Chapter 142

The next day, Henes finally woke up quite late.

“…”

Still groggy, she lay against Jun-sang’s firm chest for a moment. She only fully came to her senses when she realized that the feeling against her face was different from usual. As her consciousness slowly returned, the events of last night unfolded before her like a panorama, and she woke up with a start.

The first thing she did was grope around her body. Fortunately, the bed and even the sheets were perfectly dry. Normally, if she felt such a dry texture, she would have found it strange. However, she couldn’t think that far at the moment.

“Phew…”

Henes let out a deep sigh of relief without realizing it, then quickly closed her mouth. She was afraid of waking Jun-sang up. Henes cautiously slipped out of Jun-sang’s arms and got out of bed. But the moment her feet touched the floor, she collapsed.

“Oh no…”

Thanks to her regenerative ability, her body didn’t hurt, but that was only on the surface. Her legs were completely wobbly.

“Ugh…”

Henes struggled to get up and put on the robe she had folded earlier. She had been so exhausted the night before that she had no strength left in her body.

“Phew…”

After finally putting on the robe, Henes felt a bit resentful when she saw Jun-sang still sleeping peacefully on the bed. She was so tired and in pain, but the person who caused it was lying there so comfortably. Henes glared at him and made a gesture of hitting his head from a distance. When Jun-sang stirred slightly, she was startled and quickly headed to the bathroom. Despite the fact that her legs were weak and she almost tripped several times, Henes, with indomitable will, managed to enter the bathroom safely.

“Ugh…”

She was already exhausted just from that short walk. Henes took off her robe and hung it on the wall hanger. Then, she started the shower while filling the bathtub with water. As the warm water soaked her body, the fatigue that had seeped into every corner of her body seemed to dissipate a little.

Henes washed her hair and body, and then, without waiting for the tub to fill completely, she stepped inside.

“Ah… this feels nice.”

Even though only a part of her lower body was submerged, it was enough to make her feel much more relaxed. Henes closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensation of the warm water tickling her skin and gradually filling the tub. Suddenly, the events of last night came to mind again. Henes’s eyes flew open, and she covered her cheeks with both hands, not knowing what to do. Then, she looked at her naked body. Thanks to her regenerative ability, there were no marks left, but it didn’t take long for the sensations of Jun-sang’s hands and lips touching her to be revived like a brand.

“Henes. Get a grip.”

Henes said those words out loud as if casting a spell on herself. She was a little flustered that her voice was louder than she had intended, but thanks to it, she was able to suppress the memories of last night that were bubbling up in her mind.

But Henes’s thoughts soon went in a different direction. The question of whether all couples in the world have such a night came to her mind. To be honest, she also wondered if she would be able to endure it if nights like last night kept repeating. Of course, this happened because Jun-sang’s stamina was on a different level than a normal human’s, but Henes, who had only thought that sexual intercourse ended with just penetration, hadn’t considered that far.

In any case, the important thing was whether Henes could safely endure the nights of hardship that lay ahead. The thought of not being able to be with the one she loved because of a lack of stamina was ridiculous! The conclusion was simple. All Henes had to do was build up enough stamina to be able to keep up with Jun-sang’s stamina.

“Hmm…”

Henes frowned for a moment and pondered a solution, but given her limited experience, that was the only conclusion she could come up with.

“Alright. Let’s do it!”

Henes clenched her fists, suddenly stood up, grabbed the bathtub railing, and started doing push-ups.

“One, two. One, two.”

Whether it was a good workout or not, it was a sight she would never show anyone. Henes knew that very well, but the fact that she was in a locked bathroom made her let her guard down. However, she didn’t know that Jun-sang’s heightened senses were at a level where he could instantly see through such a thin wall and observe everything that was happening inside in detail.

“Heh!”

Jun-sang, who had checked the bathroom out of concern after Henes wobbled into it and there was no news from her for a long time, couldn’t help but laugh when she suddenly stood up and started doing push-ups. He could pretty much guess what had happened. He had been thinking that what happened last night was a bit too much, even for him. Even Jun-sang, who had been completely absorbed in satisfying the desires he had been suppressing for a long time, was so shocked when Henes half-fainted and wet herself that he immediately stopped. He had quickly summoned the water spirit and the Elemental Dragon to clean up and even brought a whip to massage her, and only then was he able to let out a sigh of relief. But even now, the thought of Henes’s limp body makes his heart sink.

