Chapter 18
.
The haphazardly begun stint as Neria's personal attendant had already come to an end.
Neria's bedroom, left with only me inside after she went out to throw away the tissues.
After seeing Neria off with a smile, I let out the sigh I'd been holding back and pulled up my pants.
I also had to clean up the semen that Neria, still inexperienced as she was, had failed to wipe away completely.
"Phew…."
…I was genuinely so nervous I nearly choked.
Especially when Neria had shot back, 'You want to do something naughty with me while you're at it, don't you?' I had been so at a loss for how to handle it that everything had gone dark before my eyes….
It ended surprisingly well.
Truly, surprisingly.
"Hey. I'm going to play again, so sit up straight."
"…Ah, yes, Neria-nim."
But unfortunately, that was the end of today's lewd activities.
After the handjob ended, I once again served as Neria's chair, and naturally got hard again when her butt crushed me, but the second time, all I got was a lecture about how it was annoying because it was too big and hard.
In the end, I boarded the subway on my way home, carrying the fatigue from working overtime and a 'Compliment Coupon' worth roughly three points.
- This stop is Jamsil. Jamsil Station. まもなく….
Anyway, three points in one day.
With my amoeba-level math skills, that meant I could touch Neria's breasts with her consent roughly once every three days.
But two of those points had come from Neria's whims, so the only point I could reliably get every day was probably the one for preparing meals….
Then, at most a week. Three days if things went quickly. That seemed like a reasonable way to look at it.
If I kept doing the housework for her, I probably wouldn't even need a full week.
And if we kept engaging in regular 'lewd activities,'
someday I might even really do it with Neria….
"…Ah, right. The report."
…That was beside the point.
First, I had to report to the team leader.
I pulled out my smartphone amid the sunset reflected beyond the subway window.
[Nam Dowon]
- Hello, Team Leader.
- Today, I received a handjob from Apprentice Witch Neria-nim.
- I came entirely on tissues, so I haven't attempted to recover my magic power at all yet.
- That is all.
- I will continue to report if there are any other noteworthy developments.
Was this enough?
I had used the honorific language correctly, right?
As for spelling and spacing…, …was it right?
Since I was still at a stage where there was so much to worry about, I stared at the screen for quite a while even after sending the message to the team leader,
and by then, the 1 after the message had disappeared.
[Team Leader Eve]
- (An emoticon of a strange animal making a big heart with both arms)
- Good job~
- I was wondering why you hadn't come to the office today, and I guess you must have been really busy?
- I should tell my friend….
[Nam Dowon]
- I'm sorry.
- Neria-nim is so headstrong that I forgot while being dragged around by her.
- I'll burn it into my brain so I can make sure to contact you from now on.
[Team Leader Eve]
- It's okay. It's okay.
- Whatever happened throughout the process, all that matters is that you see it through properly, Dowon~
- I hope we hear the good news that you've fucked her soon, too!
…As I was sending the messages, I thought of something: if I showed an elderly passerby the screen and said, "This is how the younger generation handles work these days," wouldn't they immediately smack me over the head with their cane?
Feeling guilty all by myself, I pulled the smartphone closer to my body and replied.
[Nam Dowon]
- That…. I don't think that will be possible anytime soon….
[Team Leader Eve]
- If it's you, Dowon, you can definitely do it.
- Trust me and just pounce on her!
- Muffle her lips and rub your tongues together!
- Just do it!
[Nam Dowon]
- …If the situation seems appropriate for it, I will give it a try.
[Team Leader Eve]
- Ugh. Boring.
[Nam Dowon]
- This isn't something you can do for fun…….
[Team Leader Eve]
- Heheh. Handsome men are the best, as a rule.
- And handsome men sit at the very top of the food-chain pyramid, you know?
- Handsome men > pretty women > everyone else.
- Something like that?
I understood what the team leader meant, but it had little to do with me.
When I thought of a handsome man, I would sooner call my late father handsome based on his looks. I didn't think I qualified.
…Still, if her intention was to give me confidence, then perhaps she had a point.
I sent the most ingratiating reply I could, but only for a moment.
The name of the station where I had to get off came over the announcement, so I hurriedly rose from my seat.
*****
There is one little-known urban legend about civil servants, for anyone who doesn't usually pay attention to them.
It could also be called a misconception born from the image that civil service is a stable job where one can maintain work-life balance….
And that is that an awful lot of civil servants go to work on the 'weekend.'
- It's supposed to rain heavily!
- So you'll be called in for emergency duty over the weekend.
- Have you heard about the typhoon?
- Sounds like an emergency call-in.
- Oh, I hear it's going to snow.
