Rumi's Conquest (2)

"Ah... what do I do?"

Even after hitting send, Rumi couldn't calm the pounding in her chest. She clutched her bear plushie Dia under one arm and her rabbit plushie Ruby under the other, staring at her smartwatch until her eyes ached.

Ever since that first vulgar act with Lee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ho-yeon, her body had grown steadily more lewd. It had gotten to the point where she could barely settle herself down on her own. In the end, she'd overcome that timid nature of hers enough to be the one asking him out.

It was nine in the morning. She still had plenty of time before they were supposed to meet.

Honestly, what she really wanted was to start drinking right away, complain that her head hurt, and drag him straight to a motel... but that would have looked far too cheap. Too much like a pervert. He might even end up hating her, Rumi thought.

"Hah— but what if he doesn't do it this time?"

Last time, Lee Ho-yeon had been so drunk he couldn't remember a thing. This time might be different. What if he was sober enough to just lay her down on the bed and fall asleep beside her?

"I-I'll just drink a ridiculous amount first, and then... then what..."

At last, Rumi sank into a reasonably normal kind of worry.

"Th-then should I ask him to go out with me? No. No, no, no, that's ridiculous. Hoyeon is going to date someone way prettier than a girl like me."

Lucy, for instance. Lucy's overprotectiveness could be a little much, but Rumi loved her sister more than anyone in the world.

Lust had gotten her as far as asking him out. Her self-esteem, however, was still sitting on the floor.

"Then I'll just have to seduce him with my body... Last time I said I couldn't take it anymore, and then he... he did it too, so..."

Just imagining that night sent heat flooding into her face — and a slick warmth spreading between her legs. Her hand was already slipping into her panties, the way it did every single day, before she snapped back to herself.

"N-no. I have to shower and get ready to go...!"

Squelch. Squelch.

But there was no stopping fingers that were already moving.

"Haaang... I do have time, so m-maybe just a little..."

Hauu. Haaaang. Hnnnnnnh...!

The moment she brushed that swollen clit with a fingertip, a lush, broken moan spilled out of her. She pinched her nipples and her clit together, wringing sharp sparks of pleasure from both — both of them long since trained to a hair-trigger by her own hands. Ever since meeting Lee Ho-yeon she had masturbated every single day, and now the slightest touch was enough to shove her toward the edge.

"Ahh. Please... more, do it mooore...!"

She moved her fingers the way he had that night, resurrecting every last sensation of his caress one by one. For days now, a single orgasm hadn't been enough. The moment she came, her whole body went twice as sensitive — and her fingers only moved faster.

"Hnnnngh... Hoyeon, there, a little more right theeere... haaaang!"

Rumi lost herself in it for hours. It took a message from Lucy — it's the weekend, what are you even doing? — to jolt her back to reality and send her scrambling to get ready.

I sent Rumi a reply.

Lately she'd been the one messaging first more and more often. That almost never happened in the game. Had her body really gotten that desperate?

"Can someone actually turn into that much of a pervert after just one time...?"

Then again, these heroines were characters from an eroge. Once they got a taste of sex, their libidos tended to detonate. The game had a reputation for having the best H-scenes in the business, after all.

"Eh. Hell if I know."

Either way, we were meeting after lunch. I headed for the Black Market first thing in the morning.

The destination, naturally, was the pharmacy. I didn't have time to browse today, so I made a beeline for it, passing the usual hulking types and stepping into a shop that smelled faintly stale.

"Welcome~ Huh? Wait, aren't you that brat who grabbed the free sample and bolted? Finally here to use the real stuff?"

"Yes, yes, that's me."

I brushed off the owner's greeting. For a man who ran a narcotics stall, he really did have a filthy mouth.

"So? Drive the girls completely insane, didn't it? What'll it be this time?"

"I need something a little less obvious this round."

"Ahaha, figures. Even customers like you get a craving for that particular flavor now and then. Alright, coming right up."

The miscellaneous drugs were out on display — I could look those over and decide for myself. The aphrodisiacs, though, he pulled from a hidden space behind the counter. I had no choice but to take his recommendations.

A moment later the dealer came back with a bundle, unwrapping it in front of me.

"Alright. This one's a scented candle. Great for setting the mood, but if you've never used one before it can feel a little awkward... well, your call. This is a powder. Odorless, tasteless, so it's pricey — but it's that safe. You can drop it in bottled water and nobody'll notice. And this one..."

I listened to his pitch while scanning the goods through my status window. One of them caught my eye.

"What's this perfume?"

