of electricity through me. My body reacted instinctively; the slick heat of my own arousal began to coat her hand, creating a muffled, wet sound beneath the heavy blankets.
”You’re getting so hard. You better hold it in, or she’s going to notice the movement,” Sia taunted.
She let the strap of her negligee slip, exposing her breast, and leaned over me to rub her n**ips against mine.
”Ngh…!”
The sensation was agonizingly light, a teasing friction that sent a wave of pleasure straight down my spine. My hips nearly bucked off the mattress.
”If you keep twitching like that, the blankets are going to give you away,” she warned.
Sia wrapped her legs around mine to pin me down. That was when I felt a sudden chill against my waist. I reached down to find the source and realized her negligee was soaking wet. Before I could process it, a wave of damp heat began to spread against my skin.
”Hehe. It’s hot, isn’t it? Just touching you made me end up like this. Come on… touch me back,” she whispered.
Her voice was sweet poison. I knew Betty was right there. I knew I’d get caught. But, as if possessed by a fever, I let my fingers slide beneath the hem of her nightgown.
”Mnnn…!”
The moment I found her opening, Sia let out a muffled gasp against my neck. She was slick and ready, her body swallowing my finger easily. Her walls pulsed around me, and as I moved my hand, the fluids surged and bubbled, coating my fingers in a hot, frothy mess.
”Haa… haa…”
The air under the duvet was thick with the scent of sweat and arousal. The lewd rhythm of her breath and the wet heat of her core completely shattered my common sense –
”Ugh-!”
Before the thought of holding back could even form, the floodgates opened. I finished right there under the blankets. The heavy, musky scent in the confined space became overwhelming, snapping me back to reality. It was so potent that even I could smell it vividly. There was no way Betty – with her inhuman sense of smell – wouldn’t notice.
”……”
My eyes locked with Betty’s. Her face was a deep, burning crimson as she stared directly at us.
”Betty, this is – “
I scrambled for an explanation, but Sia suddenly whipped the duvet off us without a word of warning. The shock left me paralyzed. I lay there exposed, my arousal and the mess covering my lap completely bare for Betty to see.
”W-what… what on earth are you doing?” Betty asked.
”What does it look like? Use your eyes,” Sia replied.
As Betty stood there, face bright red and unable to look away, Sia leaned down and took me into her mouth right in front of her. She worked her head up and down vigorously, coating me in saliva with wet, sloppy sounds that echoed through the quiet room.
”Why… why would you…!” I choked out.
Sia pulled back, letting a silver trail of saliva linger. She flicked her tongue provocatively, licking her lips.
”Why? Because it’s way more exciting this way, obviously,” she said nonchalantly.
I was dying of shame, unable to look Betty in the eye, until she finally spoke up in a small, shaky voice.
”Why are you both half-naked? And why did Sia suddenly… um… lick Neil’s… p-p-p**is?”
”Wait… wait a second,” Sia said, her eyes widening. “That reaction… don’t tell me you actually don’t know what we’re doing?”
”I don’t…” Betty whispered.
Sia and I both stared at her, stunned. To be her age and have absolutely no concept of what happens between a man and a woman – she really must have been sheltered.
”You’re the same age as Neil, aren’t you? How can you not know at your age?” Sia asked.
”I just don’t…”
”Haven’t you ever heard your parents banging in the middle of the night? With your ears and nose, there’s no way you wouldn’t have noticed,” Sia pushed.
”Sia, phrasing!” I shouted.
”I-I’ve never seen or heard anything like that!” Betty insisted.
”Are you the youngest?” Sia asked.
”Huh? No, I have a sister two years younger, a brother four years younger, and a sister seven years younger than me. We’re all family, so we don’t really think about blood relations, but…”
”Your youngest sibling is seven years younger? You were definitely old enough to remember. If they were doing it in the house, you’d know. …Wait! Don’t tell me they were going out into the woods for some outdoor baby-making!?” Sia laughed.
”Can we please stop fantasizing about her parents!?” I begged.
I felt a wave of guilt for Betty as the image Sia suggested forced its way into my brain. But then…
”Um… baby-making? Does that mean… if I do what Sia just did, a baby will happen?”
”…What?” we both whispered.
Both Sia and I froze. I knew she was naive, but I thought that only applied to the pleasure side of things. I assumed she at least understood the basic birds and the bees.
I’d convinced myself that as long as she could use her prosthetic arm like a normal person, Betty could return to her village. I was naive. Even if she regained the use of both hands, it wouldn’t fix the rot at the core of her life. As long as Betty was labeled “deformed,” no amount of effort would change her status. The Lycus³ wouldn’t see her as a person; they’d see a defect.
To change her life, I’d have to change the very fact of her birth. But how do you rewrite a reality like that-?
”A world created by Crimson⁴ focuses on the ‘Result,’” Snow’s voice echoed in my head. “The ‘Process’ of getting there and the ‘Decay’ that follows are ignored. It is a world where things simply are-where the result becomes the only truth you’ve ever known.”
