Chapter 499: The Aftermath
Chapter 499: The Aftermath
“Guwon… your skills… they’ve gotten stronger, haven’t they?”
That was the first thing Leia said when she opened her eyes in the morning, not even bothering with a greeting.
Perhaps because she’d completely lost her senses and we’d overdone it yesterday, she was lying limp on top of me, looking at me with a faint air of reproach despite having received the effects of Healing Sex all night.
“…Ah.”
Come to think of it.
I’d been so preoccupied with the rapid rise of my Martial Artist and Assassin levels that I hadn’t paid any attention to it, but during my time stranded at sea, I had basically been fighting by mixing my Saint skills with my other abilities.
It was only natural, but it meant that even if my Saint job level didn’t go up, my skill levels had.
Lately, I’d barely used my skills when I was with the girls, so the growth of my Saint skills had been slow. But after being stranded for eighteen days and using them pretty much all day long…
I opened my skill window to check, and sure enough, the levels of my Saint skills had risen tremendously across the board.
…I see. So that’s why Leia couldn’t regain her senses.
And here I was, thinking her Gumiho mode hadn’t worn off because she was so lost in pleasure, so I just kept using my skills.
On top of that, I’d figured that since it had been so long, her Gumiho form would need a lot of life force.
No. Of course, we did it yesterday, but she didn’t absorb much life force then.
Leia had been doing her best to suppress her instincts with her reason.
…Huh? No. Wait a minute. Even setting that aside, I have a feeling Leia’s tails numbered nine the entire time…
I couldn’t see them properly since we were in doggy style yesterday, but… I distinctly remember seeing nine tails beyond her body.
And her eyes were definitely glowing, too.
“Hyaang! G-Guwon?!”
I reached a hand toward Leia’s backside to check the number of tails.
Yep. Just one.
Then was I just imagining that she had nine tails the whole time yesterday?
“…Leia. By any chance, were you in your Gumiho state the entire time yesterday?”
“Wha?! I-I’m not sure? It’s true that I… lost myself a little…. But that was definitely because of your skills, Guwon….”
Leia blushed, saying she didn’t really know either.
But if she was aware enough to know that she’d lost control because of my skills, it meant her reason must have returned at some point in the middle…
But if she still had nine tails despite that… does that mean Leia was able to maintain her Gumiho state even after she had fully regained her senses and met her quota for absorbing life force?
Succeeding in retaining her reason while in Gumiho form had been relatively easy, but controlling the Gumiho’s power or using it to her advantage was progressing very slowly.
Or rather than slow… to be honest, we were pretty much stuck at the point of just barely being able to suppress the amount of life force she absorbed.
So in a situation like this, she suddenly became able to maintain her Gumiho state? What on earth was the cause?
“Leia. This is a long shot, but do you think you could turn into a Gumiho right now?”
“Huh? Into a Gumiho? Hmmm…”
At my sudden question, Leia furrowed her brow and strained, but naturally, she showed no sign of transforming.
“…I’m sorry. I don’t know how….”
“No, I’m the one who should be sorry. If you don’t think you can, then don’t worry about it.”
I offered words of comfort to Leia, whose ears and tail drooped in response.
But contrary to my words, my mind was racing furiously.
In that case, did we satisfy some kind of condition last night that allowed her to maintain her Gumiho state, without either of us knowing?
This might be something worth looking into more seriously.
But no matter how seriously I thought about it, it wasn’t something I could confirm right now.
The only way to test it was through another practical session with Leia.
So there’s no need to rush. I’ll take my time and think about it until Leia’s next turn.
As usual, we spent the time until Vanessa arrived chatting sweetly and doing a few other pleasant things. When we heard Vanessa’s voice announcing that the meal was ready, we got dressed and left the room.
When we stepped into the hallway, it wasn't just Vanessa waiting there; someone else was with her.
“G-Good morning…!”
For some reason, Sara, who had been crouched against the opposite wall, plugging her ears and staring at nothing but her glowing dagger, shot to her feet the moment we came out and greeted us with a perfectly composed expression.
“…Yeah. Good morning. What were you doing over there?”
“I-It’s none of your business. I was just passing by.”
No, you weren’t. My room isn’t on the route from your room to the dining hall.
Sara said it nonchalantly and gently took hold of my sleeve.
…I see. It seemed that even though the location tracker had managed to calm her down, being separated all night was still a huge mental burden for her.
“…Is that so.”
I gently loosened Sara’s grip on my sleeve and instead wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her snugly against my side.
“……”
As if my guess was correct, Sara said nothing and simply pressed herself against my side.
Though, her expression was a little prim.
Honestly, she can never be honest with herself. What a cute little thing.
“Fufu.”
Watching Sara and me, Leia smiled softly and clung to my other arm.
With a beauty on each arm, we headed for the dining hall.
*
“I’ll help with the swimming practice today, too!”
After we finished our meal, I made the urgent declaration before Silvia and Matilda could disappear into the bathroom again.
Today’s the day… Today’s the day!
“You? It’s alright. You should rest some more.”
But Matilda looked at me and flatly refused.
Heh. But I already expected to be rejected.
“No. Like I said yesterday, it makes me more antsy to just sit around doing nothing. I need to move my body a bit. In that sense, swimming is perfect, right? It’s not too strenuous on the body.”
“I’m surprised someone who was stranded in the water for over ten days has any desire to swim.”
“Hmph. You’d be mistaken to underestimate my mental fortitude.”
