Free Time (1)
I had obtained an unexpected reward. It was the Red Necklace. Truth be told, it wasn’t that impressive an item. By grade, it sat around Unique level. Still, the reason I was surprised to see it had nothing to do with its performance and everything to do with the episode coming next.
The demon named Chris who would appear in the following episode wielded fire. At first glance he seemed like any other demon, but he was the son of one of the Demon King’s army corps commanders. On top of that, he served as a direct subordinate to the demon who would show up during the final exams, placing him among the mid-level officers.
‘That’s exactly why I need the Red Necklace.’
Its only function was to block a single flame attack. A one-time consumable. Yet when it came to Chris’s flames, even one of these was worth its weight in gold. His fire burned at the same level as the Patrick family—one of the four great elemental houses.
‘I barely did anything and I’m already getting a freebie like this.’
While that thought crossed my mind—
“Then, Mr. Baran, shall we head straight to the pool?”
“Let’s go already.”
“We can leave now, right?”
The female members of the group clung to me while staring at Dale, their eyes warning that any further interference would not be tolerated. Dale gave a sly smile and nodded.
“Yes. We’ll handle the rest, so please enjoy your free time.”
With those words, the sub-episode finally came to an end. Though I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was a cow being dragged off to the slaughterhouse.
At last, Baran and his party had regained their free time. Before heading to the pool, however, they needed to pick out swimsuits. So the group made their way to the swimsuit shop.
The moment they arrived, the girls began browsing without waiting for anyone to speak first.
“Hmm~ I wonder which one would be best.”
Lillia hummed cheerfully as she slowly examined the racks. I honestly didn’t see the point. After all, I was supposed to be blind. Still, the girls couldn’t exactly wear something outrageous. Even if I couldn’t see, there were other ways to make me conscious of what they were wearing.
While Lillia picked her swimsuit with relaxed grace—
“Ugh…”
Sherry’s face flushed as red as her own hair while she stared at the skimpy swimsuit in front of her. She had heard about swimsuits before, but seeing one in person was another matter entirely. It was far too provocative!
‘What’s the difference between this and underwear?!’
It barely covered the chest and the lower half. At that point it might as well be lingerie. She couldn’t fathom what kind of person would design something like this.
‘Ugh… what should I do?’
Even though Baran couldn’t see, the thought of standing in front of him wearing this made her unbearably embarrassed. It felt like she would be showing up in her underwear.
“Miss Sherry, haven’t you chosen yet?”
Just then, Kanya and Risa—who had already finished picking—approached with puzzled looks. Sherry nodded slowly, her face still burning.
“Yeah… I’m not sure what to pick…”
“Why are you worrying so much? That guy can’t see anything anyway.”
Kanya pointed at Baran, who was standing there quietly. Sherry had no rebuttal. Just as Kanya said, no matter what she wore, he wouldn’t be able to see it.
But still—
“It’s still embarrassing…”
“Hmm, I don’t really understand.”
“That’s because Miss Kanya has never been in love.”
“Huh? Have you?”
The next moment, both girls turned to stare at Risa. She shook her head with an awkward smile.
“Ahaha, not me, but I’ve heard that in front of the person you like, you become endlessly embarrassed.”
“Hmm. As someone trained as an assassin, I wouldn’t know.”
“You’ll understand one day. Anyway, whether Mr. Baran’s eyes work or not, you still shouldn’t pick anything too sloppy.”
“Eh, why?”
“Just look at the others.”
Risa pointed at Luden and Lillia. Both of them were also seriously examining the swimsuits.
“Even if Mr. Baran can’t see, there are still ways to seduce him. So instead of something strange, choose the one with the least fabric. For example… this.”
She held out a red bikini. Sherry’s face turned beet red the instant she saw it. The swimsuit looked indecent just by sight. Was Risa teasing her? But Risa’s expression was completely serious.
Come to think of it, Risa’s advice had helped her grow closer to Baran last time too. There was no reason not to listen.
“Miss Sherry, trust me and wear this. Then…”
After hearing the rest of Risa’s plan, Sherry nodded with deadly seriousness, completely unaware that Lillia was secretly plotting her own scheme.
While the girls were choosing their swimsuits, I found myself momentarily stumped.
‘Hmm, what should I pick?’
