Ch.144The Lion and the Tiger

# 144. The Lion and the Tiger

“Yuri-yaaaa! H-h-how could you!”

“Unnie. Think about it carefully.”

“I don’t need to think carefully to know this is weird! It’s weird, right?!”

“You say it’s weird… but your heart is pounding like crazy, isn’t it?”

Yuri leaned in mischievously toward Seyeon’s chest with a playful smile. Flustered, Seyeon tried to push her away, but she was up against a formidable opponent. Although Seyeon ranked an impressive 2nd in pure physical strength within their raid team, Yuri was 1st, clinging to her like a leech… After struggling for a while, Seyeon finally declared surrender, panting heavily.

“Unnie. Think about it.”

“Why do you keep telling me to think about it…?”

“We already shower together. This is similar.”

“It’s not similar at all!”

How did Yuri end up like this?

‘…Or was she? Has she always been this way?’

Seyeon sighed. Yuri’s determination seemed unshakable. When Yuri was in this state, nobody except Sunghyun could stop her.

“Unnie. You know what? Sometimes when things get tough, I hold on by imagining this.”

“Imagining what?”

“After everything’s over, returning to Earth and living the life I want with Oppa. Honestly, life here isn’t bad, but when it comes to everyday living, Earth is overwhelmingly better, no matter what.”

When Seyeon nodded, Yuri excitedly continued.

“First, living together with Oppa! Spending all day together in a small apartment! Lying together on his bed, sharing his pillow, under the same blanket, snuggling in his arms while talking or watching movies, dramas, or gaming videos!”

As Seyeon mechanically nodded along, she found herself starting to imagine the same scenario.

It wasn’t just fantasy… If they were on Earth, these would be such simple, realistic, and modest forms of happiness that wouldn’t be difficult to achieve.

“Since I’d rather be with Oppa than go out, we’d order delivery food. I’d feed him going ‘Ah~’, and when I go ‘Ah~’, he’d feed me too. After eating a bit, I’d get thirsty. ‘Oppa, Oppa, can I have some Zero Cola?’ Then he’d bring me cola, right? And I’d give it back to him.”

“Why?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. That’s when I’d say to him: ‘Oppa, feed it to me!'”

“…Heh.”

“Cola kiss!”

Yuri kicked her legs excitedly. She was so strong that even her gentle movements made the bed shake violently…

“Oppa would look at me with a ‘what’s wrong with this girl’ expression for a moment, then smile and feed me cola with a kiss. The cola would be long gone, but the kiss would continue. Then we’d naturally move to the bed, naturally take off our clothes! Oppa’s intense movements would make the bed scream!”

*Gulp*

“Just as Oppa and I are about to become one and reach that distant place… the doorbell rings throughout the apartment!”

“What kind of development is this?!”

“Oppa freezes in shock, and I wrap myself in a blanket to look at the door, and oh my! It’s Seyeon unnie!”

“W-what?”

“Unnie, who brought some snacks, gets flustered seeing us naked, but with our gentle touches, she naturally lets her guard down, revealing her beautiful body that she’s been hiding—”

“Stop, stop, stop!”

“Ack!”

When her happy fantasy was shattered by this sudden turn, an annoyed Seyeon smacked Yuri on the head.

“Monopolizing Oppa is already a lost cause, so I’m just imagining these things!”

“That’s just it! You can imagine whatever you want, but why does it always end up g-going in that direction?!”

“Why? It’s our way of asserting our presence! Think about it! You were the first to arrive at the Tower, and probably the first to like him, but you weren’t his first kiss or first experience!”

“…”

Seyeon pressed her lips together. Though she claimed to be fine with it now, it had been an extremely serious issue at the time, and it was still a memory she didn’t particularly want to recall.

“Oppa isn’t openly perverted, but once he gets going… you know? So this time, we’ll be his first in a different category. Just like we’ll never forget our first experiences, we’ll give Oppa a ‘new first experience’ he’ll never forget!”

“A ‘new first experience’ he’ll never forget…?”

“Quietly supporting Oppa is good, and I think he appreciates you for that. But Oppa has only one body, and there are several of us. If we want change, we have to make it happen.”

“…”

“If you really don’t want to, I’ll drop the subject right here.”

Are you 100% happy right now?

If someone asked this question, Seyeon would say no. But she could say she was about 90% happy. There were many factors accounting for the missing 10%… but Yuri’s bold, almost shameless proposal somehow felt like it might fill that 10%, which made Seyeon feel very strange about herself.

