Episode 375: A Temporary Return, and Putting Affairs in Order (10)

Perhaps last night had come back to her—Yeongeun, out cold with plugs buried in both her vagina and her anus, her belly swollen like a mountain and packed full of semen—because Hwayeon shook her head and spoke.

"Seoha, your desires seem to be turning more and more perverted."

"You know, when you say things like that, it makes me want to jump you right now."

She'd worn such a fed-up look that I'd only said it to tease her. She took it as gospel, though—flinching, and covering her chest with both hands.

"Heh heh heh. Seeing you like that only gets me more excited, you know?"

I eased up from where I sat and came toward her, fingers wriggling like a sea anemone. Hwayeon recoiled in horror and shook her head hard.

"W-wait! I don't want it somewhere this open on all sides! I'll do it for you later in the bedroom, so please...!"

"All right."

I hadn't meant to go through with it in the first place, so I sat down in front of her without a fuss. She stared at me with a face that plainly said there was no way I'd back off that easily.

What, I'm not even allowed to joke?

"How about learning the secret art?"

The suspicious look wouldn't leave her eyes, so I brought out what I'd actually come to say. Only then did she let out a small sigh, glance toward Franc, and answer.

"I have memorized all one hundred and eight mantras that form the foundation of the secret art. But even when I unpack them and try to interpret them, I cannot quite grasp the meaning... Troublesome."

"Think enlightenment will come if you learn So Inhwa's secret art?"

"I do not think enlightenment will come so simply. Just as one must buy a ticket before one can win the lottery, I only believe that training in something this unusual may furnish the precondition for enlightenment. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking of raising your Phase Power and Yeongeun's to the B-Class limit first."

I'd meant to inject TP into the two of them for a long time and kept putting it off. Now that Franc had reached Transcendent-grade—A-Class—this was the chance to do the same for Hwayeon and Yeongeun.

Oh. Right. Couldn't I just ask Aaron Tempest himself what it was like, climbing to A-Class?

The thought arrived unbidden, and it seemed like a good one, so I turned my Certifier on. I'd have Lydia connect me to him. I called her with that in mind, and what picked up was an answering machine in Lydia's own voice.

Hwayeon, who had come up beside me to watch the moment I activated the Certifier, heard the machine and told me Lydia had entered the Phase World three days ago to run a subjugation.

"Mmm. I was going to have Lydia patch me through to Mr. Aaron Tempest. Shame."

I shut the Certifier off and clicked my tongue at the missed chance, and Hwayeon's expression turned peculiar.

"Aaron Tempest... Britain's A-Class ability user?"

"Yeah. I was going to ask that guy how he crossed over into A-Class."

Going through Queen Grandma felt like a fine way to get shaken down for something, and I didn't want to make that call. Hwayeon, though, sighed as if the whole idea were absurd, and spoke.

"The method by which a B-Class crosses into A-Class is information that might as well be a first-class national secret. They would never simply hand something like that—"

"What if I throw in a bit of Imoogi byproduct and a few Phase Stones?"

"......They might, at that."

I grinned at the way she awkwardly walked her words back, then yanked her in by the waist.

"Nnh?!"

The sudden embrace locked her body rigid. I buried my nose in the pale nape of her neck and felt as if I were standing in the middle of a plum orchard. Still like that, I tickled Hwayeon's little navel and let my hand creep, bit by bit, down into her pants—when Franc's voice reached me, colored through with panic.

"M-Miho! Stop! Stop that!"

"I need fire! A fucking enormous fire! I need a fucking enormous fire!"

The moment Franc began to panic at the fireballs she was launching, Miho seemed to decide my advice was working. Her eyes rolled halfway back, and she raised an even greater blaze. There was no furniture there for a fire like that to eat, and the Space Wall wasn't about to come down, so I watched at my leisure. Laughing a wicked little uhihik, Miho kindled a roaring flame as large as Franc herself, then split small fireballs off that mass and started rapid-firing them at her.

"That... that isn't dangerous, is it?"

