It was morning.
While I was having a quick breakfast of cereal and milk, Ellaine's troops arrived in the village.
Over a hundred soldiers and knights had come a far greater number than I'd expected. I was genuinely surprised.
The soldiers and knights efficiently began loading the bandits into escort carriages, as if they'd done this many times before. The bandits' faces were pale with fear, clearly understanding their predicament and what awaited them.
"Young Master Sung Yujin, a guest has arrived," Hassent announced with a knock while I sat in my room, waiting for our departure.
As Hassent's master, I almost spoke informally, but I stopped myself. A guest meant there were others present.
"Come in."
Creak.
The door opened. The guest who entered with Hassent was a man in his thirties, with silver hair, a slender build, and a fox-like face.
As soon as he saw me, he smiled, his eyes curving into crescent moons, and bowed deeply.
"Treville Blurk, a humble commoner, greets Master Sung Yujin Prukerus."
I recognized the name.
"You're the Branch Manager of the Pters Branch of the Information Guild."
"Yes, that is correct," he replied, straightening up. I studied Treville intently before turning to the side.
"Butler, how are the preparations coming along?"
"Nearly finished. Another five minutes should suffice. We've also packed Young Master Sung Yujin's new sword without fail."
My new blade. I was referring to Yuria.
I turned my head again to look at Treville.
"You have exactly five minutes. Finish your business within that time."
"Oh dear. Time is short.
I would have liked to chat with Master Sung Yujin, but since we're pressed for time, let's get straight to the point."
"And the point is?"
"I apologize, Young Master Sung Yujin. This commission was a complete mistake on the part of the Information Guild."
As expected. I knew the Branch Manager would apologize somehow. I just hadn't anticipated him coming here personally.
I had commissioned the Information Guild through Hassent, never acting directly myself.
Hassent wouldn't have revealed anything about me... so the Information Guild must have deduced it themselves.
"No. If you think about it calmly, it's easy to deduce. I personally came to Artel Village and wiped out the Pfrek Bandit Gang."
I glanced at Treville. His crescent-moon-shaped smile was infuriating. He likely also realized that I was the one who secretly hired the torture expert.
I couldn't afford to make the Information Guild an enemy. The best course of action was to accept reasonable compensation and withdraw. Treville knew this, which was why he had come.
"I'm not interested in empty apologies."
"Since this was our mistake, we will naturally compensate you. We'll refund the initial commission fee and, as a one-time offer, provide you with Special Mid-Tier information free of charge."
A Special Mid-Tier classification refers to information worth over 10 billion Ner. It's the kind of intelligence that isn't sold lightly, even to those with deep pockets.
Jackpot!
For reference, the Special High-Tier information from the original story concerned the current dragons. There would undoubtedly come a time when such intelligence would be desperately needed.
"Very well. I'll overlook your mistake this time."
"Thank you for your magnanimous decision."
"Is that all you require?"
There's a saying: never linger in conversation with members of the Information Guild. They're always gathering intel on you.
Treville was clearly no ordinary man, and I had no desire to engage with him further.
"One more thing. We've heard you've captured a traitor from our Information Guild. Would you be willing to hand him over to us?"
"Impossible," I said firmly.
I held the power of life and death over the 32 captives, but they all belonged to Yuria. If I handed one over to Treville, our deal with Yuria would be nullified.
"This is the first traitor to surface in ages. We need to make an example of him.
We're willing to pay. 1 billion Ner. What do you say?"
"I already said it's impossible."
"...What if we throw in free access to Special High-Tier intelligence?"
"Are you trying to mock me?"
I frowned. My relationship with Yuria was far more valuable than any immediate gain. I had no intention of betraying her.
"...My apologies. Then, how about 500 million Ner for the traitor's corpse?"
"That's acceptable. But is the traitor's corpse really worth that much?"
"As I mentioned earlier, the example we set is one reason. But we also have our own customs for dealing with traitors."
"I see."
