The Summoner of ■■ (25)
Out on the open sea, a figure stood atop a yacht and waved in my direction. Against the pure white of the vessel, the equally snow-white presence made me sigh. I guided Kallion downward.
The moment we landed, Lee Se-rin sauntered over as if it were the most natural thing in the world, cast aside the blanket-like wrap that had been covering her entire body, and struck a pose. I had no choice but to frown.
"Ta-da~ How do I look?"
"Act your age. Please..."
"Aww, don't be like that. This body is packed full of your tastes, you know. At least give it a proper look. Hmm?"
As she spoke, she ran her hands slowly, stickily over her own skin, deliberately emphasizing the lush yet slender curves of her figure.
She must have been in the water before I arrived; translucent droplets clung to her and then, at the lightest touch, rolled down the elegant lines of her body. The sight was more than enough to stir a man's baser instincts.
"...Well? Do you like it?"
The sweet voice whispered right against my ear, ravaging my brain. Against my will, my gaze began to drift over her body.
Her skin was so translucent the veins beneath were faintly visible, flawless and unmarked by a single blemish or scar. Her slightly upturned eyes and the pupils within them gleamed with a wet, bewitching luster.
Because her complexion was so pale, the flush rising in her cheeks stood out with vivid clarity. That beauty—enough to topple even someone of the same sex—slowly tightened around my throat.
My heart, which had been malfunctioning, hammered so hard the sound reverberated through my entire body. My breathing grew ragged. The blue expanse of the sea vanished from my vision until only she remained.
"Ufu~"
Apparently pleased by the way I was staring, she curved her lips into a faint smile and let the tip of her red tongue slip out to lick them.
It was nothing more than moistening her lips, yet the atmosphere she carried turned the simple act into something thoroughly sensual.
Next, my eyes were drawn to the jet-black bikini that set off her pure-white nakedness so perfectly.
It was nothing like an ordinary bikini. The vital areas were completely covered, yet everything else was reduced to thin strings or cut away entirely, creating a strangely provocative allure.
The moderate exposure only stimulated desire more effectively. She had clearly designed the thing with that exact goal in mind.
It was a piece that highlighted her beauty while carefully avoiding the look of a cheap, wanton streetwalker—exactly the sort of balance a woman would want.
Her body, soft with just the right amount of flesh yet still exquisitely beautiful, made my hands itch with the urge to touch her.
Grind.
"...S-shit..."
But I held back. Muttering curses under my breath, I clenched my teeth so hard they ground together, sending a dull, throbbing ache through my jaw.
Crunch!
When that still wasn't enough, I bit down hard on my tongue with a reckless, do-or-die determination.
The sweet citrus scent was instantly drowned by the iron tang of blood, and a pain sharp enough to make my spine go rigid lanced straight through my skull.
It felt as if the sensual haze melting my brain had been scooped out and a bucket of ice-cold water labeled "brutal reality" had been dumped over it instead.
"Kh...!"
I had known it would hurt, yet the agony still forced a gasp out of me.
Because every act that could be construed as an attack—intentional or not—triggered the effects of Torture and Sadism, the pain went beyond the physical and stabbed straight into my soul.
My body, strengthened by stats, was already knitting the wound on my tongue closed, but the lingering throb continued to torment my mind.
Still, thanks to that, I firmly reclaimed control of my body.
The sensation of someone else casually hijacking my emotions never felt good, no matter how many times it happened. It wasn't as direct as the electrodes that had once been jammed into my brain and spinal nerves in my previous life, but it wasn't all that different either.
No—if anything, the fact that it slipped in so quietly and unnoticed made this version even worse.
"Aah..."
Lee Se-rin's face twisted into an expression of genuine regret at my reaction. Yet the emotion in her eyes was anything but regret.
They were filled only with the satisfaction of having witnessed something thoroughly entertaining, and the dark desire to watch me struggle a little longer.
Irritated, I clicked my tongue—only to feel another jolt of pain from the wound.
Ignore her. That was the only answer.
I brushed past her and headed for the square enclosure at the rear of the yacht. Some kind of treatment had been applied there, carving out a section of the sea itself so that no water could enter.
In the center of that space sat a coffin-like machine of cutting-edge science, utterly out of place in the middle of the ocean.
The system worked by sending an authentication signal from here; once the other side returned an approval, anyone standing in the designated spot would be transferred to the location of the dungeon's entrance.
You might wonder why anyone would go through such a bothersome process just to visit a dungeon out here.
As a rule, dungeons that are difficult to manage—those deep underwater, high in the mountains, or floating in midair—are simply destroyed by crushing their cores.
But every so often a dungeon appears that is judged more valuable to maintain than to destroy. This was one of them.
The event-type dungeon One Horn of Purple Blue, despite being located in the middle of the ocean, was so valuable that even the Association kept it under strict management.
The reason could be glimpsed in the name itself. "One Horn" carried the meaning of a single corner, yet it also meant a single horn.
Because of that peculiarity, the dungeon was also known by the nickname "Unicorn's Land."
By now some of you will have caught on.
When one speaks of a one-horned beast, the most famous and well-known creature comes to mind. In this world it falls under the category of "phantasmal beasts"—not a product of fairy tales or legends, but a being that exists as a matter of course in reality. Yes: this was a dungeon where unicorns lived.
Of course they appeared as NPCs, not enemies. I did mention at the start that this was an event-type dungeon, didn't I?
