Side Effect: Forced Silence

Sparks!!! The moment Astra finished eating, electricity crackled across her body once more as an overwhelming surge of power erupted from within her.

It's still ridiculous no matter how many times I see it. Why don't I ever get an effect like that?

I watched Astra as she carefully reined in her amplified strength, a small flicker of dissatisfaction stirring inside me. The buff that had only produced a modest effect when used on me somehow manifested with such incredible results for her. If I'd received a powerful boost like that when I applied it to myself, maybe I could have protected myself during something like what happened today.

Or maybe not. If I'd been given that kind of power, I probably would've gotten excited and used it recklessly, only to get caught much sooner.

While sorting through my tangled thoughts, I opened the memo app on my phone and began recording various details—the ingredients I'd used in today's cooking, the overall portions, the buff duration I'd been tracking with a timer, and so on. Since Astra had agreed to cooperate, I had no intention of slacking off. I planned to seriously study and understand my own abilities.

Crackle! Crackle!!

The power radiating from Astra subsided shortly after. When I checked the timer, the buff seemed to last around fifteen minutes.

It felt shorter last time. Is it because she didn't expend any power in actual combat? Or is it simply the difference in how much she ate?

Deciding to increase the portion size next time, I carefully examined Astra's physical state. The possibility of a fatal side effect meant confirming exactly what had occurred took absolute priority.

But...

She looks completely fine on the outside?

Astra's appearance right after the buff ended showed no noticeable changes from before. No enlarged body parts, no secretions resembling breast milk—nothing. She simply looked normal. At least externally, it didn't seem like the kind of side effect that would be immediately obvious.

Of course, the information would probably appear on its own if I waited a little longer. Still, I turned to Astra, who was taking deep breaths, and asked.

"Miss Yuna. How do you feel? Any pain or anything that seems off?"

"........"

"...Huh?"

Astra moved her mouth, trying to speak in response to my question. But no sound emerged at all. The panicked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠look on her face told me this wasn't what she had intended.

"Miss Yuna?"

"...! ...!!!"

"You can't speak?"

She nodded.

"Wow."

The moment I sighed while staring at Astra, who had suddenly been rendered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mute, information about the side effect flooded into my mind.

"Whoa."

The side effect was exactly what I'd expected. Silence. A literal condition that turned someone mute. It was a serious drawback that suddenly imposed a disability, but it seemed far more ordinary than suddenly developing enlarged breasts or a body that produced breast milk like before.

Of course, the release condition was anything but ordinary.

It feels like the intensity keeps getting higher....

Last time, consuming semen had been listed as an additional condition rather than a requirement. This time, it was front and center as the official way to dispel the side effect. And not by me providing it separately—the condition specifically required her to suck it out directly with her mouth.

That alone was absurd enough, but there was yet another additional condition listed beneath it.

"What the hell is this now?"

It was as if the additional condition from last time hadn't been enough. This new one was downright shocking. To dispel the side effect, Astra would have to suck my cock directly, but pulling her mouth away during the process would make the condition worse? It didn't even specify how it would worsen.

What is this? The additional condition last time was at least somewhat helpful....

The previous one had stated that consuming semen would increase breast milk production, almost like it was designed to assist in resolving the side effect. This new condition offered no such benefit—it was pure downside.

-Poke. Poke.

"...Ah. Well."

While I stood there muttering blankly, Astra poked my side and showed me the text she'd typed on her phone. Even though I'd expected this and tried to prepare myself, actually telling her she needed to suck my cock still required considerable courage. She had accepted the possibility while preparing herself for the sake of her growth, but no matter how mentally ready someone was, it wasn't easy for the heart to simply follow suit.

When written out like that, it seemed incredibly straightforward, but Astra's face had turned bright red as she typed with all her might, clearly in a state of extreme embarrassment.

"Well... if I had to analyze it, this side effect itself isn't particularly strange, is it? If anything, it's the release condition that's weird...."

