You're Not Pregnant

Sujin didn't wake until past one in the afternoon. After going at it that hard, a lie-in like this was something I could write off as cute. The breakfast I'd prepared for her with my own hands had already gone cold.

I'd been living on my own long enough to consider myself a decent cook, so it was a bit of a shame. Lunch was a chicken-mayo lunchbox I'd picked up from a place nearby.

"Mmph... mmph... This is good."

I'd expected the air between us to turn awkward, but Sujin ate her breakfast-slash-lunch as if nothing at all had happened. Whether the calorie burn from sex had left her genuinely starving, she polished off an entire lunchbox and even boiled herself a pack of ramyeon for dessert.

Apparently embarrassed at having pigged out in front of me, she only flushed and dropped her gaze after she'd drained every last drop of the broth.

"Uh.... We went at it so hard last night.... I don't usually eat this much."

The way she made excuses, she looked for all the world like a virgin who'd never so much as held a man's hand. If I'd glanced in a mirror just then, I would have found a thoroughly pleased smile on my face. To spare her the embarrassment, I took her side, talking up the spectacular sex we'd had the night before.

"That was some incredible sex. I came that much in both your front hole and your back hole — pregnancy is basically a lock. Heh heh! Wonder if a baby might even take in the back."

That last bit was a throwaway joke. Sujin missed the punchline completely, and her expression turned quite serious. Ah. Did I take that too lightly? Pregnancy is a pretty big deal for a woman, after all.

Of course, what showed on Sujin's face wasn't horror or bewilderment so much as worry. She wasn't uncomfortable with the fact that I'd gotten her pregnant itself — she was clearly thinking about what came afterward. If I so much as ordered it, Sujin would swallow ovulation inducers and spread her legs right in front of me.

She was a pregnancy pouch I could knock up whenever I pleased. Naturally, I had no intention of making a child of mine that abruptly. Reality isn't a dirty manga. If I hadn't had the skill called Pregnancy Control, I would have been diligently using condoms. Especially since yesterday had been one of her fertile days.

"Pregnancy.... There's a lot to prepare. First, the hospital...."

"Ah, Sujin. I'm joking."

I pulled her out of that swamp of thought before she could sink any deeper. She didn't seem to understand that I was joking; she tilted her head and looked at me with bright, sparkling eyes.

A natural reaction, from her perspective. I had, as a matter of fact, pumped her pussy full of cum yesterday.

The volume of semen I'd injected into her last night was more than an ordinary man could produce — you'd have needed four or five virile high-schoolers working together to match it. Even if it hadn't been a fertile day, it wasn't a quantity anyone could feel safe about.

"What do you mean? Did you... get a vasectomy?"

I understood the direction of her deduction, but unfortunately she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was wrong. It wasn't a question she could answer correctly, so there was nothing to be done about it. I decided that if I was going to tell her about Pregnancy Control, I might as well tell her about the power of Power of Sex while I was at it. Words alone wouldn't be convincing, though. I needed to show her that she herself had gotten stronger.

"There's something I need to talk to you about regarding that. Shall we get up for a bit? Let's talk at the park nearby."

Sujin didn't talk back. She just nodded. That good-wife attitude was extremely to my liking. As expected, she was more than qualified to be my First Slave. We left the apartment in light clothes.

The scent of approaching summer hung in the air. Soon the muggy heat would arrive along with the tropical nights, and spending a hot summer in a cramped, stuffy studio is genuine misery. Sujin's room seemed to have an air conditioner, but mine didn't. Buying one for the summer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wouldn't be a bad idea. Once I became a Dungeon Hunter, I wouldn't have to pinch pennies.

"What kind of conversation requires going to the park? Wouldn't a café be better?"

Sujin asked, pressing her body right up against mine. That was not a distance that could ever form between mere neighbors. I felt once again that she was my faithful slave.

Could this be the "enslavement" effect of Power of Sex? The tooltip barely says anything, so I couldn't be sure. Anyway, what works, works.

"If I want you to be convinced, outside is better. There's a little experiment I want to run."

"An experiment?"

"Yes. We're here."

Luckily, there were no kids in the park today. A simple ability test wouldn't have mattered even if someone was watching, but I'd rather not draw anyone's attention if I could help it. Besides, what I was about to tell Sujin wasn't something I wanted anyone else to overhear.

I headed for the place where I'd tested my skills before — a small lawn attached to the side of the park. There was no warning posted telling people to keep off the grass, so anyone came and went as they pleased. Whether that was proper civic-minded behavior, I couldn't say.

"Sujin. No — we've gotten this close. Honorifics feel a little weird now."

