How Sweet
Was she trying to mess with me right now?
Granted, I had told Song Yura never to speak casually to me, and never to call me by name. But I never expected her to drop the word Master right out in the open, in front of other people, and strike a pose that reverent.
Karina had a point.
For all the composure in her voice, Song Yura's face had gone completely scarlet. Looking closer, even her earlobes were flushed crimson. And her fists were clenched so tight her hands were trembling.
Well. It was a pretty humiliating thing to say with a straight face.
Especially in front of other people. I knew that feeling better than anyone. I had been on the receiving end of it from Song Yura herself.
"Mas... what did you just say?"
When that clueless idiot Park Suchil piled on another layer of embarrassment, Song Yura bit down hard on her lip. Seeing that, I figured I ought to give her credit this time — she really was trying.
"That's none of your business."
The fact that I... didn't actually mind it as much as I'd expected also played a part.
"What matters right now is hearing the facts from Song Yura about what just happened. And depending on what she says, I should warn you now — I may not be able to let this slide."
"Ha! And what are you gonna do if you don't let it sl— ugh!"
Park Suchil tried to yank his hand free from my grip, then flinched in shock. Of course he did.
My current Strength was 5(+15). Considering that 5 had been my baseline even when I was working part-time jobs and keeping in decent shape, that was probably about the human average. And on top of that, I had the power of Demonic Energy stacked on.
Could an ordinary human even break free?
When his hand wouldn't budge an inch, Park Suchil fell silent. I glanced at him once, then spoke to Song Yura.
"Talk."
"Yes."
...Yeah. This is awkward.
"As Master commanded, I tried to cleanly cut things off with Park Suchil today. But that man grabbed my wrist and shoulder, hurled every curse he could think of, and tried to force himself on me."
"I didn't force myself on anyone!"
"That was the look in your eyes. The way you looked at me when I said I'd slept with a man — it was the exact same look as those horny stray dogs I used to see in the old neighborhood."
"What? A horny stray dog? You little bitch!"
Park Suchil exploded and went to hit Song Yura again. I casually caught his other hand as well.
Was it my imagination, or did Song Yura's face flush even deeper? Was there something in what I just said that would do that?
I had no idea what she meant, but Park Suchil looked just as dumbfounded. No — more accurately, he seemed more shocked by Song Yura's reaction than by anything I had done.
"Ha. Fuck."
He let out a hollow laugh.
"She spread her legs once and you fell that hard? If I'd known, I wouldn't have saved her — I'd have torn into her right then and there. The way she acted, I figured she had no experience, but turns out she was a pro? Then again, looking at this guy's face, I guess the players found each other."
"What the hell does that mean?"
I asked because I genuinely didn't understand. Karina, who'd been eavesdropping, practically squealed with excitement.
Okay so when he first saw her he thought Song Yura was a virgin, but then she starts calling you Master and following you around, and now he's like, oh she's not a virgin — she's a whore. And you're a player who hangs around with whores. Birds of a feather, you know?
That's pretty much the vibe!!
No filter at all, even with someone he just met.
What a piece of garbage.
I'd had a pretty good idea from the moment he started cursing at a woman and trying to hit her. And...
"It was the first time. For both of us."
"...What?"
"Song Yura was a virgin with no experience, and I was a virgin myself until yesterday."
I really hated being misunderstood. It was in the same vein as being honest with myself. I couldn't stand people twisting my actions to fit their own narrative.
"Ha, it really was the first time? Fuck, that just makes it even more of a waste."
A waste?
What the hell kind of guy was this? Had Song Yura actually been flirting with this piece of trash?
Birds of a feather, I guess.
So why was I getting pissed off?
"Yeah, it's a waste, but fuck it — I've got plenty of girls who want me. Let's just end this peacefully here. I've got no attachment left to that bitch Song Yura. You two can fuck, you can play master and slave, I don't give a shit. We good?"
I was speechless.
Was I the weird one? How could this bastard stand there so confidently after what he'd done? And from the way he talked, he seemed to think he was implicitly far above me.
"What makes you think this ends here?"
I tightened my grip on his wrist.
A sound like wringing out a wet rag came from the joint. The bone didn't break — but it was close.
"GAAAAAHHH!"
It was probably far worse than whatever pain Song Yura had felt, but I didn't owe any consideration to a man who'd tried to hit a woman.
"Next is the shoulder."
The moment I muttered that and reached for him—
"Hhk— w-wait, not the shoulder!"
He recoiled in terror, stumbled backward, and plunged straight into the lake behind him.
Water sprayed up toward me and Song Yura, but I casually swatted it away with my palm. After facing so many of Jeanne's arrows, a few water droplets were nothing.
That said...
"Well. That's a pathetic look."
The lake along the campus walking path looked picturesque from a distance, with its pretty koi and all — but actually falling in was a different story. The lake was hard to maintain by nature, so except for a few days out of the year, it reeked of sewage. On top of that, everyone walking by was snickering. The humiliation had to be crushing. Even now I could hear someone saying, "Holy shit, that's insane."
