9. The Commonality Between a Virgin and Fruit
9. The Commonality Between a Virgin and Fruit
Right. This world is a dark fantasy.
It's nothing like the stories built on convenient plot devices. It doesn't treat people summoned from other worlds kindly.
Sure, even in a place like this, living solely for safety gets stale. But chasing romance while risking your neck still makes you hesitate, no matter how you look at it.
So for someone like me, meeting Vivian felt like a rare stroke of luck—hell, even an opportunity.
My life wasn't exciting, but it was stable. And being an aide to someone who didn't actively despise me meant my stress levels were remarkably low.
That feeling only grew stronger whenever I looked back, piece by piece, at the two years I'd spent as a porter since arriving in this world...
***
"...So you're the new porter hired this time?"
Was this about a year ago?
By that point, I'd built up a decent amount of experience as a porter, so I leveraged it to join the party of a certain Hero who was on a hot streak, piling up achievements left and right.
A beauty with blonde hair and greenish eyes.
Since her role as a sniper shooting from the rear demanded stealth, she didn't bother with adornment. Even so, her unadorned, aloof charm left a strong impression.
"Huh. A guy."
But the reason I still remembered her wasn't just her beauty. Like every other Hero I'd seen so far, she was a piece of work...
"Ah, um. Yes. I'm a man."
"Ugh, why does every single person who joins this so-called party have to be a man?"
A female sniper who reacted specifically to the fact that someone was male. In fact, every person she side-eyed—myself included—was male.
In a way, it was inevitable.
Unless you were born with power like a Hero, adventuring wasn't exactly easy for a woman.
"Um, is there a problem with me being a man?"
"Oh, it's not that you have a problem. I just have a phobia of men, you see. Just being close makes me nauseous and gives me goosebumps, I suppose...."
"Ah, right. If that's the case, I understand."
"Yeah, good. So while we're working together, don't go getting any weird ideas. We're stuck together because of Hero work, but I hired you people as mercenaries doing a job for pay."
She was the only woman in the party, and the rule was: keep your distance.
At first, I didn't take that pointed warning too seriously.
The world is full of all kinds of people, and to get by, you need at least a bare minimum of consideration for others.
"What, a guy who can't even handle that? Pathetic."
But consideration only works when the other person shows you respect first.
The moment I complained that the load was way heavier than expected, her reply made my understanding dry up fast.
"Sorry. It's just that there's so much baggage...."
"Huh. If you signed up as a porter, you should be carrying that much. And besides, if you're a man and not a woman, shouldn't you have the decency to endure it even when it's tough?"
"Ah, yes. Sorry."
"Is 'sorry' the only word you know? Even for a man, you're pathetic."
"Even for a man." "For a man." "A guy who can only manage this much?"
Claiming androphobia and keeping her distance from men, she dumped all the work onto the male party members while mostly just bossing them around from behind.
That attitude held steady not just during expeditions, but even in the face of danger during subjugations or dungeon raids...
"Huh. What, you collapsed from just this? Men are pathetic."
When the vanguard's life got put at risk by that reckless march,
she didn't offer a word of thanks or an apology to the one who'd exhausted himself for the party—she just spat abuse at him.
In reality, he'd taken on that much risk to protect her, the sniper in charge of rear support.
"H-hey, Hero-nim. Do you have any potions left? If we leave him like this, he'll seriously die...."
"This is mine for emergencies."
"No, but the vanguard...."
"Ugh, why should I hand over a potion I bought with my own money to that guy? In the first place, if a man can't even endure that much...."
Man, man, man.
After hearing nothing but that on repeat, I realized her self-diagnosis was wrong from the start.
This woman didn't have androphobia; she had misandry.
After gaining power as a Hero, she got so drunk on her own superiority over men that her inclination turned extreme.
"Ha. So he died after all. What a nuisance."
With that warped mindset crossing every line in a world that exalts Heroes, she eventually lost even the faintest shred of pity for those who fought for her.
As if the men who joined the party were nothing but expendable goods.
"Hey. You'll take his place now."
So she shoved the vanguard's role onto someone who wasn't a vanguard, and when that person died, she shoved it onto yet another party member.
