Chapter 13: Girl, Whets Appetites

 

 

 

Act 7: Imposter Holy Maiden

 

Chapter 13: Girl, Whets Appetites

“WELCOME to Brownie Village: The Village with Holy Savior Priestess Lady Nichika!”

Under the cloudy gray sky, a huge, over the top banner hung from the village gate. The person being advertised by it gaped up at it.

Disgusted, her master prodded, “Close your mouth. You’re outdoing yourself in the looking stupid department.”

“I just got here, right? This is the first time I’ve ever come here, right?”

Dumbfounded, she passed under the banner with her name written in sparkly paint and entered the village. Red terraced fields sloped down hills as far as the eye could see.

Oswald plucked a leaf and twirled it between his fingers. “This is a klehna leaf,” he explained. “Boiling it down creates a red pigment used in dyes.”

“Cool. Does it taste good as tea?” Nichika asked the exact question that popped into her head, earning a pitying look from her master.

“You can also use it as a decorative element in dishes, but it was wrong of me to expect a classy response from you…”

“Ugh. I’m not as much of a glutton as that makes me sound. Back home some people dye textiles naturally with tea, so that’s what made me think it was edible. Okay?” she babbled as they descended the sloped plane. A large mansion came into view at the bottom. Excited screams reached halfway up the hill.

“It’s awfully loud,” Oswald said, leery of the noise.

“Really is. Are they having a concert or something?” she joked. She walked around the building and felt her jaw drop.

Hundreds of villagers crowded around the stage erected in front of the mansion. On the stage was a girl with bright-red hair tied up in pigtails, raising her hands with a shining smile.

“Hello, everybody! You have my heartfelt thanks for gathering here today for ultra-hyper-super-duper cute me!”

Cheers exploded from the overexcited crowd, shaking the air. The red-haired girl, dressed like a high school idol, winked and struck a cutesy pose.

“It’s time for the first song! Here comes ‘Searching for the Great Spirits Isn’t Easy-peasy ☆!’”

Nichika was only joking, but it turned out they really were having a concert. The pretty girl sung and danced to the orchestra’s up-tempo song. Every time the real Nichika heard the audience’s cries of “Lady Priestess, I love you!” and “Nichika-wichika is too cute!” she smacked Oswald’s arm.

“What’s going on here? I mean it. Tell me what I’m looking at right now!”

“……”

Incomprehensible. One look at Oswald’s face told her exactly what he thought. She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to the front of the swaying crowd. Obviously she didn’t recognize the girl.

“Nichika is the Spirit Priestess,” the girl said during the interlude. “Please support me during my arduous journey!”

She pretended to cry as she broke into a dramatized speech. “I have overcome a great many trials to get to where I am today. I even went through heartbreaking goodbyes…but I will never give up! Not until the day I save the world!”

Enough was enough. Reaching the peak of embarrassment, Nichika pulled at her hair and screamed, “OH MY GOD! I can’t watch this any longer! It’s just too ridiculous!”

“Oi, stop it, stupid.”

Nichika broke free of Oswald’s restraint and jumped over the fence onto the stage. The imposter stepped back in fear of the sudden concert crasher.

“Wh-Whatever is your problem? You may be my fan, but it’s a no-no to come up on stage with me!” she chided in a spoiled, girly tone that only angered Nichika more.

“Like HELL I’m your fan!”

The orchestra stopped playing and the audience attentively watched to see what was about to go down. Nichika slammed her right foot on the stage and gave it to her straight.

“Quit the crap! Where do you get off stealing someone else’s name?! And you just had to go and say it along with that embarrassing speech… How do you expect me to introduce myself from now on?!”

“Whatever are you talking about? Whoever in the world are you?” The fraud feigned innocence.

Blood rushing to her head, Nichika wailed emotionally. Yes, she made the mistake of screaming in front of all these people. “Don’t you get it?! I’m the real Spirit Priestess! I’m Nichika!”

Silence fell over the garden concert for but a fleeting moment before explosive laughter cracked the air. The second Nichika realized she was being laughed at, her face turned deep red.

“Wh-Why…?”

“You shouldn’t joke about such things. I am the genuine Spirit Priestess Nichika,” the imposter announced, then turned to her adoring fans. “Isn’t that right, everyone?” She confidently pointed to herself, her eyes tearing up from laughing too hard.

Now that she came this far, she couldn’t turn back. Nichika clenched her fists and argued. “No, you’re not! I’m Nichika!”

“What part of you is anything like a refined Spirit Priestess?”

Backed by the crowd, the imposter waved her hand up and down Nichika and triumphantly mocked, “You can’t be with that plain, round face!”

