"Gifts?"
. . .
Ryuji was somewhat puzzled. Esdeath had mentioned this before; he hadn't paid much attention then, but thinking about it now...
"Did you come with people from other worlds?"
He asked.
"Yes. Two girls who accepted my protection and, before arriving agreed to serve as compensation if I were defeated. Both are very beautiful and have very low combat power."
Esdeath nodded. Since she had lost, those under her protection naturally had to share the cost of her defeat.
If they were unwilling, they shouldn't have accepted her protection in the first place. In her world, according to her worldview, this was natural.
By accepting her protection instead of being raped or sold by those unruly people, they implicitly accepted her as their leader. And when she proposed her ideas and intentions, they didn't object, so they naturally agreed.
And since the leader was defeated...
"Shouldn't they be considered teammates?"
Ryuji looked at Esdeath speechlessly. If it weren't for the fact that she, like him, was a Transmigrator who had accepted the 7 Days to Die world mission, he wouldn't waste so many words and would have just fed her sufficient drugs.
This world had plenty of drugs capable of destroying brain's ability to think.
"Since they accepted my protection, they naturally must accept my commands and the consequences of following me. Isn't that natural?"
Esdeath spoke as if it were obvious.
"Isn't it the same for you? This country you built, isn't the situation similar to mine?"
Esdeath poked Ryuji's chest. Although she intended to submit to Ryuji, a stronger individual, his abilities were more versatile than hers and unlike her, he actually had ambitions to become emperor. The praises she heard upon arriving were all for Ryuji. Yet, she clearly understood that the orders Ryuji sometimes issued were similar to her own.
Shouldn't such a person understand her way of thinking?
"I can understand, but we are ultimately different. I don't know if I can be considered a chosen one, but those selected all have special talents. That's for sure."
Ryuji genuinely felt there was a difference. Experiencing different worlds broadens one's perspective and mindset. Moreover, so far, those chosen by the 7 Days to Die world were mostly 'protagonists' or crucial figures in their respective worlds.
Once these individuals' horizons broaden, they naturally become different.
"Hmm... Special talents..."
Esdeath couldn't help but think of Asuna. She genuinely hadn't seen any particular talent in Asuna. Apart from having a pleasing physique, there wasn't much else.
On the other hand, that Origami was also a soldier and gave off a vaguely unfathomable feeling; she was no simple character.
"Although you say that, I don't see anything special about them."
Esdeath shook her head, then suddenly leaned into Ryuji's embrace, a blush spreading across her face.
This was quite remarkable. Although Ryuji had healed her body, massive blood loss was unavoidable. The fact that she could still blush now truly proved she was genuinely feeling shy!
"Oh, right, the gifts I brought you are probably about to escape. Would you like to go on a hunt?"
Feeling Ryuji's body warmth and her own body feeling somewhat cold, Esdeath couldn't help but rub her face against his chest, feeling inexplicably happy.
She wanted a normal romance. Although her idea of 'normal' wasn't exactly standard, going hunting with her beloved was one of her fantasies!
"So, what exactly did you do to them?"
Ryuji remained wary, but looking at Esdeath, whose clothes were in tatters, he waved over the head maid who was watching from a distance. The head maid, swaying her ample hips, approached, and he instructed her to find two sets of clothes for Esdeath and himself.
But just as Ryuji watched the head maid sway her large buttocks out of the room, he suddenly saw Esdeath's face appear in his line of sight, wearing an unhappy expression.
"Although I'm your prisoner, could you use me first, or the gifts I brought? I know men are lustful, but since you don't fully trust me yet, you could always start with my gifts."
Esdeath spoke with a serious face, even sounding a bit displeased.
She was indeed quite unhappy. But as the defeated party, she could only comply. Even so, her innate desire for control made her want Ryuji to listen to her.
Ryuji narrowed his eyes.
"Aren't you the one who lost? And whether I sleep with you or not should be my decision, right? Even the 'gifts' you mentioned, by your own logic, should be under my control now, shouldn't they?"
If Esdeath were from this world, Ryuji would have taken her right then and there. After all, most women in this world are like sows. But she wasn't she was a villain from a dark anime. Although she was famously obsessed with love in the anime, Ryuji found it hard to believe she could change so instantly.
