I Enslaved The Goddess Who Summoned Me

Chapter 773: Okurano

More than ten horses moved through the pitch black roads of southern Kastoria, their steady footsteps muffled by the heavy silence of the night.

Very few ordinary travelers would have dared take these roads after dark. The South had a reputation that kept sensible people behind locked doors until dawn, and for good reason. Bandits, beasts, and worse were said to roam once the sun disappeared. Yet for Shigeru’s group, the danger hardly seemed worth mentioning. If anything, they looked like the very kind of threat most people would pray not to meet, a large armed group riding together through the night like a pack of raiders with nowhere to be except deeper in the dark.

They had left Minami Kyoto nearly three hours earlier, and still they pressed on.

At the front, Shigeru led as confidently as he could, though even he was relying more on memory and instinct than certainty. The road stretched ahead in long, shadowed ribbons, broken only now and then by the pale wash of moonlight slipping through the clouds.

Nathan rode a short distance behind him. Shiina was asleep against his back, her arms loosely wrapped around his waist, her weight relaxed and unguarded as if there were not a single thing in the world to worry about. Every now and then, he could feel the warmth of her breath against the side of his neck. She was far too comfortable for someone riding through one of the most dangerous regions in the country at night.

Still, he said nothing.

“We should stop in a nearby town,” Yamada said at last, breaking the long stretch of silence. “Everyone needs sleep. And rest.”

Yuwa nodded at once. “I agree. We stop for the night, then leave again in the morning. If things go well, we should reach Death God Valley by tomorrow evening. Maybe by night.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Shigeru said before glancing back toward Nathan. “What do you think?”

“I am fine with it,” Nathan replied.

It was the sensible choice. Not long ago, several of them had still been drunk, and even now a few faces carried the dull, worn look of people fighting off headaches and exhaustion. Pushing forward without rest would only make them slower, sloppier, and far less useful if anything happened on the road.

“Good,” Shigeru said. “The nearest town should be Okurano. It is about an hour from here. We will stay there for the night and see if we can gather some information about Death God Valley before we move on.”

“Okurano?” Sosuke perked up immediately. “Nice. The baths there are amazing.”

That earned a few faint smiles and tired murmurs of approval. It was not much, but the thought of hot water and a real bed seemed to breathe life back into the group. The decision was made without argument, and they turned their attention fully to the road ahead.

The next hour passed slowly.

The deeper the night grew, the quieter everything became. The horses no longer seemed restless, only tired. Conversation faded into scattered remarks and then disappeared again. Even the wind had gone still. The only sounds left were the steady clop of hooves, the creak of leather, and the occasional rustle of clothing whenever someone adjusted in the saddle.

Shiina never woke once.

Nathan could feel her shift faintly with the movement of the horse, though each time she only settled closer again, still asleep, still trusting him enough to let herself drift so deeply in the middle of the journey. He kept his gaze on the road ahead, though his awareness of her never truly left him.

At last, lights appeared in the distance.

Okurano was not a large town, but in that moment it might as well have been a welcome refuge rising out of the dark. A few lanterns still burned near the entrance roads and along the main street, their glow soft and golden against the night. Most of the town was asleep, its houses dark and still, but places meant for late travelers remained open. Inns, bathhouses, and lodging houses kept their doors lit for whatever souls arrived after midnight.

By the time the group rode in, even the horses seemed relieved.

It was late, far later than most decent people would still be awake, yet Okurano received them with the quiet indifference of a town used to passing strangers. And for one night at least, that was more than enough.

Shigeru led them through the quiet streets of Okurano toward an inn that he and the others clearly knew well. The place stood a little apart from the neighboring buildings, warm light spilling from its windows into the night. From the wooden exterior to the stone path and the faint scent of steam drifting in the air, everything about it carried the familiar feel of a traditional Japanese style inn. Off to one side, Nathan caught sight of the open air baths, still wreathed in pale mist beneath the dark sky.

As soon as they stepped inside, an old man behind the front desk looked up and broke into a broad smile.

