Chapter 1 – Party Members

 

– Thump! Thump! Thump!

 

-“Starchis! Open the door!”

 

“Um…”

 

I felt heavy. I couldn’t even open my eyes for a long time, but someone was waking me up.

 

I only raised my eyelids and looked out the window. Clear dawn greeted me. It seemed the sun hadn't arisen yet, but a voice continued to urge me to get up.

 

-“Starchis!! Open the door quickly!!”

 

It was easy to guess who was doing this from the voice and furious behavior. It must be our party healer, Vienna. A beautiful girl with silver bobbed hair and silver eyes.

 

-“Hey! We’re entering the dungeon today! Are you going to be late?”

 

We enter the dungeon during the day… Why did you come so soon?

 

I looked out the window again, wondering if I had misunderstood the time, but it was still dawn.

 

Let me get some sleep, please. I didn’t even promise to meet you early, so why are you doing this again?

 

No matter how weakly one drank, they would still have a hangover if they slept so little. And in this case, I had drunk a lot.

 

I thought I would be able to sleep until late in the morning, so I didn't care and drank more.

 

The plan to enter the dungeon after sleeping in late and waking up slowly with the hot soup was ruined.

 

I covered my ears with a pillow. Even knowing that I will have to open the door eventually.

 

A different voice was heard this time.

 

-“Chis, are you there? I’m here. Please open the door.”

 

This soft and calm voice belonged to our aloof knight, Luss. A cold beauty with black hair and black eyes.

 

-“Won't you open it for your friend? Please?”

 

Whew.

 

You can’t refuse someone who asks for something like that.

 

I forced myself to stand up and sit on the bed. I rested my elbow on my legs and cupped my chin with both hands.

 

"Wait! Let me put on some clothes first!"

 

I was wearing nothing but underwear.

 

I never thought there would come a day when I wouldn’t even bother to wear clothes in my life.

 

Is it proof that the fatigue accumulated in the body is severe?

 

The two of them became quiet at my answer. And the last voice was heard.

 

-"Starchis…? You’re not with a woman, are you?"

 

It was the voice of our Party wizard, Lily. I called her Lily Noona. She was an amazing wizard with curly long red hair and red eyes.

 

What is that?

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

As soon as I finished my words, a hideous aura arose from outside the door.

 

Now if I delayed any longer, it will be annoying.

 

I picked up the clothes that were scattered on the floor and put them on.

 

-"What… What! So why don’t you open the door? Are you wearing clothes right now!?"

 

-"Chis, open the door. Didn't you say you went to see your brother yesterday?"

 

-"Starchis? Are you deliberately wasting time?"

 

– Thump! Thump! Thump!

 

“Wait a minute!!”

 

Ugh. I sighed.

 

What kind of delusion did you have to create such a sudden scenario?

 

My head was a little dizzy. There was no way to know if it was because of the hangover or because of the party members.

 

I remembered the advice my older brother gave me yesterday, but this time it was strangely awkward since they were already suspecting me to have a girl over. So I was contemplating whether to implement it.

 

‘Just tell them you got a girlfriend?’

 

Even thinking about it, I shook my head.

 

Because I'd have to lie.

 

As someone who can’t lie, I don’t know if I’ll be able to lie properly, and if I get caught, they'll annoy me by saying that I’ve lost trust.

 

Also, whether I have a girlfriend or not, calling me to be a porter on my days off is the same, so I’m not sure how'd that help.

 

Will an excuse like ‘I don’t have time to meet you guys since I’m meeting a girlfriend’ will work?

 

Going to see my brother was barely successful because of circumstances.

 

Wouldn’t I rather hear something like ‘you met your girlfriend that day, so shouldn't you work harder today?’.

 

In any case, I decided to postpone my older brother’s advice until the very end.

 

I dressed roughly and unlocked the lock.

 

-Click

 

– Jump!

 

“Huh?”

 

As soon as I unlocked the lock, the door burst open on its own, and two of the three beauties pushed me and entered the room.

 

“What! I didn’t ask you to come in!”

 

They didn’t even listen to me.

 

Saintess Vienna began searching every nook and cranny of the house.

 

I wasn't sure where the saintess’s modesty had gone; she prostrated herself on the floor and searched every nook and cranny. Until her fine hands got messy.

 

Knight Luss was calmly standing outside the door, unlike the other two who had hurriedly entered the room.

 

Instead, Luss went into the room, uninterested in what Vienna was doing. Unhooking the sword from her waist and placing it carefully on a desk beside her, she first looked for a place to sit, and then sat down on the bed.

