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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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Returning to my cramped guild dorm room via Rabbit Burrow only amplified my misery.
Just hearing a stranger mention my time at the academy had been enough to shatter my composure. It was a traumatic period in my life, a deep scar I didn’t want anyone to see.
My adolescence had been a shameful secret.
‘Scarlet’s dog! Faster, the mutt!’
‘Does he actually enjoy living like that? He has no pride.’
‘Always following Scarlet around, leeching off her. He’s practically a pet.’
‘I’d rather kill myself than live like that.’
Just a brief recollection of those days brought back the insults and humiliation vividly.
Had I really not moved on after six years?
I looked up, and there she was, the source of my trauma, standing right in front of me. Anger surged through me, but I maintained a neutral expression.
Why did I have to go through all that?
I still didn’t understand why she’d done those things to me. If she liked me, she could have just said so. What was her motive? I didn’t even want to understand.
But there was one thing I had to ask. I looked at Scarlet and said,
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes? Did you call me…?”
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“W-Well… I had a really… wonderful time today. Thank you…”
I hadn’t expected an apology, but still… What a bitch.
“Ha… Seriously.”
“Ugh…”
Scarlet, uncharacteristically, cringed and avoided my gaze. Her eyes, as she glanced at me nervously, were filled with anxiety. She looked like a puppy afraid of being abandoned.
Whenever Scarlet showed this kind of vulnerability, my anger would usually dissipate. It was our usual conflict resolution method.
But now, thinking back, it hadn’t actually resolved anything.
I was just suppressing my feelings.
The fact that my anger persisted, even after seeing her vulnerable side, meant I’d reached my limit.
It meant my suppressed emotions were about to overflow, and when that happened, my relationship with Scarlet would change drastically.
For the worse.
To prevent that, Scarlet and I had to confront our feelings, to address the issues between us.
It was time to put aside all the things I’d been considering – her S-rank status, her family background, her social standing and have an honest conversation…
-Crack!
‘Hey, asshole! You and Scarlet are on completely different levels! You’re not worthy of her!’
‘G-Gah…’
‘What? One punch and you can’t even breathe? Seriously… Are you an idiot?’
‘Gah! Cough! Ugh… Ugh…’
‘Holy shit, is he coughing up blood? You idiot, you should have controlled your strength!’
‘Damn it, I didn’t know he was this weak! Let’s get out of here! We’re screwed!’
‘Y-Yeah! Let’s go!’
“Haa…”
In that brief moment, as I closed my eyes, I remembered one of the most traumatic incidents from my time at the academy.
That’s when my broken ribs punctured my lung, and I coughed up blood for the first time.
I opened my eyes and looked at Scarlet. She was looking at me with the anxious eyes of a dog afraid of being abandoned.
Scarlet wasn’t directly responsible for my near-death experience. It was just some assholes who were jealous of my association with Scarlet.
After Scarlet found out what happened, those assholes were not only expelled from the academy but also stripped of their family names.
Scarlet, stomping on the groveling family head’s head, had yelled, “I want to rip you limb from limb! I’m only holding back because Faster asked me to! Be grateful you’re still alive!” It had been quite a sight.
But it had happened because Scarlet had forced me to enroll in the academy in the first place. She was still the root cause of my trauma.
Thinking back… this wasn’t something we could resolve with a conversation.
There was a limit to what could be resolved through dialogue. And this, stemming from a deep-seated trauma, wasn’t something that could be talked out.
It wasn’t about resolution, but about overcoming it.
The only way to overcome this goddamn past was to confront it head-on.
And the source of my trauma was standing right in front of me. I wasn’t sure if it was lucky or unlucky, but at least I could act on my decision immediately.
I calmly asked Scarlet, the source of my trauma, the one who was still ruining my life,
“Scarlet, are you still not going to apologize?”
I didn’t know why Scarlet refused to apologize.
Maybe it was her pride, or maybe she had a rare disease that made her unable to apologize, or maybe she’d received a prophecy that the world would end if she apologized to Faster.
