Dream or Reality
Dream or reality?
"Mmm..." Hans struggled to lift his heavy eyelids. His head throbbed with a hangover that felt like it might split his skull. The stale, bitter aftertaste of alcohol lingered in his mouth. And... there was a strange, empty ache between his legs.
Dream... was it all a dream?
Still half-dazed, Hans replayed the vivid dream in his mind. It had felt so real, so intoxicatingly sweet. The setting had been the club room from his university days in his previous life. And she had been there—Soo-jung. The girl he'd fallen for at first sight during the freshman welcome party, the one he'd secretly crushed on for an entire year. In reality, he'd never even managed a proper conversation with her. But in the dream, she'd buried her face between his knees.
"Actually, I like you too..."
With her shy confession, soft, warm lips had wrapped around him. The sensation of her wet, hot tongue sliding up his shaft, the dizzying skill with which she swirled around the tip—it had felt far too realistic for the imagination of a lifelong virgin like Hans.
"Haa... it's so big... I feel like my mouth's going to tear..."
The way she'd looked up at him with teary eyes. The electric rush of that final, explosive moment. Hans's thighs twitched involuntarily at the memory.
"Haa..." He let out a deep sigh and opened his eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling greeted him. Right. This was the inn in Ludel.
"It really was just a dream."
Of course it was. There was no way Soo-jung could be here. Hans clicked his tongue bitterly.
But something felt off. The inside of the blanket was far too cool. He fumbled to pull it back.
"......?"
Hans's eyes widened. His lower half was completely exposed, and his pants and underwear lay tangled at his feet like shed snakeskin.
"What the—? When did I take these off?"
He couldn't remember. He recalled drinking with Miss Masa last night, but everything after that was a complete blank. Had he really gotten so drunk that he'd stripped and thrown a tantrum?
"Shit... this is the worst."
Hans clutched his head. He was mortified at the thought that he might have made a fool of himself in front of Miss Masa. He scanned the room. Empty liquor bottles were scattered across the table, but thankfully, there was no sign of her.
"She must have left..."
He breathed a sigh of relief. She'd probably tidied up and gone after he'd passed out cold. As for his clothes... well, he'd probably gotten hot from the alcohol and stripped in a drunken haze. At least the bedsheets were clean. There were no traces of a wet dream.
I came so hard in the dream, but everything's fine in reality. Thank god.
At the same time, in the bedroom of a small two-story house two blocks from the inn, Masa's heavy breathing filled the darkness.
"Haa... haa... ngh...!"
Masa leaned back against the headboard, her nightgown skirt hiked up to her thighs. One hand gripped her breast while the other moved busily between her legs, buried in that hidden thicket.
"Hans... ngh...!"
Her mind was consumed by what had happened just moments ago. Even as she'd fled his room and run all the way home, her heart had pounded like it would burst. The salty-sweet taste of his cum still lingered in her mouth. She licked her lips, as if trying to savor it.
It wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough.
In truth, Masa hadn't wanted to stop. Even after making him cum with her mouth, his magnificent cock had still stood proud. She'd made up her mind then—to climb on top. To swallow every inch of that massive pillar.
She'd hiked up her skirt, straddled his thighs, and positioned herself. But right at that moment...
"Mmm..."
Hans's brow had furrowed. The low groan that escaped his lips had instantly cooled her heated mind. What if he woke up? What if he opened his eyes and saw the innkeeper straddling him? What if he reported her for rape?
Sudden terror had overwhelmed her desire. She'd scrambled off the bed in a panic, thrown the blanket over him without even dressing him properly, and fled in a frantic rush.
"Idiot... coward..."
Masa scolded herself as she rubbed her clit roughly. If only she'd been a little bolder. Even if he'd woken up, she could have just insisted it was a drunken mistake.
"I want it inside me... that hot thing... filling me up..."
Squelch. Squelch.
