Adapting After the Return (4)

All I could do was keep my mouth shut.

What was I supposed to say—that I had become a virus-like thing, spreading "daughters" through reproduction; that the source of it all was the god I'd made a contract with; that if I went a few days without sex, I'd lose my mind and turn into a heat-crazed slut?

Even if I spilled every last detail, Ha Yujeong wouldn't be able to produce a solution on the spot.

So why hand over leverage for free? If anything, I should be grateful she didn't immediately turn on me and declare me a threat to humanity.

No matter how strong I was, if all the other S-rank hunters came at once, I might not die—but I could be subdued and locked underground forever, sealed away until the day I finally died.

And if my desire flared up again, I'd end up fucking my way through eternity from inside a cage.

Just imagining it made my skin crawl.

"That's the price of the contract."

"By contract, you mean the otherworldly being sponsoring you, right? You said it had never once made a demand over the past few years. When I think about all the other contractors who had to grovel to keep their sponsors happy, yours was practically the most merciful sponsor there was, Chae Eunha."

"That sponsor's first and last demand was that I become like this. I only collected that price recently."

"Pfft!"

"Fuck you, bitch."

You think this is funny?

"Sorry. Still, compared with the immortal body Choi Eunho received, isn't that a pretty light price? A change of sex, that's all. It's not my place to say, but your body is incredible, and your face is gorgeous. Honestly, the original Choi Eunho wasn't ugly, but he wasn't exactly a flower boy either, was he?"

She was pushing my buttons. Damn bitch.

I hadn't told her there was more to the price, so I couldn't really blame her.

If there hadn't been a second price—that I had to get on my knees and take a man's seed every few days—I might even have managed to come to terms with it slowly, over time.

That was how magnificent the blessing had been. It was so great I couldn't even think about giving it up.

"Still, no matter what the price itself may be, I've never once heard of sex changing as a result. From the Association's point of view, as long as you have the power, they'll gradually accept Chae Eunha as Choi Eunho, but the public won't be so forgiving. Is that price permanent?"

"If it were temporary, I'd just have gone dark for that period and wouldn't have asked you to cooperate."

"Ha. Fair enough. That does make things difficult."

If Choi Eunho stayed missing, Ha Yujeong would be the one in trouble.

Well, it wouldn't be like she'd be fired on the spot and lose everything, but still.

At the very least, there'd be a commotion, the story would hit the news, and the Association's prestige would take a hit.

For now, they'd probably just treat it as though I were out on a mission and make sure Choi Eunho's name never came up.

A missing or defeated S-rank hunter was no light matter. It would turn into a question about humanity's own strength.

Once she heard that it was permanent, Ha Yujeong's expression hardened as if she'd finally realized this wasn't a joke.

A moment ago she'd been needling me with sarcastic remarks, but now she seemed to understand reality was closing in.

"At ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the very least, it shouldn't be difficult to create a female identity under the name Chae Eunha. If we move quickly, we can probably have it ready within three or four days."

The Association also handled the identities of people who went missing inside Gates.

If someone who had once vanished through dimensional transfer happened to crawl out of another Gate, all they'd have to do was swap in the details of some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other missing person, and a new identity could be manufactured without much trouble.

There were so many missing-person cases that finding a woman born in the same year as Choi Eunho and re-registering her as Chae Eunha would be nothing at all.

"Using Choi Eunho's original identity is going to be difficult, so in public you'll probably be announced as a brand-new S-rank hunter."

"You don't need to announce me as a hunter. Chae Eunha plans to keep a low profile."

"Huh? Keep a low profile? That would mean..."

"I'm not saying I'm quitting being a hunter, so relax. What I mean is Shin Jaecheol. I want to meet him too. If he's a mage close to S-rank level, then surely he should know magic that can turn me back to how I was, right?"

Then I'd go straight back to being Choi Eunho, and Chae Eunha would disappear again.

