The Head Disciple's Demand

Sex with Dan Yuha had been nothing short of spectacular. She was a lioness, and I was the hunter who'd brought her down. The hunt had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been a success.

Oh-ho. Now that's what I call a haul.

A sudden deluge of rewards came crashing down on me. As expected — the future belongs to those who take the risk.

A-Rank random item coupons drop anything from B-Rank to S-Rank. Heh. No reason not to use them right now.

The timing felt perfect. I had a gut instinct that the gacha was about to go absolutely insane. I used the coupons on the spot. What came out was this:

Jackpot! An S-Rank item... the B-Rank stuff is a little underwhelming. The Black Mask should come in handy eventually, though.

My gacha luck had been decent enough. Landing the Elixir of Growth alone made the whole pull an enormous win. Maybe it was because I'd just claimed a woman of that caliber — my fortune was running hot. Now that was a jinx worth believing in.

"Hnnngh...!"

Dan Yuha lay sprawled across the bed. The climax that had torn through her entire body had left her completely spent. I ran my hands over her, savoring the springy give of her flesh. She had a body built to be enjoyed. I gave her ass a sharp slap.

"Ahn~!"

The way she reacted was so adorable I wanted to make her my slave then and there. I still hadn't managed to give her a Defeat Orgasm, though. Then again, she was a martial artist — her willpower was probably a cut above. And she wasn't just any martial artist. She was one of the Five Heads of the Unorthodox Faction.

"Lady Dan Yuha. Shouldn't you be heading back? I need to get to work myself."

"Nnh... The afterglow hasn't left my body yet. I shall rest a while."

Not that anyone was going to walk into my room anyway. I told Dan Yuha to rest as long as she liked and stepped out. I had work to do. Firewood wouldn't chop itself.

I was heading to the shed to grab my tools when a woman stepped into my path.

The slender, well-proportioned figure and beautiful face called to mind the woman I'd just finished claiming — Dan Yuha — but the aura she gave off was the complete opposite. Dan Yuha carried a calm, intellectual air that belied her unorthodox origins. The woman standing in front of me, on the other hand, radiated a roughness and ferocity that hardly suited the orthodox path.

Mo Seyeong. One of the Four Flowers of the Martial World, and Head Disciple of the Fairy Gate. She gave off an entirely different impression from Seol Hwa-rin, her junior martial sister and fellow Flower. She glared at me.

"Hey! You. I need a word."

"Ah... I was just about to go chop firewood."

"What? You're telling me chopping firewood matters more than an order from me?"

"I would never suggest such a thing. Of course the Head Disciple's orders take priority. But... what is this about, all of a sudden?"

I had a rough idea why she wanted to see me. She was going to ask about my relationship with Dan Yuha.

"Don't play dumb. You. What's your relationship with that Rakshasa Demoness? Why did that woman come looking for you? All the way to the Fairy Gate, no less."

Fair enough — to anyone else, it would have looked bizarre. A titan of the unorthodox faction making a personal trip just to find a lowly servant was the kind of thing you'd almost never see, even if you scoured the entire martial world. I scrambled for an excuse. I'd told so many lies at this point that cooking one up took less than a second.

"Lady Dan Yuha is the woman who saved my life."

"The hell? You're calling the Rakshasa Demoness by name?"

"Lady Dan Yuha said I may address her that way. The last time I was here, I was nearly killed by a White Tiger. The person who saved me was Lady Dan Yuha."

That part, at least, was true.

"The Rakshasa Demoness saved you? An orthodox man, no less?"

"Lady Dan Yuha likely had no idea I belonged to the orthodox path. And even if she had, I believe she still would have saved me. You've met her yourself, however briefly — she's a woman of righteousness and chivalry, quite unlike what you'd expect from the unorthodox."

"Hmph! Righteousness, my ass. You don't even know why they call her the Rakshasa Demoness, do you? That woman is a raving lunatic who attacked the Medicine Sect. Even most unorthodox martial artists know better than to touch that place."

The Medicine Sect was, to put it in terms I understood, like the army's medical corps. They belonged to the orthodox faction, but they treated unorthodox martial artists as well. In theory, anyway. People look after their own, and the Medicine Sect never actually took proper care of unorthodox patients. That had been the original cause of Dan Yuha's grudge.

