Ayame stared at the closed door, her gaze unfocused as she sank deeper into thought.
She didn't know why, but from the very first moment she saw Ryuji, she had felt an inexplicable, intense fondness for him. As they spent more time together, she found herself drawn in by his breadth of knowledge — things he'd learned at school — and by his frightening strength.
And then there was yesterday at noon: somehow, he had "conjured" food out of nowhere, and it had been delicious. Then came last night — bodies entwined, again and again. Ayame had the dizzying sense that she would never be able to leave Ryuji from this point on.
"Mmm… I'm really shameless…"
When she remembered what she'd done last night — spreading her legs of her own accord into that humiliating M-shape, and later climbing on top of him, rising and falling like a valkyrie astride her mount — shame rushed through her so hard she wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.
"But… it really felt so good…"
The memory of that scorching "baguette" rampaging inside her made her cheeks flush on their own.
"Mmm…" She couldn't help reaching down to touch herself.
When she saw the clear, glistening wetness on her fingertips, she felt even more shameless — yet the images from yesterday kept replaying, and her hand drifted down again before she could stop it.
"Mmmhn…"
Her face burned red, and under the quilt her long legs rubbed together without thinking.
When Ryuji came in carrying food, he found Ayame frantically wrapping herself in the quilt, only a pair of innocent, moist big eyes peeking out.
He assumed she was just shy because their relationship had crossed a line, so he didn't think too deeply about it. He walked to the bedside and fed the bashful Ayame chicken soup a spoonful at a time.
After she finished the soup and ate a bit of nourishing food, Ryuji pulled several sets of underwear from his storage space.
"Ryu-kun, th-this is…?"
Ayame didn't know what those pieces of cloth were, but their colors and shapes made them feel… indecent.
Especially that black, semi-transparent set — two pieces of fabric connected together with two holes in the middle — and another black piece with a hole as well. Just looking at them made her face heat up.
Noticing her eyes lingering on the lace cutout set, Ryuji coughed and hurriedly stuffed it away.
"Ahem. That one's not right." He picked out a few properly sized sets and changed the subject, "These are called a bra and panties. If you wear them, they protect your private parts, and they help you keep your figure."
"Eh!? There's clothing like this?" Ayame took the set and turned it over in her hands.
It looked like perfectly ordinary clothing, yet for some reason her cheeks still warmed.
"How… how do you wear this?"
Hm? If you ask that, then I'm not embarrassed.
"Come on, come on — I'll help you put them on."
"Yah!"
Ryuji yanked away the quilt covering Ayame, grabbed a pink set, and slowly advanced.
"Th-that… can I do it myself?" Ayame hugged her pale softness with both arms and shyly scooted backward.
"No…"
"Mmm… fine… Mmm… but why do you have to touch my chest to put this on?"
"Because you have to adjust the position properly. Otherwise it'll be uncomfortable."
"B-but why are you pinching my little red dots? It's itchy."
"Ahem. That spot needs to be adjusted too — otherwise it could get hurt."
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
After settling Ayame's underwear problem, Ryuji headed to the engine car.
After greeting Kenshō, he walked over to Yukina at the driver's seat.
"Here — eat breakfast first."
"Mmm…"
Yukina was still a little red-faced because of what had happened last night when she'd been carried on his back, but when she saw the colorful, fragrant, delicious-looking meal in his hands, she nodded honestly.
The Kōtetsujō didn't need someone at the controls every second, so it was fine for Yukina to pause and eat.
Ryuji chatted with her and tossed out a few modern jokes, trying to coax a smile. Her lips lifted only for an instant before her face returned to its usual blankness. If his eyesight hadn't been so sharp, he would've thought his jokes hadn't landed at all.
In the engine car, people kept sniffing at the aroma drifting through the air. Seeing the chicken soup and polished white rice in Yukina's bowl, they couldn't help swallowing.
Even Kenshō found himself regretting that he wasn't a cute girl — otherwise he might've been able to taste just how good that soup was.
Toward evening, the Kōtetsujō reached a water tower with a circular rail line. The ring-shaped track let it loop around once; it had been built to resist Kabane attacks during refilling.
When Ryuji saw the crowd gathered around the bonfire, praying in unison, he was utterly speechless.
Lighting an open flame out in the wild and chanting at the top of their lungs — were they afraid the Kabanes wouldn't be able to see or hear them?
No wonder the original story had them attacked here. They were practically inviting it.
Kajika and Shino wanted to go out and pray too — not for family, but because the atmosphere moved them and they wanted to do something.
Ryuji stopped them.
"You two, stay in the compartment with Sui and Mei. There might be a Kabane attack later."