My current setting was that of a blind man. If I chose a swimsuit without any thought, it would definitely look suspicious.
‘Should I call Miroel?’
I was quietly staring at the Bow of the Beginning when—
“Mr. Baran, what are you doing?”
Lillia approached with a relaxed smile. I answered her question.
“I was wondering which swimsuit to choose.”
“Hmm. If you really can’t decide, shall I pick one for you?”
“I would be grateful. Since I can’t see, I have no idea what anything looks like.”
“Then, before that… could you take a look at mine?”
“Pardon?”
She definitely knew I was blind. Yet she was asking me to look at her swimsuit? As I tilted my head in confusion, Lillia walked toward the changing room without answering.
“I’ll go change now.”
With that, she slipped inside.
‘What is she up to? Is she teasing me?’
While I was seriously pondering that—
“Mr. Baran, could you come a little closer?”
Lillia poked only her face out from the changing room. Hmm. What was she doing? I walked over with a question mark floating above my head.
The moment I reached the changing room—
-Grab!
She suddenly seized my hand and pulled me inside.
“?!”
I was caught completely off guard. I never expected her to yank me in like that.
“Miss Lillia?”
I looked down at her with a trembling voice. The changing room was so small that her body pressed against my chest.
‘Holy shit.’
Long brown hair that reached her waist. A black bikini that matched it perfectly. If that was all, it would simply look like we were hugging while she wore a swimsuit. However—
“Haa… this feels nice.”
The problem was that she hadn’t finished putting on the top yet. While I stood there stunned, she smiled and wrapped both arms around my neck. Then she whispered into my ear with a meltingly seductive voice.
“Mr. Baran, I can’t reach the strings in the back. Could you tie them for me?”
It was an incredibly sweet temptation. What man could possibly refuse? Instead of answering, I quietly moved my hands.
“Hngh.”
Her chest pressed even more firmly against me.
-Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart—our hearts—began pounding wildly. The beats came so fast I couldn’t tell whether the sound was coming from me or from her.
‘I have the Calm trait, but…’
I had to end this quickly. If I didn’t, something down there might stand at full attention. I moved my hands as fast as possible to finish the task. Of course, since I was supposed to be blind, I had to act a little clumsy.
I fumbled awkwardly with the strings. Every time my fingers brushed her skin, my heart nearly burst, but I somehow endured it.
A moment later—
“It’s done.”
Having finally tied the strings, I carefully put some distance between us. The next instant, she asked with flushed ears.
“How does it look?”
Lillia gazed up at me. Was she asking about the material? Or about the current situation? I didn’t know, but my honest answer was simple.
“It’s pretty.”
-Whoosh.
Her face turned bright red. She clearly hadn’t expected me to answer so directly.
“Ahem. We shouldn’t stay here. The others might come looking for us.”
Apparently quite embarrassed, she left the changing room with stiff steps that were nothing like her usual seductive walk. I nodded and followed after her.
Having chosen their swimsuits, our group headed straight for the pool. As expected of a massive cruise ship, the pool was enormous enough to overwhelm anyone who saw it.
“By the way, there’s no one here?”
Sherry looked around with a question mark hovering over her head. Lillia answered.
“I heard the professors are keeping the students under control because of the pirates earlier.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
Since we had played an active role, we were free to do as we pleased. The other students were probably being supervised by the professors and staff right about now.
‘So no one else is coming?’
Sherry rolled her eyes and scanned the area once more. Then she recalled the strategy Risa had whispered to her.
‘Miss Sherry. Even though Mr. Baran can’t see, he can still feel touch, right? So have him apply this for a massage. It’ll bring you much closer!’
With those words, Risa had handed her a bottle of oil. Just imagining Baran’s hands on her bare skin made Sherry’s face grow hot for no reason. But if she stayed passive, she would definitely fall behind. She needed to take the lead here.
“Baran.”
Sherry quietly called his name. Baran turned toward her.
“What is it, Miss Sherry?”
“Before we go in… could you apply this for me?”
Sherry handed him the oil with an embarrassed expression. Baran was inwardly shocked as he took it.
‘Wait, what the hell is this?’
Aphrodisiac Oil
Effect: Contains a powerful stimulant that dramatically increases excitement and bodily sensitivity.
Warning: Highly effective on contact with skin.