But...
"Mmm!"
Upon hearing Ryuji's words, Esdeath felt her whole body tremble as if electrified. She even hugged her chest, trying to suppress a strange, irresistible sensation suddenly surging within her!
This feeling was incredibly peculiar, as if she were being stepped on!
Although Ryuji's words were relatively mild, for Esdeath, this was a challenge to her authority and autocratic nature! She was a woman with supremely strong control issues! But, but, but!
Ryuji is right!
He is stronger than me!
Therefore, he is right!
I should just listen to him!
Such thoughts continuously assaulted Esdeath's mind, impacting her nerves and worldview. Experiencing the feeling of being dominated for the first time, Esdeath couldn't help her entire body trembling, completely losing her support and going limp against Ryuji.
Ryuji's eyes were sharp. As Esdeath collapsed against him again, he saw a glistening, thin thread falling from between Esdeath's pure white legs, forming ice crystals on the ground.
"This..."
Ryuji was speechless. Esdeath was indeed proving herself 'stronger' in this regard.
"So, this is the feeling of being dominated... It's truly... irresistibly intoxicating."
Esdeath opened her eyes. She had been lost in that sensation moments before. Now, her eyes were full of spring-like tenderness and affection; anyone could see she had fallen in love.
And Ryuji...
Ryuji felt that this Black Beasts world was all about destroying one's worldview.
It was one thing for the local natives to be like this, but even his teammate who came from another world was the same.
"You're just like my sow..." Ryuji couldn't help but mutter.
But Esdeath's expression instantly turned ugly. She pressed a finger against Ryuji's lips.
Then, she revealed a smile.
"I'd rather be your bitch! A bitch in bed, a hound outside of it! I don't want to be a sow!"
As she spoke, she nuzzled her head against Ryuji's chest, doing her best to imitate the coquettish behavior she'd seen in others.
And honestly, she truly deserves to be called a genius!
Her imitation was superb!
Ryuji: "..."
Rubbing his temples, Ryuji felt his 'root of wisdom' calling out to him, but...
"I still can't rest easy."
Ryuji looked at Esdeath and decided to observe for a couple more days before making a decision.
It's the same old story: her change came far too easily.
It's like in real life, if you slap a woman trying to steal from you, and then she immediately throws herself at you.
Would you think she's trying to trigger some 'Karen combo' to send you to jail, or that she's fallen in love with you?
And even if he were to proceed...
Looking at Esdeath, who was continuously rubbing her head against his chest, Ryuji recalled her background and came to a conclusion.
"Shouldn't we have a normal date first?"
He genuinely quite liked Esdeath. Just like he liked Tsunade, Mai Shiranui, Tifa, Yuuki Asuna, D.Va, Hinata Hyūga, Rangiku Matsumoto, Tohka Yatogami, Isuzu Sento...
Ahem, the main point is, if this really is the Esdeath, Ryuji really likes her personality, which is why he was being so cautious.
If it's not a character he likes, Ryuji has a simpler and more straightforward way of doing things.
"Stop acting like that for now. Let's go see your other teammates first... Speaking of which, what are the names of the other teammates you brought?"
Right now, Ryuji cared more about this.
"They're gifts, gifts! They are your spoils of war now."
Esdeath continued pouting, imitating the daughter of one of her subordinates, trying her best to look cute. After all, Ryuji didn't know her past, so she could present herself this way without any psychological burden.
And she was very happy because she discovered Ryuji was really aroused. She really wanted to touch his cock that had risen because of her, but sensing Ryuji's wariness made her both delighted and frustrated.
She absolutely adored this cautious demeanor because it was how a strong person should behave in her mind! Anyone who showed no wariness towards an enemy's surrender was an idiot!
But the frustration came from the same point; she couldn't be too proactive now...
Because she had lost!
She was the one being dominated!
The thought made her whole body tremble again, but she still answered the question posed by Ryuji, her dominator.
