Manager Han Jia Welcomes Me Home After Work♡

* * *

After finishing their preparations to explore, Kang Seoyun spoke.

"All right, shall we go?"

"Yes."

The jungle was sending up pale wisps of steam beneath the strong sunlight that followed a tropical squall—a brief, localized downpour.

It felt as if the entire forest were alive, breathing like some enormous beast.

"We have to find food and check out possible places to settle… We’ll be busy today!"

"We sure will."

Thanks to Vitoria noona, I’d eaten my fill today, but tomorrow I might go hungry.

Life on this island really was merciless.

Of course, if we were lucky, we might eat even better.

Never knowing what was just around the corner was part of the charm of a deserted island.

I wonder what we’ll find today.

"Mr. Woojin, what kind of place would make a good candidate for a settlement?"

"As long as people can live there…"

"We should think about the conditions."

Conditions, huh… Hmm…

A hillside like the place Vitoria noona had found would be nice.

Not too high, not too low…

"What about you, Assistant Manager?"

"Hmm, first of all, it should be high up! The ground should be flat, and the view should be wide open, so we can see if the rescue team is coming!"

The rescue team…

I bet Manager Han Jia would’ve given the same answer.

"…We can’t live here forever, after all."

With a determined look on her face, Seoyun strode ahead.

"I’d just like somewhere easy to get back and forth from."

"Ah! I guess it would be a shame to get too far from the rocky area we found."

The area where the rock crabs appeared was also a pandanus grove.

I remembered what Vitoria had told me, so I took a piece of dried pandanus fruit from my bag.

"Would you like to try this?"

"That hard fruit?"

"Vitoria said it’s pretty good if you dry it first."

"I thought it might be. Let’s give it a try."

Chomp, chomp.

Just watching her chew, it still looked tough, but Seoyun’s eyes widened.

"It really does have a little sweetness to it."

"You’re supposed to cook it, scrape out the flesh, and use it as a paste."

"It must be a well-known fruit, if there’s a foreigner who knows how to use it."

"It’s a little unfamiliar to us, though."

The fruit looked so grotesque at first that I thought it came from some cursed tree.

Sorry for thinking you looked like a clump of tumors!

We chewed on the dried pandanus fruit like gum, sucking out all its sweetness before spitting out the leftover fibers.

After walking a little farther, something registered on my detection magic.

It was that sweet red fruit.

"Assistant Manager, over here."

"Yes!"

Seoyun perked up her ears and followed me without even asking what I’d found.

The way she followed me as though something would turn up if she just stuck by me was kind of cute.

"This is one of those, isn’t it!"

We used the Glyph of Wind to pick the fruit and put some in each of our bags.

"Mr. Woojin, what kind of fruit is this? Does it have a name?"

We’d been eating it since early on after getting stranded, but we still didn’t know what it was called.

"Should we give it a name?"

"How about Scarlet Fruit?"

Sweet and red. It was exactly what it was.

We gathered twelve Scarlet Fruits.

"Let’s preserve whatever we don’t eat."

"Sounds good. Leave it to me to keep Luka’s mouth under control."

"Haha."

The Assistant Manager had been eating quite a lot, too…

Maybe I shouldn’t tease her about it right now.

"Even this isn’t quite satisfying anymore. But…"

At first, it had been a revelation, but after eating the same thing for a while, the taste got old.

Seoyun nodded.

"Our bodies need it. Protein!"

Protein…

I had been losing a lot of protein lately.

"If we had some protein, wouldn’t it be nice to make a sweet fruit sauce to eat with it?"

That was a really good idea.

As long as I wasn’t the one making it.

…Protein.

Well, should we try to find some?

"Then should we stop by the rocky area? We’re already this close."

"Sounds good!"

Our next destination was decided by the Assistant Manager’s belly-button compass.

As luck would have it, the water had receded from the rocky area, just as it had the first time we came.

"Ah! Looks like we’re not doomed after all. Just as I thought."

Seoyun licked her lips.

"Shall we look for something to eat?"

But the crabs had all hidden away early today, so they were hard to find.

Instead, we used the Glyph of Wind to scoop a few small fish out of shallow pools and harvested a large clam.

It looked like we’d more or less settled on today’s menu.

"It’s a shame the crabs are hiding…"

"I guess they’re not a delicacy we can eat every day."

If we ate like that every day, we’d be eating better than we had back home.

"I’ll try cooking today. I’ve thought of a good idea."

"A good idea?"

"You told me about it, Mr. Woojin. Scraping out the flesh and using it as a paste."

"Oh, right."

It sounded like we might have something to look forward to for dinner.

"But before we go back, let’s look around and see if there’s anywhere that could be a good candidate for a settlement."

"Yes."

There was no stopping the Assistant Manager when she got this motivated.

Huh? She went off, then came back.

After a swarm of flying insects attacked her, the Assistant Manager ran over to me, asking for help and waving her body around.

