Chapter 234: Black Mud Swamp (2)

After watching a round of Sihee and Eunbyul’s flashy displays of miscellaneous skills.

The three of us took up positions on one side of the Black Mud Swamp and focused on hunting wind scorpions.

Do Sihee, drawing her bowstring with a serious gaze, unlike the vulgar, flirtatious expression she showed on the bed.

And Eunbyul, focusing silently on launching iron shards from her position with her usual expression.

I wasn’t sure if most A-rank Hunters possessed this level of skill, or if it was simply because the two of them worked well with me, but regardless, both were skilled enough to have my back inside the dungeon.

In addition, I could also confirm the performance of my newly acquired Awakening ability, Blessing.

“Did you see that just now, Sungchul-ssi?”

“Huh?”

“When the wind scorpion twisted its body just now trying to dodge my arrow, how it got hit by the changed path of the arcane arrow at the last second!”

“I did see a trajectory that seemed to curve slightly at the end, but since I didn’t shoot it myself, I’m not sure if it was the effect of the Blessing.”

“Come to think of it, while I can’t definitively say it’s because of Kim Sungchul-nim’s Blessing, the iron shards haven’t shown much wear even after using them for quite a while during today’s hunt.”

“What connection does that have with my Blessing?”

“It means the probability of hitting weak spots, rather than the monster’s hard parts, has increased, so I don’t think there’s no correlation at all.”

“…Hmm, is that so.”

It seemed they could feel the performance to some extent even with just the effect of the lowest grade Blessing, ‘Weak Luck’, as the two of them reported various details to me whenever they noticed something.

Honestly, it was such a subtle change that it was barely noticeable from an observer’s standpoint, but since they were two people who had handled their dedicated weapons for a long time, they must have felt it more strongly.

I was also causing A-rank monsters to die instantly with just one or two sword strikes, so it seemed I was unknowingly hitting their vital points well due to the effect of Weak Luck.

To see the full effects of the Blessing, I would need to level up and try using skills related to evasion or strengthening, but…

Around the time I was finishing up the hunt and organizing the spoils, Do Sihee looked at me and muttered something.

“Truly, the more I see you, the more desirable you become.”

“…Are you suddenly saying that?”

“Didn’t I tell you last time? After I went so far as to swallow my pride and offer you the chance to become my partner, you coldly rejected me without a second thought, right? You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

Thinking she was referring to the proposal made during our first date’s dinner, I shook my head and replied.

“I don’t recall rejecting you coldly. It’s just that the path I want to take is a bit difficult to pursue as Sihee-ssi’s husband, so I refused.”

“Becoming the son-in-law of the Dokyung Group is nothing but good things, so what could possibly make it difficult?”

“Well… I’ll let you know if the opportunity arises someday.”

“…What a bland person.”

Because even if I told her my unrealistic dream of making it so no one dies by monsters, she probably wouldn’t understand it easily.

I should probably tell her once the plan is more concrete and I have the power to achieve it.

I wasn’t discriminating against Do Sihee just because she was from the Foundation. In the first place, the only people who knew about my dream were Kang Hye-eun and Eunyoung Noona.

I knew better than anyone that it was the kind of nonsensical rambling that I couldn’t just say anywhere.

As soon as I showed my uncommunicative attitude, the quick-witted blonde young lady stopped prying annoyingly about what I wanted to do.

She returned the topic to its starting point and continued talking about her marriage to me.

“You might already know this, but the marriage proposal I made last time is still valid, you know?”

“If so, I have no choice but to give you the same answer as back then.”

“…If you join our Shingung Doga family just as you are now, I’ll specially turn a blind eye to you having a few lovers even after marriage.”

“…What?”

“You know that normally this would be completely unacceptable, right? I’m making huge concessions because I love you that much.”

“…Thank you for the offer, but I prefer our relationship just as it is now, Sihee-ssi.”

“Hmm…”

Perhaps seeing that I wasn’t showing any signs of yielding, the blonde young lady presented me with a completely different proposal.

What came out of her mouth was a proposal so outlandish that I momentarily struggled to understand it.

“…If you wish, I’ll even allow you to specially take our Eunbyul as a lover too.”

“…Did I hear that wrong?”

“Despite appearances, my Eunbyul comes from a pretty good family, you know. She’s the daughter of a famous company that you’d probably recognize by name, Sungchul-ssi.”

“I roughly expected as much. Otherwise, you couldn’t have been active in the Foundation together with Sihee-ssi from way back.”

(Though in reality, I knew this because I’d peeked at personal information from the Hunter Libido Management System.)

“If that’s the case, things move quickly. Right now, she’s working under me as an exclusive maid due to various circumstances, but if she finds her rightful place, it would be quite beneficial for both me and Sungchul-ssi.”

“…Isn’t that obviously good news, even if I don’t take Eunbyul-ssi as a lover?”

