Festival (4)

"Ugh, it won't go in! Come on!"

"Calm down, Lucy...!"

Lucy was fuming in front of the claw machine. She had fallen hook, line, and sinker for the little scam the game club had cooked up. A character from that mafia game everyone was into these days had hooked onto the claw, dangled there for a tantalizing second, then dropped straight off — taunting her.

"Fine. Let's see who wins, you or me...!"

Lucy shoved more money into the machine.

"Hey, take it easy. You're spending way too much."

She'd already dumped enough into that thing to buy the doll online several times over and still have change left. So this was why people couldn't quit gambling?

"I'm not stopping until I get it. This is about pride now!"

"Then I'm gonna step out for some air, Lucy."

"Yeah. I'll be done soon, Rumi."

Lucy pressed her face right up against the glass, locked in a staring contest with the doll.

"Mmm..."

Rumi said she was going out for air, then walked straight into the bathroom.

What am I supposed to do?

I'd already been watching this claw-machine crusade for a full hour. Honestly, I was over it. Sure, it was cute how obsessed she got over a cheap little doll... but an hour? Come on.

Ding—

My smartwatch buzzed. A message from Rumi.

"..."

Yeah. I knew what this was. She wanted to do secret-friend stuff. There was no way she was calling me over just to trash-talk Lucy for spending an hour on a claw machine.

I glanced over. Lucy was still at war with the doll. She hadn't even heard my watch go off.

"I'm gonna hit the bathroom real quick too."

"Mhm, mhm."

Clack. Clack. Clack.

I left Lucy furiously working the controls and headed for the bathroom. Rumi was waiting just outside the entrance, pressed flat against the wall.

"Ho-yeon..."

"Rumi. What's up?"

I already knew, but I asked anyway, just in case.

"Well... we're secret friends... so."

"...I'm fine with it, but Lucy's right over there. You sure?"

Lucy had been getting pretty suspicious lately. It made me nervous.

"It's okay. Once she zones in like that, she doesn't notice anything around her for at least thirty minutes."

"...Really?"

If the Lucy expert said so, it was probably true. I let the worry go and led Rumi into the bathroom. For an outdoor booth, the facilities were surprisingly clean. No ick factor.

"It's been a while since we did secret-friend stuff."

"Yes... I was so disappointed during the survival exercise."

"..."

Rumi was already licking her lips, eyes locked on my waistband.

Fine. Do whatever you want.

She didn't used to be like this... how did it come to this?

I pulled my pants down and took it out. My clueless cock had no sense of the situation whatsoever — it was already standing at full attention.

"Mmph... Ho-yeon. Slurp."

In the quiet back of the bathroom, Rumi's wet mouth clamped down around my cock.

"I finally got it...!"

After a thirty-minute battle, Lucy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finally had the doll in her arms. She'd spent enough to buy four or five of them, but she didn't regret a thing.

"Huh? Where'd everyone go?"

Only then did Lucy look around. It had been a while since they'd said they were going to the bathroom, and neither of them had come back.

"Lucy. You got it?"

"Huh? Yeah."

Lee Ho-yeon appeared behind her, looking a little out of breath.

"Where've you been all this time?"

"Just the bathroom."

"Do you know where Rumi is? She left before you did."

"She said she was going out for some air earlier. I don't really know either."

"..."

Lucy knew all of Rumi's little euphemisms, of course. When Rumi said she was going out for air, she meant she was going to the bathroom. These two had gone to the bathroom at almost the same time, and somehow neither of them knew the other was there.

"Well... whatever. She'll be back soon."

Rumi came back from the bathroom about five minutes later. It wasn't a situation that screamed suspicion, but Lucy couldn't shake the look of that pleased little smile on Rumi's face. Something uneasy cut straight through Lucy's chest, and she hugged the cute mafia doll a little tighter against herself.

After hanging out with the Lucy-Rumi twins, I headed back to the dorm. Somehow it felt like I wasn't even the owner of my own body anymore. Sex was great, but this was starting to feel like too much.

"This isn't right. If I want to succeed, I need to live a life where I'm in control."

When you quit something, you have to quit clean. If I just kept saying yes to everything, I might not be able to clean up the mess later. I could end up spending entire days just rotating through sex.

...That doesn't sound so bad, actually?

Though I'd probably die of exhaustion within a month.

Ding—

I opened the dorm door and heard Liliana's streaming voice for the first time in a while.

"Ugh, this is so freaking annoying. What? Why don't I hang out during the Celestial Festival? I don't have any friends, that's why I can't. I'm actually a total loser in real life. I can't even look people in the eye."

Liliana really knew how to make money. She played to her viewers perfectly. A girl that gorgeous calling herself a loser in real life? It made people feel like she was just like them. Instant solidarity.

Watching Liliana hustle her stream, I suddenly remembered the contract I'd signed with her. I pulled it out of the desk drawer where I'd tucked it away so carefully.

"You've got to be kidding me. These Hell bastards."

I mean, even if fraudulent contracts were just how they did business down there — you couldn't even honor what was written in plain text? Getting mad at a piece of paper wasn't going to fix anything, though. I'd already been burned once. Next time, I was never making a contract with Hell again. Tch.