STAB!

“Not with that grimy, dull hair and stumpy figure!”

STAB! STAB! STAB!

“And to top it off, you have the charisma of a rock. Though that’s offensive to rocks.”

“Grrrrr…!”

True enough, the fake was pretty, poised, and had all her curves in the right places. She was tall and slender like a model. The type of girl Nichika never wanted to be compared to.

The red-haired beauty placed her left hand on her hip, pressed the back of her right hand to her lips, and let out a clichéd snobbish villainess laugh. “Ohohoho! What rural village did you crawl out of, pleb? Lame. So lame. You’re so super-duper-extraordinarily-outrageously LAME!”

Nichika, who had willingly gotten on stage with this pretty girl, sank to her knees. Nothing about her stacked up against the imposter. The world is unfair when it comes to granting good looks.

“You think you can represent yourself as a heroine with those looks? Funny girl!” The fraudster grinned cunningly and divulged into a very poor act. “Oh no! Could it be you purposely caused this ruckus so you could assassinate innocent little me, the Spirit Priestess? Kyaah! I’m so scared! Help me!”

“What? Hey!”

Brawny village men clambered up the side of the stage in response to the imposter’s phony screams. They had Nichika pinned before she could run.

“You’re a nasty piece of work, trying to kill our savior!”

“I am not! I—” Nichika desperately tried to explain herself, but the imposter shouted over her.

“I see you have a staff. You must be a wicked witch. Take it from her!”

“No!”

Nichika turned blue when they confiscated the magic orb from her belt. For a brief second, she considered letting loose and hitting them all with a burst of magic, but feared it’d turn into something she could never undo if she accidentally killed someone. Shaking her head, she called for help.

“Oswald, help me!”

The black back stealthily slinking through the crowd to make his escape froze in place. Her master glanced at her once then ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

“Heartless jerk!”

“That man is her accomplice! Catch him!”

And just like that, both master and apprentice were tossed in jail.

***

“YOU really, truly, absolutely, positively did something utterly worthless!”

“Yahh, yahh! Ih haahts! Uyaaah!”

In the dark, cold prison cell, Nichika was pushed up against the wall with her cheeks pinched by a furious Oswald. He let go of her cheeks with a crisp snap, causing her to fall onto the pile of hay.

Arms crossed, her master let her in on a truth that never occurred to her. “As long as I was safe, I could’ve come to rescue you later.”

“Oh yeah!”

“Hare-brain…” Sighing, he commenced examining every nook and cranny of the cell. Crouching, he touched the stone wall. “None of that matters until we escape,” he said, putting aside his annoyance for the time being.

“Can we escape?”

“Leave that to me. I’m used to breaking out of jail.”

“How many times have you been put in jail?!” Nichika quipped loudly. She took a good look around their cell.

It was more like a remodeled barn than a jailhouse. The walls were made of cut stones and the floor was just bare, hard dirt. The only window was protected by a solid grate on the outside, and the setting sun shone behind the cloudy sky. Nichika shoved to her feet and began inspecting the cell in hopes of finding something that could assist their escape.

“Anyways, why do you think that redhead is imitating me?” she asked the biggest question plaguing her.

“Just goes to show how famous and important the Spirit Priestess has become,” Oswald answered with his back turned to her. “It’s not that strange for people to exploit it for what it’s worth.”

“What about her weird concert?”

“Yeah, I’ve got no idea.”

What’s the benefit of acting like an idol and gathering groupies? I don’t get it…

“Aggggggh! Now what?” she groaned and buried her face in her hands. “I’m going to become the fake at this rate. They took away the magic orb, too.”

“Why not just throw all your responsibilities on that faker? Give her the staff and be done with it,” he suggested so casually her head shot up.

“Don’t even joke about it! I can’t go back home if I don’t fulfill my mission!”

“Do you really have to go home that bad?”

“Bad, bad, bad idea. The world is in a pinch. Besides, it’s my motto to finish what I start—wait, what?” Nichika lifted her gaze from the dirt floor. That brooding black back was silently examining the stone wall without glancing her way.

Is that his way of asking me not to leave?

What did his face look like when he said it? What did he mean by those words? Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Her heart paraded so loud she feared he could hear it in their quiet cell.

“U-Umm…” She worked up the nerve to ask when the stone in his hand moved.

“Yes!” Oswald jiggled the stone around, not caring that his apprentice was banging her head against the opposite wall. “I was right again. Wherever there’s a wall where the stones have been slapped on top of each other without much thought, there will always be one that’s loose.”

“…I hate you,” she cursed under her breath and peered at the loose stone over his shoulder.