 

The wizard, Lily Noona, sniffed the smell in the room. Looking closely, she had her magic eyes on; she was looking around the room with blue glowing eyes.

 

No, you only use it when tracking monsters in dungeons. Why now!?

 

“What the hell…”

 

I was dumbfounded and looked back at the normal Luss, who lifted the covers and looked at the sheets, and even put her hand in it and fumbled.

 

I learned this first because of them, but if the shock is bigger than anger, you don’t get angry but lose your strength. Like now.

 

“…Ha… What are you doing at dawn…”

 

My head was pounding.

 

Their actions continued for a while.

 

With resignation, I turned on the switch of the magic lamp hanging from the ceiling; The dimly lit room became brighter.

 

I’ll ask what they’re doing later, and since they seem to be looking for something, I should at least turn on the light.

 

Because it's early in the morning, we can’t see anything.

 

After that, I stood in a daze until their actions were over.

 

After a while, everyone looked back at me calmly as if to say they had done everything they wanted to do.

 

My blank expression and their faces exchanged glances.

 

“Are you done?”

 

But now they knew it was embarrassing, so they didn’t say anything.

 

“…”

 

The one who broke the silence was the saintess Vienna.

 

“…I guess you weren’t with a woman, Starchis?”

 

I was dumbfounded. Naturally, I got pissed at hearing strange things.

 

“Suddenly… What the hell! What kind of delusion… No, what if I was with a girl?”

 

Is this what you ask as soon as you arrive at dawn?

 

At my words, the three averted their eyes at the same time.

 

“No, answer me. What if I was with a girl?”

 

“…It’s just because Chis has a girlfriend and he didn’t tell me so I was upset, can't I?”

 

“Yeah, Luss is right. Don’t take it too sensitively.”

 

No, you've been behaving like this since dawn, so how can I not take it sensitively?

 

And why are you so confident?

 

After all, just coming into my room and searching every nook and cranny could not be because of a fleeting thought, right? They must have some confidence.

 

“Ha… That aside. So, why did you come to see me?”

 

Silence fell on my words, and we began to look at each other. This time, for a while, no one said a word.

 

“What? Is it hard to say?”

 

Their gazes became more startled at my question. Their eyes flickered back and forth from the saintess Vienna to the knight Luss and then to the wizard Lily as if urging another person to do something.

 

Seeing how they reacted to my words, I don’t think there’s anything to say, right? Then, please…

 

“… Huh… What is it? Did you come here just to do this?”

 

I said without hiding my look of discomfort.

 

Fatigue kicked in.

 

Was it only this? To see if there was a girl in my room? Why?

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

“…Seriously?”

 

My expression crumpled.

 

The three looked at each other, and Saintess Vienna opened her mouth.

 

“Ah… No. Everything… Of course, I came to check your condition!”

 

“…Condition check?”

 

“Yes! You said you were drinking with your brother yesterday! Despite going into the dungeon today.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Okay? My heart was slightly relaxed.

 

We were going into the dungeon today, and it was definitely my fault that I drank the night before. We have to leave our lives in the hands of each other, so it was definitely a serious concern.

 

“You said it was okay to drink yesterday, so why did you get angry…? It’s scary…”

 

“Oh, no way. Heh heh! … I'm here to see if you’ve slept at all. Can't I even care?”

 

“…Really? Why did you ask if I was with a woman when you were just worried about the dungeon? You act like you’re looking for someone as soon as you walk in.”

 

“That was just a joke, Chis.”

 

Knight Luss answered instead with a soft voice and a grin.

 

“You went to see your brother yesterday. Why would you be with a girl, right? We knew, of course, that there would be no girls.”

 

It’s a little embarrassing, but I’m relieved that it was a joke.

 

Was it because I felt guilty because Hyung told me to lie about a fake girlfriend? It might be.

 

“Relax, Chis. We were really just here to see if you’re okay.”

 

“…If Luss says so, I'll believe it.”

 

“Hey! Why don’t you believe me when I tell you!”

 

At my words, Vienna became furious. Luss smiled even more bashfully at that.

 

Ignoring Vienna, I avoided the area where Luss was sitting and lay down on the bed.

 

Luss moved a little deeper into the bed.

 

“But everyone says they’ve come to check my condition, but coming so early isn’t good for my condition, right?”

 

I suddenly complained.

 

It’s hard these days, so it’s like manic depression. I got angry, but then I cooled down, and I was crying again.

 

Is it because I’m just so tired right now?

 

Seriously, I might have been thinking about it several times, but what the hell are you guys doing after coming here at dawn?

