Elena Ru
29.
"Hah… ahn… haaahn…"
Nayeon's face went scarlet at the sounds drifting out of the room. They weren't particularly loud — but for a Keeper of her caliber, hearing had long since left ordinary human limits behind. The softest noise hit her like thunder.
Have they lost their minds? What the hell are they doing in a hospital room?
He's not even fully recovered yet and they're doing… that?
Are they that desperate? They're not animals!
Thoughts of every kind flooded her head. Ordinarily, that much mental noise would have drowned out everything outside. This time, the more she thought, the clearer the sounds became.
"Hngh! Ahn — Jungmin, it feels so good! More — more — haaahn!"
Most of it was Keira. Nayeon had never in her life heard anyone so completely lost to pleasure. Not the actresses in the adult videos her friends had goaded her into watching as a kid. Not the screaming idol fans at concerts shrieking "Oppa!" until they collapsed. Not even the reaction people made after waiting three hours on an empty stomach for the best dish at a famous restaurant.
"Hnnngh!"
A moan where pain and ecstasy crossed, shot through with bottomless craving. A sound that insisted every joy in life was right here. A sound that made Nayeon's entire existence feel like a lie.
Nayeon was still a virgin. Twenty-seven years old, and still no experience. It wasn't some principle of waiting until marriage, and she wasn't a lesbian. The timing had simply never worked out. In her early twenties she'd been too busy running around having fun. By her mid-twenties she'd become a Keeper without ever planning to. The work kept her busy, and it suited her. More than anything, she loved watching her stats climb with every training session. There had been no time for men — and no desire to make time.
The truth was, all of that had only been possible because of Park Changsik. Ever since high school there had been a man who looked at Nayeon the way a sunflower tracks the sun, and that had let her stay relaxed about the whole subject. Whenever she called, a man ready to become hers had been waiting. His qualifications weren't bad either — tall, handsome, good education, and a Keeper on top of it. As a Keeper he ranked below her, but that was hardly a flaw. Park Changsik was a B-class Keeper. There were only about two thousand of those in all of Korea. Other men simply never measured up.
Kim Nayeon's beauty had bloomed like a flower since high school. Men had come after her in droves. Most of them were worse than Park Changsik. The occasional one who looked better still couldn't outweigh the years she and Changsik had already shared. Nayeon wasn't the type to go chasing some random stranger when she already had a good neighborhood oppa waiting.
And then that man had stabbed her in the back. Tried to kill her for a reason that made no sense. Someone she had trusted for more than twenty years since kindergarten — someone she had quietly marked as marriage material — and both of those things had vanished at once. Of the three or four pillars holding Kim Nayeon up, two had shattered.
"Hah…!"
So she couldn't bring herself to form any real opinion about those sounds of pleasure. She had never done it. She couldn't just decide to. Being overwhelmed and startled was the only thing left to her.
Is it… really that good?
And the more startled she got, the deeper the hole Park Changsik had left became.
Damn it. You bastard. You absolute bastard. You miserable piece of shit!
Across from her, the other person standing in the hallway was having no easier time of it.
O Ru of Mercy and Love, Your love is blooming even here, in this place. Across dimensions, in another world, Your presence is so lewd— no. So beautiful.
Elena had no experience either. Not because the Order forbade it. As a faith devoted to Ru of Mercy and Love, marriage never interfered with remaining clergy. Sex didn't strip away divine power. She simply had never had the time. From childhood she had been raised to become the Thirteenth Sword. She trained without rest to claim that title. There had been no room for romance, no room to meet men. That training had made her the Thirteenth Sword. And somewhere along the way she had turned thirty. All the decent men around her had been claimed by other people, and the only ones who caught her eye were boys a full decade younger.
"Hnnngh! ****!"
Keira's craving moans, the voice begging for Jungmin, asked Elena a question: she had become the Thirteenth Sword — but was there joy in her life? Maybe not now. What about later?
No. O Ru of Mercy and Love. I am happy as Your sword. Even if I missed my season for love and stand alone, Your mercy alone is enough for me. I will be one who bestows Ru's mercy upon this world.
Elena prayed it like self-hypnosis. But another thought kept rising on the other side.
Ru is the god of mercy and love. Is it wrong to hunger only for His mercy? Without knowing the love He speaks of, how can I claim to know Him? Even in a situation where His presence is this clear, if I cannot hear His voice — is that not the reason?
Since crossing into this world, Elena had not been able to feel Ru's presence. Ru as mercy and love still existed here — but she could not sense His divinity. In Keruon she had always felt it; it had been her strength. Crossing dimensions had cut her off. Even in Keruon, Keepers who were clergy said they could not feel their god inside a Gate. So of course it would be the same here.
"Haang~."
But listening to those moans kept pulling other thoughts free. The image of Jungmin kissing the back of her hand. The jolt when his mana entered her body and she felt his presence. The tremor when his large hand brushed her chest. The pleasure born when his mana and hers resonated together.
O Ru, You are surely present even here. I cannot feel Your divinity, but I feel Your love more clearly than anywhere else. O Ru, my body trembles before Your presence.