All I had to do was stay Chae Eunha until Shin Jaecheol found a way, which meant I wouldn't need to have sex anymore!

Of course, that was the best-case scenario. But right now, I had to cling to even that sliver of hope.

"I'm not sure it'll go that smoothly, but... understood."

I'll arrange something.

That was Ha Yujeong's answer. She could see that there was still light in my eyes.

She said nothing else, as though she were simply going along with me.

...Look at her, being considerate. How arrogant.

.

Following the navigation's instructions, I drove toward the address on the business card Ha Yujeong had given me.

I wasn't going somewhere to seduce a woman, so I'd brought a solid, comfortable sedan—something with a decent ride.

When I'd first become an S-rank hunter, about a year in, collecting cars had been one of my hobbies too. But by the time I reached around twelve of them, it had all started to feel empty, and I sold them off. In the end, only three were left.

One was a two-seat foreign convertible I used when I went out to have fun—the one I'd been most attached to. Once I'd lost interest in cars, I sold everything except that one and bought only what I needed.

One was an SUV for the rare occasions when I had to head out alone on a mission and load my own gear. That one was for rough use, so I didn't care if it got scratched.

The last was whatever car I felt like driving at the moment. This time it was a sedan. I'd lost interest in cars a while ago, so I'd already been driving this one for about six months.

"...Is this it?"

Holding the card Ha Yujeong had given me, I parked in front of a private house with a neatly kept yard.

A man who lived in that awkward strip between the capital's newly developed northeastern districts and the city outskirts, in a fairly sizeable mansion.

A mage said to be close to S-rank. Even if he wasn't a hunter, he'd probably have plenty of places willing to take him in.

A mage focused more on support than combat, the sort studied for rear-line assistance rather than frontline battles, for all those little forms of help people ended up needing.

In the end, the reason I'd come here was that Ha Yujeong had visited my place the very next day.

She said it had taken about a day because she had to find time to put in another request to Shin Jaecheol.

One way or another, she worked fast. She had probably badgered Shin Jaecheol just as much as she'd badgered me.

She was an expert at being annoying.

This time, though, it worked in my favor.

The moment I got out of the car, as if he'd been expecting me, the gate in the front fence opened and a man stepped out.

I hadn't seen him come out, but then again, he was a mage.

What emerged was a middle-aged man in his forties, with glasses and a solid, ordinary-uncle sort of build.

The unusual thing was that he was wearing a modernized hanbok. If he'd been wearing a gat too, it would have looked like cosplay.

Unlike that comic outfit, his eyes were sharp, and he immediately swept me from head to toe, trying to judge who I was.

Honestly, I wanted to rip his eyes out. I only held back because he wasn't looking at me with anything like lust.

"Are you the one Yujeong mentioned?"

"Ah, yes. Well. That's right. And you're Shin Jaecheol, I presume?"

"Indeed. I heard an S-rank hunter named Choi Eunho was looking for me. Yet a young lady has come instead."

"Tch."

So she'd told him that much.

Still, if I needed Shin Jaecheol's help, then he had to know at least as much as Ha Yujeong did.

I nodded and walked toward him.

"I came here to fix that. May I come in?"

"By all means."

Following Shin Jaecheol, I stepped into the house. The two-story home, with its wooden interior, seemed to reflect his taste.

I hadn't been trying to look for it, but the large family photo hanging on the wall showed that he was married.

It was still midday, yet I couldn't see anyone else. I couldn't sense any presence upstairs either. Were they out because it was a weekday?

It seemed like no one else was home.

No one except this man and me.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

...Swallow.

There was no one watching.

We were outside the city, in a private house.

No matter what sound I made, no one would hear it.

For some reason, an image began to form in my head.

I took off my clothes, stood naked, and knelt before him with my cock held high.

He wore a wedding ring on his left hand, and yet he looked down at some other woman instead of his wife, a thin smile curling across his lips.

