Chapter 75: A Bountiful Year for Mages
Chapter 75: A Bountiful Year for Mages
The moment I reached for Vivian with a greedy gaze, a memory flashed through my mind. It didn't just flash; it struck my head with a resounding clang. Startled by the shock, I was able to pull my reason back from the brink of being consumed by desire.
This is wrong. This isn’t right. The feeling hammered against my chest.
Suppressing the lust that had filled my body, I pushed Vivian away. It was one thing to feel desire, but if I acted on my instincts whenever and wherever they commanded, I would be no different from a beast. I had deliberately brought her to a secluded place, hoping for an opportunity, but that action itself had been a mistake from the start. I took a deep breath, composing and reining myself in.
I wasn't impotent, nor was I a man with no interest in women. I was a healthy young man who was, in fact, quite interested in the female sex. But that was a separate issue from taking Vivian right here and now. I wasn't some disgusting animal that acted whenever it felt the urge, determined to bed a woman that day. I had never thought of myself as that kind of person, and I had never lived that way.
First, a deep breath.
Lately, things had been going my way, and I couldn't deny that I had started to take my situation a little too lightly. While I was recovering the humanity I had lost, the blade-like sharpness I once possessed was fading.
Of course, there was nothing inherently wrong with sleeping with a woman. Even now, I was confident I could take Vivian. But as I had just told myself, I refused to be ruled by desire. Desire shone only when kept under my control; venting it indiscriminately was the behavior I despised most. I have to sleep with a woman today, no matter what? The thought was humiliating. If bedding a woman was all I had returned for, I might be too ashamed to face Seraph again.
“Soohyun? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“…”
As I composed myself and opened my eyes again, Vivian spoke to me hesitantly. When I just stared at her in silence, she seemed to find the quiet unbearable and continued in a cautious voice.
“No, maybe it’s just me, but… it felt like I was looking at a different person.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Don’t ever make that face again. It suddenly gave me the chills… Ugh.”
Vivian hugged and rubbed her arms. I quickly relaxed my expression and gave her a faint smile. Only then did she seem reassured. Smiling brightly, she approached and linked arms with me. I immediately pulled my arm free and headed toward the inn. Vivian whined, “Hiiing,” behind me, but I ignored her.
“Soohyun. Soohyun.”
“What.”
Despite my dismissal, Vivian scurried ahead of me, then spun around to face me. When I replied to her question in an indifferent tone, I saw her pout.
“So, from now on, I’ll be traveling with you guys, right?”
“That’s what we decided.”
“I see. Well, I have this one concern… Aack!”
While walking backward, Vivian’s feet got tangled, and she fell flat on her back. The sudden fall caused her robe to fly open, exposing her body. Rubbing the back of her head as if she’d hit it, Vivian noticed my gaze and quickly covered herself. Her face soured.
“Pervert.”
“Why am I a pervert?”
“You’re lying. You saw.”
“I saw, yes. But I never lied. And just now, it’s not like I deliberately lifted your robe. You tripped and fell on your own, and your robe came open because of that. Why are you blaming me? Don’t go accusing an innocent person of being a creep.”
At my logical and calm tone, Vivian’s eyes widened, and her expression soon turned to one of bewilderment. She nodded her head reluctantly.
“Oh, huh? You’re right. I’m sorry. But you didn’t have to be so serious about it. You’re making me feel really embarrassed.”
Seeing Vivian admit it so readily, I replied, “Then be more careful from now on. Sometimes you’re far too careless,” and offered her my hand. As she took it and rose, I added,
“Anyway. What was your concern?”
“Um… well, we’re going to be traveling together from now on.”
“You just said that. Get to the point.”
“…That Yoojung and Ahn Sol? I think they hate me.”
“Yeah. They probably do.”
When I immediately nodded in agreement, Vivian let out a sigh. But it was true that the girls disliked her. With problems like this, it was far more helpful to make her clearly aware of her situation and encourage her to change her attitude, rather than trying to gloss things over.