The wet sounds of her fingers stirring her slick juices echoed through the room. With her eyes closed, Masa imagined it—the sensation of Hans's thick, rock-hard cock forcing open her narrow entrance. The overwhelming fullness as it stretched her inner walls and slammed against her cervix.
"Haaang! Ahh! Hans! It feels so good...!"
Her back arched like a bow. Her toes curled tight, her thighs quivering. Waves of pleasure crashed over her.
"I'm... I'm coming... nngh!!"
Crying out Hans's name, Masa reached her climax. Every muscle in her body contracted as her inner walls clamped down hard around her fingers. After a long, shuddering orgasm, her body collapsed limply onto the bed. Only her ragged breathing filled the silence.
Masa brushed her sweat-dampened hair aside and stared at the ceiling with hazy eyes. It felt empty. A deep, dark thirst writhed in her belly—something no fingers could ever satisfy.
"Next time..."
Her eyes gleamed with determination.
"I absolutely... won't run away."
The next morning, the streets of Ludel were clear and fresh after the rain.
"Ah, the air's so nice."
Hans stretched as he stepped out of the inn. The kitchen staff's soup had mostly cured his hangover. In fact, his body felt strangely light. If this had been his old body from his previous life, he would have been bedridden for two days.
Humming a tune, Hans walked through the streets. His destination was the Adventurer's Guild. The kitchen staff had given him rough directions, but as a newcomer, he quickly got turned around.
"They said past the big plaza and to the right..."
The identical-looking wooden buildings made it impossible to keep his bearings. That's when it happened.
"Huh...?"
Distracted, Hans stepped right into a mud puddle.
Splash!
"Dammit..."
He lost his balance and staggered, splattering muddy water all over his pant legs. As he frowned and tried to shake it off, a cold voice came from behind him.
"You there. Outsider. Halt."
The voice was icy cold, yet carried a strange sense of authority. Hans spun around in surprise.
"Yes? Me?"
There stood a woman who looked like she'd stepped out of a painting—beautiful, but seemingly untouchable. A knight wearing silver plate armor in a skirt style. Her golden hair was neatly tied back, reaching down to her waist, and her blue eyes were as sharp as blades. But what stood out most was her breathtaking beauty. Though her expression was cold and haughty, she was the kind of stunning woman anyone would turn to look at twice.
Whoa... what the hell? Why is a beauty like this in a backwater town like this?
Hans swallowed dryly without thinking. She—Karen, knight and chief of security—scanned his muddied pants and awkward face with a look of clear disdain.
"I received a report that you entered the village yesterday while I was away. I will confirm once more. Identification."
Her tone was curt and commanding. Hans fumbled through his belongings in a panic.
"Ah, yes! Here it is!"
What he produced was his Valhalla Academy graduation certificate. In the empire, it often served in place of official identification. Karen took it with a gloved hand. Her eyebrows twitched.
"Imperial... Valhalla Academy?"
Her gaze returned to Hans. This time it held a mixture of puzzlement and contempt.
"Yes, that's correct, but..."
"A graduate. Then why are you in a place like this?"
"Pardon?"
"Anyone from Valhalla should naturally join the capital's knight order or a promising guild, no?"
The mockery was obvious. Hans's face burned with embarrassment. It was a brutal truth. But what could he do?
"Haha... well, everyone has their reasons. I prefer a quiet life, so..."
Hans laughed awkwardly, trying to brush it off. Karen snorted and tossed the certificate back at him.
"It's best you don't do anything suspicious. My eyes miss nothing."
"Ah, yes. I'll keep that in mind. Um, by the way..."
"What is it?"
"Could you tell me which way the Adventurer's Guild is...?"
Without hiding her exasperated expression, Karen jerked her chin toward the other side of the street.
"Right there. Are your eyes just for decoration?"
"Ah, thank you!"
When Hans bowed politely, Karen turned on her heel without another word and strode away. The rhythmic clank of her armor faded into the distance. Hans stared blankly at her retreating figure—the narrow waist visible above her armor, the golden hair swaying with each step.
"Her personality's absolute garbage... but damn, she's insanely beautiful."
