Weekend? (3)

An absurdly high number. We honestly hadn't even spent that much time together. I had no idea why her affection kept climbing all on its own.

And what's with making me say I love you?

I was uneasy. I couldn't put my finger on it, but a wave of anxiety crept over me all the same.

"Ho-yeon."

"...Yes, Su-rin noona."

The atmosphere at the table hadn't changed in the slightest, but I found myself tensing up for no reason.

"What do you think love is?"

"...Well. That's still a tough question for me, too."

What the hell happened to make her act like this? This was way too much pressure.

"Really? Have you never thought about love?"

"Uh... I've been so busy I haven't had time for it. Why the sudden question?"

Whatever happened, I was not saying I love you. There was no telling what might follow. Could this have something to do with Mun Su-rin's mental state? If I told her I loved her, would she feel so good that getting stalked wouldn't even leave a scratch?

No. There's no way it's that simple.

It couldn't be that easy of a problem. It definitely shouldn't be.

"Mm. I was just curious."

Mun Su-rin picked up her chopsticks, beaming with the look of someone who'd just gotten something off her chest.

"..."

Why did that smile make me so uneasy? Even as I ate the delicious food, my stomach felt uncomfortably heavy.

"Thank you for the meal."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

We finished eating and waited for dessert to arrive. The mood was decent enough. I figured I could slip the topic in now.

"By the way, there are people spreading strange posts demanding I reveal the truth. Have you seen those?"

"Yeah. You saw them too? The academy's actually been debating how to handle it. Your opinion matters here, of course."

"I think we'd be fine just clarifying the parts that raise suspicion — the magic circles and so on. Enough for people to understand."

"That does seem like the best approach."

"Right. If we react too much, it'll just backfire."

Those bottom-feeders of society only got more aggressive when you gave them a reaction. And if you addressed it officially, even people who hadn't been paying attention would start taking interest. Better to just ignore it.

"You've already got enough on your plate these days. I'm sorry this is piling more on. I'll take care of it, so don't worry."

"Nah, I'm fine. What about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you, noona? You've got so much work, and there've been even more weirdos around lately."

Mun Su-rin seemed to be in a good mood, so I casually brought up the paparazzi.

"Yeah. I've decided not to let that kind of thing bother me anymore."

Wait, why? It was a good change, sure... but where had this sudden positivity come from? I was supposed to be the protagonist of this world, and yet there was far too much I didn't know.

"That's good. Come to think of it, my photos have been circulating a ton too. Who even looks at that stuff?"

I honestly didn't care whether my pictures were floating around or not. Thanks to Clear Mind, it didn't even bother me.

"Ah, ahaha... Yeah. I don't get it either."

Mun Su-rin gave a faint smile and popped a bite of the tangerine ice cream into her mouth.

"I'm back."

When I returned to the dorm, Liliana — who'd been slumped over the desk — snapped her head up.

"You're back? We ordered fried chicken. It should be here soon."

"Chicken again?"

"I paid for it myself, so what's the problem?"

"Haa..."

Just how did a succubus's body work that she could inhale fried chicken every single day and still keep that figure?

Scarlet was sitting primly on the sofa, watching TV. Why was she still here?

"Scarlet. Aren't you going home?"

"Huh? Ah, that's right. It's so comfortable here I forgot this isn't my house."

"..."

She'd definitely gotten dumber from hanging around Liliana too long. She used to be such a fierce woman. How had she ended up like this?

My smartwatch buzzed. The sender was Elise.

"Ohh..."

If she was going this far, she'd already made up her mind.

This young lady sure had a lot of fussy demands.

"Who is it?"

Liliana, still slumped over the desk, latched onto my waist.

"Just a friend. I've got plans tomorrow."

"Ahh."

Liliana flopped back onto the bed in the living room and rolled around. Scarlet had gathered her clothes and was clinging to the ceiling, getting ready to leave.

Watching that shocking pose, I felt PTSD coming on. If I can't get it up because of you, are you going to take responsibility?

This was the perfect moment to bring it up. I caught Scarlet just as she was about to leave.

"...Scarlet."

"Yes, Ho-yeon?"

"Sorry, but could you maybe stop moving around stuck to the ceiling from now on?"

"Uh... this is actually my most reliable infiltration stance. People have the hardest time paying attention to what's above their heads, and if you press flush against the ceiling, air resistance also..."

"No, no. When you're coming to our place, you don't need an infiltration stance. You can just walk in. Nobody's going to stop you."

"Ah! You're right!"

Scarlet dropped to the floor with a thud and opened the living room's floor-to-ceiling window.

