As God Wills (3)
My sister's body type was quite unique. She was definitely slim. The kind of slim that came from careful weight management. Considering our parents had been the same, it must have been genetic. I was different. I wasn't the type to gain weight easily either, but unlike our father who had zero manliness about him, I put on muscle without much effort. I'd heard an uncle I never knew existed was the same. He'd cut off contact after joining the cult, but I often fantasized about him. A manly judo athlete of an uncle who would snatch me and Kang Ahyeon away from this place, declaring he couldn't let children grow up in a dump like this. He'd take us to amusement parks, zoos, and a normal elementary school not packed with cultist scum. Those fantasies finally ended when I reached middle school without ever having laid eyes on the man. I came to understand that heroes only existed in novels, comics, and movies. Expecting things arbitrarily and then feeling disappointed was pathetic, but kids were allowed to do that. Especially when both elementary and middle school were filled with cultists. I hadn't understood it back then, but now I roughly got it. Just how powerful the stronghold of the New Heaven Rapture Mission Church must have been after they obtained real miracles. It wasn't strange that their leader had built such a massive force. Though in the end they'd brought about the world's destruction by pulling that rapture bullshit to expand their influence. To me, it made no difference. My world had already ended long before the apocalypse anyway.
Instead, I approached the massive bathtub that the cult leader must have enjoyed using, now wearing swim trunks.
"Whoa… Never seen anything like this before."
The penthouse had multiple bathrooms. Three? Two of them had wooden tubs that, despite looking cheap, were apparently expensive. The last one was probably for guests? Or maybe for a mistress? Or perhaps something the cult leader used when he was alone. Either way, the one we were about to use felt more like a small swimming pool. It was enormous and sunken into the floor. Two people? Forget two—this thing could fit about eight at once. If the cult leader sat in the middle, maybe nine. You could probably squeeze in even more if everyone sat close. After looking over the tub, I found the control panel and pressed it. There were tons of functions for temperature adjustment and other features, but since I didn't understand them, I simply filled it with water. Temperature… I wasn't sure. A bit higher than body temperature? Around thirty-nine degrees? I set it like that and hit the button. Water began filling the tub.
Looking closely, I could see what was happening. Water was pouring from holes along the tub's inner walls. When I pressed another button on the panel, water even sprayed from a large showerhead-like fixture above and began to pool. The moment I saw that, I thought:
"They really blew a shitload of money on this."
The cult leader, that crazy bitch, had truly exploited people just for her own luxury. It was beyond absurd and even irritated me a little, but there was no reason to waste perfectly good facilities. As the water filled, I casually dipped my ankle in. The warmth flowing up my leg felt pleasant. Just the right temperature. Right around the time I thought my sister would like it—
"Oppa! Oppa!"
A lively voice rang out. When I turned my head, a familiar face appeared in an unfamiliar outfit.
"How do I look?"
It was Kang Ahyeon. My idiot little sister was wearing a swimsuit and squealing with excitement. And the swimsuit covering her skin was…
"Am I pretty? Cute? Lovable? Don't you wanna hug me?"
"Ugh, you're so loud."
I didn't want to admit it, but it suited her well. It was a bikini carefully placed over her healthy complexion. A cute bikini with frills that draped over her contours without completely hiding them. Her exposed figure was especially striking. My sister was built like that. She had large breasts. Thick thighs too. But it wasn't the kind of thickness that came from fat. It was more like she had wide hips with just the right amount of flesh on her thighs. Yet her waist was slim. Her wrists were slender too. It was an impossibly strange physique. That body was now mostly exposed, wearing nothing but two small pieces of fabric above and below.
"Cute… Well, I guess it is cute."
"Hee, really? Really really?"
My sister beamed brightly and spun around. The fluttering frills rested limply on her large hips.
"Nah, I'm lying. Not thinking anything at all."
"Liar! You do think it's cute, right?"
"I don't know, you pervert."
When I deliberately brushed her off, she laughed and approached the tub. A shotgun was leaning against the door in front of it.
"I already filled the water, so just get in."