"That's true.... I belong to you now, Jaeseong, so you can call me however you like."

"Sujin, how old are you, if I may ask?"

"Twenty-four. What about you?"

"Oh. Same age as me. I'm twenty-four too. What a wild coincidence. Maybe heaven destined us for each other."

I don't believe in fate or any of that nonsense, but my words must have sounded reasonably romantic, because Sujin flushed and ducked her head. Then she smiled bashfully and opened her mouth, her voice a shade brighter. Women really do like lines like that.

"Then shall we drop the formal speech?"

"Sure. Sujin.... It's a little awkward, but we'll get used to it, right?"

"Yeah. It doesn't feel awkward to me at all. Hehe. Jaeseong~♥"

Hearts went popping out of her eyes. She seemed to like dropping the honorifics. Sujin was emotionally sensitive, so even a small change like this seemed to stir all kinds of feelings in her. Ah. From now on, it was just Sujin.

"Ahem. Sujin. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. And even if I say something a little strange, believe me. I never lie. If I can help it."

"Okay. I'll believe you."

She answered the instant I finished, nodding as she did. Trusting me was good, but the answer came too fast, too clean — like something she'd spat out without thinking. I couldn't tell if that was because the other person was me, or if she'd always been the type to trust people easily. I sincerely hoped it was the former.

"First, the most important thing. Sujin, you're not pregnant. Of course, I haven't had a vasectomy. The reason you won't get pregnant is because of my ability."

The moment I said the word ability, her pupils went wide. An easy-to-read reaction. For Sujin, a Hunter, abilities were a pretty important subject.

"Jaeseong, you definitely had Light Control, right? Can that ability control pregnancy too?"

The techniques that can branch from a single ability are endless, which is why this world has all kinds of bizarre techniques. But no matter how much imagination you applied, pregnancy control could not be a technique of Light Control. Techniques are, fundamentally, applications of an ability.

"No. The one that can control pregnancy is a different ability. Meaning I have more than one."

As I said it, I raised my right hand. No matter how much Sujin trusted me, words alone weren't enough to instill belief. I generated a brightly shining orb above my palm — proof that I possessed Light Control.

"Warm, benevolent light.... Light Control.... That's definitely it."

Sujin gazed, as if enchanted, at the orb of light I'd made. Indeed, the first time I'd seen it, I'd been briefly intoxicated by the rapturous radiance pouring off it myself. After staring at my light for a few seconds, she finally processed what I'd said and cried out, her eyes practically popping out of her head.

"Wait! What....? Multiple abil—"

Sujin realized this was important information that must not leak to anyone else, and clapped both hands over her mouth. There was nobody around, but being careful never hurt. As expected, my number-one slave was quick on the uptake. My love stack for Sujin went up by one.

"I'm not lying. I can prove it. Just like this."

I used a different skill with my left ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand. An ability called the antithesis of Light Control, and spoken of as the very symbol of the Demonic. That was why I'd been reluctant to use it myself.

"......Darkness Control."

Sujin murmured the name of the ability as she looked at the black orb that had appeared above my hand. To me it was a skill, not an ability, but that hardly mattered. What mattered right now was letting her know that I possessed more than one.

Using two powers at the same time is dangerous. If someone witnessed it, there would be no room left to explain. I quickly dismissed the orb of darkness. Unlike the orb of light, this crystallization of a humid, sinister force melted into the air and vanished.

"Well, there you have it. Scientists say it's impossible to have multiple abilities, but I'm starting to worry about the future of the scientific community."

"How.... multiple abilities...."

Sujin looked a little confused. That wasn't strange. Abilities were an extremely profound subject for her. She'd said she'd studied a great deal about Dungeon Hunters, and ability-related material would have been mixed in there — she'd probably wanted to find out if there was any way to strengthen her own.

I'd gathered well enough from our conversations over the past few days that she had a rich knowledge of abilities. From Sujin's perspective, what I'd just shown her would be as bizarre as gravity suddenly starting to push objects away. So I needed to give her enough time to process the situation.

"I definitely heard that humans can't have more than one ability.... Countless papers said the same thing."

"Then those papers will all have to be scrapped. Of course, I have no intention of making this public. Anyway, I have two abilities in total. One is Elemental ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mastery. The other is Power of Sex."

In truth, my ability is only Power of Sex. Elemental Mastery is a skill. But explaining it in that much detail has no real benefit and is just annoying. I started explaining in a way that would be as easy as possible for her to understand.

"Power of Sex is a power that grows both me and my partner through sex. In other words, just having sex with me makes you stronger."