Gate (4)

We pressed forward in a straight line through the cave.

The ice walls glimmered coldly, and each footstep rang out with a faint scraping sound.

Luckily, no monsters leapt out at us like before.

"But the others don't even have a trail to follow, do they."

"That's right..."

"We shouldn't shout like we did earlier. This is inside the gate."

"Th-that was... I was too reckless. I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. You'll recover from this in no time."

"..."

When the short exchange ended, only the echo of our footsteps remained.

Like that, we walked for quite a while.

Our breath came out in white clouds, dissipating into the air.

The temperature was low on its own, not just because it was an ice cave. Every breath of cold air seeped deep into our lungs.

"Ughhh... Hyaahh!!"

The shivering of my body was unmistakable.

Blood that had seeped from my wounds had frozen, bringing even more chill with it.

"...You're really okay, right...?"

"Hnngh... I don't know. It's really cold."

The cold was getting worse and worse. We had to find a way somehow.

"It's getting late. Let's rest for a bit and then move on."

"Y-yes. Let's do that..."

Jinyul obediently followed whatever I suggested. It seemed like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she kept dwelling on what had happened earlier.

A subtle hint of guilt was visible on her expression.

Along the cave wall, there was a narrow burrow barely wide enough for one person to squeeze into.

It would be better to rest inside it.

"Um... shouldn't we let the others know we're here if they come?"

"How?"

"Like, by drawing arrows on the ground or something..."

That was a good idea.

I picked up an ice chunk nearby and scratched a mark into the floor with it.

—Scrrrch!

The sharp scraping sound rang out.

"...Done. Let's rest for now."

And so the two of us crawled into the narrow burrow.

Since the wind didn't reach us well, it was far less cold than outside. The frigid air felt somewhat relieved.

"Huh? S-sir, there's something over there..."

"Hm?"

"It's... isn't that a notebook?"

"Really? Why would something like this be here?"

We spotted something that shouldn't be inside a gate. I checked to see if there were any other signs of human presence, but there weren't.

"Let's take a look... It doesn't look like an artifact."

—Rustle.

"It's a diary."

"Ah... ahh..."

"...It's okay! Unlike that person, we're with the strongest people — they must have been transferred with different cores."

"Th-that's...?"

"Trust the others. Trust Cheonghwa, trust Yu-ryeon. Seol-hwi and Il Lena are there too."

"That's right..."

We can't give up so easily. We have to hope the others will do it for us.

"All we have to do is hold out here. Even if it's an A-rank gate, once you exclude the alpha entity, it's basically B-rank, isn't it?"

Generally, monsters that A-rank hunters can handle are called A-rank monsters, and when they gather together, the rank becomes S-rank. At least, that seemed to be how the system adjusted things.

Ultimately, everything is handled by the system, so I don't know the exact criteria.

"Y-yes... I have to trust them. They're stronger than me..."

"But Jinyul, why can't you open the Fourth Mansion?"

I was curious. Cheonghwa had definitely said all four of us were at the level of the Fourth Mansion.

"Ah... Hyunmu Hall basically governs water energy. On top of that, we handle the yin energy including cold energy and poison... I still can't do that..."

She was still inexperienced, it seemed.

"It's fine. Who can do everything perfectly from the start? Jinyul, do you want to train together instead of just staying in your room?"

"Oh! The thing with Seol-hwi is... Is it because I always stay cooped up in the corner...?"

"I can't do it alone either."

After leaving the gate, how would we manage? After facing the monsters this time, the need for training felt urgent.

...Now there'd be no escaping Seol-hwi's hellish spinning bike.

"Still... when I think about what happens after we clear the gate normally, it puts my mind at ease. Thank you, sir."

"Then I'm glad."

"..."

"...Hyaahh! Uuughh..."

Recovering from my wounds and warming up my body at the same time — with both functions at once, the fire energy seemed to be struggling.

"...Are you really cold?"

"Mm... a little chilly."

"...Then... hmm..."

"What?"

"Mmm..."

Jinyul seemed like she wanted to say something. But she didn't speak, just kept hesitating.

"It's fine. Go ahead and say it."

"...I..."

"...Do you want me to hold you?"

Saying that, Jinyul spread her arms wide.

"Whoa. Soaking."

"Hold me."

"W-what did you just say...!"

"No, I said hold me."