Drawn in by the scent of sex, I stuck out my tongue...

...Fuck.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head hard.

I hadn't had sex or even masturbated for two days, and my thoughts were already drifting that way on their own.

My cunt was already making fluid, getting ready to be penetrated.

My heart was pounding like mad. Fuck, I could see his rough hands. I could see the veins in them. The inside of me started to itch.

No. No, that wasn't it.

He sat down on a one-seater sofa in the living room and pointed to the guest seat.

I sat without a word. On the table was a cup of coffee he had been drinking.

What I wanted to drink right now was something white rather than a beverage, so I drew in as deep a breath as I could and sent my gaze straight toward him.

With his glasses on, he looked intellectual. His eyes were alive, and though he had wrinkles, they gave him a certain mature charm.

Besides, in this day and age, someone in his forties didn't even look that old.

Damn it.

The mere fact that I was alone in a room with a man made both my thoughts and my body shake.

The instincts I'd barely managed to hold down were struggling to poke their heads up again.

Stay in there. Stay in there.

For now, I was still stronger.

The initiative I'd gained from sleeping with Kang Juhyuk was still in my hands.

"Choi Eunho. Hunter Association member, S-rank hunter. Twenty-five-year-old male. Contractor. No family as far as I can tell, and it doesn't seem like you meet anyone regularly. Is any of that wrong?"

"You're thorough. Did Ha Yujeong tell you that?"

"Some of it Yujeong told me. Some of it I investigated myself. Some of it I learned just from seeing you now. I know a little more besides, but I don't think any of it is information you need."

What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠else do you know? Damn irritating bastard.

"Let's get to the point quickly. We're both busy."

"Very well. You do seem pressed for time. You said you wanted to get your original body back, yes?"

Shin Jaecheol got to his feet and walked toward me with steady, deliberate steps.

With every step he took, with every sound of his footfall, my chest thudded harder.

What the hell. Something was wrong. This... this was wrong.

The instant my mind registered it as a situation good for sex, my brakes seemed to have failed.

He looked strange.

Shin Jaecheol looked as though he might make a move any second...

"D-don't come closer! Don't!"

I made a mistake.

Something was off.

Had this bastard done something to me? He was a mage, wasn't he?

Should I have brought Ha Yujeong after all?

It was weird.

Desire was surging up.

The craving that had built up while I spent two days alone at home after sex wasn't even close to what was swelling now, just from stepping into this house.

The moment I shouted and leaned back, he stopped where he was.

Sweat had broken out on his face. He stared at me, tense all over.

"Please calm down. I'm only trying to put a hand on your shoulder and scan your body properly. You said this body came to you through a contract, so I was trying to figure out how."

Only after hearing that did I finally manage to calm down enough to look at his face.

His eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were trembling too. He was afraid of me.

Choi Eunho, an S-rank hunter, the man called immortal, was suddenly afraid that I might lash out and hurt him.

If he wanted to, he could probably rape me.

Whether Shin Jaecheol himself knew that or not was beside the point.

If he suddenly tore off his clothes and came at me, the desire already surging through me would make me lose my Blessing fast.

I might be able to land one solid blow, but he was also an S-rank-level mage, if not a true combatant.

I could probably dodge him once. After that, it would be over.

I wouldn't be able to resist. I'd be taken down as I was.

I'd probably only recover my strength once it was already over.

And then I'd sink back into that insane happiness and pleasure all over again.

But on the other hand, he too was afraid, because Choi Eunho—an S-rank hunter—might attack him.

An S-rank hunter, unarmed, sitting right in front of him. And that hunter suddenly showing aggression.

He couldn't not be startled. He'd thought he was facing a civilized person, and then all at once she'd shown the violence of a wild beast.

More than that, whether he could withstand my attack was something we would only know by trying.

In other words, the two of us were afraid of each other.

That thought calmed me.

We were equal. The leash around my neck was not, and had never been, in his hands.