Chapter 19: Hierarchy
Chapter 19: Hierarchy
The sky had darkened into dusk.
Their frenzied bout had finally come to an end.
Silence.
Sitting apart from Jiha, Enril only stared at the wall.
Clad in nothing but a single sheer black shirt, she turned her face away from him, as if their bodies hadn't been fiercely intertwined just moments ago.
"Enril."
"......."
"Pretending you can't hear me?"
At Jiha's threatening tone, Enril reluctantly turned her head. She had learned that ignoring Jiha's words could bring unpredictable consequences.
Refusing to answer with her mouth was her last shred of pride.
Jiha gestured with his chin.
After the struggle came the cementing of hierarchy.
"Bring me my clothes."
"......."
Jiha had stripped off all his cumbersome garments while taking Enril.
Their clothes lay scattered across the floor.
Enril hesitated, then rose from her spot and slowly gathered his clothes.
On their first night, she had hurled them at his feet.
And this time?
"......."
Jiha's gaze alone conveyed the meaning, without words.
Let's see how you choose to come to me now.
Enril recognized the unspoken challenge and faltered... before picking up the clothes and approaching him.
She stopped short.
Enril, who had been about to bend at the waist, set the clothes down beside him and retreated a step.
She had unconsciously started to bow and offer them directly, only to change her mind at the last moment.
Enril herself might believe she had preserved her pride.
'This is a massive step forward.'
Given her usual temperament, she was more than capable of launching a surprise attack on Jiha.
But this Unique had been bested twice. This time, she had even mounted a frontal assault and been crushed.
She had been pinned beneath him, gasping and writhing.
That fact was casting a whirl of conflicting emotions across Enril's heart.
Ignoring how obviously conflicted she looked, Jiha began pulling on his clothes, one garment at a time.
"Maybe next time I'll just spend the night."
"......."
Even when Jiha spoke in a provocative tone, Enril didn't bite.
Her blue eyes only flared with a renewed, rebellious light, the content clearly grating on her.
And yet, a tangle of complicated emotions still clung to her face.
Jiha offered one last remark.
"Remember what I said. Make sure you follow through."
"......."
Enril didn't say a single word in the end, but Jiha moved toward the door.
Stepping out into the dim hallway, he sighed.
"Hoo..."
Honestly, Enril's body was incredible. To the point where, even after coupling four times, the impulse to do it again still surged up within him.
But drowning in a woman meant his objective would be forgotten. That was exactly what ruined him back on Earth.
"How will she act next time..."
She had been violated by Jiha in her own home in the middle of the day. Not caught off guard, but in a head-on confrontation.
An ordinary woman would submit completely, but it seemed a core of Enril's pride still remained.
"She really is something..."
A bitter smile tugged at Jiha's lips. Enril's high-handed personality was truly formidable.
Even though she gasped and clung to him whenever he touched her, even though she wept sweetly and collapsed into his arms, the moment it was over, she tried to primly keep her distance.
Still, after being pushed this far, she'd likely behave herself for the time being.
Muttering to himself as he walked down the corridor, Jiha spotted a woman blocking his path.
The dog-eared maid was watching him.
"The guest who came looking for you has already left."
"Is that so?"
Sirel, whom he had called over to help suppress Enril, must have gotten tired of waiting and gone back. Well, doing it over and over had eaten up a lot of time.
As Jiha noted this fact, the beastman maid stared directly at him. As if she had something to say.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing. If you're leaving, this way."
The beastman maid turned and began walking ahead. As Jiha followed, the maid suddenly spoke.
"Don't make the young lady angry."
"She gets angry the second she sees me."
"Don't make the young lady angry."
How much did she know about the situation, exactly? Had she been eavesdropping?
Jiha chuckled and asked, "And what happens if I do?"
"I will be the one to get angry."
"Oh, really? How terrifying."
Jiha snorted at the dog beastman maid's warning. Her mistress Enril was being tamed, so why would he fear the yapping of her subordinate?
Jiha fixed his gaze on the nape of her neck, just visible through her shoulder-length hair.
'Should I teach her exactly why men are scary?'
In the brief moment the thought crossed his mind, the maid stopped walking.
"We're here."
Pausing before the front door, the maid turned around. Her expression was placid, but her attitude clearly said, hurry up and leave.
Jiha shrugged and asked, "What's your name?"
"It is not a maid's duty to answer uninvited guests."
"Tell me and I'll go."
A brief flash of distaste flickered across the maid's face. But she quickly masked the emotion and bowed her head.
"It's Mayan. Now kindly leave, uninvited guest."
"See you around."
Having received Mayan's version of a send-off, Jiha opened the front door and stepped outside. The early evening air felt crisp.
"Alright, whatever..."
He'd give that maid a taste of his rough side next time. After all, he was bound to come back here eventually.
Jiha walked at a leisurely pace until he arrived at the barracks. The soldier guarding the main gate shot him a look of pure disgust upon seeing him.
"No matter what, your leave permit..."
"Wanna see Enril?"
"......."
The soldier was visibly offended but stepped aside. The name of the Unique Enril was immensely useful.
Humming to himself, Jiha headed for the mess hall building.
"Just in time for dinner."
At the entrance, Jiha spotted a familiar face. It was Okram.
Seeing Jiha, Okram approached him and called out in a grave tone, "Jiha."
"Something's happened."
This wasn't a guy who acted solemn for no reason. If he was putting on a heavy front, it meant trouble had brewed.
"And the trouble's got something to do with me. So what's the problem?"
