Tmkoc Sex Stories Chapter 163: Shadows
Chapter 163: Shadows
The waiter brought the food, and Mitsuki prepared to eat. However, he found himself staring at Rosemarie, who carefully placed the napkin over her lap and picked up the spoon with strange elegance.
She didn’t look like the type of girl who would be elegant, yet she acted that way all the time.
Every one of her movements was calm and precise. Even the way she lifted the spoon looked like something born from a noble’s refined upbringing.
Mitsuki tilted his head curiously.
Setting aside the matter of the Land of Shadows, the reason behind this girl’s existence was interesting too. I mean, what kind of story awaited within her past? She seemed like yet another great mystery without an answer.
Her dark and cold appearance contrasted far too much with the calm and almost innocent way she spoke.
Rosemarie noticed Mitsuki staring at her.
"Aren’t you going to eat?" she asked.
"Oh— Yeah, of course. I’m eating," he replied.
He lifted the spoon and tasted the broth. His eyebrows rose at the salty, fatty flavor that brushed against his tongue. The warmth of the soup spread through his body and slightly eased the exhaustion that had piled up over the past few days.
It was delicious.
"My mother used to make this often for my grandmother so I could bring it to her house. The road wasn’t very long, but it was filled with pretty red flowers that I used to pick and bring to my grandmother along with her food."
As she spoke, her voice sounded softer than before.
"You mentioned your grandmother earlier too."
She nodded.
"She was already very old and could barely get out of bed. My mother tried many times to convince her to leave the forest and live with us, but my grandmother was always a very stubborn woman. She liked the silence of the forest very much."
"I see..."
Mitsuki imagined a small wooden house hidden among dark trees, surrounded by red flowers and a peaceful atmosphere.
While eating his soup, he thought:
’This sounds like a story I’ve heard before.’
In fact, the story of Prince Arthur and Excalibur was also something he had known in his previous world, but up until now, he had seriously started to think that some things from the fiction of his world seemed to be real here.
Maybe the legends of both worlds were connected somehow.
"Is the soup good?" she asked.
Mitsuki nodded in response.
She smiled faintly.
The small smile only appeared for a few seconds before disappearing once more behind her neutral expression.
"This is the only place I’ve found on the continent that makes chicken soup similar to the one my mother used to make. It’s delicious, and I’m glad you like it too."
’So she can make that expression too,’ Mitsuki thought as he brought the spoon to his mouth.
He stared silently at the bowl, as though trying to uncover the hidden story within it.
The broth faintly reflected the magical lights of the street while small pieces of vegetables floated on the surface.
’Doesn’t she talk a lot about her mother and grandmother? She almost feels like a child who barely knows the world.’
That question started itching at his mind, and thanks to his complete lack of emotional restraint caused by that annoying skill, the words came out far more bluntly than they should have.
"Uh... How old are you?"
Rosemarie suddenly stopped. She looked at Mitsuki instead of her bowl of soup and answered in the same expressionless tone as always.
"I’m 17 years old."
"Ah..." Letting go of his spoon, Mitsuki stared at her. "I see. You’re very young."
For a moment, he felt a strange sense of guilt.
"Why are you asking? How old are you?"
"Oh, well... I’m 24 years old."
"Then you’re an older brother. Older brother... I like how that sounds. Could I call you that from now on?"
The innocent, strange, and mysterious Rosemarie had made a very strange proposal.
Mitsuki was utterly confused. For a moment, he had thought this girl was an adult like him, but it turned out she wasn’t. Now he felt overwhelmed because he didn’t want the people around them to misunderstand things.
He quickly drank the rest of his soup in one go to avoid the subject, set the bowl on the table, and changed topics.
"Let’s get back to what’s really important. Tell me about the Land of Shadows."
"Shadows? First we should finish eating the soup and—"
"Let’s talk between bites. That way we can eat and talk. Wouldn’t that be better?"
