“Mr. Siegfried, do you...

not know either?”

“No, he hasn't attended training for the past few days.” Emily’s expression grew even darker after hearing about Siegfried.

It has been five days since Ken Feinstein was absent from the Academy.

Without any warning, he disappeared without a trace.

“M-Maybe something happened to him?

Like, if there was some kind of problem.”

“…Hmm.” Siegfried pondered deeply at Emily’s words.

“If it’s Ken, I believe he can handle most problems by himself.

He’s probably dealing with something right now.”

“But…” Despite Siegfried’s reassuring tone, Emily couldn’t help but worry.

What came to mind was the week-long loop Emily had experienced, an experience that was hard to believe for anyone, she worried if Ken might be caught up in something similar.

“If you're that anxious, I will help look for any information as well.”

“…Please do.” Without gaining much insight, Emily moved on.

She also asked Adrian and Alicia, but neither of them knew anything.

Mary was running around the place trying to find his whereabouts, but there was no new information.

He really had disappeared so suddenly.

‘Where are you?’ Emily’s heart tightened with anxiety.

‘Please, please just be safe.’ The thought of possibly seeing him in a dire state was too much for her to bear.

Fuelled by that anxiety, Emily went back to asking around the Academy and city.

When I came to, I found myself sitting in a chair.

I couldn't remember when I had fallen asleep, and opening my eyes left me disoriented.

The place was familiar.

It was the room at the top of the Tower where I had spent so much time with Raphne.

Only the moonlight streaming through the window lit the room; all other lights were off.

'How long was I asleep?' As I pondered this question and tried to get up from the chair, I realized I couldn't.

My arms were bound behind the chair.

The chains clinked softly, but they were padded inside with cloth, so it didn't hurt.

It was a gentle form of restraint.

"...Ra, Raphne?" I immediately realized who was behind all of this.

And as I called out, she emerged from the shadows into the moonlight.

"Ken...

you're awake?"

"Raphne!

What on earth is this!"

"But Ken, you did something wrong..." Her face wasn’t smiling tenderly as usual, nor was she crying in panic.

It was an icy, expressionless look.

Her eyes, devoid of light and filled with emptiness, seemed to suck me in.

"Ken is a liar..." Then she slowly approached me.

"You promised you wouldn't abandon me..."

"L-Liar?

What are you talking about!?

I would never abandon you!

That was true before, and it's true now!”

“Lies." Her cold word overshadowed my desperate attempts to explain.

Then Raphne walked over to me.

"Lies, it's all lies." She climbed onto my lap, her soft hips resting on my thighs.

"Raphne..." Her smooth legs, visible through the white fabric, wrapped around my waist.

She pressed closer to me, her legs brushing against my thighs, and laid her arms around my shoulders, bringing her face close to mine.

Her intense scent and the warmth of her body were overwhelming.

I couldn't look her in the eyes.

"I told you.

I can't live without you anymore." Raphne's expression, which was previously stone cold, now twisted into sadness as she spoke.

She didn't cry, but her face showed the betrayal and despair she felt, and her gaze pierced my heart.

"No, no, Raphne.

I'll never abandon you.

But you need to learn to rely less on me, otherwise..." My words were cut off by her touch.

Raphne's hand grasped my chin, her thumb brushing against my lips.

"Ken, I've been thinking."

Raphne suddenly smiled sweetly.

Her eyes were still hollow and dark, but her cheeks flushed red.

Unlike her usual demeanour, she wore a strangely seductive smile.

"If I lose Ken, I will die...

And if I die, Ken, you'll be sad too, right?"

"Don't say such obvious things.

And don't talk about dying."

"You're so kind, Ken.

It makes me happy." Raphne tightened her arms around my shoulders, bringing her face even closer.

Our faces came so close that it felt like our lips might touch at any moment.

But she stopped just a hair's breadth away, with only the slightest distance between us.

"So, to make sure I don't die and to keep you from being sad, we must stay together from now on."

"...What, what do you mean by that?"

"Uhuhuh." Her soft, melodious laugh sent shivers down my spine.

Then she pulled away, leaning back while still holding onto my shoulders, allowing her body to fall back slightly.

This revealed Raphne’s upper body before my eyes, glowing enchantingly under the moonlight, captivating my gaze.

"This pendant...

Receiving it felt like a gift from a lover.

It made me really happy." She touched the pendant with one hand.

"But for Ken and me to be together, such unnecessary things aren't needed."

With that, she took off the pendant from around her neck.

"R-Raphne..."

"Now, no one can bother us, right?" Removing the pendant meant Raphne's curse was reactivated.

Which means, no one can enter this tower anymore.

She was serious.

She truly intended to keep me here, by her side.

"Raphne, think it over!

This isn't good for either of us!"

"I'm sorry, Ken.

But once you get used to it here, it won't feel so stifling."

"..."

"I'll do anything Ken wants." Raphne's hand gently stroked my cheek.

Then she lifted my chin and brushed my lips with her thumb.

Feeling her soft hand and the touch that caressed me made my heartbeat faster.

Raphne's breathing also seemed somehow more laboured.

"You know, I actually knew."

"Knew what...?"

"Sometimes, you looked at my chest with those naughty eyes, didn't you?"

"Th-that was...!" Even now, my eyes involuntarily wandered to Raphne's exposed skin.

I wanted to deny it, but I couldn't.

After all, I'm a man too.

Being with someone as attractive as Raphne makes it instinctual to look sometimes.

So, I had no choice but to avert my eyes.

"It's okay, I'm not blaming you.

In fact, I like it."

"...What?"

"From now on, I'll do anything Ken wants because I like it too.

So, it's okay."

With that, Raphne wrapped her arms around my shoulders again and leaned her body closer.

