23 Conflicting emotions

The first thing I felt upon waking up wasn't pain, no, oddly enough, it was warmth and a sense of tightness, as if I were in a nest or something like that; it wasn't unpleasant, if I were to say.

Opening my eyes, I found myself under an unfamiliar ceiling. This was starting to feel like some kind of cruel joke at this point. Well, if the softness I felt on my back was any indication, at least I was in a bed and not lying on the grass. Once was enough for me, thank you.

The first thing I checked was my right arm; it was cast and bandaged. I didn't know who had done it, but it wasn't an amateur job, so it was probably Shizuka.

When I tried to sit up, I realized why I felt like I was in a nest. I must have been more injured than I thought, as I hadn't noticed a sleeping body on top of me until now; from the pink hair, I had no doubts about who it was.

I let out a sigh of relief; she was okay. And judging by the smile on her face while she slept, it seemed like she wasn't injured anywhere, but that didn't explain why I felt all wrapped up. Saya wouldn't be responsible for that.

I tried to move my left arm, since I knew from the pain coming from my right arm that I hadn't taken the potion before passing out, but I couldn't, thanks to the other body that was sleeping while clinging to me: Rei.

I blinked in confusion before smiling helplessly; at least they left my right arm alone since there was no one sleeping there. Raising my head to survey the room, I could see that it was large and looked old, like a room in a European nobleman's mansion or something like that.

Looking around the room, contrary to my expectations, the whole group was here. Takashi and Kohta were asleep on the couch in the left corner of the room, near the door, their heads leaning against each other to prevent falling over. I could see that both of them were holding their weapons to their chests, Takashi with his baseball bat and Kohta with his rifle.

More towards the center of the room, in an armchair, was Saeko. She was sleeping much like the two boys. She was sitting while resting her chin on her wooden sword. It didn't look like a comfortable way to sleep, but she was drooling, so who was I to say.

And finally, on the far side of the door, in the right corner of the room, were Shizuka and Alice, sleeping on the last couch, with the former hugging the latter to keep her from falling. I could also see what looked like dog ears just behind the nurse's behind, so Zeke was here too.

With the whole group accounted for, I tried to get up, but with my right arm immobilized and my left trapped between the two mounds of the spear-wielder, I didn't have much success.

Sigh. I didn't want to wake them up since everyone seemed tired, but I had no other choice. It was stuffy and hot, and if my morning erection, which was trapped between Saya's thighs, counted for anything, I needed to use the bathroom as well.

Thinking about it, who changed my clothes? I'm not wearing the same clothes I had on before. Looking at my body, I could see that I was wearing some kind of kimono, a yukata perhaps? I couldn't tell the difference. It was dark blue with black and gold embroidery. Not exactly the colors I would choose, but it was beautiful.

I tried to wake them up, speaking softly so as not to wake the others in the room, but without success. The only reaction I got from both of them was Rei shifting and pulling my arm closer to her chest, and Saya muttering something I couldn't understand while nibbling on the part of my clothing that lay over my chest.

I could tell this wasn't going to work. I sighed and spoke again, this time louder.

"Saya, Rei, wake up!" I put an emphasis on the end that seemed to be enough to rouse them, as I could see their eyes fluttering. Saya was the first to wake up; the tsundere rubbed her eyes while still lying on my chest and then sat up, straddling my waist.

She looked around before yawning and stretching her arms upwards, letting out a small cute sound from her mouth. She didn't seem to have noticed my morning erection between her thighs. I was relieved that the fabric of the kimono-yukata was enough to cover me. I didn't want Alice to wake up and see too much.

Rei did pretty much the same thing. The difference was that she stretched like a cat; she literally buried her head in the pillow while lifting her bottom and stretching before slowly raising the upper part of her body.

It was a cute and sexy scene at the same time. Saya was the first to realize I was awake; it was actually quite funny - her eyes met mine, and she looked at me with her mouth slightly open, like a goldfish.