"...O-okay."

And so, Jinyul held me tight. Even though her build was small, the warmth she gave off was comforting.

...It also had a calming effect, probably because of her large chest.

"Thank you."

"No... because the only thing I can help with is something like this..."

—*Squelch.*

"You, don't hug me so tightly...! That... my chest is getting pressed..."

"Ah. I wasn't aware... I'll be careful."

I wasn't conscious of it, but the sensation of her chest pressing against me felt too good to resist.

We stayed in that tight embrace for quite a while. Unlike when we were separate, it definitely felt like my body was less cold.

"I feel so embarrassed..."

"Should I let go?"

"N-no! You're still cold!"

The wounded areas seemed to have all healed by now. Since they were light injuries, it didn't take long.

"I'm fine now. I've warmed up enough."

"Ah... yes..."

She looked a little disappointed. Was Jinyul's body cold too?

"For today, let's sleep and regroup with the others tomorrow."

"S-sleep here? Just the two of us?"

"It's getting late. We need to manage our condition."

"Ah!"

"What?"

"If we sleep in this freezing place, what if we freeze to death...?"

"Oh, that's..."

"Oh, it works."

"Th-this is..."

"It's the power I got from Yu-ryeon. If I just use it to keep us warm, we should last through the night."

It wasn't for attacking like Yu-ryeon used it, just enough to keep from freezing. That should be enough.

"Wow... it's warm..."

"Anyway, I'm going to sleep. See you tomorrow."

"Y-yes...? Are you really going to sleep...?"

"What, then?"

"..."

Well, in our current state, I could use Soul Command to force it. But that would wreck the relationship with Jinyul. The others might have accepted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me, but Jinyul still seemed uncomfortable around me.

In any case, it was important that Jinyul opened her heart first.

I also thought it would be nice if we got much closer through this chance.

—*Shhhhlck.*

I lay on the ground, closed my eyes while looking at the opposite side where Jinyul was.

It was a regrettable situation, but... we had no choice but to wait for the others to clear the gate.

"Zzz..."

I fell asleep before I knew it.

**********

—*Rustle. Rustle.*

I don't know how long it had been.

I woke up because I heard Jinyul moving nearby.

I guess I slept well. I looked around and saw the fire I had lit was extinguished, then glanced at Jinyul.

—*Jolt! Jolt!*

Jinyul was lying with her back to me. But she wasn't asleep — she kept fidgeting and tossing around.

"...So cold...hhhh..."

—*Squelch, squelch!*

"?"

Huh? Why was there a sticky wet sound...

"Hnngh... sleeping next to sir... with our backs touching... in the same spot... hnngh..."

From what I could make out of her muttering, it seemed like she was reacting to the situation of sleeping next to me.

"Ugh... if sir would just wake up and pin me down... Hyaahh❤️"

What the hell kind of sound was that.

Thinking about it, Jinyul was never pure to begin with. She was just awkward around people — Cheonghwa casually leaped over decency with her perverted talk.

"I, I did it with the others but... didn't do it with me..."

She was worrying about that.

"You were grinding your chest against me earlier too... nnghhhiiit...!!"

"..."

That was my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fault for offering to hug her with those obscene breasts.

This was the truth.

"O-once you do it once... I become a cum-addicted bitch slave just like the others...! Like HitoMi... like HitoMi...! Hwaaah!"

...I really wanted to peek inside her head once and see what was in there.

I wondered what she watched normally that made those words come out so naturally.

"Ugh."

"...!!!!"

Jinyul's body went rigid.

—*Pssshiii...

Her body froze, but the effect of her having been rubbing her clit and pleasuring herself remained. The sound of her spraying her juices filled the entire burrow.

"...A, ah... ahh..."

"That won't happen, so don't worry."

"S-sir...? When did you wake up..."

"Since when you said things like 'our backs are touching' or whatever. You're sleeping right next to me, and you're doing that..."

"...Did you hear everything...?"

"It just happened that way."

"..."

"So, what am I going to do with you?"

"Uuugh... ughh..."

"I didn't force you because I thought you were wary of me."

"...You didn't have to..."

"But the truth is, Jinyul, you were the one who wanted me to do it to you, weren't you."

"...That is..."

"No?"

"...Yes..."

In that moment, I felt for the first time that it was a good thing she'd been caught.