What Does A First Kiss Taste Like?

The goblins lay in ambush inside the cave. At times like this, the 《Heat Detection》 skill came in handy. Differences in temperature made it completely obvious where they were hiding. All that accumulated inside the cave were piles of goblin corpses.

They checked each room one by one, not only making absolutely certain that every goblin was exterminated, but also freezing the interiors so they could no longer be used. That way, even if any goblins returned, they would not be able to use the rooms.

At last, they reached the room at the very back. It was probably the goblins’ throne room. Now that the Goblin King was dead, only weaklings trembling in fear should have remained.

Using Heat Detection, Konoha realized they were waiting on the other side of the door and struck with Ogre-Slaying, cutting straight through the door itself. The goblins beyond it were reduced to scattered chunks of flesh, and Konoha stepped over their corpses as she proceeded farther inside.

“This is the last one… Ah…”

It was not a throne room, but a torture chamber. And inside were—

“Skeletons.”

Countless skeletons. Apparently, torture and slaughter had taken place here. These were the remains of the adventurers serving the hot-blooded noble.

The goblins were asleep. The ones from earlier had probably not been lying in ambush either, but had merely been guards. They failed to notice the silver-haired Demon King entering the room, which was filled with a suffocating stench.

Goblins reproduced by forcing human and demi-human women to bear their offspring. Roughly thirty goblins were born at a time. Because they also matured quickly, they could build an army relatively fast. Conversely, since goblins were all male, losing those women meant losing their means of reproduction and eventually going extinct.

Konoha crept up behind the goblins and pressed Agate against the backs of their necks. Then, one by one, she steadily killed them all.

“No survivors… Wait, Flora-san!”

“But we searched every room. This was the last one.”

(《Detection》.)

Konoha activated Detection and distinguished the sounds around her. Faint breathing, along with a distinctive smell… That meant—

“There’s another room farther in. That must be it, probably.”

Konoha swung Agate down and destroyed the wall. Beyond the crumbling stone, a door became visible.

The two headed into the room beyond. Inside were—

“Children and… elderly goblins?”

Weak-looking goblins huddled together, trembling in fear. They were powerless demons with no intention of fighting. There were also many child goblins with round, innocent eyes. Eventually, these little ones would become like the Goblin King. Time was cruel.

But Konoha was not looking at them. A single woman was chained up inside the room. This person was probably—

“Ah… uh…”

“What!? Konoha! She’s alive!! That woman must be—”

“Flora-san, maybe?”

She was hanging there nearly naked, but there were no signs that she had been sexually assaulted. They had probably intended to use her for breeding later.

Seeing Konoha remain silent, a young goblin who looked nearly fully grown approached her. Tears welled in its round eyes as it slowly shuffled toward Konoha.

“Please, Spare Us. We’ll Go Extinct. This Place Is The Main Stronghold Of Our Kind In This Region. We Won’t Attack Humans Anymore. We’ll Release This Human Too. So…”

Meiro glanced at Konoha. She certainly felt some sympathy, but if they wanted to eliminate any future threat, they should slaughter them all here. She was about to leave that decision to Konoha, but—

“Sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“Ah.”

The young goblin’s head fell to the ground. A shriek of “NOOOO!!” echoed through the cave.

“Oh, so you could talk after all~! That surprised me~. Hmm, killing you one by one is kind of a pain, isn’t it?”

“M-monster…”

“Ehh!? Hearing that from you guys really hurts my feelings.”

Konoha’s eyes were utterly inorganic.

“Konoha… you’re…”

“What is it, Meiro-chan?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Meiro barely swallowed the words, You’re… broken. After that, she could only silently listen to Konoha’s slaughter and the screams of the goblins.

Meiro carried Flora out and set fire to the nest. She took the greatest possible care to ensure it would not cause a forest fire.

When they stepped outside, Sid was waiting there, battered and exhausted.

“…Flora.”

He bit his lip, his shoulders trembling. A single tear ran down his cheek.

“She’s alive. Here, she’s heavy, so you carry her.”

“What!? Really!? She’s… alive!?”

“I healed her with potions, but her condition still isn’t good. We rescued her before she suffered sexual assault, but not only are the bones in her arms and legs broken, she was probably struck several times with clubs as well. I recommend getting her to a doctor immediately.”

“I-I see…”

“Also, we killed every goblin inside. There probably aren’t any other survivors.”

Meiro lowered her eyes as she spoke.

