Chapter 10: The Spoils - 5
Chapter 10: The Spoils - 5
Dawn broke.
Jiha sat in his chair, staring out the window, lost in thought.
He had given himself over to melting pleasure not long ago, but now was the time to compose himself.
"Change of plans...."
Muttering to himself, Jiha turned to look at the bed.
Even a casual glance showed a woman of peerless beauty sleeping on her side.
A plump brown hip not fully covered by the blanket, a body he had been kneading and tormenting wildly just moments before.
A figure so dizzyingly voluptuous that countless men would throw their lives away just to hold her once.
Jiha was a man too. The desire to have her again, the possessive urge to make her his own, surged within him.
"Get up."
But Jiha spoke coldly.
Even when he indulged, he had ambition.
The ambition to overturn this damned Warsland.
"...Mm."
Reacting to the sound, Enril, who had been sound asleep, stirred.
Exhausted as she was, she was a warrior, a Unique Grade powerhouse rarely seen even in Warsland.
Enril sat up with a drowsy look and glanced around.
After confirming her surroundings and that she was in her own bedroom, Enril's gaze settled on Jiha.
"...Uh."
Enril blinked, as if unable to grasp the situation.
Jiha smiled and said,
"You didn't think it was a dream, did you?"
"...Wh."
Enril groaned, then swiftly grabbed the beloved sword lying beside her.
Jiha scoffed at the predictable reaction.
"Just so you know, I'm the one who put the sword back next to you after you passed out. So maybe think before you draw it?"
"...."
After their string of couplings, Enril had fainted into sleep.
It was Jiha who placed the sword beside her sleeping form.
Enril seemed to realize that too, and looked at him with eyes full of suspicion.
"Right, you're not drawing it right away. Getting a little tamed, are we?"
"How dare this piece of trash...."
Enril was furious.
A woman who had been panting and clinging to him in pleasure just a moment ago now stared at him with loathing.
"If you thought you'd be safe after humiliating me with some strange sorcery...."
"You were the one begging me to fuck you."
When Jiha coldly pointed it out, Enril looked like she'd been struck.
She remembered how her body had grown hot right after Jiha bit her and drank her blood.
But Jiha had a retort.
"Sorcery? Even if the first time was that, when we went at it three times in a row, you were the one shaking your ass asking for more. For a first-timer, you were awfully good at being coy."
"...."
Enril's face flushed bright red.
As she hesitated, torn between shame and anger, Jiha drove the wedge in.
"And you were the one who swore on the honor of the dark elves."
"...."
Enril was conflicted.
Having despised Jiha for doing nothing but surrendering without a fight, she possessed a corresponding pride in herself and her race. Arrogant, but she valued honor.
It wasn't absolute... but at least enough to make her hesitate.
Jiha spoke calmly.
"If I were you, I'd reassess the situation one more time before drawing the sword. Let's say you draw it. Let's say you somehow manage to kill me. What then?"
"...."
Enril's expression grew troubled.
She wanted to kill Jiha right this instant, but she had sworn on her honor, and besides...
"If I suddenly die, there'll be an investigation. Then you'd have to explain why."
A considerable amount of resources had been invested in summoning Jiha, a Common otherworlder.
It was infuriating from his perspective... but Jiha was effectively military supplies.
If supplies are damaged or go missing, an explanation is required.
In this case, the supervisor Enril would face the first round of questioning.
"Your superiors will interrogate you. How do you plan to talk your way out? Are you going to honestly report that you slept with me, regretted it afterwards, and killed me?"
"Don't you dare put such filthy words in your mouth."
Enril warned in a voice thick with humiliation.
A black leopard bristling with venom. Jiha sneered.
"On top of that, who says I'll just let you kill me quietly?"
As he spoke, Jiha stirred his Mana.
Red Mana coiled from his hand to his elbow.
The intense wave seemed to startle Enril considerably.
Jiha raised his arm as if to show it off.
"No matter how strong you are, you can't kill me in one blow now that I've got this Mana. I'd resist... and it'd get noisy. Do you want people rushing in and finding the two of us together in your bedroom?"
"Tsk...."
Enril could only let out a frustrated groan.
As he expected, she wanted to hide the fact that she had been in Jiha's arms from anyone else.
She was a woman who didn't even want to be seen eating with him.
Now she was weighing murder and covering her tracks, but the target wouldn't be easy to kill.
If she failed or dragged it out, her shame might be exposed to others.
Realizing this, Enril couldn't make an immediate choice.
Trembling slightly, Enril eventually set the sword down.
"...Get out. Right now."
"I need clothes to leave."
"What?"
Sitting naked on the chair with his legs crossed, Jiha didn't move.
