Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: 5. Mana Recharge (4)
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"That's strange."
"Hm? What's strange?"
"Lady Neria's reaction... how should I put it? She's definitely giving off a vibe that's receptive to sex now."
"If she's receptive, isn't that a totally good sign?"
"Right? It is a good sign, but isn't it weird that she's changed this much in just a few days...?"
That evening, after taking things one step further with Neria.
I'd planned to just grab something casual from the fridge for dinner like usual, but the plans changed abruptly.
As a reply to my report saying, "Today, I tried putting my fingers inside Lady Neria," the team leader had messaged, "I'll buy you meat, so come out!"
She even said I didn't need to bring my smartphone or wallet if I didn't believe her.
Since I'd have to take the subway, I grabbed just my phone and headed out.
This was a meal with my boss outside of work hours, so in a way, you could call it my first company dinner.
But instead of stiff formal attire, it was a casual get-together in plain clothes.
I figured being too formal would seem odd, so I showed up at the meeting spot in the comfy outfit I usually wore when drinking with friends.
And just a short while after filling my stomach with a piece or two at this ordinary, noisy neighborhood barbecue joint...
The team leader, not in her fancy witch hat but wearing a common black turtleneck, pointed the meat tongs right at me as she spoke.
A perfectly grilled piece of pork neck dangled from them as a bonus.
"People can change, you know. A woman's heart is as fickle as a reed."
"A reed... Hm..."
"...Huh. Do people not know that saying these days?"
"Pardon?"
"Never mind. Makes sense if they don't nowadays. The era of showing off by saying you know opera is long gone."
Minds can change anytime, sure, but even accounting for that, Neria's current attitude felt overly welcoming.
Plus, there hadn't been any particular event that would explain it, so I chewed and swallowed a hot piece of pork neck before continuing.
"I think Lady Neria might have some ulterior motive."
"What kind of ulterior motive?"
"I'm not sure yet, but... doesn't it feel suspicious when someone who's always growling at you suddenly turns nice?"
"Hmm~ Who knows? Nom. Maybe she actually tried it and it felt good, so now she's interested?"
"...No way."
"There's that saying about late bloomers being the wildest, right? After getting her breasts toyed with by you, Dowon, she naturally awakened to sex!"
"Uh..."
"Oh, naughty stuff feels so good...? Oh, should I try more...? Oh, that dick looks like it'd feel really good too.... Oh, maybe I should just have sex with this guy.... Oh, it'd be great if he pumped me full of semen......"
"Team Leader. There are ears listening."
"It's too noisy anyway; no one will hear. And even if they do, whatever."
"It's not whatever..."
Someone might get the wrong idea.
With that natural worry, I glanced around the area.
Sure enough, plenty of eyes were sneaking peeks at our table in this spot alone.
Even if the noise kept our conversation from carrying, the problem was the team leader's looks.
Team Leader Eve's signature golden eyes were just too striking.
Her black hair blended in easily enough among the crowd, but those beautiful eyes? No hiding them.
While I fretted alone, the team leader casually bit into a fresh green chili side dish.
"Think about it. After hearing your story, some super handsome guy she finds interesting makes a move. 'Miss, how about a hot night with me tonight?' Like that."
"......"
"Heh heh. Truth is, I'm only telling you this on the sly, Dowon, but getting courted by kids centuries younger than me? It's surprisingly fun."
"...I see."
"Sadly, since I took a break from research, I've been letting cobwebs gather for the past few years~..."
That internet slang about cradle-robbing or whatever popped into my head, but I held it back somehow.
That's the kind of thing you say online, not to someone's face.
But as always, the team leader was too perceptive—Neria said there's no mind-reading magic, but still—so with a sly, grinning smile, she voiced exactly what I'd been worrying about.
"Oh dear. You're thinking something super rude right now, aren't you?"
"...No, I'm not."
"Pfft..."
Thankfully, she didn't press further.
"Anyway, as a fellow woman... it just looks like Neria's gotten interested in naughty stuff?"
"Maybe. I'd love it if it was just a simple change of heart, but she was the one who clearly said no sex at first..."
"Come on, Dowon. Take a good look."
"Yes, Team Leader."
Instead, the team leader picked up the tongs and scooted over from across the table to my side.
She closed the distance in a flash and continued with her smile intact.
"To Neria right now, you're giving off the same vibe as me. Got it?"
"...The same vibe as you, Team Leader?"
"Like, a pretty big sis tempting you all day long."
"......Ah."
"Plus, you got to touch her breasts and even did a bit of light caressing. Makes total sense, right?"
"......"
"Wanna have sex? Should I let you cum inside? Even saying naughty stuff like that."
"......"
"...You know, Dowon, you're used to me, but any other guy would be rock hard."
...Rock hard, yeah.
The phrasing was a bit crude, but...
Well.
"...I get it."
"...Hehe."
Because the team leader said so.
And with everyone around staring too much.
I just went along with it.
Praise coupons totaled 6.2 points.
The next few days passed quietly with nothing much happening.
I wanted to grind out points somehow to hit 10, but I held back, figuring too much desperation would backfire with Neria.
It was all for winning her favor, but the results? Hard to say.
Her reactions were so subtle, I couldn't tell how to take them.
It felt like... just doing what was obviously necessary.
Like how you don't praise an office worker just for showing up to work.