That Elena's sex was slowly growing wet was nothing strange. It wasn't only because of Jungmin. She had been like this in Keruon too. Unable to bring herself to seek comfort alone, she had snuck to her friends' beds during their lovemaking and released years of piled-up desire in the worst possible way — by watching. She was, without question, a pervert. She would never admit it to herself, of course.
O Ru, bestow love upon Your sword this day as well.
If it's that good… give me my youth back!
Outside the private hospital room, the darkened hallway night grew deeper.
The next day, Garam came to pick us up.
"What's with you? You look exhausted."
"It's… recharging mana takes a lot out of me."
Half true. Having to top Elena up every hour was no small job — and doing it while Keira was demanding her own attention made it worse. There had even been a moment when I'd had to throw on just enough clothes mid-act and step out to recharge Elena. The embarrassment had been lethal. Hopefully neither Nayeon nor Lady Elena had kept that image in their heads.
"Nayeon, why do you look like you're about to die?"
"Don't know. Don't talk to me. I was up all night. I'm tired."
Apparently even an A-class Keeper got wiped out by an all-nighter. Fair enough. Keepers were still human.
Elena's dark circles had roughly doubled since yesterday. Missing sleep for hourly recharges explained most of it — but was something else going on too?
The only one looking fresh was Keira. Infinite stamina or not, she had spent the entire night howling and still had a glow running over her face like oil.
…Wasn't that all my life force? Succubus.
Still, just as Keira had predicted, my Potential had risen by one — to seventeen. Her hypothesis had been right. That was… good, right? Definitely good. And yet watching Keira lick her lips made worry hit first. Couldn't help it.
"Alright, let's move. Once we get to the crew house you can rest a bit."
We took the least-trafficked corridors, boarded the crew bus, and headed for the house. Even there we were careful not to run into anyone, climbing to the upper-floor office. Our leader, Kim Nari, was waiting.
"I'm sorry. My judgment was shortsighted."
She apologized to Keira and me first. Even her apology had charisma. Maybe it was the way her waist bent at a perfect right angle.
"This would be the unidentified Keeper, Lady Keira Mustang. And over there, Lady Elena Ru."
I nodded, and she handed me two cards.
"What are these?"
"Temporary foreigner registration cards. For ordinary people, these will be enough."
"You actually… Thank you. Really."
Resourcefulness I couldn't have imagined. We'd only talked about it yesterday, and they were ready today?
"For now, the fact that those two are… that will stay known only to the people in this room. Please keep it as secret as you can. If the other crew members need to know, I'll be the one to tell them. That work for you, Jungmin?"
"Yes. That's fine."
We'd disclosed it to the crew, but that didn't mean broadcasting it. Keeping it to the people in this room didn't even prick my conscience — those were the only ones I'd be running into regularly anyway. Of course, once it had spread this far, calling it a secret was already a stretch. It could leak any day and no one would be surprised.
"While you're at the crew house, Garam and Nayeon will be escorting you. Bear with the inconvenience. And don't worry about the enemy. We'll find them soon."
"I trust you. When you do find them, please let me know. I may not be much, but Keira needs to land at least one solid hit."
The leader glanced toward Keira. Their eyes met for a moment, and something seemed to pass between them without words. The strong recognize the strong… no. Beauties recognize beauties?
"Understood. We'll do exactly that. If we need magical assistance, I'll request it. I hope yesterday's incident hasn't left you with any trauma or PTSD?"
"Nothing like that. I'll help whenever you need."
"Good. We've prepared living quarters on the top floor. The crew house is as good as your home now, so make yourself comfortable. And when you go up, some welcome faces will be waiting."
That was the end of the meeting. She seemed extremely busy — a string of crises had hit, so of course she was. And even in the middle of all that, she had still made sure Keira and Elena got IDs. We really had chosen the right crew.
"I'm going to rest in my room for a bit, then come back."
Kim Nayeon split off on the top floor. That was also where Kim Nari and Kim Nayeon lived. The leader had given up private space to protect me and my family. In truth it wasn't that grand a sacrifice. The tenth floor was so vast that handing over a few rooms still left plenty of privacy intact.
"Jungmin, you take this room. Lady Keira, this one. Lady Elena, this one here. Jungmin's parents are over there, and his little sister is across from them. Every room has its own bathroom and shower, so treat them like private suites."
Bigger than my old studio apartment. Seriously. What had I been doing with my life?
"I'm going to go get a few things ready. Family reunions aren't something you interrupt."
Garam left too, and only the three of us remained.
"Keira, go on in. You too, Lady Elena. I'm going to see my family first."
"Okay."
"Yes, Master. As you wish."
I went to the room Garam had pointed out and knocked.
"Who is it?"
My little sister's voice.
"It's me. Jimin."
"Mom! Oppa's here!"
The door flew open and my sister shot out. The second she cleared the doorway she threw a body blow. Kh. I'd braced for it, but it still hurt more than expected.
"What the hell have you been running around doing?! You idiot oppa!"
For the record: my little sister was an actual boxing athlete. She had even medaled at the National Sports Festival.