One by one, those reckless orders wiped out the party members until only I was left.
The reason I remained was simple.
If even I vanished, she'd have to suffer the trouble of hauling all the luggage she'd packed herself.
"...Hmm. A Vampire."
Despite all that, even on the return trip after clearing the dungeon, she had her eyes on a subjugation quest floating around the city we'd stopped in.
"U-um. All the party members are dead now. Wouldn't it be better not to push things? Let's head back to the capital and regroup...."
"Hah, don't be ridiculous. Do you think I'd lose to a single Vampire?"
"No, but without a vanguard...."
"Shut up. A man has no business lecturing anyone. Especially a spineless porter who doesn't even have the guts to step up."
"......."
"Nothing more to say, right? Then just carry the luggage and watch quietly from behind. I'll deal with one Vampire in no time."
Oh, fine. Whatever happens, happens.
So I reluctantly followed her out at night to hunt the Vampire that had appeared in the city, and the outcome matched the unease I'd felt from the start.
After all, no matter how much of a Hero you are, a sniper's role is useless without a vanguard.
"Heheh. So you came to capture me full of confidence, and now look at you."
"Th-this is absurd. I'm a Hero, so why.... K-heuk!"
"Kahaha! A sniper showing up alone—where are your comrades? Could it be you neglected them so badly they all left?"
"Sh-shut up. Be quiet.... K-heuk!"
After that, an arrogant Vampire kicked and brutalized her fallen form.
Still, as he watched her unable to hide her indignation, his eyes gradually glinted with a strange light, radiating ominous magical power.
"Hmm, it seems you lack manners. Looks like you need discipline."
"Ah, ah...! Ahh!"
The moment that power washed over her, her body convulsed.
And her flushed, reddened cheeks made it obvious that a tremendous shift had occurred inside her.
Charm.
A Vampire's specialty—seizing the opponent's mind and erasing resistance to make drawing blood easier.
"Nn, haah. M-my body is so h-hot.... Hngh♥"
"Kuhuhu, the charm has taken hold nicely, don't you think?"
The Vampire laughed, then stepped closer to her trembling body and smoothly brought his face near hers.
An extremely handsome face, even to a fellow man.
The moment she met that face, her own grew even redder, and a look of pure ecstasy bloomed in her eyes.
Damn. She claimed to have misandry, but in the end she couldn't even resist Charm and got played by a man.
"Let me ask you: are you a virgin?"
Just as my irritation toward this damn woman was peaking, that absurd question came.
In 21st-century South Korea, that'd be sexual harassment worthy of an instant lawsuit and five years in prison, but the damn woman gulped and stretched her own hands over her body as she answered.
"Yes, yes. I'm a virgin...."
Smoothly, softly. The moment she stripped off her clothes one by one, discarding the gear that protected her body,
even half-naked and utterly exposed, she revealed a smile drenched in ecstasy and begged for the Vampire's affection.
"I'm a pure virgin who has never given her body to any man~♡"
"Heheh. I see. So you're a virgin, then?"
Satisfied with her answer, the Vampire reached out his hand.
Having already disarmed herself with her own hands, there was no way she could stop the Vampire's predatory grasp.
Yes. No matter what happened next.
"Then die!! You filthy virgin creature!"
—Craaack!
Sharp claws swung with full force at her defenseless body.
"Gh, geh...?"
Her slashed body split into several pieces, scattering blood everywhere, and the dismembered parts fell messily to the ground.
Obviously, a sniper who only fought from the rear couldn't possibly have regeneration.
The damn woman who'd constantly poured out hatred and mockery toward men died just like that, at the Vampire's hands.
"You filthy, unclean virgin!"
Even that wasn't enough to satisfy him; the Vampire continued to savagely claw apart the body parts on the ground.
They say vampires go crazy for virgins, but this one was venting that desire in some seriously twisted way.
"The very fact that a thing like you exists in this world enrages me! So die—no, vanish, you wretched existence!"
What the hell. A vampire who supposedly can't resist virgin blood, hating virgins?
Is the world going so far down the drain that mutants like him are popping out now?
