Reincarnated as a Cultist Mob - Chapter 7

 Even Though It's an Eroge World, No Spicy Events Are Happening (Tears)

If I moved even slightly, the chains binding me let out a dull metallic clank. Feeling a burning heat amid the cold air, beads of sweat dripped from the tip of my chin.

(Think—the second question is whether 'we are truly in a mutual romantic relationship.' I have to answer before she imposes a restriction like answering with 'yes' or 'no'...!)

"Ah. I dislike being evaded with ambiguous replies, so let's set a restriction."

"Eh..."

"You must answer the previous questions with either 'yes' or 'no'."

A slight jolt. The chains turned pitch black, and the restraint grew even tighter.

She got me. The escape route for the second question was completely blocked.

Juanquilo probably wanted to settle the first question—whether I was an enemy of the Arlos Temple Cult or not—in black and white. She likely wanted to crush any vague answers, or any claims of being neither an ally nor an enemy.

Furthermore, the phrasing of the third question was insidious: "Are you actually capable of using magic?" If it had been "Can you use magic?", the meaning would have differed greatly.

For example, Juanquilo's magic cannot be used unless strict conditions are met. Since someone holding magic power still cannot use it without fulfilling those conditions, a possibility arises that answering 'no' could pass the latter phrasing.

However, using the former phrasing exposes conditioned magic users. Juanquilo's magic is an ability that drastically transforms based on a single word.

"I-I shall answer the first and third questions. The answer to both is no... I am an ally of the Arlos Temple Cult, and I possess no magic capability whatsoever."

Juanquilo's brow furrowed. The chains detected no lie and executed no judgment. Seeing two of the chains shatter and fly off, she scratched her head in surprise. Her guess had missed the mark, leaving her looking embarrassed.

However, my fate would be decided by the second question.

I pondered. A mutual romantic relationship means a state where two people hold romantic feelings for each other. I knew that I myself held no love for Yoanne. The answer was 'no'.

Yet, answering 'no' directly meant death by obsessive love was unavoidable. Applying this to the original protagonist, the moment she took a liking to him, his fate was set to limb amputation or getting his groin ripped open like a banana peel.

Instant death from a false statement, or death from Yoanne's twisted affection. The only difference was dying sooner or later.

If given a choice in how to die, any human would choose the easier death. Between getting your genitalia brutally shredded or dying instantly by a curse, the latter was overwhelmingly preferred. No, wait—neither was actually acceptable, but... that was my only option.

As a mob, I had steeled my resolve. I would die according to the chains' judgment.

Stared down by her wide, jade-green eyes, I answered the second question.

"Regarding the second question... we are in a mutual romantic relationship. I love her."

Juanquilo raised an eyebrow with a "Hmm."

The final chain dissolved into thin air, releasing me from all restraints.

(Eh...? The chain disappeared—wait, what? Where's the instant death effect? Why am I not dying?)

I had closed my eyes, held my breath, grit my teeth, and steeled myself for the end of my life. Yet that moment never arrived.

A wave of intense confusion hit me. Why wasn't death dealt for a false statement? The activation conditions for Juanquilo's magic should have been fully met. I couldn't see any flaw in the conditions.

My vision narrowed. As I felt a boiling anxiety and confusion, the iron door buckled and snapped with a loud groan. In an instant, the iron door was destroyed, crushed and crumpled into a ball of metal. On the other side of the carnage, Yoanne stood completely frozen.

"Ah... ah...! I love you too, Ocree—!"

Clutching her own body, Yoanne approached with tottering steps. Exposed to overwhelming happiness, her emotions surged. Her cheeks flushed bright red in a flash, contrasting sharply with the freezing temperature in her eyes.

I was struck by an unnatural feeling. I had survived, which should have been a cause for celebration... yet something felt deeply off. I had a terrible premonition.

Before I could verify that premonition, Yoanne appeared right before my tied-up self. My eyes met Yoanne's ecstatic expression—an unswerving, straight gaze. A thread of burning emotion flowing from her heart began to surround my body. According to the original game, this girl grew up without ever knowing love. Thus, her love was twisted. The affection she expressed was heavy as lead, dull, and held an unmistakable distortion you couldn't look away from.

"H-Hey, hold on. Don't start doing it here!"

Completely ignoring Juanquilo's attempt to stop her, Yoanne reached behind her back and snatched up the torture tool Juanquilo had brought in—a pair of heavy hedging shears meant for pruning tree branches.

(H-Hey, no way. She's way too hyped up—)

Those shears were the exact tool that had sliced open the original protagonist's groin like a chrysanthemum flower. You could call it a famous supporting tool that also made an appearance during the limb amputation scenes. I had a vision of myself crouching in a pool of blood.

