“Wh-What...happened...to me? Urgh...”
Feeling a sharp pain in the back of her head, like a drill boring into her skull, Iria asked the person in front of her what was going on. She had no idea where he’d gotten it from, but he was holding a rope in one hand, looking down on her with a vulgar expression. He didn’t answer her. She wanted to resist, but with her hands tied behind her back and her legs bound together as well, she was helpless. No, even if she hadn’t been tied up, she wouldn’t have been able to stand. Sora had somehow absorbed all of her stamina and vitality. She didn’t think that such a thing was possible just by touching his lips to hers, so she could only think he’d done something to her. When she thought about it, the earlier scene from before unconsciously replayed in the back of her mind, and she felt the urge to vomit rising up from the back of her throat.
Not even possessing the energy to suppress it, she threw up right there, again and again. She could still feel Sora’s saliva on her lips. She wanted to wipe it off right this instant. Wipe it off, rinse her mouth out, maybe even down some strong alcohol to forget the scene, forget the sensation, forget it all. That was her sincere wish.
Even as she was thinking it, however, Sora’s barbarism continued. He forced her to stand, pushed her against a nearby tree trunk, and tied her to the tree. He went around the tree with the rope more than five times so that she couldn’t possibly escape.
Eventually... “There, that ought to do it,” he said with a satisfied nod.
Iria was wrapped in so much rope that she looked like a bagworm. Now, even if she regained her stamina, she still couldn’t move a muscle. All she could do was glare at the man in front of her.
He chuckled. “After I ate that much of your soul, you still have the energy to glare at me like that? Impressive.”
“You ate...my soul? Then that strange power you have...that’s the cause?”
“Snooping around for information even in your current predicament, are we? Well, I wasn’t particularly trying to hide it from you anyway. You’re more or less correct. After the Falcon Blades left me for dead and I nearly became insect food, this is the power I gained.”
With a malicious smile, he drew his face closer to hers, causing her to recall what he’d done to her before. She instinctively tried to back away, but tied to the tree, she couldn’t budge and only hit the back of her head on the trunk.
“So there you have it, Iria. Like I said, when the orcs find you and capture you, you’d better work hard for them. Who knows? Maybe if you’re lucky, you too will awaken to some new power while you’re in the throes of despair.”
He was clearly mocking her. She bit her lip in chagrin. But behind her expression, her mind was analyzing the situation rationally. If Sora really was intending to use her as bait, why hadn’t he just cut off one of her limbs and left her behind? Why had he gone through the trouble of tying her up with rope? Judging by what he’d done to her earlier, he must be feeling some sort of sexual desire for her.
In other words, Iria guessed, he was doing all this just to threaten her. If the orcs found her, she’d be done for. She knew that, and so did he. He was probably about to tell her something like “If you want me to untie you, you’d better do what I say.” She was sure of it.
On the other hand, it meant that Sora recognized enough worth in Iria to take the time and effort to do all this right in front of a gigantic orc settlement. And if so, she wasn’t out of options just yet. Determined not to fall in line with this coward’s motives, she’d do whatever it took.
However...
“Hmph. Just from that look in your eyes, I can tell exactly what you’re thinking. But sadly, you’re nowhere near as valuable to me as you think you are. Flower of flame, illuminate the darkness...Flare!”
Sora muttered an incantation, and a dazzling light appeared in the air. The surrounding trees, which were about to be swallowed up by the darkness of the night, immediately regained their hue. This was Flare, a Category 1 fire spell. In terms of fire magic, it was the most basic of basics. Given the proper resources and time, even Iria could learn it if she wanted, so she wasn’t particularly surprised that Sora could use it too.
What did surprise her was his decision to use the fire spell in their current situation. They had only just discovered the orc settlement. They were far enough away that their fight hadn’t alerted any of the orcs to their presence, but night would soon be upon them. If Sora used Flare in the middle of the mountains at night, the orcs would surely notice.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m letting the orcs know where we are. By the way, if you’re wondering why I went out of my way to tie you up, it’s actually for your own sake. You may not have any energy left to resist right now, but you’re a Rank 6 adventurer. You could probably handle one or two orcs, but the orcs might get mad and kill you. So I tied you up. That way you can’t hurt the orcs, and they won’t consider killing their woman. They’ll carry you back to their settlement and take good care of you there.”
Sora kept talking, but Iria didn’t listen to any of it. She was listening to the cries of the orcs in the distance. The hostility and caution in their bellows indicated that they’d noticed the presence of intruders. Sora had to have recognized it as well, because the black-haired young man shrugged exaggeratedly.
“Whoops, looks like I’ve spent too much time talking. Well, Iria, I guess this is goodbye. Like I said before, I’ll let Raz and the others know where you are, so do your best until then.”
“You can’t be serious! Sora, don’t you know what’ll happen to you if you do this?! Once I report your actions to the guild, you’ll be finished!”
He laughed again. “Then I’ll just tell them this: I had to leave you behind because I had to report the whereabouts of the orcs as soon as I could. And Iria’s lying because she’s still upset at me for making that call.”
“What?!”
“Now, who do you think the guild will believe? The Falcon Blades, who are currently in shambles, or the indigo wyvern knight who helped the guild out with all of their stalled requests? You should know how the guild works by now, right?”
Iria ground her teeth in frustration. Between her and Sora, she knew which one of them was currently more useful to Ishka. There was a good chance they’d side with him, even if it meant bending the rules. Just like the guild had bent the rules to take the Falcon Blades’ side over his.
Even now, the rumbling in the distance was getting closer, and the tremors were getting more intense, like a landslide had occurred nearby. The orcs were very close now.
“Well then, even I might be in trouble if I stay longer, so farewell, Iria. This time, once and for all.”
Iria recalled that those were the cursed words Sora had said to the Falcon Blades and the guild back during their meeting. Seeing that he didn’t feel sorry in the least about leaving her behind, Iria realized something: There was no bargain to be made here. If she didn’t speak up right now, he really would leave her to the orcs.
“Wait,” she managed to squeeze out.
But Sora didn’t stop. Perhaps he could no longer hear her over the din, or perhaps he was deliberately ignoring her.
“Wait!” she shouted in the loudest voice she could muster. Now he had to have heard her.
But he didn’t turn around. He didn’t even stop, as though to say, You’re of no value to me as you are now. With that, she had another realization: He wanted her to adopt a certain attitude toward him.
“Wait, Sora! Please, save me!” she shrieked. She couldn’t think of any greater humiliation than falling into Sora’s trap, being pushed down, tied to a tree, and then begging for mercy on top of all of that. But it was far better than staying here with the orcs, so she suppressed her rage. Then, with upturned eyes and quivering lips that in no way reflected her inner feelings, she spoke. “I apologize for everything I’ve said and done to you up until now, Sora. So please, save me.” With her best attempt at flattery, she pleaded toward Sora’s back.
Her actions were effective, to a degree. He stopped. But he didn’t turn around. In other words, it wasn’t enough.
She gritted her teeth so hard they nearly broke. Then, in a shaky voice, she continued. “When the Lord of the Flies attacked us, I’m sorry for abandoning you. I truly am! I shouldn’t have done it, and I regret it!”
“Finally, you said it.”
At that, he slowly turned around. There was a small, somewhat wry smile on his face. Seeing that the maliciousness had vanished from his expression, Iria unconsciously felt relief. There, before her eyes, was a Sora no different from the one she’d seen helping her mother and the children at the church.