Hans shook his head and headed toward the guild.
As expected, Ludel's Adventurer's Guild was shabby. The old wooden building smelled damp from the rain, and the lobby was completely empty.
"Hello?"
Hans opened the door cautiously and stepped inside. A couple of old adventurers drinking beer at a corner table glanced at him briefly, but no one paid him any real attention. The interior was silent. Only the reception desk straight ahead seemed to be in use.
"......"
The receptionist had her nose buried in paperwork. Even as Hans approached, she didn't look up.
Is this town populated entirely by beautiful women?
Hans caught his breath. Her dark chestnut hair was neatly pinned up, revealing a glimpse of her pale nape. The white blouse with its elaborate gold embroidery struggled to contain her ample chest. Her name tag read Eila.
But it wasn't her face that captured Hans's attention. She sat on a high stool like a bartender's, legs crossed. Long legs extended from beneath her short uniform skirt, wrapped in coffee-colored stockings.
Whoa...
Hans swallowed hard. His gaze locked onto Eila's legs as if magnetized. The smooth curve of her calves, the soft flesh where her thighs pressed together, the faint apricot skin tone visible through the stockings.
Stockings... stockings are the best...!
Hans had harbored a serious stocking fetish since his previous life. He got more excited by legs in stockings than bare ones. To him, the sight before him was pure reward.
Then a cool voice shattered his fantasy.
"Do you have business here?"
"Ah, yes!"
Hans snapped back to attention. Eila was giving him a frosty look. She clearly knew he'd been staring at her legs. But her expression held more indifference than contempt.
"I'd like to register as an adventurer..."
"Your occupation?"
"Archer."
With mechanical efficiency, Eila pulled out some papers and slapped them onto the desk.
"Fill these out. Submitting false information is punishable under imperial law."
"Yes..."
Her businesslike attitude made Hans shrink. Even as he picked up the pen to fill out the forms, his eyes kept trying to drift downward.
No. Stop it. They'll think I'm a pervert.
He forced his gaze back to the paperwork. Eila rested her chin on her hand, watching him with a bored expression.
Academy graduate? An archer?
It was an unusual background. Most academy graduates headed for the capital.
He looks decent enough, but his eyes seem a bit dull.
She finished her mental assessment of Hans. Most drifters who came to Ludel were like this. Lately, even those drifters had stopped coming. This man didn't seem any different.
"Here, all done."
Hans handed over the forms. Eila scanned them, then took a copper badge from a drawer and tossed it to him.
"This is a Ludel-exclusive adventurer badge, so please wear it. The request board is over there."
"Thank you."
Hans took the badge and retreated toward the board as if dismissed. He could practically feel Eila's gaze on the back of his head, and sweat trickled down his neck.
She's scary... but those legs are seriously hot.
Standing in front of the request board, Hans looked over the postings.
🌿 Herb Gathering
🟢 Slime Extermination
🪣 Sewer Cleaning
They all looked simple and safe. A smile spread across Hans's face.
Perfect. This is exactly the peaceful adventurer life I wanted.
Meanwhile, at the security force training grounds on the outskirts of the village.
"Haaap! Hah!"
With sharp battle cries, a wooden sword sliced through the air. It was Karen. She'd stayed behind alone, swinging her practice sword relentlessly. Sweat-soaked golden strands clung to her face and her breathing grew ragged, but she didn't stop.
Her strikes carried pure rage.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Crack!
Her downward swing shattered the training dummy's shoulder. She had once been a promising talent in the central knight order. But her rigid personality had kept her from compromising with her superiors' corruption, and as a result, she'd been demoted to this remote rural village.
Peace? Don't make me laugh.
To her, Ludel's peace was torture. No incidents, no monsters, just breaking up drunkards. Her sword was rusting. She could feel her skills deteriorating.
"Just let something happen... please..."
Karen glared at the broken dummy and growled.
"I'm going crazy wanting to cut something down."
Her blue eyes gleamed like those of a starving beast.