[Protagonist's POV]
One stock—predictable—
Potion secured—questions lingered—I'd ask—
[Shh.]
Flinch!
Not text—a whisper in my ear—
Goosebumps—shiver—
[Let's talk… later, just us—got it?]
Her voice tickled like ASMR—
Pop!
Message gone—
'…Oh.'
She's watching—but dodging now—
I closed the shop—
Yeo Socheon nearby—awkward timing—
No need to mix them—
Saintess's take on her—unclear—but Yeo Socheon's saintess-bashing? Frequent—
2207—
Last points seen—lingered—
Normally, six years—or 2200 taels of gold into the system—
Even big merchants balk—I'm no different—
'Should've charged more for readings.'
Naive back then—cheap rates—
Regrets—too late—
'…Points.'
I glanced at Yeo Socheon—back turned—
Small already—slumped shoulders—pitiful—
Earlier, a rapist cum-thief—now, these points softened that—
Money can't buy this—she earned it—
Brief suffering—what's that worth?
Shame it's a one-time spike—
Four more at this rate—I'd grit through—
Potions outweigh it now—no point—
"…You okay?"
"…No—I'm trash—don't say it—I'm just…"
"…I'll forgive you—get up."
"Really?!"
"…Bit too quick to perk up."
Almost staged—weakness for pity?
+++
"…Then I'll take my leave—if you've any orders, call anytime…"
Deep in the Heavenly Demon Cult—its leader's lair—
The strategist handed over sorted documents—
Most internal affairs he'd handled—only passing up what he couldn't decide—
He knew her apathy—her loathing for tasks—
Still, a mere strategist couldn't rule the cult—
Even if it was just a reaction of "barely good" or "not good," matters requiring the cult leader's response were occasionally handled by passing along documents like this.
And then there was the other task she had assigned to him.
[Report interesting things happening in the world.]
It was a truly vague command.
When he first heard it, he thought there might be some hidden meaning behind it and struggled with it for quite a while. But once he realized it was meant literally, he spent a long time tearing at his hair in frustration.
Her intention was simply that, since she was bored, she wanted to hear about the outside world through him.
It was the kind of thing that made him sigh instinctively, but what could he do?
If she ordered it, he had to obey.
And this was the result.
At first, she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit—staring at the papers for a long time, occasionally letting out a small chuckle. But that only lasted a few times.
Lately, she had grown bored of even this, often reading them with an expressionless face before tossing them aside.
So he had started to think that maybe the day would come soon when she'd order him to stop doing this altogether.
"…Ho."
But then, for the first time in a long while, he saw a spark of interest on her face.
"'The Faceless Fortune-Teller'… This one seems quite interesting."
"Ah… Are you talking about that fortune-teller?"
He recalled the information he had written about this figure not long ago.
A fortune-teller who hid their appearance with mysterious magic, making it impossible to discern their face, age, or even gender.
They had apparently been somewhat famous before, but a recent event had made their name known to everyone in the Central Plains.
"Whether what he did is true or not, his ability to read the heavens is certainly noteworthy…"
"He has a hobby of enjoying liquor, huh…"
"Huh?"
He had almost forgotten that he'd included that detail.
Honestly, with all the information he'd written about this person, who would bother remembering something as trivial as their fondness for alcohol?
He had noted it with the hope that, if this fortune-teller's abilities could work on the cult leader too, it might elevate her already near-absolute power even further—not because he expected this kind of reaction.
But her next words left him even more stunned.
"I'd like to meet him sometime."
The sleeping monster of the divine cult began to stir.
+++
Perhaps the divine envoy had at least a shred of flexibility?
Thankfully, there was no need to retrace the path they'd taken to get here when leaving.
"If you… press these in this order…"
After manipulating the hidden mechanisms in sequence—
Rumble!
"Ah, it worked."
"W-What is this?"
"It's just the sound of the mechanism activating. It's only opening the exit, so there's nothing to worry about. So, relax—"
Whoosh!
His vision spun in an instant, and Yeo So-cheon's face appeared before him.
Before he could even react—
Thud!
A massive boulder crashed down where he had just been standing.
"…"
A chill ran down his spine.
It was obvious that if he'd stayed there, he'd have been crushed to a pulp.
"…Didn't you say there'd be nothing to worry about?"
