Part 1 Chapter 10-8

After subduing the couple who were making noise between floors.

I resurrected Gwanggeom, whom I had killed, and had to have a frank discussion with the couple in my room, which Architect had restored.

“First, I’m sorry. For interrupting you when things were getting heated.”

“No. It’s our fault for acting so thoughtlessly and rushing out.”

“…I apologize for breaking it.”

When I apologized first, the couple also readily apologized.

They had just gone to rest when they felt an earthquake and, seeing Architect’s soulless expression, immediately bowed deeply. Architect, with a vacant look, repaired the building and then fled completely to the underground tunnel in Dongjak.

We stood silently with bowed heads for a long time, and Gwanggeom was the first to speak.

“That naked girl… is she really the War God?”

“Yes. The Phantom Dragon turned her into a monstrous human, making her a spirit body, but to SS-ranks like us, spirit bodies are visible. In a translucent form.”

Xiaolin probably doesn’t know that Gwanggeom can also see her. Since the only SS-ranks he’s seen are me and Seok Harang, who are spirits, she might have misunderstood that spirits can see her.

“She really is something…”

“Everyone has different tastes, you know. Just like your taste, ahjussi, is for lolicons.”

“Wanna die?”

“Let me correct that. Flat-chested preference.”

I raised my hand and snatched the stream of water Anastasia shot. Since I couldn’t impose on Architect again, I quickly evaporated the water.

“If you keep destroying other people’s rooms, I’ll really get angry. Do you think there’s anywhere else besides here that cleans up the rooms you mess up so cleanly?”

“…Probably not, right?”

“Hmm. That’s good to hear.”

The rich scent of flesh, strong enough to make even an SS-rank like me feel overwhelmed from the moment I entered, was intense.

Even if Gaeul cleaned everything up with her Tentacles, or Yooishin rolled up their sleeves and cleaned all day, or I completely incinerated everything with fire and ventilated, traces still remained.

“I don’t really have anything to say about you enjoying your sex life, but please consider the person who has to clean up after it.”

“But…”

“To make up for 20 years of backlog, even doing it every day isn’t enough!”

Even if sexual desire becomes strong in middle age, I wondered if it could be this severe.

“Don’t you get tired?”

“A monstrous human wouldn’t get tired.”

“Hey, I’m a Round Table member. An S-rank ability user, you know?”

It was truly amazing that those with physiques capable of devouring a Black Flame Dragon with their eyes closed were only interested in sexual acts.

“Don’t you get sick of it?”

“No? It’s thrilling. Always new.”

“Isn’t it great that we can now do positions we couldn’t do when I was Rusalka?”

Did this couple truly have nothing but the act of lovemaking on their minds? Unable to suppress my lament, I uttered a single phrase that would sink the couple.

“If there’s a Round Table meeting in Seoul, Seok Harang will come too, so what are you going to do?”

“Ugh.”

“…….”

Gwanggeom and Rusalka’s expressions stiffened.

“How long do you plan to keep running away?”

“Well, we do want to meet him.”

“…We just don’t have the courage.”

As Seok Harang handled matters in Beijing and came down to Busan, the couple hastily packed their bags and left Busan to go up to Seoul.

Being blacklisted throughout Busan for terrorizing accommodation facilities with the scent of night blossoms was one reason, but they had come up from Busan entirely because they were afraid of possibly running into Seok Harang.

“Indeed, one tried to kill him as soon as he was born, and the other abandoned him for 12 years, so they must feel guilty.”

“Could you not speak so bluntly?”

“Still, I raised him as my disciple for about 9 years…”

“Then, should I call Seok Harang? If he flies, it probably won’t even take 10 minutes, right? Just a moment. I’ll call him.”

I lightly placed my finger on my Magic Gear, and the couple rushed to my side, grabbing my arms from both directions.

“Hey, are you crazy right now?”

“Trash, …….”

“If it’s awkward to call me, just call me trash. I’m used to it.”

“Trash. Give us some time. You said there’s still five and a half years left, right?”

“Haa.”

Gwanggeom and Rusalka were still reluctant to meet Seok Harang. Seok Harang also had no intention of actively seeking out the couple-his parents-until they approached him first. I had confirmed this directly with Seok Harang, so it must be his true intention.

“Can five and a half years really pass by so quickly? If Seok Harang is like that, who’s supposed to take care of him?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Honey?”

Gwanggeom frowned. It seemed that even for a couple with good marital relations, an agreement had not been reached on this matter.

“Why, my dear husband? He’s a bit crazy, but he’s not terribly bad or anything like that, is he?”

“Still, we can’t entrust Harang to such a rake, can we?”

“My dear husband. You shouldn’t judge by human common sense.”

Rusalka spread out her ten fingers.

“We aren’t human to begin with. So wouldn’t judging as a human be a bit problematic?”

“Then?”

“As for me…”

Rusalka stroked my head, comforting me.