“I see… I’m sorry. If I’d trusted you girls from the start, maybe it wouldn’t have turned out like this. What about the girl on your back?”

“She’s asleep, so don’t raise your voice too much. We’ll gather some goblin horns, clean things up a little, then head back.”

Meiro was carrying Konoha on her back. Since she had no other choice, she was keeping Flora slightly afloat with levitation magic. It was not ideal, but Konoha took priority for Meiro. After the slaughter earlier, Konoha had suddenly lost consciousness as though a string inside her had snapped, and had fallen asleep.

“We need to recover the others’ bodies too. I asked the Ranger Guild for reinforcements. They should be here in a few minutes.”

“I see. Then let’s gather the goblin horns before they arrive.”

“Even after all this?”

“They’re worth five silver coins each, you know? You look like you want to say I’m being inhuman, but this was a job.”

“…Yeah. If anything, I should be thanking you. You really saved us. Thank you.”

“Thank Konoha. All I did was wipe out some small fry.”

That said, the goblins positioned in the rear were level twenty-five or higher. Since Meiro had slaughtered many of them, her contribution had been considerable.

About an hour passed. Reinforcements arrived, and the bodies were recovered. The stray goblins that had descended toward the foot of the mountain after losing their king had already been exterminated by the Guild adventurers.

Of the 206 members of the extermination force, 43 were dead and 35 critically wounded, making the losses severe. Including the annihilation of Flora’s party, the number grew even larger. The noble’s private soldiers who had gone ahead had also been wiped out, and the noble’s corpse was found in the mountains as well.

Even so, considering they would probably have been completely annihilated if Konoha and Meiro had not been there to prevent their retreat from being cut off, the worst possible outcome had been avoided. At the same time, the adventurers of the Racluzero Guild had no choice but to acknowledge Konoha and Meiro’s strength.

“Good work out there, girls.”

When they returned to the Guild Hall, Forest welcomed them. Even on the way back, the city of Racluzero had been bustling with life, as though the tragedy they had just witnessed had never happened.

“Oh, she’s asleep? Well, I suppose that’s only natural.”

“Sorry things turned out like this. We did our best, but…”

“It’s fine. It couldn’t be helped. Even I never imagined a Goblin King was hiding out there. I’d been so focused on searching for Tree and the others that I failed to keep an eye on the demi-humans nearby. That’s my responsibility.”

“I see.”

“First, get some proper rest. There are plenty of things to discuss, but that can wait until afterward.”

“I’ll do that. I’m borrowing a bed.”

They entered a room Forest owned inside the Guild Hall. It was a VIP room equipped with both a bath and a bed, demonstrating just how much authority Forest possessed.

After laying Konoha down on the bed, Meiro decided to take a shower.

The warm water soothed her bloodstained body. The provided body wash had a very pleasant fragrance.

“Phew…”

She sank into the bathtub and thought about what had happened earlier.

(Konoha… Sukuna probably said something to her. And Konoha herself is already a little broken inside. I have to do something about it. This is strictly for my own sake. If that girl turns into some battle-crazed lunatic, we won’t be able to coordinate properly. It has absolutely nothing to do with some protective urge to help her because she’s cute. Absolutely nothing.)

Meiro got out of the bath, dried herself off, and left the bathroom. After changing clothes and returning to the room, she found Konoha sitting up and rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Mmm, Meiro-chan, you’re all warm~. Were you taking a bath?”

“Yes. It’s refreshing, so you should go take one too.”

“Mm. I don’t really remember much, but what happened after that? Back then… I…”

“Konoha?”

Konoha’s eyes were unfocused. She pressed a hand to her head, trying to remember something.

“Huh? I… I was cutting something… and laughing… Huh? W-wait? Why… no…”

“K-Konoha!?”

“Ah, aaaaah, aaaaaaaaaah!!! Why did I do something like that… So many people died… and I killed goblins who didn’t even want to fight… with these hands… No, no, no, a-aaaaaahhh!!!”

“Konoha!”

Konoha began screaming. She had remembered the brutal things she had done. They were no longer the actions of an ordinary person, much less those of a teenage girl. They were deeds befitting a Demon King.

“No, I’m a Demon King, but I’m not a Demon King. I’m not a bad person, no, no, no!! Uwaah, aaaaah, kill me, kill me—”

That was when it happened.

“Mmph!”