 

“I’m sorry to say this, but what’s the point of checking if I have a hangover now? If I really have a hangover now, I might not have it later, or if I have a hangover now and it lasts until the afternoon, it’s a problem you’ll have to check in the afternoon after all, right?”

 

The three were speechless.

 

Then isn’t it a lie to say they came to check my condition?

 

My doubts began to rise again, but I shook my head.

 

…They say it’s not the case. So I have to believe them. What are they going to achieve by lying like that anyway?

 

There were many things I wanted to say, but I was tired, so I held back.

 

“Huh… Now that the check is over, can you all leave? If it's fine, I’ll sleep a little longer.”

 

“…Uh, yes. Okay, Starchis.” Vienna answered.

 

“I’m sorry, Chis. I was short-sighted… Will you forgive me?”

 

Luss asked softly.

 

“Starchis. Get some more sleep. Since I’m here anyway, can I rest here too? I’ll make you breakfast later.” Lily Noona said.

 

By the way, Lily Noona is good at cooking. Is there anything bad about her..? Gradually tiredness kicked in.

 

"Do whatever you want, Noona."

 

“…Uh?”

 

“…Chis?”

 

“Luss? Could you stand up for a moment?”

 

At my words, Lily Noona came over to the bedside and said to Luss, who was sitting there.

 

I looked at them with half-closed eyes.

 

“Uh…? Huh? Lily sii?”

 

Luss got up from her seat, strangely embarrassed.

 

[ Note: Sii is added after someone's name to show respect. ]

 

I gradually closed my eyes.

 

It smelled good when I felt someone lying next to me.

 

“Lily sii?!”

 

“Hey! What are you doing!”

 

When I strained my eyes open, Lily Noona’s face was right in front of me.

 

“Noona..?”

 

“Starchis. I’ll make you whatever you want for breakfast. Instead, I’m a bit sleepy. I’m going to rest. Anyway, Can I borrow half of the bed?”

 

As she said those words, a refreshing minty fragrance reached my nose.

 

“Do whatever you want.”

 

“Thanks. Imagine that there is a magic line between me and Starchis. You can’t cross it, okay?”

 

Should such a thing be asked when renting a bed? If you don’t want to be touched, why don’t you lie down or set up your own area?

 

Or was she reminding me again that we had a line between us? That I should never even think about moving forward?

 

I moved slightly to the side to make room for her.

 

“I won’t go over, I won’t… Ha-am… Don’t worry…”

 

“Yes. Good night then.”

 

At Noona's words, I, who was tired, fell asleep in an instant.

 

********

 

As Starchis fell asleep, Lily looked at the other two with a grin.

 

Vienna was frowning.

 

Luss, who was always nice in front of Stachis, looked at Lily with a cold expression.

 

“Now that I’m done, you two go back.”

 

“What? I’m going to rest here too?”

 

“Lily sii, I can’t find a reason to go home either, so I’ll stay here.”

 

“You two... You said you were going to go. Also, did you get permission to stay here?”

 

The two flinched.

 

“Oh… You’re not going to stay here without permission, right? Are you a thief?”

 

“Huh…Why don’t we have permission? Starchis opened the door!”

 

“But he told you both to go back when work is over, right? I still have work to do because I have to make breakfast, right?”

 

-Grind!

 

A noise came from Luss’s teeth. However Lily didn’t care about that though.

 

“Now, are you two going back? I’ll see you later.”

 

“Lily... Cast that spell on Starchis.”

 

At Vienna’s words, Lily looked at her as if asking why. Of course, she knew what Vienna wanted her magic to do.

 

“Lily, hurry up.”

 

Vienna looked at her with a face about to explode.

 

Lily sighed and moved her fingers to Starchis’s ears.

 

[Deaf]

 

A white membrane covered Starchis’ ears.

 

At that moment Vienna shouted at her. But Starchis couldn’t hear because of the magic.

 

“This is against the promise!!”

 

“Oh, what part is out of sync?”

 

“Lily sii, please get out of bed.”

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

Lily calmly brushed away all of their words.

 

Rather, Lily pressed her body against Stachis. She went far beyond the magic line she herself had set.

 

She also hugged Starchis’s head and buried it on her chest.

 

“Vienna? Say it again. What part of the treaty did I break?”

 

“Benefits… Ugh!!”

 

Vienna trembled in anger at not finding anything to refute.

 

“…”

 

Luss also strapped the sword she had put aside at her waist again without saying anything.

 

When their party was formed and they continued to hunt together, they realized something; Starchis, who was dense, did not know, but all the party members had feelings for him.