"Everyone's waiting for you in the mess hall."
"Because I'm the Superstar coming back from leave?"
Jiha cracked a boast, but his eyes narrowed.
"By 'everyone,' you mean the other Commons, right? Why are they waiting for me?"
"Well..."
"So, the whole group has something to say to me."
At Jiha's swift conclusion, Okram nodded heavily. "I'll be standing by your side. If things go sideways, get yourself out."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but..."
Seeing Okram act this way meant things were serious.
When Jiha entered the mess hall, the wolf-headed figure leaning against the corridor wall turned around. It was Uben.
"You're back, Jiha."
"Yeah, what's going on?"
"A bit of a problem came up."
Uben spoke as he led the way inside. Following him, Jiha asked, "Did their answer change from the message I asked you to deliver and resolve?"
Whatever the reason, if Jiha was removed from the rotation, the other Commons were bound to have complaints. Twenty-nine men doing the work meant for thirty.
Being exempted from duty would naturally draw nasty looks from the others. But Jiha, who'd fought consecutive matches after a day off, needed time for various reasons. That was why he'd asked Uben to quell any discontent.
"It was a bit too much for me to handle..."
As Uben trailed off, Jiha frowned.
The mess hall.
The Commons who had been sitting and talking among themselves with grim faces all fell silent the moment Jiha entered.
The looks pouring onto him were far from friendly.
Small goblins and kobolds. A gargoyle with its distinctive hard gray skin. A skeleton made entirely of bones. A mummy whose entire body was wrapped in bandages. A lion-headed beastman. An automaton whose internal gears were clearly visible...
These were the Commons of Blue Seal, forcibly summoned to Warsland from different worlds and forced to fight.
'More than twenty of them...'
Some were probably too exhausted to come, or were simply natural lone wolves. Still, this many meant most of the Commons had likely gathered.
Into the silence, Jiha tossed out a line. "Everyone's looking at me pretty hot and heavy. What, you all turn gay overnight?"
"This is no time for jokes."
The gargoyle Rugin turned his head with a grinding sound. His body, made of stone, crunched like gravel with every movement.
Jiha discreetly observed his surroundings. Okram was standing at the mess hall exit. His plan was to help Jiha escape and then block the door if violence broke out.
'He's looking out for me, the friend.'
A Jiha without Mana would never survive against these Commons. No, even now, facing them all at once was dangerous.
At the feeling of Uben quietly positioning himself at his back, Jiha smirked. Spoken like a true wolf beastman, huh?
Pretending to notice nothing, Jiha faced forward and spoke. "So, what's the reason everyone looks like they're chewing on bitter herbs?"
"Hakal died in the Summoning War today."
The lion beastman Garaon cried out in resentment.
The ogre Hakal had been a well-liked friend among the Commons. Strong, the guy never shied away from dirty work, had a huge appetite, and never got angry no matter what anyone said. Forcibly dragged here from different worlds, everyone had been on edge, but whenever Hakal was around, the mood turned gentle.
"Hakal died, huh."
Jiha felt a pang of regret, too. If he'd lived, that guy would have been a great asset down the road.
"Yeah, because you suddenly vanished, he had to rush into the match and was killed by Purple's giant Quadoran!"
"All because you dropped out!"
A goblin and a kobold raised their voices.
Jiha grasped how things had played out. Enril had intended for him to fight in the Summoning War today, too, but Jiha had utterly crushed that plan.
'And she was busy gasping under me...'
That was barely a few hours ago.
"There are two supervisors around now. So the succubus handled it on her own, did she?"
The succubus Yura had no idea what was happening between Enril and Jiha. She had to fill the roster somehow, so she rushed out a substitute.
Good-natured Hakal had filled the spot and died. Grieving their friend's death, a single thought had risen in the Commons' minds: if Jiha hadn't skipped out on his own, Hakal would still be alive.
With the one they wanted to denounce absent, their anger had ignited, leading to this impromptu tribunal.
"Oh, is that so?"
Jiha nodded in understanding. Everyone glared at him with furious eyes.
In the tense, angry silence, Jiha began to move slowly. It wasn't a motion to escape.
When Jiha picked up a meal tray, the goblin snarled.
"Why, you son of a...!"
Swiish.
When Jiha raised a hand, the angry Commons faltered. The gesture suggested he had a plan, forcing them to cut their rage short.
Having stopped the Commons cold with a single hand gesture, Jiha picked up his tray and took his time surveying the food. The Commons barracks had a simple buffet, so you could pick whatever you liked.
The taste was so-so, but leagues better than military rations.
As Jiha loaded his tray with fruit, soup, bread, meat, and even salad, an impatient groan rippled through the waiting Commons. If he'd just stormed out right away, that'd be different. But with Jiha leisurely buying time, they couldn't immediately react.
The fury of a crowd always had a rhythm. Control that rhythm and you could turn it to your advantage.
"You..."
When an impatient kobold hissed through his teeth, Jiha turned around smoothly.
"Wait."
As if to say he'd deal with them once he was done, Jiha carried his tray back to the spot. When he nonchalantly pulled out a chair, set his tray down, and sat in front of it, the Commons' breathing grew ragged.
Like sprinters waiting for the starting pistol, the thought of teaching him a harsh lesson circled in everyone's minds the moment Jiha kept ignoring them and started his meal.
But Jiha had already seen right through all of it.
He knew the instant he picked up his utensils, the Commons would move.
Jiha snapped at them.
"Look at these sons of bitches. Just because I let things slide, you think you can jump a veteran?"