Chapter 2
Just as I was quietly sipping tea, the front door suddenly burst open.
“Sorry to keep everyone waiting! Oh? Nice to meet you!”
A handsome man who was incredibly tall and dressed in fancy armor held out his hand to shake mine, and I followed my Korean instincts and took it.
“Who is this?”
At that moment, a chill ran down my spine and goosebumps rose.
“This is Ria. She’ll be a new member of our party.”
Karina, who had been sitting quietly with an impassive expression, uncharacteristically blushed and spoke to the man.
Wait.
Weren't the four of us supposed to be forming a party?
An ordinary person like me, astrologer Mira, rogue Vika, and knight Karina.
Wasn't that a perfect lineup?!
Why was there a man in the party!!
The fantasy I'd had of this being a yuri party came crashing down.
Not only was it not a yuri-only party, it was a harem-style party to boot, so I abruptly pulled my hand free from the handshake.
“Oh.”
“I-I'll be going now!”
Just as I tried to run away, not wanting to join their little lovey-dovey party as a man.
“Wait! At least have a meal before you go!”
The man stopped me by grabbing my hand and invited me to eat in an apologetic voice.
“I'm sorry…. Our Mira brought you here, saying something about the Star of Destiny, right?”
“…How did you know?”
I wondered how on earth he'd known that astrologer Mira had brought me here, but
“We all gathered like that, too~. I was confused when she started talking about the Star of Destiny and all that, too~.”
Vika the rogue, who had been sipping tea with her legs up on the table, explained instead, clearing up all my questions.
Ah… I was the idiot.
I shouldn't have followed her out of curiosity…. I shouldn't have been fooled by fancy words like the Star of Destiny….
Still holding my hand, I smiled awkwardly and waved my other hand.
“Ahaha, I have to get to the church now….”
“If I let you leave like this, I'd feel terribly sorry…!”
“….”
I wanted to say, Just let me go if you feel so sorry, but the man's grip was so strong that I couldn't say anything.
“Ow.”
Thinking I could pretend to be in pain and escape before I got stuck here forever, I tried, but
“A-are you all right?”
Instead, it only made the man even more concerned.
After hurriedly releasing my wrist, he began casting a healing spell over the slightly reddened spot and repeatedly apologized to me.
“I'm sorry…. I think I was being too selfish.”
As a flow of mana that I'd only ever seen, never experienced, swept through my entire body,
Before long, my reddened wrist settled down, and even my aching back from sleeping rough seemed to feel better.
“…I apologize for taking up your time. I'll escort you on your way.”
The man bowed his head and asked if he should escort me, but I shook my head, not wanting to stay any longer.
In this incredibly complicated situation, I knew the man wasn't a bad person, but no still meant no.
Creak—.
Once I'd opened the front door and prepared to leave,
“What a shame. I thought we'd gained a new party member.”
Karina's disappointed voice came from behind me.
“Yeah~. She was pretty, so it's a shame….”
Hearing even Vika's voice, which sounded disappointed for some reason despite her vicious first impression,
…Was I actually the one misunderstanding things? Should I stay for just one meal?
Maybe I'd mistaken a normal business relationship between adventurers for a harem party?
That thought crossed my mind.
“…Ahem.”
I severely downgraded my own opinion of myself for hesitating because of beautiful women.
From ‘I like pretty women!’ to ‘I'm crazy about pretty women!’
Please forgive me, dear God, for being blinded by my dream of marrying into wealth.
I mean, how could I resist when these beautiful older ladies were saying they were sad to see me go?
Lowering the hand that had been holding the front door as if my ulterior motive were obvious to everyone, I turned around and began putting on an awkward act.
“Ahaha! I'm suddenly, very, hungry! Should I, maybe, stay for a meal?”
“…!! Really?!”
“It would, be, rude, to leave, like this, too!”
When I awkwardly announced that I would stay for a meal, the man was genuinely delighted.