"…It's an old ruin. Maybe it's a little rusty."
"…Well, if you say so…"
"Still mad at me?"
"That damned guy can't do anything right! If you're going to build a mechanism, at least make it properly—how could he mess it up like this?!"
Hmm.
Watching Yeo So-cheon instantly shift her blame to someone else, he thought this weakness of hers might actually come in handy.
"Alright, take the lead. Just in case another rock comes rolling down."
"…Fine."
It felt like hiding behind a woman's skirt, but he was too tired to argue anymore.
What he hadn't considered at that moment, though—
They were currently in the deepest part of an underground ruin.
And an exit from there to the surface would naturally be an uphill climb.
And since this era didn't have elevators or escalators—
"Huff…! Haa…!"
Thud.
He collapsed onto the stairs while climbing.
No way.
This was absolutely impossible.
There was no way he could climb all these stairs with his own strength.
"…Want me to carry you?"
Yeo So-cheon's cautious offer came at that moment.
"…"
She had already suggested it earlier when they first saw the dizzyingly high staircase.
But for some reason, agreeing to it right away felt like it left a bitter taste—he still had some lingering resentment, and he didn't want her to get the wrong idea—so he'd stubbornly refused.
"…Then I'll borrow your back."
It seemed this wasn't the time to let pride get in the way.
Before climbing onto Yeo So-cheon—who had turned around and bent down to make it easier for him—he made sure to clarify.
"Just so you know, I'm only doing this because I'm exhausted. Don't get any weird ideas, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Sighing inwardly at her half-hearted response, he draped his arms over her shoulders and leaned his weight onto her.
Her small frame made it a bit awkward to hold onto, but once he found a decent position, she adjusted the rest herself.
Shift.
"Up we go."
She grabbed his thighs with her hands, lifting him and minimizing the effort he had to exert while being carried.
The ticklish sensation of her hair brushing against his face lingered.
"How should I go? Fast? Or slow?"
The ride (?) was surprisingly comfortable, but staying in this position for too long felt odd, so—
"Let's go as fast as possible."
He let a moment of bravado slip out.
"…As fast as possible?"
"Yeah. As fast as you can."
"…Hmm. Alright, I'll adjust it a bit. Hold onto my neck tightly. You might fall off otherwise."
Wondering just how fast she meant, he gripped her neck firmly as instructed—
Tap!
Whoosh!
"Waaaah?!"
Yeo So-cheon began racing up the stairs at an incredible speed.
The sharp sound of the wind assaulted his ears, and he clung to her neck even tighter, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"W-Wait a sec! Too fast!"
"It'll be over soon, just hang on!"
"Eeek…"
The speed was already insane, and with his feet not even touching the ground, it felt like riding a roller coaster.
He could feel the gravity pulling at his entire body, a ticklish sensation stirring in his stomach.
Fortunately, her words proved true—
Tap!
"There, we're here."
"Haaah…"
Thankfully, they reached the surface in a fraction of the time a roller coaster ride would've taken.
Though short, it had felt like his life was in danger.
"You can get down now, so let go—"
As he caught his breath, Yeo So-cheon started to speak but didn't finish.
"Uh… well…"
"…?"
He noticed her face flushing red right beside him.
Wondering why she was blushing now, he focused on his senses—
'Oh.'
He realized his erection, triggered by the adrenaline, was pressing against her back.
"Uh, maybe…"
"N-No, this is just instinct! It happened because I felt my life was in danger—it's not what you think!"
"Oh, r-right, of course?"
"Yeah, yeah! When a guy's low on oxygen, the brain reacts and makes it stand up—it's unavoidable! Don't misunderstand!"
"Ahh…"
"Just put me down already!"
Hastily sliding off her back, he pressed down on his still-stiff member with his hand.
He couldn't even remember what nonsense he'd just spouted.
He'd rambled so much that it was all a blur, but it didn't seem like Yeo So-cheon had caught much of it either.
Sneak peek.
She glanced at him intermittently, her face still red.
A shiver ran through him.
She wouldn't possibly suggest "helping" him with it right here, like some cheap erotic story—
"Uh, if it's okay, I could—"
"Don't even try it!"
"I didn't even finish talking?!"
"Shut up, you rapist! After what you did yesterday, it's still not enough?!"
