The Incubus Who Controls Water #3
The Incubus Who Controls Water #3
Three days had already slipped by since the Magic Tower's investigation quest ended.
I woke up late again today, rolled around aimlessly on the bed for a while, then formed a hand seal and got to work on my magic practice. Breakfast service was just about wrapping up, but I wasn't really in the mood to eat anyway.
"Water."
A fist-sized droplet of water materialized in the air.
I stretched it out with my magic power like I was kneading rice cake dough. Just thinking about rice cake made my mouth water. Honestly, my water droplet would probably taste better than the garbage soup the inn serves.
If I shaped the droplet well enough, I felt like I could even turn it into a rice cake form—.
But putting the rice cake idea into action wasn't in the cards.
A loud, pounding knock yanked me up from the bed.
Who the hell is hammering on my door first thing in the morning?
Don't tell me it's that religious nutjob.
I tossed the water droplet into the basin and opened the door.
And the face that appeared through the crack was none other than Rebecca.
I'd been scowling in case it was the religious nutjob, so I relaxed my expression.
"Hi—."
This was the second time Rebecca had come straight to my inn room.
I'd brought her here before, so she obviously remembered the location, but she's been visiting pretty frequently.
Rebecca got straight to the point.
"So, how long are you planning to take a break from adventurer work? You've already lazed around for three days."
"So what if I laze around? We've already got plenty of money stashed away."
Thanks to handling the Magic Tower's investigation quest, we had more than enough to live on.
I didn't get why Rebecca felt the need to track me down at my place and rush me.
Though, I guess this girl did seem to have a bit of a greedy streak.
"What's the point of doing nothing! We have to work. I can't stand just rotting away here."
"You're annoyingly diligent."
"Besides, there's tons of stuff I want to spend money on. I want to save up a lump sum and get new gear. Like pauldrons, greaves, plus I need to buy some whetstones to sharpen my blade...."
Rebecca's voice was thick with anticipation for new equipment.
A swordsman-class adventurer's performance is especially gear-dependent, after all.
Get one solid piece of armor, and you can instantly pull off a tank role.
"So, should we head out today? Hit the Guild and look for a request?"
"Today's no good. Since heading out on a whim like that's iffy, let's just go tomorrow."
Rebecca peeked past my shoulder into the room, spotted the basin full of water, and smiled.
Since I'd been practicing water magic, the floor around the basin was soaking wet.
"So you were practicing magic? You train pretty hard for someone who looks the way you do."
"What exactly is wrong with how I look?"
"A shifty, blonde delinquent—."
It's spot on, so I had nothing to say.
I just shrugged my shoulders as if to say, "And what about it?"
"I practice magic every day. When I'm at the inn, it's the only thing to do."
"Then how about this? We train together today."
"Train together? You're a swordswoman. I'm a mage."
"I know that. Our fields are different, so there's probably nothing we can help each other with. But still, it's better being together, right? Being alone is boring."
"You got a place where the two of us can train?"
She's not reckless enough to suggest doing it in this inn room, right?
If we start swinging a sword and casting spells in this cramped room, the place will get wrecked.
Fortunately, Rebecca didn't seem like that kind of thoughtless woman.
"Let's head outside. There's a wide, empty lot near the Adventurer's Guild. Let's go there."
"An empty lot... You probably mean the one behind the Guild building. Doesn't that get a lot of foot traffic?"
I could guess which empty lot Rebecca was talking about.
Of course I had the terrain around the Guild memorized. And because of that, I also knew that lot wasn't exactly ideal for training.
"I know a better spot than some empty lot. If we're going to train, I'll take you there."
I wanted to avoid practicing magic where there were lots of people. It would just draw attention and cause a commotion, and having eyes on me kills my concentration.
So I decided to show Rebecca my training spot, since it had come to this.
"Okay, if you've got a better place, show me."
Rebecca decided to follow me without much hesitation.
