Weekend? (4)
Sunday morning.
I shoved aside the sleep that came rolling in and sat up in bed. A bottle of water from the fridge, then a few rounds of shadowboxing in the living room — the old ritual that snapped my mind awake.
"Hah. Hah."
A trick I'd been using for years to come to instantly.
"There he goes with the weird stuff again..."
Liliana muttered as she watched me, but I paid her no mind.
Today was an important day. A historic one — I was going to Elise's house.
The appointment was at ten in the morning. She probably wouldn't be feeding me, so I needed to put away a solid breakfast.
"Liliana. Breakfast is spicy pork stir-fry. We've still got yesterday's leftovers."
I'd followed the recipe and somehow ended up making four servings instead of three. Scarlet hadn't eaten as much as I'd expected, though, so there was quite a bit left.
"Do whatever. If it isn't chicken, it's all the same to me."
"You crazy chicken junkie."
At some point she'd started ordering nothing but fried chicken, and now she was a full-blown addict. This was spicy pork her Master had slaved over, too. Tsk. I'd just have to enjoy it myself.
Of course, for all her talk, Liliana sat down and ate with me anyway.
"Now that I'm actually eating it... not bad. It's good."
"Thanks. Really."
By the time we finished, it was eight-thirty. The appointment was drawing close. Elise's house wasn't far from the Academy, so I just needed to get myself looking presentable and head over.
I probably wouldn't need it — but you never know. I washed every last inch of myself, including down below. Couldn't have a single whiff of anything on me, so I went heavy on the body wash.
I stepped out feeling clean and started drying my hair in front of the mirror when Liliana wandered over.
"Speaking of that massage you gave me yesterday. Can you do it again later?"
"Why?"
"My mana really does seem to circulate faster. I think getting it regularly would help."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Why would I lie?"
Honestly, I'd wondered the same thing myself — whether my massage actually had a genuine effect. After receiving one, Elise's movements had gotten strangely faster. I'd been planning to hit the training room this afternoon and try it on my own body, but with Liliana backing it up, it felt pretty much confirmed. I'd definitely have to test it later.
Have I become the god of massage...?
"Anyway, I'm counting on you~!"
I nodded and ran my fingers through my hair. Giving a massage wasn't exactly hard.
"Not bad. Pretty good, actually."
Ready to go. I pulled up a men's self-styling tutorial on my smartwatch and swept my hair back. It came out surprisingly well.
"Liliana, how's my hair?"
"It's handsome, but it's greasy. Ugh, goosebumps."
She vigorously rubbed her own arms. If I looked good, she could just say so. Nobody asked for the extra commentary.
"I'm heading out. Watch the house. Play with Scarlet when she gets here."
"Kay. Byeee."
I walked, checking Elise's address as I went.
"203 Road... this way."
The address she'd given me was in a neighborhood that screamed money from every angle. And among those houses, the biggest and most lavish one was hers.
"Wait. She told me to come here quietly?"
If a celebrity like Elise lived in a house this huge, there was no way my going in wouldn't get noticed. I sent her a text.
I ducked into an alley and wrapped a Rune Barrier around myself — stronger than the ones I usually threw up casually. Someone as skilled as Scarlet might notice, but ordinary people would never know it was there.
The mansion's front gate creaked open at the same moment the message arrived. I slipped carefully through the gap, closed it behind me, and headed for the house.
"Haa..."
Elise sat on the sofa, waiting for Lee Ho-yeon. Even while they'd been messaging, she'd second-guessed herself the entire way — but in the end, this was the only path left. The massage she wanted was something only Ho-yeon could give.
She could have asked after the masseur who'd supposedly trained him, of course... but Elise was a woman too. If she was going to receive a massage with the same effect, she'd rather get it from a young, handsome guy her own age than some older man. Besides, he'd said the man had retired. There was no need to go looking.
Ding—
He's finally here.
Elise opened the gate from the control panel. Aside from Sebas Chan and her father, no man had ever set foot in her private space. Maybe that was why her heart had been pounding for a while now.
It was absolutely not because she was looking forward to the massage. And it was absolutely not because she kept thinking about the sex she'd seen between Ho-yeon and those other girls during the Survival. It was simply that an unrelated man was about to enter her personal space for the first time.
She'd put extra care into her clothes for no particular reason — a black skirt she'd bought recently, and a white blouse she was especially fond of.
Knock, knock—
"Elise?"
The door clicked open.
"Come in. Don't drop the barrier."
Elise was rather startled by the sight of him. He looked a lot like he had during those early Student Council publicity events — that same grown-up styling that cut straight through her tastes, reproduced exactly.
Ho-yeon, oblivious to whatever she was thinking, gawked around the mansion like a country mouse seeing the city for the first time.
"This place is incredible... Can I drop the barrier now?"
"No. My secretary can't find out you're here. He's asleep right now, but if anyone besides me enters this house, an alarm goes off and he'll come running straight here."
