Drawing a New Line (6)
“Great Rift supplies” sounded grand, but in truth, they weren’t all that different from the gear anyone needed for a gate.
Sure, people often ended up wandering the inner reaches of the Great Rift for a long time, but that was just as true of gates in general; if things went sideways, you could be stuck inside one for days. Sleeping bags, a brazier for making a fire, tents if the area was safe enough, food—frankly, camping gear, if you wanted to put it bluntly. There were also supplies for dissecting corpses to harvest byproducts, healing scrolls, alarms that warned you when monsters were nearby—in other words, a substitute for a night watch. Most of it wasn’t all that expensive.
The real cost came from the hammerspace bags that could hold all of it, and the healing scrolls.
As for protective gear, I’d decide that after Kang Juhyuk picked out his weapon. For now, I just needed to choose the things I’d use in the gate. If it came to it, there was a chance I’d have to have sex inside the gate too...
I really didn’t want to do it in a place that was basically a ruin, like last time.
Picking the items themselves wasn’t hard. The problem was the bulk. By the time I kept adding things to the cart, it was obvious that one of those borrowed carts wasn’t going to cut it. I figured I should buy the bag first, and drifted over toward the section displaying hammerspace bags.
“Welcome. Looks like you’re here to look at bags. Would you like me to show you a new model?”
“...Go on.”
One more annoying thing was that merchants who had piles of products stacked around them always talked a lot. Compared to weapons or armor, which were often individually crafted, these industrial products were perfectly decent—basically just sturdier rugged camping gear—so I didn’t really need a sales pitch. I could judge them better by seeing and touching them myself.
I hadn’t gone into the Great Rift in a long time, and I’d mostly cleared gates in a single day, so it had also been a while since I’d needed to buy anything like this.
Honestly, it was obvious what he was doing. He just wanted an excuse to strike up a conversation.
It was different from hunting. It felt more like he simply wanted to talk, but there was a faint, greasy undertone to it that made my skin crawl.
It was irritating, but I couldn’t exactly make a scene about it... and that made it all the more frustrating.
“This one was manufactured by a Japanese company using the hammerspace-magic improvement paper that was published last year. Its capacity has been increased by fifty percent compared to the previous model, so it’s 315 liters. It can also handle up to four hundred kilograms of mass.”
“...Hm.”
It looked like an ordinary backpack, but in reality it was like carrying ten bags at once—two and a half suitcases’ worth, or the storage capacity of a small car.
It wasn’t bad. It would hold everything I’d bought... and three years ago, bags in the two-hundred-liter range had been standard, so this was definitely a big improvement.
If safety was guaranteed, then buying it was fine. I was also too lazy to look around any further.
“Then I’ll take this one.”
“Ah, it also comes in several colors. And there are covers, too...”
“No. I’m taking the one you brought out.”
“Yes, of course.”
Whatever happened, I was going to be moving around inside the gate, so of course it would be one of those drab colors that didn’t stand out. And if it wasn’t that kind of color, that would be a problem on my end, too.
The one he’d brought out was dark gray, dull enough to vanish into shadows. That was plenty.
I was just about to take it and pay when a voice suddenly came from behind me, sounding almost like it was trying to stop me.
“You’re buying that? Are you sure? It seems dangerous.”
When I turned around, I saw a tall, handsome man looking at me and the bag with concern.
Something was strange.
It was just an ordinary conversation, an ordinary voice, and yet...
...Hah.
That bastard.
I hurriedly looked away.
“The technology gives it great output, but the mana efficiency is terrible. The reviews already said it. While other hammerspace bags can last ten days, that one only lasts three. It burns through mana stones too fast for hunters going into gates to use.”
As I listened, I looked over at the merchant. He seemed flustered, but he didn’t dare say anything back.
At the very least, that meant what the man had said was true.
Or the merchant knew him—and was cautious because he had that much authority.
But I didn’t have the spare attention to care about the merchant’s attitude.
“Looks like you’re planning to go into the Great Rift. The items you picked aren’t bad, but most of them feel a little outdated. If you don’t mind, would you like me to recommend something?”
“And who are you?”
“Ah. Just a hunter passing by. I lead a team that focuses on the deeper zones of the Great Rift. I’m Kwon Mujin, an A-class hunter... though I’m not sure if you know the name.”
A-class hunter Kwon Mujin.
Nope. How would I know?
If he were S-class, I might have at least memorized his face, but I didn’t bother keeping track of A-class hunters.
Still, I could see why the merchant was keeping quiet and just watching the situation, even though his business was being interrupted.
An A-class hunter who led a team and still bothered to walk around the Hunter Market himself—he was obviously the diligent type.
There was no reason to get on his bad side.
More importantly...
Honestly, this was bad.
“From the amount you’re buying, it looks like this might be your first time entering the Great Rift. I can share some information with you, too. These days people treat the Great Rift like a mana-stone mine, but it’s still a dangerous area full of monsters. To be honest, I’m worried about you.”
He was smooth. Logical, too. What he said was correct.
