Chapter 307

Ṛｅａd̂ on̈ Ｋa&t;R‍eａ​d́íñ​g​Cáf‍ε

A brackish, metallic taste filled my mouth.

The breath I exhaled reeked of blood.

I forced down the rising blood, gulping it down my throat.

How many times have I bitten my tongue now?

He’d given up counting, so even Eugene didn’t know.

Eugene bit his tongue when he couldn’t control himself. It was due to a lack of patience. It was a last resort used when he couldn’t calm down in any way other than pain. Pain was the only thing that could control the surging lust. Only greater pain could suppress desire.

How did it come to this?

Eugene couldn’t understand this situation at all.

Touch? What? Breasts? Whose? Lucia’s?

Could I be mistaken about something?

Did I misinterpret Lucia’s words?

Did I twist it arbitrarily to mean what I wanted to hear?

Eugene blinked his bloodshot eyes and repeated the previous statement. He engraved Lucia’s words, one letter at a time, in his heart. He ran his throbbing head at full power to find an error.

“Do you… want to touch my chest?”

…Pfft!

He barely managed to stop the coughing fit that was about to burst out.

He almost splattered Lucia with blood.

Eugene healed his wounds with super regeneration, forcibly swallowing the bloody froth.

“You don’t have to feel pressured…”

Her white blouse was soaked with sweat and stuck tightly to her body. The outline of her underwear was more clearly visible. It was too small, not protecting her breasts but rather compressing them. Eugene bit his tongue again at the subtly protruding flesh. A tear-inducing pain pierced his mind. But it wasn’t enough to quell the turmoil in his heart.

Was I found out after all? Did I get caught? Did Lucia realize I’d been peeking at her breasts? Is that why she’s joking around? To tease me? No, Lucia wouldn’t play such a prank. She’s probably saying it sincerely. She’s really telling me to touch her breasts.

‘…Can I touch them? Really?’

It’s not like Eugene didn’t have sexual desires.

He also had desires as strong as anyone else.

He simply restrained them with reason and suppressed them with morality.

But when the other person voluntarily allows him to touch them, he couldn’t help but be troubled. Especially if that person was the girl he liked. He was happy that she had opened her heart to him this much. The desire that had been pressing down on him blurred Eugene’s vision.

He swallowed the blood-tinged saliva.

The sound was as loud as thunder.

If you ask me if I want to touch them, of course I want to.

Even if it’s just flesh, it contains a man’s dream.

“You can touch them as much as you want… to… but…”

His heart was boiling. His head was boiling. The blood flowing through his veins was boiling like water in a kettle.

He slightly parted his lips. A hissing sound escaped. Eugene hesitated, not knowing what to say. Okay, should I start by asking if she’s serious? What if she says she’s serious? What do I do after I get her guarantee? His palms were wet with sweat. Eugene’s head seemed to be steaming at the next scene that came to mind.

“Lucia.”

“U-Uh-huh?”

Her shoulders trembled.

She subtly averted her gaze and smiled awkwardly.

She proposed it herself, but she seemed embarrassed after all.

“D-Don’t be too rough…”

Lucia’s request was in vain, as Eugene lacked confidence.

That’s because, although she didn’t realize it, she was always seducing Eugene.

Her soft glances, playful gestures, and sweet voice always set Eugene’s heart on fire.

He endures. He extinguishes. He blocks. He quenches.

Each time, Eugene reasoned with himself.

But what about now? If she’s being this blatant, doesn’t that mean I don’t have to hold back anymore? Lucia wouldn’t have made this offer with half-hearted determination. Wouldn’t it be even more rude to refuse?

Thoughts chased after thoughts.

Excuses to convince himself sprouted like mushrooms after rain.

He reaches out his hand.

He reached out his hand towards her.

Perhaps because of the backlash from holding back all this time, Eugene’s reason was more paralyzed than ever.

“Hngh…”

Lucia shrank back as if embarrassed.

Thanks to that, the overwhelming presence of her chest became even more prominent.

Eugene’s reason, which had been reduced to ashes, scattered in the wind.

“Lucia.”

Maybe I was born only for today.

It might be an exaggeration, but Eugene felt more alive than ever.

That’s why Eugene could say it decisively.

“You shouldn’t say things like that so carelessly.”

He buttons up Lucia’s school uniform, one button at a time.

The demon inside him curses him as a crazy bastard, and the angel inside him curses him as a eunuch, but Eugene was proud.

What’s not right is not right.

“Don’t make such jokes to me or to anyone else.”

Because I like Lucia.

Because I like her as a man.

For her sake, I needed to correct what was wrong.

“Men are more foolish than you think. They’re all idiots. They’ll take your jokes seriously.”

“It wasn’t a joke…”

“…Even if it was serious, you went too far just now.”