Held in my arms, Hwayeon clamped tight around the hand trying to slip into her panties and spoke in a worried voice, eyes on Miho, who had become a fireball. Miho did look a little drunk on her own power, but that much was no problem.

"It's fine. Franc has the resistance to come through even my Mana Bullets in one piece. She's only panicking like that because she's worried her underwear will burn."

"Ihik hik hik!"

"Seoha~!!"

She looked our way half in tears as she cried it. Far from reining the excited Miho in, I had poured oil straight onto the fire. Miho seemed to have heard me just as clearly. She stretched one hand up as if holding the sky, lowered the other as if bracing it against the earth, and began to mutter.

"My fire is... fucking huge..."

That was pure chuunibyou.

Franc must have felt a momentum that was anything but ordinary. She looked at Miho, blazing like a sunset, with troubled eyes, then bit her lip hard.

"Miho, I'm sorry!"

A face that had decided something—and then, with a thud, she vanished, leaving only a faint afterimage. In the same instant Miho's clear, ringing shout filled the training ground.

"Beautiful!"

BWOOOOOM!!

The fire that had bloomed to its fullest ignited in a single instant. A flame explosion spewed lava-like fire in every direction. I'd been ready since the fireball started to swell, and I snapped a Space Wall up between the living room and the training ground. From that safe pocket I watched the savage flames waver beyond a faintly blue, translucent wall.

The naked eye couldn't see a thing through the fire, but Spatial Perception showed me all of it—Franc striking the nape of Miho's neck to knock her out, and, as Miho fainted, folding both hands over her to shield her from the flames.

At the sight of the surging fire Hwayeon jolted as if to spring to her feet. I caught her tight around the waist and whispered in her ear.

"It's all right. They're both fine."

Even after she heard me, she kept flinching at the wavering flames. Only when the fire died down at last and Franc stood there unharmed did she let out a deep sigh.

"Haa... Seoha, your jokes go too far."

A slight frown, a quiet rebuke, and somehow I felt a little hard done by. All I'd done was confirm Franc's and Miho's defenses, then offer one suitable piece of advice. The moment Miho lost consciousness the flames vanished quickly. I withdrew the Space Wall, and Franc carefully opened her hands, checked Miho, and walked toward me.

Her underwear had burned away without leaving even ash, but the hair and eyebrows, which had now begun to grow in quickly, were fine. Her dazzling nude body was laid bare, pale-gold down just starting to cover her groin, and my eyes went there—but Franc's brows were slightly bent, and her eyes seemed to hold a little anger, so I couldn't steal a look at her nakedness.

She came as far as where Hwayeon and I were sitting, carefully laid Miho down, then covered her chest and the space between her legs with a somewhat angry face and began picking my faults apart, point by point.

"Really now. How could you give such misguided advice? If one resorts to checks and threats at every turn, the situation can just as easily turn against one. Accustom her to using deterrence as her chief method, and it will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only be poison. Miho is still young—she must learn proper combat before anything else. If she grows habituated to a use of technique so near the heretical path, it will be difficult to correct later. All of that comes back as a burden upon Miho!"

"Uh, sorry. I won't do it again."

She was right about all of it, and I had nothing to say, so I apologized. She let out a small sigh, murmured that so long as I understood, that was enough, and went into the room to dress. I took off my coat and covered Miho's naked body with it, and in that interval Franc came back out, clothed. My eyes went to her.

The unmistakable outline of her going braless made itself known through the shirt, and my gaze dropped between her thighs of its own accord. Seeing it with my own eyes and touching it with my hands really was better than peeking through Spatial Perception. But work was piled up, so the playing could wait. I drew five Phase Stones from the pocket of the coat covering Miho, and Franc's gaze and Hwayeon's gathered on my hand.

"Shall we start, then?"

"If you're injecting TP up to the B-Class limit, isn't your Phase Power already more than enough? Why did you bring Phase Stones?"

Hwayeon knew that my Phase Power, combined with the Phase Stone that had formed in my heart, came to 58.44 million. When I took out five high-grade Phase Stones, she asked with a puzzled face.

