## Chapter 231 – Training (5)
Ryu entered the bathroom with Charlotte and now naturally undressed, standing beside her. Whenever he entered the bathroom, he was often reminded of the day he first met her. Back then, he thought she was beautiful but terrifying, and he never imagined a day would come when he would treat her so casually.
Charlotte smiled at Ryu, who was staring intently at her, and asked,
“Is there something on my body?”
Ryu quickly averted his gaze, his face reddening as he barely managed to answer,
“Ah, no.”
Far from having something on her, whenever he looked at her skin, as smooth as porcelain, his lower body reacted against his will.
“Really? Then come over here.”
Charlotte sat Ryu down in front of her and began to wash his body, examining each of the scars on his body. His recovery was naturally good, so they weren’t very noticeable, but seeing the still-unhealed bruises, she could roughly guess what kind of special training he had been doing.
Charlotte placed her hand on his back and said,
“You’re definitely getting more reliable.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, maybe you’ll be able to protect me someday?”
Ryu grinned at Charlotte’s compliment.
“I hope that day comes soon.”
After washing their bodies clean, the two of them entered the tub and began to soak, melting away the fatigue that had accumulated throughout the day. Ryu was lost in a blissful sensation, almost forgetting the special training he had with Clara in the mountains. It felt as if he had become one with the water.
Ryu glanced to the side.
Charlotte also had a relaxed expression on her face. He was relieved that she seemed to be enjoying it.
“It’s quite a large mansion for someone who mostly lived alone.”
Ryu fixed his gaze on Charlotte’s chest, which was slightly floating in the water. The beautiful curves stimulated a desire to reach out and touch it without thinking.
Charlotte noticed his gaze and gave him a seductive smile, moving a little closer.
“Why? Do you want to?”
The redness on Ryu’s face was definitely not due to the heat of the bath. He shook his head and replied,
“I think it would be nice to just spend time like this today.”
“Yeah, actually, me too.”
Ryu was slightly puzzled. Charlotte was unusually calm. If this situation had occurred normally, he would have been immediately pounced on, only to find himself lying on the bathroom floor, pinned down by Charlotte, enjoying a pleasant time.
Worried, he cautiously asked Charlotte,
“Is something the matter?”
Charlotte shook her head, giving a smile that was hard to decipher.
“I wonder?”
If it wasn’t a big problem, it was fine. Ryu looked up again, enjoying the warmth spreading throughout his body.
Then, the sound of the door opening was heard, but since there were only certain people who could enter this mansion, the two of them weren’t particularly wary. Soon, Clara appeared. She covered her body with a single towel and hesitantly entered.
She looked at Ryu and Charlotte sitting together amicably and asked,
“Am I interrupting?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Okay, then excuse me.”
As Clara’s large frame entered the tub, the water rippled and overflowed. She naturally sat down next to Ryu and leaned her head back.
“Haa… this is nice.”
Charlotte laughed at the sight.
“You look really happy?”
“Does it show? I sweat a lot, so I like washing my body. The water here is nice, right? It’s connected to the water flowing from the valley.”
“Yes, it definitely feels more refreshing than the bathhouse in our area.”
Then, she stared intently at Clara’s chest before quietly opening her mouth.
“That’s right… I thought there was nothing bigger than our Demon King’s chest….”
“I, it’s embarrassing if you stare so intently?”
“I’m sorry. But what can I do if I’m envious?”
Charlotte’s figure was nothing to scoff at, but seeing things like this in succession could only make a woman’s confidence plummet.
“Mine is just unnecessarily big, right? Personally, I think Charlotte’s figure is better. Her waist is slender, and overall, she has a beautiful line… Ryu thinks so too, right?”
Suddenly, all eyes were on him, and Ryu stammered,
“That’s right. I think Charlotte-nim’s body is the most beautiful.”
Charlotte wore a rare embarrassed expression. Twisting her hair with her fingers, she replied curtly, looking cute.
“Y-you can say anything in front of other people.”
Even after finishing her words, she seemed embarrassed, burying half of her face in the tub.
After a little time passed, and Charlotte had finally calmed down, she looked at Clara and asked a question.
“Are you doing it again tomorrow?”
“You mean the special training?”
“Yes.”
“Of course. I promised Ryu, didn’t I?”
Charlotte pondered for a moment before saying,
“Can I watch too?”
“Hmm, would that be okay?”
Clara looked at Ryu, not Charlotte, as she asked. Although it was called special training, it was practically one-sided violence. It was Clara’s way of being considerate, wondering if it would be okay to show that to Charlotte, who was close to him.
Ryu didn’t hesitate.
“It’s okay if it’s Charlotte-nim.”
