THIS IS AN X RATED STORY THAT INVOLVES COERCION, RAPE, INCEST, AND FETISH CONTENT SUCH AS LOLICON, SHOTA, MILF, IMPREGNATION, AND POSSIBLE OTHERS. EVERY CHARATER IS 18 YEARS OLD OR OLDER, AND ANY TEXT THAT SUGGESTS OTHERWISE IS A FUCKING TYPO. THIS IS FICTION. NOTHING IS REAL. DO NOT REPEAT ANY OF THIS SHIT IN REAL LIFE, MAY DEATH FIND THAT FUCKER QUICKLY AND MAY HE SUFFER AS HORRIBLY AS HE POSSIBLY CAN.
Still wanna read? Enjoy at your own risk.
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Joshua's POV
Two days have passed, and I still can't stop remembering the things that happened to me in the Miasma Zone. Growing up alone in a dirty town, you only hear about things. You never actually see any of those things. Soldiers have weapons. That's how I know about things like swords, spears, and armor. Monsters on the other hand? You'll hear scary stories about them, you might catch a little peak of a part sticking out of a bag, but you never get to see them alive.
The stories are true. Monsters are scary and after seeing them myself, and after killing them myself, I now know I know frighteningly little about the world. I always hear it said that nobles don't know about the world like peasants do, but I now know that isn't true. They may be a bit blind to the misfortunes of others, but they see things the peasants don't ever get to see.
My bedroom has all sorts of fancy things inside it. My bed is unlike any bed I've ever even heard about. There's a softness to my blankets and mattress that I would never be able to describe to other peasants.
But the thing that you couldn't explain even to a noble is Wayne. I'd heard stories about heroes and great men. Unless you actually see those men, you stop believing that they're real. The older you get, you start to know just how cruel people really are. It's the kind of thing you just wouldn't expect when you're a little kid. Even I didn't notice it until I was pulled off the streets and taken in by someone who cares.
Wayne isn't like one of those heroes or great men. He's more than that. He's more alive than that. He's not on a journey to save the world. He's not reaching out his hand to make a name for himself and become famous. He doesn't drive himself for money, and he doesn't seek to charm people. He just does whatever he can to be a better version of himself. I want to be like that. I thought fame was what made men great. I thought money is what made men powerful. Wayne has none of that, and he's better.
He didn't know. He'd never seen me before, but he saw I was on the brink of death and he didn't run away. He brought me home and decided to take care of me like I was family. He made a lot of people mad when he did that. He didn't apologize, and didn't try to be clever in explaining. He stood firm on the idea that if someone is in danger, that it only makes sense to help them.
Maybe that's why I ran off after that voice in the wind. I didn't know what I would find. I didn't know if I was putting myself in worse danger, but Wayne had pushed me so hard, I thought I could handle or adapt to whatever it was. If it was something I'd never seen before I would have kept my wits about me, and if it was another one of those Eshkalraks, I would just kill them. What I found was a girl. I didn't have time to look at her, I only had time to save her.
She was scared. I bet she had never seen a monster like that before, just like me. I bet she heard stories about them but stopped believing those stories were real. All she could do was run, so I wedged myself between them and began fighting the thing. A couple of days ago I would have been shaking so much I would not have been able to do anything but block its attacks, but both William and Wayne made sure to put me at the front of as many Eshkalrak battles as they could.
I thought it was hell. I know now that it wasn't. It was something they had to do. It was something I needed to learn for myself. Thanks to them, I can keep this girl from any further harm. I thought it was going to be hard. I thought that the extra point to keep track of would prevent me from doing my best, but it was easy. It was just a quick moment, the quickest of moments ever, but I was able to kill it.
When I turned around to check on the girl I nearly dropped my sword. She was cute, and she was pretty. Her hair was pink. Her eyes were blue. Just looking at her made me feel silent. I'd never seen a girl like her before. It didn't know girls could look like her. I don't know a lot of fancy words to describe a girl like that. I don't know how one should talk about a girl like that, but I'm sure someone has figured it out, and maybe one day I'll read the words that match it.
After the Miasma clearing job, I think I'd rather read for the next couple of days anyway, so I went to the one place that was good for that. Wayne's Library. I didn't know about libraries before Wayne brought me here. I didn't know there were so many books in the world either. Wayne's library had four shelves full of books that almost reached the ceiling. It was strange at first, but I got used to it being there.
Wayne told me the library had a lot of books that would teach you a lot of things. Maybe there were ones on combat. Maybe there were ones about how to become rich. Maybe there were ones that had to words I needed in order to describe the girl I met. Many times I would find Wayne reading in here, but he wasn't the only one who came here. His sister Emma would also come here often, so when I found her there on this day, I wasn't surprised at all.
Like usual she refused to acknowledge my being there. I was used to being looked down on. I was used to being hated. Wayne giving me any kindness has made me grateful in a way I'd never felt before. It only makes sense that members of his family wouldn't accept me, so I try to be respectful and not cause them too much trouble.
I don't have any desire to make friends of them right now anyway. Doing that would be asking for too much. I must first prove myself before I can let myself think about improving my status and ability to talk to others. I've gone this long without many friends, so this isn't really anything to me.
I grabbed a book Wayne's been teaching me to read. I can't read on my own completely yet, but I'm getting there. The book he has me on is one with a lot of stories. Some of them have happy endings, and some of them have tragic endings. I heard these stories were for children like me, and Wayne told the reason why was because they teach common sense. I guess that's something you can learn on your own, but for children, he said it's safer for them to read about it rather than experience it first hand when it comes to different situations.
