Chapter 21: Why didn’t you stop me?
Kota eased Aika onto the cool, velvet floor of the game chamber, its plush surface pulsing faintly with the dungeon's lewd undercurrent, careful to avoid the slick patches where the slime tendrils had teased her moments before.
The musky air hung heavy, laced with a lingering sweetness that clung to their skin, the chamber's crimson glow dimming, its slick walls humming with a sated, predatory calm after the trial's abrupt end.
Aika didn't resist.
She lay there, her breath shallow, eyes fixed on the ceiling's pulsing runes, a faint flush lingering on her cheeks.
Her blazer hung open, a single bra strap slipped off her shoulder, her skirt rucked up just enough to prompt a reflexive curl of her knees, shielding her vulnerability.
She made no move to adjust her disheveled clothes, her body still, as if the game's "humility enforcement" had drained her defiance.
After a long, weighted silence, her voice emerged, soft and raw. "...Why didn't you stop me?"
Kota looked down at her, his hoodie damp with sweat, his gaze steady in the sultry haze. "I told you not to touch anything."
"You didn't say I couldn't go in," she countered, her tone edged with exhaustion.