Chapter 564 – Somei Yoshino (4)

The second gateway was a place that bestowed upon Saku a trove of memories.

Adorable miniature nymph companions. A compassionate farmer. A stalwart warrior, and even the elder whose speech might have been harsh but who, surprisingly, held a great deal of profound sentiment.

Around the age of nine, Saku used to lose herself in the surrounding areas, oblivious to the passage of time.

“Hmmm….”

A place that felt almost like a second home. Saku locked the door, seated herself on the hard bed, removed her mask, and placed it on the small table beside her.

“Rest today, and from tomorrow I can resume my offense.”

The task at the second gateway was to overthrow the rampaging spirit. There were two other approaches, yet there was no particularly planned strategy for this, possibly due to the complexity of the resolution.

Issues like a murder incident in the village, or recovering the lost scriptures of the spirit realm. Despite a determination as sturdy as a chimney, she needed to hasten.

‘I wonder how Soo-yeon is faring.’

As she laid on the bed and pulled the blanket over herself, a subtle wave of loneliness burrowed into Saku’s midriff.

‘I hope Shiba… isn’t too downcast.’

Shiba had lost a friend back in the last Descanso garden. On the way to bid farewell at the airport, Shiba, who had remained silent, suddenly crossed Saku’s mind.

‘Parting is indeed sorrowful.’

Shake it off, and rise. Shiba is strong after all. Saku felt it necessary to teach Shiba the art of the sword that had been passed down through her family.

She was her most cherished sister, and more than anything, the art of the sword was unnecessary to her, who fought with her fists.

‘Could it be that Shiba is growing too fond of me?’

At the moment such precious thoughts made her smile, a suspicious creaking noise began to emanate from the neighboring house.

-Creak, creak, creak, creak.

Could it be the sound of a dilapidated door’s hinges shaking? Saku’s hearing naturally became acute at the regular creaking.

-Creak, creak.
-Ah… Ahh.

A lewd noise that started to take shape. As the faint voice of a woman gradually acclimatized to her ears, Saku’s brows knitted together.

-Ah… Ahh! Ahh… Ahh!

A moan, lost in ecstasy, invaded her ears. A brief respite, too delightful to know what to do next, the beast’s crude and lascivious mating call. Saku’s cheeks involuntarily flushed at the woman’s escalating voice.

‘What, what is this?’

-Creak, creak! Creak!

It was the bed that was creaking, not the door. The ensuing nymph’s words clarified the image that Saku had begun to imagine.

-Cock… I love it! Ohhh… Ohhh!!

Cock. The male genitalia, only sporadically encountered during her adolescent years through risqué videos.

Who could imagine someone taking into their mouth such an intimate area, the same one I glimpsed when bathing my younger cousin?

‘Even here…they do it.’

-A penis…the size of a forearm…Good heavens!

‘Forearm, you say?’

Saku formed the image of a large, mushroom-shaped male penis in her mind. Saku was blessed with a vivid imagination.

‘Wouldn’t that be lethal?’

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Saku tensed her shoulders and turned her head as far away as possible. She attempted to cover her ears, but the escalating moans kept piercing through.

-Oh…Oh God…Yes ♡ My bottom…Oh, I’m going to… I’m going to pee again… It feels so good to pee… Aaah!!

She had experienced this before, lying in a hotel or motel bed, startled by the moans of a couple in the neighboring room. However, this moment was different.

The voice of a nymph, utterly entranced by pleasure. The same sweet nymph who had smiled so innocently at her during the day was now pleading, groaning in this manner for a man.

“Oh my…”

Behind such an innocent face, such obscenity…!

The sounds were too loud, impossible to ignore. Saku, unable to sleep in such a situation, clutched her pillow tightly, trying to block out the noises.

The moans had subsided slightly, but the sultry voice of the nymph still vibrated in her brain.

“……”

Perhaps because the room was so heated, she felt uncomfortably warm. Sweat trickled down her inner thighs, tickling the area right next to her crotch. Saku clenched her thighs, tightly closing her eyes.

She could only hope for this moment to pass.

* * * * * * * * * *

A day had passed.

As soon as the morning sun rose, she moved towards the elder’s mansion. The nymphs that watched her had a peculiar look in their eyes.

-Whispers filled the air.

The blushing nymphs huddled together, whispering among themselves. The nymph from last night had been so vocal that rumors possibly spread throughout the neighborhood.

-Tap, tap.

Then, one of the nymphs approached her and asked.

“Traveler, traveler.”
“Hmm?”
“…Is it true that you engage in pleasurable acts at night? The nymph who peddles told us! She said you would transport us nymphs to a paradise of delight!”

What a situation to find oneself in, like discovering an entire vine of pumpkins. I still had a lot to learn about harnessing the power of the nymphs, so I lightly held the nymph’s shoulder and whispered into her ear.

“Take a bath in the evening and come to the room.”
“Gulp, understood!”

The nymph bowed her head at a 90-degree angle, turned around, and scampered off.

“I’ll be waiting, Woodcutter Nymph!”

I watched the nymph’s retreating form before proceeding towards the elder’s mansion.

Increasing one’s attunement to the spirits is crucial, yet preparing swiftly to traverse the portal is equally vital. Due to the abundance of tasks at hand, I intend to handle as many matters within the village as feasible.

Upon my arrival at the Elder’s abode, I promptly knocked. Not much time passed before the Elder, clad in her nightwear, emerged.

“…What brings you here?”

She was donned in sheer silk lingerie, nonchalantly exposed before me, her bosom thrust forward. As she scratched the back of her neck and yawned, I shifted my gaze from her chest to her face, and voiced my purpose.