What the hell? Why did he have such a likable face?
…Don't smile.
It's annoying that I can't be annoyed because you're so likable….
Just as handsome men seemed to be a rare species in any country, seeing the genuinely smiling face of the man before me made me feel irritated as a fellow man.
“Have a seat! I'll have the meal out in no time!”
“Ah, yessir!”
So, following the man's escort, I awkwardly sat down in a chair.
“Thanks for joining us for a meal. Let me introduce myself again: my name is Karinada.”
“I'm Vika~.”
“I'm Acard! Nice to meet you!”
Everyone introduced themselves except astrologer Mira, who was hiding in a corner of the room.
“…Do you know how to suck blood?”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, sorry. I was just talking to myself.”
Hearing the name Acard, which the man had introduced himself by, reminded me of a certain classic manga starring a vampire.
Of course, unlike a dark hero, he had an extremely kind and gentle-looking face….
“I'm Ria.”
Then it was my turn to introduce myself, so I gave my name—the one I'd come up with about a week after arriving in this world—in a sly tone.
“Careful, Ria, it's hot.”
“Thank you. I'll enjoy it.”
Karina brought out flower tea before the meal, and after smiling and thanking her, I carefully sipped it.
A single pretty seven-pointed flower floating on the surface gave the tea all the fragrance it needed, making it a pleasure to drink.
“I'm on kitchen duty today, so I'll bring out the food~.”
“Thanks, Vika.”
“Don't mention it~.”
Vika, who had her feet propped up on the large table, must have been on kitchen duty today; she let out a grunt as she stood up, showing off her tall frame.
When Acard naturally thanked her, she waved in response and cheerfully went into the kitchen.
…This party has a better atmosphere than I expected.
The atmosphere had been so raucous until just now that my brain had overloaded, and the sudden calm that descended as soon as Acard arrived left me feeling cognitive dissonance.
Scrape—.
At some point, Acard had removed his heavy armor, changed into ordinary clothes, and taken the seat of honor.
“You were pretty startled because of our Mira, weren't you…?”
After nodding his thanks to Karina, who had served the flower tea, Acard naturally began making small talk.
“I was pretty startled.”
“…Ahaha.”
I didn't want to talk to a man; I wanted to talk to women, so I made my true feelings blatantly obvious.
“What do you do for a living, Ria? I'm currently the party leader and swordsman.”
“A homeless person.”
“…What? There is such a profession…. Ah.”
I wasn't sure whether he intended it at all, but the sight of Acard's handsome face, with its kind manner of speaking and effortless flirting, made me rapidly feel sick.
Karina went into the kitchen to help Vika.
Even Mira, who had brought me here, still hadn't come out of that room.
What conversation could two men possibly have if we were left alone at the table?
I'd possessed a woman's body in another world, but I was still a man, all things considered.
“…That must have been difficult.”
“Not at all.”
“….”
When Acard heard I was homeless and displayed the empathy peculiar to handsome people, I waved my hands and cut off the conversation before it could get going, insisting that it hadn't been difficult.
By the time I'd been in this city for two weeks, I'd already graduated from all the hardships of being homeless, so in any case, it hadn't been hard.
“….”
“….”
Every attempt Acard made to start a conversation was blocked the instant it began by my perfect defensive technique.
“Then how did you end up coming to this city, Ria?”
“I came somehow.”
“Where are you sleeping in the city tonight?”
“Somewhere.”
Acard, who was doing his best to use his brain and open the conversation somehow, was a tough opponent himself, but
“…Could it be that I make you uncomfortable?”
“Yes.”
“…I'm sorry.”
The match ended in a complete defeat for Acard.
Whenever he spoke to me, I answered everything with curt replies, making sure the conversation couldn't continue.
No matter how sociable he was, the conversation couldn't possibly continue.
Slurp—. I slyly took a sip of the flower tea, which had been brewed very strong.