Even though we'd blocked the penthouse entrance with furniture, my sister was still on guard. I didn't think we needed to be that vigilant. After all, I'd clearly shown those bastards the difference in power. I'd demonstrated turning a human into ground meat with my fists. We'd blocked the door too. But if they broke through that door… well, for the sake of conscience, I'd have to fight them once. It would mean they had either incredible courage and drive, or they were just insanely stupid. Even without that, there wasn't much to worry about. The penthouse door was quite sturdy. It wouldn't open without a bomb, and if they had a bomb like that, they would've used it on the Serpent of Eden earlier. So there was nothing to worry about.
Speaking of the Serpent of Eden, I submerged myself deeper into the tub while my little sister held something in her other hand. It was a condom.
"Oppa, let's make water balloons with this and play!"
"…Why the hell did you bring that?"
"Um, I've never seen one before! I was curious!"
That made sense. The cult never even gave proper sex education. How to use a condom? There was no way we siblings would know that. We only knew it was used for dirty things. What exactly those dirty things were, I wasn't sure.
"Aren't you curious too, oppa?"
"…Hm."
I couldn't say I had zero curiosity. I'd seen it appear a few times in comics, but… that was it. The comics never showed the actual usage scenes outright.
"So, what are you planning to do?"
"Um, should we make water balloons right away?"
Water balloons. I looked around and found the faucet.
"Before that. How about we look at the instructions?"
"…Instructions? Why?"
"We've never learned it. I'm curious."
"Reeeally?"
My sister looked at me with somewhat suspicious eyes. I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly and pretended not to notice.
"Let's do it!"
She soon smiled brightly and agreed. Suppressing her slight reluctance, my sister entered the tub.
"Haaa… The water feels nice…."
"You sound like an old person."
"Old person?"
"Like a grandma."
"Hmph, if I'm old then you're old too, oppa!"
"How childish. You must be the older one here."
"Then call me big sis!"
"As if I would."
What a ridiculous girl. I deliberately ignored my whining sister and leaned toward the condom in her hand. Realizing what I wanted, she immediately held it up, and the instructions written there caught my eye.
"Let's see… First, open the package and check for damage."
I glanced at my sister. As soon as she met my gaze, she firmly tore open the package. A strange rubbery smell filled my nostrils. I took the condom wrapper from her and read it.
"Pinch the tip of the condom with your fingers to prevent air from getting trapped… End? What does end mean? The rim?"
"Isn't it this? This?"
What my sister was pulling was a protrusion at the tip of the condom that I hadn't noticed before. When she pulled it and twisted slightly, it did look plausible.
"Next?"
"Next is… fully unro—"
I closed my mouth the moment I opened it, and my sister smiled mischievously.
"Unro—?"
"Anyway, putting it on."
"Aww, what is thaaat… You have to read the whole explanation. Huh? Read it clearly for me!"
"Pervert."
"Ehehe."
That sinister laugh. I tried to ignore it and slowly read the rest of the wrapper. The remaining sections on the condom package were about disposal after use. Hold the rim and pull out, check for breakage while removing it, tie it off, wrap it in tissue, and throw it away. I wondered if they really needed to dedicate three whole sections to such basic instructions, but I realized actually putting it on wasn't that difficult.
"So now we just have to put it on?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Where should we put it?"
Well. Since we'd said we'd make water balloons, I thought putting it on the faucet would work. But my sister was suddenly staring at me intently. The meaning behind that gaze was too intense to misunderstand.
"…Ah, you crazy bitch!"
"Can't you let me try it just once?"
"Of course not. You insane pervert…."
"Aww, aww, whyyy—"
She threw a tantrum. Still holding the condom in her hand. I let out a dumbfounded chuckle.
"No, is wanting to put a condom on your brother the thought process of a normal person?"
"Then where else would you put it? It's a condom!"
"Put it on the faucet! You said we were making water balloons!"
"Water balloons suddenly aren't fun anymore. I want to try it on you more than that, oppa."
My sister approached me with a smile. I made a disgusted face at her, but Kang Ahyeon didn't back down so easily.
"Hm? Hm? Just once, really? I'll only put it on for a second!"
"The act of putting it on is the problem, you crazy bitch…."
"But… I'm curious."
