Chapter 106
Chapter 106
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: How About a Draw? (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Slave~"
"Yes... Ma'am."
"Today's food tastes even better for some reason~"
Baekdo giggled as she sat at the table, nibbling on the end of her chopsticks.
As if teasing me was the greatest achievement of her life. Her flushed face was so bright, it was like she'd make every peach in the world burst with ripeness.
'Damn it.'
I swallowed a curse while glaring at Baekdo.
Not even thinking about her sad disciple. Only chasing her own greed.
This situation, where she knew my circumstances but wouldn't say anything, felt even more pathetic.
Baekdo reached out with her chopsticks and popped a mung bean pancake into her mouth.
"Mmm~"
That nasal hum, like she was deliberately trying to rile me up, grated on my nerves.
Army stew, rolled omelet, kimchi pancakes, abalone braised in soy sauce.
Baekdo smirked at me as she eyed the feast laid out before her. Not a single dish hadn't passed through my hands.
"But this pancake... is the kimchi a bit underripe?"
"That's the kimchi you brought from Jirisan, Ma'am."
"Hey now. You should've picked wisely!"
Hey now my ass. My insides were burning, on the verge of exploding.
I swallowed my anger alone.
Why was I in this wretched position?
The reason I was on my knees like some drama servant named Dolsoe was the bet I'd made with Baekdo before.
-How about a bet? Whether I get first place or not.
-After seeing you embarrass yourself in pointless bets before... You think I'd take that bet?
The habitual wager from not long ago.
Baekdo, whom I'd pegged as thick-headed, had pulled an Einstein-level memory in this one useless area.
In the end, without even specifying the exact duration, I'd become this wicked woman's slave.
"So, Ma'am. When does this childish playtime end?"
"I was planning to end it today."
"Oh... Really?"
"If you hadn't said that. Now you're a slave for three days."
Damn it.
I was the fool for thinking she'd acknowledge my efforts even a little.
Fine, a bet's a bet. Even if I hated it.
As I stood there indifferently, Baekdo paused her meal and shot me a side-eye.
Then she set down her chopsticks and spoke lowly.
"This isn't sitting right. From the start. Aren't you the idiot?"
"Pardon?"
"It was a bet that put me at a disadvantage. You knew that and took it anyway, without even bluffing. And you lost... Heh, sorry. You got crushed. It's the defeat you chose. Accept it with grit."
Today's word choices were hitting all the sore spots.
It was true, though.
Couldn't argue, which only pissed me off more.
"Anyway, bring the booze. I feel like having a drink before bed."
Baekdo changed the subject, as if my win or loss meant nothing anymore.
She clapped her hands casually a couple times.
-Clap, clap.
The elegant lines of her body made it look pretty stylish.
'Sigh... Fine. What can I do? Gotta play along.'
"...What booze? Oak tree?"
"Bring the Tree Talk."
I fetched a can of beer from the freezer, chilled for 15 minutes, and brought it to Baekdo.
The kind with barely any alcohol, the sort a real drinker wouldn't even count as booze.
Baekdo took the can with satisfaction and moved to pop the tab.
Then, whoops.
She stopped her hand midway to the tab and stared at the mouth of the can.
As I watched, wondering what was up, she handed it back to me.
"Open it."
"Can't a noblewoman open a can?"
"What if I hurt my pretty hand?"
"Pretty hand my ass... Looks like it'll get bloodied instead of water."
Baekdo's eyes widened at my sarcasm.
"Come here."
As I approached,
Baekdo clenched her beckoning hand into a fist and slammed it straight into my solar plexus.
"Urk!"
Tears welled up, and my vision spun.
As I dropped to my knees, Baekdo rested her chin on her hand, smirking, and extended her foot toward my shoulder.
Her pale bare foot pressed firmly into the end of my shoulder.
"Why are you acting up during dinner?"
"...Don't hit me. I haven't fully healed yet."
"Pain's your problem, not mine. Anyway, you'll be slacking on training with all that MT stuff coming up. Behave yourself."
Baekdo giggled as she poked my cheek with her finger.
This woman, really.
My patience snapped.
I turned my head and bit down on her finger.
"Ack! What are you doing?!"
Smack! Baekdo's palm slapped my cheek and shoved it.
Not to be outdone, I grabbed both her arms, bound them, and flipped her over. The hem of her shirt rode up, exposing her belly.
It probably didn't even hurt.
I bit down on her finger with all my strength.
Baekdo's left hand grabbed a fistful of my hair.
"Let go."
"You first!"
"Argh! Three seconds. If you don't let go, I'll snap your limbs!"
-Crash!
The chair toppled. Chopsticks fell from the table and hit the back of my head.
We tussled for a few minutes. I choked on my own spit and collapsed. Baekdo rubbed her bitten index finger on her clothes and nudged my knee with her foot.
"Cough, cough."
"What was that! You lost the bet."
"So be moderate about it."
I grabbed Baekdo's wrist and held her hand up to her face.
A few strands of my broken hair were clutched in it.
How hard did she grab?
Looking at Baekdo, she glared at me with a foul mood.
"...You lost the bet."
Even her tone had changed. Did I show too much dislike?
Her pouting lips said it all. So easy to read.
"Got it. What do you want?"
"......"
"Want ice cream? Green tea flavor."
Too late to soothe her, but at "ice cream," Baekdo's ears twitched.
"...Whatever. Pour the drink."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Buy me ice cream tomorrow."
Peace restored, barely.
Sitting in a chair had been forbidden, but apparently that didn't matter now.
I sat, pulled soju bottles and a beer from the fridge.
"You drinking this?"
"Don't want yours."