Mumei sat on the futon with one hand pressed to her chest, looking like she had no intention of going out.
Ryuji stepped outside and spotted Yukina moving a component as big as a dumbbell all by herself. He strode over, caught the part — too heavy for one person — and asked, baffled, "Why is it just you? Where is everyone else?"
"R-Ryuji-sama!" Startled by the sudden voice, Yukina's face flushed faintly again when she realized it was him, "They're busy on the other side. These are engine parts for the front car — it's important. I don't feel safe letting them move it."
"Oh. I'll do it. Carrying something this heavy alone will wear you out." Without arguing, Ryuji took the part and asked, "Where does it go?"
"Over there."
Watching him carry it with ease, something stirred in Yukina's lonely heart.
Afterward, Ryuji noticed his hands were smeared with machine oil. Without hesitation, he used water and a cleaning spell right in front of her.
Yukina stared, shocked, as a snake-like stream of water appeared out of nowhere and coiled around his hands. A faint glow followed, and the hands that had been black with grease turned pale and clean.
"R-Ryuji-sama… what was that?"
"Don't use honorifics. Just call me Ryuji."
Even if polite speech was expected for the strong or those in high positions, Ryuji — an orphan in both lives — simply wasn't used to it.
"You really want to know?" He stared at her seriously.
Under his gaze, Yukina felt uneasy, as if once she learned the truth she would never be able to walk away from the boy in front of her.
After hesitating, the tug in her heart won out, "Ryuji… I want to know."
The moment she answered, Ryuji stepped closer.
Yukina retreated on instinct until her back pressed against the Kōtetsujō — and Ryuji pinned her there.
She tilted her head up, meeting his burning gaze. For some reason her heart raced, and she shyly looked away.
Ryuji lifted her delicate chin and, right before her widened emerald eyes, stole her first kiss.
She resisted at first, but remembering her hands were still covered in grease, she gave up struggling. Closing her eyes, she focused on the sensation of that first kiss.
Ryuji claimed her fragrant lips, and when she stopped resisting, his tongue slid into her mouth, teasing her warm, wet little tongue. While she drowned in the kiss, unguarded, he took the chance to slip both hands beneath her upper garment's short vest and squeeze upward.
"Mmmh!"
Sensing his large hand on her breast, Yukina's eyes widened slightly — then, as if bewitched by his practiced "spellcasting", she quickly melted.
'As I thought — under Yukina's loose clothes is quite the pair.'
They weren't as big as Ayame's, but nursing two or three children would be no problem.
Ryuji kneaded her breasts with practiced skill while his tongue kept stirring in her mouth without pause. Only when she started to lose her balance did he wrap an arm around her slender waist and finally pull back.
There were no trailing strings of saliva, but the hazy look in Yukina's emerald eyes and the crystal moisture at the corner of her mouth made it obvious how intense it had been.
"Hah… ha…"
It took her a long while to come back to herself. Still glaring at the boy holding her, she bumped her forehead into his chest in annoyance.
When they separated, Yukina asked coldly, "You said you'd tell me what that was — so why did you force-kiss me?"
"Ahem. The thing you want to know… kissing is a prerequisite."
As he spoke, a small sphere of light appeared in Ryuji's hand, and he sent it straight into her body.
Very quickly, Yukina understood. Even so, she continued staring at him with resentful eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me that accepting this means I have to become yours?"
Of course — once she became a retainer, she could only like Ryuji, and it would be forced for life.
"Well, you're just too pretty. I'm not going to let any beauty around me slip away." Ryuji spread his hands, as if helpless.
Being called a beauty made Yukina blush, but his words afterward only annoyed her.
"Hmph!"
She stepped on his foot — not too hard, not too light — and walked off, her lovely face still flushed.
As for whether to teach Yukina to fight — she wasn't a flower raised in a greenhouse. Having often learned driving skills at her uncle the operator's side, she had some awareness of combat.
And Ryuji had a conjecture: the second effect of his divinity — retainers being unable to truly die — might resemble Ikoma's sister's current state.
Once he asked Ikoma what had happened back then, he would be able to confirm his guess.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
When Ryuji found Ikoma, he was in the last car with Takumi, his best friend, watching the praying crowd outside.
Five years ago, Ikoma and his sister had lived at another station, but a Kabane swarm attacked. Two children couldn't outrun Kabanes. His sister was quickly caught by a female Kabane.
Ikoma had been so terrified that he ran ahead alone, insisting he was going to find help. Even now, his face was full of regret and guilt.
When he returned, there was only a puddle of black blood on the ground — and a green crystal.