"Hey there, young man. Come over here for a moment."
"Ah, yes. If you call, I must go."
But someone like me with no power to speak of had no other choice.
So I pulled my gaze away from the minced meat that had been that bitch of a woman, and quietly approached the Vampire, who was fastidiously wiping the blood from his body with a towel.
Compared to the fury he'd shown when facing her, he'd returned to an incredibly composed demeanor.
"You. What do you think about virgins?"
"Virgins, you mean?"
"Yes. What do you think of cheeky bitches who've never once offered their bodies to another? That's what I asked."
...Yeah, this guy is definitely not normal.
But as long as I could somehow save my skin from this unhinged lunatic, that was a blessing.
"Umm, well... I don't have experience with women, so are virgins a bad thing?"
Still, one slip of the tongue might set him off and get me butchered too, so I decided to play up my ignorance as much as possible while handling him.
"Oh, dear. You're a friend with no experience yet?"
"Ah, yes. Something like that...."
"Hmm, it looks like you'll struggle with women later on. This is a good chance for me, your senior in life, to offer some advice. Meeting like this is fate, so you ought to take at least one life maxim with you, don't you think?"
Once I played along a little, the Vampire sat down across from me and began to recite his philosophy at length.
Virgins are bad. Virgins shouldn't be trusted. Et cetera.
Words that, for some reason, dripped with deep loathing for female chastity poured out one after another.
"Ah, yes. So what you're saying is, virgins don't know love?"
"Of course, when it comes to the physical aspect, depending on circumstances, a lack of experience is unavoidable. But don't you think there's something wrong with a grown adult who has lived a fair amount of life, yet maintains purity without ever holding a burning passion in their heart?"
"Hmm, now that I hear it, that does seem to be the case...."
"Yes. That woman you served as a porter for was exactly the same. A woman who has never personally loved someone with her heart inevitably awakens into a selfish bitch lacking consideration for others."
Yeah, true.
The woman this Vampire killed really was beyond saving.
Thinking that way made this Vampire seem not entirely bad. Good riddance, you fucking bitch.
"Finally, let me emphasize: if there is a virgin near you, never trust that person. Every virgin in this world is nothing but a prospective bitch, merely preserving her purity."
As I found myself involuntarily sympathizing with such logical-sounding nonsense, the Vampire, preparing to leave without laying a finger on me, tossed out a final piece of concerned advice.
"If you absolutely must trust one, then either kill her while she's still a virgin and satisfy yourself by reminiscing about her chaste past—or strip her of her virginity with your own hands. That is the only way a man can trust a virgin!"
"Ah, yes. I'll engrave that advice on my heart. Thank you for sparing me, and may you live long and prosper!"
"Remember! Virgins and fruit—if you don't pluck them quickly, they'll only rot away!"
After the Vampire who'd spouted his own virgin theory at length departed,
I immediately turned my back on that spot and took a moment to file away my assessment of him.
That guy's handsome and even speaks decently enough—so how the hell did he end up like that?
Did he go off to serve in the army only to come back to a girlfriend who'd cheated on him?
***
Anyway.
Just like he said, if you don't pluck the fruit quickly, it rots, and a bus you missed won't come back for you.
Even if his view was a bit warped, on the point that you have to seize an opportunity when it comes, I felt a deep agreement with him.
"No question about it—if an opportunity comes, you grab it for sure."
In this harsh world, a stable chance to earn income and work is rare.
And if you can even feel satisfaction from it, then giving up the dream you've chased for so long to reach out for it might be a good choice.
So if possible, I'd extend the contract that was set to end today just a little, and use that time to get to know her and think things through....
"Miss Vivian. I'm bac—."
"Aaaaah!"
Just as I stepped into her residence with that mindset, a scream burst out.
I recognized it as Vivian's voice immediately, but what bothered me was that the sound didn't come from her room—it came from somewhere else.
"What on earth...."
Feeling a stir of anxiety that something serious had happened, I hurried toward the source of the sound—and quickly sensed my guess was right on target.
The sound came from the basement.
The place she'd strictly warned me never to set foot in, her face dead serious when we first signed the contract.