Chapter 81: Interlocking Gears (2)

On the same day, a semi-basement villa.

“Haaaaaah.”

Han Min-ah greeted a slightly earlier morning than usual, slowly sitting up from the bedding laid out on the floor.

Actually, the time she started waking up early without sleeping in had been a while ago, perhaps too long to call it ‘usual’.

For about a week now, Han Min-ah had been able to wake up in the morning without any fatigue.

To be precise, it was after sharing an intense act of lovemaking with Sung Taekyung, her childhood friend and first love.

Since then, her physical condition had consistently maintained this level of well-being.

At first, she had simply thought it was thanks to the relief from her natural heat cycle.

Even after several days, the peak condition she had reached showed no signs of easily subsiding.

And she had recently learned that its effects were completely different from the sex other seniors talked about, which was solely for relieving the heat cycle.

Naturally, the face of the person presumed to be the cause was bound to come to mind.

‘Among some hunters, there are types who can’t perform at their best when their sexual desire builds up, but conversely, regain their original abilities when it’s resolved.’

“Ughh…”

Ruminating on the words he had left her after having sex with her, she thought quietly.

A hunter who regains their original abilities as their sexual desire is resolved.

She had only thought that a case like Yuri Unnie from the same party, whom Sung Taekyung had explained as an example, was a peculiar one.

It seemed that the clear change considered a peculiar case was appearing in herself too.

Now, a certain degree of credibility had begun to arise from what he had said.

Of course, she couldn’t fully accept the content yet, as she had heard not a few examples with opposite cases, making it difficult to simply believe all his words.

‘Min-ah, marriage is reality.’

‘Huh? Suddenly, what are you talking about, Unnie?’

‘I’m advising you because your ability is like mine, a Beast-type awakening. Don’t just pick any man because it’s heat season and sleep with them; make sure to take your heat suppressants.’

‘Well, of course, I am doing that. By any chance, did something happen last night?’

‘This is sincere advice. Beast-type awakeners don’t retire early due to stress for no reason. When I go home, my husband doesn’t do any household chores, and I don’t even remember the last time I received a meal I personally prepared. On top of that, he constantly nags me, comparing me to other hunters and asking if this is all I can earn. He doesn’t understand, even though it’s the limit of a Beast-type awakener….’

‘H-Hang in there, Unnie!’

‘So, Min-ah, you must make sure to take your heat suppressants on schedule without forgetting. And judge your partner by meeting them even when they’re not in heat. If you meet someone during heat season, you might mistake sexual excitement for love and end up tied to your life with some slutty guy who knows where they came from. Sigh… fucking life….’

‘…….’

Han Min-ah tidied up the bedding and changed into her work clothes, recalling the past.

Because the advice given by a senior not long after she started her hunter life still resonated more strongly in Han Min-ah’s heart.

Although the senior had retired 2 years ago now, at the time, she was a respected figure who was active as a rare A-class hunter, despite being a Beast-type awakener.

As someone who had once reached A-class hunter status, she had heard that her accumulated assets were quite substantial at one time.

Now, only rumors were heard that she was working, having found a new job somewhere, unable to rest even after retirement.

Besides her, most Beast-type awakeners often made wrong judgments during their heat cycle, which soon led to unhappy married lives.

Like betraying a long-term lover due to the influence of the heat cycle, spending one night with a slutty guy, and then getting married.

Or attacking any man due to an overly intense heat cycle, paying a considerable amount in settlement money, and ending up in debt.

Or getting married for the resolution of sexual desire, only for the husband to refuse intimacy for several years.

Such cases were the unfortunate ends of the Beast-type awakener seniors she knew.

Han Min-ah, who had many responsibilities, naturally had no choice but to be extremely careful.

Beast-type awakeners usually had their first sex about half a year after their full-fledged activities began.

To be precise, it was closer to the concept of enduring the heat cycle for a period nearing half a year.

It was the constitution of Beast-type awakeners to naturally start wanting a man’s embrace as their bodies grew weary after facing life-threatening situations in dungeons several times.

Han Min-ah’s case, enduring for nearly 2 years instead of half a year, was indeed an uncommon one.

The reason was that she had lived a life steeped in fatigue every day, consistently taking heat suppressants that weren’t cheap, to the point where her body had no time to feel sexual desire.

Among the three basic human desires, the priority of sexual desire had always been third, following appetite and sleep.

To her, who was always drowsy from lack of sleep, sexual desire was a desire of lower priority.

Thanks to that, she had been able to endure her heat cycles until now without getting hooked by some mediocre guy.

…But that was only up until now.

“That my first partner was Sung Taekyung is truly fortunate, but…”

What if the partner she attacked in a moment of lost reason wasn’t Sung Taekyung, but another man?

She would probably have followed a similar path as other Beast-type seniors with high probability.

In a situation where she already had to prepare tuition fees for her younger siblings with one semester remaining, and was struggling just to reduce the interest on the debt left by her parents.

