MRPO :14

CHAPTER :14

The hand that had been checking for a fever slid down and gently touched my cheek. When I opened my eyes, Callion’s face was right in front of me.

“Master.”

His voice was so soft and gentle that it was hard to believe he was the same person who had tormented me so relentlessly last night.

The corners of his eyes, framed by long, lowered eyelashes, were flushed red. He looked shy, yet his desperate desire to touch me was palpable. His tongue, glimpsed inside his slightly parted, soft lips, was a vivid crimson. Recalling last night made my head spin all over again.

“Master.”

He called me again. Bewitched by his pathetic, yearning gaze, I parted my lips, and he gently pressed his against mine.

My eyes drifted shut at the sensation of his tongue, teasingly tracing the edge of my lips as if debating whether to slip inside.

The duration of the Charm skill has 32 hours remaining.

My eyes snapped open, startled by the text of the system window that flashed in my mind. Surprised by my sudden reaction, Callion pulled his lips away and retreated slightly.

“Master?”

I heard his puzzled voice calling out to me, but I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that right now.

‘32 hours remaining?’

Wasn’t that definitely supposed to be 2 hours?

I recall it saying that the duration would be extended by 2 hours every time we reached a climax. If so, then last night, we must have done it at least…

‘Are you insane?’

I felt the blood suddenly drain from my face.

I wanted to try it with Callion before I died, not die while actually doing it. If the Charm skill didn’t have the functions to offset accumulated fatigue and maintain stamina, dying mid-coitus wouldn’t have been just a distant rumor.

“I-I’m going to get up.”

If things took a sensual turn again, I wouldn’t be able to leave this bed from morning till night.

Letting out a soft groan, I pushed myself up.

Come to think of it, the sheets felt remarkably cozy.

‘I could have sworn we soaked them completely last night. Did Callion change the bedsheets?’

I didn’t know whether to be relieved or embarrassed that the pretext I used to lure him into this room had actually been resolved.

“By the way, Callion. Where is Senes?”

“Brother finished restocking and went out early this morning. He said he was going to look for a job for Master.”

I had dragged Callion into my room yesterday afternoon, and the deed hadn’t ended until well into the middle of the night. Moreover, after I blacked out, he must have washed me and changed the sheets.

Since he stepped out of the bathroom the moment I woke up this morning, he probably talked to Senes at dawn.

Which meant there was absolutely no way Senes didn’t know what we had been doing, considering Callion had stayed in my room from yesterday afternoon, through the night, and into the early morning.

‘Oh my god. How am I supposed to look Senes in the eye?’

* * *

I pushed away Callion, who insisted on coming down with me, telling him to pack his bags first. No matter how shameless I was, I didn’t have the courage to walk down alongside Callion and face Senes.

‘It’s not like I want to advertise to the world that we slept together.’

Sending a sullen Callion back to his room, I got dressed and headed out. Walking down the stairs, I spotted Senes standing in the lobby.

‘Here comes the nagging.’

Surely he wouldn’t make any dirty jokes with other people around. Even if he didn’t respect my social standing, I prayed he had the basic decency to keep his mouth shut for the sake of public peace. Please.

Tense, I took one slow step after another until I stood before Senes. I prepared excuses in case he got angry at me for devouring his innocent younger brother—ready to argue that I was the one who had actually been devoured and drained dry all night long.

But the expected sharp tongue didn’t lash out. He stared at me intently before casually tossing out a question.

“Have you eaten?”

It was an unexpected question.

“I don’t usually eat breakfast.”

“No wonder you look so frail. Skipping breakfast is nothing to boast about. Eat this, at least.”

Senes handed over some food wrapped tightly in paper.

It was meat and vegetables sandwiched between bread. It looked like something sitting somewhere between a sandwich, a hamburger, and a hot dog. It was still quite warm, and the portion was surprisingly generous.

“I bought it for myself, but I lost my appetite. You’d better eat it.”

“…What’s in it?”

Why is he dumping this on me? Suspicious.

There isn’t a bug in here, is there?

“You can tell just by looking. Grilled mutton, cheese, tomatoes, and potatoes, with a sauce mixed with minced carrots…”

That wasn’t what I meant by that.

But seeing how he explained it, it didn’t seem like he had snuck anything weird inside. Reassured, I took a bite.

It had felt warm even through the paper wrapping, but taking a bite unleashed the hot, savory heat of the meat, filling my mouth with a spicy yet sweet flavor.

‘Wow. This is seriously delicious.’

The cheese and sauce seeping into the cuts of the scored meat tasted exquisite.

Is the food in this world always this amazing?

I suddenly wanted to live here forever.

