The Hostess's Experiment
Angel of Eden. 230
I opened the door and stepped inside. Han Jisu lay asleep, clothes pulled over him like a blanket, while Park Jinwhan and Kim Gitae smoked and chatted.
“These women this time really hit the spot, huh?”
“Whew, I actually took it seriously for once.”
“You? She must not be ordinary.”
“Yeah?”
Their curious gazes landed on me the moment they noticed my presence. I met their questioning looks with a smile and sat beside the sleeping Han Jisu. Park Jinwhan studied me with a probing eye before speaking in a testing tone.
“Hmm… You must hold your liquor well.”
“I have a rather strong constitution. Alcohol doesn’t affect me at all.”
“Ah, I see. Because of your race.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
His suspicious gaze softened slightly, apparently satisfied that my immunity came from my species. I glanced over at Ji-hye and Eun-hye. Both were collapsed naked and fast asleep. The men seemed awkward, unable to continue their conversation now that I was perfectly composed, so I spoke first.
“Please don’t mind me. Feel free to keep talking. What happens inside stays inside, after all.”
“Well, well. Ji-hye and Elisha both… So you’re that type too.”
Instead of answering Park Jinwhan’s sly smile, I offered one of my own, layered with meaning. Once he confirmed my reaction, his wariness faded. He dropped the pretense and spoke more casually.
“Gitae, what are you going to do with that woman?”
“This sow?”
Smack!
“Aahng.”
Kim Gitae slapped Eun-hye’s limp backside. Even while unconscious, she let out a moan at the impact.
“She’s the first sow I’ve really liked in a long time. I’m going to train her properly.”
“She’s friends with Ji-hye, so go easy. Don’t break her like last time. It’s a pain to clean up afterward.”
Park Jinwhan took a deep drag from his cigarette and exhaled the advice. Kim Gitae snorted, smoke curling from his nose.
“Hah, I like this one enough to keep her around for a good while. You, on the other hand, seem pretty attached to Ji-hye. The way you’re looking out for her…”
“She’s the first woman who knows my background yet still enjoys herself without any greed in her eyes. Usually they’re full of ambition. Plus, she’s great in bed.”
“Oh? Can I have a taste too?”
“No. Fuck off.”
“Tch, stingy bastard.”
Hmm… They clearly liked the women more than I expected. Kim Gitae’s interest felt somewhat ambiguous, but Park Jinwhan’s gaze held genuine affection for Ji-hye. Trash who used drugs, perhaps, but not quite irredeemable waste. While I evaluated whether they were men I could entrust the women to, the door opened and staff entered.
Park Jinwhan looked puzzled. “What’s this? We didn’t call anyone.”
“The young lady over there requested we replace the cold food.”
“Ah, right, it went cold. Swap it quickly and leave.”
“Yes, sir.”
The staff, accustomed to the scene, paid no attention to the naked Ji-hye and Eun-hye sprawled on the sofa. They swiftly replaced the food, bowed, and exited. Kim Gitae picked up a steaming piece of meat and popped it into his mouth.
“She really is one of us. She reads the room perfectly.”
“Even if she’s one of us, we don’t know whether she’s the one receiving service or giving it.”
Park Jinwhan said this while shooting me a sharp look.
“So, Elisha. Which is it?”
“I’m the one providing service.”
“I see.”
The moment he learned I was on the serving side, all caution vanished from his eyes. He switched to casual speech.
“From what I saw earlier, you were serving Jisu. Did you take good care of him?”
“Yes.”
“You’d better keep serving him well. He might look simple, but he’s no ordinary young master. Understood?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Since you’re Ji-hye’s friend, I’ll treat you decently. No, I’ll just hire you outright. Come when I call and take care of Jisu.”
He was now outright treating me like a hostess and issuing orders. Being treated as one excited me in a way that suited my tastes, but being summoned at any time would be inconvenient.
“I can’t come whenever you want. I have someone I serve.”
“What? You already have a master?”
“What a shame~”
“If you have a master, there’s nothing to be done. Come work when you can.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Before I knew it, I was being treated as a hostess and spoken to informally, but I decided to accept it willingly to build a connection with Park Jinwhan, who appeared to be a man of considerable power, and with Han Jisu. Besides, I rather liked Han Jisu, and I was concerned about Ji-hye and Eun-hye.
The two men continued their crude banter while eating, then checked the time and stood up.
“Time to head home.”
“Haaam. It’s been a while since I had such a good time. I’m getting sleepy.”
“Hey, send someone to clean up.”
Park Jinwhan gave the order into his communicator, then began gathering his underwear and pants. Kim Gitae, already dressed, opened the door first.
“I’m heading out first. See you next time.”
“Keep an eye on the job I gave you!”
“Okay~ Okay~”
Kim Gitae waved a hand over his head and disappeared. A female staff member entered and began tending to Ji-hye and Eun-hye. She wiped their bodies with warm towels, carefully lifted them onto her back, and carried them out.
“You should go too. Leave your contact info before you leave.”
“Yes.”
“I’m off first.”
He left the room. I stayed behind a little longer, watching the staff move Han Jisu, then gave my contact information and headed out.
I returned home, leaving the bustling nightlife behind, and took a quick shower. Tonight was the day Madam would spend the night alone with Oppa, so we concubines had no service duties. The three of us gathered in the concubines’ room and lay on the bed chatting.
“So what, nya? You’re bragging about taking a virgin’s virginity?”
