Chapter 549
Chapter 549
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 549
Chapter Title: Love and War (2)
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“Whoa...”
Opening the door revealed a blast of hot, dry air.
A sweltering heat no everyday life could prepare him for.
The scorching air filled his lungs with his first breath, sweat beading instantly on his scalp.
It was no wonder.
The thermometer hanging inside showed the room temperature hovering just shy of 90 degrees.
About the same as the stone kiln saunas attached to larger bathhouses.
True to how it looked from outside, the interior was dimly lit.
With only slivers of light slipping through the tiny vent window designed to trap the heat, that was to be expected.
The wooden walls around the stone heater, used for humidity control, were charred in a gradient from long years of use.
Yet one spot on the chair remained strikingly unblackened and pale white.
As Si-woo tilted his head in curiosity, the mystery solved itself, and he had to stifle a laugh.
“Don’t be startled. Sit.”
“...Yes.”
The seat Leryue had just vacated was clearly her designated spot.
The uncharred imprint matched perfectly where her hips and thighs had pressed against the chair.
Si-woo sat wordlessly opposite her.
With practiced ease, she scooped water from a wooden bucket and splashed it haphazardly over the pile of stones.
A sharp hiss rose as white steam billowed up, filling the space with even more intense heat.
“You must really like saunas.”
“I originally enjoy a sauna every day. It’s been a while since you arrived, so it feels twice as good now. Hooooot...”
Leryue let out a sigh like an old uncle, moaning contentedly in that strange way.
When their bodies melted into languid bliss, it seemed people made similar sounds regardless of nation or race.
Leryue gripped the chair at her thighs, arching her chest forward.
No matter that it was an outdated bikini, it was still swimwear.
Her slender waist bent flexibly, accentuating the natural swell of her cleavage, making Si-woo tense up.
He’d never forget the soft, supple flesh hidden beneath that barely-there fabric.
Of course, Leryue showed no such intentions, so it remained purely hypothetical. He had no plans to proposition her again.
Even if she asked, he’d politely decline.
For one, though she bore some blame, he regretted taking her so forcefully.
And with his other lovers surely struggling, it didn’t sit right to indulge alone.
Thus, from the moment they entered the sauna, he’d been mindful of his breathing.
Saunas naturally drenched you in sweat.
In such close quarters, one careless whiff of scent could spell trouble.
From experience, reactions to his body odor seemed limited to smell alone, so careful control should suffice.
“By the way, you’re enduring better than expected. I thought you’d bolt out after three minutes.”
Leryue dabbed at her trickling sweat with a towel as she spoke.
She wasn’t wrong. Since becoming a spirit body, his functions had overwhelmingly improved—enough that his stamina held steady despite the oppressive heat.
“Yes, we have plenty of saunas back home too. We heat up clay dugouts or charcoal kilns and go in.”
“Oh? That has its own charm. Tell me more.”
“Well... Usually, they’re attached to public bathhouses with amenities inside and simple sleeping areas. We tend to have more wet saunas than dry ones. Rooms are divided by temperature like an anthill, and the hottest is usually dry.”
“Sleeping areas too?”
“You can sleep inside, but the conditions aren’t great. No separate rooms—just a spot to close your eyes.”
“Like an old-time inn?”
“Something like that.”
It was a bit rambling, but this was their everyday chatter.
What seemed utterly mundane to modern people was pure fantasy to Leryue, who’d never freely ventured beyond the sea in her life.
Of course, armed with boundless curiosity about the modern world, Leryue never settled for a single explanation.
“Do men and women enjoy them together? What about clothing? Didn’t you say they’re segregated? How many per population? Are they social hubs like Roman baths?”
One topic spawned a dozen tangents, but Si-woo answered patiently every time, never annoyed.
At first, there’d been a shallow intent to win her favor, but her reactions were perfect scores.
He also felt a strange pity for her, cooped up and yearning for the outside world.
“So they sell food inside too?”
“Yes, mostly drinks like chilled misutgaru—ground grain powder mixed with sugar water—or traditional fermented sikhe. Plenty of other beverages too.”
“Oh, I often have cold milk after a sauna myself. Isn’t my full, bountiful figure the result of diligently drinking milk since my apprentice witch days?”
“Truly wise.”
Her explanations inevitably veered into modest boasts, and a timely compliment doubled her delight.
“What kind of food?”
“Usually eggs or kimbap. Oh! They sell ramen too.”
“Even here?! In Korea, ramen’s sold everywhere. If it’s that special, I’d like to try it sometime.”
After chattering away with Si-woo for a good while...
Both their bodies were utterly soaked in sweat.
The heat evaporated it quickly, but Leryue’s pale skin glistened like it was slathered in oil.
For any man, it was a throat-swallowing sight.
“Oh! Perfectly ripe now.”
While Si-woo desperately managed his gaze...
Leryue stood briefly and pulled a bundled birch branch vihta from a basket.
“Come here. I’ll personally teach you how to use it.”
“I’m honored.”
Leryue sidled up to Si-woo, vihta in hand.
Smack smack
The cool birch leaves stung his skin refreshingly.
Its unique scent tickled his nose pleasantly.
“...”
Yet as she patted his bare skin with the leaves, she fell strangely silent.
Almost entranced, repeating the motions mechanically.
There was a reason.
Leryue had resolved to seduce him.
True to form, her interests shifted fast—once in the sauna together, she forgot her goal and just chatted excitedly.
But the moment she pressed close to massage him, she felt a suffocating heat.
Not from the sauna.
A fiercer blaze surging from her own chest.
Tracing its cause led to one thought.
‘Was Shin Si-woo’s body always this incredible?’
A spirit body: handsome yet marked by disciplined training.
Not the bulky Hollywood type, but dense with practical, lean muscle—a man’s body, utterly distinct from soft femininity.
The beads of sweat tracing his skin like pearls, and the scent wafting from it, stirred one memory in Leryue.
Thicker skin, unyielding as rock wherever struck, strength impossible to resist.
As she patted his back and shoulders mainly, her gaze drifted slyly downward.
Strip off that panty-like swimsuit, and he’d be naked.
The realization spun her head dizzy.
Chiseled abs, pillar-like thighs that pinned her writhing form, and the massive bulge asserting itself even over the fabric.
She’d meant to tempt him, but she found herself entranced by his unexpectedly potent physique.
“Shall I do Your Majesty too?”
Thankfully, just before her hand reached out as if possessed...
Si-woo spoke first, snapping her back.
“P-Permitted.”
Leryue nodded hastily, cheeks flushing at her lapse.
What was she doing?
When she should be focused on teasing him, harboring such thoughts?
Didn’t this make her seem like a pathetic woman desperate to cling and fawn?
She barely hid her turmoil, handing Si-woo the vihta.
She turned, showing her back.
Worried what pathetic expression she wore now.
Smack smack
“Eut...!”
The prickly birch leaves drummed her skin.
It evoked another memory with him.
Like when he’d tickled her body with feathers, her hypersensitive skin now tingled at the graze.
What should’ve felt refreshing instead sent jolts to her lower belly.
The leaves started at her back, then slid to her waist. Her shoulders stiffened.
Was he planning to go all the way to her hips?
Maybe more, once her body fully relaxed.
Could she refuse if so?
Dizziness pounded her skull.
She’d dropped her mental defenses to fully savor the sauna.
Overstimulation, skyrocketing heartbeat, and longer-than-expected time chatting synergized.
For Leryue, newly awakened to reason, it was an onslaught of intensity.
“Eueueu...”
Leryue collapsed in a heap, overcome by vertigo.