Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Contract Negotiation
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'...I want to sleep more.'
Forced awake by my Master and barely filling my stomach in a sleep-deprived haze.
I headed to the bathroom first, hoping a splash of water on my face might chase away the drowsiness. Staring into the mirror...
"...What the hell is this?"
In the time I hadn't checked, white strands had sprouted all over my hair.
For a second, I thought I'd aged decades overnight, but no—these weren't the dull grays of old age. They were closer to silver. And I'd seen this color before.
'...Saintess?'
It matched the hair of the Saintess I'd glimpsed through the screen.
'Come to think of it, the connection still isn't back up?'
I'd meant to ask her about it, but apparently, I'd burned through too much of that interference power during her descent. Not only could I not summon her, the shop window wouldn't open either.
I wasn't too worried, though.
Truth be told, if the line went dead for good, it was more convenient for me.
'No way she'd let me slip away after all the trouble she went through to seal that contract.'
If she was going to cut me loose, she'd have done it before. No chance now.
Anyway, no dodging it anymore.
If I hadn't made that deal, I couldn't have bought time until Master arrived, and Dang Ayoung probably would've died right there. No regrets.
'Ten thousand points... how long will that take?'
By the book, one point a day meant about twenty-seven years.
But rolling around with Yeo So-cheon kept multiplying them, so it'd be way faster.
Hell, I might scrape it together in a year or two.
'Maybe go sexless with Yeo So-cheon.'
The contract yanked me to her world the instant I hit ten thousand, so to buy even a little more time...
...Hold up.
'...Did the contract say anything about blocking point spends?'
I double-checked the contract etched into my soul. Scrubbed my eyes and looked again—no clause about preventing point expenditure anywhere.
So that meant...
'If I burn through all ten thousand before it fills up...'
'Uh.'
Of all the timing, the connection snapped back right at that moment. Silence stretched between us for a beat.
'...There really wasn't.'
'...'
Saintess wasn't an idiot either—she'd included a clause like that. Somehow, it got dropped from the final contract.
I nearly thought sweet for a split second but reined it in. She could read my thoughts.
Provoking her in this state? Who knew what she'd do.
Better play it safe. I checked her expression...
-Hollow-eyed
'Oof.'
Even slapping "despair" across her face wouldn't capture it better.
'C-calm down. Even with the contract, you still needed ten thousand points to pull me over anyway.'
Damn. Busted.
'Hey, c'mon. After going through all that for the contract and grabbing all those perks? Feels a bit scummy to bail now. Do I really come off that bad...'
Huh. Didn't see that coming.
All that effort, wasted.
'What about just shutting it down entirely?'
'Tch.'
Things were escalating while I tried peeking through her eyes.
This escape hatch I'd barely pried open might slam shut again.
Half-assed tricks wouldn't fly with her reading my deep thoughts.
If I was gonna pull something, it'd have to be something even she couldn't resist.
And I only had one play like that.
'...Saintess?'
'Mind taking a peek over here for a sec?'
-Rustle
I said it and boldly stripped down.
Cloak tossed aside, inner robes untied and loose, draping off my body.
-Gulp
Fair enough—some of those poses she'd requested were downright risqué. She might've built up a tolerance.
But seeing the same actor a dozen times doesn't kill the thrill.
-Shhhlk
I deliberately slipped my arms into the sleeves, hiding my hands, and angled my body and robes just so.
Underwear already off—one wrong move, and the goods were fully exposed.
Knee up on the nearby chair, twisting a bit more.
She claimed honey traps didn't faze her, but her eyes were glued.
'...Didn't you say honey traps don't work?'
'...If you want, I could show you everything inside too?'
'You helped out this time, even if it fell short... Dang Ayoung's alive thanks to you. Gotta repay that favor somehow.'
With that, I slid my fingers to my mouth, spread them in a V, and flicked my tongue between.
Saintess was outright blushing now, staring holes through me.
I remembered most of those embarrassing poses from our photoshoots. Meant I could hit her tastes dead-on.
She'd probably drool over anything from me on a normal day, but...
-Baa
'Max it out seductively.'
Honey traps don't aim for a hundred. Go for a hundred twenty. Two hundred. Three hundred. Squeeze every point you can.
And now, the irresistible offer.
The sweetest carrot of them all.
What did Saintess want? Ultimately, me by her side. But before that, her pent-up lust for me had to be at a boiling point she couldn't handle alone.
Honey traps blind you with the small gain right in front, pulling you off the ultimate goal.
'...What if I was your personal plaything?'
No matter how trivial it seemed rationally,
it numbed the brain, forcing a bad choice in the heat of the moment.
That was honey trap basics.
'You've been backed up for ages too, right? All you've had is watching me with other girls or those photoshoot pics to relieve it. Gonna pass on this chance...?'
-Trembling
'I'm not saying scrap the contract...? Just don't touch the shop. We can make a new deal later to limit spends. Who knows what'll happen down the line? Messing with the shop's risky...?'
She could read my mind? Fine.
Made it easier to fold even those thoughts into the pleasure.
'Or... how about mutual masturbation? Like sweethearts separated by distance?'
'Like I said, any scenario or theme you want. Whatever Saintess desires.'
Those last words sealed it.
'I thought you hated women who went back on their word.'
...Is that oath really worth tossing around so casually?
Whatever. One crisis down.
With a vow like that, she'd leave the shop alone.
'Later, when I'm alone. Lingering in the bathroom all afternoon'll raise flags. Someone might kick the door in.'
'If we're doing it, let's do it right. I could manage here if you can't wait, but if we get caught, I'm done for.'
She might dodge prying eyes, but I couldn't.
To everyone else, it'd look like I was jerking off solo in the bathroom. How the hell do I live that down?
Dang Ayoung might be tolerable, but if it was Master...
'Ugh.'
Straight to the nearest river.
'I'll probably crash solo tonight, so hang tight till then. They might buy me collapsing today, but separate beds from here on out.'
Without Master around, I might've bunked with Dang Ayoung. But with her here? No dice.
Master seemed to know about me and Dang Ayoung anyway, but that didn't greenlight bedding down together.
Like the in-laws dropping by—newlyweds don't hop in the same room.
Dang Ayoung had the sense for that.
'...?'
The gender analogy felt flipped, but whatever.
I sent the still-flustered Saintess packing, straightened my clothes, and headed out.
And...
"H-here. All peeled!"
"Your apple-peeling skills are abysmal. The flesh is still clinging to the skin."
"S-sorry!"
There was Master, lounging comfortably on what passed for a sofa, and Dang Ayoung kneeling before her, peeling fruit.
'...What are these two doing here.'
I'd half-expected this when Master showed, but seeing it up close drew a sigh anyway.
"Master. I get the mood, but go easy on Dang Ayoung..."
"Thou art awake too? On thy knees. Let's hear thy grand excuse."
Oh.
Right.
I wasn't off the hook either.