But his eyes were never that warm or friendly.
Every time I heard his voice, images flashed through my head.
Rough hands. A groin grinding against me while he hovered and pressed in. Slick fluid. Harsh breathing in my ear.
Strange images. Thoughts that made no sense.
This was... the scent of lust.
This body was sensing that scent.
I could feel it instinctively.
This... this smelled.
A trap. The scent of hunting women.
The atmosphere this man gave off... I knew it well.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
The heat that had only just settled slowly rose again.
Chae Haeun was reacting to this man’s gaze.
His tall build.
That pretty-boy face.
The self-assured air that came from being an A-class hunter.
The V-neck that exposed his collarbones, the aura he carried.
Like an alpha male—the kind of man at the very top of the dating market.
Whether his claim that he led a team specializing in the Great Rift was a lie or not, his body was solid, the kind you’d expect from a hunter who stood on the front line.
If it weren’t for the trace of mana clinging to him, I might have mistaken him for some idol.
But Chae Haeun wasn’t reacting because he was handsome or capable or had a good body.
Her instincts didn’t care about things like that. They didn’t ask for a partner’s genes or social ability.
Any daughters born would be genetically identical to her, and thanks to the blessing, they’d be immortal—meaning there was no risk in raising them. So instinctively, she preferred a partner who could help her multiply her offspring as quickly as possible.
As long as he had plenty of semen, that was enough. And... if anything, it seemed like she preferred a man without women around him, someone who would end up spilling all his semen into her.
Of course, that was only the voice of instinct. It had nothing to do with me.
So, in the end, it was simple.
The reason Chae Haeun was reacting was simple: the other person was looking at her as a target to fuck.
That lust coming from a man in heat... tangled up in hormones.
Those sensitive senses were picking up the body’s unconscious reaction to it.
I didn’t have some stupid question like, Why am I getting this sexual vibe from a guy I just met?
My looks were sculpted by a god. Unless a man had an unusual taste, most of them would want to pin me down the moment they saw me.
The only reason they didn’t let that desire show through was the defeatist instinct of loser men who knew they’d be rejected.
So this man in front of me...
Didn’t have that kind of defeatism.
He was looking at me purely as prey.
Not some kind of search for a lover.
Just a toy for one night.
...With the same eyes Choi Eunho had.
He’d probably been watching me for a while already.
He’d been waiting for some excuse to talk to me, keeping an eye on the situation.
And the moment I looked like easy prey, he must have thought he’d found a perfect opening and rushed right over.
That was the kind of bastard he was.
I could smell it on him.
His gaze moved slowly from my head down to my body, scanning me.
It felt like he was looking at a woman from a distance and, once he got closer, saying she looked even better up close—as if to say, You’re my type.
And this body responded by offering the signal that it would accept that body.
This body was weak. When a horned-up male who was openly or even not-so-openly saying he wanted to fuck me showed up, it automatically tried to accommodate him.
Not good.
This... this was bad.
The desire rose.
Desire created desire, and that desire created even more desire.
In the end, it was nothing more than simple lust.
My body was screaming for me to walk right into this man’s trap disguised as kindness.
Go with him. Nod along to his voice.
When he started setting the mood, I should just spread my legs and help him along. Make the situation for him.
Move exactly the way he wanted.
And then get fucked for one night.
Be easy.
Be his toy...
What the hell is that supposed to mean...!!
I had to avoid him.
I was already on edge from the fact that I’d spent all this time standing next to Kang Juhyuk thinking about sex.
I didn’t need to listen to this.
If the mana efficiency was poor, I could just supply the mana myself and use it anyway. I had more than enough to spare.
Fortunately, although my body’s signal made my desire spike in an instant, it didn’t force me.
Chae Haeun also seemed to stop at, I want to go with him, but— she didn’t seem like she was about to push me there by force.
I needed to end this quickly while she was still being obedient.
“I’ll take it.”
“Pardon? Ah—yes. Then I’ll ring this up...”
“Yes. I said I’m buying it. Hurry up and take my card.”
I deliberately ignored the A-class hunter when he spoke, and held out my card.
What I needed wasn’t efficiency; it was top performance. Even if it ate through mana stones, I could just act as the mana stone myself.
I powered the bag without even inserting a single mana stone, pouring my own mana into it as I loaded in everything I’d bought.
Then I immediately slung the bag over my shoulder.
Fast.
This body... couldn’t endure such an obvious gaze.
No, wait. Was it really that obvious? He’d masked it pretty well.
Maybe the problem was simply that this body could read those “intentions” far too well.
The hunter looked at my sudden behavior with some curiosity, but he didn’t say anything.
No. That wasn’t it.
He hadn’t not spoken.
He was looking at me even more openly now, as if he wanted to dissect me from the inside out.
“Interesting. You’re just going to leave like that?”
“What concern is that of yours?”
“No... now that I think about it, you’ve got an incredible amount of mana.”
He’d said the bag’s efficiency was poor, and he wasn’t lying.