Sebas Chan didn't normally leave his post for this long, but she'd told him she'd be staying in all day and to go get some proper sleep. With the alarm magic circles in place, he'd been able to rest easy.
"So I have to keep this up the whole time?"
"There's no alarm circle inside my room. Just bear with it a little longer."
Thump.
Elise quieted her racing heart and led the way to her bedroom.
"Ahem... well, alright."
Ho-yeon didn't press the point. He knew Elise's father was an outrageous daughter-doting fool. The man almost certainly wouldn't want his girl mixed up with some guy.
"...You brought everything for the massage, right?"
"Yeah. But are you sure you're okay getting it from me?"
"It's fine. I'll set the rate the same as a professional masseur."
"Got it."
Turning down the money here would only make him look suspicious. Ho-yeon didn't refuse.
A short while later, they arrived at her room. It was spacious and well-lit, with a scattering of pink accessories that gave it a distinctly feminine feel. A fairly large bed sat in the center.
"Here's the contract. Read it outside while I get ready."
"Okay."
Ho-yeon stepped out to wait. He tilted an ear toward the door, and the soft rustle of clothes coming off drifted through.
...That's enough of that.
If he kept listening, he was going to start imagining things he shouldn't. He moved away from the door and looked over the contract — then his jaw dropped at the deposit and the massage fee.
I won't have to feel small in front of Liliana anymore.
He could finally be a proper head of household. One massage session would pull in Liliana's entire monthly income.
Meanwhile, Elise peeled off her top inside the room.
The massage...
Was it a bit much, showing bare skin from the very first day? She started turning it over in earnest. During the Survival, things had been so urgent that she'd allowed it quickly — but was that the right call here too? Then again, he'd already seen everything. Was there any point in holding back now?
She went back and forth until the memory of that bare-skin massage rose up on its own.
Thump.
The sensation of her mana circuits expanding. The touch of Ho-yeon's hands, soft against her back. Her whole body growing hot, a rush that felt like she might lift right off the bed.
Elise swallowed once, then slowly started taking off her clothes.
"...Come in."
"Coming in."
The door opened, and Ho-yeon found Elise sitting on the bed. The black skirt was still on, but the white blouse had come off — she was holding it against her chest to cover herself. A faint flush colored her face as her eyes met his. Then she lay back on the bed and pressed both hands firmly over her chest.
"D-don't stare so obviously."
"R-right."
Ho-yeon felt his own heart pounding. Elise was like a jewel. Snow-white skin, blonde hair spilled behind her, those slightly embarrassed red eyes — all of it was far too captivating. Her upper body was bare even of underwear, the blouse the only thing covering her chest.
"You can... start."
Still covering herself, Elise rolled over and lay face-down on the bed. Her pale back was exposed to the air. She'd covered her sides with her hands as she settled, but from Ho-yeon's angle he could see her breasts spilling downward.
He took the mana stone powder from his pocket and looked at her body.
Calm down. Focus on the massage first.
He held back the lust boiling up inside him and slowly brought his hands to her back.
"I'll start."
His hands touched her skin, and her mana circuits began to widen one by one. A pleasant pain braided together with pleasure, and Elise let the tension drain from her body.
This. This feeling...
No other masseur had ever produced this sensation of mana circuits expanding.
"Hnh..."
There was a little pain, but even that felt refreshing. She wondered how a mere cadet could do what so many first-rate masseurs couldn't. As she slowly felt the circuits in her back opening up, she found herself looking forward to the next stage.
And then... the familiar heat arrived.
Her lower belly throbbed. A distinctly feminine scent rose from her body.
"Haah... nngh..."
"You okay? Want me to stop?"
"N-no... keep going."
This stimulation every time Ho-yeon stroked her body. This arousal. This heat. Elise understood with complete certainty — this was what she had been waiting for.
Click—
She pressed the call button on her smartwatch. She needed to record this.
Good thing I contacted Scarlet ahead of time.
Once she hit the button, Scarlet would come in and start filming. She wasn't sure a massage video would actually help with masturbation, but something was better than nothing.
"Hnnn..."
"This spot's good, huh."
Elise clamped her mouth shut to keep from moaning too loudly. Scarlet would be here any moment, and she didn't want to look pathetic in front of her.
A whisper of movement — and a moment later, in a motion Elise never even registered, Scarlet entered the room along the ceiling.
"Haa..."
But there was no way Ho-yeon wouldn't notice. His detection was already sharp enough to pierce Scarlet's stealth. Massaging Elise's back, he locked eyes with the ceiling. Scarlet, stuck up there, quickly looked away.
"Then how about... here?"
He stammered slightly at her sudden appearance, but luckily Elise didn't catch it.
What the hell is going on.
Why was Scarlet here? Flustered, Ho-yeon dropped his gaze back to Elise.
"That's fine too... hhah."
But Elise just lay there face-down, lost in the massage.