Raphne pressed her body closer to mine, burying my face in her chest.

"Mmmpf..." My face was nestled just below her chin.

Through her skin, I felt Raphne's soft, tender flesh and her warm body heat.

If I concentrated, I could hear her heartbeat and smell her sweet scent.

It was a dangerously intoxicating aroma that aroused my male instincts.

My mind was consumed by a single thought, and my body grew hot.

"You've always wanted this, haven't you?

Me too...

I've always wanted this." Raphne gently caressed my head as it nestled against her chest.

"Hehe, you’re like a baby, Ken."

'No, if this keeps going...' Barely maintaining my sanity, I resisted the strong temptation and pulled myself away from her embrace.

"...Ah."

"This isn't right, Raphne!

A girl shouldn't seduce so recklessly!

It's not proper!"

"...Why not?"

"Because things like this should be with someone you love!"

"I love you, Ken." Her tear-filled eyes gazed at me.

She appeared sincere, her flushed cheeks and anxious expression did not seem to lie.

"Really, I truly love you, Ken." Then Raphne's face came closer again.

"I’ve always seen you as a man."

She desires someone like me?

I had never imagined it.

But the trembling in Raphne's eyes strongly appealed to her sincerity.

Her warm body heat and her face inching closer made it clear.

"Ken, do you...

not like me?"

"T-that's not..." As her face drew closer, it was so near that it could almost touch mine again.

"Do you...

like me?" And with that question...

"Mm..." Raphne's lips overlapped mine.

"R...

Raphne." Slowly, Raphne began to move her lips, savouring mine.

Each movement brought the sensation of her moist lips and warm breath.

Through the naturally parted gap, our tongues met and intertwined.

"Mmm, ah...

Haa..." The sounds of our lips exploring each other filled the quiet room.

The lewd sounds made my heart pound as if it would explode.

Raphne's arms tightened around my shoulders, pulling our bodies even closer together.

Her desire and yearning were conveyed through her lips and hot breaths.

My mind was being consumed by the intertwining of our tongues.

As the excitement grew to the point of overwhelming my thoughts, she kissed me deeply.

"...Haa." Raphne's lips parted from mine.

A thin string of saliva glistened in the moonlight between her lips and mine.

Our breaths were heavier than usual, and her face was flushed with excitement.

"Ken...

was that your first kiss?"

"...Yes."

"It was my first kiss too.

Hehe, we shared it with each other." Then Raphne hugged me tightly.

"Look, Ken, you're excited too." Raphne pressed her lower belly against me, stimulating me.

She smiled happily at my bodily response, which I couldn’t control as a man.

"Ken, tell me...

do you like me?"

"..." If I answer.

If I say I like Raphne here.

What would happen then?

...There’s no need to think deeply about it.

Choosing that option here would lead straight to a bad ending.

That's why I kept my mouth shut.

"It's okay, even if you don't tell me. Someday, I'll hear Ken's true feelings."

Raphne whispered into my ear while stroking my head.

"So...

let's stay together, okay?" I couldn't say anything in response to Raphne's softly resonant voice.

I knew that no matter what I said now, she wouldn't listen.

Five days have passed since I’ve been restrained by Raphne.

During that time, Raphne seemed genuinely happy.

"Sleep well, Ken.

Hehe."

"...Yeah." When we slept, she always hugged me tightly, burying her face into my neck until she fell asleep.

Although her sleeping breath tickled my neck, I didn't dislike it.

'...There's no opportunity to escape.' Even while sleeping, the restraints were never fully removed.

Sometimes, she would free my hands to make me more comfortable, but she always kept my ankles chained.

More than anything, I couldn't attempt to escape recklessly.

Raphne's mental state was now far too unstable.

Even though I explained everything about the Survival Event and temporarily stepped away, on the final day, Raphne’s mental state deteriorated to the point where she escaped from the tower.

Even if I forced my way out of here, Raphne's feelings wouldn't be resolved.

That's why I couldn't choose to use Calorie Burn to escape.

To solve everything correctly, I needed to change Raphne's very way of thinking.

I needed to dispel her misunderstanding that I was trying to leave her.

I needed undeniable proof that I wouldn’t abandon her.

‘But there's no way to do that.’ No matter how much I explained, Raphne no longer listened.

Though she seemed happy when I said I wouldn't leave, she hadn't changed her mind about keeping me confined.

“Here, ahh~”

“Munch munch.” I ate the food Raphne offered me.

Honestly, except for the lack of freedom, I didn’t have many complaints.

She would release me fully when I had to use the bathroom or wash up, and she took care of everything else I needed.

Of course, I didn’t ask for anything inappropriate.

If I crossed that line, I might never escape from here.

My only problem was that Raphne clung to me more frequently since I was confined, making it difficult to resist.

But I'm a man with the Mental Enhancement skill.

I can resist this much temptation.

“Ken, ...I want to kiss you.”

Res-... I can resist it!

‘Is it here?’ A dilapidated tower standing alone in an unlikely place.

Siegfried looked up at the tower and thought.

It had been five days since Ken Feinstein's disappearance.

Despite thorough inquiries around the area, no one had seen him after their last encounter.

To be precise, the last person to see him was Siegfried himself.

So, he thought back to his last meeting with Ken.

‘Then!

Please tell Emily I went ahead!’ Ken's joyful smile as he ran off.

‘He definitely said he was going to give someone a gift.’ The direction he ran was the same as where he always went after training, where he went for breakfast every morning.

Therefore, Siegfried searched every place in that direction.

And he found this tower.

“This is a truly unpleasant feeling....” The throbbing pain in his head and his body's instinct crying out for him to leave immediately.

The chill running down his spine told him one thing, Ken was here.

Ignoring his body's signals to flee, Siegfried opened the tower door.

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