A steady, light rain. “I’ve missed another chance,” the girl in love sighed.
She had always thought of herself as a responsible adult now, yet she couldn’t help but realize that she was still shedding her childhood skin.
“Haa… I want to see him.”
She should be able to hold back, knowing it, and yet her heart kept racing.
He was a soldier, garrisoned in a solitary outpost an hour’s walk from the city. It was only natural they couldn’t see each other often.
On top of that, when the weather turned, she’d have to wade through that hour-long stretch in the rain. The thought of catching a cold made staying home seem like the sensible choice.
Even so.
”…It would be nice to meet up just once a week.”
That’s all it took for her mind to settle on just one meeting a week.
She felt like a child left behind at the door, longing for a picnic only to have the sky betray her. She knew deep down that it was too childish, too impatient of her, but even so, the thought of another week without him left her heart wilting.
“What’s with that glum face, Silvi? Want a drink?”
The tavern keeper thumped the wine barrel over the counter.
“No thanks. It’s still broad daylight.”
“Aha ha, yeah right. At nineteen, you probably can’t even get into it anyway.”
“Whether I’m thirty or forty, trying to hook up with someone during the day on a holiday is just beneath them, no matter how much they’re down for it.”
“Such an earnest girl. Just like her, the only daughter of Professor MacLean.”
“It’s not about my mother.”
Her mother taught at the primary academy; her father was a bureaucrat. It wasn’t hard to deny she came from a strictly serious household, but Sylvia believed that alcohol was for the night, meant to be enjoyed just before bed.
Incidentally, drinking was legally permitted in Celesta starting at age seventeen, so her age was not an issue.
”…Haa.”
She gazed out through the window at the dark sky and sighed.
She looked at the street corner where Arnie’s massive frame usually stood with a lost, aimless look about him, feeling a profound sense of loneliness. Sylvia mumbled as she polished off her lunchtime gratin.
Sylvia MacLean (Human female, 19 years old, 152 cm) and Corporal Arnie Boyd (Ogre male, 18 years old, 277 cm) had been dating for three months. An unspoken understanding had formed between them regarding their meeting habits. Around noon on Sundays, in front of the tavern at the edge of town that was a favorite haunt of the Crossbow Corps—the unit Arnie belonged to—they would gather if schedules allowed. Then they’d head together to the colosseum or go picnicking in the mountains, spending time well together. Ideally, they could keep in close touch, but the barracks where Arnie lived were far away. Being part of the military made it difficult for her to approach easily, and while she could write letters, paper was still too expensive for frequent correspondence. Even if Arnie tried to come visit, Sylvia worked on weekdays. Furthermore, her curfew at home was strict, and since both her parents were stiff-necked people, she hadn’t introduced him yet. They simply couldn’t manage any other way to see each other. So the routine remained: meet up like always, and if all went well, date like always. Sylvia’s feelings for Arnie had deepened considerably since they started dating; she wanted to be with him twenty-four hours a day. To her, this waiting game was maddening, but whenever she considered making a bold move that might inconvenience Arnie, she found herself unable to act. She reminded herself every day: I’m the older one here.
“Haa.” “What’s the matter? Feeling down in the rain means you’ve got a boyfriend you’re itching to see for a date?” The tavern keeper glanced at Sylvia and asked casually. ”…Huh?” Sylvia paused, taken aback. She hadn’t told her parents, that was for certain, but she hadn’t really felt the need to keep things on the down-low regarding Arnie either. Especially since this tavern was right in front of their usual meeting spot; she’d assumed the keeper would have noticed by now. ”…Yeah, I guess so?” “My, my, my.”
The shopkeeper stared at Sylvia, dead serious as she answered, before flashing a lecherous, gossipy grin.
“Finally, that famous Sylvie’s got a boyfriend. That’s an exclusive scoop, if there ever was one. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“That’s… what do you mean?”
“What do I mean? Well, see—”
Still grinning from ear to ear, the shopkeeper prodded with her plump, fat elbow. Of course, from across the counter, she had no hope of actually reaching Sylvia.
