Chapter 103
Chapter 103
In Cheollihyang Village - 1
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“Haaaah….”
How I had missed this hot bath that gently melts my stiff muscles.
It took about two days to get from Urban City to the cave, and another four days south from there, so had it been a week?
A week might not seem long enough to miss a hot bath this much, but after the crisis with the Azure Witch, it felt like I hadn’t had a good soak in at least a year.
I couldn’t even enjoy the one in Urban City properly because the temperature wasn’t right.
I wasn’t exactly a hot bath enthusiast, but after traveling for so long without a proper wash, like a protagonist in a medieval adventure story, I felt like I could get addicted to the pleasure this bath provided.
I finally understood why our fathers would step into a scalding hot bath and exclaim, ‘Ahhh, that’s refreshing!’
They weren't talking about the temperature on their skin, but the sheer pleasure of feeling their stiff muscles loosen and the fatigue that had settled deep into every wrinkle just melt away.
“Ugh~ That hits the spot.”
A gruff exclamation, just like one of our fathers, escaped my lips.
Perhaps because it was a shabby inn, I was the only one in the bath.
I had chosen this place thinking it would be empty.
The only thing I was disappointed(?) about was that it wasn’t a mixed bath.
I submerged myself up to my neck, closed my eyes, and savored the encroaching drowsiness.
I thought back on the past few days.
‘So much… has happened.’
Just a few months ago, I was just a creepy stalker.
I was the kind of stalker who followed the protagonist’s heroines, took their pictures, and used them to… well.
But somehow, I had ended up with the monumental task of taking responsibility for the fate of this world.
Honestly, I never thought things would turn out this way.
I thought that since I had possessed a frail extra, I would just coast along, supporting the protagonist.
But the protagonist himself ended up taking the “darkened death route,” and the frail extra ended up on the protagonist’s route.
‘Well… I can’t say for sure yet whether I’ll become the protagonist or just another character.’
In any case, having defeated the Azure Witch, I could take pride in having made a small contribution to this world.
Moreover, thanks to defeating Lexa, the Azure Witch, my [Resistance Effects] had increased dramatically.
Now, most elemental attacks couldn’t even apply a debuff on me.
Whether it was a poison attack or a bleeding attack, I wouldn’t be debuffed.
I would only take a minuscule amount of damage.
Thanks to that, mid-rank villains were now a piece of cake.
Of course, since I didn’t know the extent of God R’hell’s power, I didn’t neglect my resistance training.
I hunted every villain I came across, regardless of their rank.
If we continued on our projected path without any trouble, we would reach Gaikan in about a week.
I wasn’t in a hurry.
Right now, secrecy was more important than speed.
It would be of no help in the final battle if God R’hell found out we were heading for Gaikan.
In the worst-case scenario, he would hide somewhere even a 52-time regressor wouldn’t know.
It was best to grab everything I could and do everything possible before the final battle.
Who knew if the tide of battle would turn on a single point of resistance?
With the fate of the world at stake, there was nothing wrong with pursuing extreme safety.
That’s why it was important to move forward with thorough preparation, not haste.
It was also important to get to know my companions through joint training.
“Hmm, by the way.”
I wondered if my dear companions were washing up well.
Since there were no individual shower stalls, it was a public bath-style setup, so they would have to wash together.
Suddenly, a wicked thought crossed my mind—should I use [Stealth]?
But I could only smack my lips in disappointment.
`Hmm, maybe I should have taken the [Invisibility] skill when I killed Choi Do-han…`
That stray thought came with it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Kyaa, I’ve never done this before, this is so exciting…!”
Girlish squeals echoed through the women’s changing room.
The owner of that voice was, unsurprisingly, Renia, wearing an innocent smile.
Although she was in her mature form, she had taken off her half-rimmed glasses and let her hair down, so her girlishness wasn’t entirely out of place.
“…Excessively cheerful.”
Of course, it wasn’t welcomed by everyone.
Hye-seo muttered as she took off her top.
Following that,
“Just because we’re facing a decisive battle doesn’t mean we have to be all gloomy, does it?”
Na-yeon defended Renia and retorted.
Hye-seo glanced at Na-yeon with a look of surprise, then grumbled as she placed her folded clothes in a locker.
“But there’s no need to be flippant either. Our lives are on the line.”
“Why don’t you loosen up a bit? Holder-nim?”
“I think I can afford to loosen up later, don’t you think? Hunter-nim?”
Na-yeon and Hye-seo.
Similar yet polar opposites, the two had started bickering just three days into their journey.
They had had minor disagreements since then, but most didn’t escalate into full-blown fights.
“Hoho, don’t you think we can only reach a wonderful conclusion if we acknowledge our differences?”
This was because Su-ah would skillfully mediate between them, preventing any major friction.
However, today was a little different.
To their right, Su-ah was taking off her clerical robes and folding them neatly.
Hye-seo and Na-yeon glanced at her, and then, as if on cue, both of their gazes drifted down to their own chests.
“….”
“….”
