In the game, Yuri was a bored demon who had been around for some unknown centuries.
Roaming the underbellies in the kingdom of Dorono, he preyed on the wicked to satiate his hunger. Thus, he soon delighted in spectating the villainess as the villainess spiraled into rage and jealousy. But, by doing so, he became interested in the target of the villainess's antics: the heroine.
Staying by the heroine's side during her ordeal with the villainess and even after the exile of the latter, Yuri eventually developed feelings for the heroine.
In the end, however, Yuri ultimately met his demise when he sacrificed himself for the heroine's happiness…
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Yuri's devotion to the heroine was commendable—contrary, the attention he spared any other was nothing but fiendish.
Seducing prey unlucky enough to attract him, he offered to fulfill the darkest of their wicked desires. And upon acceptance, the prey's desires blossomed into reality. Yet—what Yuri never mentioned was that the more they asked for, the more due he was to collect…
How he relished in their pleas and terror as he took back what he gave, eating his fill as he toyed with their deaths…
…
I had long decided not to seek Yuri even if he could easily help me achieve my goals.
His hedonistic unpredictability was a risk I couldn't afford, thus…
I would do well to ignore him in this lifetime…for now.
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"Child? Are you alright?" the young man asked, startling me back to the present.
I dragged my gaze away from Yuri and stared at the stranger.
Seeing as Yuri was accompanying him, perhaps this stranger was Yuri's current prey…?
"Ah…h-hello," I managed to say calmly as I clutched my dagger even harder.
And if indeed they were Yuri's prey, didn't that mean they were nefarious to some extent—
"Hm…?" a sound rumbled from Yuri, freezing me. "I'm sure that little one was staring at me… Can they see me?"
"Forgive me if I scared you, child," the stranger said gently, as if Yuri hadn't spoken at all. "As I was asking earlier, I noticed your basket from afar and was wondering if you picked any [valerian] or [barlbel]?"
Yuri flew towards me, their bountiful hair flowing past as I dropped my gaze to my basket, stalling as I scanned the table of plants in the drawing that I had on me.
[Calm down. Calm down!]
"I do have [valerian]," I confirmed, ignoring Yuri who was now hovering above me. "I'll give it all to you."
"Thank you," the stranger said, stepping close.
Something brushed against my brow, and I froze once more when Yuri commented above us, "Hm…This little one smells a bit like you."
Without thinking, I looked up.
And met.
With the lower halves of full, bare breasts—
That was the first in this lifetime I ever fled so fast, my face flaming as I tried not thinking about what I just ran from.
I stumbled through the forest as far as I could—gasping air as adrenaline pumped through my legs—until finally—from a distance—I heard familiar voices calling my name.
Heading in that direction, I burst out into an opening where Shire, Fin, and Winston were. Only after gathering my breath—and reassuring them nothing was chasing me—did I realize I left my basket behind.
"The rest of us gathered more than enough, so it's fine," Fin told me as we all headed back.
"Are you sure you didn't sneak off to fool around somewhere?" Shire asked, glaring at me light-heartedly.
I flushed, recalling Yuri.
…
I had forgotten Yuri could change forms since he needed to seduce all sorts of people…all with different kinds of preferences—
A cool hand pressed against my temple, and Shire appeared in front of me, asking with concern, "Oi, did you catch a fever or something? Why aren't you answering? And why are you so red?"
"I'm…totally alright…" I uttered unconvincingly.
"Let's hurry back," Winston said, frowning as he brushed Shire's hand away.
"You deserved that," Fin whispered to Shire as Winston led me away.
"…Shut it."
We soon returned to Irraine and Mr. Sparrow, who both looked pleased by our total find despite learning one basket was lost.
Then we returned to the inn where Winston kept me under careful watch while we ate our meal.
"I'm truly alright," I had to reassure him one final time before turning in for the night.
He looked doubtful but eventually nodded as I bid him goodnight.
[That's right], I thought to myself as I laid in bed.
Attractive as Yuri was, I had no reason to think about them further.
I just needed to ignore their existence, and they might, in turn, ignore mine…
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I woke up the next morning resolute, determined to focus solely on hunting with Sir Ruloc and the others.
Much to my dismay, however…
Our plans were yet again delayed.
We soon learned why.
It turned out that a few days ago, a rabid beast descended the mountains and attacked a group of the local hunters upon encounter. The group managed to injure and fend off the beast, but several of the hunters were wounded in the process.
Hearing their account once they fled back into town, Sir Ruloc decided to pause our hunt for the time being. And, in addition to that, he and the knights offered to help track down and kill the injured beast to ensure the safety of the rest of the townsfolk.
The townsfolk gratefully accepted. And so—
Winston and I were ordered to stay behind while Sir Ruloc and the rest joined the remaining hunters in their search for the beast.
"Have fun helping Fin!" Shire grinned, patting us both on the shoulder.
[…]
Shire smirked one last time, and Winston and I watched him leave in torn silence.
…
Winston sulked for the rest of that day, even more when the next few days followed in repeated succession.
"Can't we go with them? We're just as good as Shire, aren't we? Doesn't Sir Ruloc trust us?" he grumbled in frustration on the third day we were left behind.
We were both sitting outside at the back of Irraine's place while Fin helped Irraine and Mr. Sparrow inside.
"Let's trust in Sir Ruloc's judgement," I said even though I was feeling just as restless.
As Irraine had run out of errands to give us since the forest was off limits due to the current situation, Winston and I could do nothing but wait idly for the knights' return.
"Also, Shire is more experienced compared to us…but hopefully we'll get to join them soon," I added when Winston glowered at the ground.
To lift his mood—and to pass time—I suggested exploring the town.
"…We did that yesterday," he grumbled.
"Then how about we practice with our longbows?"
He frowned in contemplation before mumbling, "…Fine."
He walked sluggishly as we retrieved our bows and practice-arrows from the inn. And once we returned to Irraine's, he only watched from afar as I set up a target some hundred yards away.
As we took turns shooting arrows into it though, Winston's focus gradually homed in on the target, reflecting in the countless times his arrows hit it square in the middle.
"I'll need to practice more if I want to best you," I huffed playfully after missing the mark for the umpteenth time.
For the first time that day, he grinned.
"Yep!" he cheekily agreed.
I threw him a displeased look before laughing along with him.
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After our last round, we went to collect any salvageable arrows.
While doing so however, the skin at the base of my skull suddenly pulled back, causing me to stiffen.
"What is it?" Winston asked quietly as I straightened and scanned our surroundings, becoming wary himself.
[…]
"…It felt like someone was—" I barely spoke before pausing, spotting a figure watching us a few yards away.
"Hello," the figure called out as soon as they realized Winston and I had noticed them.
The figure walked closer, and my pulse quickened when I recognized who it was.
[Yuri's [prey].]
"I'm glad we met again," Yuri's prey said, his green eyes shimmering underneath the sun as he addressed me.
The prey was alone, with Yuri nowhere to be seen…
The prey smiled.
"I have something to return to you…"