Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Escape
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Was Shin Tu at least a man with some minimal flexibility?
Fortunately, we didn't need to backtrack the path we'd taken to get out.
"Press here... in this order..."
After operating the hidden mechanisms in sequence,
-Rumble!
"Ah, there we go."
"W-what is that?"
"Just the sound of the mechanism activating. It's only opening the exit, so nothing bad will happen. So relax..."
-Whoosh!
My vision spun in an instant, and Yeo So-cheon's face appeared right in front of me.
Before I could even react to that,
-Thud!
A massive boulder crashed down exactly where I'd been standing.
"..."
-Chill
It was obvious that if I'd stayed put, I'd have been smashed into pulp.
"...Didn't you say nothing would happen?"
"...It's an ancient ruin. Things can rust, you know."
"...Fair enough. If you say so..."
"I'm still not over my anger, you know?"
"That damn bastard never does anything right, no matter what! If you're going to make mechanisms, do it properly! How can he make them like this?!"
Hmm.
Watching Yeo So-cheon instantly backpedal and redirect her ire at someone else, I thought this little weakness of hers might actually be pretty useful.
"Now, lead the way. Who knows if another rock might come rolling down."
"...Got it."
It felt like cowering behind a woman's ass, but I was too exhausted to make excuses anymore.
However, there was something I hadn't considered at that moment.
The place we were in was the deepest part of an underground ruin,
so the exit leading up to the surface was naturally an uphill climb.
And in this era, there was no such thing as elevators or escalators.
"Huff...! Haaah...!"
-Splat
I collapsed onto the stairs as I climbed.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
There was no way my body could climb all these stairs.
"...Want a piggyback ride?"
Yeo So-cheon's cautious offer came then.
"..."
She'd already suggested it when we first saw the dizzyingly tall staircase.
But for some reason, meekly accepting felt like letting go of my lingering resentment, and I worried she might get the wrong idea, so I'd stubbornly refused.
"...Fine, I'll borrow your back then."
This didn't seem like the time to be stubborn.
Before climbing onto Yeo So-cheon, who had turned her back and bent at the waist into a comfortable piggyback position, I made sure to emphasize one thing.
"Just so we're clear, I'm only doing this because I'm exhausted, so don't get any weird ideas?"
"Y-yeah, sure."
Sighing inwardly at her half-hearted reply, I draped my arms over her shoulders and leaned my weight in.
Her small frame made it a bit awkward, but if I just got into position, she adjusted everything else herself.
-Heave
"Up you go."
Like this, right now.
Yeo So-cheon grabbed my thighs with her hands and lifted, minimizing the effort I needed to put in.
Her hair brushed against my face, tickling it.
"How fast should we go? Quick? Or leisurely?"
The ride(?) felt surprisingly comfortable and soothing, but maintaining the piggyback position indefinitely was still awkward.
"As fast as possible."
I let my mind wander for a second and spoke carelessly.
"...As fast as possible?"
"Yeah. As fast as possible."
"...Hmm. Alright, I'll pace myself. Wrap your arms tight around my neck. You might fall off."
Curious just how fast that meant, I still did as she said and gripped firmly with my arms.
-Tap!
-Whoooosh!
"Whoaaaah?!"
Yeo So-cheon shot up the stairs at an insane speed.
The wind howled sharply past my ears from how fast we were going; I clamped my arms even tighter around her neck and rested my chin on top.
"W-wait a sec! Too fast!"
"It'll be over quick, just hang on!"
"Eeeek..."
She was already blazing fast, and with her feet barely touching the ground, it felt just like riding a rollercoaster.
I could feel the g-forces pressing on my whole body, my abs twitching with that queasy tickle.
Thankfully, she wasn't exaggerating.
-Tap!
"There, we're here."
"Haaaah..."
Somehow, we reached the surface in far less time than a rollercoaster ride would take.
Short as it was, I'd felt my life flash before my eyes.
"You can get down now, loosen your grip..."
As I caught my breath, Yeo So-cheon started to speak but trailed off midway.
"Ah... um..."
'...?'
A flush crept across Yeo So-cheon's face, right there beside me.
Why would she blush now? Focusing on the sensations in my body, I realized.
'Oh.'
I hadn't been able to hold it back, and my erection was pressing against her back.
"W-well, um..."
