Chapter 18: Danger of Drunkness

After reconciling with Frostnova and Patriot, we headed straight to Chernobog to assist Amiya and Ch'en in their mission to capture Talulah. However, on the way, something intriguing caught my eye. I couldn't tell if it was because my mastery of art was improving, but while sleeping next to Doctor, I noticed something on his back.

Upon inspecting it, I found a rune that, upon closer examination, turned out to be mine. This realization made me wonder when I had placed it on Doctor. I remembered that my first night with him had been under the influence of alcohol. I tried to inspect the rune to understand its effects—were they devastating, or were they a testament to my own degeneracy?

The effect might explain why Doctor had been acting like a horned beast lately, but I needed to take countermeasures before anyone noticed that Doctor was vulnerable to manipulation art. Knowing Velonica was a master of such arts, I felt it was essential to consult Logos and Pith, then report my findings to Kal'tsit.

I regretted my actions concerning Amiya, as Doctor had already laid his hands on her, treating her like his own daughter. I attempted to fix the rune, but in the end, my more perverse side won out, and I left it to react only when I was in bed with Doctor.

With this, Doctor shouldn't pursue women anymore, at least for the day. I hoped it would work as intended for the night; otherwise, I would have to seek help elsewhere. I had awakened a troubling fetish due to the nights spent with Doctor.

While I preferred to keep this between Doctor and those who had shared the night with him, if it made Doctor worse, I planned to leave Rhodes Island and cut off all interactions with him after erasing the rune and his memories of me and the nights we spent together.

But still, if I had to leave, what should I do? Returning to Laterano seemed like a good choice, but I didn't want to waste the time I had now. Being in this Isekai world allowed me to travel anywhere with Orga, which should be easy. However, doing so felt like running away, and that weighed heavily on me.

For now, at least I had 'fixed' the reason behind Doctor's sudden behavior, but I was still worried about Amiya. We were moving as quickly as possible, but with Frostnova, Patriot, and their group, our travel speed had significantly slowed down.

I believe Amiya will be fine since she already mentioned to Doctor, Kal'tsit, and me that she plans to use the crown. It should be happening soon. As I exited the tent, I was greeted by Siege, Nearl, and Frostnova waiting outside. I was surprised to see that they were blushing, which indicated they must have overheard what Doctor and i did inside the tent.

"Is there anything you want?"

I asked them, assuming they had come to discuss something. It was a first for me to see all three of them blushing, especially my top two favorites, Siege and Nearl—what a treat for my eyes! However, I needed to talk with Ace about the rest of the Elite Operators, and I probably should speak with Kal'tsit and Amiya as well.

"Well, we're going to call Doctor for the next plan when we go to Chernobog," Nearl replied.

"Oh, I see. Thank you for your hard work, Nearl. As for Doctor, you might need to wait a while since he went to bed late last night."

I noticed Nearl cough to distract herself while Siege remained silent, though her tail suggested otherwise. Frostnova was blushing even harder.

"Well then, I need to speak with Ace about something important, so I'll see you all later."

i slowly walked away, leaving the group watching i'm leaving, while i notice that Siege cast a lingering glance at the tent.

After speaking with Ace, it was decided that I would face additional punishment. However, this will be addressed after the Chernobog event. By the time we arrive at Chernobog, the situation has already been handled, as Kal'tsit is managing the aftermath.

It seems that Amiya and Ch'en successfully defeated Talulah after I provided them with information about her being manipulated by a foreign entity. I held back on revealing the name of said identity, fearing they might ask how I came by that knowledge.

Meanwhile, W managed to join Kal'tsit, while Crownslayer's ambush on Kal'tsit failed, forcing her to leave Chernobog entirely. From what I've gathered, Faust and Mephisto are fleeing after unsuccessfully attempting to confront Amiya when she tried to enter Chernobog.

Big Bob has apparently teamed up with Nine as co-leader of the Originium Saintess Defender organization, aiming to unite all the infected around Terra to create their own sanctuary, with me as their saintess. Ethan has chosen to join Rhodes Island, as has W.

W's early decision to join caught me off guard, but the remaining notable figure I know of is Mudrock, who is not in Chernobog at this time. I don't know her current whereabouts; perhaps she will align with Nine since Big Bob is there, but who knows?

At this point, our situation diverges significantly from the original timeline, as all the key members of Reunion are alive. In the original, most of them were dead by the end of the Chernobog-Lungmen crisis, which is encouraging news. However, what troubles me most is that Patriot is now watching over me.

