This Eroge Won't Make Me Fall!

"Salt."

I grabbed the salt shaker to my side and tossed it away. The lady grabbed it without even turning to the side.

"Knife," I said.

The lady tossed the knife from her hands to my side. I moved to grab the air and the knife landed right in my hands.

"Is this even cooking anymore? What's this synergy...?"

Titania's mutterings fell on deaf ears as the lady and I continued prepping our meals. She was surprisingly very good at this.

In no time at all, our collaboration meal was prepared, tastier than pretty much everything in the empire.

"Guard, come here, poison test this." The lady stretched a spoon toward me. I opened my mouth and let her feed me.

"Hard to judge, I'll need another bite."

This was how the mornings of our days together went.

The days, gentle as a breeze.

***

Harsh winds blew under the gray skies. The windows to Princess Anatolia's room creaked with each cloud that passed by.

"My lady, we have prepared the criminals."

Anatolia, not looking back at her knight, let her cold gaze at the world outside.

She stood up.

***

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

The shopkeeper pointed at the rows of fallen shelves that we had kicked over.

"Guard, lift me and run!"

In a breath, I swooped the lady up in my arms and jumped away. My feet bounced off another shelf and knocked it over too.

"Get back here! Do you know how much it costs?!"

With the lady in hand, I broke through the window of the store.

"Don't try to extort next time, fuckwit!" I screamed at the shopkeeper.

"Hahaha! Don't slow down, guard!"

Laughing, the lady and I rushed away from the seething extortionist.

These days, raucous as a gale.

***

The sound of the howling wind echoed.

In the dark, musty dungeon of the Imperial Palace, confused groans and moans rang out.

Men and women, young and old, tied up and gagged.

The princess, in the center, clasped her hands.

The magic circle below glowed.

"Forgive me for this sacrifice..."

***

"Just fucking lose already,"

"As if. You're the one losing, my lady."

The lady placed another stone and captured five of my stones. Unfortunately for her, it was a trap I had laid out and I captured a few of hers back.

"Tsk, pass." She picked up the bottle of whiskey and downed a huge gulp, her eyes not leaving the board.

"Haah, how long have we been going at this?"

"About nine hours? I am not sure."

The days, spontaneous as a gust.

***

Blades rose from the ground.

"Ah...No! No!! AHHH!"

Myriad screams rang out as the blades dug into the tied-up criminals.

Blood splattered all over the dungeon, dying the magic circle its color. Nourishing it.

A teardrop streaked from her eyes as the screams of the people filled her head.

Whatever the cost. Whatever her state.

It didn't matter.

It didn't matter.

It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter.

"OPEN! DOORS OF HELL! COME—"

***

The lady gently pressed her hand over my cheeks. Her thumb brushed under my eyes.

I held her hand back and smiled.

The bags under my eyes were heavy to the point they stung.

My head was fuzzy and clouded.

A single wink, a single wink of sleep would have ruined everything. How long had it been since I closed my eyes?

That thought wasn't worth mulling over.

"You should sleep," I said to the lady. Even though she did on the first night, she had now long stopped going to sleep.

"I can't do that."

She was using my words on me now.

"Aren't you tired?"

The lady shook her head, her hands stuck to me. In the underground room below the estate, not a single voice leaked out. I didn't know when, but at some point, we had stopped going out of this place and stayed inside with just each other and some booze.

She was probably nearing her limit.

I knew her magic allowed her to sap someone else's strength and skills, but without that, she was just a normal young girl.

The lady grabbed my hand and sighed.

"That piece..." she said.

"Which?"

"The one you said you will dedicate to me. I want to hear it."

I frowned.

"Hear it when I publish it."

The lady lowered her head and grabbed my shirt. Her hand clenched on the fabric as her nails scratched my chest. She trembled before speaking in a weak voice.

"I want to hear it..."

A sigh left me. I grabbed the lady's hands and dragged her with me to the piano in the room neither of us was using. As I saw the piano, I realized that we had forgotten to turn on the lights since god knows when.

In the dark room, with the lady keeping her head low, the two of us moved over to the piano and sat on the stool. I took half of it and sat the lady next to me.

She looked at the piano.

Taking in a breath, I raised my hands.

The music began.

Slow chords, soft. My right hand moved with the melody.

Slow at first, the two hands began a slow dance over the keys of the piano.

My heart ached as I changed each chord, each filling.

Every time I pressed the keys, I wanted to turn away from them.

The image of the spring I wanted to conjure up now seemed to resemble fall.

The music reached a crescendo. Calm and blossoming notes had turned heavy and chaotic.

Then, a soft touch pressed on my back.

I looked to my side, the lady's hand gently stroking my back.

My heart slowly calmed down. The sounds of the crying piano mellowed down as the melody started to jump from high notes to low, and then high again.

Like a pair on a dance floor, with the lady's touch as my music, my hands moved together in a waltz all over the piano.

And soon, the song ended.

It was the first time I didn't want to play something.

Just starting it felt like the end, and now that it ended, I felt slightly hollow. As if someone had stabbed me in the guts.

"It wasn't slow," the lady said.

Her hand moved from my back over to my shoulders.

She was a turbulent person, a slow tune didn't suit her.

"It wasn't melancholic."

She streaked my shoulders with her fingers as her hand strode further down.

How could a melancholic piece fit her boldness?

"It wasn't a lonely piece."

She took my hand in hers. Our fingers intertwined in a tight grip, locking onto each other.

"It's a waltz," I said. "You're not alone, my lady."

The lady nodded.

Not a peek of light reached us in the room. Not even the moon could shine over us.

The lady's body slowly slipped to the side.

Her face fell on my shoulders. She buried herself deeply while clenching my back and my hand.

A damp feeling soaked through my clothes and seeped into my shoulders.

Her pained gasps rang out now and then.

Her low voice rang in my ears.

"Don't forget me..."

She sniffled as she desperately grabbed at me.

"You can't..."

I raised my hand and wrapped it around the lady's back. I held her in a tight embrace as her head buried into my chest.

"You can't... It's... It's an order... Not you..."

"I won't..."

The lady's tears didn't stop for a long time that time.

I didn't realize when, but eventually, she fell asleep. Titania had gone away in the midst of it, promising that she won't be sleeping either.

Those days I spent with the lady...

Our days...

They were tumultuous like a storm.

And just like a storm, they ended before either of us could realize it.

***

"Come... Demon King Balam."

***

The lady woke up on the bed with a hazy gaze.

The memories of last night trickled into her mind and her heart started racing.

As she opened her eyes, she reached her hand out but didn't find anything.

"Ah..."

A gasp left her.

Her racing heart hastened as she felt her breaths start choking her. Her lips went dry and her body trembled as she looked around.

In a rush, the lady jumped off the bed and through the rooms.

She was still in the same place as before, there was no doubt about it.

From the kitchen to the bedrooms.

Inside and out, the lady flipped the whole place on its head.

But he was still gone.

Her guard was gone.

The demon king had come.

And plucked away the most beautiful flower in the empire.

The flower named Eugene Hall.