"Ocree... You—just how much... do you... like me...!!"

Overcome with emotion, Yoanne raised the hedging shears high and slammed them down right between my legs. With a dry thump, the shears stood upright between my thighs. The blade grazing the tip of my nose proved the sharpness of that strike.

Overwhelmed by sheer terror, my entire body wouldn't stop trembling, and I pathetically wet myself right on the chair. My knees shook to a comical degree. Unable to maintain composure, I went into hyperventilation with teary eyes. Why was this situation almost making me laugh out of absurdity?

"Ah, that face... you're so cute, Ocree..."

Opening her small mouth, Yoanne traced her split tongue up my neck, licking my skin. Her innocent smile and spiral eyes came dangerously close as she repeatedly licked my neck as if savoring it.

I couldn't even squeeze out a voice. Despite a pretty girl's tongue crawling over my skin, I kept twisting my upper body in a desperate bid to escape her. There was zero arousal. She was broken. She was trying to sever my limbs purely as her heart and feelings dictated. At this point, it was safer to regard her as a wild beast.

"...These restraints. They're just right."

Yoanne pulled out the hedging shears standing between my legs. To demonstrate their alignment and sharpness, she snipped the shears through the air two or three times with loud, heavy clacks.

"W-Wait a second—?!"

I rattled the chair frantically trying to pull away from Yoanne, but with both hands and feet bound, escape was impossible. At a time like this, the pendant containing her ring finger flashed across my mind. Even if I miraculously escaped this room, as long as I carried the 'Marker', there was no escaping her—

I silently pleaded to Juanquilo with my eyes for help, but she wasn't going to make it in time.

"It might hurt a little, but bear with it, okay?"

The open hedging shears were pressed against my shoulder. And just as she was about to squeeze the handles closed—a game-changing move surfaced in my mind. A brilliant idea that might flip the entire scenario upside down. There was no time to hesitate. I immediately set out to execute the plan.

"Lady Yoanne~!"

"Hmm?"

Using only my toes, I kicked off the ground and surged toward Yoanne. Just as she let out a bewildered voice—

"Mmph—?!"

I sealed Yoanne's lips with mine.

I didn't register the taste of the kiss or anything like that. I was simply desperate.

After a few seconds of contact, I pulled back from Yoanne.

"Ah... ugh, eh? What... did you just do...?"

Apparently having never expected to be kissed, Yoanne dropped the hedging shears and panicked wildly. Blushing all the way to her ears, she placed a finger against her lips as if confirming the lingering sensation.

"N-No way... d-did I just... k-k-kiss...?"

With teary eyes, Yoanne bolted out of the interrogation room at top speed.

(I-I'm saved... Thank you, my first kiss...)

In that moment, I had recalled the details of her individual route from the original game. I didn't know what kind of values Yoanne held, but despite showing zero hesitation toward violent, sadomasochistic acts, she was as shy as any normal girl when it came to kisses or sexual acts. I had gambled on the chance that a sudden kiss would throw her off balance... and the effect was immediate.

"Hehe... haha, hahaha! Ocree Mercury! You really are interesting!"

In the corner of my vision, Juanquilo was laughing hysterically. Let her say whatever she wants; nothing matters more than surviving.

"To think you'd kiss that girl... when you aren't actually in a mutual romantic relationship."

(...Huh?)

What... did she just say...?

For a few seconds, I genuinely couldn't comprehend what Juanquilo was saying, and I slowly tilted my neck.

"I mean... you lied on the second question, didn't you? I'm just saying, you've got some nerve kissing a girl you don't even like. You're quite the actor, aren't you~"

...What?

Don't tell me this woman—she saw through me and played along—

"...W-Why... didn't you kill me...?"

I asked in a trembling voice. Juanquilo stated the obvious:

"You can't use magic, and you're an ally to our cult. Isn't that reason enough not to kill you? Besides, killing a useful subordinate is something only incompetents do. Determining life or death with just the first and third questions was more than enough."

Juanquilo had seen through my lie and deliberately chose not to trigger the instant death effect. I had been completely danced in the palm of her hand.

"Still, to drive off Yoanne without relying on my help... you're quite something. You've got the making of the next executive candidate."

Untying the restraints on my chair, Juanquilo picked up the box filled with torture tools and prepared to leave the room.

Leaving behind these final words—

"I'll keep this a secret from Yoanne. But in exchange, you'll listen to my requests. If you don't... I might just slip up and tell Yoanne about your lie... just kidding~"

A few days later, I heard a rumor among the mob cultists that "an executive eliminated a spy." However, that didn't mean I was off the hook for the responsibility of failing two missions.

Recalling that the timeline had not yet reached the start of the original game, I let out a sigh at the hopeless future ahead.

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