The Wish Coupon Showdown and Its Mysterious Destination
The final spar with a Wish Coupon on the line began, as always, with Calathea’s reckless charge.
“Ahaha, hahahat—♬”
Her pupils were dilated wide with excitement. A savage grin spread across her face, baring her pure white teeth. The baseball bat in her grip, reinforced with mana and flickering with an ominous crimson aura. Every time her feet slammed into the ground, the earth exploded outward as if detonated. The sight of the golden-haired madwoman barreling straight at her opponent was enough to make one’s legs go weak, even in broad daylight.
But.
“As expected, a charge completely devoid of any aesthetic appeal.”
Audrey responded with perfect composure, her expression showing not the slightest ripple, as if the display held no interest for her whatsoever. Every time Calathea’s foot touched down, sheets of ice formed to obstruct her path. Mana bullets flew toward her vulnerable legs. Unlike their first spar, Audrey now mixed in feints with the ice placement and pretended to aim at her legs with bullets only to freeze the ground beneath her, trying to trap Calathea’s feet.
“You think these little tricks will work on me?”
“That remains to be seen.”
Still, Calathea—who could now use the explosive power that had been sealed inside the training room—shattered every hindrance from Audrey’s constantly glowing blue pistol. Whatever she couldn’t avoid, she took with minimal damage, stubbornly closing the distance.
Under normal circumstances, reacting to Audrey’s real-time feints like that would have been nearly impossible. The speed of her formula deployment, her adaptability, the erratic curving trajectories of her bullets, and the sheer volume of mana that let her fire endlessly… Even if I, an A-rank, were standing there, I’d probably have my feet frozen and be captured before I could take three steps.
“Just wait right there, okay? Calathea-nim is coming for you right now—♡”
Of course, Calathea herself was showing an entirely different side from the first day of training. She was like a literal tank of destruction. Every time her foot struck the ground, the earth shattered and exploded violently. When her baseball bat smashed a mana bullet, it disintegrated into sparkling dust. Even her movement patterns were instinctively optimized, showing no wasted motion whether she was dodging or defending.
“One hit…!”
“———!”
Having finally broken through the endless interference and firepower, Calathea whipped her leg—propelled by explosive force—like a lash, slamming it into Audrey’s abdomen. A beat later, the air burst with a loud bang, and Audrey was sent skidding backward.
But…
“…I told you. It remains to be seen.”
As if she had already calculated Calathea breaking through and attacking, Audrey had erected a thick wall of ice to guard the impact point. At the same time, she created a long sheet of ice beneath her own feet. Thanks to that, most of the force from Calathea’s strike was lost in sliding Audrey backward across the ice. All that remained was the moment the defensive wall shattered like crushed glass.
“Ahaha♡ You say that, but your hands are shaking like leaves♪ How was my explosion? Not bad, right?”
“……This much is nothing.”
However, Calathea had also reacted instantly to Audrey’s trick and added an extra burst of explosive power at the moment of impact. Even though Audrey’s arm looked fine on the surface, it kept trembling faintly.
This is what the first exchange of a real fight between them looks like…
I felt embarrassed watching them. I had actually thrown these monsters into a tiny training room and talked about “sharpening their senses.” And these were the same women who kept trying to kiss me or cling to me for hugs?
“Alright, I think I’ve given you enough rest, right? Then here I come again—!”
Calathea, who had been hopping in place, shot forward at a speed too fast to track with the eyes and began another fierce exchange with Audrey.
While I watched from a safe distance in the safety zone, Calathea and Audrey continued their verbal sparring even as they traded blows.
“The manager’s Wish Coupon is mine, so just give up quietly!”
“No. I will be the one to take it.”
“Ahaha♡ Even if you get it, you’ll just wish for some childish, cutesy little thing anyway, right? Hah—!”
Calathea leaped high into the air and brought her bat crashing down. Audrey dodged it effortlessly, then fired three consecutive mana bullets to keep her in check while frowning deeply.
“You’re the one who’ll just wish for something that has the manager’s body as the goal, aren’t you? A wish so lacking in any aesthetic value that it’s embarrassing to even call it a wish!”
“So what? Deep down, you want the exact same thing I do.”
“…What did you just say?”
Continuous explosive shockwaves and clouds of dust. Bursts of blue light and freezing cold. In the middle of it all, the two S-rank hunters waged a fierce psychological battle with Seong Yohan between them.
“The manager probably doesn’t know, but I saw it. The face you made when you were in his arms… It was exactly the same as when I kissed him♪”
“…To think you would say something so baseless and aesthetically bankrupt with a straight face.”
“Hmm, playing innocent? Then maybe I should show you one too—!”
“Ugh…!”
Taking advantage of the momentary shake in Audrey’s heart, Calathea thrust her bat forward. Audrey barely blocked it with a hand wrapped in an ice gauntlet.
