Confidence
"Good work."
As I stepped out of the room after finishing the service for Ellis, Scarlett was waiting with a towel extended.
"What's this, suddenly so devoted?"
"It's not particularly for you, Ho-yeon. Today, I'm serving as Ellis's maid."
"Ah."
I wiped my face with the towel Scarlett handed me. Sure, there's Clean magic, but... having the moisture on your body evaporate doesn't feel great. Wiping down first and then using Clean feels cleaner.
"Clean."
After wiping the sweat from my face with the towel, I wrapped my body in Clean magic.
Hold on.
But towels are only necessary for someone like me... Normal people could just use Clean magic and be done. Why did she prepare one on purpose?
"Scarlett. Did you bring this towel especially for me, by any chance?"
"You handle magic so masterfully, yet you're strangely unfamiliar with it."
Scarlett quietly took the used towel from me. She was too competent. This was honestly touching.
"As expected from the ace. Come work for my company."
"Unfortunately, I still have time left on my Iris Guild contract."
That was a real shame. But having talent like her under contract was something to be grateful for. Hell's contract was the best, after all.
"Whew, I'm beat. I'm heading back."
"By the way, may I stop by the dorm sometime this weekend?"
"Weekend?"
"Yes. Sebas Chan works weekends, so I have some free time."
"Hmm..."
Scarlett coming over wasn't a bad idea. Liliana would love it, and the Nam sisters too. But how to put it—this chill feeling. Ever since I told the Iris Guild that Ellis and I had contracted, this unease had settled in one corner of my chest.
Something's about to happen.
I trusted my instincts. Because I'm the protagonist.
"Hold off a bit longer."
"Understood."
Scarlett bowed her head without protest.
"Sorry. I just have this uneasy feeling. Like a beast's senses? You get it, right?"
"It's fine. I have plenty of time."
"Yeah. Thanks."
"...Yes. Understood."
Her reaction seemed off. Maybe everyone missed her since it's been a while.
"I'll put in a good word with Liliana."
"Thank you."
That's weird. She used to show she was happy when I said that. She even said she missed Liliana when coming to Ellis's house. Hmm. No idea.
Scarlett kept her still-flushed face lowered.
*
"Whew. My whole body's sore."
I dragged my tired body back to the dorm. It was already getting dark outside, with the moon rising.
On the way, I sensed a middle-aged man tailing me a few times, which spooked me a bit, but luckily, he stopped following once I was some distance from Ellis's house. Probably Ellis's butler. Given his presence, I wouldn't have noticed him before my hospitalization.
That means I've gotten stronger.
Calculating the time at Ellis's house, it was about three hours. Three hours of massage was a lot. No wonder I was exhausted.
Ding-
As I opened the dorm door, Liliana was sitting in the living room. It was late, so the Nam sisters were probably asleep. Liliana always greeted me like a puppy when she wasn't streaming, but not today.
"Liliana. I'm back."
"Yeah, you're back...."
"What's wrong?"
As I approached the listless Liliana, I noticed a single sheet of letter paper in her hand.
"Oh? That...."
It was familiar stationery. The kind from Hell's contract that let Liliana communicate with her homeland, Hell.
"A reply came?"
"Yeah, it did, but...."
Liliana handed me the letter.
Sorry for the late reply. Liliana.
I don't know how you heard about the Demon King, but he's the peaceful ruler of Hell. It's too long to explain in a letter, so I'll tell you in detail when you come back to Hell.
Let's talk again next time. Liliana.
"...That's it?"
What kind of reply was this? It didn't properly answer Liliana's question about the Demon King, and there wasn't even a greeting. For how long she waited, it was way too perfunctory.
"...."
Liliana flipped the letter over and stared holes through it. Of course, nothing new would appear.
"Hmm. She must be really busy. Your mom has work too, right?"
"My mom's a civil servant...."
"...Civil servants are busy these days."
"Hell's civil servants are tax thieves. They extort bribes whenever they catch something."
"...."
Hell probably doesn't even have laws. It sounded terrifying every time she mentioned it.
Liliana set the letter on the table and flopped onto the living room bed. I couldn't just leave her, so I followed and lay beside her. Seeing me, she turned her back to me.
Our Liliana was extra sensitive today.
"Come here."
I spread my arms to hug her, but with her back still turned, she started talking.
