Absolutely Not Going Because I Want to See That Man!
"Absolutely not going there because I want to see that man!"
The Crown Prince Astur inside the crystal orb burst into booming laughter. "You made quite the spectacle—bravo."
It had to be about Evergarden. He'd heard all about how I'd turned the place upside down while name-dropping him for good measure. Still, I hadn't expected him to reach out just one day later.
"I was merely repaying an insult."
"And what about those who blocked Lady Sylvia's entry? What do you plan to do with them?"
"Turning Evergarden upside down should serve as warning enough."
"You're not going to personally warn the nobles?"
"Is that what you want?"
"Ideally, I'd love for my diligent store manager to flip every last one of those nobles on their heads."
"I have no desire to get deeply involved in the empire's factional politics."
"Haha, just kidding. No need to stir up trouble where there isn't any."
He meant it. He absolutely meant it. The Crown Prince always loved veiling half his intentions behind jokes. Humans are so brazen.
"Anyway, I'll handle any loose talk, so don't worry about it."
"You're looking out for me?"
"How could I sit idle when you're going through all this for my sake?"
This is the sweet taste of power, huh? Nah, it's just common sense. After all the crap I've been dealing with.
"Anyway, if you're going to use my name in the future, make it even more spectacular."
"So you can exploit me under that pretext?"
"Hohoho, how did you guess?"
What a sly fox. The Crown Prince smirked for a moment before hardening his expression as he looked at me.
"Come to the Imperial Palace in five days."
"It's been a while since my last invitation to the palace. Is this official business?"
"Yes. No need for secrecy like last time."
"Five days is plenty of notice. Not urgent, then?"
The Crown Prince's head bobbed up and down.
"However, it's something that requires your help."
Knew it.
"What's the price?"
"My affectionate attention... kidding. My love is the last thing you want."
Yeah, no thanks on that affection. One wrong dose, and his siblings end up headless.
"Tell me what you want."
"Retirement."
"Denied. Can't waste talent like yours."
"Can't I just quit? I want to focus on the convenience store."
"How about ditching the store and focusing on me instead?"
Chilling.
"Then how about persuading His Majesty the Emperor one more time?"
"You want me to get beat up again?"
"Quick on the uptake."
"Kuhaha!"
The Crown Prince laughed heartily for a good while, wiping tears from his eyes before speaking.
"Just remember, you're the only one who can crack jokes like that at me and live to tell the tale."
"My gratitude for your mercy."
"Anyway, think of what you want by the time you arrive in the capital. Anything but retirement."
"Understood."
I bowed politely in respect.
"Stay healthy until then."
"You take care of your health too, Your Highness. Your well-being is the empire's good fortune."
"Kekeke, hearing that from you puts me in a good mood."
The Crown Prince's connection cut off. I let out the sigh I'd been holding.
"Whew."
An invitation to the capital, huh. What could it be? Since it was official business, it probably wasn't personal. If he wanted nobles taken down or some tricky investigation, he'd have asked the Madam by the lake already—no need to loop me in.
Guess I'll find out when I get there.
Ending the crystal orb call, I headed down to the first floor. Dmitri was at the counter, sipping tomato juice through a straw poked into the bottle. The guy who'd looked deathly pale at first now had some color in his cheeks. Guess the juice really works.
"Sip, slurp—did you, slurp—finish your call, slurp—sir?"
"Yeah, all done. Nothing happen?"
"No, nothing."
Despite his words, the counter was overflowing with vibrant flowers.
"What's all this?"
"Gifts, slurp—from the ladies."
"Don't sip while you're talking."
"Ah, yes sir!"
Ever since hiring Dmitri, more noble wives had been showing up at night. They'd come to the convenience store on flimsy excuses just to catch another glimpse of him, buying random junk. It boosted sales, so I hadn't said anything yet.
But no screwing around on the clock. I'd warned him ahead of time—save it for off-hours.
I checked out the flowers and letters Dmitri had received.
"The moment I first saw you, I felt like I was in a fairy tale..."
"You, so devoted to your work at the convenience store..."
"I love you, Dmitri."
The letters brimmed with affection. The kicker? Most of the senders were already engaged or married.
"So the ones sending these are women who match your wavelength?"
"Yes. Embarrassing as it is, I'm a non-virgin fanatic... Seems I attract older women or those who've already been with someone."
Vampires apparently saw a distaste for virgins as a grave shame. To them, Dmitri must be some defective freak. No wonder he deflated every time non-virgin came up.
"By that logic, you're a model vampire, boss."
Dmitri gazed at me with eyes full of admiration. He seemed convinced I was some vampire or monster type. Thanks to my mana traits, sure—but the misunderstanding worked in my favor. If it helped train employees efficiently, all the better.
"That noble taste for only virgins, the resolve to coldly reject non-virgin confessions. And building a den like this, blending into human society... I couldn't pull that off."