With the crisis behind us, he has taken to lingering nearby. This has led to Helagur finding me, which is a positive development since we discussed him teaching me the way of the sword. He agreed, and while he primarily uses the Odachi—different from a katana—he possesses the necessary knowledge.

I was also surprised to learn that his daughter is a fan of mine. Given my efforts to cure the infected during the Chernobog crisis, it makes sense. I believe Nine will have an easier time recruiting people from Ursus, at least among those I cured; I can't speak for the others.

I mention all this because Blaze tricked me into drinking alcohol again, and I woke up in a large room. To my concern, I found Frostnova among a pile of naked bodies, sleeping contentedly while hugging Doctor. Amiya, on the opposite side, wore a similar expression, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Doctor being sandwiched between them.

I slowly inspect everyone, wondering if I might have created something due to my perv impulses. Which I did manage to, but at least this time it wasn't as bad as what I did to Doctor. Let's just say the effect resulted in shared pleasure.

There are other effects as well, but those mostly align with my personal kink. I decided to erase the remaining runes until I got to Amiya. Just as I was about to erase hers, she suddenly grabbed me as she woke up, looking around with a half-asleep expression.

"What are you doing, Alisia?" she asked.

"Last night, I got pretty drunk and used my art carelessly, so I was erasing it before it troubled the others."

"Why? That art is great, Alisia! I can feel what everyone feels; it connects us, and everyone becomes honest with one another. Isn't that good?"

I felt exposed, as if she could see through my kink. While what she said was true, I experienced those feelings more intensely. Even now, after the initial pleasure had faded, my body still tingled with remnants of it.

"Others need some alone time, so it's not good to overdo it, Amiya. Besides, the weight of it all falls heavily on me. I need to maintain the art, or else it could go haywire. It was manageable last night, but continuing to use it will overload my brain."

"I see. I'm sorry, then. It's a pity, but can I at least keep mine?"

Her droopy ears and pleading eyes almost made me concede. However, this was a matter of dignity for me. Even though I felt like I was dependent on my actions from last night, I needed to maintain some boundaries.

"Fine, but please don't tell anyone about it. I need to consult Kal'tsit and the other Elite Operators about this issue."

"Okay, then I will be there as well."

"Uh, Amiya, that is..."

In the end, I couldn't say no to her. Even though she's not my favorite, given everything she's been through recently, I felt compelled to honor her request at least once. Earlier, her right hand had been covered with something resembling Originium, but now it seemed fine.

Just in case, I absorbed some Originium from her body and felt a pain inside me, a reminder that my third skill had been used against Patriot, rendering my second talent inactive for two days. I had to be cautious, but apparently, I wasn't careful enough.

"ALISIA."

"Ah, it's okay, Amiya. It's just one of those days when I don't feel well."

I lied, saying it was my time of the month, but I knew I needed to extract the Originium inside me before the pain worsened. This experience has given me a new perspective on Oripathy patients.

If just 0.5 u/L can cause this much pain, I can't help but feel awe for the resilience of Frostnova, Patriot, and others who have been on the brink of death for over a year, still struggling with their severe conditions.

The combination of my extreme hunger for Originium and my inactive second talent is brutal. I probably shouldn't use my third skill unless the backlash is over, as experiencing two backlashes would be harsh. The thought of my body radiating Oripathy as well is a nightmare scenario.

For now, I should consult with Kal'tsit and the others; maybe they have an idea on how to overcome this.

Now that I think about it, while Patriot stays with me, the rest of the group has joined Nine in their goal to establish a city for the infected. The idea is to make it easier to cure them by gathering them in one place rather than having them scattered across Terra. However, I’m uncertain how they plan to establish a city in this land plagued by catastrophic events caused by Originium.

Building a nomadic city is very expensive, which is why there are only a few. Perhaps they plan to fund it by using their connections to me to heal wealthy individuals suffering from Oripathy, although I’m not sure how they intend to execute that.

Since Nine is leaving Chernobog to gather the infected, Ch'en has decided to retire from the L.G.D. This doesn't surprise me, as she retired in the original timeline as well. However, she is joining Rhodes Island instead, claiming she wants to keep an eye on me.

Initially, she planned to join Nine, but Nine declined and suggested she join Rhodes Island to help me, as even Nine believes my power will attract more trouble than it seems. I hope it won't be that bad, right?

But then I was reminded of the political aspects of Aknight, which I barely understood when I was playing because I don't know much about politics.

Maybe I should have paid more attention, as even though it will differ from the game, having a framework to understand each character's political stance and how they might react would be useful. But what can you do about what you haven't learned? Now, I need to prepare myself because all the elite operators and Kal'tsit are in the meeting room right now.