Chapter 68: Hobby
Chapter 68: Hobby
Cutting off a woman who's smiling and chattering away happily is harder than you'd think, once you're actually in the moment.
And I don't do hard things unless there's a clear payoff.
"So, about this incident―"
"I see, I see."
This was the first time I'd seen Lee Ha-rin so talkative—to the point I honestly wondered whether her jaw might start aching. The image of her foaming at the mouth and fainting during our first meeting was simply too strong. Maybe it was because the impression of a frail, quiet shut-in had been burned into my brain until now. Like lovers shuffling sideways wrapped in each other's arms—or more accurately, like a father inching along with a kid riding on his feet—I nudged the dreamscape forward bit by bit as I listened to her prattle. The body of knowledge Lee Ha-rin possessed outstripped my own combined with that of the Constellation I'd devoured. An Incarnation more learned than two Constellations put together.
"So I was wondering, have you received any of the offerings I sent you?"
"Hmm, aside from the food that arrived last time, nothing in particular has come."
Her face crumpled into a sulk, sudden as a downpour. Had her expressions always been this varied, her emotions this rich? Or had her personality turned a little brighter now that she was living the Incarnation life she'd only ever dreamed about? I sat down next to her on the familiar sofa, her head drooping low. The story looked like it was going to stretch out, so I'd shifted the backdrop to a living room with a sofa and a table. Only when I gripped her shoulder and gently pulled her down did she notice the change in our surroundings and settle quietly onto the cushion. She sank into the sofa with a soft *flump* and, summoning a drink as naturally as breathing, spoke.
"Come to think of it, Constellation, what is your third Incarnation like?"
"Her name is Kim Ha-eun. As for what she's like―"
I had a cold-brewed sweet milk tea; she had a cold brew coffee from a famous café. I took a casual sip, and the cold, sweet liquid coated my throat so perfectly it nearly gave me a brain freeze. Wait—how did this girl know about the third Incarnation contract?
"―she's a kid with talent who was adrift because of some bad circumstances."
I nearly spat out my milk tea in an ugly, startled mess. I desperately choked back the urge to ask how the hell she knew and kept talking. No matter how unsightly I looked here or how much composure I lost, it wasn't as if Lee Ha-rin's fanatical loyalty would evaporate. Still, maintaining some dignity in front of a woman who adores you is a matter of male pride, isn't it?
...It's a little terrifying, though.
"By the way, where did you hear about that?"
She wasn't even on the Eastern Continent; she was holed up in an Academy lab on the artificial continent, barely keeping in touch with her parents. How had she picked up news from halfway across the world? Kim Ha-eun herself was crying herself to sleep while getting used to muscle aches, and Han Ye-ji knew nothing of Kim Ha-eun's existence.
"I read Incarnation contracts as a hobby from time to time, and I happened to see your name listed in one."
With a shy, breathy laugh—*hehe*—she conjured a smartphone in her hand. The official government Constellation-Incarnation database site I'd seen before was displayed on that tiny screen. Not the news, not gossip—her hobby was reading the entire roster of newly registered Incarnations. Was there anyone out there who liked a celebrity so much they'd visit the agency's website just to gawk at the names of every single trainee under contract? No, there wasn't—except for the one sitting right in front of me. If she ever picked up a knowledge- or information-related Talent later, she'd probably memorize every Incarnation name on the Eastern Continent. She stuck close to my side, keeping a distance where our skin didn't quite touch, and kept talking.
"Lately, my research has been so fascinating that I've been a little worn out from immersing myself in it. So, as you advised, I've been resting bit by bit."
'And during those rest breaks, your idea of resting is checking every single newly contracted Incarnation's name on the official government website?'
I forcibly stuffed down the shout of *that isn't resting!* that was threatening to burst from my throat. Exposure to Lee Ha-rin's pure, undiluted madness was steadily shattering my kindly church-boy cosplay. A fake can never beat the genuine article, can it?
"Since I'm at the Academy, Constellations visit often and I get to meet a lot of Incarnations. Thanks to that, I can focus during lectures and practicals, and then cool my head during the rest of the time. At first, I made offerings of artworks and such introduced by the Magic Studies instructor, but as my skill improved, I've become able to send up even trivial things."
"Is it harder to send trivial things?"
"Yes!"
She gulped the bitter cold brew like it was ice water, set the glass down with a sharp clack, and opened her mouth. Ah, shit. I'd stepped on a landmine again.
