Chapter 82: Relieving Needs 3
Chapter 82: Relieving Needs 3
Han Ye-ji, sprawled out on the bed, didn't wake again.
Whether from pleasure or because she'd sunk deep into unconsciousness, she just lay there with glassy eyes, panting out rough, ragged breaths.
So I left a clone at her side and slipped out of the dream.
Calling it a clone is generous—it was more like a doll I'd left to run through a scenario in my place.
The only thing left on its plate was the morning's second-act chase fantasy, anyway.
After enough speeding around, fleeing, and running amok in her unconscious, the dream would end,
and she'd wake up feeling utterly refreshed, every last desire sated.
This hazy copy of mine could handle a fantasy of that caliber.
Since it's all happening inside her unconscious, Han Ye-ji won't even remember it clearly. Just winging it would be good enough.
'While I'm at it, shall I go check on the others?'
Han Ye-ji's fantasy had been a one-night fling of reckless abandon, so the moon was still riding high in the sky.
At this late hour, the Academy was crawling with patrolling Incarnations and instructors. Maybe I should just head back to my Constellation's space to avoid causing a scene.
I had no desire to get into a scuffle with a patrol by brazenly marching into the women's dorms in the dead of night.
When I returned from the Temporary Sanctum at the heart of the Academy to my cramped studio apartment, a wave of comfort washed over me.
Should I visit Lee Ha-rin first, in the order she became my Incarnation?
To be honest, I'm far more curious about Lee Ha-rin's desires than Kim Ha-eun's.
With that in mind, I moved my mouse and entered Lee Ha-rin's lucid dream.
She was reading a book in a cozy study, then rose smoothly to attend to me.
"You've come, my Constellation?"
The moment she greeted me, Lee Ha-rin began morphing the study into a lavish hotel room. I immediately reached out my hand.
I gave her a light tap on the forehead. She stared back, bewildered.
When I did something so unexpected, she paused for a second, probably wondering what she'd done wrong. In that moment,
I shoved her deep into her unconscious mind.
"Sleep tight. A dream within a dream."
"Yes—huh?"
Lee Ha-rin was sucked from her lucid dream into a deeper layer of sleep, collapsing in a heap.
Since this was a dream, there was no pain from cracking the back of her head on the floor,
but I still didn't like the sight of a girl who's sweet on me flopping around, so I steadied her to keep her from falling.
So, should I dive in too and take a look at the desires lurking in Lee Ha-rin's unconscious?
"You've come, my Constellation?"
I'm getting a serious case of déjà vu.
The slightly glazed eyes, the responses lagging a beat behind—this was definitely Lee Ha-rin's unconscious mind.
But the way she greeted me and naturally moved to stand nearby and wait on me... it didn't look any different from normal.
When someone's inner desires and outward actions are identical, isn't that called being two-faced?
No, wait. Doesn't being two-faced mean you act one way and think another?
I tried to work my rusty tin can of a brain, but Lee Ha-rin's service was faster.
'Why the sudden coat outfit?'
A coat materialized on me out of nowhere, and as I took it off, Lee Ha-rin accepted it gracefully.
Ah, right. If I was just in my usual light shirt, there'd be no outerwear for her to take and properly attend to me.
I've never worn a dress shirt and coat in my life—my uniform has always been a hoodie and a windbreaker.
She glided up like a seasoned maid, took the coat, then a bag that had appeared on my back, and pulled a chair out for me to sit down.
"...?"
"Is there anything else you require?"
I almost glossed over the fact that Lee Ha-rin had multiplied into three people.
As the first Lee Ha-rin took my coat and headed for a hanger,
a second Lee Ha-rin smoothly appeared to take the bag that had abruptly materialized on my shoulder,
and a third Lee Ha-rin strode forward to guide me to a tea table and pull out a chair.
'What the hell kind of desire is this?'
Three Lee Ha-rins were waiting on me hand and foot.
While one prepared snacks and brewed tea, another massaged my shoulders.
Once both Lee Ha-rins were occupied, the remaining one quietly settled under the tea table and cradled my feet.
'No, seriously, what's the deal here?'
I knew things would proceed on their own if I just sat still—this was a world of the unconscious, after all—but my unresolved curiosity was suffocating me.
