Chapter 7 — The Delivery Guild Gets Its Official Sign

The second floor of The Wet Boot.

The staircase had thirteen steps, and somehow every single one of them felt longer than it should.

The wood creaked underfoot with each step — an old, tired sound. The lingering warmth of the tasting event still drifted up from below, chicken smoke climbing the stairs behind me like a devoted customer.

I'd deep-fried twelve whole chickens' worth of a knight's salary. This alley wasn't going to forget me for a long time.

I could still see the faces of those female patrons, clutching their bones and blinking back tears. In this world, one chicken was a knight's monthly wage. I'd handed out twelve for free.

Back on Earth, that was just late-night snack money. Here, I'd effectively bought out an entire alley.

"You're actually coming up." Sera was leaning against the door at the top of the stairs, a bottle in hand. "Didn't think you would."

Thirty-two. Tavern keeper. A woman with shrewdness woven into her bones.

"You threw the key, didn't you?"

"Not many men pick up what gets thrown at them these days." She smiled. "For a rare treasure, you're awfully fearless."

"I'm plenty scared. The stairs were just scarier. Thirteen of them."

"Count them all the way up, did you?" Sera narrowed her eyes. "Cute little National Treasure."

Sera pushed the door open.

The door — opened.

A narrow room. A single bed. Through the window, the back-alley lamps swayed in the night breeze.

"Sit. I don't bite." She poured liquor into a cup. "— Not yet, anyway."

I didn't sit.

Because the System had popped up first.

Twelve years.

Running a bar alone, playing drunkards and thugs alike in the palm of her hand. Always the one who leads. Always the one with the slack to spare. The one whose hand never so much as trembles when she pours a drink.

"What are you staring at?" Sera held the cup out to me. "Got an answer written on my face?"

"No." I didn't take the cup. "I have a question first."

"Which is?"

"Is this what you actually want, Sera?"

One of her eyebrows rose, just slightly.

"…What?"

"If it's the price for keeping my secret, you don't have to. I'll repay you some other way." I looked her in the eye. "This is me asking you, separate from any deal."

For a moment, Sera was at a loss for words.

For the first time, I saw a crack in the unflappable landlady's face.

"…You." She took a slow sip of her drink. "You're different from every man on this continent."

"I hear that a lot."

"Twelve years, and you're the first man who ever asked about the person instead of the price." She set her cup down. "Do I want you to? — Yes. I want you to. Regardless of what it's worth."

Reading that, I finally understood why this woman hadn't cracked in twelve years.

There had never been anyone beside her allowed to fall apart. She was the one who caught everyone else when they broke. Always.

Sera closed the distance first.

Of course. She was still the one who led.

Her fingers traced the collar of my shirt, unhurried, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠savoring it.

"Nervous?" she teased. "What's a rare treasure getting all tense for?"

"I'm not."

"Liar." She grinned. "I can see your Adam's apple bobbing from here."

Her hands peeled my clothes away. Without rushing. Like she was enjoying herself.

Button by button, drawing out each one. This was a woman for whom undressing a man was a game in itself.

Everything she did, she did at her own pace. Pouring drinks. Stripping men.

"Look at that. So well-behaved, all of a sudden." Sera closed her hand around my cock — already hard. "…Oh my. Mouth's all meek, but this part isn't?"

She began to move her hand with a slick, practiced ease — wrapping her palm around me, slow and deliberate.

I held my breath.

"Don't hold it." Her whisper was hot against my ear. "Your body knows who's in charge here."

Fine. Credit where credit was due.

When it came to taking the lead, this woman was the strongest on the continent. She could squeeze the air out of a man's lungs with a single fingertip. Twelve years of composure, all of it soaked into her hands.

But — I'd come here to break that composure.

So I decided to flip the board.

Sera's True Order was "to not be the one leading, just once."

The delivery was this: give the woman who always led the chance, just once, to be led.

I took her wrist. Gently, but without any doubt about it.

