Chapter 18: Good Vibes and Reputation Turn Everything Positive

Time spent with Egelina was fulfilling in every way.

"How is it?"

"Delicious. Your cooking skills are excellent."

"R-Really?"

"Yes, really. Since you've fed me something this tasty, I should return the favor, right?"

As thanks for the meal she'd prepared herself, I fed her a generous helping of my semen in return.

"Ah... I need to do the laundry..."

"I'll take care of it."

"Pardon? The laundry?"

"There's a simple way."

I handled all the laundry with Purifying Light.

"Then... as my thanks, let me suck you off, Sion... ♡"

We spent our time together like a cozy daily routine, tumbling into bed whenever the mood struck. By the time evening rolled around...

I'd expected rapid growth, but not this fast. Level 30 already?

'Impressive, but this is even more insane.'

After mixing our bodies so many times today, I finally understood. The greater her pleasure and satisfaction, the more EXP I gained. Meaning I could keep farming massive EXP from her going forward.

'This is making me greedy for real.'

At this point, I wanted to take her with me when I left the village. I needed to think about it seriously.

But first... time to tackle that quest?

"Egelina. Things aren't good with Habak, are they?"

"Y-Yes? H-Him?"

Maybe because her husband's name came up so suddenly? Egelina, nestled against me in bed, looked flustered. But she didn't deny it.

"Yet you haven't divorced him. There must be some reason."

She just opened and closed her mouth at my follow-up, unable to respond easily.

(Sion might get dragged into trouble because of me.)

See? She's a good person. Even feeling anxious like this, she's worried about me.

I stroked her hair and said, "It's okay. I'll help you, so tell me."

The quest aside, I'd grown greedy for Egelina herself now. Regardless of my grudge against Habak, I wanted to separate that annoying bastard from her ASAP.

"Ah, ah..."

(To think about me like this...)

Whoa. I hadn't meant to make her cry.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and I pulled her into a hug. Then, she began sharing her life story.

That story... 'What the fuck. Unbelievable.'

It left even me speechless. And pissed off.

Setting aside my hatred for Habak or my fondness for Egelina, it was just a shitty tale. I'd figured there was some backstory, but to think she'd been sold to him over gambling debts.

And I knew Habak's future too.

'Then before regression, Egelina...'

Sold ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to a man she didn't love by her gambling-addicted father, who fled from his debts and vanished. Eventually, her so-called husband died on the run from his own gambling debts too?

What kind of life had she lived after Habak's death?

'No. No need to dwell on it.'

It was all erased now anyway. It wouldn't happen again.

"I'll handle it."

She was bound by some troublesome contract. But there had to be a way. Stock up on Luck Gauge, snoop around Habak, and solutions would come.

"A-And..."

But Egelina's story wasn't over.

"That man... he's probably involved in crimes too."

That wasn't too surprising. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd been a victim of those crimes in my past life. He'd lured me into the gambling den, where his scammer buddies fleeced me of everything.

But the "crimes" she described were far worse than I'd imagined.

She got up and pulled a wooden box from deep under the bed.

"These are things I've found in his clothes, pockets, and such over time."

Everything in the box looked dangerous: a worn paper with a location scribbled on it, a bloodstained pouch, a glass vial of white powder... And was that a clump of hair?

"He never told me directly, but I've suspected he's up to something shady. So... I gathered anything that could be evidence."

"Were you planning to report him?"

"No. The guards... I can't trust them."

Smart choice. There were rotten apples in the guard ranks besides Habak.

"But I couldn't tell anyone else either... didn't want to drag them into danger, so I kept it hidden."

"You didn't tell the other hero candidates either?"

"Yes. The candidates in our village are all beginners... I thought it might be too much for them."

So that's why she hadn't told me either. Damn. This guy was even worse than I'd thought.

'Might actually make solving this easier?'

Hard evidence of his crimes could land him in prison and break the contract too.

'Maybe something decisive in here?'

As I examined the box's contents closely...

I spotted something that made me doubt my eyes.

"...Egelina. All this came from Habak?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You're sure? Even that... Habak had it?"

"Absolutely. But... do you know what it is?"

Egelina had no clue what the item I pointed to was.

Of course not. She couldn't see item info. Even players who could wouldn't recognize this one.

Grade: Normal. Type: Misc. Looks like trash at a glance.

But I knew what it was.

'Why the hell is this here?'

This was a trace of the Demon God.

=====

I finally got some sleep after ages. Maybe because it had been days? It felt so sweet.

'Woke up quick again, though.'

My body was synced now. Getting stronger here strengthened my Earth body too. Fatigue recovery was fast as a result.

I'd crashed around 3 AM last night, but it was only 6 AM when I woke. Plenty of time before Gawella's training, so I headed out.

"Sion! You're here again today!"