"Yeah, I guess so."

I had no idea why this kept happening. Did feeding my cooking to others always trigger these kinds of side effects and release conditions?

...Wait a second. If that was the case, what if I ever fed my cooking to another man....

Oh, fuck.

I couldn't say for certain, but one thing was clear: no matter what, I must never let another man eat my cooking.

In the meantime, Astra had been trying everything she could to produce sound, only to finally accept that she had become mute.

-Vrrrr!!

While I was reading Astra's diligent messages, her phone suddenly rang with the name "Baekseol" displayed prominently. She quickly hung up and left only a message saying she couldn't take the call at the moment.

After temporarily silencing her phone, she continued our conversation. Maybe because this side effect wouldn't cause immediate problems if left unresolved for a while? We were able to talk about many things while calmly observing her condition.

"Right. It would be inconvenient for you, Miss Astra, and you couldn't go outside again while unable to speak."

If possible, I wanted to verify whether the side effect truly had no time limit, but it was unfortunate that we couldn't. No matter what, I couldn't just leave her mute and unattended. Even if it wasn't urgent, we would need to resolve it by the end of the day.

Astra is going to... with mine....

While postponing the resolution of the side effect and examining various factors, I kept struggling to stop my eyes from drifting to Astra's lips. Even though I was trying to focus on other things for now, the knowledge that she would soon be sucking me to dispel the condition kept invading my thoughts.

-Glance.

I knew I shouldn't stare too obviously, yet my gaze kept returning to her lips. People often described beautiful lips as "cherry-like," and I couldn't think of anyone that description suited better than Astra. Her lips held a vivid, rosy hue without any trace of lipstick, smooth and glistening. Whenever they parted, neat white teeth were revealed, and occasionally the glimpse of a clean pink tongue without any coating would flash into view.

Lips that seemed utterly unrelated to anything filthy. Those lips would soon....

Not yet, you crazy bastard. Get a grip.

After everything that had happened today, was I really the kind of guy who could completely forget about it and burn with lust? Or had the experience only made my desires even stronger?

I tried to suppress the arousal that kept surging up and turn my head away, but at that exact moment—

-Glance.

Hmm?

Astra's head turned slightly, and her gaze, which had been examining her condition alongside me, shifted elsewhere. The way her eyes drifted downward was clearly aimed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at... my crotch.

Ah.

So I wasn't the only one conscious of it. Astra had also been instinctively glancing at my cock, knowing she would soon be sucking it to resolve her condition.

The moment that realization hit me—

-Clack.

I set down the pen I'd been using to record the changes.

"Miss Yuna."

"It looks like we've recorded everything worth noting for now."

"Um... could you wait just a moment? I'll go wash up quickly."

".....!!!"

Astra's hand froze over her phone. She clearly understood what I meant by those words. After hesitating for a long time, her fingers hovering uncertainly, she finally typed a single character.

The moment I saw it, I headed straight upstairs to the bathroom. My heart was pounding in an entirely different way than it had earlier today. It felt like swinging between hell and heaven in a single day. This afternoon I'd been held hostage by a villain, facing death, and now here I was waiting for Astra to give me a blowjob.

-Shaaaaa!!

I washed my body with several times more focus than usual. I especially lathered my cock generously with body wash and scrubbed it thoroughly. After rinsing off, I roughly dried myself with a towel, skipped the hair dryer entirely, and headed back downstairs.

Astra was pacing anxiously inside the store, clutching her phone tightly. She kept touching her lips with her fingers. It might have been my imagination, but beneath her worried expression, I thought I could detect the faintest traces of curiosity and anticipation.

"I'm back, Miss Yuna."

"......"

Unable to speak, Astra simply nodded silently. This was already the third time a side effect had appeared and needed resolving. There was no need for lengthy explanations anymore.

"Then... let's begin."

