4. Working on the Weekend (3)

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After the awkward first greeting with Erzel was over, I quickly changed professions and became a fruit peeler.

Though she was Neria's master, Erzel looked, at most, like Neria's older sister.

Once she started asking Neria questions like, “How was your first experience with a man?”, simply standing there beside them became quite burdensome.

On top of that, Neria seemed to be having a terribly hard time answering while watching my reaction. It couldn't be helped.

So I escaped to the kitchen so as not to interfere and started rummaging through the fruit basket I'd bought yesterday.

I took out a pear, peeled it neatly, and arranged it on a plate.

Not knowing what Erzel liked, I also arranged some oranges and kiwis attractively.

"Phew…."

Cutting up fruit for someone on a golden weekend.

The act itself irritated me a little. Really, only a little.

What could I do? Anyone would naturally be annoyed if they were suddenly called in to work on their day off.

Besides, human nature made people dislike working even on Monday, let alone the weekend.

…Still, at least it was easier on the eyes.

It was far better to admire Neria and Erzel's appearances than to be called out by a potbellied manager on the weekend and dragged off hiking.

If I thought of it as the price of getting to look at them, I could just barely accept it.

But whether I accepted it or not, I hoped I could leave as soon as possible.

I wonder if I'll be free from here in about an hour….

Suppressing my desire to leave work the moment I'd arrived, I brought out the fruit.

"I've cut up some fruit for you, Lady Erzel."

"Oh my, you're quite skilled."

"You're too kind…."

"Still, it's nice to hear, isn't it? And don't just stand there. Come sit here beside me."

"…If you insist."

Unlike her socially awkward disciple, the master was the type to shower people with pleasant words.

…Maybe that's why. For a moment, I got the impression that she might be skilled at a breastfeeding-handjob sort of play during magic recharging.

Neria, staring sullenly at me from across the table, was, well, exactly the same as usual.

Unlike that tomboyish apprentice witch, Erzel accepted a slice of pear with a faint smile.

Then Erzel leisurely bit off the tip and asked, covering the corner of her mouth.

"Oh, right. Are you perhaps going to try a magic recharge with Neria today, too?"

"…Pardon?"

"Sex. Sex."

"……."

"That would be exactly the next step, wouldn't it?"

…Unlike shy Neria.

Without a trace of shyness.

And with exceptionally precise pronunciation.

"Yesterday was masturbation, right? So today, sex. That's how I see it."

I would love to do it right now.

If you gave me the go-ahead, I'd love to teach Neria while doing it with her over and over.

But unfortunately, the choice wasn't mine.

It was Neria's choice, since she had said we'd merely pretend to be rehabilitated appropriately, and all I could do was try to get Neria interested in sex.

…As an aside, I could use this opportunity to declare, 'We are definitely having sex today!' and nail it down, but then the intimacy I'd painstakingly built would reset, and I'd obviously be thrown back into the cell starting tomorrow.

I didn't want to do something stupid.

Thus, unable to answer, my gaze naturally turned to Neria across from Erzel.

"…Not yet. We're not going to."

Hmm.

Well, I hadn't expected otherwise.

"When you say 'not yet,' is that because you're embarrassed?"

"I-I can't help it. I only just saw a male organ up close yesterday, so how could I jump straight to sex…."

"Oh my. Then what more steps does our Neria need?"

"Um…, uh…."

Paizuri, fellatio, intercrural sex, and so on.

After trying every kind of simulated sex, if she only became interested then, wouldn't she tentatively spread her legs?

Ah, and I'd probably be tied tightly to the bed so I couldn't move.

With orders only to keep my cock erect. Bound so tightly I couldn't move an inch.

Then there was about a fifty-percent chance that Neria would try to put it in by herself and end with the whole thing petering out.

As for the other fifty percent, we probably wouldn't even get anywhere near sex.

"…Once I get a little more used to it."

"Once you get used to it…, …hmm."

While I answered silently in my head, Neria belatedly replied in a grumbling tone.

At that, Erzel smiled and took another bite of fruit.

Amid the sound of nothing but crunching, she set down her silver fork and slowly turned toward me.

"Mr. Dowon."

"Yes, Witch-nim."

"Earlier, you said you were doing your best for Neria, correct?"

"That's right."

"I'm truly grateful, but our disciple is very shy and bashful around strangers, so it must be quite difficult for you…."

"Not at all. It's my job, so it's fine."

"That's why I wanted to ask."

"……?"

The reason every little thing she had said since earlier sounded to me like, 'I'm sorry my child is causing you trouble…. But I'll repay you with my body….' had to be Erzel's uniquely relaxed air.

As Erzel's voice slipped softly into my ears, which had been hearing nothing but impolite thoughts, she said,

"…Shall I help you?"

"……."

How exactly she intended to help.

She kept that answer hidden behind her mysterious, leisurely smile.

"Master."

"Hmm?"

"What are you suddenly talking about…? Help with what, exactly?!"