“Well now, if it is not Shigeru and his lively little group again,” he said with a laugh.

“Old man, we need rooms for everyone for the night,” Shigeru said. “And we would like to use the baths too. They are still open, right?”

“Of course they are. Give me a moment,” the innkeeper replied, already reaching for the room ledger as if he had expected them to arrive sooner or later.

While the old man arranged the rooms, Nathan glanced to his side and found Shiina swaying faintly where she stood. Her eyes were half closed, and she looked moments away from falling asleep where she was.

“Are you awake?” he asked.

“I am sleepy,” she murmured, covering a yawn far too late to hide it.

“Then go to your room and sleep immediately.”

She lifted her head just enough to look at him. “Are you sleeping with me?”

Her tone was innocent, almost absentminded, but the words still drew a sharp reaction from the others.

Yuwa stared.

Sana gasped aloud.

A few of the others looked far more awake than they had a moment earlier.

Nathan did not even blink. “No. I am taking my own room.”

“A shame,” Shiina said with a soft sigh. “I wanted to talk.”

“You need sleep first,” he replied.

A few minutes later, the innkeeper returned carrying several keys. He handed them out one by one while Shigeru sorted the room assignments with the ease of someone used to traveling with a group this size. Nathan took one for himself, then another for Shiina, mostly because it had become painfully obvious that if he left her alone she would probably fall asleep in the hallway.

He guided her down the corridor and into her room.

The moment the door slid open, she shuffled inside without resistance, slow and unsteady with exhaustion. Nathan followed, closed the door behind them, and steered her toward the bed. She was barely conscious, moving more on instinct than effort, and when he finally sat her down and pushed her gently back onto the mattress, she sank into it as if she had been waiting for that exact moment all night.

“Now sleep,” he said.

“Oh, right…” Shiina mumbled drowsily.

She lay there in a loose, careless sprawl, her sleeveless kimono having shifted dangerously during the fall. The fabric had slipped low on her chest, barely containing her full, soft breasts. Her deep cleavage was fully exposed, the inner curves rising and falling with each slow breath. From where Nathan stood, he could see the faint edge of one pink nipple peeking out from the side of the loosened cloth.

He stopped.

His gaze lingered far longer than it should have. Heat stirred low in his groin, his cock twitching and beginning to thicken inside his pants.

Was this reaction because of the long ride here, her warm supple body pressed tightly against his back, her soft breasts molding against him with every step of the horse, her hot breath ghosting over his neck for hours.

Now, alone with her in the dim light of the room, those memories mixed with the sight before him and made his pulse thunder.

With her hakama wide pants drew further to her knees, she looked obscenely tempting like this, relaxed, and completely vulnerable.

Nathan exhaled slowly, trying to ignore the growing hardness straining against his clothes. The more women entered his life, the less control his body seemed willing to accept.

Shiina was beautiful. Dangerously so.

“Do you want it?”

Nathan had already begun to turn toward the door when her soft, sleepy voice stopped him.

He looked back. “What?”

Her eyes were still nearly closed, but a small, lazy smile played on her lips. Slowly, absentmindedly, she dragged one bare foot along the mattress, letting her thighs part just a little wider. The movement caused her kimono to slip even further, revealing more of her full breasts and the tempting valley between them.

“Do you want me?” she asked, her voice low and husky.

The question sent a fresh surge of blood straight to his cock. He was fully hard now, thick and aching as he imagined pushing the loose kimono open, taking off her hakama, spreading her thighs, and burying himself deep inside her warm, wet heat.

In another situation, the answer might not have been no. He was not blind, and he was not immune to temptation. But Shiina was Norihiro’s personal guard. No matter how inviting her body looked right now — hard nipples pressing against thin fabric, legs parted, flushed skin begging to be touched — he couldn’t afford that kind of weakness.

If she became an enemy tomorrow, the last thing he needed was the memory of how she felt wrapped around his cock.

That kind of hesitation could get him killed.

So Nathan gave the only answer he trusted.

“No.”

He turned sharply, opened the door, and walked out without another word.