"Aah! The bugs! Get them off me~."

Grr…

Could someone her age really be this cute?! I’d never heard her use a voice like that before.

Whoosh.

I used the Glyph of Wind to blow the bugs away so they couldn’t get close.

How dare those little pests try to suck the Assistant Manager’s blood?

I had a duty to protect those breasts and armpits.

With delicate control of my magic, I formed a barrier against flying insects.

I had to stay alert the whole time we were moving.

"Phew."

When the swarm finally left, Seoyun breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Woojin, I could thank you a hundred times for dealing with the bugs and it still wouldn’t be enough."

"Getting bitten is itchy, sure, but you can also get sick…"

I always kept the circulating breeze that blocked the flying insects in place.

It was much easier now that I’d acquired the Glyph of Preservation and could semi-automate it.

Keeping it active while we moved took a little finesse, but I was getting better at it.

"I’d like somewhere even these bugs can’t reach. What about over there?"

"Over there?"

Seoyun pointed to a high spot near the ridge.

It looked like it might be a little difficult to get back and forth from there…

"Shall we check it out? Mr. Woojin, you still have some energy left, right?"

"Probably."

"What do you think? What do you think?"

"I’m not sure."

Seoyun stared at me intently.

Hmm?

Why? I thought I’d answered every question properly.

"Let’s go."

Seoyun strode off to scout the area.

I followed behind her.

As I went, I checked whether anything registered on my detection magic.

It took longer than I expected to reach the candidate site near the ridge.

The distance itself didn’t seem that great, but the problem was that there was no path.

We pushed through the grass, walked over wet soil, and went around slippery rocks. Two hours disappeared in no time.

At least once we got somewhere high, the view opened up.

Far off, I could see the white line of the shore and sunlight sparkling across the sea.

Not bad, huh?

Just as I thought that, a gust of wind smacked into us from the side.

"Kyaa!"

Seoyun staggered and grabbed my arm.

I instinctively braced myself, too.

We weren’t even that high up, but this seemed to be a place where the wind gathered, and the gusts were fierce.

"This wind… do something about it!"

Could I stabilize things with the Glyph of Wind?

The answer was: to some extent.

The problem was that the trees around here were low and couldn’t block the wind.

Wind blew in from the sea, climbed up both sides of the ridge, and sped up through narrow passages between rocks and terrain.

This area got a lot of gusts. It’d be hard to live here.

"I don’t think this will work."

"Ugh! Let’s go down!"

We’d spent two hours getting here, only to rule it out as a candidate.

It took time to get back down, too. When I checked my watch, it was already a little past five in the afternoon.

It got dark quickly after six, so searching any farther was out of the question.

"Haah, I’m exhausted…"

I made a Water Pocket for the panting Assistant Manager and sent it floating over like a balloon.

The Assistant Manager grabbed the Water Pocket with both hands and sucked the water from it.

"Phew. Mmm. Sluurp. Thanks. Gulp…"

"We’d be better off somewhere else. I can block the wind for a little while, but I don’t know what would happen if we lived here long-term."

"You’re right… The drainage looked perfect, though."

Well, I hadn’t expected everything to go smoothly from the start.

Maybe that was just what life on an island was like.

"Let’s head back soon."

Seoyun looked sullen, as if she wasn’t satisfied with the result.

Had she really meant it when she said we’d find somewhere today?

"Just one more… Let’s look at just one more place before we go."

"All right."

She clearly didn’t want to head back yet.

I went along wherever the Assistant Manager led.

As we continued down the slope, we came across a relatively level stretch of forest.

The ground wasn’t muddy.

A thick layer of leaves covered the ground, but the trees were spaced out enough to leave some open areas.

"Ah, what about here?"

I looked around.

Why does my detection magic keep picking things up?

There were scrape marks on the tree bark.

This doesn’t feel very promising…

The bark had been rubbed away in places, leaving pale patches, as if something hard had repeatedly scraped against it.

Animal tracks.

The leaves on the ground were pressed down along a path of consistent width, and I could see some dried droppings, too.

It wasn’t a small animal.

"It looks like animals have been passing through here for a long time."

"Ugh."

Just as I thought. Places like this have an owner.

Honestly, it didn’t look that much better than where we were now.

Just as I was about to give up and head back, a fruit rolled to my feet.

I can feel mana in it.

It might be pretty tasty, though not as good as the Scarlet Fruit.

I’d never seen this fruit before.

"What is that?"

Seoyun came over and examined the fruit in my hand.

It didn’t look particularly appetizing, and it wasn’t a big lump like a pandanus fruit, either.

It was a yellowish-brown fruit about two finger joints in size.

Strangely, there were hardly any insect bites, and there was almost no sign of animals having touched it.

Maybe it wasn’t an edible fruit?

Its skin was thin and wrinkled, like a dried jujube.

Strange.

Based on my experience so far, if magic confirmed it was safe, that meant it wasn’t harmful to a living body…

But there was no way I could imagine eating it.

