Becoming a master is truly difficult.
For example, some say it takes decades just to become a master of the sword. Of course, when you throw talent into the mix, some people can get exponentially faster.
If I had to nitpick, I might as well say I’m one of them.
Well, anyway.
Just as there are masters in various fields, it’s natural to find masters in trivial areas as well. For instance, right now, Sen.
Huff! Hah!
She had now become a master of kissing.
Having already watched four movies, none of them lingered in my memory. It was just Sen and I matching lips for hours, leaving me with zero sensation in my mouth.
On the other hand, my lower half felt like it was about to explode.
Staying in that situation was getting a bit tough for me too.
With a heavy heart, I reluctantly pulled away from Sen, who looked disappointed. I braced myself and unzipped my pants.
Thanks to the fact that I carefully picked a theater with almost nobody in it, there was hardly anyone around. A few folks were in the front seats, though.
If it’s Sen, she can hold on well enough.
“Oppa?”
Sen blushed at my sudden action, a bit flustered.
It was time for a counterattack.
…
I clearly entered the theater after breakfast, but it was already dark outside, and the streetlamps glowed brightly.
Sen, who was riding on my back, had buried her face in deep and was biting down on my shoulder. I could feel my thigh muscles trembling uncontrollably.
“Y-you are such a beast.”
Sen said while holding back tears.
Up until a moment ago, I had been the victim, but somehow, the situation had flipped.
In truth, my lips were swollen, making it hard to speak, so when you think about it, it was a no-win fight.
There was a reason why Sen was immersed in kissing.
She had her first experience all alone.
I was lost in a dream, so I only felt pain and couldn’t experience much excitement.
If anything, this was basically my first experience too.
Yeah.
I’ll leave it at that.
Although Sen had let out a sound midway, thankfully, the few audience members seemed to be asleep since it was a boring movie.
…
I would have wanted to say something, but ultimately, it was clear I was in the wrong, so I decided to just keep my mouth shut for now. I wanted to find the Goddess of Time.
“Maybe we can find her at that restaurant we visited earlier?”
“Look at you dodging the topic.”
I forcibly ignored Sen, who pinched me, and headed towards the restaurant. It was indeed bustling inside since it was dinner time, but as soon as we entered, a familiar crying sound burst forth.
“Daniel!”
Sure enough, the Goddess of Time, who had boldly gone to discuss painting with artists, rushed over to me, crying. She was wearing some ragged clothes, looking completely ridiculous.
“What happened to you?”
Sniffling, the Goddess clung to me and kept repeating the same phrase.
“I’m going to destroy the world! It’s my apocalypse! Daniel, please destroy this world for me!”
Hah.
I wasn’t sure why she still brought up that incident from my graduation, but…
“Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m just going to kill them all! Death and life have collided! There’s no need to leave anything behind! There’s no value!”
She kept spouting such horrific phrases. If I wasn’t careful, she might actually bring about total destruction after she regained her strength later on.
“What’s up with her?”
“No idea.”
Even Sen, who was still on my back, looked at the Goddess with pity. Just then, the shop owner approached, scratching his head.
“Seems like that artist wanted to do something awful to the kid earlier.”
“Excuse me?”
W-What the hell?
“To this little kid?”
What were they planning to do with someone who looked like a total child but was actually too young to count?
“We’ve been looking after her since she came here without clothes. It might be best to report this to the guards.”
“Waaah! I’m a goddess! A goddess!”
“I get it, so calm down a bit.”
As I set Sen down, she nearly fell over, barely managing to lean against the wall. Trying to ignore the glare Sen was giving me, I listened to the goddess.
“Do you know where those guys are?”
“Yep! I do! Go and punish them! No, just kill them!”
Look at the contradiction between her appearance and what she was saying.
But if they were actually considering such actions, I couldn’t simply let it slide.
They were potential criminals.
Who knew if this could escalate into a major incident later on? I was planning to uproot it completely.
“Sen, do you want to stay here?”
“No, I’m coming too.”
Sen forced herself to stand on shaky legs. I felt a bit guilty, but I clenched my fist and looked at both Sen and the Goddess at the same time.
“Alright, those trashy bastards who have desires for such a child…”
Suddenly, my words trailed off, unable to finish.
‘Ah, crap.’
I realized it.
That if the Goddess of Time just grew a few years, she’d be Sen.
And just until a moment ago, I…
The wave of self-loathing hit me hard.
Whether I could truly punish those guys or not started to swirl in my mind, and looking at Sen, who couldn’t even stand properly, made my heart sink.
The shop owner and the Goddess looked at me, puzzled at my suddenly darkened expression.
But sharp-witted Sen immediately approached, ready to pinch my side violently.
Guh!
“I’m 20, you know!”
Suddenly, the pride from my days as an assassin flared up, and I nodded vigorously.
There were often those who looked like children even after becoming adults, and Sen was among them.
How is it possible that three years had passed and she hadn’t changed much from her old self?
If I said something like that, Sen could very well draw her dagger, so I awkwardly coughed to redirect the conversation and spoke to the Goddess.
“Let’s go! We’re going to mess those punks up!”
“Yay! I’m in! Just follow me!”
And with that, the Goddess of Time, with her garment in tatters, stepped out as is. It was already pretty chilly after sunset, yet she was blinded by the thought of revenge.
She marched with tiny strides, completely uninterested in the gazes of the passersby, and we arrived at a slightly shabby building.
“Here! This is where everyone gathered!”
The way she snickered while explaining felt just like the Goddess of Time, so I simply accepted that and went inside.
Crash!
“Hey, you guys!”
As I entered, the artists drawing froze, their eyes darting towards me.
They looked startled but, seeing the Goddess of Time, they smiled brightly as if waiting for her.
“Hey, where have you been?”
“You said you’d model for us, so what’s with the abrupt leave? We’ve been waiting.”
“Want to come over?”
What the hell is this?
Stealing a glance at the Goddess of Time, she looked up at me with tearful eyes and shouted.
“They asked me to model for them! They wanted me to be a nude model!”
“A nude model?”
As I glared at those punks, they put on a feigned grievance look and replied.
“Y-yeah, but it’s not like we had any strange intentions!”
“That’s right! We praised her beauty and physique, and somehow it escalated!”
“We initially said it was fine. But then that kid got excited and said she’d do it!”
…
Looking down at the Goddess, she had her mouth tightly shut, unable to say a word.
From the looks of it, she seemed to have said she’d do anything after being praised and caught up in the excitement, even agreeing to be a nude model.
“Ugh, this is your fault.”
“N-no! They were definitely trying to do something weird!”
“What’s weird about it? Isn’t being a nude model kind of an art? At least that’s what I think.”
If some people do it, it might be some form of art.
“Grab some clothes.”
I told the sniffling Goddess to hurry and grab her clothes, and she grumbled while heading to fetch them.
Then—
“Um, Daniel.”
“What?”
The Goddess of Time hesitated with her face flushed.
“I don’t have any underwear…”
“Huh?”
I glanced at the artists. They were sweating profusely, casting furtive glances and suddenly starting to pretend to search for something.
“Uh, where could it have gone?”
“W-we’ll help you look! Just rest for a bit…”
Thud.
A little white pair of underwear tumbled out from one of the artists.
Silence enveloped the room.
“See! I told you they’re perverts! Go Daniel! As the harbinger of salvation! Save them from their corruption!”
With the Goddess of Time’s cry, my fist had already shot out.