The stone wobbled unstably and looked easy to pull out with some effort. From there they could remove some of the surrounding stones to make a hole big enough for a person to crawl through.

While Nichika was thinking about unhelpful things such as how it felt like they were playing Jenga, Oswald was thoughtfully rubbing his chin between his fingers.

“The guard only comes by once every thirty minutes, so he won’t be here for a bit. I’d still like some extra headway time, though…”

“Before they find out we escaped?”

“Yeah. I want to stall the guard here. Now to find what I can draw their attention with…” Oswald paused and stared at Nichika. Getting nothing but bad vibes from that intent look, she slowly stepped away.

“Wh-What? G-Going to make me do something weird again?”

“……”

Oswald offered a small smile in place of a response. Chills snaked down her spine.

“Eeek! D-Don’t come near me!” she shrieked to keep him at bay.

“Aw, come now. Don’t say that. You haven’t had your medicine yet, have you?”

“I still have some candies left, so I’m goo—ooph!”

Her back hit the stone wall. She had nowhere left to run. Oswald rested his left arm on the wall next to her face, and inserted his leg between hers, effectively cutting off all escape.

“Ah…”

His pretty blue eyes reflected the dull sunset, creating an enchanting color. The man gazed into the girl’s captivated eyes and he whispered in the sweetest, most tantalizing voice next to her ear.

“Moan as sensually as you can.”

Twilight enhanced the shadows. Nichika’s eyes bulged so wide they could’ve fallen out. Oswald chuckled and stroked her supple cheek. She quivered under his touch. His hand trailed a path down her smooth skin to her neck and cupped the back of her head. Her cheeks stained scarlet and her tightly shut eyelids fluttered from that simple touch.

“Hiyaah…”

Dropping a light kiss on the nape of her neck drew out a stifled moan. He captured the hand she tried to cover her mouth with and pinned it against the wall.

“You don’t have to hold it in,” he assured in a sultry voice.

But Nichika swung her head back and forth, fully conveying her hesitance. Seeing her reaction made him think.

His apprentice seemed to be embarrassed or ashamed of sexual pleasure. He wasn’t sure if that was due to her character or the teachings of this Japan she said she came from. The number of times he had touched her since they met exceeded what could be counted on both hands, and yet she resisted him every time.

Even though you’re totally into it, too.

Sure, she resisted at first, but as he went on she always melted in his arms. For a sadist like Oswald, he couldn’t deny cajoling her out of this stubbornness brought him a unique kind of pleasure. Of course, if she really rejected him or made it clear she didn’t want him to, he let her go. It’s just that she never did completely push him away.

After keeping her in suspense with his feathery kisses along her neck, he brought his face close enough their foreheads almost touched.

“By the way, what were you trying to ask me before?” he enticed.

Her eyes snapped open, but she dropped her heated gaze to the dirt floor, careful not to look him in the eye. He gently pulled her head closer and let his husky, low voice tickle the side of her ear.

“What I said means exactly what it sounds like. You don’t have to go back to your world. Stay with me forever.”

“!”

Aiming for that momentary drop in her resistance, he buried his face in her neck. The girl’s distinct rosy scent tickled his nose, and he tamped down the impulse to devour her right here and now. Not yet. It wasn’t enough for her.

Softly running his hand over her abdomen, he promised, “I’ll do something about the seed rooted in your stomach. Stay with me, smiling without a care in the world.”

“Without a care in the world? That’s not very nice…”

He wrapped both arms around her, preventing her from sliding down the wall as she melted with his touch.

“W-We can’t,” she breathed. “Now’s not the time for this…”

Contrary to her weak protests, she twined her fingers about his neck and pressed herself against the hard wall of his chest. He deeply indulged in her sweet, cherry blossom colored lips, focusing on all the sensitive spots. He slanted his mouth over hers again and again, and she moaned.

Making out with her brought him inexplicable pleasure he associated with dirtying a freshly cleaned shirt right out of the laundry. The girl in his arms was too pure. She shone so bright she lit up the world around him. Dirtying her until she fell to his level was the only way someone as filthy as Oswald could touch her. Between their kisses exploring each other’s mouths from different angles, the lack of oxygen in Oswald’s brain made him absently think, Drown in your pleasure and fall to my level…

Shallow. Deep. Long. Short. Through their various kisses, Nichika got the hang of it and returned his kisses in kind. All reason melted away with her pleasure, and her enraptured moans echoed off the cold jail walls. The silver thread connecting them snapped.

“R-Really?” she panted.

“Hm?”

Nichika lifted her head just as he was putting his hand under her jacket. Oswald stopped and asked what she was seeking confirmation of with his stunning blue eyes.

