Chapter 275: Comforting Cha Yuri (1)

Cha Yuri’s mood, having unintentionally been drenched in semen on her face, did lighten up considerably as some time passed.

To put it accurately, it would be closer to say she entered a kind of cold war state rather than her mood having lightened up.

Since we were already in the bathroom, washing each other’s bodies and soaking in the tub, Cha Yuri, who had been huffing and puffing, was suddenly embraced in my arms, our bodies overlapping quietly in the bathtub.

In front, with her cheeks puffed out, her face half-submerged in the bathtub.

“I said I’m sorry, Cha Yuri-ssi. Cheer up.”

“…….”

“I really didn’t intend to spray it on your face. It happened while I was trying to show you in a bit more detail.”

“…….”

“And it was also because I wanted to see you closer, Cha Yuri-ssi.”

Chul-bak.

Instead of an answer, a hollow splash rippled across the bathtub once.

I couldn’t tell if it was an indirect expression that her mood was lightening up, or just a movement she made because she didn’t want to hear it.

“Well, since continuing to try something is at least more likely to work than saying nothing, I hugged Cha Yuri’s body tighter and whispered in her ear.”

Kkoook.

“Ngh…”

“Cha Yuri-ssi, are you really not going to cheer up?”

“……What.”

“Look over here. Still, it’s our time together after a long time, so wouldn’t it be a waste for me too if you stay sulky like that?”

“……I’m not sulking.”

“Then are you pouting?”

“…I said it’s not that.”

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that Cha Yuri’s anger itself had already mostly subsided.

In the first place, her favorability rating didn’t drop just because she got hit with some semen on her face, and conversely, as time passed, the expected acquisition points were rising little by little.

Firstly, her tired body was recovering, so her sexual desire was rising again, which was probably the first reason.

The second reason must have been that she herself got excited during the process of me showing my masturbation.

Perhaps, if I hadn’t accidentally sprayed semen on her face, the atmosphere was such that it wouldn’t have been strange if things had led directly into the next round of sex. However, her anger due to that caused the stat to drop sharply for a moment.

Seeing the stat starting to rise again, it was accurate to say that even the anger itself was gradually subsiding.

Perhaps she couldn’t stop pretending to be angry because there wasn’t a suitable trigger. Changing her expression to say her anger was suddenly gone wouldn’t be natural either.

It seemed I would have to create the trigger. In a natural direction that could resolve this awkward atmosphere.

“Cha Yuri-ssi, I love you.”

“…….”

“Today, I’ll hold you until tomorrow morning. Because I don’t want to let go of a cute and lovely Cha Yuri-ssi like you from my embrace all day long.”

“……Don’t say things that aren’t from your heart.”

“It wasn’t a lie, it was sincere. Does my praise feel artificial to you, Cha Yuri-ssi?”

“…….”

Hugging her unresponsive body even tighter, I rested my chin on her shoulder and rubbed it playfully.

Touching her chest or lower parts rashly before her heart softened would be a bit dangerous. So for now, it was just hugging her body and whispering words of love in her ear.

“Or it might be nice to just keep hugging like this in the bathtub. As we melt our bodies together in the moderately warm water, your heart will eventually soften too, won’t it, Cha Yuri-ssi?”

“…Did you forget that I caught a cold last time? We’re getting out, so let go of the arm around my waist.”

“I don’t want to let go of you now, Cha Yuri-ssi, because I think you’ll run away immediately.”

“…That’s enough now. If you’re going to do it, do it in bed.”

“Huh?”

“…I said do it in bed if you’re going to. Stop clinging here like a leech for no reason.”

“Oh, did you cheer up?”

“…It subsided a while ago. I just pretended to be angry because I wanted to see you looking troubled for longer.”

With those words, Cha Yuri got out of the bathtub, rinsed her body one last time, and stepped out of the bathroom.

As expected, a heartfelt apology is bound to work.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Even after getting out of the bathtub, we focused on resting rather than sex for a while. We had soaked our bodies for too long in the bathroom, so we needed to let some of that heat out.

Of course, even while lying side by side, I reached my hand to the right to rub and massage Cha Yuri’s stomach or butt.

These kinds of subtly lewd playful acts were things I had often done before, but the one difference was that Cha Yuri wasn’t just passively receiving them anymore?

When I reached my hand to the right to rub her stomach, Cha Yuri would push her hand into mine, rubbing my abs. And when I put my hand down to massage her butt, her hand would slide into my underwear.

It was the same even down to the fact that when I removed my hand, Cha Yuri would remove hers not long after.

Her behavior of trying to retaliate directly against my teasing, somehow. I could immediately confirm that she was only returning exactly as much as she received.

Having endured so much, was she deciding she wouldn’t feel wronged anymore by retaliating each time? Even that thought felt so trivial that it only made her cuter.

While we continued our silent exchange like that, thinking various things, I asked her for advice regarding the problem I had been worrying about until just a moment ago.

