Chapter 277: Interlude Date (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 277: Interlude Date (3)
Something was squirming relentlessly down below.
It wasn't... my junior.
Even if he has a mind of his own, rising at will to external stimuli, he's not so independent that he'd be squirming this much without me feeling a single thing.
Which means.
"Ah."
I remembered something I'd forgotten.
Right, I had this with me.
When I put my hand in my left pocket, a squishy lump latched onto it with a wet slap.
I pulled it out.
"Oh my god!"
Seeing the gelatinous mass quivering on my hand, Kkamseul-i, Ju-yeon jumped in fright and hid behind my back.
"Wh-wh-what is th-that?!"
Funny.
The girl who took down a kraken was now trembling in fear over a single slime.
Before leaving the house, I had brought Kkamseul-i along to be fully prepared.
It was a bit too big to just stuff in my pocket, so I'd had it change into the shape of a small bead. It seemed the duration had run out and the transformation had worn off.
Having already returned to its original form, Kkamseul-i hopped on my palm.
Seeing its eyes change into a ‘^^’ shape, it seemed to be in a good mood.
"This is, um..."
How should I explain this thing?
A pet... doesn't seem quite right.
"You know, right? It's like a familiar that mages raise."
"A f-familiar...?"
Familiar.
A term for the companion animals of mages, connected to them mentally through the intermediate-level magic, ‘Familiar’.
They are beings that provide and receive help in various ways, such as sharing the familiar's vision to survey the surroundings or having it assist in combat.
I had actually tried to form a familiar contract with the little guy.
But it didn't work.
The moment I tried to connect our minds through a magic circle, the connection would just snap on its own.
Anyway.
My plausible explanation seemed to quell Ju-yeon's suspicion.
But it seemed not all her doubts were resolved, as she asked me, "But... don't mages usually use birds as familiars?"
Hawks or eagles.
The favorite familiars of mages were birds that flew in the sky, like those.
Combined with the vision-sharing trait, it allowed them to monitor enemy movements from above.
This suspicion was easy to clear up.
"You have no idea how useful this one is."
All I had to do was prove our Kkamseul-i's usefulness.
"Here, watch."
After drawing her attention to Kkamseul-i, I gave it a command.
"Kkamseul-i, transform into one of the things you ate yesterday."
Hop!
As if acknowledging, Kkamseul-i jumped up from my palm, then landed and began to melt.
The gelatinous mass melted into a puddle on the floor, then slowly began to take on a different shape.
But wait a minute.
What did it eat yesterday?
While I was wondering, its body formed a complete shape.
"D-Do-jin... is this, by any chance..."
It suddenly came back to me.
The last words of the one who had snuck up on me like a stray cat, squeezed me dry, and left.
‘Ah, shit... Where did my panties go? Did I come up without them?’
Yu-jeong.
I found them.
"Aren't those... women's panties...?"
"......"
Your panties.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
After a minor incident.
We finished the body measurements and left the room.
"Here you go."
The Master took the measurement chart, glanced back and forth between the densely filled blanks and me, then nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Hmm... it matches what I see with my own eyes."
"...You can gauge all that just by looking?"
"When you've been doing the same thing for 30 years, even the impossible becomes possible."
"Hmm."
True.
After 30 years, that makes sense.
I was approaching 30 years myself, and I was starting to see things others couldn't.
Her face, which had been burning hot, had cooled slightly to a rosy pink as Ju-yeon asked the Master, "Please use the most durable material. Something that won't even get scratched by most attacks."
"Yes, I will select only the finest materials for its creation."
"How long will it take?"
"Let's see... Even if we start production immediately, it will likely take about a month."
"I see."
Her expression darkening slightly, Ju-yeon asked again.
"By any chance, do you have any ready-made suits he could wear right now? Renting or buying, either is fine."
What was she talking about?
She couldn't possibly be unaware that Kings & Queens is a brand that deals exclusively in custom suits.
The Master wore a troubled expression.
"Hmm... there is one suit that might roughly fit this gentleman."
"Oh, really?"
Wait... there is?
"Please wait a moment."
The Master opened a firmly shut door and headed somewhere.
When he reappeared, a magnificent suit was draped over his arm.
I could tell even with a quick glance.
The level of dedication that went into making that suit was anything but ordinary.
Ju-yeon seemed to have noticed as well, covering her mouth slightly as she let out a gasp of admiration.
"Oh my, it's so beautiful!"
Black suit trousers and a jacket.
Underneath was a pure white shirt, and over it all was a thick coat designed to be worn over the jacket.
It might have seemed out of place for the summer weather, but it would actually be cooler.
All Kings & Queens products came standard with temperature-regulating magic woven into them.
Anyway.
This suit... for a ready-made piece, the size didn't seem standard at all...
"Is this a product a customer canceled mid-production?"
"No."
The Master shook his head with a gentle smile.
"In truth, this suit... was made to fit Hunter Son Si-woo."
"Hunter... Son Si-woo?"
"That's right."
What was this now?
I had no memory of ordering a suit from Kings & Queens.
"As I mentioned earlier, Hunter Son Si-woo had the most perfect physique I have ever seen in a Hunter. It naturally made me curious. I wondered what kind of form a suit tailored to that sculpted body would take."
The Master's proud gaze shifted to the suit on his arm.
"I determined his measurements from video footage, and the materials used were modest, so it's only C-tier at best..."
But the devotion poured into it seemed no less than that of an S-tier suit. It came closer to me.
"If you don't mind, would you like to try it on?"
Ju-yeon urged me on from the side.
"Try it on, Do-jin! It would be very meaningful for the Master if you wore it."
"Hmm."
The feeling was incredibly strange.
A custom suit made for me, without my knowledge.
