Your Faithful Servant

"Agh, fucking hell..."

The torn belly of the monster carcass I'd been dragging along split wide open with a wet rip.

Blackish-red innards and shredded muscle tissue spilled out like mud and sprawled across the ground.

"Ugh... what a hassle."

Just picturing myself scraping that mess up bit by bit and hauling it off separately was enough to make my mood curdle.

Once hunters finish subjugating a pack of monsters, the Monster Dismantling Team moves in right on their heels. They carve out the magic stones, strip the hides, and separate off every horn, claw, and organ worth special processing.

Once all the pricey bits have been carved away, it falls to the Cleanup Team to deal with the chunks of flesh, bones, and gut scraps strewn across the site.

And today, that was me — I'd shown up for cleanup crew duty as a part-timer.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ha... this smell is so fucking rancid."

The hard labor was one thing, but that godawful stench was something I would never, ever get used to.

Once a monster dies, its corpse rots at an unnaturally rapid clip. The decay belches out toxic gases like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, and on top of that comes the reek of ruptured innards mingled with a thick, coppery stink of blood.

There's simply no describing that smell in words.

Thank god for the gas mask, at least.

Splosh. Splat.

Heavy lumps dropped into the slop bin one after another, each landing with a wet, squelching sound.

By the time the job was winding down, the inside of my mask was drenched with moisture. Sweat had rolled down from my forehead and pooled at the corner of one eye, blurring half my vision, but I couldn't bring myself to wipe it away.

There was exactly one time before — mid-shift — when I'd lifted my mask a crack because it felt suffocating in there.

And I swear I'm not exaggerating: the smell made me dry-heave over and over until I nearly blacked out.

That stench wasn't the kind that merely stings your nose.

It was more like getting clubbed directly across the brain.

Shock and horror, pure and simple.

I tilted my head to one side to let the pooled sweat trickle free, then shoved the last lump into the bin.

Splat.

"Finally done. Fuck."

I slowly straightened my hunched back.

Pop-pop-crack.

My spine crackled like a string of firecrackers as I stretched.

I turned in the rented gas mask and protective gear and finished changing. The sun was already sinking low.

Shh—

I lit a cigarette and dragged on it deep. Hot smoke scraped its way down my throat and sank deep into my lungs.

Whoo—

A long plume of gray haze unspooled from my lips.

"Ahh... now I feel alive."

With the nicotine recharging my system, a sliver of the day's accumulated fatigue seemed to drain away.

Why do I do this job?

For starters, the pay beats any other day labor out there. Plus there are no set shifts. It's brutal work, so hands are always in short supply — which means I can ring them up whenever I feel like it, take a spot if there's an opening, and stay home entirely when I can't be bothered.

For a born slacker like me, no truer calling exists.

I'd worked several days straight, so the plan was to rot at home for a while.

Holed up in my corner of the room, chain-smoking.

Ordering delivery food.

Scratching my balls and gaming.

Nothing grand, but those little things were the pleasures of my life.

Some might call it a pretty regrettable existence.

But I'm quite fond of that life, honestly.

Fitting, given my name.

The surname Yoo, and a single-character given name — gam, meaning "regret."

Yoo Gam. Yeah. As in, "what a damn shame."

Back home, I took a shower first, threw together a pack of instant ramen for dinner, and flung myself onto the bed.

The plan was to poke around on my phone a bit, then sleep. But my eyelids were heavier than usual — unusually so. Before long, a drowsiness I couldn't fight came flooding in.

Had I been pushing myself too hard these past ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠few days?

Everything went black in an instant.

How long had I been out?

"You've finally arrived."

A woman's voice, unfamiliar, drifted in from somewhere.

...The neighbors?

Half-asleep and hazy, I was about to brush it off as nothing—

"I have waited so very long for you."

This time the voice rang out crystal clear, right in front of my face.

...What the hell?

As consciousness slowly trickled back, a faint glow spread through the skin of my closed eyelids.

Puzzled, I peeled my eyes open slowly, and—

"...!"

A pair of golden eyes was gazing straight down at me.

The instant my gaze locked with hers, I sucked in a breath without meaning to.

A faint blush blooming across flawless, snow-white skin. Lips holding the ghost of a smile.

Features in such perfect harmony there wasn't a single flaw to pick at.

She was beautiful to the point of being unreal.

My gaze followed her hair as it spilled down past her shoulders, and—

—a garment of purest white clung to her body, baring every lush curve without a shred of shame.

Of everything, her full, heavy chest was what caught my eye the hardest.

Especially her nipples, poking up in taut little peaks.

...What the fuck.

"Are you awake now?"

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That clear, bell-like voice chimed at my ear again.

Playing it cool, I slid my gaze back up and met her eyes like nothing had happened.

