144 – Prisoner (2) – Censored

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined things turning out like this. Adora and the Republic’s guards, all in cahoots.

*Click.*

The sound of the door locking from the outside.

“Isn’t it curious, Major? How people, no matter the nation, are all the same? They love good food, they love a little something risqué…”

“Should those men, assigned to guard us, really be so lax in their duties?”

“Major, it’s been almost a month since we arrived here. Plenty of time to make a good impression on the guards.”

Adora moved closer. She cupped my chin, continuing,

“Think about it. We’re on the 10th floor, the entire base crawling with soldiers. The only thing we can use to escape from this room is… our bodies.”

“You’re thinking of escaping?”

“Of course. I crave freedom.”

Adora’s words were unusually gentle, so unlike her. I quickly realized she was joking. I asked with a wry smile,

“And how exactly do you plan to escape?”

“If the body can’t escape, then the mind must, mustn’t it?”

The next moment…

A kiss, *tch*.

Adora stole a kiss from my lips. *Rustle, rustle*. She began to undress, her tone shifting.

“Let’s escape this reality together, *sunbae*. Just for today, let’s forget we’re prisoners.”

I gave a hollow laugh at her words.

“Don’t you think the enemy soldiers outside can hear us?”

“So what if they catch a little glimpse?”

I pushed Adora down onto the bed. She didn’t resist. I’d been too busy with everything to hold her close. Now that I finally had the chance, I decided not to worry about appearances.

“Ah, *sunbae*…”

The final piece slotted into place. Even Adora was now mine. How could a man not be aroused in such a moment?

“Please, Erich *sunbae*. Just for today, just for this moment, look only at me. Don’t think of any other woman, just think of me as your wife.”

“Of course.”

“Erich *sunbae*, I really like you…”

“I love you too. *Hubae*.”

An heiress of a prestigious family, and I held her in my arms. The bed creaked and groaned beneath us. The love, the moans, grew louder.

I didn’t know what kind of treatment I’d receive from the Giffold family after this. In the worst case, Adora could be disowned for breaking the family’s rules.

But what did it matter if that happened? I was the one who took the Saintess’s virginity. I might as well take responsibility and change Adora’s family name while I was at it.

It was an affection I could only give to the women I’d shared life and death with on that deserted island.

“Ah, *sunbae*!”

What worried me more was the wedding.

Where should I hold a polygamous ceremony? And where should we settle down? If we had children, how would I maintain order in the household, and where would I earn money?

Nothing was certain. It was all so daunting.

Despite that, Adora, they, had all said they would follow me. They had promised to stay by my side.

These were the women who had been with me during the hardest times. No matter what difficulties lay ahead, it didn’t matter. It would be nothing compared to what we had gone through on that deserted island.

Yes, somehow, it would all work out.

“*Sunbae*, I like you! I really like you, *sunbae*! Ah!”

Adora gripped my waist with her legs. There was no way to escape. I had become her prisoner. Held tightly, as if bound by chains, before I could finally break free.

“…*Oppa*.”

Adora crawled towards me. She had changed her form of address.

“We’re together now, so I can call you *oppa*, right?”

Tonight, there was no escaping.

Even if I hadn’t planned on escaping anyway.

“Move your arm.”

“Yes, oppa.”

After stripping away Adora’s last remaining garment, I dared to ask her for something more. Adora didn’t even betray a hint of displeasure. She comforted me with a fiery passion.

My wife’s hands, her tongue and lips, stimulated pure pleasure. Reason teetered on the edge, escaping only to be reined in repeatedly.

It wasn’t just the tactile sensations. Hearing, sight, smell. All my senses were captivated by this woman, Adora. Is this what it meant to be a prisoner of love?

And that wasn’t all. Adora surprised me with ideas beyond imagining.

“…Spit it out, that’s not gum.”

“But it is gum.”

“Says who?”

“Look. I can blow a bubble.”

“Ha.”

She did things I couldn’t even bring myself to describe. I never knew this girl was so cunning and wicked. Sometimes, she even surpassed the vixen sisters.

Perhaps Adora was pushing herself too hard. Because I had so many women, she was willing to fulfill any request, out of the fear of losing me.

Just like now.

“Ugh, Oppa.”

“Hold on, that area is…”

“What does it matter? Just a little bit.”

“Won’t it be too hard on you?”