They knew even when she was wearing the loose robes, but the moment she took it off, the sheer weight and roundness of those perfect, droplet-shaped curves blew past all expectations— casting a skill of silence upon Na-yeon and Hye-seo.
Today, ours look particularly pitiful.
Was this the difference of a transcendent being?
The beautifully curved water droplets, magnificent beneath her thin, white silk dress, were enough to inspire a sense of unjust resentment.
“Ahem.”
“Hmph.”
Contained within their short coughs was a self-reassuring whisper:
[It’s not your fault, boobs. Don’t look.]
Objectively, neither of their chests was small.
They were certainly larger than average, but size was ultimately relative.
Next to an overwhelming size that was easily a G-cup, everyone else was just a pitiful mortal.
Na-yeon glanced sideways, stealing a look at Hye-seo’s chest.
Then she whispered to her,
“By any chance… B?”
It was a rude question with no subject.
However, a kindred spirit(?) would understand immediately.
Hye-seo glanced at Na-yeon’s chest, then shook her head.
Na-yeon asked again in confusion.
“What, a C? You don’t look it.”
“…A full B.”
A subject-less answer to a blunt question.
Faced with such a firm and resolute response, Na-yeon let out a small sigh and respected her will.
“Ah, I see.”
“B?”
This time, it was Hye-seo’s question.
The two were now respecting each other, as if demonstrating a sense of professional solidarity.
“…B.”
Na-yeon hung her head.
It was frustrating, but she didn’t want to lie.
Just then,
“Ta-da! I made six sheep-head towels! I’ve always wanted to do this if I ever came to a place like this with friends, hehe~.”
Renia, who had been gone for a moment, reappeared behind them with a grin.
She was wearing one sheep-head towel and offered two more to Hye-seo and Na-yeon.
Hye-seo and Na-yeon’s gazes fell upon the cute sheep-head towels.
Immediately after,
Their eyes naturally drifted downwards.
Jiggle~
Two massive water droplets, sagging with their own sheer weight, each tipped with a pearly dew.
Their size rivaled Su-ah’s, and their elasticity, which defied gravity, shattered the formula of [Size = Sag].
Simultaneously,
Shadows fell over Na-yeon’s and Hye-seo’s faces.
Na-yeon scowled first.
“…Damn it, now I’m in a bad mood.”
“Me too….”
Hye-seo agreed, scowling as well.
To make matters worse, the nipples at the center of those water droplets were a delicate pink.
She had thought her appearance was somewhat exotic, but was she from a race with less melanin pigment?
Her hips were wide and her buttocks were large.
Even the bush below wasn’t the same dark brown as theirs, but closer to red.
Honestly, it was a body they had to acknowledge.
A sensual and fantastical figure that incorporated every ideal element.
Faced with this, Na-yeon and Hye-seo, their faces soured as if they had tasted defeat, each snatched a sheep-head towel and started walking.
To childishly refuse the towels would be like admitting defeat.
It was their last shred of pride.
“…Let’s go. I’m longing for the bath.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Thus, the newly formed ‘Anti-Big-Breast Faction’(?) left the changing room, and Renia approached Su-ah with a bewildered expression.
“They don’t look so good. The journey must have been really tiring, huh?”
“Hohoho, do you think so? I thought they looked better than ever.”
“Really? Hehe, anyway, let’s go!”
Renia’s concern, unsurprisingly, didn’t last long. She grabbed the arm of the now-naked Su-ah.
“Aah! W-wait! I need to wrap a towel around myself…!”
“It’s fine! It’s just us, who cares~”
“B-but this body is consecrated to the Lord…!”
“Consecrated? You mean precious? I get it, so let’s go~!”
“Kyaa-!”
There was no way Su-ah could resist Renia’s immense strength, and she was dragged out of the changing room and into the bath hall.
And there,
“That’s right. Too much of anything is as bad as not enough.”
“Right. And if they’re too big, they just get in the way of fighting.”
“It’s the secret to how we became the best in our fields.”
“Of course. They hurt, and when they jiggle every time you use a skill, you can’t concentrate.”
“Isn’t that why the great Amazon warriors cut off one of their breasts?”
“We’re just optimized for combat. The epitome of strong women.”
In the bath, submerged up to their necks, were Na-yeon and Hye-seo, engaged in a heated debate about the ‘advantages of small breasts.’
The beads of moisture on their cheeks could have been mistaken for tears, not steam or sweat.
However,
“Looks like everyone got in early~? Yura and I were just organizing our luggage, hoho.”
<w:pgmar w:bottom="1440" w:top="1440" w:left="1440" w:right="1440" w:header="720" w:footer="720"><w:pgnumtype w:start="1"><w:r w:rsiddel="00000000" w:rsidr="00000000" w:rsidrpr="00000000"><w:rpr><w:sz w:val="28"><w:szcs w:val="28"><w:rtl w:val="0"><w:t xml:space="preserve">The shudder-inducing sway of the legendary Hunter, the Plum Blossom Archer, as she opened the door and entered, turned their solemn debate into nothing more than the whining of losers.