"Oooh, you've got a good eye. This is pheromone perfume. Similar idea to the candle, except... how do I put it. Unlike the candle, it only amplifies charm you already have... Yeah. This one's got your name written all over it."

He pushed the bottle toward me before he'd even finished talking. I'd already read the effect and thought the same thing, but still — this guy knew how to sell.

"The perfume's a bit steep. That alright?"

"Yeah. It's fine."

I'd pulled out a wad of cash for this trip. Money wasn't the problem.

I finished shopping and stepped back out of the pharmacy.

"Jesus Christ. Several grand for a single bottle of perfume. These people are highway robbers."

Shamanic processing. That was why this little bottle of pheromone perfume cost a fortune.

There were any number of ways to work mana. Just as people were born with different talents, the talent for shaping mana came in every variety imaginable. Some of those talents were strange enough that entire bloodlines had spent generations refining them. Most of those people were ethnic minorities in Africa or China, and what they had pioneered wasn't magic at all — it was a different discipline entirely, called shamanism.

Almost nobody knew shamanism existed, and it almost never saw the light of day, which meant the average person had no chance of spotting it. If it acted directly on the body you might notice, but something like a perfume? You could be standing in a cloud of the stuff and never have a clue.

Of course, there was a bit of convenient eroge logic mixed in. Shamanism still ran on mana at the end of the day — so the idea that mages couldn't detect it was probably a setting hole, right? Someone on Lim Sol's level might be able to clock it.

I considered testing the effect on the way back, then decided against it. The status window wasn't going to lie to me.

Even after finishing my shopping I had time to kill, so I headed back to the dorm. Liliana had been holed up in her room since yesterday and hadn't come out once. She used to come out to eat with me and chatter about whatever. Now it seemed like she was ordering delivery whenever I wasn't around.

What is her problem?

A rebellious phase? I'd have to sit her down and talk once the urgent business was out of the way.

The urgent business, of course, being my date with Rumi.

I'd taken a light shower that morning, but today I couldn't afford even a hint of odor on my skin. I washed thoroughly and dressed clean. The face in the mirror looked more than good enough.

Time was just about up, so I headed for the meeting spot. We'd agreed to meet at the shopping street by Victoria Academy, which meant I could take it slow.

When I arrived, Rumi was already waiting. She spotted me first and called out.

"Ah— hello!"

She was wearing a pink dress. The overall impression was cute, but that curvy figure of hers threw off a current of sex appeal all on its own. Rumi's whole concept was clinging to the academy uniform no matter what — the fact that she'd shown up in street clothes told me she'd made up her mind to cause some trouble today.

She was standing there stiff as a board, clearly nervous. It was adorable. I walked over smiling.

"Why'd you dress up so pretty today?"

"Y-yes? Ah, um... I just haven't been out in a while..."

Fair enough. She didn't have any friends besides Lucy, so she probably hadn't left campus since the last time she went out with me. Lucy, in the name of protecting her, never took her anywhere crowded.

"Lucy does go pretty hard on the overprotective thing."

"Th-that's right! I can do everything by myself now!"

I matched my stride to hers and we started walking. Rumi chattered about training, about anime, about street food, and I poured every last ounce of energy I had into looking fascinated.

The shopping street was packed, so even just walking together pulled every eye in the place. There was no denying it — strolling next to a beautiful girl did wonders for a man's confidence.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Damn, that guy is insanely hot."

"The girl next to him is gorgeous too, though?"

"Yeah, but... how do I put this. The girl's pretty, but the guy just completely outclasses her?"

"Delusion is a disease. A girl that far out of your league? You'll never date anyone like her in your life, you loser."

"You son of a— hey! You wanna die?"

People with energy to burn, apparently. Still. You shouldn't say that kind of thing loud enough for us to hear.

"I-I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to walk around with someone like me..."

"What are you talking about? You know how good it feels walking next to a beauty like you?"

And I meant it. Every guy who passed us took at least one look at Rumi. That's how striking she was — enough to make me wonder whether someone like me even belonged beside her.

"Th-thank you."

One compliment and her cheeks went scarlet. Cute.

"U-um, where are we going, exactly?"

We'd been walking the length of the shopping street when she asked. Right. I'd planned the whole day and forgotten to actually tell her.

"You already had lunch, yeah? We've got time before dinner, so let's go have some fun. There's a ton to do around here."

"Okay!"

The word fun put a smile on her face.

The quest popped up like it had been waiting for this exact moment.

My only goal today was to take her virginity no matter what. She's already ready to be conquered?

I pulled up Rumi's status window.

What the hell did I even do to get her affection and lust this high?

