The door opened softly, and Chela stepped out. All eyes converged on her.
“Well, Chela? How is she?” Oliver asked.
“Oliver, Nanao, join me a moment?”
She beckoned them toward the door to the other bedroom. This was the men’s side, used for sleeping and changing. Oliver and Nanao exchanged a glance, then went in ahead of her.
Chela shot Pete a meaningful look; catching her drift, he returned a slight nod. With that, Chela closed the door behind her, took a breath, and faced her friends.
“First, Katie’s condition. She was emotionally unstable to begin with, then overindulged in focus potions—she’s temporarily in a state of nervous excitement. That itself is no real concern. Her body will naturally restore itself if we wait—but she won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
The results of her examination left Oliver looking grim. Mages were accustomed to using focus potions when cramming, but he’d been aware of Katie’s condition—he should have stopped her from consuming that many. Sensing his regrets, Chela kept calm.
“With lingering fatigue, her recovery will be slow, and if she uses more potions to compensate for that, it could compound the issue. For that reason, I’d like to free her from the state and let her rest. Are we in agreement there?”
“Mm, naturally,” said Nanao.
“Oh yeah, of course, but…”
Oliver was slightly more hesitant than Nanao. He could tell this was leading up to something—which meant it was a proposition that would be difficult to accept without the preamble. Keeping a close eye on Oliver’s reactions, Chela proceeded with caution.
“That would be your healing, Oliver. There’s no better means of easing her excited nerves without burdening her physically. But I’m concerned that ordinary approaches would have little effect on a condition this extreme. I’d recommend a stronger tactic.”
Her loaded phrasing made a chill run down his spine. He hoped he was reading too much into it. He desperately hoped she did not mean what he thought she did.
Praying internally that he had leaped to a foolish conclusion, he had to ask, “…And…what do you mean by that, Chela?”
“Ideally, you will bring her to climax. If you’ll allow me to be blunt.”
Exactly the answer he’d feared, and it hit him like a brick. Nanao blinked, not immediately catching on. Reeling, Oliver took several steps sideways.
“…You want me…to get her off?”
“That is why I called Nanao in as well. Even I realize this will require you both to agree. What do you say, Nanao? Let me know your honest thoughts on Oliver handling Katie that way.”
By this point, Nanao had worked out what Chela was proposing. A privilege only she had enjoyed—would she allow Katie to join in on it? She got exactly why this question came to her. Oliver was staring at her profile, hoping she would protest—but she hesitated a long moment, then smiled.
“By all means. How could I object? If this is what Katie requires…”
“!”
Oliver’s heart leaped to his throat. He was well aware one path to escape had been cut off.
“Understood,” Chela said, nodding. She turned to face him. “We have Nanao’s permission. The choice is yours, Oliver.”
He could not run from this question. His extremities went numb, and his throat was instantly parched, like he was breathing hot air. His mind was sluggish, but he forced it to form words.
“…Listen, Chela,” he faltered. “Guy…left Katie in my hands…”
“I am aware. That is why maintaining her condition falls to you. Am I out of line?”
“…You are not, in principle. Just—there are means we should avail ourselves of and means we should not. So that I may hold my head high and return her to Guy when he comes back. And you’re acting in full knowledge of that, right?”
His voice broke, unable to bottle up his emotions. Anger on his face, lashing back to a degree far beyond mere reluctance. Chela met this head-on, unwavering.
“Naturally. And in light of that, I believe this is a means we should take. And an act that is permitted within our ranks,” she said. “Take a step back from that. Why do you think Guy has been dutifully taking care of Katie all this time? Because he’s her friend and he loves her? That’s a given. But, Oliver, it was also meant to reduce the burden on you. So that Katie did not ask too much of you, to keep her from becoming unbalanced—he’s taken on that role this whole time, asking for no help from anyone.”
That was a gut punch. He knew all too well he could not refute it. Guy maintained his easygoing act but was always trying to help Oliver out, shouldering anything he possibly could. And inarguably, the biggest baggage he’d picked up was Katie. This should have fallen to Oliver. He’d admired the way she chose to come to Kimberly with views that were a minority here—and he’d been the first to push her along that path. But with large chunks of his attention diverted to Nanao and Pete, he lacked the capacity to properly look after her from close at hand. Guy had taken care of her for him all this time. No one had asked him to; he’d simply decided that was his role.
“If I could shoulder that burden, I would have long ago,” Chela added. “This is not because Katie and I are the same gender—rather, I am simply not you or Guy. Even within the Sword Roses, only the two of you have forged a relationship where this treatment would be possible. And with one option gone, only you can fill in. I trust you see the logic in this.”
Mercilessly making sense, she was pinning him down. And he knew this had been a chess gambit designed to corner him. She’d come in with a path to checkmate—and unless she made a false move, the outcome would not change. Naturally, she was laying the foundation to that end.
“And I’ll add this is not just tonight. Katie will remain unstable until Guy returns, and it’s highly possible she’ll need similar handling. Debating the merits of it each time would be fruitless—let us chart our course here, tonight. If we do this now, we will continue to do so. If we reject the idea, then we will not entertain it again. Which decision will you make, Oliver?”
That question was checkmate. She’d said everything she had to say and made the final choice his—objectively a fair approach. But Chela herself knew the reality was quite the opposite. Oliver could not say no here. He was not the kind of man who could let a friend suffer simply because he did not want to.
This lay deeper inside him than his own self-loathing, the nature that drove Oliver Horn. Chela did not know the specifics of what lay beneath that, but she knew what type of man her friend was. So she’d brought up his obligations to Guy, filled in the moat around Castle Oliver. She did not need to collapse the keep itself. He’d never had a resistance marshaled there.
With all arguments taken from him, Oliver stood in silence. Nanao put her arms around his shoulders.
“Oliver, let me join you,” she whispered.
“…Nana…o…?”
“I shall accompany you both. ’Tis an extension of what we’ve done so many times. My arms around Katie from behind as you hug us both. Thus, Katie will stop herself from asking anything of you.”
He gaped at her. Naturally, Nanao knew exactly what was going through his mind. But she was equally aware of how much Katie was suffering. Her friend’s desire had long been thwarted—and Nanao had grown enough in her time here to realize that it was she who had robbed Katie of that opportunity.
She did not believe that was justified. A furor yet simmered deep within Nanao’s heart. No matter how often their trysts, no matter how much she succumbed to them—to this day, a portion of her wanted nothing more than to lay her life against the one she loved. She was only too conscious of her inhumanity. Thus, she entertained no hopes. And deemed herself unfit to deny a friend her burning need.
It was downright ironic. If either one of them had been in their right mind, they’d have dismissed the proposition out of hand. But right here and now, in a merciless twist of fate, two warped souls each accepted Chela’s suggestion. Thus, it was checkmate. The ploy dreamed up by Chela—the witch named Michela McFarlane—proved a success.
“I think that’s a grand idea,” Chela said. “With Nanao nearby, expressing approval, Katie’s reluctance to accept treatment will fade away. If you’re in, we should handle this quickly. The longer we stand here, the less time Katie has to sleep.”
The victorious witch urged action, using logic as a shield. Already out of words to fight her, with Nanao’s eyes boring into him, Oliver listlessly nodded. Together, they set out. But as they left the room, he directed one last barb back at his friend.
“…Is this really the right choice, Chela?”
“Undoubtedly. I swear it upon my name.”
Her smile was free of any shadows. Much like Miligan’s when they first met.
The face of a true mage, Oliver thought as he shriveled up inside.