Still, because the Medicine Sect publicly claimed neutrality, attacking them was an unspoken taboo even among the unorthodox. Dan Yuha had shattered that taboo — and earned the moniker Rakshasa Demoness for it.

"In any case, Lady Dan Yuha saved my life. I asked if there was anything I could do to repay her. She told me it wasn't necessary, but as a man of the orthodox path, I couldn't simply leave a debt of gratitude unpaid."

"Hmph! You're not even a martial artist. Playing at being some righteous hero? That's rich!"

This bitch really doesn't know how to talk to people. Congrats — you've been demoted from cum toilet to piss toilet. If you do a decent job as a piss toilet, maybe I'll consider promoting you later.

"Fortunately, I had one skill I could offer. Massage techniques I learned from my grandfather."

"Massage techniques?"

"Yes. My grandfather was a fairly well-known physician in our village. I picked up the art of massage by watching over his shoulder."

"Wait. When you joined this place, didn't you say you were an orphan?"

Ah, did he? This Jongchil bastard never showed up in the original novel, so I have no idea what his backstory is.

"I had an adoptive grandfather. He treated me like his own flesh and blood."

"Hmmm. And you learned massage from him?"

"Yes. I massaged Lady Dan Yuha as a way of repaying her kindness, and it seems she took quite a liking to it. That's why she came looking for me."

The moment the words left my mouth, Mo Seyeong's face twisted.

"You expect me to believe that load of bullshit?"

Oh-ho.

She was sharper than she looked. Then again, you'd expect the Head Disciple of the Fairy Gate to be a few steps ahead of the average person.

"It may sound strange, but it's the truth. What else could I possibly have that's special? If it weren't for the massage, Lady Dan Yuha would have no reason to seek me out."

"Hmm. You. You're not some spy the unorthodox faction planted here, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are you?"

Mo Seyeong had just cooked up one hell of a story.

"Th-that's absurd!"

"That's a lot more believable than your bullshit. The Rakshasa Demoness came all the way here in person for a massage? Give me a break. Even a plot hole has to have limits. You should never try writing a novel."

Crazy bitch. Hitting me right in the soul like that. I know that better than anyone.

"And the way you keep defending the Rakshasa Demoness is suspicious too. Hey. Spit it out. Are you actually a spy?"

"How could I be!? I'm a hundred percent... no, ten-tenths a Fairy Gate man!"

"What? The fuck? Has this bastard lost his mind?"

"Ah... no, that's a misunderstanding. I'm a Fairy Gate man through and through. If I were actually a spy, Lady Dan Yuha would never have come looking for me in person, would she?"

Mo Seyeong crossed her arms and gave a slow nod.

"Hmm. You've got a point there."

But she didn't look fully convinced. I found myself considering how to devour this woman who was turning out to be far sharper than I'd expected.

"Fine. Then you — try those massage techniques on me."

"Pardon? On you personally, Head Disciple?"

"That's right. If I find out you were lying, I'll treat you as an unorthodox spy on the spot."

She said it with her fist already raised. I put on a frightened expression, but the truth was, this was exactly the situation I'd been hoping for.

"Well? You up for it?"

"O-of course."

"Good. Follow me to my room."

And so I went to Mo Seyeong's chambers.

Her room was a martial artist's room through and through. Aside from a bed, some furniture, and a wardrobe, there was nothing in it at all. It had a similar feel to my own quarters, with one key difference: I had nothing because I genuinely owned nothing, while she had nothing because she simply didn't need it. Her room was also a good four times the size of mine, which made it feel a little sparse.

"So you're that good at massage, huh?"

"I have every confidence in my massage."

"Hmph. Fine. Then satisfy me. Like I said — if that was bullshit you fed me, you die."

With that, Mo Seyeong yanked off her shoes, sat on the edge of the bed, and stuck one foot out toward me.

"Here."

"Y-you want me to massage your feet?"

"That's the only part of me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you're allowed to touch. Don't tell me you were thinking something filthy. If you were, you'll be joining that friend of yours who died not too long ago."

"Ah... no, of course not."

Tsk. A little disappointing. Well, no need to get impatient. Slow and steady. This bitch would end up on her knees in front of me eventually. First, I pulled the Massage Gloves from my inventory.