 

All three of them would have tried to get Starchis over if their opponent was a tolerable woman, but all of them were all-around beauties who didn't lack in any part.

 

They were rivals so strong that one wondered where these people came from.

 

That’s why not a single one of them had the confidence that they could take Starchis for themselves.

 

As much as Starchis was everyone’s first love, the feeling of wanting to never lose him outweighed their feelings of wanting things to work out with him.

 

So they became closer than friends like now, but farther than lovers.

 

They went on dates several times a week and walked around dungeons to build trust in each other.

 

He smiled at them from time to time, and since he didn't have a lover, their heart was filled enough with skinship and dating they could already do.

 

The three of them were still satisfied enough. But if one of the three became his lover, even these little things would become impossible.

 

Dating time with him would get shorter, they won’t be able to cross their arms naturally, and to someone other than them… he would whisper love; They just couldn’t stand it.

 

They were cowardly, so they made a pact.

 

A pact that no one else would have him if one couldn’t have him.

 

A pact was written to prevent a catastrophe of one of them becoming a lover of him, leaving the other two behind.

 

A treaty for peace rather than winner-take-all, named, ‘The Stachis Treaty’.

 

The contents were like this:

 

First - Don’t become Starchis’s lover.

 

Second - Don’t confess to him.

 

Third - Don’t flirt with him.

 

Fourth - Do not secretly covet his lips or private parts.

 

Fifth - Don't let him know you like him or vice versa.

 

It was a treaty that everyone signed and agreed to.

 

Everyone made a copy of the treaty and took it home.

 

And Lily didn’t think she had broken any of this now.

 

"We didn’t become lovers, we didn’t confess to each other, we didn’t flirt while we were sleeping, we didn’t steal experiences… Lastly, we didn’t reveal our feelings. What’s the problem?"

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

-Rattle

 

Vienna’s hands trembled, and Luss’ lips quivered.

 

"Come on, go back. Didn't Starchis look very angry? What would his reaction be if you guys stayed behind?"

 

Lily felt pleasure in their increasingly ferocious reactions.

 

What a perfect victory this is.

 

All they could do was tremble and grind their teeth.

 

But as perfect as her victory was, Lily had no time to waste on them.

 

Because this time would not last long. She decided to enjoy the moment.

 

Lily turned her head away from them and looked at Starchis in her arms. It felt like her heart was full.

 

“Ah… Mine.”

 

And Lily hugged her Starchis tightly. Starchis’s head sank into Lily’s chest.

 

Lily was ecstatic. Her cheeks turned red and her legs twisted.

 

Saintess Vienna put her hands together and began to recite a divine spell.

 

Knight Luss also tried to draw her sword.

 

But Lily was quick to dispel her spell.

 

[Undeaf]

 

When the white membrane covering Starchis’ ears disappeared, the two women’s movements stopped.

 

Lily’s expression said, ‘Wake him up if you want to. But won't you be hated?’.

 

Vienna and Luss just stood still with angry faces without being able to do anything.

 

Lily felt a perfect victory once again.

 

"If you’re not going to wake him up, go back. So that we can sleep."

 

Then she grinned and pulled the blanket up to her head while holding Starchis who was still buried in her chest.

 

They began to hear Lily’s excited self-talk from under the covers.

 

-"Uh? If I do this, Starchis and I will be sleeping under the same futon?"

 

Vienna and Luss resisted the urge to blow it all up. It was the moment when the loophole in the Starchis Treaty was found again.

 

Luss couldn’t hold it in any longer, she opened the door with an angry face and went outside.

 

But she still made sure to quietly open the door to prevent him from waking up. It wasn’t easy with trembling hands.

 

Then, in the next few moments, she disappeared into the distance.

 

Vienna stood still. Hearing Lily’s dazed laughter coming from under the blanket, she felt frustrated at this situation where she couldn’t do anything, and her eyes filled up with tears even though she tried to hold back. 

 

Though she still didn't forget to remind Lily before running out of the door while holding back her tears.

 

“Lily. Keep the treaty.”

 

It was about Article 4 of the Starchis Treaty, not to covet his lips or genitals.

 

Then Vienna also hurried out.

 

Lily didn’t even listen to Vienna’s words. She didn’t intend to break the treaty, but she didn’t have time to pay attention to such petty comments.

 

Lily just smiled triumphantly. Right now, she was just enjoying the feeling of being in the arms of her love.

 

“Sleep well, my Starchis.”

 

Lily whispered in Starchis’ ear and cast another spell.

 

[Deep Sleep]

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