Whatever the reason, even I, after fifteen years, couldn’t fathom it.
Honestly, I didn’t even care anymore.
So, my question wasn’t a “Why?” but a simple yes or no question.
Scarlet, after a moment of hesitation, nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
It was the answer I’d expected. I’d asked the question to elicit that response.
The real purpose of my question was to prevent her from protesting what I was about to do, a final confirmation before making my decision.
And now that I had that confirmation, I could proceed without hesitation.
Scarlet was my trauma, and I was ready to overcome it.
I was ready to fight Scarlet.
Scarlet was the source of my trauma, the embodiment of it, an insurmountable wall.
An S-rank Awakened, ranked second in the world, a powerful figure in the Rate family, the Team 1 leader of Liar’s Trap, just her titles alone made it clear that she was a mountain I, a lowly F-rank Awakened, couldn’t even hope to climb.
But I had to fight her. Fighting and defeating Scarlet, overcoming her, was the only way to find peace.
It was an uncharacteristic decision for someone who always chose flight over fight, but I wasn’t afraid.
Maybe I’d subconsciously wanted this, or maybe Scarlet no longer seemed like an insurmountable wall, or maybe both.
It didn’t matter. I’d made up my mind to fight Scarlet, and I knew how to win.
Before any battle, securing justification was crucial. I looked at Scarlet and said,
“Scarlet, you said you didn’t want to apologize, right?”
“Yes…”
“I want you to apologize. We have a disagreement. Do you know what we have to do in situations like this?”
Fight. Since time immemorial, humans had settled their disagreements through combat.
That was the answer I was looking for, but Scarlet, misunderstanding, or perhaps misinterpreting my intentions, trembled and clutched my sleeve.
What was this? Why was she acting like this?
As I pulled away, slightly startled, tears welled up in Scarlet’s red eyes. Her shoulders trembling, she pleaded,
“D-Don’t leave me… Don’t break up with me…”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Who’s breaking up?”
“Huh?”
Scarlet was clearly mistaken.
I was about to fight you, not break up with you.
I frowned, dispelling her strange misconception.
“I’m not leaving you. Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think I’d run away from you now? If I run from you, my life… my journey, will end. I won’t be able to move forward. So stop with the stupid assumptions. It’s pissing me off.”
“Y-Yes…!”
Despite my harsh tone, harsher than I’d intended because of my annoyance, Scarlet smiled and nodded. She seemed happier about me not leaving her than angry at my words.
“What I meant was, when there’s a disagreement, we have to fight to prove who’s right.”
“You… you want to fight me…?”
Scarlet, her eyes wide with disbelief, asked me to repeat myself. It was a natural reaction. An F-rank challenging an S-rank.
But fighting didn’t always mean physical combat.
I thought of the only way I could possibly beat Scarlet.
To defeat Scarlet, a force of nature in human form, I had to challenge her to a battle I’d considered before but never thought I’d actually initiate.
Anyone else would have refused, but Scarlet couldn’t.
This was something she wanted more than I did.
Before challenging her, I had to establish some ground rules, to prevent the meaning of this battle from being misinterpreted. I pulled out my smartphone and showed her the fake hypnosis app.
“Gah…?!”
Scarlet, startled by the sudden appearance of the hypnosis app, obediently let her eyes go unfocused.
Her “hypnosis” meant she was giving me control of the situation.
She was agreeing to abide by my rules, whatever they might be.
I looked at Scarlet, waiting for my command, and said,
“Scarlet, when I snap my fingers, you’ll return to your normal self, but you’ll still be hypnotized. And when I release you, you’ll forget everything that happened while you were hypnotized. Understand?”
“Yes.”
Her response was monotone, but with a hint of curiosity. I snapped my fingers and said,
“Okay, come back.”
-Snap!
“U-Uh… Huh? What… what happened? This feels… strange…”
Scarlet’s eyes regained focus, and she stretched awkwardly.
Being “hypnotized” but acting normal was probably a novel experience, even for her, after six months of pretending.