"Just in case. I brought them as a precaution. There's a chance your rank could jump straight to A-Class."

Of course, simply stacking Phase Power the ordinary way wouldn't make someone A-Class on the spot. Some specific condition was probably required. Even so, receiving my TP and expanding one's Phase Power was no ordinary matter, so there was a chance they might become A-Class right then and there. Better to be prepared. Hwayeon offered no argument either way. She stripped off the clothes she'd layered on, and in a light white T-shirt and sky-blue pants she sat with her back to me.

Franc, who had come out after changing, caught on to what we were about to do and sat a little apart from us—and as she sat, the seam between her thighs pulled into a blatant camel toe. My eyes went there before I could stop them. Franc covered it with her hand and glared.

Ahem. I should nag my sister to hurry and get spare clothes and underwear ready for Franc.

Hwayeon settled into a proper kneel, set both hands on her knees, and drew a deep breath. I slipped my hands under her T-shirt and laid them on her slender waist, and past the soft skin I felt muscle hard as stone. Had her body-fat ratio dropped even further? Yeongeun, too, had been adding muscle onto those feminine curves...

Even so, the feel of them remained something I wanted to touch forever. They didn't seem to be neglecting their own training, and that pleased me a little.

"Haaa..."

I drew the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Phase Power inside me through Mana Sieve and injected TP into Hwayeon's body. Her small, egg-shaped face flushed little by little, and a thin, sweet breath spilled out. The look of her forcing herself to endure the pleasure, and the plum scent quietly rising, knotted carnal want low in my gut. But I had a feeling that playing with my hands while Franc was sulking would not end well, so I held my restless fingers down with everything I had.

Hwayeon's Phase Power was 38.22 million. Only about 1.77 million remained to the B-Class limit, so I was able to bring her to 39,999,999 in no time. But no change occurred. Her Phase Power locked at 39.99 million and stayed there.

"......I'll go wash."

When the injection ended, the crotch of her clothes was soaked through with arousal as if she'd wet herself, sending up a thick, heavy plum scent. Face red, avoiding my eyes, she dashed toward the camper at the speed of the wind. Franc, who had been gazing after her, turned to me with a slightly regretful look.

"I had hoped Hwayeon might become A-Class... What a shame."

"Yeah. Seems like becoming A-Class really does take some kind of condition."

The urge to get ahold of Aaron Tempest and ask how one crossed into A-Class burned in me. That night, once Yeongeun had finished her work and come home, I raised her Phase Power to the B-Class maximum as well. She had more of it gathered than Hwayeon, so it was done in a matter of minutes. And she, too, counter-stopped at B-Class.

Mmm. Somehow unsatisfying.

Phase Power grew through the act of making love, and yet Yeongeun—who used to have over ten million less than Hwayeon—had actually gathered more than Hwayeon had. I'd been bedding Yeongeun more than Hwayeon, more than I'd realized. Somehow I felt a little sorry toward Hwayeon.

"From now on I should pounce on Hwayeon more often..."

"No! You don't have to do that! I'm satisfied as I am!"

I'd muttered it while looking down at Yeongeun, limp, the skin bared outside her clothes flushed pink. Hwayeon, who had been watching from the side, startled, trembled, and shook her head wildly.

"But you used to have a whole twelve million more Phase Power than Yeongeun. For there to be hardly any gap now means..."

"Th-that's— I mean. Frequency! Frequency and numbers aren't what matter. What matters is how well our hearts connect!"

It somehow looked as if she were desperately making excuses because she didn't want to do it with me, and I felt a little hurt. When I pouted, Hwayeon covered her face, looking as if she had no idea what to do.

"Hnn... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hwayeon's still young. That's all it is."

Yeongeun, who had been flinching, face flushed as if her whole body had become an erogenous zone, let out a deep sigh and spoke again.

"You know how if you orgasm over and over, it stops arriving as pleasure and starts arriving as pain? Haa. She has no tolerance for that sort of thing, and she's terribly shy about sex, so she just keeps backing away like a new bride. Inside, though, she's hoping you'll grab her and not let go~."

