Chapter 24: In the Gate - Interlude
Chapter 24: In the Gate - Interlude
"How did it come to this...?"
Hwang Cheol-jin, Chairman of the Hero Association, let out a low groan as he stared at the shimmering fissure. It was hard to believe that the moment that crack fully manifested, they would have to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
"What's going on?"
"That A-Rank Hero... you know, the Magical Girl."
"She went in and hasn't come out? For a whole week?"
"Wait, didn't they say it was just a C-Rank Gate?"
Where there are crowds, rumors are bound to fly. A multitude of people had gathered here—people who, according to the original plan, should have already begun developing the training grounds the moment Floss subdued the Boss Monster and emerged.
All sorts of rumors were circulating. Some suggested she simply hadn't found the Boss Monster yet. Others countered that if that were the case, she should have come out at least once to report. Some even claimed it was impossible for an A-Rank Hero to be defeated in a C-Rank Gate, insisting the Hero Association must have botched the difficulty measurement.
They're all wrong.
Hwang Cheol-jin didn't believe the rumors. It wasn't that he was trying to deny the Association's mistake as its Chairman. Even if the Association had misjudged the Gate's difficulty, he didn't believe Floss could have been defeated.
She's a girl capable of breaking through any Gate on her own.
The Chairman was the one who knew Floss's true worth better than anyone. The reason he had provided her with such thorough care from the moment she Awakened was that he recognized the utility of her immense power.
However, as a man who believed that solid systems and rules were more important than any overwhelming individual, he couldn't simply promote Floss to S-Rank immediately. He needed sufficient results... or rather, even if her track record was far less than other S-Ranks, he planned to promote her the moment she crossed the minimum threshold.
That was why he found this so incomprehensible. Why hadn't Floss come out yet? Floss, who carried out every mission quickly and thoroughly, wasn't the type to cause an accident like this.
There must be a reason. There are still... still twenty minutes left...
Starting two days ago, suggestions had cautiously been made that they should send a team to rescue Floss and Dark Swan. Of course, this was a sensitive issue. Dispatching additional personnel without Floss's consent would be an act of belittling the Magical Girl.
Until now, Chairman Hwang Cheol-jin had opposed sending personnel for that very reason. Of course, that was only half the truth.
The loss to our side would be too great...
If the "Magical Girl" Floss—the next-generation star hero the Association was planning to push with everything they had—fell here, the damage would be immense. He wouldn't be able to promote her to S-Rank in the future.
No matter the circumstances, the moment rumors spread that she struggled against a single C-Rank Gate Boss Monster, the Association's standards would become a laughingstock.
But the most important thing was preventing the Gate from opening. A Hero's honor or the Hero Association's image could never take precedence over the safety of the citizens.
"Wh-What?!"
Just as the hastily deployed Heroes were about to enter the Gate, a burst of light erupted from within.
It wasn't a fissure. It was the signal that someone was exiting the Gate. Since it was too early for monsters to emerge, the only ones who could be coming out were the humans who had entered previously.
Only then did Chairman Hwang Cheol-jin breathe a sigh of relief.
"What took you so long, you brat...?"
Magical Girl Floss—the woman with pink hair, pink eyes, and an anime-style outfit—appeared with an awkward smile. Behind her was Dark Swan, barely covering her private parts with a makeshift loincloth woven from leaves.
"Uh... excuse me, could someone take her first?"
The scene was frozen in shock. The moment Floss managed to speak, people began to move. Several women rushed forward to cover Dark Swan's naked body and hide her in a corner, while the rest flocked toward Floss, who appeared perfectly fine on the surface.
"What happened in there?"
"Why are you so late?"
"Why is Hero Dark Swan stripped of her clothes?"
"Geez, anyone would think I'm at a press conference."
Floss spoke with a nonchalant tone, as if she were oblivious to the gravity of the situation outside. She scratched her head and said, "There were some circumstances I can't disclose publicly. As for Dark Swan, well... her clothes just melted from the slime's acid, so there's nothing to worry about."
Her clothes melted from acid, but there's nothing to worry about? Those listening found it strange for a moment, but Floss's demeanor was so peaceful that they didn't dwell on it.
"Well, as long as it was handled safely within the time limit, it's fine. If you go inside, you'll see I've thoroughly subdued the Boss Slime."