She seemed especially surprised.
"You’re right. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Alright," Rosemarie said as she adjusted herself in her chair.
She placed her elbows on the table and began.
"The Land of Shadows is called Derwick. Just like Nemoria, Derwick was consumed by the Mystery of Shadow, which plunged the entire land into complete darkness where the sun can no longer be seen."
She took another bite of soup. After waiting a few seconds, she continued.
"It’s said that every living creature that once existed within Derwick’s three kingdoms turned into shadows. Unlike Nemoria, there isn’t an ash curse that transforms people into statues, but there are monsters of every kind wandering around every corner of every kingdom. Only an S-Rank adventurer or higher can survive the border between the Land of Shadows and the field of Pink Trees. Going beyond that means certain death."
As she spoke, several pedestrians calmly walked behind her, completely unaware of the horror she was describing.
Mitsuki stared at his empty bowl hesitantly.
"So unlike Nemoria, it has a different kind of difficulty."
She nodded.
"Yes. While in Nemoria you have to worry about the curse turning you into a specter, in Derwick you must protect yourself from the shadow beasts trying to kill you. That’s why my battle against Hati lasted so long. Besides him, there were many other problems I had to face."
"I assume those were more beasts."
She shook her head.
"No. The Shadow enters your mind and forces you to see the most unpleasant things you’ve experienced. Let me give you an example," she said while taking four napkins and a spoon.
Placing the napkins side by side, she gave each one a name: Ash, Shadow, Solitude, and Tears.
Then she placed the spoon in the middle of the napkins, as though it represented a person trapped between them.
"For a very long time, based on the prophecy of the Herald of the Unnameable, it has been said that the Four Great Ancient Mysteries represent different afflictions of people. Ash represents physical decay; Shadow represents one’s darkest emotions; Solitude represents what rational beings fear most; and Tears represent sadness itself."
Her voice was calm, yet every word seemed to carry a strange weight.
She paused. She glanced toward one corner of the street, but after seeing nothing, she continued.
"With that in mind, each Mystery feels like a trial, don’t you think?"
"Yeah..."
It wasn’t just that they felt like trials. Every one of those mysteries was a challenge Mitsuki had to overcome in order to gain power and, in turn, open the path back to his original world.
The weight of that thought once again settled onto his shoulders.
If Rosemarie knew about that, she would probably stop making that poker face.
"That’s what I wanted to get at. If you can’t endure the Shadow within your mind, then you won’t be able to fight the beasts. That’s what happened to me when I fought Hati. I..." Her expression suddenly darkened. "I saw my grandmother being killed by that creature over and over again. Then I saw it kill my mother and destroy the entire village where I lived."
Her voice grew quieter.
Mitsuki felt a knot form in his throat. The atmosphere became suffocating, but it soon calmed when the girl’s voice returned.
Even the noise of the street seemed to have faded away for a few seconds.
"How could I fight Hati when every time I took a step, I fell to my knees crying uncontrollably?"
Her face softened, returning to its usual expressionless state.
It was hard for Mitsuki to imagine Rosemarie crying. She was so stoic that it was difficult to picture her in a vulnerable situation.
And yet, now he could sense something strange hidden behind that empty expression.
’She told me all of that as if it were just another story, but...’
He sighed.
The hot steam rising from the remaining soup in Rosemarie’s bowl continued drifting slowly between them.
’I don’t think it’s just another story. At least, I don’t think she sees it that way.’
He placed his only hand on the table and offered his condolences.
"I’m sorry for your loss. Watching someone you love die is something horrible that I wouldn’t wish on anyone."
Rosemarie lowered her gaze slightly toward Mitsuki’s hand resting on the table.
"Thank you, although there’s no need. I’m strong. I can endure it."
That wasn’t true.
’That’s not how it works,’ he thought, remembering that shadow that had spoken to him that night when Ellegaard and Jeanne left him behind.