Sara muttered as if she found it absurd, but I replied shamelessly.
To be honest… yeah. I was a little sick of swimming.
I mean, of course I was. I’d lived in the water for eighteen days. A full eighteen days.
Day after day of nothing but swimming toward my destination, except for when I was eating, sleeping, or fighting.
There was no way I wouldn’t be sick of it.
But despite all that, I had a reason for wanting to help with the swimming practice.
For the glorious paradise!
Just how beautifully would the female form be displayed while swimming in the nude?
Heheheh. I’m already getting excited.
Therefore, I had no intention of backing down a single step.
“But Vanessa is teaching us, so there’s no need for you to go that far, Guwon….”
Leia murmured, still seeming to feel sorry about making me swim.
…Huh? The way she said that, it sounds like she’s learning to swim, too.
Weren’t you going to help teach?
Well, fine. If Leia is a student, that’s even better.
“Even if Vanessa is teaching, this kind of thing is always most effective with one-on-one instruction. So, if I join in, you’ll all improve much faster.”
If Leia was a student, that meant there were three students and only one teacher, Vanessa.
Using that fact, I made my case.
As a bonus, even if I took on the role of a teacher, I was also encouraging Vanessa to continue in her role as well.
That woman has an amazing body, too. The more, the merrier.
In the paradise that is a nude swimming pool, the more female bodies, the better!
“Hmmm… In that case, maybe I’ll help too.”
Sara spoke coolly, as if she was just offering to help because she had nothing better to do.
Yeah, right. You can say it with a cool face all you want, but you just want to follow me wherever I go.
I saw right through you this morning.
But having Sara help was a welcome development for me.
Three students and three teachers made the numbers match up perfectly, and as I said before, in a nude swimming pool, the more female bodies…!
And above all, if Sara joined in, most of our party members would be practicing swimming together, which would weaken their resistance to me joining.
Well, there was one party member who seemed to have absolutely no intention of participating.
“……Why are you looking at me? I-I’m not doing it! I can live my life just fine without knowing how to swim!”
As I gazed intently at Diana, she spoke with a look of disgust.
She still hates exercise. That’s why her Strength and Stamina are so pathetic even after leveling up so much.
It’s ridiculous that she can still have such a great body.
Why doesn’t she gain any weight? No, I mean, I’m very grateful for it, of course.
All hail the elves.
“B-But still, Sir Guwon, you should rest…!”
Just as it was decided that basically everyone except Diana would be practicing swimming together, there was still one person who opposed my participation.
And surprisingly, it was Silvia.
With an expression that said she didn’t know what to do with herself over the fact that I was getting involved because of them, Silvia urged me to rest.
“No. I’m going to help. No matter what you say, Silvia, my mind is made up.”
“…I-Is that so…. In that case… in that case, with the wish I mentioned before…!”
Then, this time, Silvia started talking by bringing up her wish.
Hey. Silvia. I’m really happy that you’re thinking about my well-being, but you can’t use your wish on something like that.
“A wish?”
“Ah, I promised to grant her one if she won a game we played before… well, anyway. Silvia. Let me see you for a second. You guys wait here. I need to talk to her alone for a moment.”
“Hiiik!”
I vaguely explained the sudden mention of a wish to the girls, who were tilting their heads in confusion, and grabbed Silvia’s arm to lead her to a more private place.
Silvia trembled, but followed me with a fire in her eyes, determined to not be a bother to me.
“Silvia. Tell me honestly. What was the wish you were originally going to ask of me?”
As soon as we were somewhere secluded, I looked at Silvia with serious eyes and spoke.
I had intended to wait until Silvia had made up her mind, but the situation had changed.
With the matter of Rachel, I wanted to advance my relationship with Silvia before then, but here she was, trying to use her wish on something strange.
“…Eh? Th-That’s….”
Perhaps because she was so surprised that I was asking this instead of just insisting on helping with the swimming practice, Silvia muttered with a flustered expression.
What’s there to be flustered about? If I just wanted to insist on helping, there would have been no reason to drag her to a place where no one else was around.
“I-It’s nothing… I didn’t really have a wish….”
“If you lie, I won’t let you off easy.”
As Silvia averted her gaze, so agitated it was obvious to anyone she was lying, I threatened her in a low voice.
“Uuht…! Th-That’s… that’s… uuuuuh!”
Even to my own ears, it was a completely unthreatening threat, but it worked on my Silvia.
She always does whatever I say. Well, that’s only natural, considering she once begged me to keep her around even if it was just to use her for sexual release.
Silvia was on the verge of tears, unable to get the words out.
However, her whimpering wasn’t because she didn’t want to say it, but rather because she felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.
Her body was trembling uncontrollably.
“A k-k-kiss…! I wanted you to kiss me…! Waaaaah…!”
With her fists clenched tightly at her sides and her eyes squeezed shut, Silvia finally squeezed out every last ounce of her courage and shouted.
Of course, the moment she shouted it, she immediately covered her face with both hands and collapsed to the ground as if she were crumbling.
“A kiss… you mean…”
“I-I’m sorry! I-I was… I was out of line!”
Hearing the disbelief in my voice, Silvia jumped to conclusions and began apologizing desperately.
“No. Calm down. It’s not like that. I made a big deal about granting you a wish, and all you want is a kiss? Don’t you think you lack a little ambition?”
“…Eh?”
When I said that, Silvia slowly raised her head, a blank look on her face as if she’d just heard something unbelievable.