Carving Out the Rotten Flesh - 8
Chaeyun was feigning composure, but she was flustered in her own way too. ...Why?
The woman before her eyes—Yeonhyeon—had seemed to view becoming his slave as something unwelcome.
This is my chance.
But her judgment was swift.
"It's true that both I and Seven Seed owe that man a massive debt, isn't it? Offering our bodies to settle it isn't so strange, is it?"
"Th-there are other ways—"
"Other ways?"
Chaeyun looked at Yeonhyeon with incredulity, letting out a mocking scoff.
"Other..."
Yeonhyeon stared blankly at Chaeyun. And then it hit her.
He wasn't lacking in any way. Preparing enough money and supplies to impress him wouldn't be easy, but for an organization on the scale of Seven Seed, it wasn't impossible.
But even so, it wouldn't work. Because when Seven Seed—when Kim Chaeyun—had to weigh human lives against supplies, they had never once chosen lives.
People were the cheapest. Lives were the lightest.
Chaeyun was trying to uphold the principles and traditions that Seven Seed had followed until now.
"...Miss Chaeyun."
And the woman standing before Yeonhyeon's eyes had no intention of excluding herself from those principles.
Yeonhyeon gazed at her with sad eyes.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but..."
Chaeyun snorted derisively.
"This is an opportunity. Becoming his slave is a privilege."
"A privilege... you say?"
"Think about it. Why did we try to make you his slave in the first place?"
"That was..."
"To become an organization he could trust."
Yeonhyeon nodded. That was exactly why it had to be her specifically—not some other woman. She was already part of the responsibility council system, she didn't harbor excessive grudges against the other members, and she had a career that others could reasonably acknowledge.
"This isn't a shackle. It's a chance to gain honor and power."
"A chance... you say?"
"Of course it is."
Chaeyun smiled brightly, almost as if mocking Yeonhyeon.
"Once you become his slave and receive his grace... no one in Seven Seed will be able to resist your words or actions."
Yeonhyeon bit her lip hard.
"No matter what you do, you'll become the ruler of Seven Seed. A woman who can't betray Sunwoo or turn against him."
When opinions clashed, she could unilaterally steamroll the opposition. Yeonhyeon could push back against others with lines like, "Pushing this agenda now—are you trying to betray Lord Sunwoo?"
And it didn't matter what that "agenda" was. Food distribution, punishing criminals, training soldiers. She could slap on any justification and brand it as "treason against Sunwoo," crushing the other side's views.
"The moment you become a slave... your opinions will turn into absolute commands."
That ambiguity becomes power. The other women wouldn't know which of Yeonhyeon's opinions were truly his intentions and which were her personal views.
Yeonhyeon had no choice but to nod, her lip clenched tight.
Losing her sense of self aside, in terms of raw power and status, becoming a slave was no loss. If anything, it was the rational choice.
"...I understand."
If she had no choice, better to do it. Besides, Yeonhyeon had no intention of defying the responsibility council's decision and refusing to become his slave anyway.
"But... what about you?"
"The same goes for me. The people snapping at my heels will now nitpick and criticize my every move."
Chaeyun had too many sins on her record. Most were for the organization's sake, but that didn't mean her victims or scapegoats thought, "Well, if it was for Seven Seed, it couldn't be helped."
"You... have nothing to gain. No, it's dangerous!"
Becoming the slave of the man she'd tried to kill. It wouldn't end simply.
"Didn't you report it yourself? That most of his organization are slaves, and some even tried to take his life."
"But..."
It was a gamble. An insanely risky one.
Like dangling your arm in front of a zombie just because it was staring blankly instead of biting. The odds of failure were too high.
Dangerous didn't even cover it—it was borderline suicide.
"...If that happens, well. I'll take responsibility."
But Chaeyun bared her lewd breasts and grinned, as if it were truly no big deal.
"Someone had to pay for it anyway, right?"
Yeonhyeon looked at her with complicated eyes.
Chaeyun's deeds wouldn't vanish. She was a villain who could casually discard and sacrifice others for the organization.
Yet amid the recent "wave of accusations," she hadn't faced any real punishment.
And now, when it was time for her to take responsibility, she offered her body without a second thought.
Just like she'd sacrificed others without hesitation.
"I... understa—"
Unfortunately, Yeonhyeon wasn't given time to sort her thoughts or steel her resolve.
"I'm here! What's going on?"
He pushed open the door and walked in.
/////
"Uh..."
The moment I stepped into Yeonhyeon's room, I realized I'd done something incredibly rude.
Not knocking before barging into a woman's room... what an idiot.
Sure, I could make excuses like, "If you call someone, shouldn't you expect them to come in?" But even accounting for that, my behavior was rude.
Still, I never imagined I'd walk in on this scene...
Yeonhyeon's outfit was normal. What caught my eye was Chaeyun's attire.
Breasts fully exposed with rings through her nipples, black pants that left her pussy completely bare. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't interpret that outfit as anything but meant for that purpose.
"S-sorry... I won't tell anyone about this."
"What... do you mean by that?"
Huh?
Neither Yeonhyeon nor Chaeyun responded with the "We're caught!" vibe.
It felt like they genuinely had no idea why I was embarrassed.
Hmm...
Maybe I was overthinking it.
Is this not something to be embarrassed about!?
Only then did I realize my mistake.
Two women in lewd outfits enjoying some "intense lesbian BDSM sex" might not be that shameful in this world.
Yeah, come to think of it...
It was a fact I'd overlooked because I'm a guy, but men were scarce in this world. Not just the orphanage kids—some women had even said it was their first time seeing a man's face up close.
Seven Seed was the same. A fairly large organization, yet it seemed there wasn't a single man here.
Considering the era, same-sex relationships or sex might not even qualify as scandals. And the ways they enjoyed it could get intense or varied.
Hmm...
I didn't know how many years had passed since the world ended, but it felt like at least a century.
My own sexual morals might seem like outdated relics from centuries ago to people here. I couldn't rule that out.
And then I looked at Chaeyun.
No, this woman...
At some point, I'd grown too accustomed to the appearances of people in this world.
Chaeyun was beautiful too. But I hadn't paid it any mind until now.
There were plenty of pretty women around me, so her looks weren't uniquely special, and I hadn't had the mental leisure to leisurely admire her anyway.
At our first meeting, I was thinking, Can't get caught up in anything... And when she'd been dragged in, it was, What the hell kind of hassle is this bitch causing...
But seeing her like this now, I couldn't stop the arousal surging up.
Her breasts were way bigger than I'd thought too.
...Hold back.
If I went after her here, it'd just be straight-up rape, no ifs or buts.
Plus, she was Yeonhyeon's lover. Even if their tastes ran hard.
I'd poured so much effort into stabilizing Seven Seed. I couldn't let lust topple the tower I'd carefully built.
"Um, Lord Sunwoo?"
"Ah, yes! Sorry. You called me, so I thought something might be wrong and came over, but... maybe now wasn't a good time."
"No! We can talk now just fine—"
"Now?"
With her girlfriend's top off, nipple rings attached, and a collar around her neck—what the hell were they planning to discuss with me?
Is this world... way more open than I thought?
For a moment, I got scared.
Between women, there was no pregnancy risk, so freer sex lives wouldn't be strange—
"M-maybe later..."
"We need to talk now!"
Yeonhyeon squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
"Please... accept me as your slave!"
My head spun.