Detailed information would be better checked one piece at a time through cross-verification once I was actually inside.
I glanced back at the woman who was watching me and smacking her lips as if something were still missing, then opened my mouth. My tongue still tingled from the pointless stunt earlier. I would definitely pay that grudge back someday.
They say a gentleman's revenge is never too late even after ten years. For now I would simply endure, bide my time, and grow stronger.
"Open it."
"Yes~"
Lee Se-rin answered with a bright smile and a languid lilt, then stepped right up beside me and operated the buttons. Recognition complete, the space that had been sealed by a translucent membrane flashed once and filled with light.
Passing through the doorway that had formed there, the distinctive scent and air of the open sea vanished in an instant, replaced by a heavy, oppressive sensation.
A natural result. We had been transferred in the blink of an eye into a space deep underwater where the pressure was crushing.
An ordinary person who wasn't an Awakened would probably have their blood vessels or organs compressed and burst from the sudden environmental change before their body could even begin to adapt.
I had never experienced it myself, but even among Awakened, those clumsy with mana manipulation were said to sometimes feel sudden dizziness or nausea.
A typical side effect of spatial transfer, or so I'd heard.
Back when I was running Project Exile, there had been plenty of occasions that required repeated spatial jumps for testing. I still remembered a few people whose faces went deathly pale every time, muttering about exactly that.
Of course, it didn't apply to anyone who could properly manage their own body. In simple terms, it was similar to the jet lag you feel after an overseas trip.
I rubbed my slightly stiff eyes and looked ahead. Association personnel stationed here confirmed our identities and immediately opened the door leading to the dungeon's entrance.
"Mm, their work is so reliable. I should come back later and give them a reward."
At that remark I glanced sideways. There stood Lee Se-rin, looking as if it were the most natural thing in the world, wearing a sheer outer garment over her swimsuit that left the inside faintly visible.
I had expected her to follow, but the sheer brazenness of it still left me speechless. And her words were even more absurd.
Who else in this world could stroll into the Association with the casual air of "Shall we go for a little walk~" and announce they would bestow a reward?
If those words had come from anyone but her, people would have written them off as the ravings of a lunatic—or worse, a genuine mental patient—and kept their distance.
"Don't get in the way."
"Don't worry. I'll only be watching."
Personally I would have preferred she not even do the voyeurism, but even if I cut her off coldly here, I could already see her ignoring me completely and trailing after me with that damp, sticky persistence.
That wasn't a prediction. It was lived experience.
I wasn't joking. There had been a period when she kept clinging to my side, claiming she was going to figure out my tastes. Back then I was in the middle of work, so I told her she was being a nuisance and to get lost.
At the time she had said she understood and backed off—only to start watching me constantly from the very next day, no matter where I was.
Whenever I felt a gaze and looked in that direction, there she would be, staring at me without fail. Always at a fixed distance. Always. Continuously.
At first I figured I could just ignore it and left her alone.
It was better than having her stuck to me and making a nuisance of herself. But after enduring it for a day, two days, a month, half a year... I finally had to abandon that idea.
The pressure of knowing someone was always watching me wore me down and tormented me far more than I had imagined. The moment I started sensing her gaze no matter where I went, I simply gave up on calling her out.
If she was going to keep occupying my mind either way, it was better to just keep her at my side. From the next day on, even when she clung to me like glue, I no longer had the energy to complain.
Perhaps that had been her plan all along. With her, it was entirely possible.
I shot her a look of pure exhaustion, but she paid it no mind and began guiding me toward the dungeon.
"Let's hurry! It's been so long since I was here—this is going to make for a wonderfully fun date."
"Date my ass. You're the only person in the world who looks at a defense game and calls it a date."
"What does it matter~ When a man and a woman in their prime are together, anything they do can be called a date. Understood?"
What country's law was that supposed to be...
I forcibly swallowed the curses that had risen all the way to my throat and let out a sigh. Getting worked up would only hurt me. Whenever this woman was involved, my pace fell apart and the irritation never stopped.
"...We're going."
"Yes~"
The instant the words left my mouth, Lee Se-rin beamed and latched onto my arm.
Once again the sweet citrus scent bloomed thickly against my nose, but I managed to endure it by tensing the still-aching tip of my tongue.
I wanted to say something, but realizing it would only waste more time, I resigned myself and simply led her into the dungeon.
"May you achieve great success."
As we approached, the Association staff bowed deeply in greeting. My head dipped slightly of its own accord—though only in my heart; I didn't actually bow.
Professionals really were professionals.
To be able to offer that kind of well-wish even after seeing this spectacle... truly impressive. If it had been me, I probably would have told them to go screw around somewhere else.
Service jobs really weren't for me.
I offered a brief nod of acknowledgment with my eyes alone, then threw myself into the dungeon.
The sensation of piercing a thin membrane washed over me, and once again the air around us changed completely. The faint scent of the sea vanished in an instant, replaced by that of a forest.
A beautiful garden where flowers bloomed in full glory, their fragrance carrying just a hint of sweetness. All around, various creatures lived together in gentle harmony without the slightest conflict.
It was a cozy paradise that looked as if a page from a fairy tale had been cut out and set down whole. I narrowed my eyes.
"...This place really is nasty."
"Right?"
The moment Lee Se-rin nodded in agreement, a system notification rose into my field of vision.