“It’s not bragging. It just happened.”
“Even though we’re all concubines, you can serve another man… I only have Master, but I’m a little jealous.”
Charlotte huffed, accusing me of bragging, while Ruya muttered that she was envious. Even in that moment, they instinctively used “serve” instead of “have sex with another man,” showing how deeply the values of concubine and slave had taken root. Lately, the gap between Ruya’s behavior as a concubine at home and her normal behavior outside had grown so wide that she sometimes felt like she had a split personality. But since my own ability to switch personalities to match whoever I was with might look like multiple personalities to others, I didn’t see it as a big problem and left it alone.
“So you’re going to keep pretending to be a hostess to build connections?”
“For now, yes.”
“Did you get Madam’s permission, nya?”
“I already reported it. Since she didn’t say anything, I’ll take it as approval.”
Madam seemed to give me free rein whenever my actions could benefit the family. I supposed that meant she understood me well. As expected, her skill at evaluating and training people was remarkable.
“By the way, the delivery person who visited the temple—what was his name again? Grimbul or something? Anyway, what did that delivery person actually bring?”
“I heard he brought various tools needed for Erutina’s temple, nya.”
“I guess they can’t be obtained on Earth.”
“They’re special tools imbued with divine power through long prayers and blessings, nya.”
Charlotte knew quite a bit about the temple, probably because she had known Madam for a long time. These blessed tools delivered from the original dimension also served as proof that the temple was recognized as an official Erutina temple. Until now, it had only been a temporary temple, gathering followers and training nuns. Recently, it had met the minimum requirements for official recognition and become Earth’s first official Erutina temple.
“A dedicated building to use as a temple, at least twenty nuns to serve the temple, over a thousand followers, and proof of stable income are required for official registration, nya.”
“I understand everything else, but including Madam, we only have eighteen nuns, right?”
“Nya? Madam, Ruya, Elisha, plus seventeen official nuns makes twenty in total, nya.”
“Ah, honorary nuns count too.”
“Everyone’s personal information is registered in the nun registry, nya. It’s recognized even by the main temple, nya.”
I thought honorary nuns were an exception, but apparently they were simply classified differently and still registered as nuns.
“Hee, so what changes once it becomes an official temple?”
“I don’t think much changes. I just heard we have to send a portion of the temple’s income to the main temple, nya.”
Charlotte tilted her head as Ruya asked while touching the holy scar on her forehead. Still, having to send temple income to the main temple… Even though Madam received a large amount in donations, I could now understand why she had been trying to create other sources of income.
Watching Ruya’s light-purple parasitic tentacle tail sway lazily on her prone backside and Charlotte’s cat tail flick while she sat hugging a pillow, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Oh, right, Charlotte.”
“Nya?”
“I have an experiment I want to try. Come here.”
“Nyaang? What is it, nya?”
Though puzzled, Charlotte obediently approached and sat down. I placed my hand on her lower abdomen and began drawing out her essence.
“Nyaang! What are you doing, nya!”
“Ah! Are you trying to test age reversal? I’ll help!”
“What’s age reversal, nya!”
“It’s a good thing, so stay still.”
Ruya held Charlotte’s flailing arms. Soon, Charlotte grew docile, intoxicated by the pleasure of essence absorption. Once I had drawn and purified a sufficient amount, I spoke.
“I’m going to purify the essence and return it to you. The stimulation will be strong, so don’t hold back. Just let yourself go as much as you want.”
“Hunyaang~”
Instead of answering, Charlotte moaned. I injected the purified essence from my core. While Ruya held Charlotte’s trembling, convulsing body, the expected age-reversal phenomenon from the purified essence began to appear.
“Good. The effect is showing.”
“Really? That’s great!”
Whether because the amount of essence was small or because the effect was weaker on beastkin, it wasn’t as dramatic as with Ruya, but there was clearly an effect. After finishing the injection, I examined Charlotte’s body, still dazed from pleasure. Though there were no obvious external changes, I could confirm that her cells had become younger.
“It’s done. This should have extended Charlotte’s lifespan by at least a few years.”
“Haa, thank goodness. Now Charlotte can live with us for a long time too.”
Ruya laid the unconscious Charlotte on the bed and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a smile.
The next morning.
I woke early and, together with Ruya, attended to Madam and Oppa after their night together, then had breakfast prepared by the maids led by Charlotte.
“Hohoho, eat plenty, dear husband.”
“Mmm~ Delicious.”
Oppa, wearing only a bathrobe over his naked body like Madam, accepted the side dishes she offered and nodded with satisfaction. Just like Madam, Oppa wore only a bathrobe. In front of the head table where they ate, a separate table was set for the concubines, and slave maids in uniform stood around serving them. Even though we were in civilized Korea, a land without formal status, clear class distinctions existed in this space.
“By the way, I heard the temple was officially recognized?”
“Yes, it’s thanks to everyone’s efforts.”
“Your reputation among the people is good too. Especially the way you worked hard to help refugees even during the war—that had a big impact. We would have stayed to help if it weren’t for the forced hunter conscription.”
“Family safety comes first, so it couldn’t be helped.”
I only learned this fact late in the war, but hunters were the first to be conscripted in national emergencies like war. This wasn’t unique to Korea—it was common across almost every country in the world, because individuals with exceptional physical abilities were treated as high-value personnel. Knowing this, Oppa had deliberately evacuated the family to another dimension to avoid conscription.