Special Episode: Brigit and Gong-ryun Fluff — A Taste
Brigit. A native born and raised on this planet. Fifth of seven siblings. An industrial workhorse walking the path of a civil engineer. A dutiful, hardworking daughter who, even while studying in earnest, took on mercenary jobs in the gaps and earned her own spending money.
To anyone looking, she was simply an ordinary, solid young woman of the kind you could find on any rural planet.
But Brigit had a dream.
The dream of devouring an Orthodox young master.
"Sis… please live in reality…"
Brigit's younger sister Ella looked at her with pitying eyes as she spoke.
They had just been talking about dating. Ella lay sprawled on the living-room sofa, munching potato chips, and sadly scolded her sister, who was mid-squat.
"What's the point of having a taste like that on an Unorthodox planet…? Or what, you gonna pack up and move to some Orthodox megacity?"
"My uncultured little sister. I don't just want some random Orthodox man."
It was not simply a matter of wanting a man of Orthodox origins.
An innocent Orthodox scion who knew nothing of the world. Handsome face (important).
The image of roughly pouncing on such a young master and soiling him — that was what she liked.
More specifically: porcelain skin and aristocratic, finely cut handsomeness; a pure-hearted young master who looked as if he had only just stepped into the martial world, steeped in chivalry and justice…
Kugh… Young lady… just what do you think you're doing…!
Keuk. Stay still. Unless you want something rougher.
Don't do this…! Release my hand! How far do you mean to drag my honor into the mud!
Keheheh… I wonder what that soft, well-bred flesh of yours tastes like?
Th-that's enough…! Not there…!
Ah. So good.
What was this, roughly? A sort of "kill me, lady knight" fetish.
Was it not a truly beautiful culture?
And so Brigit had waited her whole life for such a man. The man who would fulfill her long-held wish!
"Sis… men like that don't exist in real life…"
Her sister sadly tried to wake her to reality.
But the older sister would not bend her will.
"Shut up! You don't understand this aesthetic! The only thing that can satisfy me is a pure young master!"
"Sis, how did you even end up like this… Was it from when our otaku oldest sister started lending you doujinshi? Somehow your taste never changes, not even a little… There are plenty of men in this world, sis…"
"If he's not a young master, I don't get off."
"Please drop that deviant sexual appetite…"
"Deviant?! Orthodox-scion-degradation is a long and legitimate tradition of proper desire!"
"If you're that obsessed, it's a deviant sexual appetite… This is exactly why you're still a pure single at your age…"
"…Hmph. I'm charming. I could date whenever I wanted."
"So what if you're charming… You never actually meet any men…"
"I just haven't met anyone who matches my taste yet, okay?"
"Unicorns don't exist, sis…"
Ella swallowed her tears.
A sister with a great figure and a pretty face. Exceptionally talented, showing outstanding achievement in civil engineering from a young age, radiating appeal in both ability and looks — a prize of a daughter-in-law candidate. And that was not all. Her personality was martial-artist frank, breezy and easygoing; she was pleasant to look at.
But one single, rock-solid deviant sexual appetite rendered every one of those virtues null and void, and had kept her a pure single past thirty.
Ah. What cruel trick of fate was this.
Even granting that this planet was steeped in Unorthodox influence, and that for the Unorthodox a mental illness was practically a required elective—
Did it have to be that mental illness? A madness that could take a perfectly fine person and force her into the wretched life of a pure single adult.
"Even the Martial God is heartless…"
"Hey! You were thinking something weird about me again!!"
"Sis. What if you just tried a dating app and looked for a guy with pale skin? These days everyone does blind dates through apps."
"Nonsense! I don't do that kind of debauched behavior!"
"Could anything be more debauched than your fantasies…? Don't tell me you're waiting for some prince to appear like destiny? Chasing your ideal (sexual) type through pure chance encounters? In this day and age…"
"Shut up! I have a plan, okay!"
"Ah! Right! That guy! The senior from your high school club… Thompson, was it? You were all interested because he looked Orthodox."
"Why is this kid bringing up something from ten years ago? It's weirder that you even remember."
"What happened to that senior? Why not contact him and meet up once? Reuniting with an old high-school acquaintance and developing into lovers. Isn't that a good cliché?"
"Ha! That bastard wasn't the real thing! Just because he had a relative living in an Orthodox megacity, he cosplayed as Orthodox himself — a complete lunatic!!! Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I found out! A maiden's heart was betrayed!"
"You never even dated, and there was no mutual crush either, so what maiden's heart was there to betray…? Anyway, what's he doing now?"
"I passed by last time and saw him working as a part-timer at a mala-tang shop on the east side of the city. Family business, apparently. That pale skin of his got tanned brown from sunbathing. Now he's a thoroughly Unorthodox lowlife. He doesn't even look like he has XY chromosomes anymore."
"Ah, Martial God above…"
Little sister Ella let out a long, weary groan.
"Sis… you can't live alone forever… You're thirty-two now… I'm still in my twenties and I've already dated five people, and you don't even feel a sense of crisis…?"
"Heh! That's just you being promiscuous!"
"I'm saying this is the average, sis. Do you even know the concept of free dating?"
"In an age when the average lifespan is over two hundred, thirty is still the prime of youth! What's wrong with still being a pure single!"
"I didn't want to say this, but… sis… the youngest isn't a pure single anymore… Now you're the only pure single left in our house…"
"What…!???!!! What are you talking about!! The youngest is a baby!!! How can a baby do something like that!!!"
"The youngest already graduated high school. They're an adult."
"That's still a baby!! Who is it!! What girl!!"