She thought she had become a completely different person from the pre-Tower Seyeon while killing monsters and people, but this felt like crossing a different kind of line.

And the same was probably true for Yuri, whose slightly visible ears were turning strawberry red as she buried her face in Seyeon’s chest.

Though she spoke boldly, Yuri wasn’t the type to be unaware of embarrassment.

Just less concerned about it.

Seyeon was perplexed by her just one-year-younger sister’s slightly… no, very embarrassing proposal, but she was also deeply touched that Yuri cared about her this much.

“Yuri.”

“Yes?”

“I understand what you’re thinking, but the Captain only has one body.”

“Pfft! Don’t worry, don’t worry!”

Hearing Seyeon’s response, Yuri jumped up. And pulled Seyeon up with her.

“Instead of talking, let’s do it today. Come on. Let’s get ready. Ready!”

“W-what?”

“What’s the problem! We came here to rest anyway!”

“But everyone’s condition…”

“We’re young, so we’ll manage somehow, right?”

Seyeon couldn’t bring herself to challenge Yuri’s astonishing suggestions about drawing energy from the next day or taking potions if necessary.

The surprising thing was…

Her own face was also blooming with an inexplicable expectation and joy.

**

“You’ve reserved rooms 301 through 304. Your party members said you’re in room 301.”

“Thank you.”

I trudged up to the third floor, feeling strange about being a customer at a place where I had worked as a part-timer just a few months ago. After finishing my conversation with Aiyeomun, fatigue suddenly washed over me, and all I wanted was to shower and sleep as soon as possible.

‘We already agreed not to meet in the morning tomorrow, and this is a safe place, so I can sleep in with peace of mind.’

When I entered room 301, the familiar room layout greeted me. Seeing the bed reminded me of the times I had spent in the same room with Seyeon.

“We really pushed ourselves hard.”

Even when we reached neutral territories, we never had pure rest because of preparations for climbing.

In that sense, this trip to Edengard would be a good refresh for the raid members who were tired both physically and mentally.

‘Look at me, thinking about the raid team even at a time like this.’

Have I truly become a raid leader? While having these idle thoughts and undressing, I noticed a note on the drawer beside the bed.

「A lion and a tiger are fighting in room 304.」

“…?”

I was about to ignore it as some kind of joke and head to the bathroom when I remembered what the Tavern employee had said.

– You’ve reserved rooms 301 through 304.

“Who’s playing this cute prank?”

The moment I entered the keyword ‘prank,’ the options narrowed down to one immediately.

‘Ah, Yuri, that girl.’

Though it seemed like a playful note, she must have left it because she had something to discuss, so I decided to go check it out myself.

“Danya. Danya is resting first.”

“Meow. Meow meow.”

[Okay. Come quickly.]

*Knock knock*

After passing rooms 302 and 303, I knocked on the door of 304. Faint sounds of commotion could be heard from inside.

– Who is it?

“It’s me.”

– C-come in.

I heard Seyeon’s voice, and wondering what they were doing to make such noise, I quickly opened the door since permission had been granted, but…

“Roar!”

“R-roaaar!”

“……”

“ROAR!!”

“R-ROAAAR!”

“…………”

What am I looking at right now?

Seyeon and Yuri, both nearly naked, were facing off on the bed and floor, making awkward roaring sounds before engaging in something resembling wrestling.

Their faces were slightly flushed and their skin was a bit moist, suggesting they had been at this for quite some time.

“Um… it’s nice to see you bonding. But wouldn’t it be better to get some rest today?”

“No!”

“No!”

“Weren’t you supposed to be a lion and a tiger?”

“ROAR!!!”

“R-ROAAAR…!”

I have no idea what they’re trying to do. Do they want me to play with them?

Of course, playing with these two was always fun, but right now I really just wanted to rest…

Too tired to think, I just asked directly.

“Okay… what would you like Oppa to do?”

“When a lion and tiger fight, the zookeeper needs to stop them!”

“Wouldn’t getting between fighting lions and tigers be suicidal?”

I reflexively objected, but then…

“Damn it. Unnie! Grab him!”

“Got it!”

“Huh? Hey! What are you two doing—AAAHHH!”

Seeing the look in their eyes as they grabbed me from both sides, I felt like a zookeeper truly surrounded by a lion and a tiger… it was chilling.

“What are you trying to—”

“ROAR!!!!”

Ah.

Help me.