Was this a desire born from seeing how tired I looked lately? Wishing she had multiple bodies to handle everything?
Or was it because I'd descended recently, and she wanted to serve me while still continuing her research?
Even as I puzzled over it, I savored the firm yet gentle touch kneading my shoulders and calves.
Of my three Incarnations, she was the one who did the most consistent physical training, so her grip strength and massage skills were the best.
It would be a little creepy if she'd been practicing this since she was a kid just for the sake of serving her Constellation.
A steady stream of treats appeared on the table: coffee and macarons, castella cake and hot milk, and all sorts of other snacks.
Desserts that looked like they belonged on a social media feed kept piling up in front of me.
Was she trying to serve me according to the standards of the men of this world?
'I can't figure out what she wants.'
Unable to contain my curiosity, I rose from the table.
The Lee Ha-rin who had been diligently massaging my foot on her thigh
put my socks and shoes back on, while the one who'd been massaging my shoulders moved to stand on my other side.
Having two identical people standing at attention behind me like twins felt... a little strange.
Especially since there was still one more right in front of me.
"Will you be going out? Allow us to escort you."
When they spoke in perfect unison, it sounded less like three people and more like a single voice.
This is getting kind of horror-movie-esque. With that thought, I opened a door that appeared before me, and there was yet another Lee Ha-rin.
Meaning, four more Lee Ha-rins were added, bringing the total to seven.
"Allow us to escort you. Please, mount the palanquin."
The four Lee Ha-rins at the door were standing ready with a palanquin.
"A palanquin? Not a car?"
"Shall I bring a car around?"
"No, it's fine..."
I had absolutely no clue what was going on.
I racked my brain as hard as I could before giving up and deciding on the simplest approach.
No amount of thinking seemed likely to decode this situation.
If I asked for a car, a chauffeur Lee Ha-rin would probably just appear, so I stopped one of the Lee Ha-rins who was about to turn away.
Among the seven, there had to be an original, right?
The four palanquin bearers outside had appeared later, so they weren't the original.
The one who'd been brewing coffee and baking bread off to the side wasn't the original either.
That meant the real Lee Ha-rin was one of the two who had been massaging my shoulders or my foot.
Acting on that hunch, I reached out both hands and grabbed the two Lee Ha-rins standing at attention behind me.
'The one massaging my foot is the original.'
A shoulder is someplace someone can touch if they're a little close to you,
but taking off my socks and massaging my bare feet requires a much higher level of intimacy.
The direct contact helped me grasp that, and through it, I could finally discern Lee Ha-rin's true desire.
'She wanted to serve me... all by herself?'
A possessive urge toward her Constellation.
And specifically, a possessive urge rooted in a desire to serve.
※
Two of the Lee Ha-rins clung to my sides, massaging my shoulders.
The one who'd been making coffee now held a giant fan, the kind fit for an ancient emperor, and was gently waving a breeze over me.
Below me, four Lee Ha-rins with slightly sturdier shoulders bore the palanquin along without a single jolt.
The moment I felt hungry, a Lee Ha-rin cooking appeared.
When I felt thirsty, a Lee Ha-rin manifested holding a water glass and a beverage on a tray.
When I thought about watching TV, Lee Ha-rins carrying a screen and a projector materialized.
When I imagined going somewhere fast, the palanquin vanished and a Lee Ha-rin driving a car took its place.
It seemed the Academy's attempt to assign me male servants had let jealousy seep into her unconscious mind.
A Constellation is a being who must increase their number of Incarnations.
The more Incarnations a Constellation has, the stronger their power grows, and the safer and more prosperous humanity can live.
Thus, while an Incarnation can receive a Constellation's singular favor, they can never have them all to themselves.
That was why Lee Ha-rin's unconscious yearning was to monopolize her Constellation completely.
To attend to my every need—not just eating and drinking, but even a short walk—to serve me devotedly, that was her desire.
Seeing the Lee Ha-rin preparing food morph into a Lee Ha-rin feeding me, I knew my guess was right.
I just had to sit there with my mouth open like some ancient emperor's harem, and fruit, drinks, and snacks would pop right in.
