Chapter 41
Initially, the four of us. Then the three of us. Then just the two of us.
Since the number of people at meals with Kim Isabel had been steadily decreasing, I finally had a chance to talk to her naturally about something personal.
‘I don’t need to get information. It’s more important for me to give her information.’
Thanks to the novel I read in my previous life, I already know Kim Isabel’s character well. She’s timid but decisive, and once things reach a certain point, she knows how to express her feelings to the person she likes.
She can never forget or ignore either a favor done for her or the guilt she feels. Solving the most bothersome part—her fear of men—was effectively more than half the process of winning her over.
‘One reason she’s hesitating now is undoubtedly because of the relationship between Cha Eun-joo and me.’
Of course, there was also the fact that, as a priest of the church, she was supposed to preserve her chastity, but that was a rule that only mattered after things had progressed to a certain point. Most church priests used premarital chastity as a shield while dating and falling in love anyway.
I even knew from some slutty priestess in the original that, as long as they didn’t lose their ‘chastity,’ they could go as far as simulated sexual acts. She was probably a villain from Myeongwol Academy.
In other words, once I cleared up the misunderstanding Kim Isabel probably had that Cha Eun-joo and I were in a relationship, she would find it difficult to control her feelings for me afterward.
That was probably one of the factors influencing why she currently refused to go beyond a certain level in her relationship with me.
“It’s nice eating while sitting across from each other like this. Until now, it felt a little strange eating alone in bed the whole time.”
“If I’d known you would like it this much, I would definitely have freed you sooner. Still, you remember what I told you earlier, right?”
“I know. I won’t take even one step outside the bed, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Yes, of course you wouldn’t, Mr. Lee Seonho.”
Kim Isabel nodded with a smile around her lips as she said that.
For now, mealtime was the only time I could see her expression. Only the area around her mouth was visible beneath the veil covering her entire face, but that was enough.
I made it my goal not to let the conversation grow awkward and planted a little bait by bringing up Cha Eun-joo.
“It would have been nice if Eun-joo had eaten with us too. It’s a little unfortunate that she rushed off earlier, saying she had somewhere to go for dinner.”
“…Ah, I see.”
“Why? Is that a problem?”
“Ah, no. Of course I’d be happy to eat with Cha Eun-joo too. But…if Ms. Cha Eun-joo had been here, I might have felt a little uncomfortable receiving the buff from you, Mr. Lee Seonho.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cha Eun-joo might find the name of the buff, ‘Heart of a Succubus,’ a little strange. …She might even think it looked as though I had become a succubus and was trying to steal you away from her, Mr. Lee Seonho.”
…Kim Isabel’s reaction was so much more proactive than I had expected that even I was a little taken aback.
Even though she was under a suggestion, this was practically the same as indirectly expressing her fondness for me. It was also an unconscious expression of jealousy toward Cha Eun-joo.
I hadn’t known this because nothing like a suggestion had ever been placed on Kim Isabel in the original, but without her fear of men, she was surprisingly bold about expressing her feelings.
“Well, the buff’s name does sound a little strange. Still, Cha Eun-joo would probably understand if I told her I was receiving it to treat my fear of men.”
“I suppose she would. But I don’t want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings. You and Ms. Cha Eun-joo are a couple, after all. I don’t want to intrude and end up ruining the relationship between you two.”
That did it.
By deliberately steering the conversation toward Cha Eun-joo again and again, I had gotten Kim Isabel to bring it up herself, naturally blurting out first that Cha Eun-joo was my girlfriend. Now all I had to do was pretend I had only just realized it and correct her misunderstanding.
…Though it was closer to deceiving her than correcting a misunderstanding, it was still true that we weren’t a couple yet.
“Ah, I suppose from Isabel’s perspective, Eun-joo and I might have looked like a couple.”
“……Yes?”
“I don’t mean that in a strange way. Eun-joo and I aren’t dating. We’re just friends who first met at the entrance exam.”
“You’re not dating? But you two looked so close….”
“We became close because we sat next to each other on the written exam. I also helped Eun-joo with various things during the entrance exam, and more than anything, she has trouble fighting monsters without my buff. In return, I don’t have any combat ability, so we need each other.”
“On the written exam? Then how many days has it been since the two of you met?”
“Hmm, about ten days?”
“…….”
“And I’d feel a little sorry for Eun-joo if rumors started going around that she was dating me. To be honest, Eun-joo is a strikingly beautiful woman, while I’m just an ordinary support-class student without any notable abilities.”
I made sure to mention that it had only been a short time since I met Cha Eun-joo and that we weren’t a couple.
I deliberately pointed out where I fell short of Cha Eun-joo so it wouldn’t look as though I was intentionally pushing her away.
A simple denial would only backfire, considering everything Cha Eun-joo had shown me until now. She had already made it obvious more than once that she liked me.
I subtly let on that, although I knew how Cha Eun-joo felt to some extent, I couldn’t accept her because I wasn’t on her level.
‘It’s not like I actually lied.’
