Actually, I hadn't been completely sold on the idea.
Min Seola. She was just sweet-talking me for now, but deep down, she was surely already plotting to drag me into the Hero Association's interrogation room.
In that case, there was only one option.
Make this woman feel utter disgust toward me as a person and send her running away on her own two feet.
"But my ability is a bit special. It's probably not something the Hero Association would welcome."
Min Seola gulped.
She seemed to think I was about to confess some insane national secret-level destructive power.
"It's fine, it's fine. What kind of ability is it?"
I leaned in close to her ear, lips nearly brushing it, and murmured in my lowest voice.
"My ability boosts an awakened woman's power if I sexually satisfy her. And at the same time, my own defense power goes up too."
"...What?"
Min Seola's face stiffened in an instant.
It was the expression of a brain refusing to process what it had just heard.
I didn't let up and drove the nail in deeper.
"To use it on someone, it requires very deep, intense, obscene physical contact."
And I kept spinning the lie.
"That's not all? The boosted power doesn't last forever either, so preserving my defense right away is already a huge problem."
I deliberately flicked my tongue out just a bit to wet my lips.
"To keep my defense up, I'd have to do that with you every single day... You okay with that? I'd love it, though."
It was the performance of a lifetime.
Even I found myself utterly nauseating—like a total creep.
Min Seola stared at me blankly for a moment, then slowly took a step back.
Her flushed face looked like steam was rising from it.
"Well, shall we head to Hero Headquarters now? We can chat about how to 'satisfy' your ability there. Oh, by the way, I'm into butts."
I grinned lecherously and reached out toward her.
Any normal woman—no, anyone with a shred of sanity—would scream and slap my face right here.
At the very least, they'd curse me out and turn their back.
'That would be my win.'
As a hero, she wouldn't hit me at full power, and even if she did, it wouldn't faze me.
My peaceful daily life would stay intact, and Min Seola would never come looking for me again.
But.
"...Is it real?"
Min Seola's reaction was off.
Instead of fleeing, she stared straight at me with trembling eyes.
Far from slapping me, the back of her hand was quivering faintly.
"Yes?"
"I'm asking if what you just said is true. Really... if you... satisfy me, my power goes up?"
Huh? This wasn't the script.
"What does it matter? A noble No.1 Hero like you wouldn't stoop to using such a sleazy ability. Right? So let's just drop it..."
"No."
Min Seola bowed her head deeply.
Her ears, peeking through strands of sky-blue hair, were flushed bright red, like they might burst.
She clenched her fists tight, then snapped her head up as if steeling herself for something massive.
"Heroes have to get stronger by any means necessary. The villains keep growing, but my own progress has stalled. If... what you're saying is true."
Wait a second. No way.
"I'll classify that as a national secret. And come on board as my dedicated supporter."
Min Seola took a step forward.
This time, it was my turn to back away.
"No, wait. Didn't you hear me? It has to be sexual satisfaction! Like, full-on sleeping together!"
"I know! I heard! I get it!"
Her gaze shifted.
Her face was still beet red, but her eyes burned with an even more feral madness than before.
"Boost my power. In return, I'll guarantee your identity and daily life perfectly. I won't tell the Hero Association. This'll be our secret contract—just you and me."
"Are you out of your mind?"
Instead of answering my question, Min Seola pressed right up against me.
"I've been in a plateau lately. No matter how hard I train, there's no sign of growth—it was driving me crazy. But this works out perfectly."
Wait, wasn't she supposed to be a total loner?
But is it really okay to just dive in like this?
Or has she done it all without ever dating?
"What if I'm lying...?"
"I'll decide that after I check it out myself. For the sake of the nation, that kind of sacrifice... isn't it just what heroes have to be ready for?"
I'm screwed.
I tried acting like a perv to scare her off, but now I'm about to get hired as the No.1 Hero's personal perv.
Min Seola snatched my wrist.
"Let's head to my place first. I need to see how the ability activates."
"...Pardon?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Hey, Min Seola-ssi? No, Seola-nim? You know this is kidnapping, right? Can a hero really stuff a civilian into her car like a sack?"