“It’s alright. Why, didn’t other women do this much for you?”

I couldn’t answer. Adora grinned and slowly engulfed me.

“So, I’m the first with this?”

Despite her bold words, Adora didn’t last long. She began to sniffle softly. I held her close, comforting her in her struggle.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I wanted to, to do better…”

“You’re doing plenty well as it is.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Adora giggled, squirming in my embrace.

“I really hate it. How did I end up loving someone like you?”

“Don’t you like it?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

“Even if you don’t like it, I’ll still like you.”

“You’re such a scoundrel, really.”

I vowed to myself. Adora would be the last woman I’d ever love. Even four was too many to share love with, far too insufficient.

I was understanding with my whole body why even countries where polygamy was permitted mostly only allowed a maximum of four wives.

“Oppa, I’ve truly been waiting for this moment for so long. Give me a reward worthy of my wait. Everything of yours… I want you to shower it all on me. Don’t leave anything behind.”

“I’ll do just that, even without you asking.”

“I love you.”

After that, we continued our game of hide-and-seek through the night. Running away, chasing, catching. Sharing body heat, we bet on who could blow the other’s mind more. We melted a dense love into the warm covers.

“Haa, haa, Oppa.”

I don’t know anymore. Where I end and Adora begins. The boundary between us grows ever more indistinct. Within our own world, we’d long forgotten our status as prisoners of the United Republic.

It wasn’t the knock of a Pinar soldier, nor the horrifying sound of artillery fire, that dragged us back to reality.

Sunlight.

“…Morning, isn’t it?”

“So it is.”

The warm light and heat streaming through the bars announced the end of the night. Just like when I held those Holy Kingdom female soldiers on the desert island, I’d ended up staying up all night.

“How are you, Oppa? Aren’t you tired?”

“And you?”

“I think I could still go on.”

“Me too.”

“But we shouldn’t, right?”

“Uh, probably.”

This isn’t a desert island. A one-night dalliance can’t become two days, three days.

Civilized society is comfortable, but there are so many eyes watching. And so many eyes watching means there are restrictions on doing what you want.

“It’s okay. There will be plenty of time in the future.”

“I suppose so. But I don’t know if a time like this, where I can have you all to myself, will come again.”

“Even tonight.”

“…Yeah, well.”

Adora’s lips curved upwards. She turned her head and checked the time.

“Seems it’s time for duty. Major? Would you mind moving? You’re rather heavy.”

“No.”

I smiled.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the General looking dishevelled for once.”

“Listen here, do you even realize this is insubordination?”

“Will I be punished?”

“Absolutely. Life imprisonment, at the very least.”

The General enveloped me, wrapping his arms around me.

“You’ll be stuck in prison with me until the day you die, you know?”

“I’m prepared for it.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

And just like that, the General and my little nocturnal games came to an end.

Not that I regretted it. At least, not until I saw the women of the Holy Spirit Nation again. Until then, we would continue to monopolize each other.

Just like our periodic, passionate kisses on the deserted island, for mana training. A similar routine, I suspected, would emerge.

*

A few days later.

I showered, tidied my hair, and waited from dawn. After what felt like an eternity, the lock on the door clicked open. Two armed soldiers gave a crisp salute, then spoke in Hazkailian.

“Please, follow us.”

I rose to my feet.

“Did you have a good night as well?”

“Yes, well enough.”

The soldiers poked at me, joking around.

“Your little ‘nightingale’ was rather *loud* last night, eh?”

“Hmph.”

“Normally, we don’t put two officers in the same quarters. But they know you’re a good person, so they’ve made an exception… you understand, yes?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Today, Adora and I moved together. After a light breakfast, we met with the investigators. Among them was the elf who had interrogated me on the first day.

Based on the testimonies and evidence from myself and the other deserted island survivors, the United Republic was conducting a massive investigation. And today was the day the initial findings would be announced to the world.

It was also the day Adora and I would make our first official public appearance.

“Those people must be newspaper reporters.”

“Indeed, it will be so.”

Based on the evidence gathered thus far, they would bring the hammer down upon the Mado Kingdom, upon the traitors who had betrayed Jeriem’s will.

Until when?

Until the homeland, turned enemy state, was normalized.

“We will now begin the press conference.”

The officer in the lead took to the podium. As he flipped through his report and began to speak, a barrage of flashes erupted.