Liquid
Deliberately ignoring the gazes fixed on me, I slowly steadied my breathing, focused my mind, and transformed into an angel.
The moment I assumed the angel’s form, Instructor Suptoto and Isabella stared at me in a daze, letting out soft sounds of admiration.
“Yeon-geun...”
“Wow...”
The stares weren’t burdensome. In my angel state, my mental fortitude hardened like steel.
“Hic.”
Seo I-eung hiccuped, cheeks flushing as she fidgeted with her hands. Her cobra was blushing shyly as well. That was a little grotesque.
Why’s she acting like that? Don’t tell me she’s remembering what happened last time?
She clearly hadn’t adapted yet. Her usual rough, carefree edge had vanished, leaving behind a demure young woman.
When I stared straight at her,
“H-hm! We’re all ready, so let’s move already!”
Seo I-eung whipped her head away and spoke in an agitated voice, then strode boldly ahead.
At that moment—
“Yeon-geun! Don’t charge ahead on your own!”
Thwack!
Instructor Suptoto leapt high and cracked Seo I-eung over the head with a carrot.
“Ah, why’d you hit me...!”
“Because a mere student is trying to act alone, that’s why I hit you! Yeon-geun!”
Suptoto narrowed her brows sharply while chomping on the carrot.
“We were going to head this way anyway.”
“What are you talking about. We’re going to rest here first. Yeon-geun.”
“How far have we even walked to need a rest already?”
“If I say we rest, we rest. Don’t talk back. Yeon-geun.”
Suptoto said that while casting a sly sidelong glance my way. Her ulterior motive was obvious. Suggesting a rest was clearly so she could leisurely admire my angel form. By now I could see right through what that rabbit was thinking.
“Alright! Everyone take your seats and rest with passion! Begin!”
I sat down on the ground for now. A student couldn’t defy an instructor’s order.
Thud.
Suptoto naturally perched lightly on my lap, then pressed her adorable little footpads against my abs with a soft slap.
“Hehe.”
She gently stroked my stomach. I never gave permission to touch... I considered grabbing her ears and tossing her away, but decided to let it slide since she was an animal.
Isabella frowned at the sight.
“Instructor. Why are you touching Kang Hahwi’s stomach.”
“You try touching it too. Feels good. Yeon-geun.”
“...That’s sexual harassment. If you don’t want to get sued, take your hand off right now.”
“Yeon-geun? For sexual harassment to apply, the other party has to feel sexual discomfort or humiliation, no?”
Suptoto looked up at me with sparkling eyes. Come to think of it, despite her behavior she really was cute-looking—enough to draw an affectionate smile from me on its own.
“Look at Kang Hahwi’s expression. This guy’s enjoying it too. So this is just mutual consensual skinship. Yeon-geun.”
“......”
Isabella looked dumbfounded, then turned her gaze to me and asked,
“Is that true?”
“True? What true... I’m just letting it slide because she’s an animal.”
“Because she’s an animal? So if they look like an animal, it doesn’t matter what they do to you?”
“Of course.”
“No, even so—if they just start groping your body, isn’t that unpleasant?”
“Is there a reason to find it unpleasant? It’s just a cute animal showing off.”
At my answer Isabella closed her mouth and blinked. She seemed to ponder something deeply, then glanced sidelong at Seo I-eung for a moment.
“Is that so...”
Isabella gulped and muttered to herself. What’s with her now?
After finishing the rest and setting out again, I casually sidled up next to Seo I-eung, who had been walking some distance away. She flinched her shoulders and put space between us.
“Wh-why?”
“What.”
“Why are you suddenly sticking close...”
“Instructor said not to walk too far apart from teammates.”
There was another reason as well. I was using my angel state—where I felt no emotion toward beautiful girls—to get used to women. If I grew accustomed to this sensation now, it would definitely help overcome my trauma. After closely examining Seo I-eung’s face while transformed before, I had become able to meet her eyes for short periods. In other words, this current feeling faintly remained even after the transformation wore off.
While I’m at it, I should close the distance with Isabella too.
This time I walked right beside Isabella. She showed no strong reaction, as if she were already used to it. Seemed she was fine even with me shirtless. Not a softie like Seo I-eung, I guess.
As we continued moving like that—
“Everyone stop!”
Suptoto, who had been hanging on my back fiddling with my wings, shot forward. Ahead, giant earthworms wriggling grotesquely were arrayed in a line.
“The distance at which giant earthworms can detect enemies ends here, so make sure to familiarize yourselves with this sense of distance.”