Enril's frown deepened at the sight.
Jiha spoke again.
"Or should I let the whole neighborhood know that a lowly Common man came running naked out of your bedroom?"
"...You crazy bastard."
Enril ground her teeth.
Wasn't the conversation over? She couldn't fathom what Jiha was demanding now.
But Jiha pointed with his chin.
"Your clothes are right there. Bring them to me."
"...."
Beside the sleeping Enril lay Jiha's underwear and clothes.
She didn't want to tangle with Jiha any further.
Extremely displeased, Enril scooped up the garments with the tip of the sword's scabbard, refusing to touch them with her hands.
Whoosh!
She tossed them carelessly, as if shooing him away, and the clothes and underwear went flying across the room.
Enril glared at Jiha, disgusted.
But Jiha remained seated.
"I told you to bring them. What are you doing?"
"...What?"
"Bring them here."
Only then understanding Jiha's demand, Enril was dumbfounded.
She was supposed to personally present Jiha's clothes to him?
But Jiha spoke coldly.
"No? Then let's brawl right here."
"...."
Enril was conflicted.
Actually, this was a dangerous provocation.
If the now out-of-patience Enril attacked without thinking, it would be dangerous.
Jiha knew this, but he needed to make it clear.
That the hierarchy had been reversed.
That Jiha was above, and Enril was below.
'Of course, she'll never accept it right now. But through these small actions—the fact that she did something for me—I'm planting the seed in advance. Later on, when the time comes, she'll fully accept that she's beneath me.'
Having worked as the personal secretary to a high-ranking figure, Jiha understood hierarchical relationships well.
And he also knew that solidifying this now would be a huge help later on.
"...."
As Jiha waited expressionlessly, Enril gnashed her teeth.
Eventually, she rose, covering her bare body with the blanket.
The pure white cloth precariously veiled her voluptuous yet well-toned light-brown figure.
Suppressing a fresh wave of shame, Enril got off the bed and picked up the clothes she had thrown.
"...."
The haughty Enril, struggling to cover herself, was picking up a man's clothes.
The sight of her breasts and thighs subtly exposed with each movement was utterly seductive.
An ordinary man would want to throw out a lewd taunt.
But Jiha remained silent.
His goal right now was to instill the superior-subordinate dynamic in Enril.
Any further provocation might cause her to blow her top, and even if it didn't, it would dilute the purpose of establishing the hierarchy.
"...Here."
Whump!
Enril threw the clothes at Jiha's feet.
Then she glared at him anew.
As if daring him to complain after she had gone this far, and warning that she wouldn't tolerate any more.
"Thanks."
At Jiha's reply, Enril looked slightly surprised.
Because the arrogant bastard had suddenly expressed sincere thanks.
This too was Jiha's calculation.
'Enril's patience is at its limit right now. And when she does something for me, she gets thanked. Hardly anyone feels bad hearing gratitude from someone else.'
Instilling hierarchy, and praise.
A simple curriculum, but important.
"...."
Jiha stood up readily and got dressed.
The act of putting on clothes inevitably leaves one defenseless.
Especially in front of a black leopard who could pounce at any moment.
But Jiha deliberately took his time.
If you show hesitation before a predator, they'll mark you as easy prey and attack.
He needed to project the composure that he was not an easy target.
"...."
Enril stole glances at Jiha's body.
Partly recalling how they had frantically intertwined during the night.
And partly becoming newly aware of a man's naked form.
Jiha himself didn't even look at Enril; he dressed while staring at the wall.
Only after he was fully dressed did Jiha finally turn back to Enril.
Their eyes met, and Enril flinched, quickly hardening her expression.
Jiha said lightly,
"I'm off then. Ah, and thanks for the meal. It was good."
"...."
Indeed, the food on the table had been cleaned up completely.
Enril glared, but Jiha ignored it and left the room.
Left alone, Enril bit her lower lip hard.
"...What do I do now?"
Her head was swimming after spending the night panting from pleasures she'd never known before.
The situation just now also left her dizzy.
Trembling, Enril rose so she could wash up.
"Ugh...."
As she did, a tingling ache rose from her lower abdomen.
Not just pain... a sweet aftertaste rose along with it.
"Ngh."
Enril's face flushed bright red at the faint pleasure.
She had tried to dismiss last night's events as Jiha's scheming, but the lingering, tingling sensation still swirled in her body even now.
Jiha's face, the body he'd changed into earlier.
Last night when she clung to him and moaned.
Having recalled it unconsciously, Enril shook her head forcefully.
"No, it's not... It's nothing. I just need to kill him somehow, and it's over."
The dark elf Unique gritted her teeth fiercely.