"Suit yourself."
-Glug, glug. Clink.
I set down the tilted soju bottle.
"Why are you drinking too?"
"Feeling like it today."
"Slaves don't do that."
"Slaves drink better. Office workers, you know."
"No idea what that means."
I filled Baekdo's glass to the brim with Tree Talk.
Baekdo stared at her glass, pouted, and brought it to her lips.
-Gulp, gulp.
Her throat bobbed a few times before her lips parted.
"Phew. Slave duty's not over."
"Go ahead."
"Massage my hand."
Baekdo extended her hand.
Refusing might lead to a bad end again.
I took her hand and started massaging.
The texture of her pale skin along the fingerprints. A unique scent from the fine hairs brushing my skin.
Cool and soft, a bit firmer than Hwando's.
Wonder if it really turns rock-hard when she flexes.
As I kneaded, my eyes caught something.
A long scar ran along the back of her hand, which I'd thought was flawless.
A scar you wouldn't see on Hwando or Cheondo.
'No wonder she's so touchy.'
My stomach, hit dead-on earlier, throbbed like a needle prick.
"How'd you get this?"
"Slaves talk too much."
"Tell me, Ma'am."
Baekdo tilted her eyebrow.
"Nothing special. Got it during training as a kid."
"I see. Come to think of it, I haven't heard much about your masters."
"No need for you to know."
"You really won't tell? I'm your disciple."
Baekdo clamped her mouth shut and downed her drink nonstop.
"Ask Cheondo later."
"Aw, stingy."
Squeeze. Press.
Right after the talk ended,
I continued the massage.
Baekdo, holding her glass, fanned her peach-flushed face—whether from booze or the massage—with her other hand.
"Stop. It's not refreshing. Shouldn't have asked."
Baekdo pulled her hand away. Slight sweat beaded on it.
Her other glass was empty.
"Did that get you drunk?"
"Who said I'm drunk? That's always your problem. You curse at everything, over and over. And I'm not drunk. No way."
Classic drunk trait: insisting you're not drunk multiple times.
She was chatty, so probably drunk.
"But we're both cursing each other."
"...We really don't get along."
Agreed.
I nodded.
"Just looking at you makes me want to torment you. Your misery is my joy."
"Same here, but your personality's filthy."
"Not your place to say. Damn third-rate disciple."
Demoted another rank.
Baekdo had this habit of reverting to old nicknames when annoyed.
"The woman who marries a third-rate disciple will suffer."
"Nah. I treat my women great. Have you seen?"
"Third-rate looks like a classic playboy."
I sipped my drink and shot back.
"I don't cheat."
"Put your hand on your heart. That's what all playboys say."
"You ever dated one?"
Baekdo narrowed her eyes and sighed bitterly.
For some reason, it felt like the sigh of someone who knew it all.
"Cheondo's asleep, so I can say this. You're doing it with that teacher, and Hwando too."
Lee Se-young and Hwando.
I thought she didn't know. Guess the sisters knew each other's sex lives but kept quiet.
...Ouch, that stung.
Baekdo tapped her glass.
"Beer."
I filled her glass with beer right away. She chugged it.
-Gulp, gulp.
"Kah... Think I wouldn't know? I see everything."
Then she started rambling to herself.
Listening closely, she seemed to be talking to Hwando in her mind during training or something.
"No, Hwando. If you show it so obviously, how could I not notice? Cheondo might, since she knows nothing about men."
Baekdo propped her chin, looking exhausted, glaring curses at me with her eyes.
She finished the "conversation" and grinned. Victor's smile.
"Anything else to say?"
"No girlfriend yet, so no issue."
"Heh, crazy bastard... That's the problem."
Lately, not much with Hwando either.
Though post-exam, I was at her mercy anytime.
With Lewd Demon trait and three women around, resisting temptation ain't easy.
"So how'd it happen?"
"Dunno. She jumped me in bed."
"What? Making shit up again. Hwando wouldn't. And you think you have that appeal?"
I agree. Nodded in agreement and stated the facts.
"I think so too. But it's true."
"Hilarious. Guy who sucks in bed is full of confidence."
"Huh?"
Of all topics, this one.
In daily life, two things you never touch about a man: sex skills and gaming prowess.
Guys sneak peeks in baths or bathrooms for a reason.
"Last three seconds?"
So when Baekdo sniped with her usual snark, I had to scoff defensively.
"No experience, and you're so confident."
"Women gain value from inexperience."
"That's kid stuff. Wonder if you'll say that at thirty."
"......"
Voice rising from the booze.
"Do... you even know? Average sex time."
"...Ha! A real man lasts two hours easy."
"You know nothing. Two hours? You'd tap out."
Baekdo's eyes chilled like a winter cold snap.
"Ridiculous. Know who I am? I could split heaven and earth."
"Tried it. Sex and combat skills don't correlate."
"Not me."
"It does."
Voices gaining force.
"No. Don't be childish."
General.
"Who's childish."
Mongol.
"You won't last."
"Wanna bet?"
"What."
Double agent.
"Do... it then!"
Reverse general—no, she's accepting?
The heated exchange ended. I realized too late things had gone off the rails.
Cold food on the table. Facing each other.
Baekdo's face mirrored my thoughts. But neither backed down.
Obviously.
Saying "Let's stop" here would get "Scared? Fine, stop."
It was stubbornness, but that's how we lived—me and Baekdo.
No retreat now.
"Speak now if you wanna quit."
Bantering heated me up; booze buzzed a bit.
"Quit what."
Baekdo stood, face flushed.
Her dolphin pants and black tee—her ample chest bounced once.
Her face forced a smile.