Slurrrp. Dmitri sucked greedily at his tomato juice.
"Cut the chatter."
"Ah, sorry. My bad timing again. Haha!"
Dmitri drained the bottle and placed his hand on the bouquet. Whoosh! His hand glowed black, sucking all the life from the flowers—the same magic he'd used on Behindbell Forest.
"Flowers infused with the ladies' love pack extra punch. I can feel the affection."
Dmitri grinned slyly.
"Didn't you say you promised someone no more bloodsucking? You cool rejecting all this attention?"
"Of course. I never forgot my promise to her. But I only swore off blood—not love."
Vampires all like this? Shameless. Good thing I'd dotted every i on his contract.
"Whatever, handle it your way."
Dmitri liked non-virgins, synced with them perfectly. He was helping sales, so no complaints. I was pondering how to leverage him for max profit when—
"Boss."
"What?"
Dmitri tapped my shoulder, snapping me from my thoughts. He pointed to a woman glaring through the glass wall, eyes narrowed.
Repis? Why was she here? She flinched when our eyes met, then bit her lip hard, clenching her fists. She walked toward the door in this awkward, creaky stance—like a machine without oil. Had her research broken something?
"What the—?"
Repis stopped at the door, glared again, and took a deep breath. What was this uneasy vibe?
Ting-a-ling.
"Haa, so annoying."
Itchy. Itchy. 8 p.m., everyone from the Magic Tower gone home. Repis, lingering late in her lab, was pissed. Her chest itched incessantly. She tried focusing on research to ignore it, but ideas wouldn't come. Stalled progress stressed her out, and even her brilliant mind ground to a halt under the pressure.
For days, one word haunted her thoughts.
'Virgin squad.'
'But I'm a virgin?'
'All you do is research—cobwebs everywhere, no wonder you can't get a man.'
'No interest in Ada women.'
Lines Do-jin had never said tormented her. Whether he spoke them or not, her memories twisted and reassembled them. The trauma of being called non-virgin. And the intense pleasure from that suspicious rotor sold at his store gnawed at her brain.
"Can't concentrate."
Leaning back in her chair, Repis sighed. She was stuck at a stage she should've cleared ages ago. Her desperate magic research—kidnapping kids to fast-track them into attribute mages suited to mana.
Attribute Mages. Less stable than full mages, but reliable for one spell. The stuffy high mages dismissed them as non-orthodox, but Repis disagreed. More mages meant more magic in the world, paving a brighter future.
A colossal empire powered by magic. That was her ideal, her great discovery.
Right now, successes topped out at 3rd Rank magic. Kidnapping was messy, and the kids' agony during training was brutal—many died. Success rate around 20%? If she could stabilize it, the empire would leap forward.
But no matter how hard she tried focusing...
Her mind fixated not on magical breakthroughs, but on Do-jin's mocking "virgin" taunt and the rotor's overwhelming ecstasy.
His touch felt way better.
Just thinking about it made her head spin. Brain cells dying. Turning stupid. Aah, no, stop.
Biting her lip, Repis pulled out the rotor hidden in her lab corner. Empty Magic Tower—just guards and on-duty mages. A solid Silence spell, and no issues.
Last time I forgot and messed up, but not this time.
The Tower Lord had chewed her out. She'd nearly died of shame. She stacked another grudge against Do-jin.
I'll get revenge for sure.
She'd been intrigued by him since paying Sylvia's debt and hiring her. Curiosity about his store's power, his products. His mana wavelength matched the store's perfectly—not like a normal human. She'd wanted to tie him up and study him. They'd clashed multiple times, always drawing due to his eerie items.
She'd traded for imperial-exclusive goods, dissecting their mysteries. If the palace hadn't interfered, she'd have probed every inch of his store. Hell, lock him in a Magic Tower cell, tend to him all day for research. He'd suffer a bit, but probably enjoy it.
Sacrifices for knowledge—and the palace doesn't get it...
Whirr. Thinking of Do-jin, Repis pressed the rotor below.
"Nghaaah!"
Ah, too good. Even her genius brain couldn't resist the unknown pleasure. One second pondering the empire's future and arcane exploration—the next, rotor to her pussy.
"Haaahhn!!"
She surrendered to pleasure-chasing instinct. That bastard Do-jin. The guy who mocked her virginity. Tormented her with that weird onahole. Rubbed and scratched her filthy spots.
If only he'd fingered me instead...
Torn her hymen with his fingers, not the toy. She wouldn't be a virgin now. No trauma, just continued research...
Crazy! That's not okay. Why does it keep popping up?
He must've hexed her with some unknown spell. Swimming in waves of ecstasy, Repis shuddered and pulled the rotor away.
"Guess I have to ask him. What curse did he put on me?"
Absolutely not because she wanted to see that man. Absolutely not!