"...Who are you?"

At my question, she blinked once or twice, then a faint smile crept onto her lips.

"I am Sera, your faithful servant."

"...Servant?"

For a second I genuinely wondered if I'd misheard.

"Yes."

She nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your servant — devoted to you and no one else."

...?

I'd woken up to a complete stranger spouting nonsense, and I couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. I was fairly sure I'd fallen asleep in my own bed.

Only then did I actually look around. My familiar room was nowhere to be found — in its place stretched a space I'd never seen before.

Where the hell was this?

...Fuck. A dream?

"This place is a space born from the connection between you and me... It is not a dream."

...Did she just read my mind?

She stepped closer as she went on.

"For now, in this moment... you and I are connected."

At some point we'd drifted close enough that our bodies were nearly touching.

...Isn't this a little too close?

And that chest — no matter how hard I tried to keep my mind off it, my eyes kept sliding back down.

"A place where only two people can exist — you and I♡"

...What is she even talking about?

Her voice had taken on a strangely sensual lilt compared to before. Or was that just my head playing tricks?

Her gaze drifted slowly downward.

"Fufu. My, you're certainly healthy♡"

...What?

The moment I followed her gaze down my own body, I finally registered my state.

Butt naked.

And fully erect.

"..."

Standing there in the raw, hard-on and all, in front of some unidentified knockout of a woman.

Cognitive dissonance hit me like a truck.

"It has been a while, so allow me to serve you♡"

...Serve?

More importantly — what did she mean, "a while"?

Before I had any time to think it through, her hand drifted slowly downward.

"Hang on, what are you—"

Before the words could leave my mouth, her slender fingers wrapped around my cock.

"...!"

The unexpected touch froze my hips solid for a beat.

She looked positively delighted by my reaction, a smile tugging at her lips. Then she loosened her grip ever so slightly and began to stroke, slow and unhurried, along the thick veins ridging my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shaft.

The warmth of her fingertips grazing over them was soft beyond belief. Every tiny motion registered with startling, vivid clarity.

Then her fingertip glided once, featherlight, just beneath the head.

"Ngh..."

A short groan slipped out of me before I could stop it.

Hearing that, the corners of her mouth curled up even further.

"Fufu♡"

This time she pressed her palm flush against me and gripped my cock tight. As her hold tightened, the pressure constricting my shaft came through vivid and distinct.

Her soft hand began to move. Slowly. From base to tip, then back down again.

"Wait..."

That's what I said, anyway. My cock, on the other hand, was already shamelessly playing along. Every time her wrapped fingers glided slowly up and down, the skin of my shaft followed — dragged upward, then eased back down.

"Hah..."

Grit my teeth as I might, I couldn't hold back every moan that leaked through.

She watched me come apart with a satisfied, knowing smile in her eyes.

"Your body is honest, at least♡"

At some point, a bead of clear precum had welled up at the tip.

Her handiwork was practiced and merciless. She'd hold a steady rhythm, then shift speed and pressure by subtle degrees, keeping the stimulation rolling without pause.

Now and then her thumb would press hard on the sensitive head, or grind against it, testing the very limits of my patience.

Stroke after stroke, the precum smeared and spread until everything glistened.

My mind went white.

The bewilderment I'd felt mere minutes ago had evaporated into thin air, and the only thing left ruling my nerves was the pleasure welling up from my hips.

By this point I wasn't even thinking of telling her to stop anymore.

If anything, I caught myself pushing my hips forward, just a little.

She didn't miss that tiny movement — her eyes narrowed into sly, slender crescents.

"Someone's enjoying himself, I see♡"

As if to gauge my reaction, she eased off for a moment, then began building the rhythm back up, little by little.

The urge to release came creeping in fast.

Sensing it, her hand sped up another notch.

And the instant the pleasure crested past its limit—

Spurt. Spuuurt.

Cum pumped out of me in thick, forceful ropes and splattered across her chest.

Right below her stiff, flushed nipples, to be precise.

Watching that, my cock — just beginning to settle — twitched back to life and lifted its head again.

"..."

She wore a strangely contented smile.

"Truly... the same as ever, I see♡"

...The same as ever?

Another cryptic remark, meaning unknown.

Just as I opened my mouth to ask, the space around us began to shimmer faintly.

"...?"

For the first time, a trace of regret flickered across her face.

"As much as I would love to continue, it seems this is all for now. I did so want to serve you a little longer..."

"For now?"

"The connection between us is not yet deep enough..."

"..."

The shimmering grew violent, and the world around us slowly began to lose its shape.

"So... do try a little harder, won't you♡"

With those final words, her figure, too, blurred and faded fast.

"Harder? At what—"

Before I could finish, my vision cut to black.