I wasn't such a terrible person that I felt nothing for Acard, so I did feel sorry for him, but the instinctive chill I sensed refused to go away, and I had to cut off the conversation at its source somehow.
…Because I felt like even the slightest conversation would put my chastity in danger.
If there was one thing I resolved after becoming a woman in this world, it was that I would protect my virginity at all costs until the day I died.
I'd rather be the one doing the grinding than get penetrated, but I'd refuse absolutely—never, not even for 100… even 100 million won.
Just as silence settled over the table and the clattering sounds from the kitchen grew louder,
Creak—.
“Acard…?
The culprit who had brought me here, Mira, peeked out after opening the door in the corner of the living room.
“My Star of Destiny! You came!”
“…Mira? You were in there!”
The moment Mira spotted Acard, she blushed and ran into his arms, delighted like a little child.
“What were you doing in the lab, Mira?”
“Mmm…! I was looking at the destiny the Star of Destiny had foretold for us!”
Perhaps Acard had also decided it would be difficult to talk to me, because he tried to shift the focus of the conversation to Mira, but
“That woman is Acard's final wife!”
“…?”
Tragically, the focus of the conversation returned to me.
“…Wait a minute. I think I must have misheard something.”
“Our adventure starts now, Acard!”
“Excuse me?”
I asked what on earth she meant by wife, but Mira merely rubbed her face against Acard and gave me no answer.
“What does that mean? Wife?”
Thinking there was no getting through to that astrology junkie, I asked Acard, who was smiling awkwardly while watching me, whether he knew anything, but
“That’s—.”
“Acard! Let's do it once before we eat!”
“W-wait, Mira! We have a guest—.”
“The Star of Destiny is calling!! Stop your whining and follow me!”
“Mira! Wait! Aaaagh!”
Before he could answer, Acard was bound by chains that erupted from the floor and dragged off into the adjoining room by Mira.
“….”
…Wow.
Now I definitely understood why I'd felt that chill run down my spine.
“Sniff sniff…. Wait a second…?! Hey! You're going first?!”
“Vika! Where are you going?”
The two women who had been cooking blushed one after the other and naturally went into the room in the corner of the living room, and it was obvious what that meant.
A sex-crazed harem party.
‘The Star of Destiny…! Haaah…!’
‘Aah! Acard…! Hey…!’
‘Stop…! A-Acard! Not there! Ooooo?!’
Before long, the sultry moans of three women began drifting from the adjoining room.
It was quite the treat for me, who had waited to see what they would do with equal parts anticipation and curiosity, but
“…Slurp.”
So this was what all that talk of a wife had meant, I thought as I took a sip of tea.
‘Acard…! Is there a guest here…! Eek?!’
I took another sip of tea when I heard Karina's moan.
‘My Star of Destiny…! Acard…! Acard!’
At Mira's moans, which were more explicit than I'd expected from that astrology junkie, I picked up the ceramic teapot on the table and poured myself some flower tea.
‘Aah…! Ngh…, ah!’
When I had emptied about ten cups of flower tea while listening to Vika's beastlike moans, as if she'd forgotten human speech,
“…I want to see Roxanna.”
Reality hit me, and I wondered what I was doing here.
I could have run away to the church by now, so why was I stupidly sipping flower tea?
…Then again, wasn't this a pretty exciting situation?
It wasn't every day that I got the chance to listen to the moans of three beautiful women through a partition with absolutely no soundproofing.
The fact that I wasn't leaving like this was, in its own way, a rational choice.
I'd decided to burn the shame of those three taken women into my ears and savor it for the rest of my life, to make up for the nuisance I'd caused.
‘…Haaah?!’
‘Haaahaaang!’
‘…Nngiiit!!?’
As I took my final sip of flower tea and sensed that the sex was coming to an end,
“…Goodbye. Let's never see each other again.”
I got up from the table and dashed out of the mansion.