Aftercare (1)
Chekhov had taken root inside me. Even just sustaining her presence for a short while felt like it drained every last drop of mana I'd accumulated so far, so I had no choice but to settle for absorbing her soul, regrettable as that was.
Playing the virgin card for leverage. This bitch.
I probably could've fucked her if I'd pushed it. But Chekhov had deliberately just hugged me to her chest, kissed my forehead, and vanished. She knew, no doubt. Knew that I wanted her so badly I'd used even a Goddess's Blessing on her body. That's why she'd denied me and jumped straight into the contract. To make me stronger, so I could eventually fuck her.
Sex with a silver-haired, red-eyed, big-titted vampire virgin. Reason enough to get powerful.
And likewise...
"Estiel."
The angel here, wearing a complicated expression, was the same.
"Something wrong?"
I slipped behind Estiel and wrapped her in a back hug. Her wings got in the way a bit from behind, but I pressed my body as close as possible, pulling her into my arms.
"Not like you at all."
"And how am I usually, that this is different?"
"Obviously, you've been watching me fuck this girl and that girl this whole time. No way you'd suddenly get all pouty just because I said I was gonna fuck Chekhov too and spent some Goddess Points on it."
"......"
Estiel didn't deny it. She just seemed uncomfortable saying whatever was on her mind, so I slowly slid my hand into her bosom.
"Not about Chekhov, then. Shin Yu-hee, maybe?"
"No."
She denied it more firmly than I'd expected. But she didn't stop my hand burrowing under her clothes.
Squish.
Even as I gripped her plump breast, Estiel just hung her head, hesitating.
What's got Estiel so pissed? Doesn't seem like it's me, and Shin Yu-hee didn't misuse any Goddess Points or anything.
One obvious guess, at least. Shin Yu-hee had pulled Shemiri's soul out of the arena. Probably contracted her the same way I did—as a familiar of sorts. Out of care for me, care for Shemiri, and to rack up combat experience fast through her.
"You wouldn't be mad at Shin Yu-hee for that. Snagging one dark elf soul from an A-rank stage is no big deal, right? Especially trading a Goddess's Blessing for it. Not even equivalent exchange. From Heaven's perspective, it's a profit, isn't it? Recovering the Goddess's power scattered among reserve heroes via a soul that was already dead."
If it were some special perk or cheat ability, it'd cost that much in blessings. Imposing strange laws on the world takes that much divine power. But the price is a soul that already existed? You recover the blessing while handing over one random soul lying around everywhere? From Estiel's standpoint, her bosses could pin a "Angel of the Month" plaque on her and no one would bat an eye.
So the potential issues boiled down to two...
"When Chekhov's arena stops being an A-rank stage, you wouldn't get down about the other angels flipping out over it, would you? You."
One was the fallout after I took Chekhov, stripping the arena of its A-rank merit.
"You've already braced for the jealousy and envy from the other angels, right? Makes sense—they're stuck handling anyone but me."
"...That's the reason."
Estiel let out a deep sigh, then tilted her head back as if she'd made up her mind.
"Am I your assigned guardian angel?"
"Huh?"
"Answer me. Do you see me as your assigned guardian angel?"
Our eyes met. Awkward angle for it, but Estiel stared up at me intently, demanding an answer.
"What? That's what this is about?"
I released the back hug right away, spun her to face me, grabbed her waist, and hoisted her up effortlessly.
"Worried I'll contract some other bitch—some other angel?"
"Eek..."
Bingo.
Makes sense. Angels might get jealous of equals or superiors, not humans or dead vampires.
Estiel was an angel. No way a great angel would get jealous over me sticking my dick in Shin Yu-hee or other girls. If she really was jealous, it'd be as one woman to another.
...A bit of a hassle, sure, but if an angel got jealous over that, I'd happily relieve her jealousy by pounding her pussy every guardian angel meeting. Premise being: assigned guardian angel.