“Beautiful, hardworking, famous Sylvie—she’s rejected who knows how many men. Impregnable and aloof, chaste and pure-hearted, the high unattainable flower of the slums.”
“No… I haven’t rejected anyone…”
Ever since elementary academy, there had indeed been a few men who pursued Sylvia with annoying persistence. But somehow, they just didn’t click, so she’d turned them all down.
Looking back on it now, it was inevitable that Sylvia found them lacking. They weren’t reliable enough to be trusted in a crisis, lacked the tenderness to envelop her, were missing that pure innocence where one would think I’m the one who needs to take care of him, and above all, they didn’t have that calm atmosphere where you could be together for hours on end.
In that sense, Sylvia’s standards were high, making Arnie a rare find.
However, Sylvia had never once considered herself an unattainable flower. Most men tended to hit on any woman who caught their eye indiscriminately, and she simply thought of herself as a pretty ordinary woman who just kept her distance from romance.
“Maybe most people just casually start dating without thinking too hard.”
“Hah, catching a man in these times is like going to war. You can’t expect a prince to come riding to the rescue from far away; if you have a chance to snag a guy within reach, you don’t get picky about the finer details.”
“Oh… I see. Usually, they don’t just come along, do they?”
One had come for Sylvia. He might not be a prince, but at least he was the kind of boy Sylvia considered ideal.
Thinking about it made her realize she was a very lucky woman, and Sylvia felt wonderfully buoyant. Since he was taking things seriously, she figured she shouldn’t complain about not seeing him for a week or so.
Seeing Sylvia suddenly start beaming, the shopkeeper wore an odd expression.
“Well, well, the crying crow is laughing again.”
“Yeah… I think I might actually be pretty happy.”
”…Well, that’s fine, I guess. Tell this old woman about it sometime, if you feel like sharing, Sylvie’s boy-friend.”
“Okay. …I think they’ve already seen quite a bit, though.”
“Have they? The young man the old woman watches often… hmm… could it be Anzeros?”
“Who’s that?”
“There’s a gorgeous soldier around.”
“That’s not him—haha~♪”
No matter how handsome he was, no matter what kind of rugged actor’s face he had, Sylvia genuinely believed he couldn’t compare to Arnie. Once you fell for someone, even a pimple becomes a dimple, I suppose.
With that, having finally gotten her spirits up, Sylvia stood up, ready to leave the tavern.
A beautiful woman with a smile attracts people ten times more than one with a sour face.
Without Sylvia herself realizing it, the gazes of nearly half the men in the tavern had converged on her.
It was an almost inevitable outcome for drunkards who couldn’t work because of the rain to harbor a hint of lecherous intent toward a lone young woman.
“Hey, miss. Pour us a drink, will ya? You look bored.”
One of the drunks grabbed Sylvia’s arm. The shopkeeper had retreated into the kitchen and wasn’t watching.
“Don’t… what are you—”
“What, still stuck in some backwater where you don’t know how to pour drinks? It means ‘pour me some liquor.’ And while you’re at it, why not do something a bit fun for us? That’s all.”
“No, I can’t…”
“Never mind that, move!”
Sylvia was yanked by force. She stumbled and was dragged down to the floor.
“Oh, my. Sorry. …My hand slipped.”
The drunk reached out and whipped her skirt up. Her underwear was visible, and the other drunks erupted in cheers.
“Ha! Give us a little more service. What are we gonna do, eat you?”
“No…!” Sylvia flinched in sheer terror. She was fully aware of the fact that there were no allies within reach. That drunkard would surely face the wrath of his wife and the constabulary eventually, but by then, who knew what unpleasant things she might be subjected to simply because he felt like it? The mere thought made her sick. “Come here…” The drunk reached out a hand. Sylvia crawled away across the floor, inch by inch.
Just then, a massive hand intervened.
“Huh?” “I, it’s not… really okay to do that kind of thing,”
Having scrambled under the table, Sylvia couldn’t get a full view of the situation. Even so, she instantly recognized the drenched hand and the modest voice. “Oh… Arnie?!” He was scary. But he had come to save her again. Inside Sylvia, something that had been on the verge of breaking even before finally snapped into a new state with an audible snap.
