When Il-wol stepped into Iris Cass’s domain.
Lee Yeon-hee was crouching in the corner of the bathroom, endlessly shedding tears.
“Why… why is this happening… why…”
She felt so embarrassed she wished she could just die. On the other hand, she was mad at Il-wol. How could he return the favor after just teasing her yesterday?
“Ugh… what am I gonna do…! Haa… sniff…”
As she wailed, Yeon-hee unintentionally recalled the earlier situation.
The moment she was in Il-wol’s arms, his leg burrowing into her thigh.
His indifferent yet gentle gaze, his sharp nose, and the structure of his neck—so unlike her own—flickered in front of her eyes.
Her body, which was gradually warming up, filled with a pleasure she hadn’t felt before, and she struggled to resolve it within herself, but ultimately…
“I… I ended up…”
Was it during the school’s sex education class? Something she had only brushed past and never truly understood turned into her very first experience.
That was indeed…
“Haa—haa—”
Just recalling it made her feel like she might react again. It felt as if she could go on for hours. She was proud of herself for overcoming it and coming outside with superhuman willpower.
Yeon-hee stopped her tears and shook her head. She felt pathetic for thinking like that. Surely, it was just a momentary slip; today was just an odd day for her body.
As she reassured herself, she suddenly realized she was putting off what she needed to do. She had to change her underwear and pants first.
‘I’m completely soaked?!’
The sticky sensation, quite different from being wet, felt extremely unfamiliar. Thinking it might have come from Il-wol’s body, her mind swirled. Please, let him not know about my embarrassing appearance…
With such fleeting hopes, she threw off her damp clothes.
Sniff sniff—
Standing before the laundry rack, she pondered what to wear. Just in case, she opted for something that smelled the best. Especially, she chose her underwear carefully, not wanting to emit a damp smell. Even though she had come out in anger, she would soon go back in and face him again.
In that process, she was surprised at herself for debating over what to wear. Was she losing her mind?
Finally, after changing clothes and cramming the blanket into the washing machine basket.
—Grrack! Ugh!
“Il-wol?!”
Suddenly, she heard Il-wol scream like he would die, and her body reacted before her mind could.
Crash—
She hurled herself into the room like a shot, and what she saw was something profoundly wrong.
With a gaping mouth and—
Il-wol’s eyes were—
Stained bright red, with no distinction between black and white. Seeing this, Yeon-hee screamed and commanded.
To wake up, to get up, calling Il-wol’s name over and over.
Fortunately, it seemed he heard her cries, and soon after, he awoke.
‘Aaaah…’
In that moment, it felt like the world was collapsing. The terror of knowing Il-wol could disappear was severe. Her limbs trembled with a delayed reaction, and tears streamed down her cheeks again.
‘Why did this happen! Why!’
She had no qualms about blaming herself. Filled with resentment and hatred, she ordered. And Il-wol… almost vanished. Since he was a being she summoned, she knew. If she had been even a little late, he would no longer exist.
It felt completely different from Il-wol losing one of his traits, [95 Lives].
“Disperse.”
‘No way…’
“Ugh…”
The feeling of sinking endlessly into the abyss vanished as soon as Il-wol shook his head.
The sight of Il-wol, in the form of a human male, washing his face showed he was still struggling. She had to do something immediately. Even something small would suffice.
*
She could clearly see that Yeon-hee was just as confused as I was. As I attempted to say it’s okay watching her fluster, she spoke up first.
“Should I, should I bring you water?”
“Water?”
Yeon-hee clapped her hands and spoke again in a flurry.
“Ah! W-would you like to try this?”
“…Irmana’s water…”
I briefly looked at the water Yeon-hee pulled from her inventory and poured it into my stomach.
“······.”
“······.”
‘Well, it’s nothing—’
[Irmana’s Aura extremely slightly reinforces connection with Iris Cass (Ίρις Κας).]
“Ah?!”
“W-what’s wrong?!”
“Hey.”
“Really? Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“··· thank goodness.”
‘What good could come from strengthening the connection with this Iris Cass or whatever?’
Considering that Irmana’s water strengthened the bond, it didn’t seem too bad. But the fragment of that being I felt earlier was more intense and dangerous than anything I had experienced until now. Compared to that existence, Jo Gi-man was merely dust.
‘Shit… is it a transcendent being…?’
In frustration, I pulled out a jug from my inventory and gulped down a lot of water, but the connection didn’t strengthen anymore.
‘Ugh, what the heck. Just one enhancement after all that?’
– Remaining time <00:05:22>
‘Only seven minutes have passed…’
After connecting with this Iris whatever, I felt strangely drained, collapsing to the ground like I was melting away.
Yeon-hee looked down at me, worry in her eyes, her hands twitching. It was as if her body and mind were in a battle over whether to approach me… Why, was she going to pet my head?
I let out a small sigh, then mustered my strength and grabbed her hand. Her small, delicate, snow-white hand felt soft and warm.
“Uhm…?”
Then I placed her hand on my head. At that, Yeon-hee quickly covered her mouth with her free hand, clearly flustered for a while.