After changing into some outdoor clothes, I grabbed the empty basin and headed out of the inn. With water magic, there was no need to fill it up beforehand.
Rebecca trailed right behind me as I walked with the basin perched on my head.
*
The western streets of Yoen-su.
An alleyway clustered with abandoned buildings.
The moment we arrived at my training ground, Rebecca looked satisfied. She seemed to appreciate the fact that despite the space being quite large, there wasn't a single person around.
"This place is great. Here, I can move my body freely. The truth is, when I swing my sword in that empty lot, the patrolling guards always glare at me."
"Of course they would. Some random woman dancing around with a sword in the street—I'd think she was a crazy bitch too."
"Crazy bitch?"
"Ah, um. Short for 'a bitch so pretty she's crazy.'"
Rebecca shot me a glare, so I quickly backpedaled.
Luckily, Rebecca didn't press me on it.
"I should make good use of this place from now on, too. Is that okay?"
"I'm not the landlord, so it's fine. Just don't come here alone. If you're thinking of going, ask me to come with you."
"Why?"
"Because vagrants might show up."
"Ooh—."
All kinds of unsavory characters end up gathering in abandoned buildings. Fortunately, it didn't seem like any vagrants had staked out this western street yet, but still, you always have to be careful.
To me, it was just a word of caution to watch out for herself.
But hearing that, Rebecca just gave a goofy grin.
"So you'll come along every time I want to train?"
"Yeah."
"But you'll be coming here alone anyway. You go by yourself all the time, so why can't I?"
"Uh, well...."
I scratched my cheek at her question.
Rebecca was staring at me with a subtle smile playing around her lips.
Maybe it was because we hadn't cleared up the misunderstanding back at the well the other day, but the way Rebecca treated me seemed to have shifted a little.
Before, like a typical newbie adventurer, she'd just not do something if you told her not to.
But suddenly, she's talking back so plainly.
She's getting cocky for no reason.
A newbie acting so full of cheek.
"If I tell you not to, just don't."
"Hee-hee."
Rebecca laughed and stepped well away from my side.
Then she drew her sword and started her training.
For a while, I stood still and watched her practice. I thought maybe watching her swing a sword would somehow help me too. Like those martial arts masters in novels who can steal secret techniques with a single glance.
Stealing Rebecca's swordsmanship—.
A class change to a Magic Swordsman skilled in both blade and magic!
'I have no idea what I'm even looking at. Guess I really have no talent for swordsmanship.'
I abandoned the class change idea.
Rebecca's swordsmanship was unnecessarily flamboyant and complicated. Befitting a fencer from a foreign land, she put a lot of finesse into her swings. Trying to copy that would just end up looking like a ridiculous dance.
"Water—."
I obediently filled the basin with water.
"Liquid."
I scooped water out of the full basin and immediately started manipulating it.
My plan for today was to shape the water into a long whip. A thick whip that could be used as a weapon.
Over the past few days of training, I'd been thinking about how to use water manipulation magic in a real fight. The obvious method was to strike the opponent with the scooped-up water. If I could form it into the shape of a weapon, it would pack even more of a punch.
But getting the shape of a sword or an axe right was difficult. Even when I managed it through painstaking effort, I couldn't form a sharp edge.
A whip, on the other hand, was easy to shape.
Sploosh—!
The instant I gestured upward, a pillar of water shot up from the basin like a fountain.
I put a little strength into the long, extended water pillar.
Soon, it began to writhe like a snake, forming a fine whip that a person could actually wield.
Alright, let's get this started—.
I grabbed the end of the Water Whip like a handle and started swinging it around everywhere.
Like a cowboy in a western, I cracked the Water Whip like a madman.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Every time it made contact with the alley floor, the Water Whip gradually eroded away. I concentrated, practicing to minimize the erosion as much as possible. My plan was to increase the durability of the Water Whip so I could use it longer.
'This has some serious power, doesn't it?'