“I was crazy…”

It was a relief that there didn’t seem to be any side effects, but at the same time, he was worried that the intense first night might cause her to develop a fear of sexual relations. When she stumbled and almost fell after getting out of bed just now, he almost jumped up to help her without thinking. But seeing her doing push-ups in the bathroom, he couldn’t help but think that it was just like her.

What was he like at that age? Jun-sang compared Henes’s current self with his past self and could only manage a wry smile.

“Phew…”

Jun-sang slowly got up from the bed, picked up the robe that was lying on the floor, and put it on. He checked the time and saw that it was almost noon. Jun-sang ordered a simple meal from room service, and only after meticulously checking for any remaining traces did he sit down on the sofa.

He turned on the TV, and a short news segment about the families of the missing people came on. Most of the news was about a prayer meeting being held at a cathedral for the safe return of the missing people, or a great Buddhist ceremony being held at a temple. He changed the channel, and an advertisement related to returnees came on. The short public service announcement-like ad contained information about what kind of powers returnees had and how they could use them to contribute to society.

“Hmm…”

He had talked about this with Lim Seo-yoon before, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was less about informing the public about the reality of returnees and more about the nuance that their powers should be invested in the public good, not for personal gain.

“It’s strange.”

Maybe it could just be understood as a result of a compromise. But Jun-sang couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling. If they loved their country, there was no reason to stop them. But it was a problem if they tried to take advantage of it for their own benefit. The current situation was the same. In reality, the returnees’ abilities were a reward for surviving the brutal tutorial, and even after surviving, they had to continue to live a life of tension for their survival. Jun-sang had become somewhat accustomed to it and stronger, so he was able to find some leisure. However, most returnees were still having sleepless nights and living a tense life without even being able to wash properly. To put it bluntly, you have to be alive to realize patriotism or public good, don’t you?

“Tsk…”

He clicked his tongue in displeasure and changed the channel. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and Henes came out. She still had no strength in her legs, so she walked slowly, leaning on the wall. When she saw Jun-sang sitting on the sofa, she was startled.

“Y-you’re up.”

“Yes.”

Jun-sang slowly got up and picked up Henes, who was too embarrassed to make eye contact.

“J-Jun-sang?”

“It’s okay. Just stay like this.”

“…”

Henes was flustered by Jun-sang suddenly picking her up, but she soon quietly rested her head on his chest. Jun-sang carried her slowly and put her down on the sofa.

“You must be tired, so don’t think about anything else today and just rest.”

“Yes…”

“Is there anything else wrong?”

“No, no there isn’t.”

“That’s good.”

“…”

“…”

The two looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then, without either of them starting first, they leaned in, their lips meeting. It was not too deep, but a sweet kiss. Henes savored the feeling of his lips on hers and wished that this moment could last forever.

And just as her heart was filled with happiness, a message appeared in Jun-sang’s sight.

Congratulations!

The favorability of the pet ‘Henes Brea’ has reached the maximum value of 120.

: The higher the favorability, the faster the pet’s growth.

• Favorability can increase up to a maximum of 120.
• When favorability is 100 or higher, specific abilities may be amplified depending on the pet’s attribute.

Jun-sang was slightly surprised by the message that suddenly appeared in his vision, but he didn’t show it and immediately dismissed it. But that wasn’t the only message.

Congratulations!

: You have reached 120 pet favorability for the first time.

• To praise your achievement, you are granted the title ‘My Beloved Master’.[Click here to view title details.]

He was about to dismiss this one as well, but he decided to check the effect first.

[My Beloved Master]

: A title granted to the one who first reached 120 pet favorability.

• Effect: The number of pets that can be summoned simultaneously increases by 1.
• The effect of the title is automatically applied upon acquisition.

The effect was the same as the title he had received before. With this, he could now summon all of them at once, including the Fairy Queen named Lyches. But just as before, Jun-sang dismissed the message as soon as he confirmed the content.

“Henes.”

“Jun-sang…”

The two finished their sweet kiss and looked into each other’s eyes. But at that moment, someone knocked on the door, and Henes was jolted back to reality. And without giving Jun-sang a chance to stop her, she quickly got up and disappeared into the bedroom.

“…”

Her movement was so agile that it made him wonder if her legs weren’t weak after all. Of course, her stamina couldn’t have been completely restored in that short moment, so it was probably a kind of superhuman action that is triggered when faced with a crisis.

