Cucking The Hero As The Final Boss!

While Okio, Aura, and Glyea made their way to the Devil Away, the rest of the group had decided to stay at Freya's inn. Audrey and Roxanne had also shifted rooms such that Rudy was with the fox-girl while Roxanne was with Charlotte. As for Freya, she took to her room, while Valentine, Josa, and Zephyr were also confined to one room.

Tired as they were, most of them fell asleep quickly, but in the middle of the night, as Josa needed to use the restroom, Valentine accompanied her, and the two ran into Roxanne right outside their room. Staring at her with squinted eyes, the vampiress dwindled between asking her what she was doing, but in the end, deciding that it wasn't worth her time, she simply kept walking the new girl to the inn's only restroom downstairs.

Watching them walk away, Roxanne took a minute to gather her courage before getting inside Zephyr's room. Still anxious from everything that had happened, she wished to talk to him again, and this time without any distractions from Rudy. Stepping inside, the first thing she noticed was Custer sitting at the edge of the bed without a shirt. And even through the mask of a young boy, she saw many bruises and cuts on his back–something she was sure wasn't there when she'd seen him shirtless by the riverbed.

"Hmm?" Looking to the door as it creaked open, Zephyr narrowed his gaze at the healer. "Oh, it's you? I was wondering how those two could be back so early. Turns out they didn't, huh…"

Smiling at her, he turned around and shrugged his shoulders.

"You needed something?"

"N-not really, I–" Pausing mid-sentence, she closed her mouth and sighed. "I… I guess? I wanted to talk about a few things if you don't mind."

"Sure, what's on your mind?" Motioning to a chair, he offered her a seat. Although hesitant, her heart was pounding, being alone with a known playboy of sorts, Roxanne squeezed her fist by her chest and quickly settled into it. "Did you get hurt, or do you want a potion to ease the back pain from that long ride home?"

Dismissing those suggestions, Roxanne exhaled through the lips and spoke up again.

"I was wondering why you do what you do. I mean, with the women around you, I mean, how can you date so many of them and Rudy's mom… It's a little weird, don't you think?" Though her mind was riddled with questions, both about what happened in the capital and the topic she'd just aired, what most concerned her now that she was alone with him was how a man could claim to love so many women at once. "And now Josa, I heard she's your servant now. Why did you do that?"

"That, huh…" Moving a little forward on the bed, Zephyr placed his hands on his knees with a faint smirk. "Josa's people were infected with a parasite that she herself is free from. Letting her stay there even if she doesn't marry or have children with one of the men there, she was bound to be infected, and then her whole bloodline going forward would've been affected as well."

"Cecilia said so already, but what about you and…"

"Freya?" Blushing a little as he read her thought, Roxanne gave a subtle nod. Filling his lungs with air, Zephyr exhaled through his mouth before looking back into Roxanne's eyes. "Because I love her. I know it might sound strange, but from where I am, having multiple lovers is quite common, and that's why Cecilia keeps pushing the limits around other girls on my behalf. I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about."

It wasn't the first time she had heard of people taking multiple partners, but never had Roxanne expected to see a man who, in her eyes, wasn't a douchebag just taking advantage of those women. If anything, he'd been helping them far beyond what he was getting in return, and that contract of theirs? It favored them more than it did him–at least that's how it looked to her.

"Still," leaning forward in the chair, her expression twisted a little. "How can you love multiple women at once? And Freya… Why her? It just feels strange since she's like a mother to me as well, you know?"

"She came to me herself, and why wouldn't I return her feelings if I feel the same way?" Dropping his shoulders, Zephyr shook his head. "Just because she has kids doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to have a love life. And if you think otherwise, how is it fair to her for someone else to dictate what she can and can't do with her life?"

"But I–" At a loss for words, Roxanne lowered her head. Feeling directionless, her eyes wandered across the ground, and her mind wandered about what she should say next. In the end, however, the only thing she could do was ask Zephyr the question for which she'd come. "You know, I need some help again."

Swallowing her doubts, she lifted her head. Staring into Zephyr's eyes with her vision getting a bit blurry, she gathered her courage and said what she had to say.

"I… That belt, you already know which one. I might need your help with it," swallowing once more, she couldn't hide the blush on her face. "It's stupid, I know, but I feel like I can trust you. More than any other guy I know, at least. Rudy has been after me for a while, so I can't ask him, but if it's you, we can keep things platonic and get it done… right? I have to decide whether it's you or someone else, but I would rather it be you."

A burning sensation was rushing through her head. It felt as if any moment her head would explode into a burst of flames. But after losing her family and the trust in the people around which she'd been raised, the only man Roxanne felt like she could trust–for the sheer reason that he hadn't tried to pursue her in any way–was Custer. Besides…

"I-I, I think you can use something to get it done. Gloves, maybe, or the weird stuff you sell in the shop, I just… want it to be quick because from tomorrow we're going back to the dungeon and we need all the levels that we can get."

Not pushing any buttons just yet, Zephyr gave Roxanne a nod and the two parted ways. Outside, however, the healer noticed Charlotte standing with her hands folded, and the look in her eyes screamed a single sentence.

'Ughh, you too? Damn it!' Unfortunately for the leopard woman, her chance to talk alone with Custer had been ruined. But keeping that to herself, the two returned to their room together in silence. However, as soon as they settled into their beds, Charlotte couldn't help but speak up about her frustration and what she thought was going on between the entire group.

"It seems like you got to him before me…" Sitting on the bed with her back pressed to the wall, she glared at Roxanne on the other side and on top of her own bed. Instantly turning red, the healer shied away in response. "Whatever, Freya likes him, and I guess we both needed a man to help us with the ordeal. But honestly, I didn't think you'd go for him when Rudy's ready to be your boyfriend."

"Uhm…" Feeling her gut twist at her words, Roxanne looked at Charlotte again. "I don't want to break his heart by being with him temporarily."

"And you think you can be with that boy temporarily?" Tilting her head, Charlotte glanced up in wonder as if she herself was questioning if she could keep things temporary. "For me, it was a choice of desperation. I'm a thirty-year-old virgin, and I don't want that streak to continue, but why did you–"

"Because I trust him, okay?!" Heaving a hefty sigh, Roxanne glared at the leopard woman. As their eyes matched, she swallowed and pushed further. "I mean, he has helped us so far, and we both know that Freya probably did just walk into his arms for whatever reason. There's no way she would allow someone younger than her to force her into something like that."

Waving her hand in front of her face, Charlotte tried to calm her down.

"Look, I know my sister, and I know she wouldn't have done it if she didn't want to. I was just curious about why you chose to. But now that I think about it, it makes sense. The boy's probably more experienced in bed than most men and he's cute enough to ignore that sidekick slave of his."

"Then why were you questioning me?" Roxanne asked, genuinely confused.

Lifting her shoulders, Charlotte lowered her body onto the mattress and whispered.

"Curiosity? And maybe I wanted to find some common ground now that everything seemed to have gone to hell all around us. Especially with that weird relationship between my niece and nephew."

"That… makes sense."

"Sleep girl, we have a lot to do tomorrow." Turning in the bed, Charlotte covered her body with the blanket and Roxanne soon followed her example.

A lot was expected of them and with nothing stopping them now, the exploration to that dungeon can finally begin in full force tomorrow.