If I'd known it'd be like this, maybe showing off hard work for her breasts would've been better...
Either way, water under the bridge.
"That was good. The feedback about less grease seems to have sunk in."
"Thank you... ...Anyway, that's 9.5 points now."
"Yep."
And so, today made it 9.5 points.
Just 0.5 more, and I'd get to touch Neria's breasts again.
...Of course, after pressing hard on her panties just days ago, breasts might feel a bit underwhelming now, but basics are always key.
If I kept introducing her to naughty pleasures, she might really take back what she said before.
Until then, keep at it.
"...By any chance, are you planning to fill that last 0.5 today?"
So, as she handed me the nearly full praise coupon, Neria tossed out a loaded question.
I mulled over the implication for a second before answering honestly.
"I'm a guy too, so yeah, I'd like to, but..."
"...Not sure how to earn it?"
"No. It's more that... since it's about touching your breasts, I didn't want to come off as pushy or burdensome."
"......Hm."
And that burden would naturally dampen Lady Neria's sexual curiosity.
I didn't add that last bit.
It'd just make me look like I was super considerate of her.
Embarrassing, but it was a bit calculated.
Thanks to that, Neria stroked her chin thoughtfully, letting out an enigmatic hum.
She stared up at my face quietly for a moment, then shoved her hand into the pocket of her usual black gym shorts and spoke.
"You're not gonna say something like, 'I won't touch you, Lady Neria!' ...huh?"
"...Ahaha..."
"If you had answered that way..., no. Never mind."
What a maddening way to talk.
Not like she was offering her pussy or anything.
If it were a close friend, I could've pried the answer out of her somehow, but grabbing Neria by the collar? No way.
Instead, to someday grab her hips tight, I smiled and changed the subject.
"You should rest easy, so I'll head out early today."
"...Whatever."
As for the "little incident" that would happen tomorrow,
Of course,
She had no clue.
What are the odds of getting caught in a natural disaster in one's lifetime?
According to a U.S. study, about 13% to 19% of adults have experienced one.
Unfortunately, as a twenty-year-old living in South Korea, I haven't yet.
I figured those in the unlucky 10% must be really down on their luck.
Like how even the healthiest people get cancer.
I thought of it as that kind of misfortune.
"......"
That was true up until 30 seconds ago.
XX Apartment front gate road: <M3> Grade Monsters (2) appeared.
Evacuate immediately.
Disaster texts blare an eerie, unsettling siren that's deeply unnerving to the human ear.
That's to make you grasp the severity right away.
And when it's not just your phone but everyone around sounding off at once, that discomfort amplifies several times over.
Especially when space warps right in front of you,
And two massive, grotesque bugs even bigger than you emerge,
Standing upright like people.
And casually snapping a streetlight with their purple forelimbs,
Then swinging it around for some reason.
It's no longer just discomfort.
"Fuck, what the hell is that?!"
"We're screwed..."
"M3 grade? 0 and 1 are fine, but 2 and up are seriously dangerous, right...?"
"That thing racks up hundreds of deaths minimum...!"
This isn't something you fix by just running away.
They say the first ones to bolt are the first to die—we've been drilled that since childhood by TV and movies.
Thankfully, Koreans seem well-prepped.
People in cars, people like me walking outside.
Everyone just stood frozen, staring at the bugs.
Even when they chirped that godawful screech like they were chatting.
A few inched back cautiously, but no one screamed and fled, begging to be spared first.
Modern humans are that individualistic.
Time felt frozen.
If the traffic light hadn't changed, I might've really thought so.
"......?"
And if cold raindrops hadn't started falling one by one after that.
I might've truly believed time had stopped.
"Fuck, what is this?!"
"Huh...?"
"What? This in my hand all of a sudden..."
Suddenly, everyone around had cute little umbrellas in their hands.
Semi-transparent color.
The kind that looks like it'd have a tag saying [Material: 99% Water], beautifully rippling translucent umbrellas.
And somehow, they were in our hands.
"Kyeak?"
As if we'd known a downpour was coming.
"Ke――."
Before long, a refreshing downpour hit under the blackened sky.
Rain splashed the pavement, soaking my sneakers.
The sound of rain was nice, the vibe was nice, but what I hate is this.
Rain seeping into shoes.
If not for the sticky feeling, I'd love rainy days more.
Maybe that's why.
The monsters right in front of me seemed to hate the downpour too.
"...F-Fuck.... What the hell is that......?"
"......"
I ignored the reactive uncle and quietly looked up at the suddenly appeared blue umbrella.
The umbrella was fine.
Of course.
Rain can't pierce an umbrella.
The cars around were the same.
Rain piercing a car body? Unless it's cursed, impossible.
The sidewalk under my feet too.
The sidewalk they flip up slickly every year to burn budget was casually repelling the rain.
And amid the flowing rainwater, purple nasty sludge started mixing in.
A pretty decent amount too.
"Is this acid or something...?"
"If it were, the area would be chaos. But only those monsters are melting away... "
"......"
The two monsters that popped up 30 seconds ago vanished into the rain.
No, turned into purple sludge.
As people parted following the color, it flowed down the slope into the leaf-clogged drain cover, pooling purple.
...And now that's getting purified...
Whatever.
"......Phew."
Was Lady Erzel nearby by chance?
I let out a deep sigh of relief and finally pulled out my smartphone.
Because that disaster alert was still on screen.