It was the moment when mere liking transformed into deep affection, and then into love.
The heroic display offered by just his hand was enough to seal the fate of Sylvia’s maiden heart.
“Listen here, you. Just because you’re big doesn’t give you the right to get cocky like some lowly ogre.”
The man was a freelance mercenary with a certain amount of skill under his belt.
Drunk as he might be, he had no intention of losing to even a young ogre.
But.
“Hmph. That’s an expensive sword. And it isn’t maintained at all, either.”
Just as the ogre reached out to show him some pain, there was no sword in his hand. A young man had taken it and was appraising it on his own.
It was Andy.
“Hey kid, don’t touch someone else’s sword…”
“Oh yeah? Put your booze aside for a moment.”
When the mercenary reached for Andy, he was grabbed by the head with fingers even larger than those of the previous ogre.
With a twist, his head was pinched and rotated one hundred and eighty degrees like turning a screw, revealing a giant bull’s face before him.
“Hyah!”
He naturally recoiled. Facing two ogres without weapons was too terrifying an opponent to handle.
Andy, Arnie, and Kelly had cheerfully arrived at the tavern in the rain.
On their day off, Andy and Kelly felt the same need for a drink. Initially, they had tried to shove the responsibility of counting and managing their weapons onto Arnie so the two of them could dash out immediately, but Arnie had pleaded with a tearful face, “I actually intended to go meet Sylvia today. She might be waiting,” so they reluctantly hurried through the task together.
“I hate to hassle guys who have girlfriends, you know.”
“You should try showing a bit more maturity, Basson. We can tease Boyd later if we want to.”
“That’s true enough.”
”…Ah, um, am I going to get teased?”
[Of course.]
Despite that, Andy and Kelly were not the sort to do something as diabolical as leaving Arnie behind while a girl was waiting in the rain. No matter how much they pretended otherwise, they had soft spots.
And so, the three of them marched into the rain, singing a marching song in competition with each other before walking in to drink. The moment they opened the door, they were faced with Sylvia’s crisis.
Seeing what had happened to Arnie’s girlfriend, Andy and Kelly were considerably angrier than it might have appeared.
“Hey, drunk. There are three things I can’t stand in this world: shops with low ceilings, shiso leaves, and men who make their subordinates miserable.”
Kelly raised his hand high and delivered a lecture to the drunkard. A bull ogre over three meters tall stretching his arm would reach nearly five meters in height. Even inside the second-floor mezzanine of their establishment—popular among ogres—his extended limb nearly scraped the ceiling, sobering even the most hardened boozer.
“Y-Yeah, cut it out, you ogre bastard! You really think the gendarmerie is just going to stand by and watch this happen?”
He ranted and raved. Kelly exchanged a glance with Andy, shrugged, and laughed.
“Not something a drunk who tried to rape a woman should be saying.”
“You’re damn right… Just remember this, you human bastard. In Celesta, ogres can serve as gendarmes or elite soldiers. My Arnie might even become an Ace Knight down the line. It’s being stupid that gets you the most hated around here—not being an ogre or a half-elf!”
Still gripping the man by the head, Kelly flung him through the air with a whoosh.
The drunkard smashed through the wooden window shutters and flew out. Seizing the moment, Kelly struck a muscle pose.
Overwhelmed by the sheer force of it, the entire tavern erupted in applause.
“Damn lowlife… Hey, Isaac, let’s just snap this sword in half.”
“Don’t break it. Use it to pay for the drinks and offer it as a tribute to your wife.”
“Hmph, I guess that’d about cover half of today’s tab. …Alright, time to drink!”
“Yea!”
Andy and Kelly got fired up, piling into the counter bar, promptly earning them an angry look from their boss. “You guys don’t need to break windows too, you idiots,” the landlady said, though her voice carried a touch of softness as she returned at roughly the same time as Arnie and the others, having watched from the sidelines with bated breath once things got heated.
“Sorry about that, Sylvia-chan. I’ll make sure to get proper daytime guards for you starting now.”