"The young female teacher next door… as a graduation commemorative…"
"Hkkyaaaaaah!!! What kind of doujinshi plot is that!!!"
"Says the person whose taste is more doujinshi than anyone…? And teacher–student romance happens plenty in real life, too…"
"No!!! That's pure nonsense!!! There's no way!!! This can't be reality!!!"
— Bang!!!
Brigit flung the door open and stormed out of the house.
Even the youngest she had trusted.
That pure child already grown so shameless and worldly!!
Where was the chivalry of this galaxy going!
Brigit tore straight off toward the gym at a full run. She would have to calm her trembling heart by thrashing her upper-body muscles.
— Click. Click.
Indeed. Once she worked the muscles, her mental state settled a little.
With her mind at peace, a realization came to her.
Right. If something that unrealistic had happened to the youngest… then couldn't it happen for her as well?
If a teacher–student relationship kink could be realized, then couldn't a young-master-degradation kink have a chance too?
Ahh… so that was it…
Brigit clenched her biceps and let her heart settle, calm and quiet.
Yes.
She only had to wait for her time.
With the heart of the old fisherman who waited by the river for destiny.
Besides, between training and studying, she barely had any free hours.
Was there any need to waste time on matching apps or clubs just to hunt for people? Brigit concluded there was not.
If she just lived, opportunities would come. Wasn't fate said to rest with Heaven in the first place?
Right. Just doing my own work is more than busy enough in this world. Next year I even have to go train on the capital planet of the Dallas course. If a good man shows up, I'll size him up. If not, I'll live without. That's the way.
Brigit fully organized her thoughts. Today, too, she had taken one step closer to the truth of the universe.
— Thud. Thud.
And so, having finished her workout, she was on the road home.
As she passed a sparsely trafficked roadside, the sound of people quarreling nearby drifted over.
She glanced that way. Several people had someone surrounded and were bullying him.
— A southern mercenary working here?! This is Northern Mercenary Gate territory!!
— How dare a southern mutt take a commission!
— Keheheh. Looking at you hunting sewer moles, you're a newbie. Well, of course a newbie would thrash around without knowing the zones.
Northern mercenaries.
And from inside the circle, the voice of the man being threatened floated out.
"I distinctly heard that the east was a neutral zone. What is the problem with accepting a mole-hunting commission in a sewer that lies in the eastern zone?"
A mid-low, refined voice.
"Haa!!!?? You bastard!! You think a neutral zone is a neutral zone for no reason!! It's neutral because the owner of the zone keeps changing every other minute!! Don't you know this month's eastern sewer commissions were decided for the Northern Mercenary Gate!??"
"First I've heard of it. Even if such a decision was made, there is no way to know of it. What use is that?"
"It's all on the mercenary app's zone map, so what garbage are you talking!! Don't tell me you can't even read an app!!"
"There was such a function? Damn it, why is this app so complicated? The conveniences of civilization are truly not easy."
"You son of a—!! You think this is a joke!! This won't do!! Boys!! Let's give the newbie a little initiation!!!"
That was when Brigit cut in at the perfect moment.
"Oi, Northern Mercenary Gate mutts. You gang-beating a southern kid right now?"
"Who the hell are you!"
"That's enough, yeah? A newbie mixing up zones gets a free pass once — isn't that the golden rule? And if there's gonna be an initiation, the southern kids do it. Not you lot."
"…Tch. Southern mercenary, huh."
They held a staring contest with the northern pack for a few more seconds, but the other side soon ended the standoff.
"Tch. No need to start a brawl in a neutral zone over one newbie's screw-up. Everyone, let's go."
And so the Northern Mercenary Gate party was driven off.
Men who picked fights like this were always the weak ones. They picked on someone weaker precisely because they themselves were weak. Probably bottom-tier trash mercenaries. At that level they were no different from ordinary people.
Brigit, on the other hand, had been a prodigy since childhood with solid fundamentals, and — decisive point — she had only recently reached the Hyeon-gyeong, the Profound Realm. Even a light flex of presence was enough to advertise Hyeon-gyeong. Against Hwa-gyeong small fry, she held overwhelming advantage. On top of that, Brigit's whole vibe was the so-called "troublemaker" type, loose and rough-edged, which doubled the effect.
"Kahaha! Newbie! You good? Getting picked on is just part of being a newbie, kid!!"
And then she finally saw the southern Mercenary Gate newbie who until a moment ago had been hidden behind the northern lot.
"I am truly grateful for your aid. When people say chivalry still lives in this galaxy, this must be what they mean. Even the galaxy, after all, is a place where people live."
A finely cut face.
Excellent skin.
Black hair, the emblem of noble breeding.
A refined Orthodox manner of speech.
A mid-low voice.
Fierce eyes edged with fighting spirit.
And yet an air of something quietly melancholy.
Plus the vein-lined forearms packed with residual muscle that advertised a reverse charm.
By any measure, an Orthodox young master.
Like something out of a work of fiction. The sort of person who simply should not exist in a rural backwater like this.
Brigit's mind stopped.
"…Mm. Why do you stare so?"
Gong Ryun felt a prickle of suspicion.
And quite naturally he clasped his hands behind his back and, from an angle she could not see, prepared a Geumnasu joint-lock. He had been ready to throw one when he was arguing with the Northern Mercenary Gate lot as well. If the talk went wrong, he had planned to start by planting a joint-lock on the lead man's jaw. Fortunately that woman had come and they had all backed off.
But this woman, too, might be someone strange. Outside his home planet, the world was this wild! He had not expected to lose his nose with his eyes open. Gong Ryun sharpened his mind.
It was the first meeting of Brigit and Gong Ryun.