And now, it was being passed to me in my changed body.
It felt like no word in the world could accurately describe this feeling.
This had to be a unique, unparalleled emotion that only I, who had his body swapped, could ever feel.
After a moment of deliberation.
"If the Master is okay with it, I'll try it on."
I accepted the suit.
Understanding the Master's smiling intent, I immediately went to the changing room and threw off the clothes I was wearing.
I put on the suit trousers, then the shirt, buttoned it up, and carefully tucked the hem into the pants.
"Wow... this is strange."
Son Si-woo's body and this body were similar, but they were undeniably different.
This body was about 2-3 cm taller, and its muscle structure was more ideal.
My past body was the old model, and this one was the new model, created after accumulating more experience. It couldn't be helped.
"Why does it fit so well?"
And yet, the fabric clung to me perfectly.
The trousers were a little short, revealing my ankles, but it was just enough to look good.
Amazed, I put on the jacket over the shirt.
It, too, was a perfect fit.
"They don't call it a luxury brand for nothing."
Dressed in the suit, I moved my body around.
The fibers moved as one with my body, as if promising to accommodate any vigorous movement.
Did that mean its defense was lacking?
Not at all.
I could tell just by touching the fabric.
The magic imbued throughout had made it harder than steel and tougher than a monster's hide.
"And this is only C-tier..."
It made me curious.
Just how good was A-tier, and what would happen if I wore S-tier?
"Maybe I should commission one later."
The thought of commissioning one if I ever got my hands on good materials was very tempting.
After straightening the slightly rumpled clothes, I draped the last remaining piece, the coat, over my shoulders.
If the suit jacket was armor, the coat served as a cape.
Of course, it was so expensive I couldn't just spread it on the street to sit or lie on like a real cape.
"It won't get scratched by just anything."
The tightly woven, sturdy fibers seemed like they could easily deflect an ordinary sword.
No, I'd probably have to worry about the sword's blade chipping instead.
Standing in front of the mirror fully dressed, the feeling was completely different from my original clothes.
The perfect fit of the custom suit brought out 100% of the charm of my trained body.
If there was just one small regret.
"I would've worn dress shoes if I'd known."
The pure white sneakers reflected in the mirror below.
It would have been even more perfect if I had worn well-polished, shiny dress shoes.
I soothed my disappointment by adjusting my collar and left the changing room.
The moment I opened the door, two pairs of eyes locked onto me.
"Heh..."
The Master's mouth fell open as he let out a laugh of disbelief.
"Woooow."
Ju-yeon froze, a dazed look on her face, letting out a sound as if her soul were escaping her body.
The Master was the first to regain his senses.
He approached with a leisurely stride, looking me over from all angles in admiration.
"I thought it would fit quite well, but I never imagined it would be this absolutely perfect."
"I was surprised too. It fits as if it were made for my body. And it's so easy to move in."
"Haha, is that so."
I casually asked the Master, who was smiling with satisfaction.
"If you're okay with it, Master, I'd like to purchase this suit."
I wanted it.
The beads of sweat and devotion stitched into every single thread.
It was infinitely better for me to wear this than for it to somehow fall into Fake Si-woo's hands.
"Hmm."
The Master pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Very well. It would be strange not to let you have it when it suits you this well. Still, it wasn't custom-made for you, so please just pay for the materials."
"Oh, I can't do that. I can clearly see the dedication that went into this."
"Haha! Not at all. Please repay my dedication by wearing it well for a long time. If you could appear just like this at an official event, on TV or in a newspaper article, that would be more than enough for me."
I was genuinely surprised by the Master's tone, which sounded like he truly meant it.
To think that a master among masters had been living here all this time, coiled up like a giant in this tiny patch of land.
"Then I'll pay by card..."
I took a card from my wallet and was about to hand it to the Master when—
"Ah, nooo!"
Ju-yeon, who had been frozen like a statue, flew over and grabbed my hand, hugging it tightly.
I could feel a soft, full sensation against the back of my hand—a feeling I could never get tired of.
Ju-yeon, your chest...
"What's gotten into you?"
When I asked what she was doing, she puffed out her cheeks and pouted.
"I'm buying it for you."
"......"
I didn't know why she had to, but fine.
Have it your way.
Whatever makes you happy.
* * *
In the car, on the way to Ansan where a new rift had formed.
Han Ju-yeon, who was driving, desperately wished she had a third eye on her temple.
‘I want to look, I want to look, I want to look, I want to look...’
He was right next to her.
Her Golden Land.
Her paradise.
Her utopia.
Her ideal world... no, her ideal type.
Liking him... no, loving him, was definitely not because of his looks.
‘Still, I can't resist this!’
And yet, she couldn't resist.
That was how attractive Kim Do-jin was right now.
If she could, she would have him stand before her all day just so she could look at him.
The long, lean limbs, the perfect curves revealed by the form-fitting clothes.
Even his eyes, puppy-like and cute, yet charismatic.
The current Kim Do-jin was armed only with things that made one fall for him endlessly.
"Haaah..."
A good idea came to her too late.
‘I should have let Do-jin drive, you idiot!’
If Kim Do-jin had been driving and she had been in the passenger seat, everything would have been perfect.
Then she could have calmly admired him from head to toe.
"Why the sigh? Is something wrong?"
"N-no, it's nothing."
It was in these small moments that she had fallen for him.
The way he was so attentive, never overlooking even her smallest sigh.
In the past, she would have had to suppress her growing feelings every time this happened, but.
‘I don't have to anymore.’
The reason to suppress her feelings.
The reason she couldn't have him.
None of it existed anymore.
All that was left was to move forward.
Hoping that one day, she could call him "darling."
‘Wait for me, Brother-in-law…♥’
She silently held the faded title in her heart.