“As you told me before, Sungchul-ssi, resolving Eunbyul’s libido issues could help restore her weakened Awakening ability. If that happens, it seems the problem Eunbyul-ssi is currently facing within her family might be resolved.”

Ah, so that was the story.

She wanted Eunbyul to have a similar experience, since she herself had previously regained her Awakening ability through sex with me.

Indeed, a young lady from the Geumhyang Group working as a servant under a young lady from the Dokyung Group likely meant something had gone wrong within her family.

It obviously wasn’t a conversation to be had between Sihee and me, so this time, I turned my gaze and asked, making eye contact with Maid Eunbyul.

“Does it not matter to you, Eunbyul-ssi? Sihee-ssi is trying to buy me by selling you off right now.”

“…I’m sorry. I don’t understand what Kim Sungchul-nim means by Master selling me.”

“Huh?”

“If there were such a thing as the ‘right’ to become Kim Sungchul-nim’s lover, wouldn’t a typical female hunter’s mindset be to buy that right even if it cost money? I don’t quite understand why that translates to me being sold.”

…Right, in this world, the relationship between men and women was treated like this.

It was a moment when I realized anew that the notions of morality in the world I lived in were the opposite.

“So, does that mean it doesn’t matter to you whether you have sex with me or not, Eunbyul-ssi?”

“…It’s not that I’m not interested, but I suspect it would be somewhat different from the ‘loving relationship’ sex Kim Sungchul-nim speaks of. If things go wrong, it might end unsatisfactorily for both me and Kim Sungchul-nim, and in that case, my Awakening ability would likely remain at its current level.”

“Hmm…”

Certainly, according to the theories so far, it was a sufficiently plausible hypothesis.

If simply thrusting my cock and ejaculating could restore Awakening abilities, then other hunters shouldn’t normally be losing or weakening theirs in the first place.

To be honest, I felt aroused enough to get my cock hard right now just from the experience of receiving cleaning fellatio on the boat last time, but Maid Eunbyul didn’t seem to harbor any particularly special feelings for me as a man.

As evidence of that, Eunbyul’s personal information displayed on the Hunter Libido Management System screen didn’t exactly suggest she felt any particular liking towards me.

『Name: Geum Nari (Alias: Eunbyul) Current Estimated Points Gained: 15 Current Favorability: 20』

Although her libido information was registered in my Hunter Libido Management System due to what happened on the boat, the numbers were too low for anyone to imagine she had romantic feelings for me.

The amount of Estimated Points Gained was so slight it was hard to tell if her libido was being resolved at all, and the low Favorability suggested only a subtle liking, with no romantic feelings whatsoever.

Having sex with her in this state would likely lead to a less-than-ideal outcome.

Rather than making things unnecessarily awkward with a half-baked attempt, it was a priority to make her develop more romantic feelings for me first.

“If Kim Sungchul-nim is interested in having sex with me, separate from my Awakening ability, I can willingly agree, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Seeing Eunbyul say that so stoically, as if devoid of any feelings, almost made me waver for a moment.

Still, if possible, I wanted our first time to start with mutual liking, so I quietly answered.

“You are certainly an attractive woman, Eunbyul-ssi, and I admit I was slightly swayed by the proposal that becoming Sihee-ssi’s husband would also let me gain you.”

“Ah, if so, right now…”

“However, I don’t really want a relationship where we mix bodies without genuinely wanting each other. It seems like you feel the same way, Eunbyul-ssi.”

“…”

“Also, I just told you that the position of Sihee-ssi’s husband alone is burdensome enough, yet you’re nonchalantly suggesting I try to woo another family’s young lady too.”

“…Th-that’s not what I meant.”

Sihee’s hand, which had been reaching for some documents in her pocket, immediately retracted.

They felt like documents I shouldn’t check, and it was probably better not to get curious.

“…Uh, it seems it turned out that way somehow, but can’t you accept it as a sign of how high my expectations are for you, Sungchul-ssi?”

“I understand that, but what if I end up finding Eunbyul-ssi more attractive than you, Sihee-ssi?”

“…W-what? N-no way… Could it be…”

As soon as she heard my words, Do Sihee’s eyes, filled with a sense of crisis, began to tremble anxiously, so I smiled reassuringly.

“I’m just kidding. No matter how many other women I might get involved with, I would never become neglectful towards a woman with unrivaled charm like you, Sihee-ssi, so you can rest assured.”

“…Of course, that’s obvious! Rather, you should be begging for the chance to mix bodies with a woman like me, so thinking about it, it makes no sense that Sungchul-ssi would become neglectful towards me!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Ah, anyway, let’s just forget this conversation happened! It’s not that I think I lack charm compared to Eunbyul, but rather because it seems neither of you is really keen on the idea!”

“Yes, yes.”

I played along appropriately as she hastily tried to smooth things over with an “Oops” expression, and thus, that day’s expedition concluded.

…Honestly, it was a bit of a shame.