I had only intended to take a taste, but before I knew it, I had devoured half of it. Honestly, I usually found heavy meals like this hard to stomach in the morning, but strangely, it went down with ease.

As I licked the sauce off the corner of my mouth, a system window popped up with a chime.

[Senes] has cast [Skill: Feed to Recover!] on you.

Your stamina has been restored.

For the next 2 hours, your stamina recovery speed will be doubled.

…I spotted a familiar text.

‘So Senes made this.’

No wonder it was so delicious.

But to lie about buying it instead of admitting he made it himself… I guess he didn’t want to show that he cared.

Heh. Too bad for him, I can see the skill window, so your little lie is busted immediately!

“Senes.”

“What is it?”

“It’s delicious.”

“…….”

One of Senes’s eyebrows twitched upward. Was he surprised by the compliment? Ah, since Senes thinks I don’t know he made it, he probably just took it as a casual review.

Right before his eyes, I polished off the remaining half. Even though it was a hefty portion, strangely, my stomach didn’t feel heavy at all.

‘Is it because of the recovery effect?’

Just a moment ago, I had been so physically drained that even walking was a struggle, but now I felt perfectly fine.

People really do need sustenance to survive. I think I finally understand why doctors always recommend eating breakfast.

“Now that you’ve finished, let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“…Where do you think we should go?”

Why are you asking me that? As if there’s any place I know in this village.

“Master. Do you even remember why you came here?”

“To the inn?”

“To the village.”

“……Ah.”

Their goal was to escort me safely to a town. Since the two of them had to leave to hunt monsters again, I was supposed to settle down in this village.

And to settle down, of course, I needed to find a job.

“You claim to have lost your memory, but you really have forgotten everything. You forgot your promise, your purpose, your duty, and your responsibility. Is there anything you actually remember?”

“No, I didn’t forget! I just woke up not too long ago, so… and I was planning on looking for a job myself!”

“Yeah, right.”

Senes snorted.

“You walk so slowly, and your actions are so sluggish. If left to your own devices, you probably would have spent days lounging in bed under the guise of resting. After that, you’d have loitered around the inn, sightseeing under the pretext of exploring the village.”

“Well, to get a job, you have to know what kind of place this is…”

“And only when your travel funds were about to run out would you finally light a fire under your feet and scramble to find work. Do you honestly think a job secured like that would be decent? I can already picture you quitting in no time, spewing nonsense about how the work is too hard or doesn’t suit your aptitude.”

This jerk was starting to slander me.

Did I really look like such a lazy bum to him?

I’m not that irresponsible. I always see my duties through to the end!

“I would not! What do you even know about me to say such things, Senes?”

“I know just by looking. Didn’t you stay locked in your room the moment we arrived at the inn yesterday without taking a single step outside?”

That was because Callion wouldn’t let me go!

My face suddenly burned hot.

He knew I hadn’t stepped foot out of the room.

No, I figured he’d know, but having it pointed out so bluntly made me flush with shame.

And the soundproofing in that place didn’t seem very good either.

Senes, who was in the very next room, must have heard everything.

“…….”

I suddenly wanted to die. Selling my remaining 21 days of life.

“Seeing how you’d likely drag your feet, miss every good opportunity, and end up in despair, I went ahead and looked into a job for you. You should be grateful.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you so-o-o much.”

As if I could actually feel grateful in this situation.

I replied through gritted teeth.

Granted, it was true that I spent yesterday wasting time doing absolutely nothing because I acted on impulse.

From the perspective of Callion and Senes, who had to leave after only staying for two days, they must have found it absurd to see me waste an entire day when I should have been looking for work and preparing to adapt.

It was also true that they had helped me immensely on the journey here, and I knew I really should be thankful to Senes for finding a job on my behalf.

‘But does he really have to be so incredibly rude about it?’

It was the first time I felt anger before gratitude after receiving help.

“So, what kind of job did you find?”

“I heard an antique shop is looking for a bookkeeper.”

“A bookkeeper?”

“No matter how lacking you are in common sense, surely you know how to do basic math.”

“…….”

He could have just asked if I was good at math, but he just had to say it like that.

“Where is the antique shop?”

“On the hill on the northwestern outskirts. The owner is old and has failing eyesight, so they apparently want a young worker. They said you only need to clean and keep the ledger.”

“How’s the pay?”

“It’s not high. But there’s no need to deal with people, and you can stay in the storehouse, so it didn’t seem like a bad deal.”

Maybe it was because he was a monster hunter, but he had absolutely no eye for job hunting.

‘A job that offers lodging? Isn’t that the textbook definition of an exploitative company looking for a live-in slave?’

Besides, working at a micro-business with only one employee… I can already envision a future where I’d have to handle all of the owner’s personal errands, on top of working overtime without any extra pay.