And yet the magic circuit on the bag was running wild as if it had more than enough to spare.
Whether he’d really been telling the truth about being an A-class hunter or not, he had managed to estimate my mana output just by activating the bag.
He was staring at me with an expression that said he found this even more amusing.
“That’s impressive. I thought maybe you were just a first-time hunter in the Great Rift, out shopping on an older hunter’s errand... but if your output is that good, then you’re at least B... or maybe A?”
“Move. I’m busy.”
“I don’t want to be too pushy, but... at least let me make a proper offer. I’d like to give you my card.”
He said that and held out a business card to me.
Kwon Mujin, A-class hunter, Great Rift specialist.
Was he trying to scout me? How ridiculous. As if I’d go join something like that and do what, exactly?
I didn’t need to hear any more—
“I really want to talk to you sometime. We’ve got a vacancy on our side lately. We’ve been looking for a capable hunter like you.”
No, that wasn’t it.
We’d literally just met. What did he mean, capable hunter? My mana capacity? That was just lip service.
He was just trying to create a place for me in his group somehow...!!
My hand, now holding the business card I hadn’t chosen to take, was trembling.
Seriously, this was insane.
This body was the kind that got aroused the moment someone approached because they wanted to hold me.
I wanted to curse him out and refuse him hard, but Chae Haeun held me back.
She wasn’t telling me to follow him, but she was telling me not to embarrass him by refusing outright.
Give me a break.
Disgusting. Why don’t you get lost? I’m not some woman who gets fucked just because a man says he wants to fuck me. I’m not that kind of person.
Don’t look at me like I’m that kind of target.
Sex? Fine. It feels good. I want it sometimes, too. If I’m trapped in this body, I can at least understand that much.
But only when I take the lead. Nothing beyond that is allowed.
That was what Choi Eunho had allowed. Sex only when necessary, and only under his own control.
So this was a no. Absolutely not.
“Would you tell me your name? Contact me when you have time.”
“Cha... Chae...”
Fuck. Don’t say my name.
My mouth moved on its own. Chae Haeun was trying to answer, as if to say, What’s the harm in giving him just your name?
No. It wasn’t fine. I couldn’t leave any opening like that. Not for something like this...
My will to stop my tongue and Chae Haeun’s will to move it were clashing head-on.
This was.
This was dangerous...
“Nuna! There you are!”
“...Huh?”
Huh?
“I picked one out, but it seemed way too expensive, so I was going to ask you about it and then buy it... Is something wrong? Who’s this?”
Kang Juhyuk ran over and cut in.
As he spoke, he stepped between me and the man.
He sounded casual enough, but he must have noticed that I had stiffened while still blushing and staring at the man, because he rushed in with a guarded look on his face.
It wasn’t funny. I wasn’t blushing. That was Chae Haeun, and my body had just gotten hot on its own.
It had moved without my permission at the thought that an opportunity for sex had appeared.
No. Even thinking about it like that was strange. Why was I making excuses to Kang Juhyuk? My body was just feeling off.
“...Then maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”
The man slowly looked from Kang Juhyuk to me—the me he was hiding from sight—and let out a faint laugh as he said it.
It was the attitude of someone who didn’t care about a guy like Kang Juhyuk at all. He didn’t even bother speaking to Kang Juhyuk, whom he’d evidently judged to be no different from an ordinary person, and simply stepped back.
He was an irritating bastard to the very end.
Once he’d withdrawn, Kang Juhyuk let out a small sigh and turned to me.
“Nuna. Who was that? You didn’t look very good, so I ran over right away...”
“Hah, hah, hah, hah...”
With Kang Juhyuk talking to me like that, I could barely answer.
I just let out a rough breath.
He was gone. The man who’d been treating me like prey was moving away.
This body felt empty. Almost sad. Chae Haeun seemed a little disappointed too. But I only felt relief.
If Kang Juhyuk hadn’t shown up, I might have been too busy fighting my own body to avoid that man’s hands.
And at the end of it all... I might have ended up getting fucked in some absurd, humiliating way.
Ha.
Fuck me? Me?
Chae Eunha? No, no. Choi Eunho?
Stress.
I couldn’t let this ridiculous helplessness slide. Rage surged up over what had just happened.
The fact that he’d seen me as an easy woman to fuck left a foul taste in my mouth.
It bruised my pride...
Whether my body, my instincts, or Chae Haeun had nearly gone along with his little trick didn’t matter.
That’s just how those things were. My body only wanted to breed, and Chae Haeun was the personality that followed that instinct... or whatever.
I didn’t care.
But still.
Some worthless bastard had...
Looked at me as if I were one of those empty-headed girls he could just fuck around with as Choi Eunho.
There was nothing more offensive than that.
And the fact that I couldn’t even fire back with one good insult...
Chae Haeun, you fucking bitch.
“...Hey.”
Right.
I could see Kang Juhyuk looking at me with concern.
I’m not the one who gets fucked.
“Come with me.”
I’m the one who does the fucking.