But it didn’t matter how she felt.
What mattered was that whatever happened from now on, Scarlet couldn’t talk about it.
Good. No loose ends.
With the failsafe in place, all that was left was to issue the challenge.
I looked directly at Scarlet and explained why we had to fight.
“Scarlet, you asked if I wanted to fight you, right? Yes, I do. The only way for me to overcome my past, my trauma, is to fight you, the embodiment of that trauma, and win.”
“You really want to fight me? You? Do you think you can win?”
Scarlet, who’d been acting so submissive, now bristled, her usual aggressive tone returning, her pride seemingly wounded by my challenge.
“Fighting isn’t just about punching and kicking. There are other kinds of battles. Arguments, staring contests… And I’m going to fight you… with my dick.”
“Huh?”
But her bravado instantly deflated, and she reverted to her submissive self, her face flushing with surprise.
I leaned closer, pressing my advantage, and asked,
“What? Do you have a problem with me defeating your pussy with my dick?”
“N-No, but… what are you talking about, Faster…?”
“You’d have the advantage in any other kind of fight. The only thing I could beat you at is running, and that wouldn’t be fair, would it?”
“Mmm… R-Right?”
“So, let’s settle this with sex, something neither of us has any experience with, something where willpower can be a deciding factor. Of course, there’s a physical difference between us, so it’s not about who cums first, but who admits defeat first.”
Even I had to admit it was a ridiculous proposition. But Scarlet, her eyes glazed over, just kept swallowing, seemingly… intrigued.
Scarlet, as if she had to clarify one thing, asked hesitantly,
“B-But Faster… shouldn’t your first time be with someone you… love? You don’t… like me…”
Scarlet, despite her reluctance, admitted that I didn’t like her. She was right. I didn’t like her. But not everything she’d said was true.
“I don’t like you, but I don’t really care about ‘first times.’ If I can overcome my past by losing my virginity, I’ll gladly lose it a hundred times over. And you like me, don’t you, Scarlet? A lot.”
“Th-That’s true, but… Don’t you think it’s weird to have sex with someone you don’t even like? I can’t imagine being with anyone but you. But you could be with anyone…”
I’d thought she’d jump at the chance to have sex with me, but Scarlet’s sense of… morality was surprisingly strong. But that didn’t matter right now.
I just wanted to conquer this bitch with my dick, win this battle, and overcome my past.
And since she’d be “hypnotized” and forget everything anyway… I might as well just go for it.
I grabbed Scarlet’s chin and kissed her.
-Smooch~
It was just a brief peck, but it was enough to make Scarlet blush and stammer, flustered.
I pushed her onto the bed, climbed on top of her, and whispered in her ear,
“Then I’ll start liking you now. Let’s call it a love-hate relationship.”
“Wh-What’s that…?”
“Whatever. Let’s just fuck. Prepare to be destroyed, you bitch.”
“Hngh…♡”
-Whoosh!
Scarlet, unable to refuse my kiss and whispered words, agreed by setting our clothes on fire, just like before, leaving us both naked.
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So that’s how it happened… Thinking back, we’re having sex for a really stupid reason.
I was inside Scarlet, and I was replaying the events that led to this.
A sex battle? What the hell?
It might be absurd, but it was still a battle, a mutually agreed upon duel to overcome my past.
If I won this fight, I’d find true freedom, escape the shackles of my past.
So, I couldn’t lose. Scarlet’s pussy, so tight and stimulating that I felt like I was about to cum after a single thrust, was a distraction I had to overcome.
I suppressed the urge to cum and said to Scarlet, who was covering her face with her arm,
“Huu… I’m about to move, so… prepare to die, you bitch…”
“I-I give up… Hngh♡ S-Scarlet’s… pathetic, easily aroused, virgin pussy…♡ Completely defeated by Faster’s massive cock…♡”
“…”
“I-I’m cumming again…♡”
-Squirt! Sppphhhht!
What?
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Suddenly a fountain of juiceee~