Ikoma believed his sister must have died and become a Kabane, so he kept the green crystal as a memento.
After hearing the story, Ryuji was already certain his conjecture was right.
It had to be that after Ryuji became powerful, he projected his power into the world of the Kōtetsujō's Kabaneri through time manipulation, protecting certain candidates he couldn't currently take care of.
{A/N: It's only projected power — his true body won't casually time-travel. The story will later clarify timeline issues. The male lead is unique — don't imagine time paradox nonsense. I won't remind you again.}
Ryuji guessed that Shino still being a virgin might be for the same reason.
'Then Mumei's mother should still be alive too… and like Shino, she left Mumei behind. She's just sleeping in another way, like Ikoma's sister.'
Looking at the green crystal in his hand, Ryuji put it into his Personal Space for safekeeping. Maybe once he had the ability, he could awaken Ikoma's sister.
Because Ryuji had explained things in advance, Ikoma now filled his belly with blood provided by his buddy Takumi, so he naturally wouldn't attack people like in the original story.
Seeing the two of them leaning against each other, Ryuji shuddered, then immediately left.
Catching a whiff of rot on the wind, he climbed to the roof and looked toward the upwind direction.
With his sharp eyesight, he could make out faint points of light several kilometers away, rushing closer.
Just as he was about to go warn Kenshō, a commotion broke out below.
"I'm going up."
"Let me go first."
A group of people holding kitchen knives and clubs gathered outside the last car.
"What are you all doing here?" Kenshō arrived behind them with his warriors.
"Lord Yomogawa, that one up there is a Kabane — our enemy!"
"If we wait until we're attacked, it'll be too late, Lord Yomogawa!"
Everyone talked over one another, demanding that Ikoma be thrown off the Kōtetsujō.
"Enough!" Kenshō cut through their righteous outrage and said sternly, "How many of you still don't want to travel with Ikoma? In a moment, all of you gather here. I'll prove it to you — whether he will attack you or not."
With that, he walked into the last car.
After those who opposed Ikoma staying on the Kōtetsujō assembled, Kenshō brought Ikoma out as well.
He faced the crowd and announced loudly, "You're worried he'll attack you, aren't you?"
As expressions shifted across the group, Kenshō suddenly drew his blade and stabbed straight into Ikoma's heart.
Pshk!
The tip sank into Ikoma's chest, spraying dark red blood. He stared at the blade in shock, not understanding why he'd been stabbed.
"See? Even with a blade through his heart, he doesn't have the slightest intention of attacking me."
Kenshō pulled the sword free.
"Ikoma!" Takumi cried out and rushed to him, catching him as he swayed in pain.
After shaking off the blood and sheathing his sword, Kenshō continued, "Now, are you still worried he will attack you?"
The crowd only exchanged looks in silence.
Kenshō drew again, pointing the blade at Ikoma.
"Ikoma, you once told me, didn't you? The muzzle should be aimed at the target that deserves it." As he spoke, he stabbed Ikoma's chest again — until a thin membrane stopped the blade, "Then tell me: are Kabaneri humanity's enemy… or a companion?"
Ikoma endured the pain, shrugged off his friend's support, and declared firmly, "I once swore I would never run away again. Even if running would save me, I will not sacrifice anyone's life."
Grabbing the blade embedded in his chest, he looked down at the crowd and roared.
"The enemy to defeat is the Kabane! The reason I live… is to destroy the Kabane!"
Ryuji watched from a distance, feeling a little unaccustomed to such hot-blooded scenes.
Even though he disliked many protagonists in anime worlds, he had to admit some of them shone in their own way. But with his personality, he could never be friends with them — and he would never share their self-sacrificing spirit.
Ryuji considered himself someone who followed desire. Only by living could he satisfy more desires. Of course, he wouldn't live without dignity or a bottom line, nor would he let desire control him — otherwise, what would be the difference between him and livestock or beasts?
Turning his head toward the distance, he saw the Kabanes were only one or two kilometers away now. He stopped watching and went to Kenshō.
"Fath— cough, Lord Yomogawa. Get everyone into the Kōtetsujō quickly — Kabanes are attacking."
"What? Understood. Lord Ryuji, you should get inside too." With that, Kenshō led everyone back toward the bonfire.
As for Ikoma, to reassure the others, he was locked into the last car.
Ryuji glanced at the troublemaking crowd. Someone among them was staring at him with a vicious look.
When that person noticed his gaze, they immediately lowered their head and disappeared into the crowd.
✦✦✦
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead of this novel for just $1, as well as smut chapters ($2) or spicy images ($5) or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)