“Okay, if you say so, I can’t help it. But let’s not think about training now and just relax.”
Clara wanted to hold him in her arms and enjoy the bath, but with Charlotte watching, she couldn’t do that.
Ryu felt Clara’s gaze, which was glancing at him every now and then.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Clara visibly panicked and stammered.
“Ah, no? It’s nothing…?”
Charlotte knew that gaze. The look in her eyes when looking at someone she loved. She roughly knew what had happened between the two of them, but seeing it directly made it certain. Eventually, she let out a short sigh and opened her mouth.
“You don’t have to be conscious of me.”
“R-really? Then….”
After asking for permission, Clara hugged Ryu from behind, burying his face between her breasts. The happy hydraulic pressure pressing against both cheeks quickly relaxed Ryu’s expression. Charlotte looked at the sight and asked,
“Hmph… you look happy?”
For a moment, it felt like the temperature in the bathroom had dropped.
“C-Charlotte-nim. That’s not it….”
“Pfft… I’m just kidding. I feel good when I see your silly face.”
The three of them continued to have trivial conversations, opening a place for camaraderie.
After finishing a more luxurious bath than usual, Ryu couldn’t withstand the pouring fatigue and headed straight to the bedroom.
●
The next day, when he told Acer about the conversation they had in the bathroom, as expected, Acer insisted on seeing it with her own eyes, but Charlotte desperately prevented Acer from attending.
Even if she said it was okay, given Acer’s personality, she wouldn’t be able to maintain her composure if she saw Ryu getting beaten by Clara. It was the best measure taken to prevent the worst-case scenario of her interfering with the special training.
And she could only realize that her judgment was correct after confirming it with her own eyes.
Even though she knew it was training, her stomach churned when she saw Ryu covered in dust, rolling on the ground. She wanted to jump in and offer advice right away, but if she did, all of Ryu’s efforts could be in vain.
Clara lightly dodged Ryu’s attacks and immediately counterattacked.
“Faster.”
Charlotte couldn’t hide her anxious feelings and bit her nails at the sight of Clara teaching more strictly than she had expected. What if Clara failed to control her strength even once? That uneasy thought kept popping up.
Ryu endured the pain and stood up again, swinging his spear at her.
This time, instead of using a spear made by breaking a nearby tree, Clara was using spears that were made on the spot with Charlotte’s help.
“Still slow.”
“Keuheok…!”
This time, after his attack missed again, Ryu was accurately hit in the abdomen with a knee, causing him to kneel and spit out blood.
It seemed like he should be given some time to rest, but what Ryu saw in his vision was the tip of Clara’s foot flying towards him. Ryu bent his head back to avoid it, but his chin was slightly injured.
“Don’t show any openings. Do you think your opponent will wait for you in a real battle?”
“S-sorry.”
Conversely, Clara showed no openings at all.
No matter how much he thought about the direction of his numerous attacks, he could only picture himself being counterattacked and letting out painful groans.
At that moment, an opening was glimpsed near Clara’s side.
‘Now!’
Ryu stretched out his spear, but the attack never reached.
With the sound of something breaking, his vision went dark.
After dodging the spear, Clara lightly broke it and accurately struck Ryu’s chin with her fist. The pain, as if his chin was being torn off, was only for a brief moment, and he only felt the sensation of his body falling to the ground.
Fading consciousness, voices gradually heard from afar.
“Just because you see an opening doesn’t mean you should rush in right away. If you’re as skilled as Orca, showing an opening on purpose can be used as one of your strategies.”
Clara continued to speak, but Ryu couldn’t hear it.
His consciousness was already falling deep into his own heart.
Ryu thought.
This much difference… it was devastating.
‘It’s so far… will I really be able to catch up to Clara-nim?’
Let alone Clara, it was difficult to even reach Orca, who was the first step. At this rate, it would be impossible to avenge Orca, who had humiliated Acer.
As the pain surged, he felt disgusted by his own weakness.
It’s hard.
I want to stop…
I want to give up and rely on everyone else.
…
Another voice speaks.
Really?
Do you want to give up?
How long are you going to live with a weak appearance? You have to protect your own woman with your own hands.
If you’re really going to give up, hand it over to me.
In a fleeting moment, what Ryu saw before he completely lost consciousness was a huge, bloodshot eyeball with a vertically elongated pupil that seemed to swallow him whole.
Clara looked at Ryu, who was staggering to his feet, and said with a worried expression,
“You’re already up? It’s better to rest a little….”
Before she could finish her words, Ryu’s figure disappeared with the sound of the wind cutting through the air.
Clara was startled for the first time.
‘I missed him?’
Clara’s body, which no one had ever injured, was able to confirm for the first time that her blood was a vivid red color.
