Maid

After the city hall incident, elites from various crews had gathered to stand guard over the Eternal Gate.

Military units were on standby as well, prepared for any unforeseen developments. The garrison sat at the foot of the mountain, right where the defensive line had been drawn during the last battle. Fortunately, nothing had come boiling out of the Gate for a full seven days.

"Shouldn't we start heading inside soon?"

"A week's gone by. Let's put together a recon team of elite members."

"If we keep the outer perimeter airtight, nothing like last time will happen again."

Inside the tent, the crew representatives were deep in conference. Elena, Keira, and I were sitting in as advisors and part of the Gate defense team.

"What's your take, Miss Keira?"

"As long as the defenses hold firm, going in is the right call. Having this much firepower tied down here indefinitely is a massive waste."

Keira's words were exactly what the meeting wanted to hear. They were itching to get inside and experience the Eternal Gate for themselves as soon as possible.

"Excellent. Then let's discuss the composition of the recon team."

That came from William Park, representative of the Shinyongsan Crew. With the Association absent, Shinyongsan was the one keeping order around here. Their standing had only grown after the Demonic Power incident—after all, the thing that could amplify Demonic Power was Ttanttani, and they held the monopoly on it.

"Ah, this next part of the meeting's going to run long, so the advisors are free to step out."

It was less a dismissal and more a courtesy. Who got onto the recon team was the real prize everyone in that tent was fighting over. Being first didn't guarantee a crew ownership of whatever they found, but it sure raised the odds. The atmosphere on the ground only fed into it. With the Association—the supposed mediator—completely dysfunctional, the prevailing mood was that whoever planted a flag first basically owned it.

"Then if you'll excuse us."

Outside the tent it was packed solid. Elite Keepers of A-class and higher from every crew. Soldiers. Press. All of them locked their eyes on us the moment we stepped out. Roughly five hundred stares. Most of them were the usual mix of "damn, they're gorgeous" and "holy crap, real otherworlders."

Keira kept her poker face the way she always did. Elena looked completely unfazed, which made sense—she was the Thirteenth Sword, after all. I'd been getting a lot of this lately too. Ever since they slapped that oversized "hero" label on me, people stared wherever I went. Still, keeping a blank expression through it was harder than it looked. Especially when comments like these floated over.

"Man, some people just get all the luck. That's pure Gate carry right there."

"He's C-class, right? How the hell does a C-class even get into that meeting?"

The fact that I had a Summon Gate was public knowledge. Everything that could be disclosed had been disclosed. We hadn't told anyone that the contracts with the two of them were sealed through sex, but the fact that I had some kind of summoner-style contracts was now common knowledge. And that meant a whole lot of people were jealous.

Girlfriend who could outshine any celebrity. Said girlfriend was the world's first mage. Occasional TV appearances. A ten-billion-won weapon as a gift. Some people still called me a "demon," others called me a "hero"—the kind of attention ordinary people never even dreamed of. And then it turned out all of it had been Gate carry.

Yeah... nothing I could do about that. I'd thought the exact same way once.

If I just get a good Gate... no, if I just become a Keeper...

I'd muttered that to myself more times than I could count in that dead-end studio apartment. And they weren't even wrong. Would I be standing here if I hadn't gotten the Summon Gate? Would I be here if Keira hadn't been the first one summoned? Would I be here if Elena hadn't saved Keira at the critical moment? Looking back, the whole thing was a chain of miracles that most people would just call "luck."

Knowing that didn't make it any easier to keep my face straight when they said it right in front of me. Besides, I was a B-class Keeper now. After dancing with death a few times, my stats had shot up recently.

Add in the Lust and Essence that didn't even show on the status window, and by pure numbers I was already solidly B-class. Given enough free time I was confident I could walk into the Association and walk out with a B-class license, but lately I'd been too busy for that.

You okay?

Keira must have caught my expression; she asked through message magic. I answered with a nod. Just a scratch on the heart, nothing more. The second I left this spot I'd forget every word of it. Responding to every single jab would never end, and I wasn't about to start policing what every person on earth thought.

But when you stay quiet, some people start crossing lines.

"What if we just grab ourselves some otherworlders of our own? This might be our shot."

"Even a holy knight's gonna freeze up once you stick a dick in her, right?"

Those conversations were much quieter than the earlier ones. They came from farther back—among the soldiers. The Keepers had been talking loud on purpose so I'd hear them. This was just the soldiers screwing up. They had no idea how sharp a Keeper's senses were, so they figured we couldn't hear a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thing.

"Haa... Elena, go give them a warning."

"Got it."

That I couldn't let slide. Online boards were full of worse verbal abuse, sure, but hearing it in real life and just swallowing it?

Elena moved like she'd teleported, appearing right in front of the soldier. Her blade was already resting against his throat.

"Don't move."

"Who exactly freezes up?"

"Th-that's..."

The soldier's face had gone paper-white. He couldn't even form proper words.

"You're going to apologize, aren't you?"

"O-of course."

The moment Elena withdrew her sword, the soldier dropped flat onto the dirt.

"I'm sorry. I made a mistake—no, I was just thinking completely wrong. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"I'll forgive you. Once."

"Thank you, thank you. Truly, thank you."

Elena returned just as fast as she'd left, vanishing and reappearing without a visible step. The soldier was still face-down; the faces of the surrounding troops were a mix of shock and pure fear.

"Was that too much?"

"It was perfect, Elena."

If we hadn't been out in public, I would have been gushing about how cool that was. I'd really lucked out picking my otherworlders. The Keepers were surprised too, but their focus was a little different.

"Whoa... so that's S-class movement."