"One of the other angels came sniffing around your performance report, huh. Figures—plenty have snagged Goddess Points from the goblin stage on, and now you've totally wrecked Chekhov's arena. Gotta be some jealous bitches."
"...Suppose."
Still held in my arms, Estiel rested a hand on my shoulder and spoke.
"Suppose a seraph showed interest in you. What then?"
"Seraph?"
"Yes. A seraph. ...If a seraph became your assigned guardian, the benefits she could give you would be incomparable to mine."
Estiel's fingers trembled slightly on my shoulder.
"Using Chekhov's arena as an example, the space I provide is like a room for 15 Exchange Vouchers. But a seraph could give you a palace outside the arena itself—not even vouchers needed."
The "space" here meant something like a waiting room. Like a personal lobby in an RPG—heroes could use the space provided by their guardian angel freely.
"The space given to me—"
"I've never been married, but my senior heroes talked about it."
I pulled Estiel closer, hugging her.
"Do you really need a house and all that to get married?"
Unlike when I'd groped her tits before, I patted her back, stroked her hair, and comforted her gently.
"What's wrong with starting in a one-room and building up? Sure, it's inconvenient compared to a mansion, but if the people living together are happy, isn't that what matters?"
"That house is full of just women, though."
"Well... then we just upgrade the house ASAP."
I locked eyes with Estiel, bringing my face close enough for our breaths to mingle.
"You just become a seraph."
"......"
"Which bitch looked down on you? Tell me. I'll lop off her assigned Demon King officer's head first, then put you in that spot."
"...She didn't look down on me."
"Then why?"
"It's not taking their side, but objectively... it's natural."
Estiel reached up, cupping my face.
"A talented reserve hero like you wouldn't pick a low-rank angel like me as his assigned guardian."
"Why not?"
"Well..."
"Same as with Shin Yu-hee—my stance is consistent. Unless you betray me first, no reason for me to betray you."
"......"
"Or are you like Chekhov, bargaining with your virginity? Worried I'll eat and dump you?"
"...You might feel slighted, but honestly, from my position, even if you did eat and dump me, I couldn't do a thing about it."
Estiel sighed deeply, her face gloomy.
"Worst case, after you fuck me, you switch to a seraph, fuck her brains out, and go, 'Oh yeah, there was that angel too.'"
"True enough."
"You gonna?"
"Nah. Not at all."
I patted between Estiel's wings.
"Estiel. I'm a regressor. And as someone who's led countless hero parties for ten years, I can tell you this much for sure."
"What?"
"Hero parties might recruit strong mid-game for efficiency, but the ones who go the distance are the founding members who've been there from the start."
That's how it always went. In a life-or-death world, surprisingly, it was the parties that scrapped from the bottom together—not the ones bound by pure profit—that made it to the end.
"Think about it. Better to contract some arrogant seraph who treats you like a dick-sleeve and just gets her pussy eaten one way? Or raise a low-rank angel who sucks your dick when you ask into a seraph, so you eat each other mutually?"
"Why's your persuasion always tie back to sex?"
"'Cause that's the easiest way for you to get me, right?"
"Haa..."
Estiel shook her head helplessly, then buried it in my shoulder.
"Soon, the space opened by the Goddess Points will end."
"Yeah. We've talked a while."
"So I can't do much right now... but I'll have to imitate Chekhov a bit."
Estiel reached down shyly.
"Sex between a hero and his guardian angel... well, it's not exactly forbidden."
"Gonna give it up?"
"...I'm not like Chekhov."
As she stroked my cock, Estiel pouted.
"Don't forget—I'm the woman who already sucked your dick."
"No way I'd forget."
First sex act after regression: an angel's blowjob.
"You're my guardian angel, Estiel."
I patted her back, holding and comforting her long after our private space faded.
"Even if I regress again, I'd pick you as my guardian angel."
"...Why?"
Until her trembling stopped.
"Because."
"I'm a man who stands by his word."