"......Is that how it is?"

"Ah, no! That's not— that's not it...!"

"It is how it is. Every time we do it with you, Seoha, we come at least into the double digits. It's only because we're Physical Reinforcement users, and our recovery is exceptional, that we can take your love at all. If we were ordinary people, doing it with you would be nothing but pain."

"Grrnnn..."

Watching the two of us ignore everything she said, Hwayeon let out a groan like a bear. Under my look—is it really like that?—she quietly ducked her head, as if it were. Yeongeun crawled over with some effort, pillowed her head on my leg, and lay there breathing thin, loosening muscles gone tight and skin gone hypersensitive. Seeing that, I felt a little sorry.

Just dragging them straight to heaven with no restraint isn't good either, is it.

I remembered all the times they'd passed out, utterly spent, whenever we made love, and I poked Yeongeun's cheek as I spoke.

"If it was that hard on you, you should have said so sooner."

"Hard doesn't mean I don't want it, though?"

With a knowing little smile she gripped my finger tight and kneaded it in a strange, lingering way. "Right?" she asked, turning to Hwayeon, and Hwayeon nodded as well, her face slightly red. It wasn't them who needed to study the Kama Sutra and the Classic of the Plain Girl. It was me. If I wanted to ease that pain, I was the one who had to learn.

The fourth morning since I'd returned from the fifth cycle. After breakfast I was watching Franc, Miho, and Hiarid train, and Hiarid kept catching at my eye. Today's aim seemed to be long-range evasion. Hiarid beat her white wings and sent light-attribute attacks at Miho in several forms—light spreading like a sound wave; light-bombs that drifted like fireflies and burst the moment Miho drew near; ordinary arrow-shaped bolts of light.

Hiarid packed no small amount of TP into the attacks, but Miho handled them with unexpected ease, sweeping a tail charged with Phase Power to erase the attribute rounds, or drawing up water and earth to meet whatever came. The problem was that she did it while spending relatively less Phase Power than Hiarid. Early on she had dodged what she couldn't quite block, darting through the air; as time passed she grew used to the evasion itself. Hiarid noticed and began to vary her attacks, but by now Miho had the patterns entirely read ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and was answering them at her leisure.

Was Hiarid weak, or was Miho simply that strong? Miho had eaten my TP since she was a Lowest Grade fox kit and grown all the way to this. She wasn't going to be weak. So this was Miho being unusually strong. Still, watching Hiarid fail to bring her strength to bear, I started to wonder whether I ought to evolve her into a Highest-Rank Variant.

"An opening."

"Ugyak!"

Franc must have found a flaw in Miho as she dodged Hiarid's attacks this way and that. She extended a finger and tapped her. Miho's evasion balance collapsed. She took a volley of the light-attribute rounds Hiarid fired, fell, then clutched her face and started thrashing.

"Kyaaauu!"

"But you said today was evasion practice~!!"

"It is evasion practice. I never said I wouldn't attack."

"......Hmph!"

From Hiarid, only a muted, telepathic stillness. ......

They had managed to bring Miho down, but Hiarid knew it was only because Franc had stepped in at the end. She descended slowly, spirit crushed, and landed. Her four wings hung limp, and the sight sat poorly with me all over again.

Should I really inject TP and evolve her to Highest Tier? Hiarid getting stronger couldn't hurt, but... Once today's training was over, I ought to talk it through with Franc. I was still sorting through the thought, watching Miho puff her cheeks and protest to Franc, when a call came from Aunt Hyeryeong. At this hour—business, then? I slipped off to somewhere quiet and picked up.

Oh? Looks like the guest I'd been waiting on has arrived.

"Where is she now?"

"I'll head to my office, so please bring Miss Rawar Naidu there right away."

I told Franc and Hwayeon—who had sat Miho and Hiarid down in front of them and were lecturing on the relationship between accuracy and evasion—that I was going to meet Rawar Naidu, and unfolded a Space Leaping to my office.