Meiro sealed Konoha’s mouth with her own lips. Put simply, she kissed her.

“Mya, hyah, mmm!”

Konoha made a noise like a kitten, stirring Meiro’s sadistic instincts, but since that was not her objective, she restrained herself with reason.

Their lips pressed together, and the sound of their breathing filled the quiet room. At last, Meiro pulled away from the dazed Konoha and gently lowered her back onto the bed.

“M-Meiro-hyan?”

“You’re not even speaking properly, Konoha.”

“W-w-w-why did you k-kiss me…? We’re both girls…”

Konoha’s face turned bright red. Incidentally, that had been her first kiss.

“I can’t help finding that expression adorable, but for now, have you calmed down?”

Meiro said it with a cool expression. Inside, she was desperately fighting the urge to take things even further, but somehow managed to maintain an air of composure. Konoha’s clothes were disheveled, and her face was redder than Meiro had ever seen before. Even though Konoha possessed very little knowledge about sex, naturally she at least knew what a kiss was.

“Y-you d-did shomething like thish jush to calm me down!?”

“You’re stumbling over every word.”

“B-but!!”

“Yes. Are you calm now?”

“My heart’s pounding even harder now!”

“Hehe. Is that so?”

Konoha’s heart skipped a beat at Meiro’s bewitching smile. Konoha herself had often dragged the people around her down the path of girls’ love, but she herself had never fallen onto that path. However, this was… well, unmistakably romantic.

As steam practically rose from Konoha’s head in her confusion, Meiro slowly embraced her. Wrapped in that hug, Konoha gradually felt as though something warm was enveloping her heart.

“As long as you still feel guilty, you’re human. Treasure that heart. And with that heart intact, wield your sword to protect people. What you did was right. It may feel like you did something inhumane, but in the end, that was the correct decision. You have to eliminate threats before they return to cause trouble.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Good girl. It’s okay. Even if it feels like you’re about to break, I’ll protect you. No matter what happens, I’ll always be on your side.”

“Meiro-chan…”

Meiro released her embrace and faced Konoha. She stroked her head and smiled at her.

“So you protect me too, Konoha. You want to use the Demon King’s power to save people, don’t you? Promise me.”

Konoha’s expression immediately brightened. Smiling happily, she held out her little finger toward Meiro.

“What’s this?”

“Let’s make a pinky promise! It’s a promise ritual from my country. You do it like this.”

With that, Konoha took Meiro’s hand and intertwined their little fingers.

“I’ll protect Meiro-chan. Meiro-chan will protect me. Promise! Pinky promise, cross my heart, if I lie I’ll swallow a thousand needles! Promise sealed!”

“Hehe. That’s interesting.”

“Ahh, you laughed!! This is actually a pretty serious ritual, you know?”

“Yes, I suppose so. Somehow, it feels nostalgic. Now, Konoha, you should go take a bath too. The water will get cold.”

“Okay!! I will! Thanks, Meiro-chan!”

Konoha happily ran off and hurried into the bathroom, her cheeks faintly flushed.

Meanwhile, Meiro herself was extremely embarrassed by what she had boldly done earlier.

(Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot!!! What was I doing!? Suddenly doing something like th-that, k-k-k-k-k-k-kissing her…)

Since she had maintained such a cool expression until just moments ago, the contrast was tremendous. In stark contrast with her sapphire-like, nearly black-blue hair, her face had turned ruby red.

“Oh, right! Meiro-chan!”

“What is it?”

Meiro immediately composed herself and returned to her cool expression. However—

“Let’s sleep together tonight?”

Konoha said it while dressed in pink underwear and blushing, then simply disappeared into the bathroom. There were absolutely no indecent intentions on Konoha’s part. To her, it was merely another form of friendly physical affection.

(The sudden kiss surprised me, but we’re friends, after all. Yeah, friends probably do that kind of thing all the time. I’ve heard that kissing is even a greeting in some foreign countries. Meiro-chan’s lips were really soft… Ehehe.)

While the oblivious Konoha soaked in the bathtub thinking such thoughts, Meiro, on the other hand—

(W-w-wait!? That means… no, surely… what!? I don’t think my self-control is going to survive this…)

Although she vaguely realized it was probably a misunderstanding, her heart refused to stop pounding. Her cool expression had transformed into that of a maiden in love, and none of her usual calm composure remained.

She merely ran her fingers across her lips, trying to confirm the lingering softness of Konoha’s kiss.