“Still, they’re good kids at heart. As long as we’re traveling together, if you’re a little more patient and show them a better side of yourself, you can definitely get along with them.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I’ll have a word with them separately, too. Don’t worry too much about it.”
“Th-thank you. But I have one more worry…”
I tilted my head, signaling for her to continue. After hesitating for a moment, Vivian spoke in a voice as small as a mosquito’s.
“My clothes…”
It seemed Jung Jiyeon’s robe really was incredibly small. Seeing Vivian fidgeting with a flushed face, I immediately headed for a shop.
*
After stopping at a clothing shop to buy a Mage’s robe, we went straight to The Demure Lady, the inn where we had stayed before. I had expected to have many things to do once we returned to Mule, but for the moment I still wanted to rest. Most of the tasks involved the kids, and rushing into them the instant we arrived would accomplish little. Resting properly when it was time to rest and concentrating when it was time to work was far more efficient.
When I pushed open the rough wooden door and stepped inside, I saw that there were a fair number of Users this time. Given the hour, they were all gathered with snacks and beer, chatting boisterously. Ko Yeonju, who had been bustling about, heard the door open and turned her gaze toward Vivian and me.
“Hello, User Kim Soohyun. You’ve arrived a little later than the others.”
Ko Yeonju greeted me elegantly with a gentle smile. I returned her greeting with a simple nod and asked if the others had gone up. Instead of answering, Ko Yeonju pointed a finger toward a corner. There… I saw the kids sitting with sullen expressions. A pile of food sat on the table, but they were just picking at it with their chopsticks.
As I let out a low groan, Ko Yeonju chuckled and looked at the kids with a fond expression.
“It seems they were waiting for you, Soohyun-ssi. Children like that are rare these days.”
“Ahem. In any case, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s all part of the service I’m paid for. But I see you have a new face with you…”
Ko Yeonju’s sharp eyes shifted to Vivian, who was standing awkwardly behind me. I pulled her forward and made the introduction.
“She’s a new member of our party.”
“She looks like a mage. You have a real talent for finding people.”
“Not at all. Anyway, you seem busy.”
“Oh, my. Look at me. Well then, I’ll see you later.”
Ko Yeonju seemed to want to talk longer, but I felt it was premature to introduce Vivian properly while she was still a Resident, so I answered in a way that politely declined. Ko Yeonju understood and withdrew without complaint, though her “I’ll see you later” implied another meeting. Since she was also a recruitment target, I had no reason to refuse if we could speak alone instead of in a crowded place like this.
The kids had spotted me too and were waving with brightened faces. I quickly made my way to their table, sat down in a chair, and spoke.
“I told you to eat first and go rest. You didn’t have to wait.”
“Still. It wouldn’t feel right for us to relax while you and Vivian were out alone, hyung.”
“Alright, alright. Anyway, let’s eat. Everything must be cold by now.”
Ahn Hyun offered one admirable remark after another with an awkward smile. If I had actually had sex with Vivian back there, the kids would have waited even longer, starving. Feeling a pang of guilt, I urged them to eat and picked up my utensils. Vivian, unfamiliar with chopsticks, picked up a fork and stared pensively at the feast laid out on the table.
“You ordered a lot.”
“We were hungry. Hehe. Sorry, Oppa. I ordered a little too much.”
Yoojung frankly admitted she was the one who ordered a lot and acted cute. I liked her attitude of not shifting the blame, so I patted her on the back with a magnanimous expression.
“Well, we have enough money. It’s not good to be too wasteful, but this much is fine.”
“Okay, okay. So, did things go well?”
“Ah… speaking of which… Hyung, the temple… gulp.”
Ahn Hyun must have been starving, as he was shoveling food into his mouth. Ahn Sol was also quietly focused on eating, and Vivian had a look of pure bliss as she chewed carefully, savoring what was likely her first decent meal in a long time. I, too, tore off a piece of bread, dipped it in my soup, and brought it to my mouth. A savory, warm aroma filled my senses.