Her affection still wasn't quite enough to clear the route on its own, but once lust hit 85 or above, you could raise affection through sex and finish the conquest that way. Players of the original game used to call it the Lust Route — though actually steering things all the way to sex in the game itself was no easy feat.

I'd prepped the date. I'd prepped to take her virginity. The reward, though, gave me pause.

What is 'Sweetened Body' even supposed to mean?

Ah, whatever. It was a reward. It had to be good.

"Hoyeon?"

I'd stopped walking. Rumi was looking at me like she was wondering what was wrong.

"Sorry, sorry. Zoned out for a second. Let's go. I was thinking we'd start at the claw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠machine shop — that okay?"

"I love that! Do you think they'll have a rabbit plushie?"

"Probably."

The sky had gone properly dark.

Rumi and I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were sitting in a soju bar called Stationfront Grandpa's, talking through everything that had happened that day.

"Today was so, so much fun!"

She said it with a huge smile, a rabbit plush nearly as big as she was parked in the seat beside her.

Rumi's conquest date was simple. First: cute things. Second: sweet things. We'd started at a claw machine shop and played until we won prizes, then gone to a macaron cafe that was supposedly all the rage among the academy girls. I'd gotten lucky and snagged their last reservation the day before. After that we hit a karaoke room, where I sang along to all her favorite anime songs. Thankfully, the stuff I'd crammed off the game wiki was still rattling around in my head.

I'd picked nothing but things she'd love and had never actually done. If she'd said she was bored, I would've been genuinely hurt. And watching her polish off a plate of her favorite tteokbokki with that blissed-out look on her face at the end of it all put me in a good mood too.

"Glad you had fun. I had a blast. Especially the claw machines and karaoke."

"Me too! I haven't named him yet, but I got a rabbit, and we sang together, and, um, and also..."

She kept the conversation going, bright and happy, and cleaned her plate down to the last rice cake. We paid up and stepped back outside, the talk still flowing easily between us.

"Come to think of it, we never actually drank. And drinking was supposed to be the whole point of meeting up."

"Ah— ahhh! I-I can't believe I forgot."

Her pupils started doing a full seismic event, like she'd just committed an unforgivable crime.

"Even so... we did have a reason for meeting. Should we go back in...?"

She said it in a small voice, watching my face, careful as a mouse. It was unbearably cute.

"I dunno. We already had a great time, right? How about we call it here for today?"

"Th-that's... um..."

I watched her flounder and decided to twist the knife a little.

"I mean, it's late. Unless we get wasted like last time and something 'unavoidable' happens, we should probably head back to the dorms, don't you think?"

"Th-tha... y-yeees. You're right..."

"Then let's say goodbye here. We'll hang out again sometime."

I turned like I was actually leaving.

A fist closed on the back of my shirt.

I looked over my shoulder. Rumi had her head bowed so low I could barely see her face — which had gone spectacularly red.

"Um... that's..."

"Hm? What's up? Something you want to say?"

"Th-that's... ummm..."

Yeah, this was going nowhere.

While she stood there mumbling at the pavement, I used my free hand to mist myself with the Pheromone Perfume. Then I closed my fingers around the hand still gripping my shirt, and with the other I lifted her chin.

"Hwehh?"

The date had pushed her affection up. The moment I said I was heading home, her lust had started climbing — all the way to 94.

That ought to be enough.

I closed the distance until she couldn't help but breathe me in.

"Rumi. We're friends, right?"

"Y-yes. Of course we are! Wh-why do you ask...?"

She shrank in on herself, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I actually remember everything that happened that night we got drunk. And I know you do too."

"What? Huh? Huuuh? Ah. Aaaaaah—!"

Confusion flickered across her face, then mortification slammed into her all at once and she tried to scream. I covered her mouth with my hand.

"Mmph!"

"Rumi. We're friends. But I think it's time we took the next step. I'll let go — calm down and answer me."

"Pwah. What do you mean, the next step? And if you remembered, you should have said you remembered...!"

"You hid it too."

"Th-that may be true, but!"

"Exactly. So now we take the relationship further. We're already people who share a secret."

"S-secret friends...?"

The name itself didn't matter. What mattered was that it sounded like something more than ordinary friends.

"Yeah. Let's be secret friends. And this stays a secret from Lucy too."

"A s-secret from Lucy, too..."

"Mm. Especially what we're about to do tonight. Got it?"

"Y-y-yes. I'll keep it a secret. I promise..."

I took her hand and started walking. Rumi's face had gone completely scarlet, as if she already knew exactly what was coming.