Chapter 29: Change
The public holiday came and went much faster than any of us expected. Between Daniel’s house, too much food, and an unhealthy amount of arguing over video games, the previous night’s nightmare gradually became something we pushed into the back of our minds. None of us forgot the factory, but for one day we managed to pretend it hadn’t happened.
Monday arrived with its usual routine.
The girls were undergoing another round of physical evaluations, which meant the academy had assigned the male students to various maintenance duties around campus. Ryan had somehow been sent to help reorganize the library despite openly admitting he hated reading, Marcus was assisting the groundskeepers, Ethan had been assigned to the cafeteria, Daniel was helping the maintenance staff repair classroom equipment, and Noah had volunteered to organize the Mystery Research Club’s paperwork before joining the others.
I’d been given a different task.
Inventorying the sports equipment.
It took less than twenty minutes.
Whoever had counted everything before me clearly deserved a promotion because every single item was exactly where the records said it would be.
That left me with an unexpected stretch of free time.
I stepped into the boys’ locker room, closed the door behind me, and changed out of my work clothes. The room was completely empty, save for the faint hum of the ventilation system. For once, there wasn’t anyone trying to drag me somewhere strange or force me into another ridiculous situation.
It was peaceful.
I silently hoped it stayed that way.
After pulling on a clean academy uniform, I leaned against one of the lockers and quietly opened my status window.
______
Host: Adrian Cross
Story Position: Prologue
Known Routes: 0 / ???
Known Sins: 1 / ???
• Lust — Fragment Collected (0.10%)
Sin Points: 15
Survival Probability: 0.8%
______
My gaze settled on the single entry beneath Known Sins.
Lust.
The fragment itself looked harmless enough.
A single line of text.
Just 0.10%.
Anyone looking at the status window for the first time would probably think it was insignificant.
It wasn’t.
I still remembered the in-game lore.
Each Sin slowly changed its user’s personality the more it was used. At first the changes were subtle—barely noticeable—but over time they became harder to ignore. Someone carrying the Sin of Wrath would gradually become more violent. Pride would convince its host that they were incapable of making mistakes. Greed would never be satisfied, no matter how much it obtained.
Lust worked the same way.
The more its power was relied upon, the stronger its influence became.
Thankfully, it wasn’t irreversible.
Every Sin had a way to reduce the mental burden it placed on its host, and Lust’s method was the most straightforward. By forming an intimate relationship and drawing the accumulated Lust back out through that connection, the fragment’s influence could be balanced before it permanently warped the user’s mind.
Simple.
On paper.
In reality...
I rubbed my forehead.
"...Yeah."
"As if that’s something I can casually put on a to-do list."
Besides, I wasn’t planning on relying on the fragment unless I had absolutely no other choice.
I’d already experienced what even a temporary loss of control felt like.
Once was enough.
Hopefully.
I had just closed the status window when the locker room door slammed open.
Bang!
I instinctively looked toward the entrance.
Two girls walked inside without the slightest hesitation.
Both wore the academy’s white sports uniforms, though neither of them looked like they’d come here by accident. Their eyes immediately found me.
Then they smiled.
Not normal smiles.
The kind that made every survival instinct in my body start screaming.
One of them tilted her head slightly.
"Oh?"
"Did your wounds already heal?"
The other glanced me up and down before letting out a quiet laugh.
"If they have..."
Her smile widened.
"...we can always make some more."
The two of them laughed together.
Not loudly.
Not hysterically.
Just enough to send a chill crawling down my spine.
I didn’t recognize either of them.
That somehow made the situation even worse.
I slowly looked toward the only exit.
They were standing in front of it.
"...Can I help you?" I asked as calmly as I could.
The taller girl folded her arms.
"No."
The shorter one giggled.
"We’re here to help you."
Every alarm bell in my head went off.
Something told me this conversation wasn’t going to end well.
I stood frozen as the two girls stepped closer, their eyes roaming over my half-dressed body with open interest. The locker room suddenly felt much smaller. The ventilation hummed quietly in the background, but it did nothing to drown out the sound of my own heartbeat.
The taller girl reached me first. Her fingertips brushed lightly across my chest before tracing the line of my collarbone. Her touch was cool at first, gradually warming against my skin.
"Wow..." she murmured, almost to herself. "Your skin is so smooth. It actually makes me jealous. I’m a girl, and even I don’t have skin this nice."
The shorter girl moved to my side, letting her hand glide up my arm before trailing across my back. She let out a quiet, appreciative hum.
"It’s like silk. Seriously... how is that fair?"
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to keep my breathing steady and my expression as neutral as possible. My mind raced through every option I had. These two hadn’t come here for a casual conversation. Every instinct screamed at me to push them away or call for help, but the look in their eyes told me that would probably make the situation even worse.
Their hands continued wandering over me, their touches light and teasing as they traced my shoulders, sides, and stomach. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay composed. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, my body betrayed me. My cock twitched inside my pants before slowly beginning to harden beneath the constant attention.
The shorter girl noticed immediately.
Her gaze dropped, and a mischievous smile spread across her face.
"Oh?"
"Look at that."
"Someone’s waking up."
The taller girl followed her gaze before letting out a soft laugh.
"Already?"
"We’ve barely touched you."
I instinctively tried to step back, only for my shoulders to bump against the row of lockers behind me.
"Stop—"
Before I could finish, the shorter girl’s hand boldly slid down and cupped the growing bulge through my pants. I jerked at the sudden contact, a sharp breath escaping despite myself.
"Sensitive, aren’t you?" she teased, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Look how hard you’re getting from a little touching."
"Cute."
The taller girl stepped even closer, lazily tracing circles across my chest while her friend continued rubbing me through the fabric.
"We were right about you," she whispered.
"There’s definitely something special here."
"We can feel it."
Their teasing voices and relentless touches made it harder to think clearly. My cock was fully hard now, straining against my pants despite every effort to stay in control. I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste blood, using the sting to keep myself focused.
A familiar blue window suddenly appeared before my eyes.
______
[System Notice]
Portion of collected Fragment of Lust detected.
Would you like to use a small amount to stabilize the situation?
Y / N
______
I didn’t really have a choice.
These girls weren’t going to stop on their own, and I was already losing control of the situation.
Mentally, I selected Y.
The fragment answered immediately.
A familiar warmth flowed through my body like liquid fire. My thoughts became clearer, sharper, but along with that clarity came the same aggressive edge I’d experienced before. I recognized it instantly. The personality shift had begun again. That wasn’t surprising. This fragment had originally been extracted with the Holy Condom, and traces of that influence still remained.
This time...
I welcomed it.
If I was going to deal with these two, hesitation wasn’t going to help me.
The change settled in almost instantly.
I grabbed the shorter girl’s wrist, stopping her hand where it rested against my cock. My grip was firm, almost rough, and a faint smile slowly spread across my face as I looked down at her.
"You really want to play this game?" I asked, my voice noticeably lower than before. The fragment’s influence had already begun bleeding into my tone.
"Then don’t start something you can’t finish."
For a brief moment, both girls looked surprised.
Then their smiles widened.
The taller girl leaned close enough for her warm breath to brush against my ear.
"We were hoping you’d say that."
The shorter girl gave me one last playful squeeze before meeting my eyes.
"Show us what you’ve got, Adrian."
I could feel the Fragment of Lust settling deeper into my mind, quietly pushing aside my usual restraint. The locker room, the possibility of someone walking in, the sheer absurdity of the situation—none of it seemed as important as it had only moments ago.
This wasn’t going to stay innocent for long.
And a part of me...
The part slowly being shaped by Lust...
Didn’t want it to.