Chapter 72: Bye-Bye, My Pretty Floating Hotel
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 72: Bye-Bye, My Pretty Floating Hotel
[Go check out the beach illustration.]
When I woke up in the morning, I found Morian with her face buried in my stomach.
"...Ah!"
As the purple-headed woman turned bright red in embarrassment, I casually pulled her into a hug. I remembered she had a fetish for the scent of humans. Since she was so shy, it seemed she couldn't quite let loose the perverted sexual desires she harbored inside.
I felt like I could push her away with just a little effort, but she was like an iron wall. My body still hadn't recovered from the fatigue of yesterday's... intense activities.
"...I'm gonna sleep more."
Morian’s chest felt cool and refreshing, which was nice. Being both clingy and cool to the touch—that was practically cheating.
I spent some lazy time idly kneading her breasts until I noticed the sun was setting. My eyes snapped open. I’d slept through an entire day of this precious trip?
"How... how long did I sleep?"
"About five hours? Why?"
"Liar! The sun is setting right now!"
"The airship is in transit, so it’s only natural for the time to feel a bit off..."
Hearing that, it made sense. Come to think of it, between all the playing, eating, and living such a messy life, I’d lost my sense of time.
"Are you hungry? Not hungry? Then what do you want to do for fun?"
I looked at the purple-headed woman. No, I looked at Morian Siador. I recalled the story she had shown me during the Olympiad.
If things had gone according to plan, I would have melted her down with some playing house to make her confess the truth. But for a pervert, this entertainment CEO who restrained her own desires seemed more like a human-like beast than I expected.
"I have something I'm curious about."
I felt like Morian would give me an honest answer.
"What are you curious about?"
"...Why does everyone like men while acting like they hate them?"
Morian’s purple eyes stared at me in silence. It was as if she were checking my intentions, or perhaps searching for something. Something seemed to well up from deep within those eyes, slowly seeping into me.
Goosebumps broke out all over my body. I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink. Something was pushing out from those purple eyes, rummaging through my very soul.
"...What am I doing, acting like this toward a child?"
Morian let out a small chuckle and brushed back her bangs. It was dangerous. I could feel it instinctively. No, it wasn't dangerous. I was just overreacting.
"Why is our Yong-hwan curious about that~?"
Morian asked tenderly. I had plenty of answers prepared for a question like this, so I spoke as planned.
"Tiria Noona says men are inferior but likes them so much, and she says they're low-class but has tons of photos on her phone!"
"That crazy bitch..."
Morian let out a long sigh and cursed the Sweet Simp prosecutor.
"Everyone says men are bad, so it's weird that they like them. Can you explain it to me?"
Those purple—no, violet eyes with a hint of red—stared at me silently. Only after several breaths did Morian finally manage to speak.
"Why do you think that is, Yong-hwan?"
"Um... everyone says it's because they don't do anything. At school, they keep telling us we shouldn't do it, too. It's frustrating, so I'm doing it anyway, but..."
I had to paralyze my linguistic centers. I had to speak like a brat.
‘You Sweet Simp bastards. You want a taste of the D, but when you see how things are, you get trapped in your own contradictions and spout bullshit!!!’
I couldn't say things like that.
"Mmm... right. Because they're subjects to be protected. This is just my opinion, and others might think differently, okay? And it might be hard to understand, is that alright?"
"Yeah!"
"...In my opinion, I think it's because of a deficiency."
"Deficiency?"
An unexpected word popped out.
"Yes. Because they're rare. And because they aren't around. Everyone dreams of their own ideal regarding the existence of 'man.' And the reality of a man's existence is vastly different from that imagination."
I understood, yet I didn't. To put it simply, it sounded like they were throwing tantrums because reality didn't match their fantasies.
"It's a difficult topic. Ever since I was little, I wanted a younger brother."
Morian continued.
"I thought it would be nice to have a kind brother who would comfort me, rather than an older sister I had to fight and compete with. Someone who would come to my bed every morning to wake me up, cling to me annoyingly, go to school with me, and... ahem."
The exhibitionist pervert Snow Woman turned red and gave a small cough. I had a good idea of what she was imagining, but I pretended not to know.
"Anyway!"
Realizing the conversation had drifted, Morian returned to the original subject.