Out of breath and quivering from her exertions, she clarified in a raspy voice, “You need me, not the Spirit Priestess?”

Her heart-stopping eyes begged him to need her, and her expression was the most arousing thing he had ever seen. Cheeks awash in heat with her desire for him, the thin, translucent tendril slipping from the corner of her lips came down her chin, onto her soft, white chest.

“Oswald…”

The man who had succeeded in maintaining self-control all along was floored by the sudden rush of desire pulsating through him. He wanted her. Oh, how he wished to go through with this moment. But the logical half of him yelled to keep the desire at bay. Going through with what they both wanted in this moment wasn’t what he set out to do. Oswald bit down on his cheek, shoved his hand in his pocket, and pulled out an item shaped like a bird.

“Of course you. I want you.”

With that final word, he killed the switch. He gently pushed away the wide-eyed girl and was relieved to be away from the sweet, tantalizing scent of her.

Suddenly freed of his touch, she questioned him with all the confusion she felt. “What the heck is that?’

Oswald looked over his shoulder with a wicked smirk, instantly transforming from a man indulging in lust to a shrewd witch.

 

***

“NIGHT dutyyy ain’t eassyyy, either! Dammit! Hiccup!”

Under the moonlight, the silhouette of a tottering man swayed. A resident of Brownie Village, he shouldered the baton handed to him in front of the guardhouse—aka the storage shed used as a makeshift guardhouse—and took a swig of the flask he secretly brought from home.

“Ain’t fair! Where does she get off bein’ all bossy? Who do she t’ink bringsss ’ome the bread! Baaaaaah!” The man watched the last drop hit his tongue and kicked the sand.

Today just wasn’t his day. He had come home from a good night out drinking with his pals only to be nagged by his angry wife into grudgingly doing chores—granted, her anger was entirely his fault—and when he came back exhausted from tending to their klehna fields with a killer hangover, she was all over him again. Then when he decided to just sleep off the day, he remembered he was on watchmen’s night duty today. Grumbling curses under his breath, he slogged his way through his rounds with zero motivation.

“Stinkin’ night duty. I missed out on sweet Nichika’s concert, too!”

The word in town was that the holy maiden who had come to stay with them since the other day was actually on a journey to save the world! Only yesterday the guard had decided to go see one of the concerts she was putting on to raise funds for her perilous venture. He had gotten so drunk he’d forgotten all about it.

“Won’t ya save me toooooooo, Holy Maideeeeen?”

His drunken babbling faded into the night sky. He then spotted the lone building at the foot of the hill. The stone prison set on the outskirts of the peaceful village was rarely used, but the torchlights indicated they had someone locked up for once. Remembering that the prison was a part of his patrol route, the man staggered downhill.

“RAWR!” he roared for the heck of it. “You prisoners behavin’ yerselves?!” He approached the stone building swinging the baton. And then he heard it—a stifled moan. “Ooh?”

The moaning came from a young woman whose seductive sighs could be heard intermittently outside the prison. He was about to pull out the bolt when he heard extra heavy breathing and even louder moans of “Aah! Aaaahnn! Not there!”

The man gulped, his hand freezing on the bolt. Oh yeah, they said something ’bout having locked up a young man and woman traveling together… Smiling to himself, the man circled around to the back of the prison.

“Heh, heh, heh. Ain’t it nice to be young.”

He tried to peep inside, but a rag had been hung over the window inside, blocking his view. But the cries and panting were growing more frenetic, turning him on.

Here I thought I’d be stuck on a boring ol’ patrol duty, but this is pretty stimulating. The ol’ lady back ’ome has been ’olding out on me, too.

The man crouched in the bushes with his back to the window and began noisily removing his belt.

***

“LOOK at that. He’s started comforting himself. Stalling the guard was a complete success.”

“Yuuuuuck! I see nothing! I hear nothing! You can’t make meeee!”

Oswald was observing the drunk’s shameful act from the grove across the small river. Splotches of red suffused Nichika’s cheeks as she kept her back turned, her hands clamped over her ears, and shook her head with a vengeance. She nearly fainted just imagining that her moans were being used as material for some creep’s enjoyment.

Still watching the man, Oswald explained the witch’s item he used with a straight face. “The Echo Bird is a simple item that parrots what it hears. It’s the perfect tool for such an occasion as this.”

“Please don’t explain it. Let’s just go already!”

Nichika exploded to her feet and marched into the grove. She hit the bank on the other side in no time. She stomped her way up the incline shouting her outrage into the wind.

“What a jerk!”