"Good morning, did you sleep well? I hope I've been a good mattress," I couldn't help but tease. Her reaction was even funnier, as she rendered all my efforts not to wake up the rest of the group useless. She let out a scream, hugged me tightly, and cursed me.

"You idiot! Imbecile! Do you know how I felt when I woke up in that car and saw you covered in blood, nearly dead in the trunk!"

She continued to hug me while cursing me. I could also feel small drops of something wet falling on my shoulder, so she was crying too. I couldn't even hug her with my good arm since Rei had chosen to hold my hand between her breasts and hug me. She was starting to sniffle, but she wasn't crying like the tsundere.

I don't think I was so close to death; at least, I didn't feel bad now, so it shouldn't be as bad as they made it seem.

With the shouting and crying, I could see that the others had also awakened. Well, at least Takashi and Kohta had, as Saya was blocking the view of everything in the room, except for the left side, which I could barely see because of Rei.

Both of them woke up practically at the same time, with Takashi jumping off the couch in alarm while holding his baseball bat ready for a fight, and Kohta with his rifle, ready to shoot at anything. I'm glad that they, especially Kohta, realized it was a false alarm and lowered their weapons when they saw that I was awake.

The next few seconds were what I can only describe as a massive ball of people jumping on top of me. The first one I felt was little Alice holding my head, followed by Rei, who seemed to want more than just to hug my arm. Then Kohta jumped on top of everyone, followed by Shizuka, Takashi, and lastly, Saeko.

I'm glad that at least they didn't jump too much on my injured arm. That wouldn't be a pleasant feeling, I suppose.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to get off me, courtesy of Saya. Rei and Shizuka had jumped on me, but Saya forced the tsundere off while dragging her body along with mine.

Normally, nothing would have happened except for me feeling her breasts pressed against my chest. However, since I was wearing a kimono-yukata, and the clothes were quite loose, when she crawled up, they pulled the clothing along, which, in turn, left my little buddy, already excited from the morning, even more animated as it somehow ended up inside the tsundere's pajamas.

Clearly, I was the first to notice, as I could feel the softness of her belly along my entire length, ending with my little buddy's head at her navel.

Of course, Saya was the second to notice. I couldn't see it clearly, but I suppose she blushed like a tomato, as she always did. Then she yelled for everyone to get off her.

"GET OFF ME ALREADY! DO YOU KNOW HOW HEAVY YOU ARE?! DEVAS IS HURT! DID YOU FORGET ABOUT HIS ARM?!"

The group seemed to realize that jumping on someone who was injured might not be a good idea. They got up and left the bed, apologizing. The only ones left in the bed were, of course, me, Rei, who had gotten off me but was still holding my hand while sitting on the bed, and curiously, Saya.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, as I could now see that she was clearly red all the way up to her neck, a clear sign that she felt my erection against her belly.

She just buried her face in my chest and murmured, so softly that I could barely hear, and I doubt anyone else heard.

"If I move... everyone will see... just... stay quiet..."

It was an excellent point. I'm glad she stayed, as I wouldn't want to expose myself, especially not to the child in the room.

I just nodded and didn't attempt anything, at least no one noticed anything since the lower part of my body was covered with a blanket. The most they could think was why Saya was so red, but that was already a recurring thing with her, so they just shrugged it off.

With things calmer, I cleared my throat to get the group's attention and started speaking.

"Well, we're not dead, which means we managed to escape, that's good," I joked, which made them smile a bit. "Where are we? Did you break into an abandoned mansion or something?" I said, pointing to the room with my chin.

Rei and Takashi shook their heads, but it was the friend with the baseball bat who answered me.

"It's Saya's parents' house. Shizuka sensei managed to bring us here while you were unconscious. Saya led the way; she woke up shortly after we got out of the zombie horde."

Alice took the opportunity to say excitedly, "It's a big house!" She opened her arms to demonstrate the size, which only made her look even cuter and elicited some laughter from the group, including me.