"We were talking about recharging magic, weren't we? Naturally, that's what I mean by helping, isn't it?"

"No, that's not what I was asking…!"

"Hmm…?"

She definitely knew that wasn't what I was asking about.

Look. She's smiling faintly as she watches Neria go berserk across the table.

No matter how I looked at it, she was deliberately teasing her because the reaction was amusing.

But just as I was helpless before Neria, Neria likewise had no choice but to be completely powerless before her master, Erzel.

At most, all Neria could do was glare alternately at Erzel and me.

Taking advantage of that opening, Erzel spoke to me again.

"What exactly did it mean that Neria experienced masturbation yesterday?"

"…Ah, Neria diligently stroked my cock with her hand, and in the end, caught the semen in a tissue."

"Oh. Such a waste…."

"……."

"In any case, it means she's only gotten as far as holding a male organ…. Hmm…."

"Yes. So far, that's definitely as far as we…."

"…I'll handle the sex properly myself later, so why don't you head home now, Master."

And Neria cut in, abruptly bringing the conversation to a halt.

Even though I thought her tone was a little presumptuous, Erzel answered with a chuckle, showing no sign of offense.

"You must be sooo embarrassed~…."

"…I'm not."

No, she wasn't answering. She had started teasing her.

"It's natural to be embarrassed your first time. Even this master was terribly embarrassed during my first experience, you know?"

"I told you I'm not. I'm not embarrassed. What's so special about sex, anyway…. I'm just a little scared, okay? In case it hurts?"

"Hmm? It's sooo pleasurable, though. Even if the first time hurts a little."

"…I heard the same thing from Nam Dowon beside me. That it only hurts the first time."

"Then why don't you just get it over with? ……You're embarrassed after all, aren't you?"

"I told you I'm not…! I need to prepare myself mentally. That's all!"

I still vividly remembered what Neria had been wearing the day before yesterday, when she experienced a mild climax for the first time.

She had come out in a thick padded jacket completely unsuited to the weather and stared straight at me.

Erzel had seen far more of Neria's daily life and personality than I had, so she must have known her much better than I did.

In other words, the fact that Neria was the sort to get embarrassed easily—

was as if her master Erzel had issued an official certificate of authenticity.

"But the fact that you can have your first experience with Mr. Dowon…. Even if I'm happy about it for now, this master can't help worrying a little."

"…That's a pointless worry. You're teasing me again, aren't you?"

"Well, if you give a puppy premium dog food from the start, it won't even look at cheap food because it tastes bad, right?"

"Premium…? …Cheap food? What does that mean…."

"It means that unless it's someone like Mr. Dowon, other men will taste so bad you won't be able to stomach them."

"……."

…Besides, she had absolutely no resistance to lewd talk.

And when that was combined with her shy personality.

Her cheeks, too. Her ears, too.

Flushing bright red.

It was all plainly visible.

Even without Erzel's official certificate,

it was easy enough to tell.

"Still, if you keep trying to have sex only with Mr. Dowon, it sounds like it'll be quite exhausting for him…. Right?"

"…Ah, I…."

It was amusing,

but at the same time, I felt sorry for her,

so I decided to take Neria's side just this once.

"Whenever it's Neria, I'm happy to. …I might even be the one who enjoys it more."

"……."

…If I'd known she would send me 'You fucking pervert' via smartphone a little later, without knowing what I meant,

I would've teased Neria to my heart's content along with Erzel.

*****

In the end, today's schedule really did end with meeting Neria's master.

After struggling to somehow package her reason for not having sex as 'needing to prepare herself mentally,' it seemed even Erzel eventually believed her.

After Erzel and I finished all the fruit, we were sent packing from Neria's house a little later, as though someone had kicked an unwelcome guest out the door.

"Nam Dowon. You stay a little longer before you leave."

…Of course, perhaps because of the open-minded master's persistent attitude, I got kicked out a little later.

My sentence was to spend about an hour in the cell.

Even that would probably look like a display of closeness to Erzel, so I figured it didn't really matter.

I wondered, just maybe, if there might be some naughty event, but Neria really did nothing more than kick me out.

I hadn't expected much, so it was fine.

Her SAN points must have taken a sharp hit from her master's sudden invasion, so it was probably right to leave her alone to rest for the remainder of the weekend.

Then I should head home, too.

Go home, stretch my legs out, and watch YouTube.

Relax so completely that I could drop my smartphone on my face.

By the time I yawned and trudged toward the elevator,

"……Huh?"

I noticed a thoroughly soaked mark beneath my feet.

"……."

It was still drizzling outside.

So it wasn't particularly strange for parts of the apartment floor to be wet.

There were several wet patches right in front of me, after all.

But the one that was wet in a shape anyone could recognize as writing—

『I helped you! Keep it up!』

The fact that its material happened to be water—

was strange.

After spending quite a while quietly retracing exactly what Erzel had helped me with,

"…Was that it?"

Since I wasn't sure, I merely cocked my head to one side.