“Y-Yes…”
Sylvia clung to Arnie’s arm like a lifeline, her face bright red as she fell head-over-heels in love with him all over again.
Even the landlady, who was usually all talk and thick as two planks on social cues, finally pieced together who Sylvia’s “boyfriend” actually was. It wasn’t exactly something anyone would guess that beautiful Sylvia had a massive-faced ogre as her partner.
”…Besides that, you little ogre boy over there, you’ll catch cold if you stay soaked like that.”
“Oh, no I won’t, I’m fine—”
“Stop making excuses. Room 3 on the second floor is vacant today, so go wash off and dry yourself. There’s a towel in the closet.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Sylvia-chan, go help him out.”
“Eh…?”
This was about the best way the landlady knew how to smooth things over. Despite her age, she pulled off a flawless wink.
The second floor of the tavern was split: half open-air atrium, half inn.
Andy and other soldiers who loved their drink but had low tolerance often ended up rolling around there, though it originally served as a less-than-wholesome bawdy house.
In one of those spartan rooms under such circumstances, Arnie was being stripped of his clothes and diligently dried off.
”…You’re really huge, Arnie-kun.”
“I-I’m an ogre, so…”
“Mm. You seem really reliable.”
“It’s because I’m an ogre.”
”…Yeah. Including the fact that you’re an ogre, I love you, Arnie-kun.”
“Eh…”
Arnie turned crimson. As always, Sylvia’s straightforward affection left him flustered.
Smiling at such an Arnie, Sylvia confessed without beating around the bush or any embellishment that she had fallen for him all over again.
“You saved me again, didn’t you?”
“I-It was just a little thing I did…”
“But it really made me happy. Knowing you’re always there when I’m in danger… My heart skipped.”
“Hehe… I left everything to Captain Isaac and Captain Smayson, though.”
“Both of them were angry for Arnie’s sake, weren’t they?”
“……Yes. I really feel like I’m not alone anymore, and I’m glad to be on this squad.”
“Yeah. You’re doing great in this squad, Arnie-kun.”
Sylvia hugged Arnie’s head—roughly the size of a human torso—from where she sat astride his knee, dangling there.
“It was good you came, Arnie-kun. I’m so glad to have met you……”
“Sylvia……-san?”
“I was scared. Really scared. And in that scary moment, Arnie-kun saved me. I truly, truly love you…… That’s what I thought. I must be really happy……!”
“……I’m lucky too, -ss.”
“Yeah. ……Hey, say you like me.”
“……I like you, Sylvia-san.”
“Say you love me.”
“I love you, Sylvia-san.”
“Then……”
“I adore you.”
“……♪”
Sylvia trembled violently.
He had preempted her declaration of love first. To a man so ideal.
Just that alone made her feel the ultimate joy as a woman, her core burning hot, wet, and trembling with the heat.
Arnie found Sylvia’s reaction cute and gently pulled her close.
Wrapping his body around the person whose affection continued to snowball ever onward, enveloped and enveloping in turn. It was a moment of pure bliss.
“……Hmm.”
After a while, Sylvia separated from him.
It wasn’t until then that both of them noticed the stitching on her sleeve had torn slightly.
“Oh……”
“Probably from when I got pulled earlier, -ss.”
“……Maybe.”
Arnie pondered what to do. In case you hadn’t noticed, Arnie was quite skilled at sewing and such matters despite appearances. Just as he was about to suggest mending it enough that they could go home without anyone noticing, Sylvia nodded to something—‘uh-huh’—and suddenly began taking off her clothes.
“W-Wait…… If you’re going to take your clothes off, I should leave first, -ss……”
“No way!”
Sylvia held back the flustered Arnie who was trying to stand up in a panic.
Obediently complying, Arnie sat back down with his eyes closed, and Sylvia stood before him in her underwear, straddling his lap again, then forcefully pried his eyelids open with both hands.
“Nwahhh, that’s—well, but I—!”
“Arnie-kun, listen to me. Look at me.”
“…………”
“We became lovers, didn’t we? We’ve been lovers for three months already…… Look, it’s okay?”
“Uh……”
Tentatively, Arnie looked toward Sylvia.