The gap between the giant earthworms and us was roughly fifty meters. I roughly got the feel of it.
“Is it dangerous if we approach any closer from here?”
Isabella asked.
“Yeon-geun. If you approach any further, you’ll be detected by the giant earthworms.”
“For mere worms, their nerves are sharp.”
Isabella aimed a talisman toward the earthworms.
“But from here, my attacks won’t reach...”
“Mine neither—the cobra’s venom needles won’t reach that far.”
Seo I-eung thrust out her cobra and mimed shooting venom needles as she spoke.
“Of course we’re not going to rain attacks from here. From now on I’ll teach you a few orthodox methods for beginner hunters to subjugate giant earthworms, so listen carefully. Yeon-geun.”
Suptoto looked us over thoroughly, then hopped up from her spot and continued while floating in midair.
“Approaching by flight. That’s the first method. Giant earthworms detect enemies through the ground, so they can’t sense opponents floating in the air. Yeon-geun.”
Is there anyone who can fly? Suptoto asked that. Isabella shook her head.
“Hm. Isabella, you can’t fly...”
I put strength into my wings and flapped them with all my might. As expected, there was no sign of my body lifting. The wings were simply too small.
“Kang Hahwi, you can’t either, I see. Yeon-geun.”
Suptoto sent a sympathetic look. Seo I-eung smirked and tensed her shoulders. A huge pair of wings sprouted from her back.
“You said they can’t detect if you fly? Then subjugation should be easy.”
“Yeon-geun. But you have to kill them in one strike. If you don’t finish them in a single hit, a counterattack will come.”
Suptoto released her flight magic and landed on the ground.
“Anyway, the only one who can fly is Seo I-eung... Then now I’ll teach the second method. Yeon-geun.”
Suptoto lightly waved her arm. The air tore open. It seemed like storage magic. I’d always wondered where she pulled the carrots from—so this was how she took them out. She put her hand into the torn space and drew out a glass bottle.
“This is precisely the second method.”
The glass bottle held a yellowish liquid. When Suptoto opened the lid, a refreshing scent drifted out gently. Lemon?
“What’s that liquid?”
“My piss.”
“...What?”
“Our rabbit monster urine contains a special ability that blocks monster detection. So if you douse yourself in this, you can escape the giant earthworms’ detection. Yeon-geun.”
Hearing that, Seo I-eung came down to the ground and gave Suptoto a suspicious look.
“Is that true? You’re not lying because of some perverted desire to mark Kang Hahwi with your pee for territory, right?”
Honestly, I thought the same thing. The intent to put her scent on me and claim that anything smelling like this was her property. Someone with normal thinking wouldn’t do such a thing... but for Instructor Suptoto it was more than possible. Everything I’d seen from her so far had been thoroughly perverted.
Whether Seo I-eung’s question grated on her, Suptoto twitched her eyebrows.
“Yeon-geun? Do you think I’m some kind of pervert?”
“You are a pervert.”
“I don’t have a hobby of getting aroused by rubbing piss on a man. Yeon-geun.”
“You’re sure?”
“Why would I lie about something like this. If you really can’t believe it, search it on the internet later. If it’s a lie, I’ll step down from my instructor position!”
“...If you go that far. Okay, I’ll believe you.”
“This is unpleasant. Our species’ urine is a material for elixirs, so its value is astronomical! I was generously willing to provide such a material with a big heart, yet you doubt me! Apologize at once!”
“I’m sorry for doubting...”
At Suptoto’s confident attitude, Seo I-eung lowered her tail. Seemed the suspicion was somewhat cleared. I also started to believe a little now.
“Since you apologized, I’ll forgive you. From now on, don’t doubt me.”
“Got it.”
After receiving the apology from Seo I-eung, Suptoto turned and approached me, holding out the glass bottle.
“Here, take it. You and Isabella just need to douse yourselves in this. Yeon-geun.”
I took it for now. But I couldn’t rashly pour it on myself. Knowing it was piss made me feel reluctant. Thankfully it didn’t stink and actually smelled nice—that was a relief. I wordlessly looked down at the glass bottle in my hand.
“......”
“Douse ourselves in this...? It’s a bit dirty... Kang Hahwi, what are you going to do?”
Isabella asked with a contorted face. I pondered for a moment, then finally made a decision.
“What choice do we have—we have to douse ourselves... There’s no other way.”
“If applying it is distasteful, you can drink it. It still works. Yeon-geun.”
Suptoto interjected. I ignored that nonsense, squeezed my eyes shut, and poured the glass bottle over my head.