Chapter 352
Chapter 352
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 352
Chapter Title: Afterglow and Midnight Pursuit
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"Are you okay?"
Smooth skin pressed against mine.
We'd been tangled up on the dusty mat for quite a while.
It had been so long, and with her tiny body, it must have hurt.
I hadn't planned on going all the way, but she strained to take me in anyway.
Her face flushed bright red, pretending to be bold despite her inexperience. She spread her legs wide.
Once I was in, her hip movements were clumsy, and she was completely at my mercy.
"Hah... Hnng, hnn."
Her fist-sized breasts rose and fell with her breaths.
Our skin was caked in dust from rolling so hard on the mat.
I removed the pillow from under her hips and pulled Blanche into my arms.
"Didn't it hurt?"
It was very different from before.
I wasn't lost in enslavement, so the arousal was milder. She wasn't as wet, and I hadn't used any lustful techniques like our first time.
It might have been too much pain for little Blanche to endure.
"...Back then, it just felt good. This time, it hurt a lot."
She honestly shared her feelings.
Blanche wrapped her arms around my neck and hooked her legs over mine.
Soft, plump thighs.
They were so addictive, like a drug, that I couldn't help but admire them when I touched her.
I kneaded the inner parts near her crotch like dough. The soft flesh yielded between my fingers, squishing without a hint of muscle.
Blanche let out a short moan.
"Eek. Idiot. I'm talking here."
She didn't seem to hate it, smiling as she lifted her thigh for easier access.
The sensation lingered in my mind.
It was enough to stir life back into my spent lower half.
"...Pervert."
Even her scornful word dripped with affection, reminding me.
-Thud.
Blanche pressed her forehead to mine.
Then her nose brushed against my face.
-Smack.
Her cute, petite lips left a mark on my cheek, then she rubbed her cheek against mine softly.
She conveyed the affection words couldn't capture, savoring it with her whole body.
Blanche pulled back slightly, cupped my cheeks with her hands, and grinned.
"...When I was brainwashed, everything felt good no matter what you did to me. I thought it'd be the same this time, but it was so different."
"Was it bad?"
"No, not like that."
It was different from before.
The level of pleasure was definitely less.
Enslavement itself dulled everything. With the lust arts too, the pleasure back then must have been dangerously intense.
"It's not that it was bad... It hurt more... and was harder."
Blanche leaned in for another kiss.
A light one, no tongues. Her red-rimmed eyes, still not fully settled, caught my gaze.
"But this makes me so much happier."
Her honest confession carried the fresh innocence of first love, so beautiful I couldn't look away.
"...Siheon."
She showed her shy love without hiding it.
Even I, with all my experiences, felt a tickle in my chest.
"Merci."
Her exotic voice rang in my ears.
"...Je t'aime."
Words I understood without knowing French.
"Kyaa~"
Blanche tilted her mouth without opening it, her face turning red as if she'd done something naughty, covering it with her hands.
I cast a simple cleansing spell on her body and lay beside her.
The petite form inside her pure white dress fabric never got old to hold.
"......"
The night moon was rising. I picked up a single fallen horse chestnut and brought it before my eyes.
In front of Blanche's watching gaze, I popped it into my mouth.
"......"
Extremely bitter.
If my stomach were weak, I'd have spat it out immediately, it was so astringent. But compared to the last one, it was bearable.
There was even a slight sweetness.
Did the Wood Person's condition affect the fruit?
Blanche's face flushed deeply, her eyes blinking rapidly.
"Uh, ah, uh."
She seemed embarrassed that I'd eaten her fruit.
Worldwide, eating a woman's fallen fruit was a proposal. Among lovers, it meant marriage.
-Tap.
Blanche's small fist thumped my chest.
"...I like it too."
I'd caused some big misunderstanding.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Pyaah~~!"
Shiba loved tonkatsu.
Her face melted in bliss as she shoved a huge piece into her mouth with a cute yellow baby fork.
I'd said I'd be a bit late, but they'd set the table and waited.
Family meals are best, she said, so here we were, the three of us eating happily together.
-Nom nom.
"Tasty, my little girl?"
"Pya, pya!"
The cheek-squishing sounds grew more addictive and cute with every bite.
Like a cat tasting churu for the first time.
After cheap kibble, they go wild for churu, even tearing up.
Our Shiba got so excited over good food, her nose even twitched.
"Wanna try this?"
"Ppi, yes!"
I scooped some bibimbap from my bowl and offered it to Shiba.
"......Ppi?"
Shiba, who'd swallowed her tonkatsu and opened wide naturally, froze at the sight of bibimbap.
Pupils shaking.
Her whole body trembled, unsure whether to open her mouth.
"Ah~"
"...Ppi, ppi."
As I brought the spoon closer, Shiba alternated glances between the bibimbap and me dozens of times.
Daddy wouldn't do this to me.
The betrayal in her eyes was intense. She shivered harder as it approached.
A bean sprout peeked through the rice grains in her vision.
Fernbrake, sprouts, gochujang. Sesame oil.
Especially terrified of the sprouts, her pebble-sized fists shook.