‘Do whatever you want…’
I looked at her with that thought behind my eyes, and she nodded slightly before slowly coming closer.
Kneeling as if pushing against the ground, Yeon-hee sat next to my head, gently resting it on her thigh.
‘Ah… is this heaven…?’
A lavender scent wafted from her body. Now that I think about it, she must have changed clothes already.
Carefully running her hand through my rich hair, I felt that someday someone would tell Joo-ah and Ah-rin that I wasn’t bald.
Chuckle—
“Eh…? W-why are you laughing…?”
I shook my head a little and asked her to keep going. The look in her eyes while brushing my hair was vastly different from when we were lying together earlier.
Sparkling, her purple eyes filled with compassion and love gazed at me. I was curious about what she was thinking right now. But feeling lethargic, I simply stared at her. It felt so good… so nice.
“I like it…”
“—! You like it? You like this kind of thing?”
“Yeah…”
The words slipped out unintentionally, and her face broke into a big smile. What a pure smile it was. I wouldn’t doubt that smile had a ‘purifying’ effect.
“I-I… too…”
After a moment of hesitation, all she could say was ‘me too.’ Well, that was good enough for now. They say the first step is half the journey, right?
“Yeah.”
She seemed even happier now than when we were lying side by side. Was the thrill from that moment and the happiness I was feeling now fundamentally different? I couldn’t tell. No matter what, could it ever surpass sexual pleasure?
Who knows, that’s something I would never understand, even if I transformed into her again.
“It’s true…”
“Huh?”
“Hehe… never mind. Is your head uncomfortable?”
“Of course.”
“··· Wow··· You’re starting to talk more—”
Every time I replied, she smiled as if she owned the world. Then, she looked down at my face, biting her lower lip. This new habit of hers is strange…
Anyway, we spent the remaining few minutes like that. My head slowly began to slide off her lap.
“Ugh…”
When I turned my head slightly, Yeon-hee tilted hers. The corners of her mouth couldn’t hide their upward curve. What could be so delightful? Tch… I never saw that expression when I was a skeleton.
Despite it being utterly trivial, I found myself feeling a kind of jealousy toward Yoon Han-gyeol. That punk, being unnecessarily good-looking. He got to benefit from a face that hadn’t been put to use since he died.
“I don’t even have a desire to look human.”
Still, I thought it might be better to reduce the gap between this face and the one I had as a skeleton.
For the next job change, I really hope they fix this darn mouth first. I don’t need that kind of identity; I’m already skeleton-like enough. Stretching my mouth like mozzarella cheese…?
“All done.”
“Huh? Al-ready?! When did time fly like this…”
“Yeah. Bye-bye.”
“Ah… okay! Bye-bye? Are you going out again? Can’t you just stay in today?”
Since I hadn’t checked any messages yet, I shrugged.
Then her shoulders drooped a bit. Seems she’s still hung up over me blocking her senses earlier. Hm… while it’s nice to rely on me, I’m not too keen on accruing debts.
Instead of answering, I waved my hand while smiling. Yeon-hee, looking like she had no choice, pouted her lips slightly but waved back.
‘How long is this going to take… both of us are being overly dramatic.’
Leaving behind a visibly disappointed Yeon-hee, I coolly stepped out of the room without looking back.
If there’s a villain in this neighborhood today, it looks like I need to start planning a dungeon getaway.
‘Alright. Let’s see what kind of punk I’ve caught. It’s strangely exhilarating.’
The third special ability of [Transformation]. I’ve already felt the tension mounting before even confirming it. Although I had scored three times in a row, that only made me more anxious.
‘… I’ve got one. Let’s see—there’s a bit of a distance over there? At that intersection…’
As soon as I spotted the guy, my transformation was undone. It was rapidly disappearing, about 3 kilometers away. It looked like he was using a vehicle, and it was already too late to catch him.
‘Looks like today’s a bust.’
Just when I thought today would be a day off, I sensed a faint aura of magic that hadn’t registered before.
‘Huh? Is there something like that that wasn’t there before transformation?’
Whenever I was home, I always kept alert, so I noticed the change.
Something emitting weak magic was about 370 meters underground. It wasn’t a person; it looked like some elongated thorny creature.
Coincidentally, it was positioned precisely along the path the recently spotted villain was fleeing. So that bastard left that behind and ran off? Ugh… this crazy neighborhood. I need to jet out of here.
I launched myself out with practiced ease. I really didn’t want to head towards the underground sewer… What if I end up smelling?
At least it was a much more spacious area than the other sewers near my house.
Thud—
‘What? This is where I ended up?’
The location I arrived at was right in front of the closest church to my house. Of course, it had to be a church again.
Like many existing religious organizations now reeling from a significant drop in followers, they found little ground in a world where awakened beings connected with actual divine entities. Even those clinging desperately to power, hoping for blessings from their deities, remained few and far between.
But new, upstart religious movements were thriving, so the proportion of believers among religious folks was not much different from before.
Reflecting their dwindling influence, the church looked dreary and desolate. It seemed completely neglected.
I walked confidently inside the church as no living beings were present, entering through the main doors.
Creeak—
Look at that door sound. Ugh.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
