WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

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◈ Spring Never Comes to Stolen Fields ◈

Chapter 8: First Time

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I mulled over Luna's words.

"Give your other First Times to me."

What did that mean?

The concept of a First Time could apply to many things, but judging by her jealousy and tears just moments ago, it was probably that.

So I asked to make sure.

"Luna. These other First Times... what exactly do you mean...?"

I asked while pretending I genuinely had no idea.

She looked at me with eyes still puffy from crying and whispered,

"...That."

"What?"

"...That!"

Luna mumbled it to herself, so I couldn't hear her.

"Sorry. Say that one more time."

I had an idea, but I wanted to hear her say something explicit.

Making Luna say embarrassing things might be the most thrilling luxury I enjoyed in the Demon World right now.

Luna's face reddened, and she lowered her head.

"Sirius..."

"Yeah?"

"You’re getting too carried away."

The next moment, I lost my balance and dropped to my knees.

No matter how many times it happened, I could never get used to this feeling.

Having my body act against my will left me with a crushing sense of helplessness.

Luna looked down at me in my now-submissive posture, wearing that arrogant expression again.

"Sirius. I won't forgive you."

...I should've teased her less.

"Because of your magic... I... honestly can't think straight, you know...? Haa... But when I thought about it again... it made me so mad..."

I thought she'd caught on to the fact that I'd known all along and pretended otherwise, so I frantically tried to come up with an excuse.

Would she let it slide if I said it was because she was too cute?

What came out of her mouth was something entirely different.

"Confess everything you did with the Hero right now. Every single thing you remember. Tell me."

Tell her everything I did with Celia?

I'd known Celia since I was about five. The incident had happened in the summer when I was seventeen. That was twelve long years.

"Uh... Even if you say that... there's too much to explain in words..."

Not knowing what I should say, I gave her my honest impression.

I wore a troubled expression, but seeing hers made me twice as troubled.

"Oh~ You did too much to even put it into words~ Hmm~ I see~ So that's how it is~"

Ah... That's not what I meant... Ah...

Why did I keep misspeaking today?

I looked like I was about to cry.

When Master heard that I had woken up, she came to see me.

It seemed she had still been worried after hearing that her disciple had collapsed and regained consciousness.

From her perspective, my body was like a toy that could break at any moment.

Master entered my room, looked at Luna, who hadn't left, and stroked her chin.

"...You two seem to have become quite close."

She must have clearly seen through the magic that had passed between us.

Still, Master was thoroughly hands-off.

On the day she first began teaching us, she had said this.

"I will not interfere in whatever you do with the skills you learn from me. But remember this. You have an obligation to cooperate in stopping the Hero."

Luna and I always agreed on that shared goal, though our reasons differed.

That didn't mean I thought Master felt no affection for us.

For a very long time, Master had only reigned as the overwhelming ruler of magic. Luna was her first disciple, and I was her second.

She didn't show it, but I thought she cared about us in her own way.

"All right... How are you feeling, Sirius?"

Master started talking about Luna as soon as she arrived, and I'd briefly forgotten that I was the patient.

"Uh... I think I'm fine. Nothing really hurts."

If anything, I felt overflowing with strength because of my magical power.

Without exaggeration, it felt like I could cast even basic magic at three times its usual power without any trouble.

"That's a relief. You've grown strong enough to survive after receiving the Demon King's blood."

"Is that what it was?"

"Luna's blood is only half of it, but an ordinary human would already be dead."

...Did Luna know that when she shoved her finger into my mouth?

As if she was proud of her disciple's achievement, Master hummed to herself.

Then, as though she had suddenly remembered something, she clapped her hands.

"Sirius."

"Yes, Master."

"Do you know what the Demon King's Innate Magic is?"

The Demon King's Innate Magic... I had been too busy training to wonder about it, but now that she mentioned it, I was curious.

"What is it?"

Come to think of it, Master, didn't you say Innate Magic was confidential?

No matter how I looked at it, this was leaking demon secrets. Could she handle the consequences? This was the Demon King, no less.