"Ah~"
I kept pushing the spoon forward.
Shiba clamped her mouth shut tight, then glanced at my face, squeezed her eyes closed, and parted her lips just a tiny bit.
I didn't miss the gap and shoved in the bibimbap.
"Ppik!?"
Shiba chewed with a startled face.
"...Ppik, ppiiing."
What was that sound?
"Kuhuhu."
Shiba grimly chewed the bibimbap, making a face I'd never seen.
Sulky and crumpled, sad that her tonkatsu heaven was tainted. To her foolish dad's eyes, even that was adorable.
Her face puffier with resentment, Shiba glared at me.
"She really hates it, huh?"
"Shiba's a picky eater. Especially bibimbap... First time I've seen her eat it."
Azalea shook her head, sitting across from me.
Her expression showed genuine surprise at Shiba eating sprout bibimbap.
I stroked the head of Shiba, who looked like she'd lost her country.
"...Ppiing."
"So, who'd you meet this time?"
She propped her chin and nodded toward me.
Her gaze pointed to the dark lipstick mark still there.
No, there were quite a few.
Even the more lenient Azalea lately was pointing it out. One or two she'd ignore, but this was more.
'Blanche, you little minx.'
I hadn't noticed during, but the naughty cat had marked me thoroughly. From my neck to forehead, collarbone, arms—nowhere spared.
What I needed to do here was...
"Shall I serve you, my lady? Anything bothering you?"
Family survival rule: Apologize if wrong.
Azalea eyed me sharply, then burst into giggles at my groveling.
"Puhuhu. Then take responsibility for Shiba's bibimbap—make her finish it and bathe her. Better than coming home injured somewhere..."
Azalea looked more tired lately.
She'd said her workload had increased. With the shifting landscape, the company had tons of tasks and policies to set.
Now on break, managing the company full-time—even a hunter's body would struggle with stamina.
She wasn't as physically gifted as me.
I needed to accommodate her.
"Shiba, hear that?"
"Ppi, ppiing...."
Shiba's face paled as she looked at me. Trying to escape? She squirmed off the chair.
"Shiba full. Thank you for the meal."
"Nope, can't go, little girl."
"Ppiiit! Ppiik!"
I grabbed her under the armpits; she flailed. No chance. Sat her on my lap, held her belly with one arm to secure her.
"Your mom made it, Shiba. Eat it gratefully, chew chew."
I scooped a huge mound of bibimbap and pressed it to our kid's lips.
Lips pursed like she'd never open, glaring at me—no way.
I leaned in for a cheek kiss; her stunned face gaped wide.
-Smack.
"Ppiing."
Bibimbap slipped through the small opening.
"Mmph!"
"Good girl, eat up."
The sprout monster slid down Shiba's throat.
"Ppiieeeek!"
Her heartfelt scream from the depths filled the kitchen.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Around 2 a.m., when everyone was asleep.
I gave a quick kiss to Azalea sleeping soundly beside me and got up.
I stirred a bit of mana to check my wrecked mana circuits.
'That fucking Sistus bitch.'
The circuits were shredded, enough to make me curse on sight.
The aftereffects naturally left me unable to use full power.
Still, prolonged use of Healing Authority had helped. I could manage moderate martial arts now.
My dantian was settling, but insufficient.
Growth too rapid; now it was truly hard to bear.
'Should I pause the Wood Stem?'
Even 20,000—no, 10,000 more mana felt like it'd shatter my dantian and melt my body.
My body was signaling it.
Hit a limit?
'No. It's obvious.'
Too early to call it a limit—my potential was intact, and it'd been less than half a year since arriving in this world.
From when growth really kicked off, just three months' results.
Anyway, no plans to hold back.
I straightened up from bed.
As I rose, someone grabbed my wrist from beside me.
"Again, where to?"
"Got work. Sleep, I'll be right back."
"...You'll get hurt?"
"As if."
Still half-asleep response. I gently stroked her head; she hugged the drowsy Shiba and drifted off happily.
I stepped outside and breathed fresh air.
-Click.
First place after opening the door: The Cornerus Family mansion at El Academy.
Built just for Sansu-yu's residence, but her name drew constant traffic.
Even passing by, guards and TV-star hunters buzzed in and out.
Now, that top-tier mansion in El Academy was deserted, not a rat in sight.
I hopped the fence lightly into the garden.
The garden wasn't long abandoned—messy, but not an eyesore.
Clear trespassing, but what choice?
Had to tail them myself.
-Humm!
I drew up mana, deep breath.
Lessons from the Sage, solidifying basics, enabled new feats.
Mana resonance.
Mana passing through a person's circuits leaves unique traces. Distinguishing requires peak mana discernment—or awakening or authority.
Luckily, my sensitivity was high, so tracking was easy.
Problem: Time.
Even experts took months to gather mana traces as evidence.
Too late already. Needed a shortcut.
-Humm!
Lifeforms of mana that outdid trees in handling it!
Two birds spread wings over the magic circle on the ground, chirping happily.
"Chirp~! Master!"
Eleonore, Lucy.
Our girl birds' time had come.