She had given me her breasts, touched my cock, and even given me a blowjob, but we still weren’t a couple.
It was all true that we had only known each other for ten days, that Cha Eun-joo was a striking beauty, and that I was a support-class student.
Everything except my saying that I felt sorry for Cha Eun-joo if rumors spread that she was dating me was true. Naturally, Cha Eun-joo—who had taken to calling herself her master’s girlfriend—should be the one feeling sorry for that.
“Ten days, ten days….”
After hearing how long Cha Eun-joo and I had known each other, Kim Isabel began muttering to herself.
Ten days could be considered a long time, but it was still rather short for becoming lovers after a first meeting. Even more so considering that we had met naturally as friends rather than through something like a blind date.
Of course, if Kim Isabel had no romantic feelings for me and truly supported the relationship between Cha Eun-joo and me, she would have tried to persuade me right there. She would have added something like, ‘Ms. Cha Eun-joo won’t mind anything you mentioned, Mr. Lee Seonho.’
…But Kim Isabel’s reaction upon hearing that Cha Eun-joo and I weren’t a couple was—
-Click, click.
“…I-I see. I only thought you two were definitely a couple because you seemed so close.”
She calmly concealed the truth while scraping the bare bottom of her bowl with her spoon.
Judging by that reaction, it seemed she had no intention of suddenly doing Cha Eun-joo any favors.
“I wouldn’t exactly refuse if a girl like Eun-joo asked me out. But we haven’t known each other very long, and Eun-joo doesn’t seem to have much experience with men in the first place. I just don’t want someone like her to date someone like me and regret it later.”
“M-Mr. Lee Seonho, you’re certainly very considerate. You seem to have a completely different mindset from ordinary men.”
“…That’s a good thing, right?”
“…Of course. Naturally. I meant it in a good way.”
Watching Kim Isabel’s lips move restlessly, I found it a little amusing how clearly her emotions were showing.
Guilt toward Cha Eun-joo was certainly part of it, but the emotion she was feeling now was probably an even greater joy at realizing that I didn’t have a girlfriend.
“That considerate heart of yours…you’re sure to be rewarded for it.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Isabel.”
I’d like to receive that reward—the one Isabel was talking about—as soon as possible.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
“Huff, huff….”
-Fidget, fidget.
“Hoooh, hoo….”
-Rub, rub.
After dinner. It was treatment time again.
The treatment that channeled holy power through my body had just ended, but this time too, Kim Isabel couldn’t take her hand off me, her fingers fidgeting near my chest.
Her touch was a little bolder than it had been in the morning, and even bolder than in the afternoon.
Now she was openly tracing the lines of my chest muscles with her fingers, touching me with movements so blatant that they would practically count as sexual harassment if our genders were reversed.
Of course, I let her continue because it was cute. In the first place, I had given her the Heart of a Succubus buff while deliberately guiding things toward this outcome.
-Sliiide.
“Hoooh, hoo….”
Once again, Kim Isabel slowly moved her hand in that same manner, bringing it toward my abdominal muscles.
She ran her fingers over my abdomen, which wasn’t clearly defined but showed some muscle separation. Perhaps because she now knew I didn’t have a girlfriend, she was even less hesitant.
Even if I became suspicious, she could simply use ‘treatment’ as an excuse, and now that she knew Cha Eun-joo wasn’t my lover, she wouldn’t feel guilty about touching a man who was already taken, either.
I had deliberately given her plenty of escape routes and excuses, so now all I had to do was wait and let Kim Isabel approach me at her own pace.
‘Still, advancing too boldly would be a little dangerous, so I should at least put some safeguards in place.’
For example, I had to put off Kim Isabel suddenly losing control of her desire and gripping my cock for as long as possible.
All the more so considering that her fear of men had been caused by her foster father’s attempted rape. Even if she didn’t find it strange while under the suggestion, she would certainly be shocked once it wore off.
-Sliiide.
“…….”
So, for now, I needed to stop Kim Isabel’s hand from moving toward my lower half.
Rather than letting her touch my most private parts, I could redirect her attention elsewhere so she would become aware of me as a man.
“Hey, Isabel.”
-Whoosh!
“Eeyaaah?! Y-yes, yes?! I-I wasn’t doing anything….”
“Sorry to interrupt you in the middle of the treatment, but if it’s all right, could you take a quick look at my right arm?”
“…Y-your right arm?”
“I’ve been using only this arm to get by while I’ve been tied up, so compared to my left arm, it seems to be recovering relatively slowly. If I’m mistaken, you can ignore it.”
“Ah, no. If it feels that way to you, it’s worth checking. Could you show it to me for a moment?”
“Yeah, just a moment.”
-Sliiide.
I undid the button on the sleeve of my loose hospital gown, then silently rolled up the fabric covering my right arm.
At the same time, the man’s arm hidden beneath it came into view before Kim Isabel’s eyes.
“…….”
Despite the unexpected sight of a man’s forearm, Kim Isabel calmly kept her gaze fixed on it instead of becoming flustered or frightened.
Her two slender hands cautiously touched my bare forearm.