I put the contract back in the drawer and sent a message to Lim Sol.

"Oh... Lim Sol the shut-in has an appointment? That's rare."

This woman didn't care about anything except magic. What kind of wind was blowing?

"Why are you always muttering weird stuff to yourself?"

Liliana had already finished her stream and come over to me.

"Good work on the stream, Liliana."

"Yeah. I know."

Liliana chugged a drink she'd pulled from the fridge as she walked up to me.

"What should we have for dinner?"

"You always ask, even though you're just gonna eat whatever you want anyway."

No matter what I said I wanted, it was going to be pizza or fried chicken. This succubus was addicted to grease.

"Hehe. I already ordered delivery, actually."

Liliana said that as she pressed her body against mine. She was still in her streaming succubus cosplay. The way she rubbed those full breasts against me left zero doubt about what she wanted.

I gently pushed her aside by the waist.

"Liliana. I'm tired today. Let's just rest."

"Liar. This part doesn't seem tired."

"..."

Liliana's hand stroked along my waistband. The truth was, the second I saw her body, I'd already gone rock hard. Just how was this body built? No matter how many times I did it, it never went down. Was being an eroge protagonist always this exhausting?

"Delivery'll be here in thirty minutes... let's finish before then. Hmm? Master... hmm?"

"...Fine. Let's do it. I probably won't die."

I'd just resolved to take control of my own life, and already life wasn't making it easy.

"Kyaah! Aahh, nnhhh!"

If you can't avoid it, enjoy it. I pulled Liliana into my arms and threw us both onto the bed, committed to living a joyful life.

"How about... this!"

"Hmm, I'm not sure."

"Kh... then how about this...!"

Elise lay on the massage table with her top off, receiving a massage.

Press. Press.

"It does feel nice."

"Right? A mana massage is supposed to loosen tight muscles with mana. Someone like me, who's been in this industry for over ten years, works on a completely different level."

Press. Press.

Encouraged by Elise's compliment, the masseuse worked Elise's back with enthusiasm. If she could just close this deal, she'd never have to worry about money again. That was how astronomical the fee they'd offered her was.

But Elise herself was thoroughly unimpressed.

It's the same this time too.

They'd recruited masseuses from all over the world to find Elise a mana massage therapist. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But every single massage she'd received so far ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been identical. She couldn't feel any of that pleasant pain of her mana circuits stretching. And her body wouldn't warm up.

It wasn't like this when Lee Ho-yeon did it.

Thump.

Blood rushed to Elise's lower body, and a faint dampness spread through her panties. Because she'd remembered Ho-yeon's massage. The one that warmed her entire body... especially that pleasant resonance that bloomed in her lower abdomen.

Gulp.

Elise carefully swallowed and tried to focus on the massage. Just in case the problem was her concentration.

"Thank you for your hard work. Sebas Chan will be in touch."

She'd concentrated until the massage was over, of course. Nothing changed.

"Yes, thank you! See you next time!"

"Take care on your way out."

Watching the woman bow and leave, Elise quietly spoke to Sebas Chan, who had been waiting behind her.

"Hmm... Sebas Chan. Please find someone else."

"Understood, miss."

Watching Sebas Chan start tapping at his smartwatch, Elise stretched.

"It does feel nice. But it's a bit... hmm. Ambiguous."

"A male masseur is still out of the question, I take it?"

"Yeah. A man would be... you know. If Father found out, he wouldn't let that person walk away."

And if she was going to let a man's hands on her, there was no point going through all this trouble to find a masseuse. She could just get it from the already-proven Lee Ho-yeon. The idea of a man's hands lingering on her too much was what made her search so hard for a female ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠masseuse.

"Oh, right. How's the investigation into Lee Ho-yeon going?"

Elise had been thinking about it the whole time, but she brought it up as if it had just occurred to her.

"Ah, I was just about to report on that. You, come in!"

Click—

The door opened, and a woman entered the room. A striking blonde with an air of confidence stood before Elise.

"It's been a while, miss."

"...Scarlet?"

A core executive from headquarters had shown up in Korea. Elise's eyes went wide at the sudden appearance of an officer she'd only seen as a child.

"I've brought the hunter most specialized in stealth from the Iris Guild."

"Wait, you're going this far?"

Scarlet was a critical asset even within the Iris Guild. Pulling Sebas Chan out had already been a lot to ask, and now they were pulling Scarlet too...

"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon's defenses aren't easy to breach. And recording video is far more difficult than simple observation. We've prepared thoroughly to make sure this is done right."

...Is Ho-yeon's barrier that hard to get through?

A flicker of doubt rose in Elise, but she buried it for now. Sebas Chan knew what he was doing.

"So... Scarlet is going to investigate Lee Ho-yeon?"

"Yes. It's just one cadet... I'll wrap it up quickly. Leave it to me."

Scarlet twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she spoke.

"Scarlet. Be careful. Don't underestimate him just because he's a cadet."

"Don't worry. I'm Scarlet."

"...At the very least, watch the sparring footage from this festival, Scarlet."

"Yes, yes. I understand, miss."

That overflowing confidence on Scarlet's face made Elise uneasy for no good reason. Everyone who'd ever gone after Lee Ho-yeon — herself included — had worn that exact same look.