"I see our little lioness is some kind of ojou-sama? Should I bow now? I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint her since I'm a bit injured here." I would have touched her cheek to tease her too, but since Rei didn't let go of my arm, I just pointed at her with my chin.

She huffed but didn't take her face off my chest; she just raised her hand and gave me a few weak punches in the chest without responding. But it was strange because the group seemed so alert if they were in Saya's house.

"Did something happen while I was unconscious?" I asked, and Kohta was the first to express his dissatisfaction.

"They tried to take our weapons and supplies since we were..." He raised his fingers in the air, forming quotes. "...kids, and we wouldn't know how to use them anyway, and to let the adults take care of things," he finished, huffing.

Takashi was the next to speak. "They also said it was better for them to manage everything since we weren't reliable with so many things, that we could ask them if we wanted something." The boy didn't look happy, as if the way he almost growled while saying this meant something.

Finally, Rei. "They said we were lucky to have made it this far, that they had been killing zombies from the beginning of all this, and that it was better to leave things to them since children and women needed protection." I could see that she was biting her lips hard, she was angry with all of this.

Before I could ask who the guy I would have to confront was, Saya answered me. She lifted her head from my chest, not as flushed as before, but I could still see a hint of red on her face.

"It was one of my father's men. They didn't get anything, of course. My mother put them in their place." She huffed as she rested her chin on my chest.

"Do these idiots think that just because my father isn't here, they can act like this? Just because my mother and I are women, they think we won't put them back in their place?" She seemed indignant, and rightly so, as they had treated her friends, the group that had been there since the beginning of this apocalypse, like children.

I sighed internally at that. I didn't like Japanese customs; it wasn't my place to speak since I wasn't part of this country or knew these people, but if they try something like that while I'm awake and in the same room as them, they won't like my reaction.

I coughed to disperse the gloomy air that was forming in the room. "I'll tell you what you already know: you're not 'kids' as they say." I pointed to Kohta with my chin.

"You literally managed to suppress a good portion of the zombie horde while buying time for me. You don't know how to use a weapon? If you don't, nobody here does." The boy seemed to glow with the compliment, straightening his posture and puffing out his chest.

I turned to Rei, who was beside me. "You probably killed more zombies with that ridiculous broom handle than half of those men." I didn't know how she did it, seriously, it was literally a regular broom handle with a nail! After I gave her one of the improvised spears I made, her efficiency improved significantly.

I could see that she had perked up a bit, and I continued, pointing to the boy with the bat.

"You, Takashi." I pointed to him with my chin. "I'm sure if I hadn't been here, you would have kept everyone alive. I don't even need to ask, who gave the orders while I was in my beauty sleep?"

He smiled at how I described my fainting and responded somewhat embarrassed. "It was me, but you would have done much better, I'm sure." I just nodded and smiled. "You're lucky I can't throw anything at you right now. Stop downplaying yourself, just accept the compliment!"

I could see that he had taken my words seriously and smiled more proudly of himself. Now, our samurai was the only one left.

"Saeko!" I called her attention, as she had been silent until now. "I don't think you would have listened to all of this quietly. What happened?" I hadn't known Saeko for very long, but I knew she would have defended everyone, even if it meant using brute force.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "It wasn't my place to speak. We're guests here, I didn't want to impose, it would only bring more trouble to the group." I could hear Saya scoff at this, but she didn't say anything, just waited for me to continue.

I shook my head and looked into the eyes of the purple-haired samurai. "There's being a good guest and letting people walk all over you." I pointed to Saya as I shifted my focus of speech.

"You're the young lady of this house. Tell me, my little lady, does Saeko have permission to smack the next idiot who talks nonsense to our group?" She rolled her eyes but smiled as she turned her head to Saeko.

"She has my full permission. My mother won't say anything, and neither will my father unless he wants to sleep on the couch, of course." She finished with a joke and a smile.

I waved and concluded my speech to Saeko. "See? Next time, just smack them on the head a few times, maybe put their brains back in place." She just nodded, but I could see a smile on her face; even her grip on the sword seemed more relaxed.