"I-it's instinct! I felt my life in danger, so it just happened involuntarily!"
"Ah, y-yeah, figured as much?"
"Yes, yes! When men are low on oxygen, their brains trigger an erection... It's unavoidable! Don't misunderstand!"
"A-ah..."
"J-just let me down first!"
I scrambled off her back in a panic and pressed down on my dick, which was still standing at full attention, mind blank.
I couldn't even remember what lame excuse I'd just spouted.
I'd just blurted out whatever popped into my head in my rambling stupor, and Yeo So-cheon probably hadn't caught any of it properly anyway.
-Glance
Yeo So-cheon blushed and kept stealing sidelong looks at me.
A chill ran down my spine watching her.
She wouldn't pull some third-rate erotic tale trope like offering to "help me calm it down," would she...
"W-well, if you're okay with it, I could..."
"Don't try any tricks!"
"I didn't even finish!"
"Shut up, you rapist! Wasn't yesterday enough for you?!"
I hugged myself with both arms and backed away from her.
Even after pounding her yesterday, she wasn't satisfied?
Dang Ayoung was like that too—what was wrong with the women in this world? They seemed desperate to devour me.
This was exactly why I was grateful the Sword Empress wasn't like that.
"T-then control your boner! You tempted me first!"
"What kind of logic is that? 'If you dress sexy, you deserve to get raped'?!"
"...Isn't it?"
"?"
"If you're not trying to tempt someone, dress modestly, right...?"
"...Uh."
My brain buffered for a second.
I'd forgotten this was the Central Plains.
Hundreds of years before modern times, by calendar reckoning.
Such thinking was normal for the era.
In a sexually conservative world with poor public safety, no one wore revealing clothes unless they meant to seduce.
Especially without power to back it up.
"A-anyway, that's not the point."
My clothes weren't revealing to begin with.
I hadn't meant to get into this.
"J-just don't misunderstand! I have zero interest right now!"
"...Tch."
"..."
I stared at her in disbelief.
Could someone who'd just lost their virginity yesterday be this openly disappointed?
Even if late-blooming fireplay scared her now, this was...
'Gotta make sure the room's always for something else from now on.'
I vowed not to lower my guard around Yeo So-cheon even while sleeping, carriage or not, and shuddered.
"Before we head back, we should cover this exit."
I pointed at the opening we'd come out of to change the subject.
There was no mechanism to close it again, unfortunately,
and leaving it open risked someone stumbling across it while we were gone.
That would ruin our whole plan to exploit Shin Tu's secret base.
"Mm... Step back a ways first."
"Gonna smash the exit?"
"Something more reliable."
I backed off a good distance as she said, then turned around,
"Keep going until I look like a dot!"
"...You planning to collapse the cliff or something?"
She kept telling me to retreat further until she really was a speck,
and then I saw it.
-Quake!
-Roooar!!
The cliff near our exit crumbling down.
"..."
-Tap!
"That should cover it. Let's go."
As my mouth hung open, Yeo So-cheon strolled up casually and grabbed my arm.
"That wasn't natural destruction?"
"Nature is powerful. Even if it crumbles from an unexpected disaster, it'll reclaim its green soon enough."
"But you caused that disaster..."
"Psh, worst case, a few earth dragons or bugs die. Nature's overflowing with them anyway—don't sweat it."
"Aren't you a Daoist?!"
"Everything follows the will of heaven and earth..."
Watching her speak so nonchalantly, I truly thought this world's future looked bleak.
What sin had it committed to end up with a goddess and saint like her?
'If anyone's pitiful, it's me, the one who met them.'
Sure, she saved me, but did I really owe her that much gratitude?
A world where I'd live out my days as a stud horse forever wasn't exactly great either...
'But this world's no paradise...'
Thinking of the hardships I'd endured in the Central Plains, it felt about the same from my perspective.
...Unless there was something I didn't know.
"Oh, right, about that promise."
"Huh?"
Yeo So-cheon spun around suddenly, as if snapping me from my thoughts.
Caught off guard, her question followed.
"The tavern... you still going?"
Booze.
Oh yeah, we'd made that deal earlier.
Drinking alone with a woman I'd just slept with yesterday wasn't purely a good idea,
-Slurp
but the moment I heard "booze," my mouth was already watering.