I stood facing her, our eyes meeting. In that tense moment, feeling the weight of her gaze, I slowly removed my pants first.

-Swoosh.

".....!!"

Astra's eyes widened, and I could sense her momentary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠panic. But since she would soon be taking it into her mouth anyway, she didn't look away. My cock, which she had seen before and even stroked to completion with her hand, was now fully exposed. Meeting the cool air and her gaze, it had shrunk slightly and looked somewhat wilted.

-Head tilt.

Perhaps because it wasn't fully erect yet, unlike last time? Astra tilted her head while looking at my cock, then leaned in closer to observe it.

-Haa♥

Ugh....

As she bent down and examined me up close, her breath brushed against my cock. Slightly moist yet cool, her breath carried a gaze full of pure curiosity.

-Twitch♥

"....!"

The moment I registered her stare, my cock twitched and began to swell. Astra startled at first but never looked away, watching with fascination as it gradually grew.

When it had grown halfway but stopped short of full erection, Astra hesitated, then raised her hand while looking up at me, as if asking for permission to touch.

-Nod.

I nodded lightly without speaking, not wanting to break the atmosphere. Astra carefully placed her hand on my cock. Since she'd touched it once before, the act of touching itself didn't seem to cause her much discomfort.

-Slide♥

Ugh....

Her cool, soft hand enveloped my cock and lifted it slightly. She seemed to be measuring its length with her palm, comparing it to how it had been when fully erect last time. The moment her hand made contact, it began growing again. Startled, she unconsciously gripped it a little harder.

-Squeeze♥

Ugh...

It wasn't painful, but the pleasant stimulation nearly drew a moan from my lips. As if trying to settle her hesitation, Astra continued lightly tapping and touching my cock for a while. I didn't rush her, simply waiting patiently with my cock presented to her.

As she grew more familiar with it through continued contact, her expression grew determined. She brought her face closer.

"Sniff....♥"

Before taking it into her mouth, Astra wrinkled her nose, seemingly trying to smell the tip of the glans first. I wondered what she thought of the scent. Since she couldn't speak, I couldn't ask, but her expression didn't seem displeased.

After moving her mouth experimentally for a moment as if deciding how to proceed, she clenched her fist and slowly leaned in.

-Chuup♥

Her cherry-like lips parted, and her tongue slipped out to greet my cock first. Before taking it into her mouth, she gently licked the tip of the glans.

-Lick♥

"....!!!"

My cock trembled violently, and my vision went completely white as if struck by lightning. Astra—that hero—was kneeling before me, tasting my cock. I was so glad I'd taken the risk and promised to keep buffing her last time.

-Lick♥ Lick♥

At first she seemed to be testing the taste rather than properly licking, but she gradually used more of her tongue to explore the flavor. She smacked her lips lightly, then stimulated me with both hand and tongue simultaneously. Finally she pulled back, made eye contact with me for a moment.

I'm starting now.

After silently warning me with her lips, she took a deep breath and swallowed my entire length in one smooth motion without hesitation.

"Mmph.♥"

"....!!"

I'd expected her to take it slowly like when she'd been licking earlier, so my whole body shuddered. To think she'd take it all at once? Maybe she figured that hesitating too long would only make it harder.

My cock was enveloped in something warm and wet. The neat edges of her teeth grazed the shaft, creating a strange, pleasurable stimulation.

Fuck... it feels insanely good.

Even when she'd used her hand last time, the sensation had been so intense that I'd recalled it every single day for the past week. This was on a completely different level. Her slightly textured yet soft tongue kept tapping at the glans while her abundant saliva coated my length, creating an incredibly slippery sensation.

I fought to keep my melting mind focused, determined to fully savor and remember every second of this moment. And then—

-Dingling!!

"....!!"

"....!!"

"Ah. I guess I left it unlocked. Good thing. Do you know where Yuna went?"

The store door opened, and Baekseol—who had left earlier—walked back in.