The whip let out a chilling friction noise every time it struck. A pebble rolling by happened to get hit and was instantly split in half, shattered to pieces. I'd heard a real whip strike can rip flesh from a person's body, and it seemed like the Water Whip could produce similar power.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
As I kept hearing the lively whip cracks, it was unexpectedly fun.
I hummed a little tune as I focused every nerve on swinging the whip. When the Water Whip broke, I reformed it. When the basin ran out of water, I filled it up again.
The day passed by like any other. Outside of mealtimes, I kept up my magic training in that alleyway.
I was so absorbed in cracking the whip that before I knew it, the late evening had set in.
Another fulfilling day.
A little ways off, Rebecca was watching me with a fascinated look on her face. At some point, she'd placed her sword on the ground and was just resting.
She'd been training her swordsmanship too, but at some point, she'd gotten completely absorbed in watching me.
It's probably because seeing magic cast looks pretty amazing.
A moment later, Rebecca's voice rang out.
"Aren't you tired?"
"Huh?"
"You've been training magic without even taking a breath. Don't tell me you're just showing off because I'm here?"
"What use would showing off for you be? I live like this at the inn, too. I'm pretty much always training magic except when I'm eating or taking a nap."
"Oh, really...?"
Rebecca looked surprised to hear about my daily routine.
"I've seen a few training nuts back in my homeland, but I've never met one like you. You do that kind of hardcore training every day? Do you have some secret for boosting your concentration?"
"What secret is there? I just do it."
"No one 'just does' something like that. Come on, tell me."
I felt a bit pressured by the sudden flood of interest, but I didn't let it show. It felt like my stock had gone up in Rebecca's mind.
Earning the trust of a party member was a good thing.
It had gotten so late that it was time to wrap up. Time to part ways with Rebecca.
But just as I was about to leave the alley, Rebecca suddenly grabbed hold of me.
Her hand yanked firmly on my sleeve.
"Hey, wait."
"I gotta go home now. We're doing a quest tomorrow. Let's head back, get some good rest, and meet in the morning."
"I was planning on just resting originally, you know? But something came up that I want to do."
"Then go to your room and do it by yourself. We don't need to be together for that."
"No. This is something we have to do together."
"......?"
Rebecca spoke in a small voice only I could hear.
"...Let's do Mana Charging, Luke."
At those words, I stopped dead in my tracks, my mouth hanging open.
Mana Charging—?
I'm not the kind of guy who doesn't get what that means. Unlike those dense herbivore men who can't take a hint even when it's handed to them on a silver platter, I'm a man who's always ready.
Mana Charging, the term for sex between an incubus and his partner.
Amazingly, right now, Rebecca was demanding it with her own lips.
The act of building up magic power through lewd acts—.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you deaf?"
Rebecca seemed to be feigning calm on the surface. But the hand clutching my sleeve trembled faintly. She was pretending not to be, but inside, she seemed nervous.
"Oh, if you say no, I'll just leave. Since we agreed to do Mana Charging only after getting each other's consent—."
"Consent!"
"Eek."
I shot my hand up to show I agreed with Rebecca's terms.
The moment I actually gave my consent, her eyes wavered.
I grabbed Rebecca's wrist and started moving back toward the inn without a moment's delay.
"Why are you grabbing my wrist? Let go, it hurts."
"You grabbed my sleeve too. So we're even."
"Why you—."
I saw a curse starting to form on Rebecca's lips and had no choice but to let go. She's got a filthy temper, I swear.
Fortunately, Rebecca didn't run away from my side. She kept pace behind me with steady steps until we finally arrived at the inn room.
At last, I succeeded in escorting Rebecca into my room. It was about as tough as hauling cargo, I tell you.
After closing the door.
Thump—.
Rebecca knelt down on the floor.
I did the same, kneeling right in front of her.
"......."
"......."
We stared at each other with serious eyes.
The atmosphere felt exactly like warriors about to duel. You could start a martial arts match right now and it wouldn't feel out of place.
This isn't the vibe of a man and woman who got together to do lewd stuff—.