Humiliation

I grabbed my gear in a hurry and headed for Building 101.

You might wonder why anyone would call security over a plumbing problem, but the complex ran a dedicated call-out service for Hunters. Ordinary civilians? Not a chance.

Discriminatory? Sure.

It's an apartment that keeps its value on the backs of Hunters. Of course it is.

I ran with that thought in my head, and before long I was there.

"Hoo… alright. Let's go in."

Standing in front of the luxury apartment reserved for A-class Hunters, I straightened my uniform, swiped the master key I'd been issued, and stepped inside.

The interior of Building 101 felt nothing like the other buildings in the complex. The first floor alone looked like the lobby of a five-star hotel — which was already absurd enough. And then—

"What brings you here?"

…there was even a dedicated receptionist.

Same apartment complex, different security contractor. Fair enough. I was starting to seriously ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doubt this was even the same property, but that was the construction company's luxury-upgrade strategy for you. Nothing to be done about it.

Well. That's exactly why so many A-class Hunters live here.

I explained why I'd come.

"There's a plumbing issue reported in Unit 201…"

"Ah, I see… Understood. One moment, please."

The receptionist nodded as if something had clicked, then asked me to wait. A faint unease prickled at the back of my mind, but I forced myself to ignore it.

A short while later, the receptionist finished confirming and told me I was cleared to go up. I thanked her and headed for the elevators — completely missing the pitying look she cast my way.

The elevator opened on the second floor. I walked straight to the door marked 201 and pressed the bell.

— Ding-dong.

I waited. Then—

— Creeeak.

The door swung open, and standing there was—

"Haa… Took you long enough, mister. Don't you think you're a little late?"

A blonde woman with twintails, her face already twisted into a look of pure venom. Her name was Lee Jihye — an active S-class Hunter, and a member of the Magic Tower, the mage guild famous for producing powerhouses. Her element, true to her alias Heavenly Punishment, was lightning. And for the record, she was twenty — three years younger than me.

"Haha, sorry about that. It's a bit of a walk from the guard post…"

Standing face-to-face with an S-class Hunter, I swallowed hard, my expression tight with nerves. There were two reasons for that. One was the raw, instinctive fear of someone whose rank put her beyond any ordinary person's ability to resist. The other—

Yeah, she's every bit as gorgeous as her reputation says. Disgustingly pretty.

—was her looks. That face, that figure. She was even dressed for it: a tight shirt and dolphin shorts that clung to every curve and left almost nothing to the imagination. A stray thought flickered through my head before I stamped it out and focused on what she was saying.

"Whatever. Just check it already."

"Do you know which pipe is the problem, or…"

"Bathroom sink. Over there."

"Understood. I'll take a look right away."

She didn't even bother acknowledging me — just a lazy tip of her chin. What a complete brat, I thought, stepping inside. And then I froze.

…Holy shit. This is a pigsty.

The place was spacious on paper, but you wouldn't have known it. The apartment looked like a sty that had been lived in by something that hated cleaning. Not quite a biohazard — well, no, it was bad — but the kind of bad you could still fix if you actually tried.

I was still staring in horror when her voice floated in from behind me.

"Oh, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once you're done with the pipes, clean up my place."

My brain short-circuited.

Clean it? Me? What about my actual job?

The protest rose as far as my throat. Then reality set in.

"…Pardon? Ah — yes. Understood."

This was part of the job. I had no choice but to nod. No wonder they'd asked during the interview if I was good at cleaning rooms. So that was why.

I headed into the bathroom and checked the sink. Fortunately, it was nothing catastrophic — just a clog. Debris had jammed up the drain on the intake side. I cleared it quickly, and the moment I finished, my reward was waiting for me.

"Bag up the trash with those plastic bags over there. I've got work to do in my room."

— SLAM!

She chucked a garbage bag at me and vanished into her room like she owned the world. My fists clenched at the sheer, unfiltered rudeness of it — then I forced them open again.

Even if I push back here, there's nothing I can actually do…

I faced the facts and started cleaning.

I did trash separation every week at home. So why did this feel so wretched? Was it because I was speaking politely to a girl younger than me and getting nothing but casual contempt in return? Or was it because she was walking all over me and I couldn't say a single word back?

I shook my head and shoved the thoughts aside. Dwelling on it would only make me feel worse. Better to just get the garbage bagged and done.

I worked half on autopilot, sorting through the mess, until something soft brushed my fingers.