I yelled, plastered to the passenger seat.
"And you're treating traffic laws like total shit right now! What kind of hero does this?!"
Despite my freakout, Min Seola's eyes—gripped on the wheel—stared laser-focused at the road.
The car she drove tore through central Gangnam at terrifying speeds, like she was chasing a villain.
"Not kidnapping—emergency accompaniment. And you admitted you're an awakener yourself earlier. Unregistered awakeners are management subjects."
"Management subject, not kidnapping victim! And you heard my ability! If it's not satisfying, it's just straight sex! You still seriously planning to go through with it?!"
I appealed desperately.
Please discard me like trash.
But a bizarre smile tugged at Min Seola's lips.
The earlier fluster was gone; now her eyes gleamed like a martyr resolved for the greater good.
"Now I get why you tried to hide it. That kind of ability gets slammed on moral grounds."
"No..."
"But this is Korea, and it's the Great Awakening Era. For power that protects humanity, what's clean or dirty? So no need to be ashamed."
Min Seola gripped the wheel hard.
Her knuckles white, hands trembling. Proof even she wasn't fully in her right mind.
'This woman... she's pure madness.'
Most No.1 rankers obsessed over honor or dignity, but this one was obsessed solely with growth.
Of all people, I had to get tangled with this ruthless workaholic.
Screeech!
The car halted in front of a ultra-luxury penthouse infamous for its ironclad security.
The highest spot atop Korea's priciest real estate.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The penthouse interior looked less like a hero's home and more like a neat freak's lab.
No unnecessary furniture anywhere, and one entire wall crammed with monitors tracking real-time villain sightings.
She roughly plopped me on the sofa, then stood opposite with arms crossed.
"Okay, let's start."
"...Yes?"
"Ability check. How does it work? Should I take my clothes off first?"
My brain short-circuited at her casually tossed words.
"Are you insane?! No.1 rank undressing in front of a total stranger guy?!"
"You said it yourself. Needs sexual contact. I like efficiency. Skip foreplay time-wasters and get straight to it..."
"Stop! Please stop!"
I frantically made an X with my hands and screamed.
"You saying it's a waste to use your ability for humanity?"
"That's not the problem! This way, neither of us gets satisfied! You're way too scary right now!"
For a split second, Min Seola's eyes flipped.
"Scary?"
"Yes! Even a guy gets more scared than excited when a wild-eyed woman nags for sex!"
"But this is for humanity..."
Dangerous.
This woman saw "sex" purely as a tool for "growth" and "performance."
'No, wait—maybe this is actually good?'
If I sleep with Min Seola here and say, "See? Told you it was bullshit," it wouldn't be my fault.
'No, that's risky too.'
I shook my head.
Her eyes were wild now, but after we hook up and reality crashes in? Who knows.
If she goes nuclear solo, thinking "He tricked me?"—what the hell could I even do?
'If she flips out like now, realizing not only did I toy with her but lusted after her body...'
Then I'd be truly fucked.
Even I might die to Min Seola's full power.
And unregistered awakener or not, I'm still a management target.
From the moment she clocked my ability and I admitted it, this mess becoming a nightmare was basically locked in.
'Really fucked up entanglement.'
I needed to buy time somehow.
Some perfect logic to sell the lie while keeping me safe.
"Calm down first. Too steep a spike could have side effects, so we start super light."
"Light like oral?"
"No, no! How is that light?! Normal sequence is hugs first! You're lying about being a lifelong virgin, right?"
Min Seola strode toward me.
'Fuck, did I bitch too hard?'
Then she closed in and wrapped me in a hug.
A subtle wave of perfume hit me, along with impossibly soft skin.
My breath caught without thinking.
Thump, thump.
This moment—held by Min Seola, the one I'd desperately avoided—was the sweetest of my entire life.
'But nothing should happen...'
It was a lie spat to paint me as shameless, so contact with me shouldn't mean or change a damn thing.
But.
"Haa..."
A short moan burst from Min Seola's lips.
Her shoulders trembled faintly at the same time.
"What is this...?"
Min Seola murmured, face buried in my chest.