"The Ritual is fundamentally a spell for presenting precious and valuable items to a Constellation. Because of that, the more precious the offering, the more intact it arrives. When it lacks value, it gets damaged or forcibly converted into points. If it's truly low-grade, it's annihilated without even reaching the Constellation."
"Considering that, you still managed to send me coffee and a sandwich."
"Hehe, that's because I'm contracted to you, so the luck was on my side and I succeeded. It was also recognized as a prepared table because it was a handmade meal crafted with sincerity."
So that was why she'd asked earlier if I'd received anything. That expression had been the spitting image of the disappointment you feel when you realize a package you ordered hasn't arrived. She'd been trying to send me all sorts of things behind my back, and every single attempt had failed.
"So great works of art or crafts made by artists themselves never fail in the Ritual, but rituals attempting to send you something bought with money fail very often."
The big and expensive was easy; the small and trivial was difficult. It made perfect sense if you thought about scenes from comics where a person suddenly granted superpowers rips a doorknob off while trying to open a door or demolishes a sink while trying to wash their face. I'd seen plenty of training arcs where someone with super-strength practiced holding raw eggs or tofu without crushing them. As I rummaged through memories of novels I'd scavenged from a ruined rental shop—each page lost as kindling—Lee Ha-rin's words continued to flow.
"And I―"
Listening was fine, but I had come here to provide care as a Dream Demon. So, this infinite loop of "so," "anyway," "and," "come to think of it"—her Incarnation talk cycle. To break it, I lifted a finger to her lips. They'd been moist before, but were now parched and flaking. I held her chin and gently stroked her lower lip with my thumb, and she fell silent at once. I should've done this from the start. The innocent chattering vanished; her head drooped so low that the finger holding her chin got caught against her collarbone. The days of her rubbing against me for hours on end and fainting with foam at the mouth were gone, but that didn't mean her shyness had disappeared. I rubbed her lower lip with my right thumb while cradling the back of Lee Ha-rin's head with my left hand, lowering her onto her back. Her hair had been short at military school, but now at the Academy, it had grown just past her shoulder blades. Her hands clasped together awkwardly as she lay down on the sofa. She looked so much like a herbivore frozen before a predator that the corner of my mouth quirked up. She was trapped in a dilemma: taking initiative felt impertinent, but being purely passive felt arrogant. With my amplified Dream Demon abilities, I could feel her anxieties spinning into an endless loop. If she stayed still like that, it suited me just fine. I'd been treating these clumsy virgins with kid gloves for so long, handling them like an instructor, that I'd gotten a little restless. Normally, I'd be nothing but grateful to mingle with pretty women, but right now was different. Maybe it was the taste of real action after so long, or maybe it was absorbing that other Dream Demon's Origin, but my body was itching. It felt like the masculinity I'd temporarily lulled to sleep by playing Constellation in this world was now voicing its discontent through every inch of my body. I'd spent most nights doing all the licking and sucking there was to do, but I couldn't stay passive for an entire year, could I? With that thought, I took hold of Lee Ha-rin's knees, which were rigid with tension atop the sofa.
'On the surface, they're just ordinary girls, but damn, their bodies are no joke once they start training.'
Unlike the gun-toting Han Ye-ji, who was half-living the life of a wage slave commuting to work, and Kim Ha-eun, who had sat at a desk studying for twenty-three years before becoming a half-Dream Demon, Lee Ha-rin's body looked like she'd been steadily exercising since childhood. Her motivation for exercise had been a delusion about preparing for the day she'd become an Incarnation, but well, she'd actually become one, so I suppose we could let that slide. Regardless, kicking a ball around since elementary school, training seriously in middle and high school, military school drills, and then completing the Academy's basic physical conditioning—her figure just kept improving. She might spend most of her day behind a desk, but with regular sleep, exercise, and a high-quality diet managed by professionals, there was no way she'd put on fat. That fact became glaringly obvious the moment I took hold of her knees and slipped between her thighs.
"C-Constellation?!"
What must a man think when a hot woman kneels, slides between his legs, and unbuckles his belt? It couldn't be much different from what Lee Ha-rin was thinking right now. Her face and ears burning a vivid red, she offered her first weak resistance. The muscles in her thighs tensed with a rush. Her firm calves were substantial without being unpleasantly bulky. The tendons stood out tautly on the surface, and her legs were so solidly muscled that when I pressed down with my palm, I could feel them giving way with a deep, dense resistance.
"Relax your legs."
"...Yes."
those firm thighs did nothing but stoke my desire; they certainly didn't quell it.