I arrived at the cafe I'd visited yesterday morning. The waitress greeted me with a bright smile.

"Hello. One wa—"

"I'm Bell!"

Preferred her name over "waitress," huh? She introduced herself quickly.

"I'm Baek Sion."

"Yes! Thank you for coming back, Sion!"

Bell beamed. Short brown twintails, blue eyes, cute freckles. Her bright smile suited her looks perfectly.

"Bell, hot coffee please."

"Yes! Right away!"

While waiting, I sat and opened a book.

History of Light and Shadow

Really boring history book. It outlined this world's lore. I already knew it, but worth reviewing.

Long ago, light and darkness clashed. Darkness was the Demon God. His goal: claim the world, forge new minions from humanity's blood and flesh.

Light was the Goddess. Her goal: protect her world and creations from the Demon God.

The fierce battle ended in a draw. Both lost massive power. The Goddess entered a long slumber to recover; the Demon God hid somewhere, plotting revival.

Ages passed. The awakened Goddess feared his return. She prepared countermeasures, but hit a snag.

In the ancient war, she hadn't fought alone. Humanity had "heroes" with immense power. Their strength held off the Demon God and his legions.

But upon waking, no heroes remained. So she summoned worthy souls from another world: the "hero candidates," aka players.

'Hard to believe this was all real... Still mind-blowing.'

In my past life, I'd dismissed it as flavor text. Now I knew it was true. The Demon God existed, slowly regaining power. Once fully restored, this world—and Earth—would end.

My top priority as a regressor: exterminate the Demon God.

Problem: no clue where he was. Even pre-regression, little was known. He just appeared one day, overpowered, and destroyed everything. No prior traces, even to me.

But ways to find him existed. Build rep for church access, interrogate his minions, investigate activity sites, etc.

All had level limits, though. I'd planned to hunt him post-max level...

'Already got a lead.'

Never expected a Demon God trace from Habak, of all people—my old nemesis.

'Meeting Egelina that day was insane luck.'

Today, I'd dig into Habak properly. A lead on the Demon God through him could accelerate my goals big time. Make the path clearer too.

'Keep reading.'

Might be Demon God info I'd missed.

As I focused back on the book, "Your order's ready!" Bell's cheerful voice and the aroma of fresh coffee snapped me out of it.

"Oh? You like books?"

Her eyes sparkled at the open book on the table. I flipped it to show the cover.

"Not really a fan, but as a hero candidate, I figured I should study up."

"Wow... That's such a cool attitude."

(As expected... Sion's different from other candidates... Maybe he's the real hero?)

The Good Vibes skill's effect was still OP. Just reading for necessity, and rep went up.

"Hmm... Isn't that him?"

"Great mindset."

Passersby overheard and boosted my rep further. Straight-up copying positivity.

"Oh, right! Service for you."

"Again?"

"Hehe. Seeing someone else enjoy what I like makes me happy."

Milk today. Fine by me—tasty as always.

"And..."

"Bell! Help me out here?"

She wanted to chat more, but the boss called her back inside.

Moments later.

Huh? Sudden one? Usually abrupt, but this was extra. No immediate change either.

That thought didn't last.

"Oh no! How could I forget ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something this important?!"

Clattering from inside, then the bald, bearded boss rushed out—didn't even notice me—and bolted somewhere. Bell emerged next.

"Bell. Everything okay?"

"Sigh. Dad forgot an important appointment."

"This early?"

"Yeah. He must've been flustered."

She shook her head at his direction briefly, then her gaze shifted when she looked back at me. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Face flushing, eyes darting, trembling voice.

"Um, Sion."

"Yes?"

"In the alley back there... there's heavy luggage to move, but it's too much for me alone. Dad won't be back for a while... Could you help?"

"Sure. Happy to."

"Th-Then this way..."

She locked the cafe door and led ahead, glancing back slyly.

"Um, Sion... When you said my freckles were cute yesterday... was that real?"

"Yes. Totally."

"Even... the ones on my thighs?"

"Yeah. Adorable."

We'd entered the alley. Bell stopped, but no heavy luggage in sight.

"S-Sorry. Truth is... no luggage. I wanted to ask something else... so I brought you here."

She turned, face beet red.

"N-No one's ever said my thigh freckles are cute before."

Obviously. Skirt hides them usually. And even if glimpsed, who'd risk saying it? Harassment territory.

"H-Honestly... still can't believe it. I hate my freckles... scrubbed them raw once... B-But cute?!"

She fidgeted with her skirt hem.

"S-So... look once more... please..."

She lifted her skirt herself. Freckled thighs, and panties way lewder than yesterday.

A quest popped up too.

I'd expected the skirt lift—read her thoughts on the way. Quests after luck weren't shocking anymore.

But the rewards? Always surprising.

'This much rep?!'