Nichika was overwhelmed by the humiliation of being deceived by him yet again. Their entire makeout session had been a complete act. His sweet words, loving touch, and even his husky voice—all of it was fake!

“Stay with me forever.”

“…GAH!”

Willpower forced back the tears stinging her eyes as she looked back down the slope she stormed up. She yelled at the black shadow keeping a safe distance behind her.

“Why didn’t you explain your plan to me beforehand?! Demon! Devil! Brute! Pig!”

“Don’t you know the saying, ‘deceive your friends before deceiving your enemy’? Besides, what advantage is there in explaining it to you first? We can’t expect much out of you in the acting department.”

“How rude! I can do it if I—”

“Do it, then.”

She didn’t expect him to actually ask her to do it. After making a face like she was trying to solve the hardest math problem in the world, she exhaled a single sound.

“A-Ahaan.”

“PFT!” Oswald buckled over laughing, his entire body shook.

Offended, Nichika clenched her fists at her sides. “Hey! You’re the one who told me to do it!”

“PFFTT! Kukuku! Stop…I’ll die of laughter…” he got out between laughs.

“—!!”

Nichika stomped several steps over to him and punched him in the back. But her poorly done sound effect had him roaring with unstoppable laughter, he didn’t even care.

“I hate you!”

Oswald turned his eyes full of tears from laughing too hard on the girl’s angry back as she marched ahead of him. She really was a delight to tease. One poke and she sang back with retorts. He wondered when it was he last laughed this hard and his face soured when he realized he had never buckled over laughing before.

“……”

Though he was out to deceive her into getting into the mood, were the sweet words he whispered in her ear truly just an act? What about the desire that surged through him for her? Or the loving affection he felt when she clung to him?

…It can’t be real…right?

For better or worse, Oswald stopped thinking about it. He convinced himself that he got too into his role. He hurried after Nichika and suddenly had the unexplainable urge to pat her on the back of the head when she sullenly refused to look at him.

“Whoa?!” she cried out in surprise.

He didn’t hold back from roughly messing up her hair as if he were petting a big dog. “Don’t be mad,” he said in the same tone he would if he were addressing a child who was pouting in the corner after being scolded. “It’s partially your fault things turned out that way.”

“I know that. I’ll be careful next time…so—quit it, would you?!”

Oswald instinctively captured her hand when she tried to bat him away. When he stopped and closely studied her face, she groaned and turned red to the tips of her ears, their makeout session fresh in her mind. A part of Oswald found her reaction adorable—against his wishes.

“You’re just a toy.”

“Excuse me?”

That’s why he made himself clear. He needed her and the world to know that he would never become serious about this little girl. He needed to tell himself that.

“You’re my toy. A pet. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Now that’s one thing I’ll never do! And then you’re going to say you’re just keeping to your end of our bargain.” Nichika peeled his hand off her wrist and glowered at him.

That reminded Oswald of the day they gambled on whether or not they would form a master-apprentice relationship.

“One of these cards is the ace of spades. The other is a joker. I’ll bring you with me if you draw the ace.”

Truth be told, this shrewd man never intended for it to be a fair gamble. Taking advantage of the fact she couldn’t see the cards, he held up two jokers. He wanted to punch his past self in the face. He had nearly let go of the most interesting toy he had ever come across.

Lips curving into a smile, he asked, “Hey, Nichika, does the world move how you want it to?”

“What?”

Otherwise there was no other explanation for why the joker had transformed into an ace. Did she have the gods’—specifically, Ini’s—divine protection or something?

The girl gave it some thought before quietly replying, “…I don’t quite understand the intent behind the question, but things are going smoothly for me on the most part except for one thing.”

“One thing isn’t going your way? What’s that?”

Cheeks staining red, she shot him a killer glare and huffed, “Not saying! You’re the only person I’ll never, EVER tell!”

“Huh?”

“End of conversation! Less talking, more walking!”

Why am I the only person she won’t tell? A little annoyed, Oswald hurried after her and tenaciously pestered her about it.

“Oi, wait! How could you hide something from just your master? It’s something you will tell others, but not me?”

“You’re annoying. Don’t act like my master only when it’s convenient to you.”

“Why are you acting so funny today?”

“You’re the one acting funnier than me!”

Luck was about the only explanation for why none of the villagers noticed the odd couple loudly bickering in the fields.

 

***

“THE imposter is staying here, right?”

They returned to the stage where they had been arrested that afternoon and stared up at the large mansion behind it. Their appearance, hard expressions and all, were covered with smoke that constantly changed color. As usual, it was the effect of Oswald’s Elusive Ball.

Confirming no one was around, Oswald placed his hand on her shoulder and urged her ahead. “Let’s go.”