I was going to forget how to walk on my own at this rate, I thought, as I reached out to influence the dream.
I was sick of the one-sided food service.
Having someone constantly feed me feels weirder than you'd expect.
I could still go for a massage, though. Maybe I should try getting a bath service?
As soon as the lascivious thought crossed my mind, our surroundings shifted into a colossal bathhouse adorned with marble.
And naturally, a multitude of Lee Ha-rins approached me.
Watching people with identical faces and figures swarm toward me like clones sent a chill down my spine.
Thank goodness for The Incinerating Tyrant's knowledge making me comfortable with the concept of clones.
Otherwise, the sheer horror might've made things shrivel right up down there.
Up to about three, I can accept as triplets. Once it gets past ten, it's just creepy.
Having suffered a mental attack from a completely unexpected angle, I plodded into the nearest steaming bath.
In the few seconds it took me to walk over, however many Lee Ha-rins latched onto me and stripped off my clothes.
Maybe because it was a bathhouse, the number of Lee Ha-rins began to dwindle.
That sounds weird to say, but what can you do?
A few of the Lee Ha-rins holding my clothes were disappearing outside the bath chamber.
In the end, once I submerged my body in the warm water, only the original three remained at my side.
"Is the water temperature to your liking?"
"Shall I soap you up?"
One went to a lion-head statue to adjust the water temperature,
while another perched her pale bottom on the edge of the bath and resumed massaging the nape of my neck.
A fragrant scent reached me—was the one behind me lathering up soap?
"...You look uncomfortable. Shall I help you relax?"
Before I could even answer, the small head in front of me vanished from sight with a plop.
The real Lee Ha-rin had sat down in the bath facing me without a shred of hesitation, and then vanished beneath the water.
Amid the lukewarm bath, I felt a slimy, heated sensation touching only the very tip of my lower half.
Is this what she wanted, and not my own desire? Seriously?
A soapy chest rub is about as far as my imagination goes.
An underwater deep dive for a submerged blowjob—that's an act I'd never even dared to conceive.
This isn't my own depraved desire, but Lee Ha-rin's?
It was so absurd that I started to doubt my own abilities as a Dream Demon.
Lukewarm water enveloped my body as warm hands gently kneaded the nape of my neck and my shoulders.
At the same time, I could feel a fleshy, sticky mass, hotter than the water, wrap around my glans.
So that's why Lee Ha-rin's clone mixed cold water into the hot bath?
If Han Ye-ji's desire was a little childish, Lee Ha-rin's was utterly, profoundly depraved.
Maybe because this is a reversed-gender-roles world, there was no soapy chest rub.
Instead, soft hands glided tenderly from my nape down to the small of my back, letting me enjoy the drowsy sensation.
Thanks to Lee Ha-rin, who showed no sign of coming up for air, I could savor the moment for a good long while.
'At this rate, the dream will never end...'
Just lounging there, lazily spurting semen into a woman's mouth as if taking a piss.
I wasn't thrusting my hips or moving my body intensely; I was just sitting still as a statue while my semen was methodically drained from me in this lewd situation.
'From Lee Ha-rin's perspective, is she just blissfully pressing her face into her crush's crotch indefinitely?'
Since what Lee Ha-rin was getting from this wasn't physical pleasure but mental satisfaction, the dream had no reason to end.
The more I came, the more she kept swallowing my semen and clinging to me.
Even if Lee Ha-rin's unconscious wanted to monopolize me, that could never happen in reality.
She knows that, which is probably why she never shows it outright and only lets a little jealousy slip through.
I zoned out for a bit in the drowsy pleasure, came to my senses, then left a clone behind and exited the dream.
Just before I headed out of the dream, I discreetly glanced back
and saw the three Lee Ha-rins diligently massaging my entire body, which was lying on a scrubbing bed.
The original was straddling my back, massaging my shoulders, while the other two worked on my glutes and calves.
Looking at it from a distance, she was truly devoted.
'Can it really feel that good to her?'
I can't understand it, but I guess that's the nature of a desire sleeping in the unconscious.
I rationalized it away and headed out of the dream.
Still, I should at least take a peek at Kim Ha-eun's unconscious, too.