Reap What You Sow (2)
The combination happened, of course, out of my sister’s sight. Call it an unwritten rule. We both knew the other had something special going on, but we were still at the stage of not revealing it outright, of dancing around the truth with convenient excuses.
While I told her to go scavenge whatever she could from the armory, I gathered the Crusader’s remains and the torn fragments, then used Synthesis. The result was excellent.
◈ Proof of the suspicion and betrayal that sprouted within the Crusader when he rejected the Cult Leader's command and returned carrying an unused death.
◈ An ivory-colored arm guard that remains unbreakable even after his already-shattered faith.
◈ Eternal Crusade: Automatically restores itself daily and returns to its original form unless completely destroyed.
◈ Already Broken: Extremely durable; disperses and absorbs impact.
It was a long arm guard. From the shoulder down the forearm, past the elbow and wrist, all the way to the back of the hand and fingers. A solid, milky-white—or rather ivory—piece of armor now covered my entire arm.
“What’s that?”
“Armor.”
When I thought about it, it was only natural. The winner takes everything from the loser. And a master passes everything he has down to his disciple. As the strong one who overcame adversity and proved his strength by defeating a powerful foe, it was only right that I plundered from the weak Crusader. Likewise, the Crusader—my heavy blade instructor who had willingly handed over all his techniques—had every reason to offer me everything he possessed.
Simple story, really. Besides, I couldn’t just let armor that could stop rifle rounds rot away.
Judging by the current result, it had been the right choice. Armor that could block even rifle rounds and came with automatic restoration? Couldn’t ask for better.
The only problem was deciding which part of the armor to create. A helmet would protect the most vulnerable spot—my head—and give me an intimidating presence while shielding me in a potential firefight. After all, even I would die instantly from a headshot.
It was tempting. A breastplate also looked good since it covered a large area that took a lot of hits. Leg guards would increase the power of my knee strikes and prevent anything from biting my ankles. A shield? That wasn’t bad either. It would pair well with the machete and let me block actively.
At first I wavered between a helmet, a shield, and the arm piece. But after considering every option, there was only one best choice.
“How’s it look? Pretty good, right?”
The arm, obviously.
If I included not just mutants but regular zombies as well, there was no better choice. Zombies run. They charge and bite. The most dangerous part is the bite. The charge comes second.
I hadn’t fought that many zombies, but if there was one thing I’d learned, it was that avoiding bites was harder than it looked. Even with my greatly improved reflexes, that fact hadn’t changed. Did a scratch transmit the infection? Or did it need blood contact? I honestly didn’t know. Better to be cautious about both. If there was a way to test it, fine. Until then, maximum caution was required.
In that sense, this arm guard was perfect. It also let me smash their heads without getting bitten. Professional dog trainers usually used arm guards when training bite work, after all. When even a bite-specialist canine couldn’t get through it, the dignity of such protection spoke for itself. The fact that it could essentially replace a shield was another huge plus. A shield could be awkward to use in certain situations.
“Yeah, seems like a good choice. You can block with your arm, stop bites… it feels like you can choose what to defend against?”
I hadn’t thought that far, but if my sister—who had a higher intelligence stat—said so, then that must be it. I smiled in satisfaction.
“So, what did you pick up?”
“Tons of ammo and two more rifles. Six magazines too!”
The messages floated up over the supplies my sister had hauled back. Wow, that’s a ridiculous amount. The corner of my mouth twitched upward on its own.
“Anything else?”
“I only checked the armory, so I’m not sure.”
Maybe the food was stored somewhere else. Or perhaps they planned to rely on hydroponics, or just buy everything from the Shop. This was the Cult Leader’s bunker, after all.
The long bunker stretched onward past the spot where the Crusader and I had collided, leading deeper inside. I stared down the long corridor, then jerked my chin at my sister.
“Shall we head back? We can explore this place later.”
Even though I’d gained good armor, I had no desire to explore right now. Besides, I’d jumped out of the bath in a hurry and was starting to feel cold.
“Let’s just go back and sleep.”
“…Okay.”
Only then did my sister let out a sigh of relief. She must have been worried I’d do something reckless or that something would go wrong. I couldn’t blame her. I hadn’t wanted to take any risks either, but things had gotten complicated. I’d have to be more careful next time. Though hopefully it wouldn’t be this intense again.
We took the elevator back up. As soon as we returned, I double-checked the door and the rooftop garden, then started refilling the now-cold bathtub. I stripped again. Put clothes on, took them off again. The bath I’d taken earlier had been completely wasted, but what could I do?
I didn’t even mind that our stored water was decreasing. There was more than enough for two people anyway. As for those cultist bastards, I couldn’t care less. Honestly, we could enjoy everything here, use them as bait, and run off to the village without any real problems.
I felt that truth sink in as I slipped into the tub with my sister.
“Guess we have to wash again. The body wash too.”
“You’re using the tub, right?”
“Yeah. What about you, oppa?”
“Hmm… I think I’ll just take a quick shower and sleep.”
“Ehh~ Oppa, stay with me? Ah-hyun gets lonely and might die.”