”…Crimson,” I whispered.
If Crimson could overwrite the laws of existence to produce a desired result, couldn’t it rewrite Betty’s past? Could it make it so she was born whole? But as the thought took hold, Snow’s warning followed close behind.
”Origin⁵ is a drug, Neil. It solves your problems with a snap of your fingers, but if you lean on it, you’ll drown in that power until there’s nothing left of you. Before you turn to Origin, ask yourself: Is this truly the only way?”
I knew she was right. Relying on Crimson for everything was a path to ruin. But this? This felt like the exception to every rule.
”Hey! Are you even listening to me?!” Sia snapped.
”Huh?” I blinked, snapping back to reality. Sia was glaring at me, her expression tight with irritation.
”Sorry,” I muttered. “I was… lost in thought. What were we talking about?”
”Ugh,” Sia sighed, tossing her hair back. “I’m talking about helping me beat some sense into Betty. We need to kill that ‘I’m just a broken toy’ attitude of hers.”
”Right. I’m in,” I said, nodding. “Whatever it takes.”
I wasn’t ready to wield Crimson as an Origin yet. If I couldn’t change the world today, I’d have to do whatever was within my reach. I realized too late that I’d agreed to help without hearing the plan. Knowing Sia, that was a dangerous mistake.
”So,” I asked, clearing my throat. “What exactly are we doing?”
Sia turned to me. She wore a smile-a truly, perfectly radiant smile-that sent a chill down my spine.
”An orgy.”
* * *
Author’s Note:
Have any of you ever walked in on your parents doing the deed? I have. It wasn’t a life-altering trauma, but twenty years later, I can still see it. I’d gone to my dad’s room at midnight to get back my Nin●endo D●, and… yeah. Some things you can’t unsee. It’s a scar on the soul, honestly. If you have kids, buy a door lock. For everyone’s sake.
For the record, my dad was using my D● to play Adult Brain Age Training. “Train your brain in minutes a day,” my ass.
—
Summary:
Neil is placed under 24-hour guard while waiting for reinforcements. Sia and Betty take the night shift, but Sia uses the opportunity to seduce Neil in bed. The scene ends with the shocking revelation that Betty is entirely ignorant of s*xual reproduction.
Neil realizes that Betty’s exclusion from s*xual knowledge is a form of tribal eugenics because she has a disability. He contemplates using the god-like power of Crimson to rewrite her history but remembers Snow’s warning about the dangers of over-reliance on Origin. The serious atmosphere is shattered when Sia proposes an ‘orgy’ to fix Betty’s self-esteem.
—
Trivia:
- The wait time for reinforcements is 10+ days.
- Sia’s primary guard duty is sensing mana.
- Betty’s family has a 7-year gap between the oldest and youngest.
- Sia’s ‘negligee’ was already soaking wet before things escalated.
- The Lycus have super-human hearing and smell, making privacy in their village impossible.
- Lycus practice consanguineous (in-clan) marriage, leading to higher rates of birth defects.
- Neil’s internal monologue reveals he only learned how babies were made in this world a year ago.
- Jott left the Lycus because he was afraid of being used as a breeding stud due to his genetics.
- Sia’s ‘radiant smile’ usually signals something extreme or dangerous
—
Character Insight:
Sia’s motive is purely thrill-seeking and obsessive, while Neil remains reactive and easily swayed by physical stimulation. Betty’s character is established as a ‘blank slate’ concerning biological reality.
Neil shows a deep sense of empathy and rising anger toward systemic injustice, showing he isn’t just a passive observer. Sia demonstrates her ‘chaotic good’ nature by jumping to an extreme solution to a psychological problem.
—
Behind the Scenes:
Author notes apologize for late updates and specify this as an ‘introductory’ R18 scene before more intense content in the next chapter.
The author shares a personal anecdote about walking in on their father playing ‘Brain Age’ on a Nintendo DS, emphasizing the importance of bedroom privacy.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Niya – Former soldier with a quick mind, part of the ‘Ihomono’ group. The one who command the group. Her abilities include mutual sharing of vision and hearing and telepathic communication. Focuses on practical needs like a training ground and security. Her military background influences her perspective on settlement safety.
• Sia – A guard with unparalleled mana-sensing abilities. She wears a sheer negligee and displays exhibitionist tendencies. She is obsessed with Neil and enjoys the risk of being caught during intimate acts.
• Betty – A member of the Lycus tribe born with a disability (missing left arm). Described as a ‘malformed child’ by her society. She is currently ignorant of sexual education due to her tribe’s eugenics-based exclusion.
• Jott – A versatile member of Harmon’s group, often handling reconnaissance and communication thanks to his sharp senses from his Lycus blood. He contributes to combat and defense with his decent fighting skills and limited magic abilities. Jott first appears in Chapter 221.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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