Pillow Talk (2)
With Han Mina's soft body pulled into both arms, he lay there on the futon with her, their bodies overlapping. It was a situation exciting enough to get him hard naturally, but he didn't go as far as penetration—instead, he explored her body this way and that. Things like her cute little breasts that fit perfectly in one hand, or her thick, fluffy gray tail.
After a few minutes like that, Han Mina turned her head and met his eyes.
"…How long are you gonna keep groping me?"
"Huh? Forever?"
"…."
"Just talk like this. You said earlier you wanted to ask about my awakening ability."
She made a face like she couldn't believe it, then turned her head back forward.
"…Fine, starting with your awakening ability, then."
"Yeah."
"What exactly is it? Is it really an ability that gets stronger from… mixing bodies with me?"
As he pondered how much to reveal in response, the next words tumbled out of her mouth.
"If you don't wanna say, you don't have to. You're the first male Awakener, so I get why you'd hesitate to tell just anyone. …Still, as a friend, it'd be nice if you shared a little."
She was leaving it up to him to decide how much to say about his ability. After a moment's thought on how much to tell her specifically, he finally spoke.
"The basic rundown is, it's an ability that makes me stronger every time I have sex."
"Stronger every time you have… what?"
"That's the summary. If I explain the details…."
He told her that satisfying a female hunter's lust gave him points equal to that amount. That the point total fluctuated based on her affection toward him or pent-up desire. And that the abilities he could learn with those points let him use multiple kinds of power, just like a multi-awakener.
It was about the same level of info he'd shared with Cha Yuri or Do Sihee. Han Mina had become someone he'd regularly make love with, just like them, so she deserved to know at least that much.
"…So, to sum up, it's like a multi-awakener ability, but you level it up through sex… I mean, intercourse?"
"Yep, spot on."
"Man, what a wild awakening ability."
Her reaction was totally understandable. Even he had doubted it at first, wondering if someone was pranking him.
"No questions about what I just told you?"
"Huh?"
"Like, maybe I'm lying because I don't wanna reveal my real ability and just bullshitting you? Or maybe I'm so desperate to awaken as a hunter that I've got some delusion disorder?"
"Pfft, if you were gonna lie, you'd pick something simpler. Why invent some unheard-of ability like that?"
"Fair point."
"And someone with delusion disorder wouldn't admit it themselves…. But now that you mention it, that does sound a little suspicious."
"Then maybe this'll ease your doubts a bit?"
With that, he pulled his hand away from her breast and brought it to her face, conjuring a tiny flame on his fingertip.
"Fire magic. Can't swing a sword around in here, so this'll have to do."
"…So you really did awaken."
Her voice came back, finally free of all suspicion.
"Sigh, but now I gotta rewrite your recommendation letter from scratch…. I already filled it with stuff about your swordsmanship…."
"Nah, that's fine as is. I'm keeping the other abilities secret from the guild. With the perception-disrupting artifact, they'll probably just think I'm a female hunter who wields a greatsword."
"…At least that's something."
Some tweaks would still be needed, but he stroked her ears and hair gently by way of comfort.
"…Come to think of it, if I'm switching to the company, do I need to change my name too?"
"Huh? You've been using an alias this whole time?"
"Kim Sungcheol with the Association. Back then, I didn't have the perception-disrupting artifact, so using my real name felt too risky—too many eyes on me."
"…And you managed not to get caught as a male hunter with that name?"
"I only started seriously ranking up after I got the artifact."
A stroke of good luck all around, but it had let him operate smoothly until now—that was enough.
"Lemme see your Hunter ID."
"Here."
"…You've got a ton of completed requests. How long did you say you've been hunting?"
"Timeline-wise, I awakened late June this year, so like three or four months?"
"Fucking monster talent."
Even he thought reaching this point in three months was an insane feat, so he gently massaged her breast in agreement. The position during sex earlier hadn't given him much chance to fondle these cute things properly. Might as well enjoy them now.
"I-It's fine if you touch, but… don't get weird about it…."
"What do you mean?"
"Like the nipple—don't pinch so hard…."
"What, you liked it?"
"You bastard! How am I not supposed to feel it when you keep teasing?!"
A freshly filled heart icon hovered by the flushed face of the angry Han Mina. Her status said he could probably squeeze in one more round before heading out.
"Using an alias… maybe if you talk to Hyeun's mom, she could sort it out?"
"Eunyoung noona?"
"…You call Hyeun's mom 'noona'?"
"…."
"…Nah, not my business."
It wasn't her concern, sure, but he couldn't shake the feeling that his relationship with her had just leaked out somehow.
"Anyway, Hyeun's mom used to hunt with the company president, Seo Okhee, back in their prime. Leverage that connection, and your alias activity might get recognized to some extent."
"Oh, right. Never thought of that."
Everyone knew former S-rank Kang Eunyoung and company president Seo Okhee were close friends. The company name, Silver and Jade Co., even came from taking one character each from their names. From what he'd heard of her recent temporary return to hunting, they were still tight—worth a shot.
"Still, convincing Hyeun's mom is on you. She's merciless even with her own daughter during training. Think you can pull it off?"
"Gotta try. At least your idea takes one worry off my plate."
If all his Association efforts vanished because of the alias, even he'd feel a bit empty. Sure, those runs led to meeting Cha Yuri and Senior Hwayoung, so it wouldn't be a total loss—but still.
"It's not urgent anyway. You can sweat the details after you hit B-rank."
"Oh yeah, speaking of—I got my promotion exam date."
"No shit? So you're C-rank now?"
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
Something felt off, and he quickly pinpointed the disconnect. Right—he hadn't told her he was already C-rank last time they met.
"I'm already C-rank. The promotion I'm talking about is to B-rank."
"…What?"
"Says C-rank right there. You only checked the request history and missed the rank?"
Han Mina turned back to the ID, muttering in disbelief.
"Holy shit, C-rank for real…. Wait, so all these completed requests are B-rank ones?"
"Low-rank requests were efficient. Did about ten, and the exam date popped right up."
"Never thought I'd know someone who promotes like a psycho…."
Fucking monster talent….
As she muttered in a daze, he slipped a hand under her, snapped his thumb and middle finger, and lightly smacked the outer lips of her pussy.
"Eek?!"
"Watch the potty mouth."
"Who do you think you are, my boyfriend? What the—bullshit…."
Yet she listened anyway. As a reward, he stroked her tail long and smooth from root to tip. Her body arched and stretched just as fluidly.
"Nngh, w-well, good thing it worked out. Hyeun's been stressing lately."
"Yeah?"
"Our party big sis, Jihee unnie—she's getting to retirement age. But without her, the party's screwed."
"The Cheon Jihee you mentioned last time?"
"Ah! Yeah…. If Jihee unnie leaves, Hyeun has to hold the front alone, and her abilities are key for when we need to clear the rear first. Ah, th-there… rub it a little more…."
"So she's like a guerrilla handling multiple roles?"
"Ngh, y-yeah, pretty much? You joining might cover some ground, but after all this time together, she's irreplaceable right now…."
Her words cut off with a "Nngh!" as her rigid body melted soft again. She loved it most when he kneaded right in the middle of that long tail.
From what she'd shared so far, Hyeun's Sky Blue Shield had four members now. Up front: shield warrior Kang Hyeun. Scout: beast-type animal Awakener Han Mina. Firepower: mage Cha Yuri. And Cheon Jihee handling guerrilla duties—though her exact abilities were still unknown. That made the party's current strength.
For some reason, he had a hunch he'd cross paths with her eventually.