Even when I smelled it, there was no sweet scent.

It smelled faintly of wet grass, tree bark, and something bitter.

I was about to throw it away when a strange sensation lingered on my fingertips.

Slick…

Huh?

I rubbed the fruit’s skin with my finger.

A clear, sticky juice seeped out from inside.

…Ugh.

There’s no way I’m putting that in my mouth.

"…Should we take it with us for now?"

"Sure! Put it in my bag, Mr. Woojin."

Seoyun opened her bag wide.

Even if we didn’t know enough to identify this fruit, things with mana flowing through them were usually useful in some way.

Our bags were full today.

Seoyun adjusted her now-heavier bag and said,

"I’m hungry. Let’s head back!"

"Sure~"

Food. Food!

* * *

"Welcome back, Mr. Woojin. Your bag goes over here…"

Manager Han Jia greeted us with a smile after all our hard work.

I set my bag down on the boar-hide rug spread across the floor.

It looked heavy, too.

"Wow. We got a lot today, didn’t we?"

Manager Han Jia’s cheeks flushed as she pressed and felt the hefty bag.

"Yes. We looked for a new place to settle and brought back some food, too."

"You worked hard, Mr. Woojin…!"

She was strangely more affectionate than usual.

Would this be how it felt to have a pretty wife welcome you at the door after a hard day’s work?

I mean, what kind of fantasy was that to have about a married woman…

But she really did welcome me with that kind of warmth. What was I supposed to do?

"Come over here. You rest, Mr. Woojin! Assistant Manager Kang and I will make dinner together."

Maybe I will??

I wasn’t going to go loiter around the kitchen pretending to be a sweetheart and asking if there was anything I could help with.

I was going to lounge around without a shred of shame!

I slid onto the platform, and a busty blonde gyaru poked her head out from under the blanket.

"Oppaaa~!"

We cuddled and rolled around together.

"Mmm. Oppa. I love you."

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Yeah, I was waiting for you, Oppa. Did you bring food for Luka again today?"

"Of course I did."

Nuzzle, nuzzle.

So soft… the blonde gyaru’s soft breasts.

Being able to touch them whenever I wanted felt like a dream.

Grope, grope.

Luka wrapped her arms around the back of my neck as I burrowed into her armpit, stroking my head and giggling.

"Mmm. Oppa, honestly. Take your time. My breasts aren’t going anywhere♡"

While we were cuddling, Seoyun’s stern voice rang out.

"Mr. Woojin! Wash up before you get on the platform. Go wash."

"Understood…"

I got scolded.

"Luka likes Oppa’s sweaty smell, though~."

I couldn’t help it. Korean blood flowed through me, too.

The platform might not be a house or a bedroom, but I couldn’t climb up without even brushing off the dust.

The Water Pocket I’d set up in the makeshift shower sprayed water forcefully downward.

Calling it a shower was generous. It was just a Water Pocket hanging behind a rock, and you could see someone’s silhouette if you turned your head.

I took off my clothes and turned on the water…

Body wash… Huh?

It’s empty.

I don’t think I’ve even used this that many times…

I peeked out from behind the rock. The Assistant Manager was crouching down, busy laying out the cooking utensils.

Luka probably couldn’t hear me…

"Manager! Do we have any more soap?"

Washing with just water felt a little unpleasant.

A little while later, Manager Han Jia came over with a new bottle from the toiletries bag and looked startled when she saw me.

Oh, right. I’m naked right now.

Well, it wasn’t as if we had any privacy here, so there wasn’t much I could do.

"Oh my, I’m sorry, Mr. Woojin."

"It’s all right."

Manager Han Jia handed me the body wash, her cheeks turning faintly pink.

"There isn’t much left in this one, either."

It’ll be gone after another use or two…

"I’ve been sweating a lot, so…"

Manager Han Jia glanced over my body from time to time.

Standing face-to-face with her while I was naked made me feel strange, too.

Seeing Manager Han Jia’s huge, braless breasts, my dick started getting hard in real time.

……

When she saw my throbbing cock, Manager Han Jia’s eyes widened.

"M-Mr. Woojin?"

"It happens all the time."

Was that not the right thing to say?

"All the time…?"

Even if she was married, maybe she didn’t know that much about men’s bodies.

Just looking at Manager Han Jia’s breasts and ass was enough to make my dick throb.

…That’s not something I should say in front of a married woman. No matter how I look at it.

"It’s a physiological reaction."

"You’re healthy…♡"

"Anyway, thanks for bringing this over."

"Um, Mr. Woojin?"

Manager Han Jia looked at my body and seemed to hesitate.

As if she had something to say…

"Yes?"

Maybe it’s breast time?

"Were you going to shower with me?"

"Mr. Woojin, you really do joke around…!"

"I’m kidding."

Manager Han Jia gave me an awkward little laugh before hurrying away as if to escape.

What had she been about to say?