Side Story 2: Warning - The Drunken Heavenly Demon
Author's Note: This episode is an IF side story unrelated to the main plot. It replaces Chapter 167: Chunma and the Moonviewing Hall from the main story. This side story features non-virgin heroines. Readers who do not wish to read it may skip without any impact on enjoying the main story.
Right after hearing from Shao Mei that Chunma lived in the Moonviewing Hall, I slipped out of the Gold Dormitory and headed straight there. Oh, and just to be safe, I stopped by the Pelkas Trading Company on the way and picked up a set of yanggaeng.
'As for Cayen… I suppose it’s fine to leave him behind. It’s not like he has any deep connection with Chunma.'
When we’d parted earlier, he’d insisted I call him if I needed anything, but the memory of that gloomy, sticky look in his eyes made the thought vanish completely.
'It’s only the Moonviewing Hall. What could possibly go wrong? Even if something does appear, Chunma will handle it.'
With that thought, I glanced at the sky. The sun was already setting, long streaks of twilight stretching across the horizon. Stopping by the trading company must have eaten up more time than I realized. At the very least, I wanted to return before full nightfall to spend time with my lovers, so I picked up my pace and broke into a run toward the Moonviewing Hall.
'…Is this the right place?'
I arrived at the spot where I remembered the Moonviewing Hall should be. Sure enough, a building stood there. The signboard clearly read “Moonviewing Hall.” The problem was that it looked nothing like the dilapidated wreck haunted by minor ghosts I remembered from before.
“It was completely rundown when I saw it last time. This looks newer than our Silver Dormitory.”
The elegantly blooming moon-viewing flowers in the garden, the smooth outer walls, the gleaming iron gate—this place looked like it had been built only recently.
'…Come to think of it, after the Rose Hall incident they did say they’d start managing the abandoned buildings.'
This was far more than simple maintenance. Since Chunma had announced she would stay here, they must have gritted their teeth and scrubbed the place from top to bottom. Still, no presence could be felt. Yet the lanterns glowing in every window made it feel strangely like the Moonviewing Hall of its inhabited days.
'She must be inside. Shall I go in?'
—Creak.
I had no idea why Chunma would choose to live in a place like this, but there had to be a reason. Thinking that, I opened the iron gate and stepped into the Moonviewing Hall.
'Wow. Not even a single creak. They must have treated the wood perfectly. And the floor is shining like glass.'
I crossed the perfectly waxed floor, opened the lobby door, and looked around.
'They took care of everything else but left these as they were? They could have at least dusted them.'
Old trophies and certificates shared space bizarrely with brand-new furniture and walls. The dusty-looking walls gave off an unpleasant vibe. The atmosphere felt like ghosts might crawl out if you stared at it too long, so I hurried through the lobby and scanned the rooms along the corridor.
'…But where exactly is Chunma staying?'
The silent Moonviewing Hall had enough rooms across seven floors to house hundreds of students. Somewhere among them had to be the one Chunma occupied. With no other choice, I focused on the presence-detection skills I’d honed while surviving the first round and began searching for any trace of her.
'…Oh. Second floor, room 208. I can sense someone.'
It seemed Chunma wasn’t in a state of perfect mental clarity; I located her with only a moment’s concentration. If anything, the presence felt strangely noisy for her.
'What is she doing? Still lying there crying her eyes out?'
For someone of Chunma’s caliber not to notice me entering the building at all was surprising. Maybe she was ill? With that worry in mind, I slowly walked toward room 208.
“~~!!!”
As I drew closer, Chunma’s loud voice gradually became audible.
“…I… told you…”
'What? My senses say she’s alone, so why does it sound like she’s talking to someone?'
Hearing her speak as if addressing another person, I could only tilt my head in confusion. She wasn’t senile, so why was she shouting so loudly by herself?
'Did one of the ghosts in the Moonviewing Hall possess her?'
Chunma getting possessed sounded ridiculous, but the worry gnawed at me. I carefully cracked open the door and peeked inside.
'…What the hell?'
The scene inside the room was utterly shocking.
“Living to this age only to be called an old hag by a greenhorn brat like you—do you know how much that hurt? You idiot, Shen! Answer me!”
Her face flushed bright red, Chunma was screaming at a framed portrait while wildly swinging a bottle of liquor through the air. The pungent smell of alcohol stung my nose. This was unmistakably the sight of someone drinking alone, getting blackout drunk, and throwing a tantrum.
'…How can the person called Chunma be so undignified in every single action?'
It was bizarre that someone like her could even become addicted to alcohol and reach this state, but watching her yell at the top of her lungs was a sight difficult to witness with a sober mind.
“…You there! Who are you?! A spy sent by the Demon King!!!”
When I unconsciously let out a sigh at the pathetic display, Chunma—true to her title—immediately locked onto the tiny sound. She glared in my direction and unleashed a terrifying killing intent.
…Or perhaps the fact she hadn’t noticed me until I got this close was pathetic in its own right.
“It’s me, Chunma-nim. Artin Ludwig, Shao Mei’s husband and therefore your grandson-in-law.”
Fearing the situation would grow even louder, I slowly opened the door fully, raised both hands, and revealed myself. If she truly mistook me for an assassin and attacked with full power, it would be difficult to handle.
Yet the drunken look in her eyes as she stared at me felt strangely off.
“…Shen? Is that you, Shen Ziwei?”
What was she talking about? Shen Ziwei? The name sounded familiar, but…
“Shen! Why did you take so long?! You’re far too late! It’s been a hundred years!!!”
“I don’t know what misunderstanding you’re having, but Chunma-nim, I am Artin Lud—”
Assuming the alcohol had simply caused her to mistake me for someone else, I tried to calm her and explain. But Chunma ignored my words completely and pounced on me like a tiger.