"Well then, I'll be back tomorrow."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Whoosh—

Scarlet melted into the darkness and vanished in an instant.

"...But why is she coming back tomorrow?"

Wasn't she only supposed to come report if she found good intel? Why was she trying to commute to our house?

"Aaaagh! I'm bored! So bored! Scout's gone now, what am I supposed to do~?"

The second Scarlet left, Liliana started thrashing around.

"What's with you now."

"Play with me! I'm bored!"

"...Haa. You know what, this works out. Take your clothes off and lie face-down. I'll give you a massage."

I'd been meaning to check my massage technique before meeting Elise, and look at that — a test subject, right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here.

"Oh, a massage? That sounds fun."

Liliana immediately stripped and lay face-down, just as I'd told her.

"How is this the waist of someone who eats fried chicken every day."

A slender waist connected hips built for gripping to a pair of enormous breasts. I stroked her soft sides and waist, then gave a few pokes to the side of her breast that had spilled out from the pressure of lying down.

"Kyah... that tickles."

"Starting the massage now."

Elise wasn't going to strip completely naked from the start. She'd probably only show her upper body, like she had during survival training. If we kept going a few more sessions, a day like this would come eventually — but that day wasn't tomorrow. For today, I should just practice on the upper body.

I ran my hands over Liliana's soft body, gently kneading her flawless, blemish-free arms and back as I injected mana.

"Ah, ah... that kind of hurts."

"It's fine. Relax your body and leave it to me."

Just as I'd done with Elise, I gradually stimulated Liliana's mana circuits. Mana circuits were pathways that mana flowed through constantly anyway, and I overloaded my own with a skill called Acceleration. They were sturdy organs. A few stimulations weren't going to cause any damage.

"Haukh... it kind of feels refreshing...?"

"Does it? That's good."

I pressed firmly into Liliana's back, injecting mana. With one hand I stimulated her mana circuits, and with the other I pushed mana into her womb.

"Ha, ahk... y-you're trying to do that again... hauuut..."

"If I put in this much, it's way too obvious. Okay."

"Hauuup! Ahk, kkgh... haaat..."

I was gaining more and more experience. I tormented Liliana's womb while researching how to stimulate her without Elise noticing. For the conquest, a stronger stimulus would be better, after all.

"How about this?"

"Ah, aaang... i-it feels good... it feels so good...!"

"I'm not asking if it feels good. I'm asking if you can feel me stimulating you."

"Haukh! Haaaang! Doing both at once is too... huuut♡"

"...Not helpful."

Well, I had a pretty good feel for it at this point. I should be able ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to handle a massage with Elise just fine.

As a finale, I vibrated the mana and strongly stimulated Liliana's erogenous zones.

"Ang, aahng... hah. Haaaaaaang!"

Liliana trembled all over, still face-down, and gushed with love juices. The way she flopped around like a freshly caught live fish was so entertaining I started tormenting her further, groping her plump ass.

"Ha, s-stoop... Master... huut... haa, haa..."

"Thanks, Liliana. Thanks to you, I've got my confidence back."

"Y-yees..."

"Then shall we go for a round?"

I slid my erect cock between Liliana's thighs. Damp moisture kissed the head, and a lewd scent wafted up.

"L-let me rest a little... kyaang!"

I tormented Liliana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠until the fried chicken arrived.

A dark office. It was a workshop notorious for handling the dirty work of the privileged class. Inside, a man sitting at a desk frowned as he stared at his smartwatch.

A still-youthful voice, barely into its early twenties, came through the smartwatch.

"...I apologize. But manipulating public opinion isn't something that happens overnight. We're working hard on our end, so please just calm down for now..."

"Yes. Yes. Understood. We'll take more aggressive action starting today."

"Haa... this fucking brat, I swear."

The man in the chair stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

"Please calm down."

Click—

The secretary standing beside him lit it. The man exhaled a sigh mixed with cigarette smoke before speaking.

"You heard that, right? Starting tomorrow, reach out to the Shinyoung Guild connections at the academy."

"...Already? Public opinion hasn't even properly reacted yet. If we just wait a little longer, we could easily steer the narrative..."

"Just do what I tell you. They'll take responsibility themselves. Those fucking idiots."

"Yes. Understood. The Shinyoung Guild is going to have a rough time."

"Failing to manage your own kid is a crime in itself. We just do what we're paid for — what we're told. If things really go south, we leak evidence pointing to the Shinyoung Guild and make a run for it."

Hooo—

The man exhaled a plume of white cigarette smoke.