Honestly, it’s not that I don’t regret it. I still regret it like crazy. I wanted to touch them. You can call me a snob if you want. Because I’m a man too. I wanted to take those soft, fluffy fruits.

But I shouldn’t. Because I wasn’t confident in restraining my current self. I can’t guarantee it would end with just the breasts. I can’t be satisfied with just the breasts. Possessiveness stirred. Her breasts, and further, her lips, everything about her. I wanted to covet everything, really everything. So I can’t. I didn’t want to hurt her. I’d rather hurt myself.

“Even between friends, there’s a line that needs to be kept between men and women, right?”

“W-We’re not just friends, are we? We’re best friends?”

Lucia shouted as if protesting.

That’s right. We’re ‘best friends’.

That’s what we promised to be.

I couldn’t have forgotten.

That’s why I’m refusing.

“I-I wouldn’t do this to just anyone? It’s because it’s Eugene… because Eugene is special to me…”

…This is really scary.

Could Lucia actually be a fox?

Isn’t she a nine-tailed fox in disguise?

Saying things like that is cheating.

“I just wanted to be helpful to you…”

“Lucia…”

“Hmph, forget it. To misinterpret my pure goodwill.”

She covered her chest with both hands and turned her head away. Ah, really. She’s a cute girl. She was a lovely girl. Every single one of her small gestures felt like a precious treasure.

“The opportunity has passed. Best friend chance is over. Really, I was going to do it with a big heart…”

“I’m sorry. But that’s what I think. What you did just now was too much, even for best friends.”

To be specific, you almost got me disqualified as a human and turned me up for animal qualification instead.

“Don’t push yourself for my sake. If you really think of me as a best friend, take better care of your body.”

“…Okay.”

“Thank you for thinking of me. I was happy. Really.”

The frustration in my heart, which had been frustrated by my un-improving supernatural abilities, was completely resolved. It was as refreshing as if a dam had been broken. The past worries and anxieties, just by looking at her face, felt insignificant. Eugene was a little surprised at himself. I liked Lucia more than I thought.

“…I can’t touch your chest, but.”

“Huh?”

Eugene said with an awkward smile.

In exchange for giving up the dream of men, I wanted to be a little greedy.

“Can I ask for another favor instead?”

“What is it?”

“Hold my hand. I think it would be a big help.”

That day came to mind.

When she held my hand during the field practice.

When Lucia stroked my hand at the hospital.

That moment, which I still haven’t forgotten, flickered like it was just yesterday.

“Just that?”

“Just that. For now. It’s enough.”

Lucia nodded with a bitter smile.

She put her hand on mine, interlacing her fingers between mine.

Looking down at our clasped hands, Eugene unknowingly put strength into his hand.

“It’s warm. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

For now.

For the time being.

Let’s be satisfied with this much warmth.

Someday, I wanted to be in a relationship with her that was more than just this.

I didn’t want it to end with just ‘best friends’.

‘God of War… I still don’t know what her relationship with my ancestor is like… but it’s okay. Even if it’s a meaningful relationship, it doesn’t matter. I won’t care.’

Eugene burst out laughing at his own pettiness. 

‘When I think about it, I’ve always called the God of War the God of War, not my teacher. Maybe it’s because I was subconsciously wary.’

‘I like her.’

I’ll make her like me too.

“I’ll just lean on you for a moment.”

“Eep.”

Eugene was startled by the warmth on his shoulder.

He didn’t show it, but his heart was sinking.

He even had the delusion that Lucia had read his mind.

Honey-like hair brushed against his cheek.

It was ticklish, but a pleasant tickle.

Eugene barely rolled his eyes to look to the side.

Lucia was leaning her head on his shoulder.

‘…Is she really a fox?’

Yui’s words that all women are foxes were true after all.

No, maybe it’s just Lucia who’s like that.

But if it’s a fox like this, I think I can give her my liver. (The fox and liver folktale is a part of Korean folklore about a fox spirit that eats livers.)

I can give it to her with a happy heart.

‘Huh? Huh?’

At that time, Eugene felt something touching his heart. It didn’t actually touch it. But it wasn’t a delusion either. The contact just now happened within, not in the flesh. It was a small change in the image. 

Lightning struck. 

A thunder that only Eugene could hear. The most static lightning in the world. The scene in front of him was dyed white.

‘This is… maybe… ah, is that so…’

A clue to uncovering the secret of supernatural abilities.

The secret hidden in his abilities.

A clue to unraveling that unknown.

…I think I just found it.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
As long as they reach Seoul, it doesn’t matter which path they take.

Regardless of the method, since she’s managed to lead Eugene’s growth, hadn’t Lucia also fulfilled her role?

This is truly a case of catching a mouse while walking backward.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Harem route let’s go, kill all.