"M-Ma-Master... that's enough."
"Someone watching might think I punished that guy for your sake. Don't get the wrong idea, Song Yura. I've just never been the type to walk past this kind of thing."
"Yes, I understand."
"Tsk..."
What a disaster, on my way to Introduction to Mechanical Engineering. And the lecture had probably already started. I really didn't feel like walking in late.
"Um, Master, I have something I'd like to tell you. Would you like to go to a café nearby?"
At this point, killing time with Song Yura until the lecture ended didn't seem like a bad idea. What I actually needed wasn't the lecture itself — it was a meeting with the two guys who attended it.
"Fine."
I nodded and started to leave the walking path with Song Yura when a splashing sound came from behind, followed by Park Suchil's voice, thick with rage.
"Hey! You fuckers, you gonna stop or what?!"
"...Let's go, Master."
Song Yura even linked her arm through mine. I glanced back, ready to just leave — but the other party didn't seem willing to let us.
"I said stop, you little shits! You brats think you can ignore your senior like this? You don't wanna graduate from this university?"
I'd just gotten cleaned up, and the mere sight of Park Suchil approaching, dripping with filthy lake water, was enough to sour my mood. I also didn't want that stench getting on Song Yura, who I was about to talk with.
So.
"We can talk from there. Come any closer and I'll kick you."
Park Suchil froze. Song Yura beside me let out a small snicker.
"He listens so well."
That cheeky little remark would have annoyed me any other day, but right now it didn't bother me, so I let it slide. Still arm-in-arm with Song Yura, I slipped my other hand into my pocket and spoke.
"I couldn't care less about graduating. We done here?"
"You— you! You got a death wish?!"
"Don't make me laugh."
Killing Aura
I locked my gaze on the space between Park Suchil's eyebrows and drew up my Killing Aura. I'd only just come out of the Tutorial Tower, and my nerves were still razor-sharp. The second gate I'd clawed my way through had been a trial about killing people.
"...Khk, ghk, khh, ghhh!"
I withdrew the Killing Aura along with the lecture. Park Suchil dropped onto his ass and clutched his throat.
And then...
"L-let's settle this with basketball."
Don't generalize all of humanity based on one piece of trash.
It pisses me off.
"What kind of match?"
His persistence was like a leech, and I was starting to get genuinely annoyed. If I just broke one of his arms or legs, would that finally snap this ridiculous stubbornness?
No. I couldn't.
Not right now. Absolutely not. If I snapped someone's arm just because I was in a bad mood... I wouldn't have a word to say even if the cops showed up on the spot. Not that I couldn't handle the police if they came after me — that would be simple enough. But then Han Suhui would suffer for it.
Until the genre shifted from money to force — or at least until I had a backer who could quietly bury a little trouble — I had to hold back.
Something like putting Hyeseong's kid in the hospital, for instance.
Park Suchil, completely oblivious to the internal debate I was having, shouted in a triumphant voice.
"Scared? Let's settle it with basketball. Song Yura's the stake. Watching how she treats you, I gotta admit I'm jealous. Fuck, I bet she spreads her legs in bed calling you Master, doesn't she?"
"You crazy bastard."
This time, I was the one who flinched. It was a leftover scrap of PTSD still clinging to my body.
"Ah! Th-that wasn't directed at you, Master! Please believe me — I was cursing at that human garbage!"
"I know. More importantly, your taste in men is nonexistent. You were actually going to date a guy like that?"
"...My eyes have been broken ever since I first sinned against you, Master."
There it was again.
Song Yura had done this yesterday too — whenever she talked about having sinned against me, her face showed genuine, bone-deep regret. Could that possibly be an act? But if it wasn't an act, that was even harder to understand. Why the hell had she tormented me so viciously, then?
Fuck...
The fact that I was even thinking about this was frustrating enough to drive me insane.
"Master, you don't need to accept a proposal like that. Just ignore him and let's go. If it comes down to it, I'll just drop out of this school. I have to start working part-time anyway to pay back the money I extorted from you."
"That's not for you to decide."
"...I'm sorry."
Would this suffocating feeling ease up a little if I took it out on someone else?
With that thought, I walked toward Park Suchil.
"Fine. I'll take the bet. But if I win, what do I get?"
"W-what do you want? Want me to give you money?"
Money?
Even when I lived in a capitalist world, I'd only earned money because I had no choice. I'd never been someone who placed value on it. And now, money meant absolutely nothing to me.
But I don't really have anything I want from him.
As I muttered that to myself, Karina spoke up.
If you don't want anything, just make him apologize to Song Yura. This whole thing happened because she was following your orders. From where I'm sitting, she did her best, so I think she deserves at least that much of a reward.
Ah, as a Master bestowing charity upon his slave, of course.
She wasn't wrong.
I looked down at Park Suchil with a cold stare.
"If you lose, you apologize to her."
The moment I said it, Song Yura beside me dropped her head and started trembling. She probably felt ashamed and indebted, like she now owed me even more.
What is she even talking about.