Get Out of Here Right Now! This City Turns Into a Battlefield Today!

One week after that whole rape commotion ended.

I had sullied her dignity and taken her married pussy without permission. Not only that, even though it had been under manipulation, I had thoroughly destroyed a woman’s dignity. While Gracia took the brunt of it, Yumi felt everything the card experienced, so simply calling it rape felt far too unfair to her.

On top of that, the person who put Yumi in that state was me. A man she had met for the first time that day, whose face she didn’t even know. A dangerous person with an uncertain identity and a dangerous deck. Having her Ace Card stolen by someone like that, under normal circumstances she would have every right to kill me.

“Mr. Baek! The new packs just arrived, so help me carry them! And the university team will be here soon for practice matches, so please move some tables! I’ll get the food ready in the meantime!”

“Understood~.”

Yeah. At least, that’s what I thought.

A week ago, things had definitely gotten a little awkward between us.

Of course they had. Yumi’s precious card and her chastity had been defiled. No matter how you looked at it, she was the one-sided victim. Beating me to death wouldn’t even be enough.

Even so, she had apologized with a clean, freshly bathed body.

…….

…It’s true.

“I’m sorry. First, I want to offer you a sincere apology for this unfortunate incident. As a Beyond expert, I vaguely knew what kind of power that deck possessed, yet I behaved in a completely unprofessional manner. I felt sympathy for you and thought I should teach you how to battle as quickly as possible, so I made the mistake of not securing safety first.”

I still remember how bewildered I felt, wondering if this woman was seriously saying such things.

“Wait a second. I’m the one who committed rape. You remember exactly how horribly I treated Gracia, the card you cherished so much. In the end I even did those things with you… Shouldn’t you be condemning me instead?”

“Mr. Baek.”

“…Yes.”

“I’m truly grateful for your kindness. Since you lost your memories, I’ll explain it that way. In this country, it’s completely natural for cards to suffer injuries during Beyond Battles, so we don’t treat that as a problem. Of course, going all the way to rape is extremely rare and could become a civil matter.”

I listened carefully, wondering why she was reacting like this.

“I’m a certified safety manager recognized by the Beyond Battle Association. That’s how someone as young as me can run a TCG shop where Beyond Cards are constantly coming and going. Also, as a professional, I acknowledge my own fault. I was the one who suggested a battle without securing safety. I was the one who didn’t surrender midway and prioritized protecting my own card first. If you contact the Beyond Battle insurance company, this would clearly be processed as my error.”

The fact that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠insurance even came up here felt far too realistic. I hated it….

“Besides, even from my perspective, there was a timing where I could have ended the game faster. I could have surrendered sooner. But I absentmindedly passed the turn, so honestly I’m disqualified as a safety manager….”

“Still, it was a rape incident. What about your own feelings, Yumi?”

At that, she blushed.

I had expected her to look displeased, but surprisingly she showed almost no reaction to the word rape itself.

“Ah, no. Let’s stop talking about that. I’m the one who should be more sorry about it. I basically thrust this worn-out old pussy at you—this mother with a child. Honestly, I thought you would have been the one more disgusted…”

“???”

“At my age, showing such a disgrace… striking that stupid pose and even masturbating… Ugh, just thinking about it now is embarrassing. I was more worried that I would be the one reported as the rapist instead…”

“No, no. That would never happen.”

“Then I’m relieved. That was what worried me the most.”

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t even begin to gauge how low this woman’s self-evaluation was.

Had something happened that completely shattered her self-esteem?

For now, I understand that Yumi’s self-esteem is extremely low. It’s because of personal matters, so I get it, but she’s accepting this way too easily.

Suspecting there must be a reason, I kept staring at her until she blushed again.

“I’m sorry for sounding so desperate. But I had no choice. Incidents and accidents caused by Beyond Battles are natural in this country. Small accidents aren’t treated as problems… but something this big is different. If it becomes a safety issue, I’ll be held responsible, and in the worst case I could lose the store. I have no other skills besides this job, and Taeyang is entering puberty soon, so I don’t want to expose this kind of problem outwardly.”

The extremely realistic answer snapped me out of my intoxication with this world’s setting.

If financial problems hit a woman raising a son by herself, it would really…

I couldn’t imagine how stressful it must be. If it were me, I’d be on edge, yet here she was smiling like this.

“Does running a TCG shop require a safety license?”

“Shops that serve as hubs for Beyond Battles are always riddled with incidents and accidents. Not just anyone can manage one. There’s also the issue of pack hoarding, so your identity must be verified and the license renewed every year—”

“—That’s enough. I understand what kind of system it is. But I’m still the one who should apologize, so please don’t act so servile. You can get angry with me.”

I had a guilty conscience too, so I apologized deeply. Yumi looked relieved and happy.

After that, we promised not to mention what happened that day as much as possible. At the very end of the conversation, this exchange occurred.

“You weren’t displeased, were you? Even I think I looked like a total pervert back then, so I was so embarrassed I wanted to kick my blankets.”

“Yumi.”

“…Yes?”

“When you ask me that, the only thing I can say is ‘It felt good.’ Doesn’t that make me the lowest of the low?”

“You really mean that?”

“Why are you asking again?”

If we were ranking awkward moments, this was the worst. I had agonized so much in my head about why she would ask that.

Perhaps she had braced herself for me to say something perverted and make her uncomfortable, because she whispered the next words.

“Yumi. It felt incredibly good. So good that I keep thinking about it even though it was a bad thing. Just bringing it up now is making me remember it again.”

“~~~~!?”

She punched my chest a few times, face bright red, and then buried the whole incident.

Yumi is a widow raising a child alone. I’m in a position where I need her help. As adults who both understood reality, we set that day’s events aside and moved on with life.

