Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Episode 10 - Sound Sleep
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'...Where am I...'
After placing the pearl on my chest and drifting off while thinking of my Master, the place where I opened my eyes was incredibly familiar.
It was my house, where I'd lived for over ten years in this world, even after running away from home.
The house from the days when I lived on the mountain with my Master.
'...I really came back.'
I'd fallen asleep thinking of her, but I never imagined I'd actually dream of those times.
The unexpected nostalgia hit me so hard that I felt a lump in my throat without realizing it.
To be honest, every time I suffered in the Central Plains, I'd wondered more than a few times why I'd ever left home to go through all this hardship.
Glance.
When I looked down at myself, even my clothes were from back then.
My skin was whiter than now, and my body looked relatively skinny, so it seemed I'd really returned to that time.
Growth had stalled midway, making it impossible to guess exactly what age this was.
'Ha...'
Even though it was just a dream, it felt so vividly real that the nostalgia hit harder than expected.
Maybe because it was a dream born from wanting comfort from my Master, even if only in my sleep.
Just looking around was enough to make emotions well up bit by bit.
All I could think was how I wished I knew where my Master was right now...
"My disciple~"
At that moment, her voice came from somewhere in the house.
"M-Master?"
Hearing that familiar, longed-for voice made tears slip from my eyes.
Back then, I'd been so tormented by it that I wanted to never hear it again, but now it sounded like the most beautiful voice in the world.
Yeah, this was my Master's voice.
How long had it been since I'd last heard it?
"Master...!"
My recent mental fatigue amplified the longing, and I ran toward the voice without thinking...
"It's been ages since I told you to fetch some apples, and still no sign of you? It's close enough for someone your size to reach."
"..."
...Of course she'd say that.
The touching reunion I'd hoped for fizzled out, but my longing was so strong that I still wanted to see her again.
I wiped the tears that had trickled out, grumbled a bit, grabbed three apples from the kitchen, and headed toward where her voice had come from.
It took a moment to recall the way since it had been so long, but thinking about it... this direction meant...
'...The bathhouse.'
As expected.
If she sent me instead of coming herself, she was probably already in the tub...
'...I'll just close my eyes tight, hand them over, and get out.'
No matter how much we'd seen each other naked before, staring openly was a whole different story.
If she wanted to talk, we could do it from outside the door.
Squeeze!
Creak!
"Here...!"
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened the door to quickly hand over the apples and leave, but
Slip.
"Eek."
I hadn't considered how slippery the bathhouse floor would be.
My feet slid on the wet wooden floor, balance shattered, and in an instant, my body collided with the ground...
Thud!
"You can't go even a single day without causing trouble. What a hassle you are."
"Phew..."
Thankfully, my Master caught me before I hit.
My clothes got soaked, but at least I wasn't hurt.
With this frail body, even a bruise would've meant suffering for a while.
"Th-Thank you..."
Feeling her touch after so long, I opened my eyes and looked at my Master...
"Waaah!!"
"What's with the sudden scream?"
"Y-Your clothes! Where are they?!"
"Who bathes with clothes on? I even used magic to come out of the tub so you wouldn't get hurt."
"Th-That's true, but...!"
I hurriedly covered my eyes with my hands, but they were trembling.
Did this woman have no sense of shame at all?
Even as master and disciple, exposing herself naked in front of a man without a hint of embarrassment...
She was so brazen it made me wonder if I was the weird one for feeling this awkward.
'No, it's been so long—why is this happening...!'
From her perspective in the dream, she wouldn't know that, but for me, it had been nearly three years since our reunion.
I'd hoped for something more touching and gentle, not this...
Glance.
"Kyaaah!"
"If you're going to cover, do it properly. If you're going to look, look straight. What's with that half-assed peeking?"
"B-But!"
"Well, since it's come to this, let's bathe together for old times' sake. Your clothes are soaked anyway, so you need to wash up."
...Wait, what did she just say?
Flash!
"Eek!"
With those words, she really hoisted me up and headed toward the tub.
"W-Wait, Master! This isn't right! Not like this, at least!"
Flail.
"If you squirm and fall again, I won't catch you next time. Behave."
"..."
...And that's how we ended up like this.
Splash...
Of course, as my Master said, it wasn't the first time we'd bathed together.
Ever since I'd begged for a bathhouse to be built in the house, she'd dragged me in occasionally against my will, so what was there to be embarrassed about now?
But that logic only holds for normal times.
Glance.
'Whoa whoa whoa...'
No amount of familiarity could build tolerance against a beauty like this.
It had been a full ten years.
A face I'd seen almost every day, sleeping so close I could hear her breathing, yet it still took my breath away every time.
I'd met some great women after leaving for the Central Plains, and living with them made me think maybe they were on par with my Master.
But now I saw I was wrong.
Being apart so long had faded my memories, making them seem comparable, but seeing her this vividly up close... words failed me.