"Sera."

"…What."

"This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once — you don't have to lead."

Her composure wavered, for the very first time.

"What are you… mmh."

I laid her down on the bed. This time, I was on top.

I untied the revealing outfit she wore. The knot at her waist came loose with a soft tug.

The landlady who'd led for twelve years became the one lying down for the first time.

The eyes looking up at me from beneath, with the ceiling at her back, were ones I'd never seen before.

"…Hey. I don't usually take this from anyone."

"I know." I pressed my lips to the nape of her neck. "That's exactly why I'm doing it."

Nape to collarbone, collarbone and lower. I returned every bit of the unhurried teasing she'd spent on other men, right back to her.

Without rushing. Like I was savoring it.

"…You." She bit her lip. "You're copying me right now."

"Good teacher, I guess?"

When my fingers found her pussy, she was already soaked.

My fingertips slid through the wetness with a soft, vulgar sound.

"…Mmh…"

A low sound. Slow — the sound of composure unraveling.

It was the sound of Sera surprising herself most of all. In twelve years, she'd probably never let it escape before.

"…See? Your body wants ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this." It was my turn to tease now.

"Shut it." She glared sideways at me — but the end of her voice had already gone loose.

My fingers folded and spread, slowly. Slick, slick. Each time, her thighs clenched around my hand.

"…Ha, seriously." Sera was breathing hard now. "Where did you learn this?"

"From you." I smiled. "Just now."

I pushed inside her.

Slowly — at the exact pace she'd always used on other men, this time it was mine.

The moment my head spread her open, I sank in deep with one long, slick thrust.

"Ngh… mmh…"

Sera's back arched off the bed.

The face that had always been so easygoing broke for the first time. The corners of her eyes flushed red.

She was hot inside, and tight — gripping me like she didn't want to let go. Twelve years of composure felt like it was melting away in there.

Bringing up my status window mid-intercourse. This System really had zero sense of occasion.

"Sera. You don't have to lead." I moved inside her. "Just feel it."

"Mmh… ngh, mmh…"

Her slow moans lost their rhythm, trembling apart.

Slick. Slick.

The sound of bodies meeting filled the narrow room, and the noise from the tavern below covered for us.

Slick.

Slick again.

Her pussy clenched and released around my cock, over and over, a half-beat late.

Slow was crueler than fast. Fast was over before you noticed; slow let you feel every last bit of it.

Sera was learning that too.

Every time I pushed all the way in on the beat, the wet sound followed a beat behind.

Slick.

Slick.

"Mmh—"

That sound cracked.

Sera's breasts swayed — at a different rhythm than the swaying bedside lamp.

Her nipples stood stiff even in the open air.

"Can I look?" I asked.

"That's — my decision."

"Let's see whose eyes run first, then."

"…Look."

I gripped her thighs with both hands. The legs that had laid down so many others were trembling on their own tonight.

"In twelve years, how many men have you laid down on this?"

"…You don't count those."

"So no counting now, either."

"Damn—"

The curse dissolved into a moan.

Sera bit her own lip.

With every thrust, another layer of her composure came off. Stripping people was supposed to be her specialty.

"You…" She grabbed my back, nails digging in. "You are genuinely, playing dirty."

"How so?"

"Twelve years — and you've got me, like this—"

She couldn't finish. I drove in deeper.

"Ngh— mmh…!"

Sera's composure melted completely. The mouth that had spent twelve years teasing men could do nothing now but spill moans.

Slick, slick. Every time I pushed in, her insides squeezed around me like they were drinking me in.

Even maintaining a grade costs money. What a world.

Telling me my coins were draining away at a moment like this — that had to be the System's idea of a joke.

I ignored it and pulled her hips against mine.

"Ngh— ah, wait…" Sera gasped. "Too — deep…"

"This is what you always did to others." I whispered at her ear. "So this is what it felt like to receive it."

"…You bastard." She laughed, then moaned again. "Ngh, mmh…"

"Sera. Can you come?"