Still curious about the answer, I nodded.

"It's both true and false to say the Demon King is the strongest among demonkind."

Luna silently watched Master.

"In pure combat ability alone, I am superior to the Demon King. I can say that with certainty."

Then shouldn't Master be the Demon King instead?

"The Demon King's Innate Magic... governs the lives of every demon who uses magical power."

Hmm... That really was an invincible ability, at least against demons.

With an Innate Magic like that, it didn't matter whether someone was skilled at magic or combat.

Now I understood why Master was second-in-command.

"I see. That's a fittingly tyrannical magic for the Demon King."

I went along with her, praising the absurd ability.

Master looked puzzled by my words and replied,

"I wanted to warn you that you are included now as well, my disciple."

Excuse me? Me too?

And I kept forgetting about it, but this power had now settled naturally inside my body. Magical power.

Did that mean a single finger snap from the Demon King could turn my body to dust?

A chill ran down my spine.

Well... I'd never even met the Demon King, and there was no way the Demon King would take an interest in someone as insignificant as me...

My eyes landed on Luna.

Actually, there was. Of course there was. Ha ha.

Master chatted with us for about thirty minutes before leaving.

Honestly, I barely remembered what we talked about.

Me... one finger snap... dead...

That sentence wouldn't leave my head.

Lately, I'd been touched by the accomplishments I'd earned through bloody effort, but I felt so helpless now.

I'd desperately grown stronger so no one could look down on me, yet it suddenly seemed meaningless.

Did all demons live with this feeling?

I was starting to feel sorry for demonkind.

Once again, only Luna and I remained in my room.

"Sirius."

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Luna looked worried as she saw my pale face.

Even though I'd said awful things to her before Master arrived, Luna still cared about me.

I didn't know whether she had always looked at me that way or if it was the influence of my Innate Magic.

Gratitude. I was so grateful to Luna.

"Luna."

I lowered my voice as I said her name.

"Mhm...?"

My unusual tone made her look a little tense.

"What did you mean earlier?"

"What did I say?"

"When you said you wanted my First Time."

Silence fell for a moment.

I heard her swallow as if flustered.

After taking a deep breath, she briefly closed and opened her eyes, then looked at me with clear eyes.

"Sirius. What do you... think of me?"

I was the one who asked the question... so why were you giving me such an impossibly difficult one?

What did I think of Luna?

Before the Innate Magic incident, it wouldn't have been such a difficult question.

She was capable and a fairly close partner. That would have been enough to sum it up.

After the incident, though, I honestly didn't know anymore.

At times, I found Luna cute and lovable when she openly showed me affection.

Then I remembered how she had ruined my grand Celia rescue operation without even discussing it with me, and my blood pressure rose.

Not many people would clap in delight after suddenly becoming something other than human.

Every time she seduced me, I nearly grinned like an idiot, but the Celia-shaped restraint in my heart kept me from crossing the line.

One thing was certain, though.

"...I like you."

There wasn't a speck of falsehood in that.

I didn't know if I loved her more than anyone else in the world, but I liked Luna completely, just as she was.

And I thought that was enough of an answer.

I thought it wasn't a bad answer from Luna's perspective either, so I didn't understand why her expression was still so serious.

After a brief pause, Luna asked another question.

"More than her?"

...Why did my mouth feel so dry all day today?

More than Celia...? Luna...?

I could feel the scales in my heart swaying.

Celia should have won this comparison easily, but Luna's recent actions were enough to throw my feelings into confusion.

Lying to her would definitely be a bad move.

The longer I hesitated, the more Luna's expression changed by the second.

She looked hurt, then her face reddened. I had no idea what she was imagining to herself.

She certainly didn't look pleased.

After sorting out my thoughts, I walked toward her.

Luna looked at me with a frightened expression, as if she hadn't expected me to approach.

She was probably afraid I would choose Celia.

But... I had no intention of doing that. Because...

"Sirius... Let's just pretend I never said... Mmph...!"

...You were the one who said you wanted me to be your First Time.

Footnotes:

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