Her breasts, nearly as big as my head, floating freely without a stitch on, were stimulating enough to drive me mad, but the bigger issue was
that size meant they floated in the water.
And what did that imply?
Crunch.
"A grown man like you, too shy to even meet my eyes? Your face is beet red."
Everything was on full display.
Yeah.
There was a reason I couldn't speak properly since earlier.
Even back when we lived on the mountain, scenes like this had been intensely stimulating, but after three years apart, seeing this...
Honestly, one wrong move and I'd be spurting nosebleeds and passing out.
I'd rolled around plenty in the Central Plains, yet that built-up resistance meant nothing here.
If anything, it felt even more intense.
'How the hell did I survive this back then?'
Unless I'd unknowingly become some ascetic monk in the mountains, it was a miracle I'd lived seeing this every day.
Especially during my hormone-fueled puberty—unless someone had surgically removed my libido, I couldn't fathom how I'd endured it.
'Ah, no—calm down, you idiot. It's your Master.'
The guy who'd nearly gotten PTSD from his daughter trying to rape him, yet getting aroused by his Master? That was pathetic comedy gold.
For the record, I wasn't covering my eyes with my hands anymore.
I had no choice.
'Calm your ass down, you moron!'
My dick was raging under the water, boasting a size one hand couldn't hide.
Proud specimen, sure, but right now I wished it'd just hang its head—200%.
With legs pressed together and both hands, I barely covered it, but the pose looked ridiculously unnatural for bathing, and my Master wasn't stupid—she had to know.
Snicker.
"No point covering now. I've raised you since you were little—what's a little curiosity?"
"That's sexual harassment!"
"If it bothers you, do it back to me."
"I don't even know where to start calling you out!"
This woman was always like this.
I'm a man, damn it, and no matter how many times I told her to stop the sexual teasing, she'd only ramp it up—never once backed off.
That's why I'd given up on those feelings.
Nothing funnier than catching emotions for someone who doesn't see you as a man.
...Or so I'd thought.
'How am I not supposed to see her as a woman...'
I'd avoided it out of embarrassment and pride, but meeting her in this dream forced me to admit it.
...Yes. I see her as a woman.
Social norms in this world would deem master-disciple romance an outrage, so I couldn't express it openly, but no matter how hard I tried to forget, first love doesn't fade easily.
I had my Earth memories, but they were basically gone, so in my actual recollections, my Master was my first love.
She'd extended a saving hand when I was inexplicably thrown into this world, and her looks were my ideal type to boot.
Sure, I'd been wary at first before fully trusting, but once I let my guard down, I fell hard and fast.
...But talk is cheap; it doesn't mean much.
Even if I'd sorted my feelings, I'd never confess to her.
I didn't want to risk losing my only family over it,
and I was content with our current relationship.
Why take chances when she was already like family without me saying a word?
"...Master."
"What?"
"Could you... hold me for a bit?"
And I already had plenty of wives in reality.
If I acted on this greed and it somehow worked, it'd be a mess.
*Disciple runs away without a word, comes back with three wives, but actually I've loved you since forever. Will you accept my fe—*
'Wow.'
What a piece of trash.
Sure, they weren't wives I'd chosen, but so what? This was the reality.
And whether I wanted them or not, I could've firmly rejected them outright.
If I'd manned up and ditched the indecision, paying the trash price, I wouldn't be in this mess.
"Why even ask? Just come here."
With that, my Master spread her arms invitingly.
A frontal hug would've been disastrous, so I turned around, back to her, and scooted over,
Squish.
'Holy shit.'
I slammed a hand to my nose just in time.
No blood, thankfully, but the stimulation was that intense.
The sensation of massive flesh compressing against me, her bare skin's bumps tickling my back—it was crystal clear, and if I weren't so desensitized now, I'd have fainted on the spot.
"Haaah..."
Still, being in my longed-for Master's embrace...
I felt my mind ease for the first time in ages as I leaned into her, surrendering to the warm water.
Sorry, Ayoung, but this was more comforting.
Logically, Ayoung was my lover, Master like a parent—no contest.
The time we'd spent together differed by like fourfold anyway.
Pat pat.
"Feeling better now?"
"Yes..."
"No more nightmares from here on?"
"Yes..."
"Good. Glad I could help."
...Had I ever mentioned having nightmares lately?
"...Master?"
"Time to get up, then. The sun's well past midday by now."
Snap!
"Ow!"
A sharp flick to my forehead shattered the scene around me.
"Ow ow ow..."
I winced and rubbed the stinging spot, then realized the surroundings had changed.
"...My room?"
I was on the bed in the room where I'd fallen asleep.
I rushed to the window to check the time—well past noon, into the afternoon.
For someone plagued by insomnia lately, this was an impossibly sound sleep.
'...What was that?'
I thought it was just a bizarre dream, but it took a moment to notice one thing.
The pattern my Master had embroidered on the corner of my everyday clothes was gone.
And now, with only one day left until the all-out war with the Blood Cult...