After leaving Enril's room, Jiha returned directly to the Common barracks.
The day was just dawning, so the lounge was empty.
"She's probably grinding her teeth about now."
Jiha wasn't optimistic about the situation.
Sleeping with Enril and suppressing her was not the end of everything.
Enril would now be on guard against him. No, she wouldn't stop at being on guard; she'd try to kill him at the earliest opportunity.
For now, she was merely confused and hadn't decided on a course of action, so she let Jiha go.
She would draw her sword at any moment if things went wrong.
"The problem is... I can't do the same."
Enril would be grinding her teeth day and night now, but Jiha couldn't actually harm her.
He'd had the opportunity to kill her. He could have simply slit her throat when she fainted, unable to withstand the pleasure anymore.
But Enril was Unique Grade. If she met a violent death, a massive investigation would naturally follow.
Jiha would obviously be a prime suspect.
Even if he escaped suspicion, he'd draw the attention of Warsland's upper echelons.
That above all else had to be avoided.
At least until he had built up more power.
"...."
Jiha looked down at his feet.
Then his shadow seemed to writhe... and a black hand suddenly rose from the surface.
Astonishingly, the shadow had materialized into a hand.
Just as Jiha wished, the shadow hand clenched its fist, opened it, and played rock-paper-scissors.
It was an ability he gained after drinking Enril's blood.
Just as he had borrowed Okram's Instantaneous Rigidity, this shadow manipulation was Enril's Special Ability.
It was also the identity of the dark form that had pummeled him right after he was summoned.
"It doesn't stop at absorbing Mana through blood. It even takes the opponent's Special Ability."
If Enril had tried to kill him recklessly a moment ago, he had planned to counter with this shadow ability.
"I need to investigate more, but..."
Even if he took someone else's ability, how long does it last, and how effective is it?
There were endless things to investigate about his Vampiric Mana going forward.
What was clear was that this Vampiric Mana had to be kept an utmost secret.
It absorbs other people's Mana through blood and even takes their abilities.
Without thinking deeply, this was a Heretic Path.
Enril's angry outburst calling it sorcery was accurate.
"So that's probably why it was hidden within me..."
Until he was ready to overturn Warsland, Jiha needed to cultivate his strength.
So he couldn't just blindly kill Enril.
It was a difficult fight, and even if he won, he'd gain nothing and risk exposing his Vampiric Mana.
"The problem is that bitch's temper..."
Enril was a proud woman like a black leopard. She had strong pride and never tolerated being looked down on.
She would consider spending the night with Jiha a humiliation and want to bury the fact that she clung to him and panted into the darkness.
"If I'm not careful, she'll explode."
There was no telling when or how an opponent he couldn't readily kill would act out.
Hearing footsteps, Jiha stopped playing rock-paper-scissors with his shadow.
The shadow quietly returned to the floor.
"You're back? Jiha?"
Heavy footsteps. It was Okram who entered the lounge.
A towel hung around his neck; he had likely finished early morning training and washed up.
A worried face.
He must have been concerned when Jiha was summoned by Enril and didn't return.
At his friend's concern, Jiha shook his head.
"Nothing happened. Don't worry."
"...Hm, that's a relief then."
Okram sat down across from him.
But he didn't speak first. His attitude said if Jiha had something to say, say it; if not, saying nothing was also fine.
A true friend he really liked, even if he was an orc.
The reason Jiha could proceed with his plans smoothly was partly because Okram had cut his arm and given him blood without hesitation.
For this guy to find freedom and return to his family's embrace, Warsland had to be overturned.
"Okram, do you miss your family?"
"Of course I do."
Okram nodded heavily.
He had been living with a family he'd built when he was suddenly summoned to Warsland and forced to fight for his life.
He must want to return to his original world as soon as possible.
"The other guys are probably all the same... Not just me or Okram, but the other Commons too. Even Zrambul, who fought for his life against me today, didn't do it because he enjoyed it."
"Right, then..."
Jiha resolved to smash this damned Warsland's female-superior system and summoning system, for his own sake and for the sake of this orc friend who believed in him.
Having bitten Enril's neck and embraced her, he now had to look only ahead and go.
Jumping off a charging tiger only gets your neck broken, or you get eaten.
"Your supervisor was a succubus, right?"
"You mean Yura?"
Jiha nodded at Okram's reply.
The succubus he saw in the waiting room yesterday. For a Unique Grade, she had been a demure and polite woman.
"Tell me about her."
And... she was also the woman who had stared blankly at his erect groin.
Jiha solidified his resolve.
Fight fire with fire, set a thief to catch a thief.
If a dark elf assassin was going to try to harm him, he would use a succubus to stop it.