Floss's words implied that it was now their turn to work. Although there were lingering questions, since she had made it clear she wouldn't talk about what happened inside, there was no point in prying further.
Thus, people naturally began to go about their business. The scene, which had been chaotic just minutes ago, began to function normally as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, the Chairman is here too."
"I was worried sick, so I came personally. What on earth happened in there?"
"Eyy, I told you that's a secret~♡"
Throb.
Hwang Cheol-jin flinched and hurriedly adjusted his posture. His cock, which had broken many hearts in his youth, had suddenly regained its vigor. But he couldn't immediately understand why.
"It's a good thing you're here. Since you've come all this way, do you want to check it out before you go? I've finished subduing the slime."
"Uh, ahem... I suppose I should. Should I follow you?"
"Yes, stay close right behind me♡"
Hwang Cheol-jin began to feel it. The Floss before entering the Gate and the Floss who had just come out felt different somehow.
And soon, he realized it for certain. It happened the moment he followed Floss toward the place where the Boss Slime was subdued; as he watched her hips sway rhythmically, he finally reached a full erection.
What in the world is this... this raw sensuality...!
Not even the sexiest celebrities, let alone the most skilled whores, could exude such a thick aura of lust. To think that a girl barely twenty—and one who used to be a man, at that—could be this erotic without even exposing any skin.
It was as if she were emitting hormones that stimulated the primal urge to breed just by existing. Hwang Cheol-jin was bewildered that he could still feel such power at his age, and his breathing grew heavy.
"Ah, we're here♡ I've got it pinned down like this. Not bad, right?"
"Uh, cough, yes."
Just as Floss said, the Boss Slime was completely subdued. Buried in the ground, neither dead nor alive. It was kept just barely breathing so the Gate wouldn't close. It was the perfect result the client had hoped for.
"It was annoying because it kept trying to suck away my power, so I beat it up and took it all back~"
"P-Power... I see, it must have been a troublesome opponent."
For some reason, Hwang Cheol-jin felt embarrassed just looking at Floss. She was young enough to be his granddaughter, and just a few days ago, he had been spanking her playfully, but now he felt he had been far too careless.
It was difficult to look at her seductive face, and even harder to look at her unnecessarily large breasts or hips. If his gaze drifted below her waist, it felt like he was staring at her legs; if he looked at her shoulders, that felt strange too. Ultimately, Hwang Cheol-jin ended up staring at Floss's stomach.
"......Hmm?"
"Yes? Is something wrong? Did I not subdue it well?"
"No, it's not the slime. It's just... your stomach looks a bit... like you've put on weight..."
The moment the words left his mouth, Hwang Cheol-jin regretted it. A girl in her prime is sensitive about gaining weight. Ten days ago, he would have mentioned it openly and chuckled, but now he had even forgotten that Floss had once been a man.
"Ehehe... it's nothing. There was so much to eat inside that I just spent all day eating and enjoying myself♡"
"There was a lot to eat. I see... in a Slime Forest, hmm..."
"Ah-hat♡ There were normal wild animals besides the slimes, you know? But Chairman, you look a bit swollen too...?"
"M-Me? Where?"
Floss wore a mischievous, succubus-like smile as she crouched down and pointed at Hwang Cheol-jin's trousers.
"Right here, I mean. Why did it get so big? Did it gain weight too?"
"Uh, gah...!"
Before he knew it, Hwang Cheol-jin's cock had become so engorged it looked ready to burst through the front of his pants. Floss pointed at his crotch with her finger and looked up at him with a flirtatious wink.
"Really, you should go on a diet...♡"
The atmosphere was such that if he asked how to diet, she looked ready to take it into her mouth and show him right then and there. However, with the schedule already delayed and personnel for the Gate development pouring in, he couldn't ask.
While Hwang Cheol-jin stood dazed by the flirtation of the Magical Girl he had thought of like a granddaughter, Floss stood up, licking her lips with her red, plump tongue.
"Well then, I'll be going now! I want to get some rest, hehe."
Though he needed to leave as well, Hwang Cheol-jin stood still for a long time, staring only at Floss's retreating figure.
...Without ever noticing that a drop of blue mucus had fallen onto the spot where Floss had been crouching.