She had to be grateful just that additional expenses like settlement money or wedding costs hadn’t occurred.

In addition, he had even told her that he would help her relieve it if she contacted him every heat cycle in the future.

No matter how she thought about it, it was a proposal that was too advantageous only to her.

Of course, in return, he had also promised to write a job transfer recommendation letter if Sung Taekyung obtained B-class hunter qualifications.

Because she felt that the duty she had to fulfill was actually for a future that wouldn’t come true, that thought occurred even more strongly.

…Of course, it’s a one-in-a-million chance, but.

If Sung Taekyung were truly to rise to the level of a B-class hunter as he said.

And if they went on expeditions together several times after he transferred to the company.

Han Min-ah quietly imagined such a future that wouldn’t come true in her mind.

‘There’s an Orc village near here. It seems to be about ten of them.’

‘Really? If it’s just the two of us, it should be manageable.’

‘Are you sure? You know each Orc is a B-class monster, right? It might be a bit tough for you, Sung Taekyung, who just barely rose to B-class, to charge at a group?’

‘Real Man Trait) I can handle ten Orcs easily.’

‘Haaah, just don’t drag me down needlessly.’

…Hmm.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, after all?

Even if they were B-class, if they could just take on the front-line role that was difficult for me to perform, I would be able to handle most monsters with my hit-and-run tactics.

Perhaps the idea of a two-person party with him wouldn’t be that bad.

‘What on earth am I thinking? Oh, me.’

Perhaps it wasn’t planned that they would be in the same party, even if he transferred to the company.

Furthermore, I’m already involved in a proper A-class party called Sky Blue Shield.

Han Min-ah, thinking she had had a foolish thought for a moment, shook her head and erased her imagination.

Still, if perhaps those days of activity as such a male and female hunter party were to continue.

Sometimes, around the time they returned after finishing an expedition, like last time again…

‘Han Min-ah, you’re in heat today, right?’

‘Huh? H-How do you know that?’

‘Because I’m your boyfriend, I should naturally know a girlfriend’s heat cycle.’

‘W-What are you saying?! Why are you my boyfriend?! We just happened to go on a few expeditions together….’

‘Whatever. That’s enough. Let’s finish the expedition early today and stop by your place. And while we’re at it, let’s resolve your heat cycle too….’

“Ughhh, Ahhh, Ughhhhhh!”

That imagination, which naturally connected to the intense memory of sex experienced a few days ago.

Han Min-ah rolled around noisily in front of the front door.

To be lovers after only mixing bodies once or twice!

Because her own face felt like it was heating up from having such a brazen thought.

Above Han Min-ah’s face, wriggling in front of the front door like that, a girl’s face floated up.

“Unnie, aren’t you going to work?”

“……Huh?”

Thanks to Han Jin-ah, who came in and blocked the view of the ceiling Han Min-ah was looking at while lying on the floor, Han Min-ah snapped back to reality.

“Wh-What time is it?!”

“8:10.”

“Oh, when did time pass like this?!”

“It’s just that you were lingering in front of the front door for over 30 minutes. Why are your ears and tail already showing?”

“Oh, r-really?!”

Han Min-ah hurriedly brought her hands to her head and butt, and before she knew it, she could confirm that her cat ears and tail had popped out.

“Are you in heat since morning?”

“H-Heat! What are you talking about!”

“Seeing you, eldest sister, muttering Taekyung Oraboni’s name while showing even your ears and tail, it seems the heat suppression treatment you received from Taekyung Oraboni last time pleased you quite a bit, which is fortunate.”

“Wh-What are you saying?! It was nothing special!”

Caught in her embarrassing state by her younger sisters, she hurriedly returned the popped-out ears and tail to normal.

Clearly, until just a few days ago, she was the respectable eldest sister responsible for the family’s livelihood.

The cause was being caught by her younger sisters after the sex she shared with Sung Taekyung a few days ago.

Despite having told them not to contact him, not only herself but even her younger sisters, who possessed the same Beast-type awakening ability, worrying she might cause him trouble.

She herself was caught without exception having relations with him within the household, so it was a natural consequence that her younger sisters’ gazes towards her became a bit colder.

“You must be happy you don’t have to take those heat suppressants anymore? You cursed every time you took them, saying they were damn expensive.”

“Wh-What are you talking about! Back then, that Taekyung guy was kind, so I let it slide once! To not cause him trouble, of course, I shouldn’t!”

“Is that so? Despite that, according to what Taekyung Oraboni told us, he said to contact him if you, eldest sister, seem to be in heat again?”

“Aaargh! Just ignore that! Don’t you dare tell him that!!”

Han Min-ah, realizing she had no allies left in the household, hurriedly finished getting ready to leave and stepped out the front door.

Without imagining at all what feelings the party leader would be waiting with at the company she was going to work at.