The Fourth Period Is Modern Chinese (Continued)

"—You say you're the hero who defeated the Demon King?"

The gem merchant calling himself Baron pressed his soft lips to my ear and whispered. His voice was sweet and alluring, like a melody played by a string instrument made of bubbles, sending a shiver down my back.

I thought, what a strange man.

He looked wild and uninhibited, yet wore several dazzling, expensive accessories. Beneath his feathered hat was a pair of calm, quietly colored eyes.

Whenever those obsidian-like eyes looked at me, I felt as though they absorbed all light into themselves. Or rather, not just the light—me as well.

"Oho, how very strange. To my eyes, you are merely an ordinary boy."

"W-What do you mean—?!"

Before I knew it, he had lifted my chin. His knuckled fingers stroked along it.

Like a black snake dwelling in the Garden of Eden, crawling over my skin and trying to sink its poisonous fangs into the forbidden fruit.

"The great hero's adorable side, an important part no one gets to see—let me take a closer look."

Baron's other hand entwined itself with my fingers, and no matter how I struggled, I could not break free. I was powerless. Before this man, the title of hero gradually withered upon the bedsheets.

"—I'll set you free now."

Soft protrusions sprouted little hard bumps, as if lured out by the movement of his fingers. Lewd, watery sounds echoed from within the body. The gate to the fountain of paradise would probably be pried open by that jointed snake.

I could never return to the Garden of Eden.

"Huh?"

Why couldn't I go back?

That made no sense.

Seriously, it made no sense.

I got mad, so I beat him up and went home. Then I went to sleep. The end.

# Three