Listen to that cutesy, lisping tone. I clicked my tongue in disbelief, and my sister just giggled like it was the best thing ever.
Sometimes when she acted like this, she seemed no different from before. Yet this was the same crazy bitch who could stab zombies without hesitation, who had stabbed our parents to death, who suddenly drove a blade into a person’s skull, and who had thrust a bayonet into the charging Crusader while pulling the trigger.
But looking at her like this, she was unmistakably my little sister.
“Fine, whatever. My muscles are killing me anyway. I wanted to soak.”
“Really? Not because of Ah-hyun?”
“Would I lie?”
“Yep!”
She sure knows how to talk. I ignored her and stretched out in the water.
For a moment, silence fell. Only the sound of running water could be heard. Since the water flowed from inside the tub rather than pouring from above, it stayed relatively quiet. My muscles—exhausted from exercise, overexertion, and constant abuse—melted like jelly the moment they touched the hot water. It felt amazing. The blood flow was incredible.
I didn’t bother stopping the thoughts that drifted freely through my mind.
This tub had enough room for both me and Kang Ahyeon to lie down with space to spare. How many people could fit in here? More precisely, how many had the Cult Leader brought in? How many had he rolled around with in this very tub?
The thoughts didn’t stop there. They swelled further. Among the Cult Leader’s inner circle, there had been women. That girl Sehee that my sister killed, for example. Oh, and that beautiful older woman too. Was she dead? Had those women rolled around with men as well?
Suddenly, words the beautiful woman had said right before she died came back to me.
You’re good at it, apparently.
She must have said that because she’d tried it herself, right? If she was just trying to survive, she could have said something better. Ah, what a waste.
At the end of that drifting thought, I felt blood rush downward and flinched. When I slowly opened my eyes…
Ah, fuck.
My sister was staring right at me.
Okay. Cross my legs. Act natural.
Just as I tried to cross my legs—
“Oppa.”
“…Yeah.”
“Why is that happening?”
I flinched again.
“What? I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. It sounded too aggressive, almost defensive.
“That. It’s getting bigger.”
Sure enough, my sister didn’t give a damn. Or rather, she was very much paying attention to my dick.
“I’m tired, the hot water’s improving my circulation, that’s all. It’s nothing, so stop staring, you pervert. Even when I’m lying down it does that sometimes, so suddenly asking about…”
“Is that so?”
An awkward silence followed. I was going to cross my legs, but it felt like I’d only be drawing more attention to it, so I stayed still. Instead, I closed my eyes. Yeah, if there’s no visual stimulus, it should be fine, right?
“Oppa~ What are you going to do about that?”
The sudden question made my eyes snap open. My sister was now sitting in the center of the tub.
“You usually take care of it alone in the bathroom, don’t you?”
She’d hit the nail on the head.
“Ah-hyun isn’t stupid, you know. Right?”
“Then why is the girl who knows that touching her oppa’s dick?”
“Because we’re family?”
The instant I tried to get angry, that answer flew back at me. I shut my mouth.
“Since we’re family, isn’t it weirder to be conscious about it? Or does oppa get weird thoughts when I touch him?”
I don’t. Because we’re family.
My mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
“When oppa broke his leg, Ah-hyun helped you go to the bathroom, remember? From behind like this, holding you, grabbing it like this…”
“That was because you broke it, so it was only right that you helped…”
“It’s similar now, isn’t it?”
Similar? Isn’t it the complete opposite?
I would have been in serious danger if Kang Ahyeon hadn’t come. She answered the question I hadn’t voiced.
“Oppa’s right-handed, right? So you’d probably use your right hand.”
“…There’s nothing you won’t say to your oppa, you crazy bitch.”
“Since we’re family, isn’t it okay to say things like that?”
Is it?
“We’re family. You don’t look at me in a weird way, so saying this much is fine, right?”
When I stayed silent, my sister cut through the water and leaned against me, lying down beside me.
“Oppa’s hand has a hole in it. It might get infected if you use it. So wouldn’t it be better if Ah-hyun helped?”
“Help? What are you even saying…”
“When oppa passed out, Ah-hyun helped then too. If Ah-hyun got hurt the same way, wouldn’t oppa help me?”
Of course I would. I’d change her diaper, or at least wipe her down. Or bring a plastic bottle if nothing else.
Kang Ahyeon read my expression and smiled as if to say, See?
“When I washed you earlier, touching was okay, right? Because it was washing?”
“…I guess?”
“It’s similar now. We’re just adding one small step to the process.”
I had no response to that. She wasn’t wrong. The process was similar. It started to feel like thinking it was strange was the truly strange part.
“If it feels weird, uncomfortable, or hurts… just tell me to stop. Ah-hyun will help you.”
Her voice was sweet, almost whispering. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before answering as firmly as I could.
“If I tell you to stop, you stop immediately. Even if you say something weird, that’s the end.”
My sister showed no sign of fear at my words. She simply smiled with her usual bright, innocent eyes curved into gentle crescents.
“Okay, got it.”
The moment her hand reached out and wrapped around me, I could only stiffen for a second. There was no sense of rejection.