“Triple attack from Beans to Beans! Death Bunker, triple strike!!”

“Aaaaaaaaah!!!!”

And now we were watching from the side as the young men who had rented out the entire second floor of the store battled. Following Yumi’s lead, I was also learning about safety management. Since I still didn’t fully understand the rules or battle structures of this world, simply watching other people’s battles like this was incredibly helpful.

“Decks without special victory conditions just chip away at life normally. Looking at it this way, Yumi and I really are special cases.”

“Right? I’m actually pretty well-known as a battler around here, you know? Taeyang still can’t beat me and often struggles desperately. Well, he did get miserably crushed by you though~.”

“Is that a signal that it’s okay to talk about that time now?”

“Yes. A little bit.”

After each battle ended, we checked the battle field for any damage to the building and then watched the next one. It was surprisingly comfortable work—getting paid just to observe. That must be why Yumi insisted on doing it. As long as the physical labor was handled, feeding one child wasn’t a problem at all.

“By the way, where did those young men come from?”

“They’re all from a nearby theological school. As you can see from their decks, I’m Christian too, so once a week we let them rent the store to prepare for competitions.”

“So you have a religion.”

“Not deeply. You know how it is? I had nowhere else to turn, so I went for the mental support.”

“Aah~.”

Thinking of Gracia’s blasphemous outfit, it made sense. As someone raising a child alone, she needed something to lean on.

“It looks like they’ve been preparing for quite a while. What kind of competition is it?”

“It’s the City Tournament held here in New Seoul. It’s a world-scale Beyond Battle that uses every district of Seoul. It uses the same real-combat format as what we did, so they’re practicing without tables.”

A city tournament that used all of Seoul.

This couldn’t be….

“During battle, if civilians walk by, do they shout ‘Civilians, get out of here right now! Today this city turns into a battlefield!’?”

“No. I don’t know why you’d give that example, but any violent behavior like that would get you disqualified immediately. Beyond Battle is a game that must follow rules and manners, you know?”

Yumi’s gaze was sharp.

Damn it, why am I the one being treated like the weirdo?

If we’re talking episode order, this would be an event at the end of the martial-arts arc.

Just looking at Yumi told me that. Her life couldn’t be dismissed as mere animation or manga. I was living every day with her, feeling the struggles of a single mother. Yet the daily life revolving around Taeyang felt so locked into a big framework that I unconsciously thought and spoke like this.

“Right. Speaking of outside things reminded me.”

“Of what?”

“Clothes. Right now he’s wearing my husband’s old clothes, but the size is still different after all. Once the youth division battles are over, let’s close the store early and go buy some together.”

“Isn’t it a bit much to close the store just for someone else’s clothes?”

“They’re not someone else’s. Baek, you’re now our employee and part ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of our family. Besides, we’ve been awkward with each other because of what happened that day, and you still haven’t registered your card Beyond Card as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an ID yet. It’s already quite late.”

That’s right. I hadn’t even made a bank account yet.

If not for that incident, it would have been handled long ago. Her expression was full of guilt.

“Come to think of it, I’m basically being treated as an illegal resident right now, aren’t I?”

“That’s correct. So we’re definitely going out today. I’ll show you around the neighborhood and teach you the routes.”

The atmosphere somehow felt like I was being asked on a date, and my heart pounded. Yumi seemed aware of it too; we were both conscious of each other. Since a man and woman had unintentionally shared their bodies, it was a perfectly natural reaction.

Maybe Yumi is surprisingly the type with a strong sex drive?

The succubus card I had torn up had said something similar.

Taeyang is thirteen. She had been alone until now, and as a human being, those feelings would naturally build up. Even though she had kept her husband’s room, enough time had passed that the traces had faded considerably, making it even more likely.

Bad thoughts are creeping in again. What the hell am I getting horny about toward such a good person?

Even though I tried my best not to show any sign, she immediately gave me a worried look. She was terrible when it came to men, yet strangely sharp about only these things.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course. You saw me carrying boxes earlier, didn’t you? I’m not just healthy—I’m brimming with energy.”

“That’s… a relief. Come to think of it, it’s already been a full week. We deliberately avoided each other to prevent awkwardness, but may I ask how our Gracia is doing?”

Here it comes.

“For now, she’s stable. But it’s better if you don’t look at her directly or touch her. Even if this advice sounds unpleasant after having your precious card taken, Gracia currently wants to hide her appearance.”

“I’m still faintly linked, so I know vaguely. You’re both in a state where you could hurt each other. Still, since it’s you, I believe you’ll take good care of her.”

I wanted to live up to that trust, but my conscience stung.

“You know better than anyone what my deck eats to grow…”

“I do. I was beaten that badly, after all. That’s exactly why I’m saying I’ll allow a certain degree of deviation. So that our Gracia doesn’t starve and turn into that wicked succubus.”

She knew that her own Ace Card’s race had become “succubus.” She knew exactly what kind of behavior that succubus displayed and what it fed on.

She’s allowing it even though she knows.

“Hehe.”

…What a lewd married woman.

Look at how red her face is. She must have imagined what state the stolen card was in.

『Master….』

At that moment the pouch on my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leg shook and the deck reacted.

“Can I step away to the bathroom for a bit?”

“Yes. Take all the time you need~.”

I hurriedly left my seat.

She didn’t stop me even though she knew exactly why I was going.

I looked at the transformed Gracia right after materializing her.

In the illustration frame was a face that looked exactly like Yumi’s, now adorned with horns and wings.

『New Master….』

The effect had disappeared, leaving only the flavor text. She had become what was called a “vanilla card.”

Blushing, breathing heavily, she spoke while covering her chest as if squeezing it.

『Food… please….』

There was no need to explain what a succubus’s meal meant.

I materialized her and, without hesitation, lowered my pants zipper.