PMEVBO 90

Iser chuckled and hugged me tightly.

“I only stayed far away when you were awake. I never did that while you were asleep. I was an accomplice back then too.”

“…What?”

He let me rest my legs on him six years ago too? Did we sleep in this position every single day back then…?

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth. Iser burst into laughter, perhaps because my expression looked funny. Our faces were so close that our breaths mingled, and my nose’s tip tickled. Iser whispered as he kissed my forehead.

“Actually, I wasn’t even an accomplice. I’m the only one who knew about it behind your back, so it’s my crime.”

“…Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well, I thought you wouldn’t sleep with me if I told you.”

“Huh, yes…”

I hollowly laughed because I was so dumbfounded.

Yes, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of sleeping next to him if I’d known that back then. Iser took my hand with his cold hand while I was lost in thought.

“…Is it creepy?”

His tone was cautious, unlike before. He stared at our joined hands and quietly waited for my answer. Iser’s eyes naturally slanted upward. I didn’t usually think this way, but he looked fragile when he looked down like this. He looked just like he was scared of being abandoned…

He’ll probably get hurt if I even nod and say it’s creepy.

Iser sometimes acted as if I were someone who could wound him.

Well, it’s probably all just an act… but what can I do even if it is? I didn’t want to hurt him, even if it was fake.

…Actually, I didn’t even know which part was supposed to be creepy in the first place.

“It’s not creepy… I just think you must’ve worked hard.”

I kissed Iser’s lips and chuckled. Then I felt his body tremble. I patted his back.

Iser let out a soft sigh and pressed himself closer to me. He lowered his head and burrowed into my neck like a cold young animal, then he asked in a small voice.

“…I did it because I wanted to, so why is that hard work?”

When his breath touched my neck, which had been sucked on all night, I flinched. But I ignored it and gently stroked Iser’s soft hair.

“You couldn’t control your abilities back then like you do now.”

“…”

“We slept quite close if I even put my legs on you in my sleep, but I never once woke up because of pain. It must be thanks to you being careful not to let our bare skin touch.”

“…”

“You probably couldn’t sleep back then either. Right?”

I tried not to show it when I lived with Iser six years ago, but I was actually always tense and anxious. I stayed up all night for a few days after I possessed this body. However, I fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake up once from night until morning after I started sleeping with Iser. I thought it was just because I’d adjusted back then…

It was all thanks to this guy.

I buried my lips in his hair and continued.

“Thank you for being considerate. And… I’m sorry I didn’t realize it.”

Iser didn’t say anything. Instead, he hugged me tightly as if I were a life-saving device he’d found right before drowning. I was flustered for a moment, but I didn’t say anything more and patted his back.

I wonder how much time passed like that.

Grrrrrr

My stomach’s clock rang out loudly in the silence.

Damn, I don’t know when my stomach will ever learn some tact.

…Well, I guess it can’t be helped since I did intense exercise all night.

I stopped patting him out of surprise. I started to pat his lower back again as if nothing had happened after I thought about it for a moment. Then Iser’s body started trembling.

“…Is it funny?”

“Haha.”

He hugged me so tightly and laughed, sending a vibration through my body like an earthquake. I don’t know why he was laughing so hard, but I was relieved that his mood seemed to have improved. Iser slowly got up, a smile lingering at the corners of his eyes, and he kissed me on the lips.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve taken care of it beforehand. I’ll bring some food.”

“…Uh, yeah, thanks.”

I was left alone in the room.

The room was dark, lit by only three or four candles. Iser seemed to have adjusted the brightness while I was unconscious. I got up from my seat and started to light other candles. The room became bright soon after.

I stared at the flickering candlelight, then my gaze shifted to my sleeves which I’d carelessly rolled up. I froze. The arms revealed beneath the sleeves were covered in red marks.

I headed straight to the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror and lifted my shirt. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ha.”

Aside from the fact that my eyes were red and swollen because I’d cried so much, my upper body was full of red marks. I looked like a person who’d served a buffet to a swarm of mosquitoes. Some of them looked serious, but I didn’t feel anything even when I pressed on them.

Iser must have treated them, since I don’t feel any pain. I didn’t bother to check inside my pants because the situation would be the same there.

I stroked my stomach, which was covered with red marks, and thought.

…It feels like he intentionally removed the pain and only left the marks.

Right then.

Ding!

────【 Sub-Quest 】────

In a moment,

Vaccine Generation rate ?%

will be given as a reward.

(0 ≤ ? ≤ 20)

────────────────

The sub-quest reward arrived earlier than last time.

────【 System Notification 】────

The treatment process will be automatically activated after the vaccine is created.

Vaccine Generation Rate: 60% (60/100)

────────────────

…The maximum value of 20 came out this time too?

It’s suspicious at this point.

…Just how big and beautiful of a middle finger is it going to give me later?

The maximum value was 10 for the first two times, while it was 20 for the next two times. I got the maximum vaccine generation rate all four times. The total accumulated to 60%. I’ll be able to reach a 100% creation rate much faster than expected if the same pattern continues to repeat.

I set the vaccine’s generation rate aside for a moment.

…How many sub-quests do I have to clear until I see the ending?

Is the target for praise going to be Iser from now on too…?

I let out a long sigh.

I don’t even know if I should like this or hate it anymore. Morally speaking, it’s right that I shouldn’t use someone I like in this way. However, the efficiency is ridiculously good. I’ve ended up saying and doing things that make the other person happy, even without being conscious of the quest.

It’s true that I have feelings for Iser. But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on returning to my original world. That’s probably why I’m completing the quests.

…Even while I use Iser.

“…What a piece of trash.”

How could I use the person I like just because there’s no one else to use…?

But I was always a rotten bastard. I heard something similar from my longest-term girlfriend right before she dumped me.

‘…Je-in, am I the only one dating here? Do you think it’s enough just to do whatever I ask? You don’t even want anything from me. …You’re drawing a line.’

‘I let it slide at the start of the relationship because it was the beginning. But you’re still the same even though it’s almost been a year. Am I a stranger? Or what, do I have to get married and become family before you let me inside your line?’

‘Why are you dating me and wasting my time if you’re going to be like this? You should just go on a blind date and get married in five years or so. …That would be better for a guy like you.’

She was a woman with great insight. There was nothing wrong with what she said.

In fact, I sometimes wondered if I had a serious brother complex. I thought it was strange that my brother was still the center of my world even after I became an adult. However, I only realized after I heard her words that what I had been obsessed with all along was ‘family’.

I couldn’t let even someone I like inside the same line as my family. So no matter how much I like Iser, I’ll eventually return to my original world as long as my brother is waiting for me.

…Even if I have to use Iser.

The only comfort I had was the fact that Iser doesn’t love me. I probably wouldn’t have been able to endure it if I didn’t even have that comfort.