I then came across a word I couldn't read and had to put the book down for a moment while I got a dictionary. When I put the book down, Emma, holding an open book in her lap, saw me and gave me a snicker.
"What? Can't you read it? Oh I forgot. You're a peasant! Peasants can't read!" She said with a rather nasty voice.
I ignored her and went to the shelf to find the dictionary. When I pulled it out and brought it back her eyes widened. I looked up the word and then went back to reading the book. I heard a low growl coming from her.
She really doesn't like me, but I guess she didn't know that Wayne has been teaching me how to read. She might not have known that peasants could read. I know I didn't know until Wayne showed me how.
"What book are you reading?" She asked me. I looked to see that she had put her book down.
"It's um… Fables for the Young." I responded.
She didn't snicker, growl, or give me any harsh looks.
"I guess those are easy, but by the time I was your age I could already read most books!" she exclaimed.
"What kind of books couldn't you read, if I can ask?"
"The boring kind. The ones with formulas, numbers and systems."
"So those kinds are boring?"
"Horribly boring! I can understand them now, but I still don't like them!"
"What books do you like?"
"There's one called The Rose Will not Wilt. It's a story about a girl who's abused and used by her family, and then some dark noble with a bad reputation sets his eyes on her and saves her from her despair. Of course she's scared he's just going to use her like her family does, but he becomes so charmed by her it makes him want to be a better person, just so that he can make her happy!"
"That sounds like a nice story."
"You really think so? I hear a lot of talk about it being a foolish story with an unrealistic plot. It's nice to know that not everyone thinks it's bad."
Silence fell onto the room. She started reading her book again, so I did the same. We didn't talk again for the rest of the day.
Right before I was about to turn in for the night, Wayne summoned me to his office. I walked inside and he sat behind his desk like usual. Like usual, there were all sorts of papers strewn about, and like usual, there were books scattered in all sorts of places; on the ground, on the desk, in one of the chairs, and even in the window sill. Wayne came out from around his desk and gave me a pat on the shoulders.
"Hey Joshua. How are you doing buddy?"
"I'm doing fine."
"So you're not shook up by our expedition or anything?"
"No. Not as much as I thought I would."
"But you're still feeling the effects then? Okay. I expected as much. It's getting pretty late isn't it?"
"Yeah. I guess it is."
"Okay. I've got a couple of things to talk about, so let's sit on the sofa for a minute."
I nodded and we sat down.
"Is everything okay here? Living here I mean?"
"Yeah. I think I'm still getting used to it, but I have nothing to be ungrateful for."
"So my mother hasn't bothered you at all?"
"No."
"How about Emma? I know she's been picking on you and has said some nasty things."
"Honestly. I don't dislike Emma. I thought she might hate me, but I don't think so anymore."
"You don't?"
I shook my head. "No. I don't."
Wayne leaned back into the sofa.
"I'm going to be honest with you Joshua. I thought I was getting through to Emma… I thought she was starting to like me, but no matter what I do, she avoids me and looks at me with these eyes meant to kill. I don't know how to get close to her, break the ice, and break her shitty attitude. Being stern hasn't worked, and being nice hasn't worked either. She capable of so much, and if she wanted to, she could hurt every last one of us."
"I don't think Emma wants to hurt us."
"Heh. You don't know her like I do."
"I think Emma… I think Emma feels a little trapped."
"Trapped? What makes you say that?"
"Well there's this book she likes."
"A book you say?"
"Uhuh. It's… something to do with a wilting rose…"
"Wilting rose… wilting rose… let me think…" Wayne said, leaning forward on the sofa putting a hand on his chin. "Was it The Rose Will not Wilt? No, that has to be the one. I haven't read it though."
"Yes. It was that one."
"Do you know what the book is about?"
"It's about a girl who's saved by a dark noble, is what she told me."
"She told you?"
"She wanted to know what I was reading and I asked her what kind of books she liked."
"She made small talk with you?"
"I guess so."
"That's different, but maybe it's good. Let me know if you get any closer with her."
"Do you want me to spy on her?"
"No… you know what. Just tell me what you want to. If you want to keep secrets with her, that's fine. I just… I want to figure out how to handle her and it feels like she's shut me out already. I figured if she's talking to you I might be able to figure out what makes her tick better, but maybe I'm overreaching. I don't want to interfere with other people's lives if I can help it."
"You care a lot about Emma." I remarked.
"Of course I care. She's a threat."
"A threat?"
"Yeah. She may not consciously want to hurt any of us, but subconsciously, she cares more about herself than about anyone else around her. That kind of person can hurt people even without meaning to. I don't know everything about everyone, but I'd say I do know a lot."
I shifted a little. "You really think she would try to hurt us?"
"I'm not going to lie. I do think she'd hurt us. Just… be careful Joshua." he said with a quiet tone he didn't usually use.
When I laid in my bed that night I thought about what he said. I didn't really understand, but I knew for certain that he was smarter than me. If he was warning me about Emma, then there was probably a good reason for it.
I then remembered the stories Wayne had me read. The bad people were clever. They used tricks and they lied to the good people. Was Emma the same? Sometimes the good people would be really suspicious for no reason, other times they were right in their doubt.
The world is more dangerous than I thought it was. We live in a world with monsters. We also live in a world where people can be like monsters. Both can hurt you if you aren't careful. Both can be useful if you know how to salvage the good parts. Even the Eshkalraks had things we cut off them that were able to sell to other people to make use of.
I'm still figuring this all out, and maybe it will take me a long time before I truly understand how to think like Wayne does. For now I trust him, but maybe Wayne wants me to doubt him in a way. Maybe I shouldn't rely on him, but while it makes sense, I'll follow his advice. He's given me a lot, and I won't take that for granted.