"I was really looking forward to hearing from Mom...."
"Yeah."
"Guess it was just me."
"No way. That's not it."
"A daughter like me is probably unnecessary... She'd think it's a relief I'm gone...."
"...."
This was serious. Was it homesickness? She seemed to think about Hell more since the centaur appeared in France.
"Tch."
She'd been thinking a lot about Hell, and the perfunctory letter from her mom soured her mood. With zero info on Liliana's mother, I had no advice. This wouldn't do. Time for shock therapy.
I wrapped my arm around Liliana's back-turned body and firmly gripped her breast.
"Kyak!"
"Mm...."
Succubus bodies were different. Firmer and more fun to touch than a human's. Couldn't hold back. I buried my face in her back and groped her breast.
"Hey, you crazy bastard. I'm in a bad mood right now!"
Liliana thrashed and cursed. She hadn't sworn at me much lately, but this pushed her over.
She wriggled to shake off my arm, but I wasn't letting go. Instead, I slipped my arm around her neck and grabbed the other breast too. Hugging from behind, both breasts in hand.
"Eek! You're insane! Haat...!"
"You're in a bad mood, so we need to do something to fix that. Right?"
Liliana paused at my words, then quietly spoke.
"...You just came back from seeing some girl."
"No sex."
"Liar. You wouldn't hold back."
"Wanna check?"
Liliana turned to meet my eyes. I stroked her slightly flushed face and guided her hand to my cock. It was already hard from groping her breasts. Natural, since I'd only serviced Ellis without receiving.
"See? Feel any different now?"
"...Yeah. Master."
Liliana's eyes reverted to succubus mode. Horny as usual.
Good, crisis averted.
This worked for now, but I couldn't keep doing it forever... Needed a way to France. Probe Ellis next time? She seemed reluctant.
"Master... Touch me more."
Liliana's sweet voice halted my thoughts.
"Come here."
"Hng... Smack."
I climbed atop her, and today's Liliana was fiercer than usual.
*
The moment Liliana and Lee Ho-yeon started having sex.
"Mm...."
Ellis, lying on her bed, slowly opened her eyes.
"Hngut...!"
She jolted up in shock.
"Haa... Haa...."
Ellis first checked her arms and legs. She was in neat pajamas. Between her legs was dry and fresh. No massage bed in the room. Just a nightmare after all. Phew.
She'd dreamed of being toyed with from head to toe by Lee Ho-yeon until passing out. Even now, it made no sense.
...A dream?
She wanted to believe it was a dream, but it felt too real. The sensation of his hands on her body lingered. Even the climax at the end... vividly pleasurable. Enough to crave it again.
"...Scarlett."
Ellis called for Scarlett, who should be nearby without Sebas Chan.
"Yes, miss."
As expected, Scarlett dropped from the ceiling.
"...How long ago did Ho-yeon leave?"
"About an hour ago, back to the dorm."
"...And how long was I out?"
"You fell asleep around the end of the massage. About two hours."
"Got it. You can switch with Sebas Chan now."
"Yes, understood."
After Scarlett left, Ellis gritted her teeth.
"...That wasn't a massage."
She'd been had. She should've been wary of a playboy, but... That deep thrusting wasn't massage. It was sexual harassment.
"Haa... What dream."
Ellis sighed and headed to her private training room in the mansion. Still, he'd done mana massage amid the harassment. She felt mana circulating. Expensive service—worth testing.
Humm-
"Eh...?"
Activating her mana, Ellis's eyes widened. The mana in her body was five—no, six times more. Over twice the efficiency of mana stones. Absurd.
She channeled mana into her favorite sword, Iris.
Wung-
A refined mana blade larger than she'd ever made. Over 5M. Normally, squeezing out 2M was her limit. Noticeable growth.
Gazing at her mana blade, Ellis murmured quietly.
"...So that really was a massage?"
Was it truly a massage, and she'd just thought dirty? But common sense said no such massage existed. In a proper world, it shouldn't. The mood had swept her up... Normally, she'd never allow it. That bizarre.
But how to explain the overflowing mana in her body?
"...."
She needed to book the next massage. If it was that kind... Felt good, but too intense. Rest first.
Ellis reined in her mana and left the training grounds.
"Ah, miss...."
Outside waited Sebas Chan, his usual composure replaced by urgency.
"Sebas Chan?"
"The guild master...!"