"That's higher than any S-class I know."

"But what's the guy even doing? Isn't that the kind of thing the man should handle?"

"Shut up. His girlfriend might start casting this time."

...Damn it. Getting hit with facts actually hurt. I wanted to clap back, but I couldn't. It was true, and there wasn't a single direct insult in there. For all I knew they were baiting me on purpose. Getting tangled up with me would make them famous either way, and if I rose to it my image would take the hit.

Shall we go?

This message felt less like concern and more like teasing. Somehow. Keira still had her poker face on, but the corners of her eyes looked like they were smiling.

Tch. Best move in a situation like this was to change the subject.

"More importantly—you think it'll be fine?"

"What will?"

"The recon team."

The second the words "recon team" left my mouth, the entire area went quiet. Everyone hanging around outside their own tents had one obvious goal: get the meeting results even a second faster than everyone else.

"Ah... it'll be fine. We have to start somehow."

"You've been inside the Eternal Gate before, right, Keira? What's it like in there?"

"Pretty similar to other Gates."

"Who do you think they'll send in?"

"Hmm, well..."

We'd reached our tent by then, so the conversation cut off. People stared even harder, but we ignored them and stepped inside. How's that? Curious? Too bad—we're not telling.

A wave of sighs rolled outside the tent like the tide coming in.

"Feeling a little better?"

"Yeah. Feels like I paid a little of it back."

"Good. I was tense thinking I'd actually have to step in."

"Cut the jokes. You know you can't step in either."

"Hm? I've never been famous, so I wouldn't know."

The fact that she added the "never been famous" caveat meant she knew perfectly well. Elena, on the other hand, took Keira's words completely seriously.

"Miss Keira, those Keepers' comments earlier were deliberate provocation. A lot of people are targeting Jungmin right now precisely because he's newly famous."

"Because his skill doesn't match the fame yet?"

"Well... yes, basically. Jungmin's growth is fast, but he still needs a bit more time."

She was right. At least A-class and the snide remarks would dry up.

"You heard that, Jungmin?"

"I know. But don't you need to raise your own skill a bit too, Keira? You should at least hit A-class."

Keira had gained about four stats since coming to Earth, but she was still a little short of A-class. Even without the raw numbers, her magical versatility already put her at A-class or higher in practice—but when things got critical, the thing that decided victory or defeat was the fundamentals. Stats.

"You're right. So let's do it."

"Great. If it's magic training, I'm all in."

Physical training would be tough in a cramped tent, but magic practice was doable right here. I was starting to want higher-tier magic myself.

"No. Not that. Sex."

Wait—why was the conversation veering that way again? Why was it always setup, development, climax: sex with this lust monster?!

"Why? You and I have to do it to raise potential. Mine and yours. Higher potential means stats climb easier. And your potential's probably ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠running low right now... isn't it?"

Keira was closing in. Her eyes were completely different from a moment ago. Not a shred of playfulness left—just pure seduction. She was always magnetic, and as a fellow lust monster I was already reacting, but still.

"I already cast Silence, so let's go."

"What about Elena? What's she supposed to do?"

"Elena already agreed."

What? She'd said no before.

I looked at Elena. Her face went scarlet and she ducked her head.

"Still, in broad daylight, in a place like this..."

"Since when have we ever cared about that? Getting famous made you lose your beginner spirit?"

"What does beginner spirit have to do with this?!"

"It has everything to do with it! I've already forgotten mine!"

Keira shouted, but this one felt different. Past the seduction, a thread of real sincerity came through.

"When was the last time you held me?"

"Th-that's..."

Honestly, I had been a little neglectful of Keira lately. Even the once-a-week sex we were supposed to have, I'd just finished by transferring mana. The press conference prep had been hectic, sure, but from Keira's perspective it had to sting. In the meantime I'd done quasi-sex with Suyeon and enjoyed a hotel getaway with Elena.

"I know you're busy. But this isn't right. Not even once in a whole week? So we're doing it now. From now on we do it every chance we get. Otherwise I feel like I won't be able to. That's why Elena agreed too—if we do it together, there's less awkwardness to worry about."

Even in a situation like this, her approach was ruthlessly practical. At the same time I could feel the hurt and loneliness underneath. Maybe I really had lost my beginner spirit.

"...Alright. Let's do it."

"Okay!"

Keira beamed, pounced on me, and started stripping my clothes. Beside us, Elena hesitantly began unbuckling her armor.

Two-on-one was a first. Could I handle it? Of course, both that worry and the guilt toward Keira were things I could convert straight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into lust. There was a reason my traits included Lust Control.

My other self swelled and jabbed against the lower belly of the still-undressing Keira. She spoke with a rapturous expression.

"Haa... this is the feeling..."

That voice, dripping with one hundred percent arousal, made my other self even more aggressive. As if it knew it had been the first thing to ever pierce the pussy in front of it. As if it knew this pussy had never taken anything else—one hundred percent exclusive property.

And then—

"Jungmin. Keira."

Elena, fully re-armored and combat-ready, called out to us.

"...Undead have appeared."

Keira froze for a beat, then clutched her head with both hands. She must have confirmed Elena's words with magic.

"See?! This is—why does this always happen to me?!"

I wasn't supposed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to laugh, but Keira was so cute I couldn't help it.

"Pff—"

"Lee Jungmin! Are you seriously laughing right now?!"

"Sorry, really... pfft."

"Hey!"

"J-Jungmin, Keira, this is an actual emergency!"

Elena fretting. Keira genuinely outraged and sulking. And me, with every earlier scratch on my heart freshly painted over.

I really had picked my otherworlders well.