Seeing my sister sulking made my heart weaken. This was why being an ultra-special A-rank big brother was problematic. When my sister threw tantrums and acted spoiled, I ended up giving in to everything. I tried hard to maintain some strictness alongside that, but in this situation, there was no way. Should I grant her request? No matter what, this seemed a bit much. The act of putting it on was one thing, but after putting it on? Well, I could just take it off, right?
"I even took care of your bathroom business while you were unconscious after fighting the Preacher, and now you're getting shy?"
It was true that while I was passed out after fighting the Preacher, my sister had apparently handled my bodily needs for me. Still, there was some… psychological resistance.
"That's right, nursing fees! Plus the fee for bravely running in and shooting the gun for you when you were fighting! We need to settle the accounts!"
Watching her wiggle her fingers while pretending to be strict made a small laugh escape me, but I still thought it was no good.
"Anyway, no. Besides, the instructions on the package don't say you can just put it on anything, you know?"
You couldn't put it on unless it was erect. And I wasn't such an insane pervert that I'd get hard just thinking about putting on a condom. When that woman named Sehee, whose eyes I'd crushed earlier, said she was good at it, I'd been slightly tempted due to pent-up desire. But that was that and this was this. I clicked my tongue, calling her a crazy bitch again.
"Hmph… No fun."
My sister lightly tossed the condom aside. The way it landed silently somehow looked pitiful.
"Oppa is no fun."
Even while sulking, she couldn't bring herself to say anything too harsh to me. It seemed like it was pure curiosity or her own version of play, so my heart softened a bit. Ha, I really shouldn't spoil her this much. After thinking for a moment, I stood up.
"I'm going to get something to drink. Can you bring me some? The cult leader probably stocked some ridiculously expensive water."
"…Ridiculously expensive water?"
"What was it… Evian or something."
"Oh, really? Really?! I want to try it!"
My sister drank an incredible amount of water. It was hard to believe how so much could fit into that small body. She might as well have been a water spirit—she loved baths, loved drinking water. At this rate, if she learned to swim, she'd probably love that too.
"Sigh, alright. Wait here."
"Got it~!"
Her voice was once again full of aegyo. I forced the corners of my mouth up and rose from the tub. It had been a while, but I roughly remembered where the fridge was. I'd spotted it when I looked around earlier. There was probably at least one in there. Thinking that, I left the bathroom and crossed the penthouse's spacious living room. A modern penthouse with pterosaur models hanging in the air and all sorts of ornaments and artworks filling the walls. Incongruously, there were bloodstains dotted across the floor, but I didn't pay them much mind. Still, if we were staying here a few more days, I supposed we'd have to clean….
That was what I was pondering when something moved beyond the tinted windows of the living room I was passing through. Reflexively turning my head to follow the movement, I saw a familiar shape. A massive monster made of clumped red flesh. The Serpent of Eden was poking its head out from the underground parking lot, looking around. Ah, that majestic figure. Truly worthy of being called the GOAT. I sent the Serpent of Eden a look of acknowledgment, then suddenly realized something. I hadn't seen it once since gaining Insight, had I? Maybe something would be visible now? A clue for strategy, a weakness, or perhaps its habits or active hours? With anticipation, I stared at the Serpent of Eden with wide eyes. Soon, something appeared.
The Serpent of Eden's stats. The moment I saw them, the thought 'Is this all it's got?' came to mind at how pathetic they were. I hadn't known its name was Serpent of Eden, but while I thought it sounded cool, I couldn't help but snort. Well, if it didn't have a status window, its stats would be fixed at 1. Right as I was about to sneer, new text sparkled below.
Variant Stat Viewing Method
└ Absolute Values (Current)
└ Relative Values (User Standard)
So there were different ways to view them. Without much thought, I selected Relative Values to see the other option. If it was relative to my standard, did that mean it would show how many points it had based on me? I was a little excited. After all, I'd become incredibly strong, hadn't I? My combat was Advanced, and though my athletics was still Basic, it did its job. Strength 9, Agility 7. Frankly, if Kang Ahyeon only had a knife instead of a gun, I was confident I could easily win. That's why if the numbers weren't too impressive, I could raise my stats through the points gained from the quest or by plundering and—
Applying changed viewing method!
"…What the fuck."