“Heh!”

Jun-sang quickly covered his mouth with his hand to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out. He barely managed to return his smiling facial muscles to their normal state. Then, with an expressionless face as if nothing had happened, he opened the door.

He saw a room service employee standing outside with a cart, and next to him was Seo-yoon, looking a little anxious. Seo-yoon’s face brightened when she saw Jun-sang and she said, “Hello.”

“Thanks to you.”

Jun-sang replied curtly and first took the cart from the employee. Since he ordered room service like this every time, the employee was used to it by now. He handed the cart over to Jun-sang and left. Jun-sang, holding the cart, asked Seo-yoon, “Is it urgent?”

“Huh? No, well… it’s not that urgent, but…”

In reality, this was just a formality. There was no reason for her to come here in person if it wasn’t important. But Jun-sang was not the kind of person who would be swayed by formalities.

“Then let’s talk later. I’m tired right now.”

“Huh? W-wait…”

Seo-yoon said that while reaching out her hand, but Jun-sang had already closed the door and gone inside.

Jun-sang pushed the cart to the dining table and took out the contents. The table was set with a menu of freshly baked scones with thick clotted cream, slightly warmed milk, a fruit salad, and warm pumpkin soup. Henes, who had been hiding in the bedroom, smelled the food and poked her head out.

“Did they leave?”

“Yes.”

When Jun-sang answered, Henes quickly ran out and sat down at the table.

“Wow, it looks delicious.”

It wasn’t just a polite statement. Henes wasn’t a picky eater, but she especially loved the taste of freshly baked scones with thick clotted cream, and she always made sure it was included in her brunch menu. In contrast, Jun-sang preferred simple meals like a bagel sandwich.

Jun-sang sat down, summoned Mong-mong and the Elemental Dragon, shared some of the food with them, and began his meal. Mong-mong naturally grabbed a large piece of apple with his front paws and started nibbling on it, and the Elemental Dragon held down a piece of steak from the bagel sandwich with one foot and tore off small pieces to eat.

Henes, who was spreading a lot of clotted cream on her scone, watched them, and then, as if a thought had occurred to her, she cautiously asked Jun-sang, “Um… aren’t you going to call the Queen?”

“Not for a while.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s just a nuisance when I do.”

“…”

It was a natural response for Jun-sang, but Henes spoke again cautiously. “Still… maybe it would be better to call her and talk to her…”

This time, Jun-sang asked, “Why?”

Henes thought for a moment and then said, “She just woke up after a thousand years of sleep… wouldn’t it be too pitiful to just put her back in storage like that?”

“Hmm…”

Anyway, since she was a pet, if she didn’t listen, he could just un-summon her, so it didn’t matter. It was just that the process of calling her and talking to her again was annoying. As if she had read Jun-sang’s mind, Henes quickly continued, “I’ll talk to her nicely.”

Since Henes had said that much, there was no reason for Jun-sang to refuse.

“Alright.”

Jun-sang, believing in striking while the iron was hot, immediately summoned the former Fairy Queen, Lyches. A small light emanated in front of the two, and a small fairy with beautiful rainbow-colored hair appeared.

“Huh? What?”

Lyches was flustered by the strange location in front of her and her shrunken size. When she saw Henes with Jun-sang, she immediately pointed her finger at her and yelled, “You! You little girl! You…”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence and disappeared. It was because Jun-sang had immediately un-summoned her after seeing her point her finger at Henes.

Henes was momentarily surprised by Lyches’s reaction, but then she recalled the situation right before she disappeared and couldn’t help but give a wry smile. For the two of them, it had been more than a day later, but she realized that for Lyches, it was right after she had been throwing a tantrum in her bedroom.

“Jun-sang. Please summon her again.”

“…”

Jun-sang frowned at Henes’s request, but he quietly did as she asked and summoned Lyches again. Lyches reappeared with a burst of light, exactly as she had looked just before she disappeared.

“…is what I thought. Huh?”

Only then did Lyches realize that something was strange and she fell silent. Jun-sang spoke to her quietly. “Lyches.”

The Queen was startled when Jun-sang suddenly called her by her name. She thought back to whether she had ever told him her name, but no such memory came to mind.

“H-how do you know my name?”

“That’s not important.”

“What do you mean…”

“What’s important is that you’ve become my pet.”

At Jun-sang’s declaration, the Queen froze in place, unable to say a word.