- Guess you'll be called in for emergency duty.
- You'll have weekend duty….
- Ah…….
To summarize it as briefly and clearly as possible, it usually goes something like this.
Well, if you think about it, what job is there where this never happens at all?
I would like to express my sympathy to all workers across the country.
But as the saying goes, every civil-service track is different, and there are always people among civil servants who enjoy the perks without worrying about coming in on weekends.
And if I had to name the ones who had it easiest, in my opinion….
"…I think I have it easiest of all."
It had to be the two people in the Apprentice Witch Rehabilitation Support Department on the fourteenth floor of Seoul City Hall.
"Ngh…."
I had slept really well for the first time in a while.
I got up only when my lower back began to feel stiff, brushing back my bird's-nest hair as I raised myself.
When I checked the time, it was already 10:10 a.m.
That meant I'd slept almost three hours longer than usual.
Food…. I could just eat when I got hungry, I supposed.
I threw off the blanket and staggered into the bathroom.
And after a gargle and a spit, I finished washing my face and brushing my teeth.
It was time to play with the essential item of modern life.
Smartphone.
More precisely, it would be better to call it the internet.
Everyday conversations with friends, plans to meet up and decide where to go drinking, and interesting stories from strangers all unfolded here.
"Are those guys busy with college life…?"
…Ah, come to think of it, I think I heard it was exam season.
Even if the day was passing as usual for me, this was the time when they had to study every last letter they could.
I didn't want to bother them.
With no choice, I slipped back under the blanket and started up YouTube.
I was just about to spend the day with that when.
[Neria Heca]
- Hey, Nam Dowon.
"……?"
A message had come from someone I hadn't added as a friend.
The name she'd entered for herself was Neria Heca.
It happened to be exactly the same as the name of the apprentice witch in my care.
[Neria Heca]
- Is it still time to sleep?
- Hey.
…But I definitely hadn't exchanged phone numbers with Neria yet.
Why did she already know my number?
- Bzzzz, bzzz.
"Ah, damn…. You startled me…."
It wasn't stopping at messages anymore; she was even calling me now.
It only displayed a phone number here, so I couldn't be completely certain, but judging by the timing, it had to be Neria calling.
With all these strange things happening, I even thought of the horror movie I'd seen recently; after clearing my tight throat, I answered.
"…Hello?"
- It's me. Are you home right now?
So it really was Neria.
I wasn't in the mood to joke around, so I simply answered her politely.
"Neria-nim? How did you get my number…?"
- Can you come to my place right now? Or can't you? Tell me that first.
"Uh…."
- Are you busy because you're going to fuck some other apprentice witch?
"No, I'm only assigned to Neria-nim right now, so that's not going to happen."
- Then you can come. Right?
"Yes…, it'll take me a little while, but I can come. But why are you calling me over all of a sudden…?"
- My master is coming, and she says she wants to see you.
"…Pardon?"
What was this? It suddenly felt like I was meeting a friend's parents.
Of course, witches only had the concept of master and apprentice, so calling her a parent wasn't quite right….
…In any case,
"……."
I did have an idea of what this was about.
The very reason I'd suddenly been put in charge of Neria was because of the team leader's personal connections, wasn't it?
And that team leader had said yesterday, "I should tell my friend…."
The result was this.
- …Wait, are you in contact with my master?
"No, I don't even know what she looks like, let alone her name…."
- Then how does my master know what happened yesterday?
"………"
- Hey. You're not answering properly. Are you racking your brain?
"The thing is, I do report to my team leader…."
- …Ah. I more or less get it. You said the person you call your team leader is a witch, too.
"…I'm sorry."
Once I apologized right away, Neria let out a deep sigh before replying.
- You don't have to apologize. Just come to my place for now.
"…Understood."
- When can you get here? I'd like you to come as early as possible.
"I haven't even washed up yet, so even if I get ready really quickly, it'll take me an hour."
- An hour. That's enough. So it takes you an hour to get here if you hurry.
…I felt like she'd just made a note of that.
For now, I let it slide.
- I'm not expecting you to wear a suit like usual, but avoid looking too shabby. You know what I mean, right?
"Yes…."
- It's 10:17 now, so…. 11:17. Can you make it by 11:30 at the latest?
"…I'll do my best."
- Be here by noon. I'm giving you plenty of time, seriously.
"Understood…."
- Then, see you.
"……."
And then, with a clatter, the call ended.
Neria ended the call unilaterally without ever telling me how she'd gotten my phone number.
"……."
Starting with my very first weekend after being assigned, I was being called in to work on the weekend—
my cushy little honey pot had been kicked away with a bang.