“I don’t care how many times this loose cannon spreads his legs. Whether it’s countless women, or just one man.”

“…Watch your language.”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Then, Rusalka.”

Gwanggeom asked in a serious voice. A slight tension was present in his trembling voice.

“You, are you perhaps also with someone else-“

“My dear husband. I’ve become human now, haven’t I?”

Rusalka placed her hand on her lips, then moved it to Gwanggeom’s lips.

“Then I should follow human customs. Oh, my dear husband, are you then eyeing other women-“

“That will absolutely never happen. You’re the only one for me my entire life.”

“It’s good to flaunt your love, but in my room…”

“Trash.”

“Hey.”

The couple’s eyes lit up as they looked at my spacious bed.

“Could you lend us the bed just once?”

“It looks so soft. Oh, this isn’t Yuseong’s, is it? It looks like a European brand.”

The couple had already occupied my bed. My head throbbed.

“Eun Yuha airlifted it for me. She said it would be better than their own bed.”

“Chairman Eun wouldn’t have just let that slide, would they? Did she really say that herself? Someone else’s?”

“Gwanggeom. Shall I tell you a truth?”

I told the couple a truth that would make the world gasp if they knew.

“There isn’t a single Yuseong product in Eun Yuha’s room.”

“Huh.”

“…Really?”

“Her logic is that by selecting only the highest quality from other brands and using them herself, she can raise the relatively lower quality of Yuseong products to that level.”

The words were flashy, but what was the reality like? Sometimes, there are harsh truths that are better left unknown.

“So, about that bed. I’ve even adjusted it with mana, so it will absolutely never break or have the sheets sag.”

“Th-then?”

“…It’s fine to use it, but I won’t be able to leave until Gaeul finishes her advertisement and returns to Seoul, is that okay?”

“Oh, oh. Are you perhaps feeling shy?”

Rusalka, who had already dived onto the bed, lay on her side and tempted him by tapping her pelvis. Of course, that temptation was directed not at me, but at her husband, Gwanggeom.

“To watch someone else’s lovemaking from the side, truly trash-like.”

Gwanggeom naturally pressed his body against Rusalka’s back, back-hugging her. The way his hands moved was so natural it was as if they had already become one.

“Excuse me. That bed is mine, you know?”

“You allowed us to do it here, didn’t you? Hmph.”

“I never said you could.”

“You didn’t say not to, did you?”

“…They’re certainly eloquent when it comes to this.”

I wanted to scold them to use that eloquence to think about what to say to Seok Harang to apologize, but I barely held back. I had to spend my time catching up on pending work until Gaeul returned.

“Hey. Can I scream as loud as I want?”

“…I’ll put up a Barrier for you. Haa. Damn it.”

I flicked mana and deployed a Barrier. My room became a separate world, and no sound coming from within would reach the outside.

“That guy, seeing as he won’t leave until the end, seems quite interested in our activities. Rusalka. Let’s show him.”

“Alright. Should we just strip completely? Show him how good we are at-“

“…Hmph, I can’t take this anymore.”

I slammed my palm on the table and leaned back in my chair. The couple looked at me and fell silent for a moment, and I poured strawberry milk into a mug and held it up to them.

“Go ahead and do whatever you want. I’ll give you my full critique.”

“Oh my. You’re acting all high and mighty, but you’ve never done something like this, have you?”

“Indeed. In that case, there’s no helping it. Rusalka, let’s show him.”

The couple started rolling around on the bed. I swallowed my strawberry milk and leisurely watched their lovemaking.

“Smack, haa, how’s that? Jealous? Still, I won’t give you my husband. Hmph.”

“I wouldn’t want to do it with that one even if I died. I’ll be with you my whole life, Rusalka.”

The couple tried to humiliate me naked, as if they had no shame. But I could only yawn at their actions.

“These are all positions I’ve done with Yuna.”

“What…”

“…did you say?”

“Ah, it’s nonsense. Don’t mind me, just continue.”

Eventually, I got so frustrated that I taught them a few positions and techniques.

Gwanggeom and Rusalka were excellent students who understood ten when taught one, and for the sake of the two who were diligently listening to my explanations, I unknowingly got excited and enthusiastically ran my mouth.

“At that time, you press down from above. That’s right. You need to do it to the point where it feels a bit excessive for it to go deep inside in that position. It’s hard to say, but it’s called ‘Mating Press,’ but…”

From this day forward, I became the couple’s counselor.

…Why?

* * *

At that moment, Phoenix had become the couple’s sex life coach.

Gaeul, in her own way, was having a hard time.

“Alright, filming’s a wrap! Wow, Cheonghwa-yang, you could be an actress, couldn’t you? For a first-timer, this is amazing?!”

“Yes, yes…”

Gaeul was too embarrassed to lift her head. Making a mockery of her 14 years as an actress, she made nearly ten NGs, and her concentration on acting broke intermittently, so the one hour they had aimed for was long past.