“I need information about the vicinity to solve the murder case.”

“A murder case? Hmm. Can’t we just vanquish the spirit?”

The Elder yawned once more, apparently unbothered, never bothering to cover her mouth. She stood, silently hinting at something. Seeing my silent endurance, she, with a touch at her temple, ushered me in.

“Come in.”

She exuded a strong aura of reluctance. I followed her into the mansion and settled at the table where I had seated myself the previous day.

“Do you require tea?”

“I’d appreciate it if available.”

The Elder, with a nonchalant air, deposited dry tea leaves into the pot and summoned a brew with her magic. Shortly, the aromatic scent of tea pervaded the dwelling.

*Glug-glug-glug*.

With a thunk, she set the kettle on the table and took a seat, not bothering to prepare her own portion.

“Aren’t you having any?”

“I’m sick of it. There’s nothing else available, and with this place constantly resetting, we can’t expect anything new.”

Unsurprisingly, she comprehends fully the resetting nature of the dungeon. Having sipped my tea, the Elder, seemingly impatient with the passage of time, initiated the conversation.

“Every two days, a death occurs in the village. As today was safe, tomorrow will likely be the day of doom.”

“Every two days?”

“Don’t question why; it’s the murderer’s established routine.”

“So, shouldn’t we bolster our security tonight?”

“If that were possible, the issue would have been resolved by now. And you’re aware, aren’t you? The villagers cannot solve this. This village exists solely for the dungeon’s gateway.”

The Elder stretched back, her arms behind the chair, her chest thrust forward.

A village that exists for the dungeon’s gateway — a fact incomprehensible to the spirits and nymphs, barring the Elder. Regardless of who dies, they would promptly resurrect once the dungeon resets. Now that I’m aware of tomorrow’s impending murder, I moved on to the next issue.

“What about the book of spirits?”

“…A book documenting the strife between spirits and trees. I’m not sure of its whereabouts.”

“Really?”

“Do I stand to gain from lying? It’s the most challenging trial. Seek it if you will.’

I took another sip of my tea. Oddly, it carried the scent of a ripened woman’s body.

“Just to confirm, do you understand that this is a dungeon?”

“…Well, yes.”

“Do you comprehend the purpose behind this dungeon’s existence?”

The elder, momentarily closing his weary eyes before reopening them, uttered a succinct response.

“I do not.”

His reply came at a pace slightly swifter than usual. I scrutinized his entire body, taking note of every detail: the rhythm of his breathing, the force of his breaths, the movement of his shoulders and hands. Achieving a certain mastery allows for the possibility of discerning even the delicate variations in a simple human body’s temperature. I quickly arrived at a conclusion.

‘He knows something.’

The Spirit Mountain, rumored to have the capacity to awaken the pinnacle of spiritualists. The elder, constructing and inhabiting a village within its confines. However, bluntly prying for answers here would be base. I gave a slight nod.

“I’ve verified it. We shall conclude the matter tomorrow.”
“I would appreciate that.”

With that, the elder retreated into his sleeping quarters without uttering another word. I looked back at his retreating form and infused a faint magical essence into the house.

‘If it were a mere homicide.’

By enveloping the entire village in my magical aura, I could easily discern any happenings within.

Having constructed the rudimentary magic apparatus, I returned to my room, awaiting the arrival of nightfall.

– Tap, tap.

The break of dawn arrived. I opened the door, and a petite wood nymph squeezed her face through the opening.

“Traveler…?”
“Have you arrived?”
“Yes, four!”

As I ushered the nymph in, it wasn’t just one. The rumors evidently hadn’t merely spread aimlessly. Outside the door, five ethereal beings of varying sizes and forms were blushing, casting shy glances in my direction.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

It’s Christmas again next door today. Why Christmas?

– Bang! Bang!

They indulge in lewd intercourse, fit for a holiday celebration, every single time!

Saku, leaning heavily against the wall, her face a deep crimson.

“Ahh… Ahh…”

How brutally they ravage each other. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoes all the way here. Sleep has long been abandoned. Saku tenderly touches her reddened ears, gently sucking on her parched lips.

– Ahh… Ahh!! Good! So good!

How pleasurable must it be to elicit such cries, four times no less. This time, even the voices varied. One man engaging with five women. Saku calmed her flustered heart, caressing her lips.

An unnecessary curiosity continued to prod her.

– Boom!

The wall against which Saku leaned quivered. A woman must have pressed her body against it.

– Boom! Boom!

Vibrations transmitted through the wall. The petite body of a nymph seemed to have struck Saku’s back. It felt that way.

Joy and sorrow divided by a mere wooden wall. The ecstatic cries of pleasure emanating from the other side made it seem as if they were utterly lost in a world of bliss.

-Ugh, ah-ah-ah!?

“…the sound, the sound…”

Saku squeezed her eyes shut and shivered.

‘Like an animal.’

Saku was not devoid of interest in sex, occasionally she would seek out erotic films.
Yet, no matter what video she watched, the women never cried out in ecstasy as she did now.

– Startled.

A heat surges from her loins.
Women, they say, are creatures responsive to ambiance.

‘This…this isn’t right…’

Cautiously, Saku extended her hand towards her own partially bloomed cherry blossom.
Underneath the fabric, pink lingerie.
As her fingers lightly grazed the area, a hushed moan slipped past Saku’s lips.

“Ah.”

Something was smeared across the surface of her fingers.

“Eh…?”

A slippery fluid. An unknowingly shed token of pleasure.
Stained by the honey of her own cherry blossom, Saku was immobilized for a moment.

– Swallowing.

Saliva slid down Saku’s throat.