Her pussy was tightening around me harder and harder.

The leisurely grip from before was clinging to my cock now like it couldn't bear to lose it.

"Mmh— ha, mmh…"

Her slow rhythm finally lost the beat entirely.

Her nails raked down my back.

"Sera. Your hands."

"What about…"

"Those hands that served men for twelve years — where are they supposed to be right now?"

She couldn't answer.

The arms wrapped around my neck answered instead, tightening.

Her breasts swayed, wet nipples dragging across my chest.

"There." She finally managed. "Right there. That depth."

"Say it properly."

"…More."

"More what?"

"Cock." The ice-cool pronunciation cracked for the first time. "More of it."

"…Outside." She panted. "It's my first time — outside."

It was consent, so I kept my word.

Her hips shuddered hard. Her clenching pussy dragged at my cock like it was trying to swallow it whole.

Once, twice. Her insides convulsed, clenching like a fit.

"Mmh— ngh, mmh…!!"

Sera crested her peak — led there for the first time in twelve years of leading everyone else.

The hands that had always sent others over the edge were now only clutching my back.

I pulled out and spilled across her, hot and thick.

My cum dropped onto her stomach. White, slow, one splash after another.

Sera followed it only with her eyes, too breathless to even catch up with herself.

Delivery complete.

This one I hadn't charged a fee for. Somehow, it felt like the best delivery I'd ever made.

Sera lay there for a long while.

Catching her breath, staring at the ceiling. She said nothing until the warmth on her stomach went cold.

"…I'm ruined." She murmured.

"Ruined how?"

"I was always the one who played men." She covered her eyes with an arm. "And just now, I'm pretty sure it was me getting played."

"Bad?"

"…No." From beneath her arm, I could see her ear burning red. "That's the problem. It wasn't bad at all."

I brought a damp cloth and wiped her stomach clean.

Sera watched my hands in silence.

"…You even do this?"

"Of course. Delivery isn't finished until the cleanup is done."

"…Nice service, this delivery outfit." She cracked a small smile — though the edges of it had gone soft.

I lay down beside her.

Sera turned and pressed her forehead against my chest.

"For twelve years, I was always the one looking after things. The tavern, the people, myself." Her voice was quiet. "Every once in a while, I'd catch myself thinking — I wish someone would take me by the hand, just once."

"And today?"

"…Today's covered." She snorted a small laugh. "Turns out I'd never once not led."

The voice that was always so smoothly composed had gone soft.

"But it was scary, you know." She added. "Letting go of twelve years' worth of composure all at once."

"And now that you've let go?"

"…Lighter than I expected." She closed her eyes. "So this is why everyone leaned on me, huh."

I brushed the hair back from her forehead.

"By the way, Kang Dohyun."

"Yeah?"

"If you're thinking one time is the end of this — hand that key right back."

"Not handing it back."

"…Good answer." She rested her head on my arm and closed her eyes.

The next day.

A new sign went up outside The Wet Boot.

Sera painted the board; I did the lettering.

"Isn't 'anything' a little dangerous?" I asked. "We're going to get every order under the sun."

"That's the whole business model." Sera waved her brush. "For anything we can't handle, just charge double. People give up on their own."

Twelve years of merchant logic. I couldn't argue with it.

"And what's 'payment in coins' about?" she asked. "You could just take silver."

"The System only settles in coins. I can't even spend silver."

"…So customers pay me silver, I hand it over, and you keep the coins?"

"Yup."

"…Wait. You're using me as a currency exchange?" Sera's eyes narrowed to slits.

"You're my affiliate partner."

"…Smooth talker." She jabbed the brush at my nose. Paint got on it.

An official sign for the delivery guild.

The hideout of a hunted National Treasure had become a branch office overnight.

Six coins in the red.

My balance had hit rock bottom summoning twelve chickens yesterday, and then the grade maintenance fee siphoned off the rest of it.