“…….”

Was it because she was acting in Cheonghwa’s body? No. Even though Gaeul’s ability is transformation, she perfectly replicates the appearance of the transformed subject, even copying their abilities.

There was no problem with Gaeul herself, but there was an external factor that made her lose her composure.

“Um…”

Lee Seung-hyung, who had dyed his hair white, approached Gaeul. This man right before her was the very person who made Gaeul receive the evaluation of ‘quite good for a first-timer’ in her acting.

“Could we perhaps talk alone for a moment?”

“Woah, Fire Fist-nim, are you already asking her out on a date?”

The surrounding staff whistled and joked around. As Gaeul’s eyes furrowed, Seung-hyung waved his hand, looking troubled.

“No. It’s not a date request, but a duel request.”

“What?”

“I’m personally very interested in the Black Flame Dragon. You know, Seolhwaryeong also defeated the Black Flame Dragon, right? I was wondering if I might be able to as well.”

Seung-hyung shadow-boxed in the air, burning with fighting spirit. The staff who were expecting a budding romance between the handsome man and beautiful woman dispersed with disappointed looks at Seung-hyung’s innocent expression.

“…It’s a bit difficult to talk here, so let’s go to my waiting room.”

“Just a moment.”

Baek Hui-a blocked Cheonghwa, who was about to stand up.

“No matter what, wouldn’t it be a problem for a man and a woman to enter a room alone?”

“What problem?”

“Well…”

Baek Hui-a’s face turned red. Lee Seung-hyung also understood Baek Hui-a’s meaning and blushed slightly, and only Gaeul frowned and stood up from her seat.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be just the two of us.”

Gaeul pointed to an empty space.

Pabat. The space shimmered, and a woman in a blue robe with long black hair appeared.

“War God?! Since when?!”

“I’ve been here for quite a while.”

Xiaolin revealed her presence and then disappeared again. Baek Hui-a let out a sigh of relief, and Gaeul immediately turned and headed to the waiting room.

“Sniff sniff, don’t you smell something strange?”

“Your nose is the strange one. Ugh, did someone spill water here?”

While the passing staff were cleaning up the finished filming set, Seung-hyung ran to the association’s cafe and ordered three drinks. The coffee came out quickly, and Seung-hyung took it and entered ‘Cheonghwa’s Waiting Room’.

Kiiik.

The door opened, and a girl with blue hair was sitting demurely on the bed. Seung-hyung closed the door and entered, channeling mana to prevent sounds from leaking out.

“Here you go. Caramel Macchiato.”

“But I like strawberries.”

“That’s Cheonghwa-yang, but you’re Gaeul-ssi, aren’t you?”

“Tch.”

Gaeul pouted her lips and took the coffee Seung-hyung offered. Seung-hyung took his share, and holding the remaining one, looked around.

“And the War God…?”

“Thank you.”

Xiaolin quickly revealed herself, gulped down the caramel macchiato in one go, and then hid again. Seung-hyung couldn’t detect the elusive movements of the SS-rank ghost at all.

“Why did you unify the menu instead of getting a variety?”

Gaeul even released her transformation and revealed her true form. Seung-hyung pointed to the coffee in his own hand and shrugged his shoulders.

“I was in a hurry.”

“Hmph. When did you notice?”

“As soon as I saw you. Your mana is different.”

“…There’s another pervert here who judges people by their mana.”

Gaeul sneered and frowned.

“Alright. So what’s the reason you wanted to see me alone? You’re not going to act like a Misery again, are you?”

“It would be a nuisance to keep pushing my feelings on you now that Gaeul-ssi doesn’t like me. I don’t want to remain in Gaeul-ssi’s heart as such a pathetic man.”

“…It’s good that you’re not pathetic like someone else. Alright. Let’s be cool with each other. From now on, just call me noona. We’ll just be close seniors and juniors. Okay?”

“…Somehow it feels strange, but okay, noona. Close seniors and juniors.”

Seung-hyung coolly accepted the relationship Gaeul proposed. Gaeul suspected he might have an ulterior motive because of Seung-hyung’s overly cool response, but there was no sign of him hiding his true feelings.

“Ugh, why do I keep getting compared to someone else… What if I said I liked you?”

“If you truly liked me, I’d consider it, but you don’t, noona, do you?”

“Did you eat something wrong? Or have you fallen for someone else in the meantime?”

“Are you, noona, trying to link me with Cheonghwa-yang too? Oh, come on. It’s not like that. Though I did have one thing to discuss with Cheonghwa-yang.”

“…What is it?”

If it wasn’t a romantic relationship, what kind of favor could he possibly be asking for? While Gaeul was feeling uncertain, Seung-hyung cleared his throat and cautiously opened his mouth.

“There’s something I want to ask you about. …About the ‘Colossus’.”

Seung-hyung’s face was filled with conviction.