03. Is Bari a Great Mage?
03. Is Bari a Great Mage?
Yu Ina, completely fired up.
She already acts like she's won.
Ha.
If I keep getting pushed back like this, it'll hurt my pride.
But I can't just go along with it. The conditions are way too ridiculous.
Sleep in the same bed and don't touch her? An elf girl?
What kind of torture method is that?
No good.
In times like this, I need to muddy the waters.
Confuse her and look for an opening.
"Scared? Why would I be scared? More importantly, making me your slave? What the hell do you plan to make me do? You pervert."
"W-what? Pervert?"
"I had a feeling from the moment I first saw you, but I didn't expect you'd flaunt that desire so openly."
"What nonsense is this all of a sudden! This is just to secure collateral worth 120,000 gold—I've never even thought of anything like that!"
"You expect me to believe that? Ha. To think I have to trust and follow a pervert like you as my homeroom instructor. The world has gone mad."
"Urk... This is the first insult I've ever faced in my life...!"
Yu Ina stomped her feet, not knowing what to do with her rising anger.
"To begin with, valuing me at a measly 120,000 gold? Ridiculous. You're betting money, but I'm supposed to stake my body? Where's the fairness in that deal?"
"Hoo... Hoo..."
Yu Ina took deep breaths.
She was trying to calm her furious mind somehow.
Just stay pissed off as is—that would be perfect.
Why cool down and sharpen your judgment?
"Hoo... For a mere Human to say 120,000 gold isn't enough. How absurd."
Regaining her composure, she glared at me fiercely.
"Even Luna is worth a fair market price of 15,000 gold, yet a male who isn't even female falls short at 120,000? Don't you even know that's only because of the doll?"
"I've been thinking this for a while, but what's with that unnecessarily weird way of speaking? Is it a concept? Doesn't it make you cringe?"
"...Shut up... I told you not to keep veering off topic!"
"No... Your speech is just too strange for that. Just talk normally. Please."
"Grrrr...!!"
Her barely subdued anger was flaring up again.
Perfect development.
Time to push harder.
"Anyway, if you want me that badly, bid higher. At least 100 times more... Bring 12 million gold."
I crossed my legs and spoke arrogantly.
She, who had been trembling with rage, was now overtaken by sheer absurdity.
"Ha... Haha..."
A dazed laugh.
"12 million... you say? Even without the 'man,' it'd be questionable if that could buy you... You think that's remotely reasonable?"
"It's still a bit short, but even for a Noblesse like you, anything more would be too burdensome, right? So I'm being generous."
"...How can a Human be this arrogant? I'm genuinely curious now. What did you eat and where did you grow up to get such confidence?"
She looked truly puzzled.
A genuine question beyond absurdity and anger.
"Arrogant? It's just facts. I'm more precious than anything. Even if you brought the whole world, you couldn't buy my body. Right?"
"Of course. Something as trivial as the world couldn't buy Sihwan-nim."
"See?"
"Ha..."
"Compared to that, 12 million gold is a total steal. Alright, now you present your value again."
"Don't make me laugh. You think I'd fall for that bullshit?"
"So you're admitting you're scared."
"Don't get too cocky just because I've been hanging out with you lately."
"Then go ahead and be troubled."
"You...!"
"You keep dodging, but that's not the point right now. You want me, but you don't have the money, so you need to stake something equivalent as a condition."
"Wait! Something's off!! When did I ever say I want you!!"
"You yourself probably aren't worth 12 million, right? How about it—we both stake ourselves and make a bet."
"Listen to meeee!!!"
"Heh heh. Why do you keep dodging, oh supreme Noblesse-nim?"
"You're the one twisting words!"
Heh heh. Her head must be spinning.
"So, you're saying you don't think you're worth 12 million yourself? Unexpected. I didn't know Noblesse went for such cheap prices. If I save up, maybe I'll buy one."
"Ughhhh!!!! Don't you dare climb over me! Human!!!!"
"Then accept the bet. Stake yourself. Ah, should I do that?"
Swoosh.
I stood up solemnly.
And then,
"I hereby acknowledge in the name of Ryu Si-hwan that your body is worth 12 million gold. There, now you have something to stake."
Boom!
"Don't... toy with me...!!"
Oh.
Maximum rage.
"To toy with you? I'm just stating the obvious. You're not even worth 12 million gold? That much?"
Grit...
"You're pissing me off bit by bit... Human..."
"Well, it's a pretty unfavorable condition for you, but I'm generous, so I'll specially take on everything you've staked. Sleeping in the same bed as Eleonore, and living with you too. I've conceded this much—let's wrap it up quickly?"
"..."
Yu Ina glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
Her gaze was pretty sharp, but for some reason, it didn't scare me.
"12 million gold—do you have that much value? Which is it? Will you accept or not?"
"...Grit... If you put it that way... Fine. I'll accept."
Her trembling arm swung again.
The magic circle churned even more intensely than before.
An enormous amount of light poured out.
"I'll hold you to your words exactly!! Don't cry after you lose!!!"
Yeah. I won't cry.
.
.
.
"W-what have I done..."
Thud.
In the aftermath of the storm.
Yu Ina collapsed with a pale face.
"Shall we start the bet from tomorrow? We both need time to prepare."
"..."
She seemed to have taken a huge shock, standing frozen like a stone statue with a dazed expression.
The contract she and I had made.
If I sleep with Eleonore for a month without touching her sexually, Yu Ina becomes mine.
Conversely, if I touch Eleonore within a month, I become hers.
Since it was notarized with mana and Nobling, it's probably something like those 'absolutely binding contracts' common in novels.