"Hm? What's this?"

Thinking it was a scrap of clothing, I pulled it free — and froze.

Holy shit. Underwear?

A pair of aggressively red, deliberately provocative panties sat in my hand. I jolted and was about to fling them away when—

— Click.

A camera shutter snapped behind me. I spun around.

"Haa… I had a feeling, but still."

"W-wait, this isn't—"

"Touching someone else's underwear."

Lee Jihye stood there with her phone in hand, looking at me like I was something she'd scraped off her shoe.

"Haa… fuck."

"I-I'm sorry!"

I dropped the underwear and bowed so hard my forehead nearly hit the floor. She didn't so much as blink.

"I don't want an apology. How are you going to take responsibility, you useless piece of shit?"

My mind scrambled.

Are you serious? Over underwear? And you were the one who ordered me to clean this up—

The words clawed their way up my throat. I swallowed them.

"I-I'll do anything within my power…"

I caved. One wrong word here and I was finished. Finding a Hunter's underwear was already a career-ending scenario. My entire life could go up in smoke over this.

So I obeyed.

For the first time, she smiled.

"Heh. Then I guess mister gets to be my toy for a while."

"…What? Excuse me?"

I stared at her, certain I'd misheard. Her grin only widened.

"Didn't catch that? Starting today, you're my slave. Until I get bored."

That was all the answer I got — her laughing face, bright with pure, sadistic delight.

And just like that, I became her slave. For as long as it amused her.

What followed was a month of hell.

I'd seen posts online from guys who fantasized about being treated like a slave by a beautiful Hunter. I wanted to grab every last one of them by the collar and ask if they had a death wish.

The greatest hits of my new life included things like: collapsing into my staff dorm after a shift, only for her to call and demand food from a restaurant two hours away. Or calling me in the middle of the night, and when I didn't pick up — frying me with lightning.

Yes. She used her ability on me. She didn't seem interested in killing me, at least; it was just enough current to send a vicious jolt through my whole body. Of course, even that much was plenty.

"Kyahaha— You're not even a dog, and you already pissed yourself?"

"Kh…"

Blowing out my bladder was trivially easy for her.

And that was just the start. Endless errands. Cleaning. Massages. I lived exactly like her slave. You might think that sounds manageable on paper — but for some reason, the other residents started whispering whenever I walked by, and even the kids in the complex seemed to avoid me.

…Right. Long before the slavery itself broke me, the constant dread did. Crossing a Hunter meant your reputation was already ash. For a full month, my life was nothing but hell.

"Ghh… At least lying in bed feels a little better…"

Another day of hell behind me, I staggered back to the dorm and collapsed onto ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mattress. Then my phone buzzed with a single message.

That was it.

"Heh—"

A month of slavery, and that was how it ended. No explanation. No apology. Nothing. I'd been nothing more than her attendant — her plaything — and now she was done.

"Haha… fuck."

I was so stunned that even lying down, my body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Rage and hatred welled up from somewhere deep. But more than the fury I felt toward Lee Jihye—

I'm more disgusted with myself for getting hard looking at her.

—was the self-loathing over my own body's reactions. Throughout that entire month, there had been moments when she'd turned me on. A body that could get aroused by a bitch like that.

No. Why am I the one who should feel disgusted?

My body was just being horny. That was on her. Wanting to look at a body like that and put her through something even more humiliating — that was only natural. All her fault.

Or maybe the real problem was that becoming a Hunter made people this filthy…

Self-hatred, rage, and loathing churned together as I lay there. I don't know how long it lasted.

"Fuck it. Maybe I should just die."

I muttered it at the ceiling, hollowed out. Then I discarded the thought. Dying because of a bitch like her would only make it worse. At least now I could go back to being a regular security guard.

I clung to that and was about to sleep for tomorrow's shift when—

— Beep.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠strange alarm chimed from my phone, and windows I didn't recognize began to appear.

I was still reeling from the sudden messages when another one appeared.

Without any input from me, something called the Hunter Apartment Security Guard App installed itself on my phone. I could only gape, brain blank, as one final message arrived.

The moment the text finished displaying, every notification vanished as if it had never existed. I stared at the empty screen, mouth working soundlessly, until I finally managed a whisper.

"…Did I just Awaken?"

It was the most reasonable conclusion my brain could reach.

But at the time, I had no idea.

This wasn't an Awakening. Not even close.