"Ugh... I still feel all wobbly..."
The next day at noon. I was staggering along the cobblestone path toward the market. My body still hadn't regained its strength deep inside, and my legs felt as heavy as lead.
"Sorry..."
Eclair, walking beside me, apologized in a small voice. Her lilac cat ears were drooping listlessly too. After I passed out, apparently Eclair had tried to keep squeezing me dry, but Milfy stopped her, and somehow I managed to keep my life.
(I really thought I was gonna die...)
In terms of sheer number of times, it had been more with Milfy the first time. But I'd never been assaulted like that without a break all at once. No wonder I blacked out.
"Really, sorry... I was totally out of my mind..."
Eclair walked feebly, her cat tail hanging down dejectedly. Her usual bold demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
For some reason, I started feeling sorry for her. "Um... don't feel so down about it. I'm not holding it against you."
"Eh..."
"You're the one who must be suffering more. To do something like that against your own will... But it was because of the curse, so it's not your fault."
"Ah..."
Eclair looked up at me in surprise, then quickly averted her gaze. I thought her cheeks flushed a little.
"Ah... thanks, Ero Monkey..."
"If you're gonna thank me, could you stop calling me Ero Monkey?"
I ended up feeling kinda awkward... Soon, we arrived at the market entrance.
Our goal was, of course, shopping. Last time, I hadn't been able to get close because I was afraid of the male scents triggering her heat, but this time it was a rematch.
"I could just go shopping for you instead."
"It doesn't work that way. I can't keep relying on people forever."
At first, Eclair insisted on going alone and wouldn't listen, but that was obviously too dangerous. I somehow convinced her to let me accompany her.
Milfy had offered to come along instead out of worry for my condition, but at the worst possible timing, a massive pack of Cerberuses appeared from the forest near the town, and she got summoned by the guild.
"Sorry! I'll wrap it up quick and come back!" she said as she left, but... would it really be that easy to deal with...?
"Ugh..."
Eclair winced a little at the scent of people wafting from the market. "You okay?"
"Yeah... it's not as bad as before."
Maybe thanks to yesterday's effects, she seemed less prone to going into heat. "If it gets too tough, just say so. I'll go instead."
"Y-yeah... thanks."
Just as we were about to step into the market, a voice called from behind. "Hey, ain't that her?"
"Blue-black hair, cat beastkin... No mistake."
When I turned around, two men were standing there. One was a slim guy with glasses. The other was a burly dude grinning sleazily.
The slim man stepped forward and spoke in a theatrical tone. "Pardon me. You're Eclair, right?"
Eclair perked up her ears and openly showed her wariness. "...What do you guys want?"
The big guy next to him let out a vulgar laugh. "Hyoe~! This chick's super cute, ain't she? We hit the jackpot, huh!"
He laughed loudly and crudely, nudging the slim guy with his elbow. ...What the hell are these guys?
The slim man cleared his throat lightly and bowed exaggeratedly politely. "Forgive my late introduction. I'm Johan. I work as a lowly servant at the church. You might not remember, but the other day when you visited the church, I had the honor of meeting you."
The church... that must be when she went to consult about lifting the curse.
"Really? Eclair."
"I don't remember much, but... yeah, I think you were the one who brought tea when I went with Big Sis Mil."
"Oh, I'm honored that you remembered!"
The guy named Johan spread his arms dramatically in delight. "When I heard you were afflicted with that certain curse, I took the liberty of wanting to help with the dispelling. That's why I've been searching for you."
"Help with dispelling? You?"
"Yes. Well, more precisely, my friend here—Georg."
Johan gestured to the man beside him. The called Georg twisted his lips into a smirk. "I got the dispel skill too, y'know. You in trouble, little missy? I'll help ya out, heh heh."
His vulgar laugh was straight out of some thug. Johan was smiling affably too, but his eyes weren't laughing at all.
...This feels bad. These two. "Thanks, but I'm the one handling her curse dispelling. We don't need any help."
I stepped in front of Eclair and declared it. Then Johan pushed up his glasses with a finger and let out a small chuckle.
"I see. You want all the good times to yourself—something like that?"
"...What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean? Heh heh, is it okay to say it right here?"
A chill ran down my spine. I hadn't told anyone about the dispelling method. And yet— "We know about you, Theo. You've been hanging around at Fox-ear Milfy's place a lot, right?"
「...!」
"She was under the arousal curse too and hadn't shown up at the guild for a while. But once you started coming and going from her house, she got right back to it."
"And now, Eclair here, with the same curse, is acting together with you. What could this mean, I wonder?"
"If it was just normal dispelling, y'don't need to stay over, right? Kukuku... what're you two doin' alone in the house?"
"Guh...!"
Looks like they didn't hear it directly but were tailing us. (What a sleazy thing to do—)
But annoyingly, they'd hit the nail on the head. "If it's that kinda dispelling, I could satisfy her way better than a twiggy kid like you. Heh heh."
Georg laughed lecherously as he reached out and roughly grabbed Eclair's slender wrist.
"Don't mess around! Let go!"
"Whoa, don't struggle like that."
Even as she resisted desperately, the man's arm didn't budge an inch. My head boiled with rage. What cooperation? What dispelling?
From the start—they're after her body, aren't they? "Let go! Don't touch her!"
I lunged and grabbed the man's arm, trying to pull him off with all my strength. But in that instant— "Stay outta this, you little shit!"
A roar came with a flying fist. A heavy impact hit my cheek, and my vision tilted. "Guh...!"
I was slammed to the ground, the cold cobblestones pressing into my back. "Theo!"
Eclair cried out. But the next moment, she was grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air. "Kuhah...!"
"E-Eclair!"
"I don't want to get rough. So, could you please behave and do as we say?"
Johan's voice was calm, like he was advising someone. That's why it felt so chillingly cold.
"Y-You...! This is already rough!"
Eclair tried to fight back, digging in her claws. But then her body shuddered violently. "Uh...!?"
Her arm went limp, her toes dangling unsteadily. Ragged breaths escaped her, and her cheeks flushed red in an instant.
"Oho, what's this? She's suddenly makin' that slutty face!"
"It's the heat. Our scents must have triggered it."
Johan muttered flatly, like he was observing an experiment. "Kukuku... yeah, yeah. Her body's pickin' up on the strong male scent."
"Wh-Who would...! To the likes of you...!"
Panting heavily, Eclair desperately forced out the words. But her eyes lost their strength, and her legs and arms wouldn't move as she wanted.
Her body was dominated by the heat, writhing in agony. (At this rate...!)
I gritted my teeth. My mind went blank. What should I do? How can I—save her?