"Right now, everyone gets along because you're all young. But when you reach the age where teachers start discriminating against boys in earnest, you'll start to feel the difference. Did Noona use words that were too hard? Is it difficult to understand?"
I felt like I was on the verge of grasping something, but it was better to play dumb here.
"I don't know! It's hard!"
"Hehe, right, right. Well, our sweet Yong-hwan will be loved wherever he goes, so there's nothing to worry about."
I didn't know why she was including me in 'our,' but since I'd received so much from her, I had no choice but to play along.
"Hmm... I think we'll arrive in about three hours."
"Where?"
"Somewhere nice."
The corners of Morian’s mouth curled up into a smile.
***
Before me stood a massive structure, over thirty stories tall, floating in mid-air.
"...Wow."
Even when she said it was a 'nice place,' I—having lived with a decent level of civilization in modern society—figured a 'nice place' in this low-class fantasy world would just be somewhere with good scenery. But once again, the Information Age had been defeated.
"Why is this thing floating?"
"The foundation was weak, so they used floating stones and magic to lift it. The ground work is done, so in an emergency, it can settle on the land within thirty minutes."
Hindel explained it well. It seemed that even if you aged through your backside, that Dragon experience didn't go anywhere.
"Do you have a hotel like this too, Hindel?"
"I have a few. To be precise, I should say I own shares in them."
It seemed I had too much prejudice against this fantasy world. I had been looking down on them as barbarians who only knew how to develop bizarre weapons, but seeing this, my pride as a modern man was crumpled.
"But... where are we going?"
"Somewhere even better~!"
Alicia hummed as she quickly grabbed my hand. I weighed my options between Hindel and Alicia, and thinking a movie star might be better than a mafia boss, I shook off Hindel’s hand.
The Commie Dragon’s shoulders slumped.
"Where is this 'better' place? How good is it? What kind of magitech does it have?!"
"Fufu, you'll be surprised when you see it."
The floating hotel, which looked quite crowded with people, was gradually receding into the distance. I was somewhat looking forward to seeing what could be better than that.
"...?"
"How is it? Isn't it amazing? It's a hot spring ryokan, handcrafted by artisans using traditional colonial methods!"
Alicia brought me to a house that didn't look fantasy-like at all.
"You must have spent quite a bit. Is this made from wood from that planet over there?"
Morian touched the door a few times and gave her critique, while Alicia puffed out her non-existent chest proudly.
"How is it, Yong-hwan? Isn't Noona amazing?"
This vampire bitch was trying to take credit by showing me a primitive wooden building. First, I shook my hand to get her to let go.
"Why? Why? Don't try to let go! Tell me with words! Tell me with words!"
"It sucks!!!!!"
I had just seen a thirty-story floating hotel with an attached water park and all sorts of amenities, and now she was showing me a Japanese-style hot spring ryokan? It was lame as hell.
Of course, I liked this kind of thing too. But right now, facing a plain old hot spring bath when the pinnacle of magitech luxury was right there? She had to be joking.
Anyway, I pried Alicia’s hand off and clung to Mom.
"Mom~ Mom~ Let's go to the hotel. Please? Let's go to the hotel~!"
"Ah, Yong-hwan... but Aunt Alicia prepared this..."
It seemed Mom really liked the hot spring. Hot water was bound to come out in abundance over there too, but these ladies seemed completely enchanted by something they called 'tradition,' as if it were some special packaging for a meaningless place.
This wouldn't do. Today, my mom was Hindel.
"Hindel Mama, Mama, let's go to the hotel with me. Let's play at the hotel~!"
"...If that is what you wish, then so be it."
Fortunately, the Commie Dragon listened to me. If we just went to the hotel like this...
"No. Aunt Alicia prepared this for us. Don't throw a tantrum, Jeong Yong-hwan."
I almost made it, but Iris spoke firmly.
"That's right! That's right! Oppa is pathetic! Loser! Idiot! Selfish!"
To make matters worse, my younger sister started picking a fight instead of taking my side. Just because she had a bit of talent, she was constantly trying to get one over on her brother.
If I threw a fit here, the affection level I’d built up would probably drop. Seeing Mom’s friends watching me, I had no choice.
"...If it's uncomfortable, I'm going to the hotel with Hindel Mama!"
Bye-bye, super-luxury floating hotel...