In this world, even living as a National Treasure came with upkeep costs. Coins were leaking out just from holding onto a Grade E.

To plug the hole, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd have to run deliveries.

But — I didn't even need to run.

The orders came pouring in.

The rumor that "the tavern is selling Earth food" crossed the alley and spilled into the next district.

Women lined up out the door. They flung silver at a single bowl of ramen, laid a week's wages down for one bottle of cola.

In this world, a bottle of cola cost a week's wages. I still couldn't get used to that.

Something that cost a single coin from a vending machine back on Earth was bought and drunk here with a quarter of a month's earnings.

One noble house's maid paid half a year of Magic Tower research funding for a single bottle of soju. Money that Magic Tower researchers ground through over six months, spent on one bottle of liquor.

"Am I… really allowed to drink this?" The maid held the bottle the way you'd hold a holy relic.

"Isn't it a magic potion? The one in the green bottle? You can really just drink it?"

"…It's just liquor," I said.

She didn't look like she believed me. Believing it was a magic potion was probably better for her mental health, so I didn't press the point.

Minus six had become plus two hundred fourteen.

Sera whistled mid-count, the silver still piled in her palm.

"Turns out you really were a money-making man."

"I told you. National Treasure."

"National Treasure, my foot." She laughed. "You're just my branch's ace, that's all."

"What cut does the ace get?"

"…Sit quietly and go boil some ramen." Sera flicked a silver coin at me. "That's a tip."

The problem was that one of the customers had a familiar face.

Mia.

Delivery guild rookie. Twenty years old. The younger girl currently pursuing me head-on.

She stood at the very front of the line with her arms crossed, wearing a terrible expression.

"…Senior." Mia glared at the signboard. "You opened a branch — here?"

"Yep. Sera gave us the space."

Mia's gaze slid over to Sera.

Sera was counting silver, smiling with all the leisure in the world.

"Oh my. So this is the famous Mia?"

"…Who are you?"

"Branch manager." Sera looked Mia up and down. "Adorable. Is that a rookie thing?"

Mia's cheeks puffed out.

"Senior belongs to the delivery guild, you know. What branch is this supposed to be?"

"Does that guild have a sign?" Sera asked. "Because we do."

Mia's mouth opened and closed.

"…Th-that's coming soon."

"Soon and now are two different things." Sera collected her silver. "If you want ramen, customer, kindly join the line."

"I'm not a customer! I'm Senior's colleague!"

"Colleagues eat free?" Sera narrowed her eyes. "Then I guess you'll be standing there a while longer. Customers come first."

I quietly boiled ramen between the two of them.

It was true that men were National Treasures in this world — but somehow, that only made it more exhausting.

"Senior." Mia looked at me over the pot. "Mine's the large size. Two eggs."

"…And the payment?"

"…Can't you give me a little discount?"

"Customers come first." I jerked my chin toward Sera.

Mia slapped the silver onto Sera's open palm. Sera smiled with deep satisfaction.

The Gallery was accurate as ever.

Wherever this anonymous community got its information, it knew my day better than I did.

That evening.

With the last of the customers gone, a woman I didn't recognize sat down at the counter.

Dressed as a wandering dancer — ankle bells, a thin chain of silk at her waist, bare feet over sun-browned skin.

When I came near, she looked up.

"The Dimensional Delivery branch's ace." Her bells chimed with a soft shake of her head. "Just as much fun as the rumors said."

The System flickered up.

Trust: nineteen percent.

Even Lena and Sera had scored higher than that.

This woman — kept her insides hidden. For the first time, the Scan had hit a wall.

"Information about you." Lara slowly turned her cup on the counter. "There are a lot of people wanting to buy it lately. The palace. The great merchant houses."

"Selling?"

"Who knows." She smiled. Her eyes were beautiful — and dangerous. "I've always liked being the buyer more than the seller."

Lara leaned in. The bells at her ankle rang out, clear and bright.

"You. The whole package. — Name your price."