I didn't press further. The fate of traitors was obvious, and I had no interest in it.
"When is the execution scheduled?"
"Hmm... A month from now? Or perhaps years from now."
"...Young Master Sung Yujin is a terrifying man."
I simply chuckled.
***
In the carriage, Hassent and I finalized our plans for Yuria.
First, we would make her my personal maid. In the original story, Yuria was a woman without pity or remorse.
Though she claimed to have devoted everything to me, words are easily spoken. Keeping her out of sight would be too risky, and the House of Helbrit also concerned me.
Hassent agreed to vouch for Yuria's identity, claiming she was the daughter of a distant relative. He explained that he had brought her in after learning her village had been attacked by monsters, leaving her impoverished.
Ellaine, who had long served the family, wouldn't question Hassent's word. The Head Maid, in any case, held less authority than Hassent.
I asked Hassent to teach Yuria assassination techniques. He readily nodded, saying he liked the look in her eyes.
During this process, I discovered that Hassent wasn't just an assassin but a Shadow Mage.
Shadow magic... That's the same magic Yuria used in the original story.
Could Hassent and Yuria have been master and apprentice after his retirement in the original story?
...Since the author is dead, we'll never know.
There was a possibility. In areas the author hadn't specified, things tended to be determined arbitrarily.
Let's teach her the Youngcheon Style too.
In a way, the Youngcheon Style could be considered an assassination art.
And I was curious to see how far the author-acknowledged greatest genius in the world could go.
As soon as I arrived at the mansion, I greeted Ellaine and entered the bathhouse with Yuria.
Prucus's private bathhouse in the mansion was so luxurious that I bathed there almost daily. In terms of bathhouses, it surpassed even my own home in the real world.
I brought Yuria along not just to bathe her, but also to have her attend to me.
As my personal maid, she must learn to assist me with my baths.
This was a crucial matter, so training had to begin immediately.
Truth be told, there was already a dedicated bath maid, but I refused her services because she was an old woman.
I carelessly tossed my clothes aside in the bathhouse, knowing the servants would tidy up later. Hassent would bring fresh garments shortly.
"Undress," I instructed Yuria, who stood there blankly.
"...Yes," she replied.
After a moment's hesitation, she began removing her worn clothes. I crossed my arms and watched her undress.
Soon, we stood facing each other, both naked. Yuria couldn't meet my gaze, her head bowed low, a blush rising on her cheeks.
She seemed embarrassed natural for a first time. She'd grow accustomed to it later and become indifferent.
I scanned Yuria's body from head to toe.
Given her filthy, tattered rags, I'd expected her body to be equally dirty. Surprisingly, she wasn't as filthy as I'd imagined.
"When was the last time you bathed?"
"Two months... ago."
It looked about right.
My gaze drifted to her chest.
In the original story, she was described as having large breasts... She's really going to get big breasts, right?
Her nipples were pink, but the problem was that she had no breasts at all. Not even an AA Cup.
Where breasts should have been, her ribs protruded sharply.
Her waist was incredibly thin, and her hip bones jutted out beneath it.
...She's so emaciated, it's almost pitiful.
I looked at her pubic area. There was a patch of pale cyan-blue hair, so sparse it was barely visible.
So cyan-blue-haired girls have cyan-blue pubic hair too.
Beneath that was a tightly closed, pink vagina.
Her legs were practically just bones.
"...Hmm. My dick isn't even twitching."
I didn't know what the future held, but at least for now, she wasn't my type.
"Follow me."
"Yes, Master."
I led her to the wall with the mirror. Beside it was a marble waterway, warm water flowing toward the bath.
Some kind of magical artifact, I guess? It's still amazing every time I see it.
In this world, when it comes to magic, all traces of primitiveness vanish. Even sewage treatment is perfectly advanced.
"Wait here for a moment."
"Yes."
I retrieved my smartphone, carefully avoiding getting it wet, and pulled items from my inventory the bath supplies I'd brought back from reality.
