Compromise 7
"A virgin? What do you mean, suddenly..."
Yukiko took a step closer, pressing in on me.
"How long do you intend to wait for the woman to come to you?"
"Um..."
"If the master simply embraces her, any woman would have no choice but to develop affection for you. There's no need to wait until she feels it on her own."
Was it like a soft drug addiction? Or Pavlov's dog experiment on humans?
"That's... true enough."
If a man's semen brought pleasure like a narcotic, it was impossible not to get hooked. In a world where the remaining men mostly treated women roughly, the reason women couldn't easily rebel or even dream of equal relationships wasn't just social or economic factors. The distorted notion that once you pounced, the woman would inevitably come to like it had ironically become reality across generations.
"I'm not uninterested in men either. I've just been focused on training all this time..."
"St-still, the mood or whatever, it's a bit..."
Yukiko lowered her head.
"Even so, I hope you'll take her tonight if possible."
It wasn't hard to understand Yukiko's impatience. She hadn't fully let her guard down against Karin, so she probably wanted me to claim her once and make her compliant.
"Mood? The mood's great. Hold on a sec!"
Karin flashed a grin and bolted out of the room. The light patter of her bare feet on the floorboards was cheerful.
"Please wait a moment! Karin!"
Yukiko tried to grab her, but gave up in surprise at her full-speed dash.
"If you break your promise, you'll pay the price."
"Hey, hey! Don't say it so scary like that!"
Yukiko's worry was short-lived. Karin, who had raced off like the wind, came racing back the same way. In one hand she held a black plastic bag, in the other two cups. She shoved the door open lightly with her shoulder and entered the room.
"When it comes to mood between a man and a woman, what else but booze, right?"
The black bag contained several PET bottles of clear liquid without labels.
"This is booze made in the village next door. They said since you're Korean, they'd pick the good stuff for you."
Karin set the bottles and glasses on a small table nearby and plopped down on my bed. Yukiko's eyes sharpened for a moment, but she soon backed away, quietly closing the door behind her as she left.
"Alright, first round!"
I sat awkwardly beside Karin and picked up a glass. She grinned and gradually snuggled up to me.
"How's the taste? Pretty good, right? Right?"
"Yeah. It's sweet with a unique aroma... nice."
"See? I knew you'd think so too!"
Her booze really did seem popular—no exaggeration. Drinking it with Karin's beautiful face and voice as an appetizer made it extra special.
"Y'know, when I was little, I thought I'd probably get married after forty or something. Sex too, around then?"
"That's pretty late. You could've at least had a boyfriend before marriage?"
Even with society aging and marriage ages rising, a beauty like Karin could've found a partner anytime. She was financially stable too. Of course, marriage itself was dying out now. Monopolizing one man with one woman was seen as grotesquely antisocial luxury.
"I figured I'd just keep polishing my sword until then. Training has no end, after all."
"No, you're the end?"
"I'm just quick and sharp-eyed. My technique and mindset are still miles away."
Her words made my head spin—maybe it was the booze messing with my understanding. If she gained more insight there, would she start wielding a lightsaber?
"Well, honestly, what even's the point of honing a sword that much in modern times? I got nothing on that... Anyway, what I'm saying is, you're incredible luck in my life!"
"Me?"
"Handsome face, killer body. Wow. Even at the dojo where it's all eating and training, bodies like this were rare."
Karin slipped her hand under my T-shirt, groping my abs.
"Whoa, you're not flexing, right? C'mon, tense 'em up for me?"
I downed my drink and tensed my stomach.
"Whoa, amazing! It's like the muscles are alive!"
"Not really something to brag about... It's all thanks to the physical enhancement procedure."
I just felt like, oh, my body's like this now—never proud of it.
"Nah, that's separate. From the toucher’s perspective, it's pure awe. This is... really cool."
Karin poured with deft right hand while her left never stopped fiddling with my abs, even as she drank. In her crop top and leggings, she looked utterly at ease. If we were just platonic friends and she'd dropped by my place, it'd feel like this.
"So... how long you gonna keep groping?"
"Huh? Time limit? Kinda bummed... Fine, you grope my abs too! Fair's fair, right?"
"Fair enough, but..."
I cautiously touched her stomach. Her outfit already exposed it—no need to slip under like she had.
"Eek, urgh. Feels kinda weird."
Perfect abs. I slid my fingers into the dips, stroking slowly across her belly.
"Tickles!"
Karin laughed and smacked my back hard. It stung more than expected.
"Anyway, this whole situation feels like a dream. Alone with a guy, drinking romantically!"
Karin's bold glass-emptying wasn't exactly romantic, but I didn't feel like pointing it out.
"When I first picked up the sword as a kid, when all the dojo guys were dying off, when I decided to become a slave... I never imagined I'd casually drink with a man like this."
Karin swirled her glass lightly.
"Y'know, before meeting you, if no one picked me... there was this place I was gonna go."
"Huh?"
"Heard there's this slave arena? Fight nearly naked in an underground pit... They said since I'm good at fighting, they'd hook me up."
"Those lunatics are still around... Not surprised."
In a world where men could barely get punished even trying to commit crimes, skirting the law's edge was unspeakably horrific.
"Oh, you know it?"
"Kinda."
Even in a modern world flooded with advanced games, real people remained the ultimate amusement. Savage, decadent games were creeping back.
"Slaves strip and fight, loser gets raped by animals or whatever... But I wouldn't lose!"
Arenas started banned. Even slaves' lives were cheap, but deaths from 'accidents' or 'punishments' during play were okay—no intentional killing of innocents. Lawless deathmatches evolved into sexually torturing losers to survive.
"You'd lose. That's the point of the place."
Spectators went to see the strong writhe pathetically, beg for life, limbs hacked off—not fair fights. One opponent no good? Two. Two? Three. Three not enough? Ten. Still? Men join, sabotage her condition, bind her arms—whatever to make her lose.
"Lucky..."
I pulled Karin into a tight hug. Buying her was far greater fortune than I'd thought.
"Drunk already? Why so serious all sudden? Anyway, thanks. Oh, right! I learned this at the academy—mind if I try?"
"Go for it."
Karin took a sip, grabbed my shoulders, and smashed her lips to mine.
"What the—mmph!"
I could almost feel the pheromones. Breathing in Karin's healthy, pleasant scent, booze poured steadily into my slightly open mouth.
"Heh, ah! How was it? Good?"
"Sudden, but... yeah, good."
"Truth is, I wanted to try valley kiss too? But seeing Mikoto killed my nerve!"
Mikoto didn't dress revealing, but her exposed heft was something else. Karin's chest wasn't small, but no match.
"Everyone's got their own charm."
"Butt loses to Yukiko, boobs to Mikoto... Can't help feeling insecure?"
"Y-Yukiko's is big and squishy, but yours is super trained, right? Probably super springy and firm—different appeal..."
"Th-that's from hands-on experience? Kinda pervy!"
"I was trying to encourage you!"
Karin playfully cupped her chest and dodged away.
"No, not like that—I mean, shouldn't you... feel mine first before judging?"
Karin stuck out her butt a little. Even through the thin leggings, I could feel how firm and beautiful her lower body was.