“We went to the temple, and then stopped by a shop. Vivian needed new clothes.”
“Yeah, her old clothes were embarrassing even for me to look at. Good call. But did you go to the temple to file an expedition report?”
“That and other things. But they said they’re too busy to accept expedition reports these days. So we just had Vivian’s body healed and drew up a contract. Nothing major.”
“A contract?”
At the word “contract,” the kids’ curiosity was piqued. They all turned their gazes to me, their mouths full of food. I briefly explained what had happened and showed them the contract. Vivian was cautiously watching my expression, so I felt the need to add a little more.
“As you can all see, from now on Vivian is a Resident who will never act against us and will help us in every way. I would like to introduce her properly, but there are too many watching eyes and listening ears here…”
I paused and glanced around. The Users who had been secretly watching us hastily turned their heads away. Seeing as their gazes were mostly directed at Ahn Sol, Lee Yoojung, and Vivian, I could guess what they were thinking.
After reducing the number of prying eyes, I continued.
“As such, she’ll be traveling with us from now on. She may not look like it, but she’s a pretty skilled mage, so keep that in mind. You can hear the details from her directly tomorrow… And I know how you all feel. But I hope you won’t look at Vivian too unfavorably. She’s trying to make a fresh start now that she’s human again… You all understand what I’m saying, right?”
Ahn Hyun gave a half-hearted nod. It seemed he had expected this ever since we left the dungeon together. Sol pouted but managed a reluctant nod at my earnest plea. However, she was openly showing her dislike, so it seemed it would take some time for her to truly accept Vivian. Deciding that time was the only answer, I turned my gaze to Yoojung. And there, I was met with Yoojung’s face, a twisted smile playing on her lips.
“Hohoho. ‘Will absolutely not be hostile’ and ‘will help in every way possible’… is it? Hohoho.”
She read through the contract, a dangerous smile on her face. Soon, she handed it back to me and looked at Vivian with sparkling eyes. When Vivian gave an awkward laugh, Lee Yoojung responded with a brilliant smile of her own. Ahn Hyun, who had been silently watching the scene unfold, spoke to me in a low voice.
“Hyung. Don’t worry too much. I’ll keep a close eye on things.”
“…Right. Thanks a lot.”
“And. Is there anything you wanted to ask us?”
As if he still had room after eating so much, Ahn Hyun speared a large piece of meat. Knowing what he wanted to say, I immediately met his expectations.
“Right. I was just about to ask. What about the Users we brought back?”
“Neither of them has woken up yet. They’re breathing, so they’re definitely alive… For now, the man is in your and my room, and the woman is in Sol and Yoojung’s room. We got slightly bigger rooms than the ones we used before.”
“Good job.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
I considered the matter for a moment. Their Stats were good, and I liked their Alignments. I would need to speak with them after they woke to know the details. The difficulty was Vivian. It would have been different if only I knew, but every one of the kids knew that Vivian had been the spider Dungeon Master.
Even if things went well and I offered to recruit them, would those Users really want to join? I tapped the table out of habit and then spoke. I already had so much to do. It felt like every time I solved one problem, another one popped up.
“Let’s wait until tomorrow. If nothing changes, we’ll stop by the temple again. It’s not like we can just take responsibility for them indefinitely.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
Having said his piece, Ahn Hyun buried his face in his plate again. The food was certainly high quality and delicious. I could have eaten more, but I wasn’t a big eater to begin with, so I put down my spoon. Sol, who had been watching me intently, placed a large piece of meat on my plate.
“Oppa. You’re still unwell, so please eat more.”
I gave a bittersweet smile at Sol, who was looking at me with sparkling eyes, and picked up the spoon I had set down. As some of the tension eased and the reality of being back in the city sank in, the stiff atmosphere began to soften. I turned my head and gazed out the inn window.
The sun had completely set, and dusk had settled upon the ground. For today, at least, I wanted to fall asleep without a single thought in my head.