Seeing the beautiful Sylvia in her defenseless state of underwear, he blushed more intensely than ever before, his eyes darting around erratically.
“……Yes.”
“Hey, Arnie-kun. ……Do you think it’s okay for me now?”
“?”
“I thought today might be the day I could belong to Arnie alone… No, that’s not it. I want to be yours, Arnie. I really, really want you to love me more than anything else in this world.”
”…Sylvia, Miss…”
“Arnie, do you hate me? Can’t we… do this kind of thing together?”
“B-but I’m an ogre…”
“It’s fine. I’m human too.”
“No, that’s not what I mean—”
“I know everything. I fully understand that we’re different species. I know that from where you stand, I might not be attractive to you. But even so, I like you, Arnie. I want you to love me.”
“N-no way! Even looking at it from my side, Miss Sylvia, you’re truly… incredibly beautiful… but if we were together, wouldn’t I just end up bringing trouble into your life?”
“Ugh!”
Sylvia was fed up with his hesitation.
She knew, deep down, that Arnie loved her—his words and actions spoke volumes.
He was just too kind, overthinking everything, believing he had no right to defile her.
So then.
“Arnie, I’m sorry!”
“W-What?”
She tugged at his underwear, pulling them back to expose his cock.
A pop. From Arnie’s massive perspective, the erect shaft looked disappointingly small.
“W-wha…!”
“Hee-hee. …I mean it.”
Giving Arnie a slightly mischievous smile as he flustered, Sylvia began to rub his cock with both her hands.
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen his cock. Months ago, when Arnie suffered a severe beating that left him covered in bruises all over, her sense of responsibility had led her to forcefully take charge of helping him urinate.
So she could handle it without too much embarrassment. But this was the first time she was touching a man’s member with sexual intent, and things didn’t go as smoothly as she’d imagined.
“Mm… like th-this… right?…”
“Miss Sylvia…”
“S-sorry, I’m clumsy… I’m bad at this, but… I’ve never done it before… but I’m serious, okay?!”
Driven by the intensity of her feelings, Sylvia leaned in and placed her mouth on Arnie’s cock.
She knew such a technique existed, but her knowledge only extended to rubbing with hands as a baseline, so once she reached his mouth, she was completely at a loss.
Looking up, she saw Arnie’s face twisted in confusion. It wasn’t a look of pleasure or anything like that; he simply didn’t know how to react to what she was doing.
”…Hey, do you understand? I really, truly love you, Arnie. You can lick my cock as much as you want right now. But…”
“But?”
“I’m sorry, but I just don’t know what to do with it… I really want you to love me… I want you to fuck me, Arnie.”
“F-fuck? You mean…”
“Are you seriously saying I can fuck you?”
Overwhelmed by desire that her sexual knowledge couldn’t keep pace with, Sylvia honestly threw up her hands in surrender.
In exchange, she had made up her mind.
“Just grab my body and forcefully ram your cock into me. Use me like a rag to rub against it. Please make yourself feel good through me, over and over again.”
“W-what…”
“Even if it tears, just do it. If you love me… do it…”
From the bottom of her heart, Sylvia was driven by an anxious, burning need.
If she ended up unable to stand on her legs here, so be it. As long as it truly connected them, that would be enough. She wanted to prove to herself and to him that, as a woman, she could make love to his masculine side. More than anything, she wanted to connect with Arnie deeply, infinitely.
An uncontrollable surge of affection for Arnie left her in a state bordering on panic, desperately craving the intimacy of their union.
”……Sylvia……-san”
”…………”
And then.
”……Are we really going to do this? I’m a man, you know?”
Under Sylvie’s relentless insistence, Arnie finally began to loosen the reins on his reason.
“Yeah.”
“Despite how I look, I have a huge interest in women. If it’s allowed, I might do some really amazing things every time we go on a date, you know?”
Delighted by that desire, Sylvia trembled. The terror of being unable to express her love or be accepted vanished instantly, replaced by a happiness so profound it brought tears to her eyes.
”……Do those amazing things. Make me experience something incredible every week♪”
”…………Mmph, I don’t care anymore.”
