“Zelos?! I do not need you turning to the dark side too right now!”
“Now, Ado... Surely I’m off base here, but just in case...” Zelos said. “You didn’t do it intentionally, did you? It wasn’t some elaborate plan to feign innocence, pretend you hadn’t seen the signs, walk into the bathing area, and use the ‘confusion’ to ogle the women’s bodies?”
“Hell no! I just wanted to get away from that pessimistic king and all his depressing problems! To relax in an outdoor bath and get my mind off things! You get that, right?!”
“So, what—it was just a coincidence that you happened to go in at the same time as Lisa and Shakti? Hmm? You lucky basta— Ahem. I mean, you must have considered yourself lucky, eh, mister rom-com protagonist?”
Lisa’s testimony had hit Zelos’s heart like a blast of nitroglycerin.
And it seemed to have done a number on Yui too. She was hanging her head, gazing at the floor, and laughing eerily.
“Why are you so damn jealous?!” Ado shouted.
“You see, Ado, just before I discovered that hot spring, I’d been kidnapped and forced to work at a construction site. I’d spent far too many days stuck swinging a pickaxe and digging a tunnel with a bunch of gruff, sweaty men. I actually struck that hot spring the very same day we finished the tunnel. And now I hear you, on the other hand, got some fan service scene in that very same spot?! Are you trying to make me mad? Because it’s working. I can feel the flames of wrath inside me. Heh heh heh...”
“Whatever you went through isn’t my fault, okay?!”
“Besides—even after what happened, they still forgave you at the end of the day, didn’t they? Usually, they’d look at you with disdain after that! But no! Don’t tell me—are you like him? Are you also planning to build a harem in this world?”
“A harem?! That’d get me a knife in my back! It’s the last thing I want! I’d be dead a dozen times over before I even hit the ground!”
“Admit it, though. Part of you did feel like you got pretty lucky there, didn’t you?”
“W-Well, I guess I— Oh. Oh, crap!”
Ado was a man too, and a little part of him, deep inside, had been happy to see Lisa and Shakti naked.
But honesty was not what he needed right now, and his hesitation had spelled his doom.
FWOOOOOOOOOMPH!!!
Yikes... Okay, now she’s super mad, the party thought.
They could practically see the wrathful she-demon forming in the air behind Yui. She looked so furious that it seemed like she could end the whole world at any moment.
“Toshi? All this time, I’ve been here worrying about you... But it’s starting to sound like you were out there having all sorts of fun without me, doesn’t it?”
“N-No way! Not at all! I’ve actually had it pretty tough, y’know?!”
“Say, Toshi, what would you have done if I’d never shown up in this world?”
“Honestly... I dunno. It’s impossible to predict how things would’ve turned out, right? I mean, it’s just a hypothetical, so...”
“Toshi? That was where you say, ‘I would’ve spent my whole life single.’ You could’ve lied about it, but you didn’t, which means... Okay. I get it. I’m not even that important to you, am I?”
Someone as possessive as Yui couldn’t possibly overlook the fact that Ado had perved on other women, even by accident.
Ado merely thinking about other women, even if only for a moment, was enough to give her strong suspicions that he was about to cheat on her.
She was a real yandere.
In those moments, all other thoughts left her mind, and her base impulses took the wheel.
“I’m sorry, little one. Mommy might not be able to give birth to you after all...”
“W-Wait! Yui! Calm down!”
“If someone else intends to take you from me, Toshi, then...then I have to kill you first, and then myself...”
“Ah! Young lass! Do I have just the thing for you!” Zelos interjected, sounding more like a snake oil salesman with every syllable. “Take a look at this—my patented Murder Dagger. Beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Oh? Ooh. That looks perfect.”
“Buy now, and I’ll even throw in this grindstone for free. Get it while supplies last!”
“But it can’t be cheap, right? I don’t think I can afford it...”
“You drive a hard bargain. You’re practically robbing me blind, lass! Right! Today only—I’ll give you a free trial! Give her a test-drive and let me know how she handles. Go, before I change my mind! Just take it, you thief!”
“H-Hey— Zelos?!” Ado sputtered. “What the fuck are you giving her?!”
Having fallen victim to his darker instincts, Zelos had just peddled a knife with an ominous name to Yui like some infomercial host.
“It’ll all be fine, Toshi,” Yui muttered. “We’ll be together in heaven. Two happy parents and their child...”
“How could I be happy? I’d be dead!”
“I’ll... I’ll see you in the afterlife. Look for me, okay?”
“Wait! Don’t do something you’ll regret! Calm do— WAAARGH!”
Ado bolted out the door, his terrified shriek echoing through the village of Hasam.
Despite her advanced pregnancy, Yui chased after him with the speed of one of Swords & Sorceries’ top players, and proceeded to demonstrate her “love” for him until she was satisfied.
Her romantic hunt continued until her mind was exhausted.
Mercifully, her berserk mode—fueled by sheer jealousy and possessiveness—couldn’t last forever, and Ado managed to get through it alive.
Uru, the mayor’s grandson, didn’t react while watching the scene play out. He just sat there quietly, sipping at his tea.
He only said a single word, as he softly set his teacup down: “Why?”
There was a dangerous glint in the young man’s eyes, but the others were all too distracted to notice.