With the group more at ease, I was about to ask them to leave the room so I could go to the bathroom, but Shizuka stopped me.

"Hey! What about me? You said nice things to everyone, and nothing to me?" She pouted while holding Alice in her lap. I felt sorry for the girl since the nurse's enormous breasts were right on her head; that must be heavy for her to bear.

I just shook my head and pointed to my bandaged arm. "It was you, wasn't it?" I didn't think they would let anyone get close to my unconscious body.

She just nodded as if it were obvious, to which I smiled and responded with a nod of my own. "There you go, you're our doctor; I don't need to say anything. I trust no one else in this world to take care of the group if someone gets hurt other than you." Because I didn't know any other doctors in this world, but that wasn't relevant.

She smiled happily and hugged little Alice tighter, which made the girl laugh, and Zeke, who was sleeping next to them, perked up an ear and opened one eye before realizing it was nothing and went back to sleep.

Finishing this brief conversation, I turned to Rei. "Could you give me my arm back? I kinda need to go to the bathroom, and you holding it doesn't help." She didn't let go and pointed to Saya.

"And her? You won't be able to go to the bathroom with her lying on top of you. When she gets up, I'll let go!" She puffed up her cheeks like a spoiled child trying to win an argument.

I just sighed. "I'll talk to Saya first. You can go ahead, or do you want to see me naked? I don't want to stay in these clothes; I'll change as well."

Takashi made a fake vomiting noise and laughed as he pulled Kohta out of the room. Alice, in her innocence, just smiled and jumped off Shizuka's lap and followed the two out. Before that, she woke Zeke up with some pats on his head, causing the dog to yawn and follow them out of the room.

Shizuka just tilted her head to the side and put her finger on her chin. "But I changed and cleaned you. I've seen you naked already; it's not a problem." She finished smiling as if she had found the right answer.

So, it was her? I'm glad, it's better than some of the guys in the group. I'm more comfortable with the hot nurse changing me.

I just nodded and pointed to Saeko. "Get the airhead nurse and go after them. I don't want to have to run because Kohta killed some idiot who made Alice cry." The samurai just nodded and took the blonde's hand, leading her out of the room.

With that, only Rei remained.

"I don't mind, actually, seeing you naked." She smiled, but it was mainly directed at Saya, as if she were teasing her. "Do you need help getting changed? It must be difficult with just one arm." She pointed to my injured arm.

I just rolled my eyes at her and smiled, as if I knew something she didn't, which in this case, was my stiff member between our bodies.

I declined; perhaps at another time, I might have accepted, but not now. "Just go ahead, you troublesome girl." I said. "I'll just have a quick chat with Saya about her family before heading to the bathroom." Before she could argue, Alice rushed back into the room and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, come on, Rei-neechan, you said you'd play with me after Devas-Aniki woke up!" Alice, you little angel! But seriously, aniki? Is everyone going to call me that now?

She didn't wait for a response and started pulling the spear out of the room. Rei sighed but didn't resist. Just before leaving the room, he gave Saya a look, which she returned with a smile and stuck out her tongue.

Now that everyone had left, it was just me and Saya, who had turned red again.

"Aren't you going to get up, or do you want to stay there all day?" She hesitated before nodding.

"I like it here, it's comfortable. I don't think I'm going to leave for now." She shifted her body, rubbing her belly even more against my already fully erect member. I could see that she was embarrassed by what she was doing, as she was completely red, but she didn't stop.

I just pointed to the door. "Do you think they won't come back if they see you're taking your time? Especially Rei?" This seemed to dispel some of her lustful haze as she widened her eyes and bit her lip in frustration.

She clicked her tongue as she spoke softly. "That bitch will definitely come back running." Then she got up and sat on my lap, which made my buddy, who had been trapped, finally see freedom. But it seemed he had taken a liking to Saya's belly because he followed her as she got up and smacked her hard, making a fleshy sound.