"One is called Tobiichi Origami, the other is Yuuki Asuna. Origami gives me a slightly peculiar feeling, while Asuna is just an ordinary young lady. Without the protection of either Origami or myself, she would have long been turned into a slave by the people here. You can do whatever you want with both of them, no need to worry at all!"
Ryuji nodded.
He knew it.
Yuuki Asuna is undoubtedly female protagonist of Sword Art Online. But what Esdeath said wasn't wrong. While Asuna had a good personality and a strong will, fundamentally, she was indeed an ordinary young lady with nothing particularly special about her.
But as for Tobiichi Origami...
Spirit.
Ryuji didn't know much about Origami because she was too flat!
But he did know Origami was a Spirit. Even though she was a soldier in a Anti-Spirit Team and personally hated them, she was undoubtedly a Spirit herself.
If her powers fully followed the original setting and weren't weakened in this world, then he and Esdeath combined might not necessarily be able to defeat a Spirit.
Because Spirits are, to some extent, immortal.
His space-time slash could instantly kill Esdeath because Esdeath was essentially a human with high attack but low durability. Her body was strong but still fragile. Losing to him was inevitable because she lacked regenerative abilities.
But Spirits...
Ryuji tightened his grip on his titanium-alloy greatsword. Honestly, if he had a divine sword or something similar, he might be able to test whether he could kill a Spirit.
After all, the strength of his space-time slash was quite high.
The problem was, the combat performance of Spirits in Date A Live wasn't poor, and their settings were quite high-tier. So, whether he could win really depended on fighting them to find out.
However, judging by Esdeath's description, Origami hadn't put much pressure on her; Esdeath only found her body a bit strange. That meant...
Had Origami not yet awakened her Spirit powers?
Ryuji couldn't help but think about it. But since Esdeath said to treat them as gifts, he would find out by seeing them himself.
Taking the clothes hurriedly brought by the head maid, Ryuji casually draped them over himself and looked at Esdeath.
"Since you said they are probably trying to escape now, let's go. At the very least, we should clear up the misunderstanding. By the way, what's the situation with them running away?"
Ryuji was really curious about what these women had encountered. But after thinking about the state of this world, he could roughly guess some of it.
It was nothing more than Origami, whose powers hadn't awakened, and Asuna, a complete ordinary young lady, being saved by Esdeath and then their views clashed.
"They accepted my help but were unwilling to take responsibility. Since the laws in your territory are somewhat functional, those two think they can survive without me now... After all, in their eyes, I'm not a good person either."
Esdeath casually twirled her hair. Although her body was still too weak to fight and she'd be killed by Ryuji if she tried, she couldn't help but show her sadistic side.
"If they weren't already your possessions, I would definitely reward them to the soldiers, and after they were sufficiently regretful, skin them alive."
She stated this cruelly with a calm tone. But for Esdeath, Asuna and Origami's actions were betrayal. Even though she knew about their escape plans and thoughts all along, betrayal was betrayal.
"You're not from the same world; it's normal to see things differently."
"They don't understand their situation. And..." Esdeath narrowed her eyes.
"They never trusted me at all!"
After saying this, Esdeath snorted coldly, then remembered she was the one being dominated now and quickly leaned closer to Ryuji again.
"Master, please help me change my clothes!"
She was a natural at this!
While Ryuji and Esdeath were changing clothes, Asuna and Origami were indeed doing exactly what Esdeath predicted: escaping from the inn where they were staying.
"Miss Tobiichi, is this really okay?"
Asuna looked back worriedly. Although she was truly afraid of Esdeath, she was also grateful to her. So, even as they walked through the city, she felt anxious and scared.
"There's no other way. Although she did save us, she also completely treated us as bargaining chips... And she just attacked the king of this country," Origami sighed helplessly. Given the barbaric nature of this world, if others found out they were associated with Esdeath, they would be finished.
Even if Esdeath had won, their outcome wouldn't have been good.
She believed the only reason Esdeath kept them around was because they were pretty and couldn't fight back, making them usable as bargaining chips.
However...
Just as the two girls were walking, a man with a greatsword on his back spotted them and smiled.
His subordinates also showed malicious smiles.
They...
Were the Black Dog Mercenary.
~~~~~~~~~~
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