“Truth is? I got to be held in the manager’s arms just like you did last time♡ Yeah, it really was amazing. It felt like my brain and reason were melting into mush, you know?”
“……….”
“And while you’re completely wrapped up in that broad, warm chest, you just sniff and sniff that thick male scent… Ahaha♡ You’re imagining it right now, aren’t you?”
“S-shut up!”
When Audrey’s face flushed and she lost her composure to counterattack, Calathea laughed and gracefully retreated.
“You pretend to be different from me, but you’re the same when it comes to seeking pleasure. You just wrap it up in pretty words like beauty and aesthetics.”
“No. We are completely different.”
“Hmm… You really think so? Then after you kiss the manager later, think about it again♬”
“H-how could I possibly…?”
Calathea’s eyes, full of wicked delight, met Audrey’s wavering gaze.
“That morning, I was actually awake. I was lying there on purpose, showing off my bare skin just to tease the manager a little… and then I overheard everything.”
“…You truly are a beast completely devoid of any aesthetic sense.”
“Ahaha. Before you call me names, why don’t you experience a kiss for yourself first? Then you can decide whether you really want the manager’s body or not.”
“There’s nothing to think about. I simply enjoy emotional connection with the manager. A kiss is merely a way to confirm that.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll freeze that mouth of yours solid.”
Calathea swung her bat at the mana bullets aiming for openings. Audrey raised walls of ice against the persistent kicks targeting her abdomen. The two continued their relentless, fierce exchange without pause.
Even though they were holding back since it was only a spar, the accumulated damage from the hits they allowed each other was reaching its limit. The stubborn endurance they had shown was finally hitting its ceiling.
“Haa… haa… haa… You’re surprisingly tough, Madness.”
“You’re the one who’s been quite the nuisance, Calathea. Hoo…”
Both women, sensing that the next clash would be the final one, put some distance between themselves and stared each other down.
“This is getting boring. I’ll end it here. ‘Beautifully.’”
“Then I’ll end it for you ‘pleasantly,’ with a smile.”
And then.
Calathea and Audrey charged toward each other at full speed.
“…You’re lying, Manager?”
“I clearly won, didn’t I?”
“I’ll say it again. You both collapsed at the exact same time. It’s a draw. Final score, 51 to 51. A perfect tie.”
Calathea and Audrey—both covered in dirt, purple bruises, and ice shards—rushed over to protest, but their miraculous equal score didn’t change. In a close-range versus long-range one-on-one fight, the long-range fighter should have been at a clear disadvantage, yet Audrey had put up an unbelievable fight. Still, I couldn’t suddenly change the rules and give her extra points because of it.
“Then what happens to the Wish Coupon? You said you’d only give one to the winner!”
“I’ll keep my promise. But I’ll only give out one coupon, issued jointly under both your names. The two of you can discuss it and make one wish together.”
“You want us… to come to an agreement?”
“That’s right. You could both wish for the same thing. Maybe there’s something you both want from me, or you could request better treatment.”
Facing the two dumbfounded women, I swallowed my smile deep inside and kept a straight face. Thanks to this unexpected tie, they now had a chance to grow closer while negotiating over a single Wish Coupon. From their perspective, this situation probably wasn’t exactly welcome, but they wouldn’t just throw away a hard-earned coupon, so they’d have no choice but to work together to align their opinions. And if they decided not to use it at all, that was fine with me too.
“Hey, Madness. How about this? Come here, lean in.”
“…Just how long do you plan on calling me by that name?”
“Aww, just listen first, okay? The two of us together… with the manager…♡”
While Calathea whispered into her ear, Audrey’s pure white face turned bright red in real time. Her skin was so pale and translucent that the blush stood out dramatically.
“H-how could I do something so lacking in aesthetic value…! I already told you clearly that I’m different from you!”
“Like I said earlier, just try kissing the manager first. Then decide whether you’re really different from me or not… It’s not too late to decide after that, you know?”
“…What are you two talking about?”
“It’s a secret♡”
Calathea smiled as she whispered into Audrey’s ear so I couldn’t hear, while Audrey—rarely for her—showed large, visible emotional shifts. I felt relieved that the two seemed to be getting a little closer, but at the same time, I had a strong premonition that something very bad was about to happen to me.
Something really, really bad.
But… now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
“Alright. Let’s clean up and head back to the dorm.”
“Tomorrow’s the big day, right?”
“Yeah… It’s the day we raid the A-rank Gate.”
I took the prisoner unit, who had completed five days of intensive training admirably, back to the dorm. I fed them their favorite meat dishes and delicious rice, and even generously allowed a few extra kisses and hugs so they could rest properly.
And the next day…
“Hmm… It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of these. A Gate.”
“No matter how many times I see it, it never looks beautiful.”
We stood before a massive oval portal flickering with an eerie purple light—the Gate. It was the common enemy of all humanity… and the perfect battlefield to test the results of our training.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
With Calathea and Audrey in tow, I stepped firmly into the ominous subspace.