I sat Yuria on a simple stool like the kind you'd find in a real-world bathhouse.
This world has such a developed bathing culture... I guess the only thing I could sell here is shampoo?
Shampoo wouldn't sell well either, since the Magic Tower sold hair-specific soaps.
"Um, Master?"
"Hmm?"
"I can bathe myself."
"This is a demonstration. I'll do it for you just this once, so remember it well. Next time, you'll be bathing me."
"...Yes, I understand."
I started by scooping water with a basin and pouring it over Yuria's head. As the ash washed away, her true hair color began to emerge.
This wasn't my first time bathing a woman. I'd done all sorts of role-playing in my Vampire Detective days.
I used shampoo to wash her hair, repeating the process about three times until the dry, brittle strands were gone.
"Wow, your hair is beautiful."
The cyan-blue hair was even more stunning than I'd imagined. I reached out and gently stroked her hair.
"...My mother said the same thing, but I still hate this hair."
"Because of the House of Helbrit?"
"Yes. I even tried to cut it off once."
"I see you failed. If you had succeeded, it wouldn't be this long."
"My mother stopped me."
"Why?"
"...She never told me the reason. I suspect... she wanted me to live like an ordinary woman."
I lathered the shower towel with body wash and began scrubbing Yuria's body.
This is actually quite interesting.
With each stroke of the towel, the grime on her skin disappeared. Seeing the visible transformation was strangely satisfying.
As I washed Yuria, I kept the conversation flowing. Dialogue was crucial; trust doesn't build itself. And I needed to gather information about her.
"You read books? They must have been expensive. How did you manage to get them?"
"There weren't many. They were so old and worn, it was hard to even read them."
Yuria could read and write, and she had some knowledge of history. She seemed to have learned arithmetic as well.
"Did your mother teach you the Mana Breathing Technique?"
"Yes. Ever since I mastered it, I've stopped fainting from hunger. And I can move my body properly now."
"What level are you at now?"
"Two weeks ago, I reached the highest level for Aura Users."
"I... I see."
The highest level for Aura Users!
It was clear she hadn't lived a proper life, yet she was undoubtedly the greatest genius in the world.
"What else did you learn from your mother? Swordsmanship?"
"I did learn swordsmanship, but what I mainly learned was how to survive.
How to escape from people and monsters, knowledge about edible plants, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs.
What to do when my body gets cold. What to be careful of in cities, ah..."
Yuria's words trailed off as my palm began washing her vulva.
This is a sensitive area, so I should wash it with my palm.
But Yuria's reaction was more intense than I'd anticipated. Her eyes darted nervously, and her body trembled as she curled inward.
Still, the fact that her arms and legs remained still, and she didn't push me away, was commendable.
...An interesting idea just occurred to me. After cutting off her pubic hair, I could compare its growth to my own. I started growing hair about a month ago too.
A growth competition! Well, with my high Vitality stat, I'm bound to win anyway!
I saw Yuria trembling violently. She was reacting far more sensitively than I had anticipated.
[Yuria's erogenous zone: Clitoris]
As expected. The clitoris is her erogenous zone.
I didn't stop washing her. My sole purpose was to cleanse her. As proof, my own member remained completely limp.
"The vulva is a sensitive area. Always keep it clean."
"...Y-yes, yes sir."
Still, this reaction was strange. I had no intention of caressing Yuria's vulva. My hand movements were purely for washing.
"Yuria, have you ever masturbated?"
"Ugh... Wh-what is masturbation?"
I stopped washing her. She was already clean, and Yuria's body was rapidly regaining its composure.
"...You know what sex is, right?"
"I learned about it. Sex is the sexual act between a man and a woman."
I pressed for more details. It seemed she had received proper sex education.
After all, she had become a fugitive after getting pregnant unexpectedly, so her parents must have made sure she was well-informed.
Hmm. It's understandable that she wouldn't know about masturbation. It would be strange for a mother to teach her daughter about it.