“Um, Cha Yuri-ssi, you’re a magic-type hunter, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, by any chance, do you research and use new magic besides the officialized spells? I suddenly became curious.”

“Isn’t that obvious? In the first place, if you’re at a level where you can’t create magic yourself, it’s hard to even rise to Rank B. There are several elements that can be used for magic; you should know how to do at least that much.”

“I see.”

Does it mean that upon reaching a certain level, creating magic oneself becomes a fundamental skill?

I was finally able to grasp the meaning behind Hwayoung Sunbae suddenly telling me to create 3rd Circle magic. As a teacher, she must have wished for her disciple’s rapid growth that much.

According to Cha Yuri’s words, it seems essential cultivation in creating magic oneself is necessary even to reach the level of a Rank B mage.

It was fortunate that I was able to think of some practical magic somehow. As it’s magic I thought of today, I haven’t tested it in actual combat yet.

I should check that part by doing an early dungeon run tomorrow before meeting Hwayoung Sunbae.

“But why the sudden research into magic? Are you perhaps learning from someone recently?”

“Yes. It seems there’s a teacher who is very enthusiastic about training disciples.”

“…Is she a woman?”

“If it’s a magic teacher, of course she’s a woman. There couldn’t possibly be any male mages in the world besides me, you know.”

Kkwaak.

Cha Yuri’s hand, which had been massaging my butt, momentarily tightened its grip. Feeling like I was retaliating, I grabbed the fatty part of her cheek firmly, feeling the soft and squishy sensation in my hand.

“Why, Cha Yuri-ssi? Are you perhaps jealous?”

“…Not really.”

“It really looks like you’re jealous.”

“…I’m just a little curious, though.”

“About what?”

“Why you’re specifically learning magic from another magic-type hunter, instead of me.”

…It’s definitely jealousy, obviously.

“I’m just asking because I genuinely became curious, there’s no special meaning. For now, I can sufficiently give theoretical lectures, and since we’re in the same party now, there’s plenty of time to share, right? Objectively speaking, the judgment you made, Sungchul, is a bit illogical.”

“…….”

“…It’s not like I’m telling you to change teachers right now just because of that. I just asked out of pure curiosity. If you say you chose them because they truly have superior magical knowledge compared to me, then I can’t help it, but…”

“It wasn’t for that reason that I asked.”

You can’t conclude someone has superior magical knowledge just by their hunter rank alone, and besides, Hwayoung Sunbae is a mage who retired once. You can’t determine that Cha Yuri, who was actively working in her prime, has low magical knowledge.

I briefly explained the reason I came to learn from Hwayoung Sunbae as my magic teacher to her, as she became agitated enough to ramble.

“It was just a simple reason. My teacher’s specialty is fire magic.”

“…Ah.”

“Of course, you probably have a lot of knowledge as a wind mage who has lived the hunter life for a long time, Cha Yuri-ssi, but after all, the magic I’ve used the most is fire magic. So, I thought it would be best to learn from someone familiar with fire magic, if possible.”

“…Ah, uh-huh. That’s right. Yeah… That’s a valid point…”

Cha Yuri rapidly agreed and nodded her head as soon as the words ‘same major’ came out.

In this field where finding a teacher of the same major is like picking stars from the sky, an opportunity arose for me to learn from someone specializing in fire magic, so even Cha Yuri couldn’t hinder that. It would be the same story not just for magic, but in all fields.

In this world, the abilities hunters possess are countless, and even though they seem to handle similar powers, the details often differ. In this world where awakened abilities weaken quickly and retirement comes fast, finding a teacher of the same lineage itself normally wouldn’t make sense.

The fact that I, being male, desperately tried to enter a hunter training school was actually for a similar reason. Because if I didn’t enter a place like that, I couldn’t learn the knowledge a hunter needs at all.

Consequently, the knowledge learned then did become the foundation for my awakened abilities, which I can utilize in various aspects now, but inevitably, to enter advanced stages, the teachings of senior hunters who have handled awakened abilities for a long time were essential.

Currently, there are Eunyoung Noona and Hwayoung Sunbae, but if possible, it would be better to receive knowledge in other fields under another senior hunter rather than self-study. For shield techniques or archery, I already have scheduled teachers. Probably, if it’s Hye-eun and Sihee, they wouldn’t refuse.

“Yuri-ssi.”

“Ah, yeah…”

“If I become able to handle wind magic later, then I will definitely learn from you, Cha Yuri-ssi, by taking you as my teacher.”

“…There wasn’t even a need for you to care that much in that way.”

“It’s not that. I sincerely want to learn your magic, Cha Yuri-ssi. I’ve never properly researched and completed magic until now, so I also want to learn that part from you, Cha Yuri-ssi.”

“…If that’s the case, then I suppose so.”

Seeing her faintly smile on her lips, contrary to her words, it certainly seemed like Cha Yuri was looking forward to the time she’d be taken as my teacher, in her own way.

Of course, I am looking forward to it too.