The tsundere just stared at my dick in amazement, with her mouth slightly open. At any other time, I would have dragged her into the bathroom with me since she seemed more than willing, but I was already starting to lose the battle with my stomach.

"Are you going to keep staring at it or leave? Time is ticking, little lion." I moved my left arm as if mimicking a clock while making "tick-tock" sounds with my mouth.

She woke up from her trance and got up, finally getting off me, which gave me space to rise using my left arm for support as I stretched. Saya continued to stare at me, or rather, at a specific part of my body, then began to walk out of the room.

As I started to turn to go to the bathroom, she turned around and rushed toward me, hugging me, causing my penis to be nestled between her breasts since she was much shorter than me.

"Thank you," she said in a soft voice. "I saw you before I passed out... just... thank you."

I just smiled and hugged her with my good arm, letting her decide when the hug ended. When she let go, she took a step back and said in a low voice.

"This is a reward, don't think I like you or anything."

She looked down at where my member was, leaned forward, and gave it a quick kiss; I could feel she gave it a little lick as well, but before I could react, she was already running out of the room, redder than ever.

I stood there for a few seconds, looking at the door like a fool before smiling helplessly and sighing.

"I must be cursed, it can only be. You could have chosen any other time, little lion, any other time..."

Shaking my head, I went to the bathroom. Even with Saya's actions, it didn't take long for my excitement to die down, as the only thing that kept it going was the girl with pink hair. With her out of the room, the second strongest emotion in my body took over.

Disgust, followed by guilt.

I rushed to the bathroom and locked the door behind me. It was lucky, as the moment I reached the toilet, I began to vomit, the memories from earlier hitting me like a punch in the stomach.

"I really killed them, didn't I?" I muttered as I wiped my mouth and got up, going to the sink.

I kept telling myself in my head that they were monsters, that they would have done horrible things if I hadn't stopped them, but it didn't matter to the guilt I was feeling; it wasn't rational.

Cleaning up the rest of the vomit, I washed my face and brushed my teeth to get the taste of garbage out of my mouth and finally looked at myself in the mirror.

The face that stared back at me wasn't smiling; it just looked at me as if it blamed me for everything. I stared back at it.

"Come on, you knew this was going to happen, you knew it the moment you heard the name of the kingdom they threw you into." Terraria...

"You knew you would have to kill; it was inevitable, just..." I sighed; this wouldn't work, I knew that. So, I would just have to do as I always did.

Like when I found out why my "father" hated me.

Like when I found out how Mom died.

Like when I found out the meaning of my name.

Like now.

I just needed to pretend that everything was fine.

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Well, let's start with the fact that I delayed this chapter, got a bit confused about how to write it, and decided to write it the same way I'm writing the others, trying to mix things up and show that our protagonist (Devas) is more human than you think and really has a story behind him.

Well, I hope I managed to do a good job, I don't know, but I liked this chapter. Originally, Saya's father was supposed to still be in the mansion, but I changed that to speed up the story. In doing so, I cut out about 3 or 4 chapters of filler that wouldn't fit well in this pace and point of the story. For those who are wondering, the time skip is coming soon, and then we'll return to our dreadful place called Terraria. He'll spend about 4 or 5 days there and then go to another world to gain a new 'power'? It's not exactly a power, but it will be the foundation of his strength.

Let me know what you think; I want your opinion to help me improve. But well, I've rambled on long enough, as always. Comment on what you thought, comment if you want to see a specific world or character in the story, comment if you have any questions or theories, and if possible, give the story a rating. With that said, good night and happy reading.

PS: What do you think of this pseudo-lemon? I'm not good at writing this kind of thing, I'm not sure if it's something that turned out well, really.

PSS: A friend of mine suggested I open a Patre-on, and I'm not sure if I'll do it, but if I do, what would be the pricing? $1 for 3 chapters ahead, $2 for 5 chapters, and $3 for 7? I really don't know, what do you think of this idea? And for those who might be concerned, even if I open a Patre-on, I will NEVER hide chapters behind a paywall; the story will always be released for everyone.