For reference, I'm a 'Human' worth less than Outer Races, while Yu Ina is a top-tier Advanced Race, practically ruling The Tower as the supreme Noblesse.
Even a rough calculation shows the value gap between our races is like heaven and earth.
Values that can never be put on the same level, and normally, conditions like these would never arise.
Anyone looking would see Yu Ina as totally screwed.
Through my scheming, she fixated on '12 million gold' and fell into the 'Slave Bet' trap, but to an outsider who knows nothing, it looks like Yu Ina alone accepted a ridiculously unfair bet.
If I have to compare...
Like A and B betting: If A loses, pay B 10 won, but if B loses, pay A 10 billion... something like that.
Sure, I value myself highly, but thinking about pretty human girl Luna trading for 15,000 gold, a guy like me probably wouldn't even fetch 10,000.
Yet she staked herself on my level, so Yu Ina basically put herself on display for 10,000 gold.
Of course, it's a bet, so winning ends it...
But with Yu Ina on the line, there's no way I'd lose, right?
When I get back, I'll ask Bari to make some porn.
Hoo... This'll be tough.
"Let's go, Bari."
"Yes."
"Eleonore too—sleep at your place tonight."
"...Yes."
"Then I'm off. Thanks for the meal."
"W-wait... Wait a second..."
Just as I was about to leave, Yu Ina weakly grabbed me.
"T-this is too... too much..."
Now able to think straight, she was tearing up.
"Too much? You accepted it yourself. End of story. Isn't that The Tower?"
"Ugh..."
Yeah. This is The Tower.
Didn't Yu Ina go on about Survival of the Fittest or something?
Does being strong have to mean brute force?
Cunning talk is strength too.
Well...
Still feels a bit sorry. The bet started half as a joke.
No...
Thinking about it, how did it end up like this?
Was it worth getting this serious? We were just having dinner normally...
"H-how about a draw?"
Yu Ina looked up at me with wavering eyes.
Her expression, one I'd never seen before, made my heart skip for a moment, but a draw is impossible.
A draw here would make me the world's biggest pathetic bastard.
"No draws in my dictionary."
"...Bastard."
+++
"Really, I was wondering how it would turn out."
We returned home.
Home being the yard in front of Yu Ina's house, but whatever.
"Yeah. I was wondering too."
"You pulled some serious aggro in a grand fashion."
Ignoring Bari's words, I threw myself onto the bed.
Completely wiped out today too.
I had construction and a mountain of things to do, but more than ever, I didn't want to do anything.
Who knew the thing with Yu Ina would drain me this much mentally.
Swoosh.
As I lay on the bed, Bari sat above my head.
It formed a pose like a loving mom looking down at her child.
"So, what are you going to do now? You have to sleep in the same bed as the blonde elf beauty Eleonore... without touching her sexually."
"Ungh."
"Of course, since Sihwan-nim is a solo since birth, you probably can't touch her easily anyway."
"You've been obsessed with the solo since birth thing lately?"
"But male sexual desire is very strong—can you hold back while smelling her fragrance right next to you? For a whole month."
"If you relieve the sexual tension periodically, it should be manageable somehow."
"How are you going to relieve it?"
"You could make some porn, right? Can't you make a simple computer?"
"Hmm~. I could make one, sure."
Bari made a thoughtful expression.
"With a fragrant, voluptuous woman breathing right next to you, will plain porn be enough?"
"Then what? I can't whip up a virtual reality machine right now."
Well, if I scraped together every resource I had, maybe, but that would mean using everything I have, so it's a last-resort option.
"How about using me?"
"Huh?"
It felt like I just heard something shocking...
I sat up involuntarily, and Bari continued, hand on her chest.
With a seductive smile to boot.
"Eleonore will be right there in the flesh, with her alluring scent and irresistible temptation overwhelming Sihwan-nim. Up close. That stimulation can't be endured by porn on a monitor or some demo-level virtual reality. Only..."
Swoosh.
She grabbed the lapel of her suit jacket and pulled it aside, smiling lewdly.
"...a woman's body can endure it."
"...Why are you suddenly like this?"
"Because Sihwan-nim is a pathetic solo since birth who can't even touch a woman's breasts. I'm worried, that's why."
"No... Are you still on about that? I touched them before!"
"That's why you're still called solo since birth."
"..."
This cheeky punk.
"Come on, touch them. See how soft my body is."
"..."
"Not just the outside—put it inside."
Is she serious?
She's always joking around, so I can't tell.
"Why hesitate so much? I'm Sihwan-nim's property anyway. Or... do you dislike me because I'm a machine?"
"No, it's not that..."
How to put it—it's just hard to imagine.
I've never thought of Bari that way, so the idea of something sexual with her feels alien.
She's like a big sis, little sis, and mom all in one—suddenly suggesting that would throw anyone off.
"I see... If that's how you feel, nothing to be done."
Bari straightened her clothes again.
Was it my imagination, or did she look a bit dejected?
"But not relieving sexual desire is a serious problem. Losing the bet on a whim would be disastrous."
"Ungh..."
"For now, I'll figure something out. Lots happened today—rest up."
"Got it."
Bari got off the bed.
She seemed about to leave the room.
I didn't know where she was going, but it felt wrong to let her go like this.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"You... doesn't it bother you at all?"
"...Bother what?"
"Acting like that... doesn't it matter... I mean, you're a woman too..."
"......"
Bari looked at me quietly, then smiled faintly.
"Worrying about me again. Don't you already know my answer?"
"..."
.
She left the room, leaving behind an enigmatic smile.