“Neither do I……I don’t care anymore♪”
They cast off their undergarments as well, eliminating all fabric.
No more hiding from each other. Showing everything—mind and body alike—to the other.
Sylvia spread both arms wide, welcoming Arnie into her hands.
“Yes, right there……”
“You’re wet……”
“Mm……I’ve been wet for a long time because I wanted to be held by you, Arnie. I worked hard to get myself wet enough to welcome your cock……?”
”……Hah……hah……uhk”
”……Yes, it’s okay. You can come in. Do whatever you like……”
“S-Sylvia-san!!”
Sylvia gripped her hips and legs with both hands as Arnie forced her legs apart, pressing her firmly against his waist.
Though he was careful with his strength, the brute force of an Ogre’s arm meant there was no slow penetration of the hymen. It split in a sudden, sharp snap.
“Mmmf……!!”
”……Hah……hah…yep, it’s really…hot and feels good…”
”……Yes, I feel you inside me, Arnie…”
Arnie’s cock was surprisingly small for his massive frame. While larger than the human average, it was nowhere near impressive by Ogre standards.
However, this suited both of them perfectly. Arnie could thrust his meat all the way to the base without breaking Sylvia.
They could pump him in and out with full force, dynamically reaching the root each time.
And since Sylvia was slightly smaller than Arnie, she truly got shaken up dynamically by him. Furthermore, as a virgin experiencing sex for the very first time, Arnie forgot himself, swept away by the pleasure of having sex with a woman, and simply “used” Sylvia without restraint.
“Ua, ah, ah…uguh, a…S-Sylvia-san…feels so good, I can’t stop…sorry, my bad…my bad…”
“Aa, ah, hyah, aa, aah…hii, ii, iiah!!”
From the moment of penetration onward, both of them had no sense of reason left.
Overwhelmed by the intense experience, they were tossed about, Arnie relentlessly thrusting Jippo-jippo for his ejaculation.
”……Hah, ah…nn, aah…aa♪”
Even so, Sylvia wore a happy expression.
As a woman, being able to satisfy her ideal man, Arnie, beyond any doubt—it was an immense source of happiness.
“Uaah, aa, aah…uaa!!”
Arnie was lost in the moment. He couldn’t think of anything other than ejaculation.
And then, he slammed Sylvia’s hips against his own waist.
Ramming his cock against her womb. “Uuaaahhhhhh!!” “Haa, ah… a, aa… aaah, mmm♪” He came with a spectacular, gushing eruption.
……Actually did it……♪”
“I-I’m sorry!”
“If you apologize, I’ll get mad.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Hey there.”
Snap. She smacked Arnie’s cheeks on both sides.
“…Mmmph.”
And then she silenced Arnie with a kiss.
“I’m your girlfriend, Arnie?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Girlfriends are allowed to have sex, right?”
“……If you put it that way, I guess it’s okay?”
“Just make sure to pick the right place, got it?”
“…Yes ma’am.”
“Be gentle.”
“Understood.”
“Be rough sometimes, too.”
“……That’s tough.”
“It’s not hard. If you leave him be, Arnie can only be gentle, after all.”
“……I-I guess so, huh.”
“Mm-hmm♪”
“Howdy, Smyson.”
“What’s up, Isaac?”
“……Hey, do you think they’re fucking right now?”
“……I vote that nothing is happening and they’re just doing their cutesy couple talk over there.”
“I vote they’re hosting a feast of carnal desire.”
※Correct answer: Both.
“Heck, I’m pissed no matter which one it is.”
“……Let’s mess with them when we get back.”
“Let’s do it.”
Mommy delivers one hit to each of their heads with a tray.
“Aren’t you guys military men supposed to be interfering with your comrades’ happiness?”
“I-It’s different! This is my legitimate right!”
“Damn it! Happy people should just let themselves be fucked and make the rest of us a little happier too!”
“I was an idiot for even being a little bit excited about your exploits.”
“Being turned on by an old hag though…”
“Hey.” ”…Pay up. In full. Now.” “I’m so sorry, seriously.” This was one month before Selen’s arrival.