Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I supposed to do?
The moment Ryuu regained consciousness, she immediately looked around. To her surprise, however, her surroundings were no longer the cold iron cage from before.
All of her clothes were gone, and she herself was soaking in something like a hot spring.
"This is... a bathhouse? Why am I here?"
Very quickly, Ryuu reacted. There were not many possibilities that could lead to such a scene, which meant...
"I was saved?"
Joy instantly bloomed across the girl's face.
If she had truly been rescued, then this situation must have been arranged by someone who intended to wash the grime from her body. After all, she had been locked in that cage for so long that even her clothes had started to stink.
Just as Ryuu was thinking, the sudden softness against her chest made her body stiffen.
As mentioned before, the elves of Ryuu's village were extremely fastidious about cleanliness. Sudden contact with strangers made them deeply uncomfortable.
The sensation in her arms was very soft, and the temperature was nearly the same as her own...
This had to be a human, right?
Was someone sitting in her arms?
Ryuu instinctively lowered her head, only to see a breathtaking sight of gold and white intertwined.
"Th-This... what is going on?"
Since birth, Ryuu had rarely come into contact with people from outside. And now she was in skin-to-skin contact with a complete stranger?
Yet unexpectedly, the first thing she felt was not discomfort, but embarrassment. Even she was shocked by that.
Instinctively, Ryuu tried to cover herself, but the moment she lifted her hand, it was caught by the person in her arms.
"You finally woke up, little elf."
Elise's lips curved upward as she lifted her head from Ryuu's chest.
"Is the hot spring here comfortable?"
"Mm... it's fine..." Ryuu answered haltingly, turning her gaze aside and not daring to look directly at Elise.
Although the human before her kept smiling, Ryuu could sense danger from her. It was only because she did not feel any clear malice that she refrained from reacting excessively.
"May I ask who you are...?" Out of courtesy, Ryuu decided to ask for her name first.
"My name is Lily."
"I see... Thank you, Lily!"
Believing she had already pieced everything together, Ryuu offered her gratitude to the person who might have saved her. However...
"Hahaha! You're thanking me? Hahaha! That's hilarious!"
The arrogant laughter instantly made Ryuu realize something was wrong. She instinctively tried to retreat, but the hand that had been seized could not break free at all.
"What do you mean? What is going on?"
Panic began to rise in her chest. Had things not unfolded the way she imagined?
"Hmm. Since you want to know so badly, I'll explain it to you."
A wicked smile spread across Elise's face. She extended her right hand toward Ryuu's abdomen.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
"Relax. Just stay still."
Ryuu tried to raise her other hand to stop her, but at that moment, she was shocked to discover that her body would not move.
Not only that, but a pink mark had appeared on her lower abdomen.
What... what is this?
Ryuu wanted to speak, but in her immobilized state, she could not even open her mouth.
Which meant she could only allow the person before her to do as she pleased.
"Don't worry. I just want you to take a look at this."
Watching Ryuu's eyes dart frantically, Elise pointed at the pink mark on her stomach.
"Did you really think you escaped the previous cage? No. You just entered another one."
"I paid a very high price to buy you from that group of people. In other words, you belong to me now, little elf."
"And the mark on your stomach is a special slave crest. Once it's engraved, if I tell you to go east, you will never go west. Even if you want to kill yourself, you won't be able to."
"So? Surprised?"
As Elise finished speaking, Ryuu's eyes went completely blank.
She had never imagined that she had not been rescued at all, but purchased.
Tears streamed down her face. Though her body could not move because of the mark on her stomach, her sorrow was not restrained by it. The tears fell freely.
No wonder her abdomen hurt so much and carried that indescribable burning sensation. It was because of this mark.
She never thought that one day she would become a slave incapable of resistance...
"Ah, that's not all."
As if recalling something, Elise continued speaking. Her voice was beautiful, yet to Ryuu it now sounded like the whispers of a demon.
"Before you woke up, I thoroughly examined your body..." As she spoke, Elise licked her lips. "You taste quite good. I like it."
Perhaps out of some perverse amusement, Elise lifted the restriction on Ryuu's body. She could move again.
But Ryuu sat there as though her soul had left her body, head lowered, as if she had burned to ashes.
"Oh? You're not resisting already? Then I'll continue tasting you."
Elise hugged Ryuu from the side, her arms wrapping around the slender waist and gradually sliding upward.
Ryuu's reaction was quite interesting. Though her eyes looked lifeless, an unnatural flush still crept across her face.
To confirm her suspicion, Elise had a bold idea. She leaned close to Ryuu's neck and then...
Licked it.
"Ahhh! Let go of me!"
Even Ryuu could not endure that. Physical contact was one thing, but there was no need to go this far.
This woman... is dangerous!
Ryuu covered her neck and instinctively turned to flee, but the words from behind caused her body to freeze once more.
"Come here. Sit down."
The tone was not harsh, yet Ryuu had no way to resist Elise's command.
Helplessly, she returned to Elise's side and sat properly.
"Judging by that expression, you must have a lot of questions." Elise reached out and wrapped an arm around Ryuu's shoulders. "I can answer one of them. What do you want to ask?"
"I..." Ryuu bit her lip, looking utterly miserable.
The past no longer mattered. After everything that had just happened, Ryuu understood that she could not resist the woman before her.
So she decided to think about her future instead.
At the very least... I need to make things easier for myself...
"What are you going to make me do?"