“Whoa?!”
I hurriedly tried to catch her, but the power behind her body far exceeded my expectations. I collapsed straight onto the floor.
'Insane. Even when she clung to me last time, her strength was…'
Rubbing the back of my head, I looked up—and met Chunma’s eyes directly.
“Why… why did you take so long? I missed you so much… Every single night I waited, hoping you might return…”
She was clearly very drunk. Even while looking straight at me, she still mistook me for this person called Shen. I tried to push her off and explain that I was Artin, but for some reason the words wouldn’t leave my mouth.
“…C-Chunma-nim…”
“Idiot…! You promised you’d come back…! Making me wait this long! Shen really is an idiot…”
The moment our eyes met, a strange sense of familiarity washed over me. After staring into those eyes a little longer, I finally remembered where I had seen them.
It was the same look I had witnessed while drifting through Violet’s memories during the Rose Hall incident—the expression filled with unbearable grief that Olga and Violet had worn in the memories after my death. The look of people desperately suppressing sorrow too heavy to bear.
Because of that, I couldn’t immediately deny that I wasn’t Shen.
'…For whatever reason, Chunma is overlapping me with that man Shen.'
Considering the Chinese-style name and the story of Chunma’s pure love, it was easy to guess he must have been the great-grandfather of the late Shao Mei.
Thinking that my own lovers would wear such expressions after I died left my heart strangely heavy.
'Maybe I should let Chunma have this reunion, even if it’s only possible while she’s drunk.'
Not wanting to shatter this brief daydream, I gently embraced the sobbing Chunma, patting her back and slowly comforting her.
“Idiot. We promised to love each other our whole lives until we died together, yet you went and died first… Do you know how hard it was raising our son and daughter all alone…?”
Perhaps my patting felt good. Chunma burst into tears and rubbed her face against my chest, her voice full of sorrow.
The woman who had always refused to show weakness in front of us, the strongest martial artist in the Republican Federation, now lay in my arms revealing such vulnerability. It was heartbreaking. In a way, I could see exactly who Shao Mei had inherited her spoiled nature from.
The thought of Shao Mei being this sad made my own mood even heavier.
“It’s all right. Cry as much as you want. Take your time and say everything you’ve been holding in… Mmph?!”
Having projected Shao Mei onto Chunma and empathized with her, I spoke gently while looking into her eyes. It wasn’t difficult. But the strong smell of alcohol filling my mouth and the unfamiliar sensation made me freeze in shock.
“Chup… smack… mmm…”
This woman had been pouring her heart out through tears only to suddenly start kissing me! I tried to push her away in surprise, but her embrace was ridiculously strong and showed no sign of loosening.
“Mmph! Mmph! Ugh!”
Unable to break free, I desperately turned my head to escape the kiss. Instead, Chunma grabbed my chin tightly, holding it exactly like the male lead in a romance drama forcing a kiss on the heroine.
“Mmph! Uuugh!”
“Chup… smoooch… ♡”
Of course, from the perspective of the one being forced, there was no way to enjoy it. The fact that her kissing style was eerily similar to Shao Mei’s only intensified the strange sense of dissonance.
'…Just how strong was that liquor?! My head is spinning from kissing alone…!'
Whatever she had drunk, even breathing in her breath and swallowing a little saliva made my head reel as if I had gulped down wine. I hadn’t touched a drop, yet I was growing drunker by the second. Even in this absurd situation, I could only helplessly endure the forced kiss.
I don’t even remember how much time passed. Like I had downed an entire barrel of strong rum, I was completely intoxicated and continued sharing deep kisses with Xiangfei, the Heavenly Demon.
“Mmm… smack…”
At some point I had begun moving my tongue in rhythm with hers. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say I was being forced into the kiss.
'I thought if I just went along with it for a while, she’d let go and regain her senses…!'
The problem was that once I reciprocated, Chunma’s eyes curved seductively. She straddled me and began rubbing her body against mine. Though her breasts were smaller than Shao Mei’s, her elastic figure had even better proportions, softly stimulating every inch of me.
'How long does she plan to keep this up…?! Forcing someone down like this…!'
As the forced, suppressed situation continued, an unpleasant feeling gradually rose inside me. Whether it was Shao Mei or Xiangfei, why did the women of this family always grab the man they liked and force physical affection on him?
If I had masochistic tendencies I might have enjoyed this. But I was no masochist. On the contrary, the continuous erotic incidents lately had begun to awaken the sadism and desire for dominance lurking within me.
'How dare she force herself on me—the master of the harem and a man?'
The fact that this was the second time being forced upon only made it more infuriating. During the infirmary incident I had deliberately suppressed my arousal and simply endured it. Did she think I was some pushover?
Whether because of the alcoholic haze filling my head or not, the urge to teach this ill-mannered Chunma a proper lesson grew stronger and stronger.
Why shouldn’t I? Since I was the one being forced, fighting back would be self-defense.
“Hic?! Haaang… ♡ W-wait, not there… ♡”
I grabbed Chunma’s buttocks firmly and kneaded them hard while pressing my thumb against the inner part of her thighs—Shao Mei’s erogenous zone—and began caressing her in earnest. As expected, her sensitive spots seemed similar. Chunma let out lewd moans and her body began to tremble violently.
Yet the strength with which she still clung to me remained powerful, making it difficult to shake her off. With no other choice, I continued the caresses in order to pry her away.
This wasn’t for my own personal desires. It was purely an act of self-defense to protect my chastity!
“Hngh, haaang… ♡”
My response seemed effective. Lewd, vulgar moans from Chunma began echoing throughout the room. At the same time, seeing her weakened like this made the sadism inside me stir with excitement.