Chapter 127: Runaway, Or…. (4)

The light disappeared from Benny’s eyes.

Dead, dark eyes without focus. Commonly called r*pe eyes… So this was actually possible.

Especially the heart pattern in her pupils darkening seemed to hint at corruption, giving me a chilling feeling.

But if I keep teasing her too much, it would be troublesome if Benny also ran away like Eve, so I should start to soothe her.

“Hey.”

I pinched Benny’s nose like a clamp with my thumb and forefinger.

“Gheh.”

Benny reflexively opened her mouth to breathe. I slid my hand between her sharp, pointy teeth.

“Ughh?”

No matter how much of a meltdown Benny was in, she couldn’t help but react at this point, and focus returned to her eyes. Though the gleam in them was still blackened.

Benny opened her jaws as wide as possible, trying not to let her sharp teeth hurt my hand.

I giggled at the ambiguous appearance, unsure whether she was darkened or not, and deliberately brought my hand to her teeth.

Press.

Although Benny’s teeth were said to be sharp, one should not think of them as typical fangs.

If anything, they were closer to the sharpness of a dull blade.

In the first place, these teeth originated from a monster. Naturally, since they were used as a weapon, they would be as dangerous as a weapon.

Just by pressing lightly, the teeth dug into my skin.

“Ugh?!”

Startled, Benny flapped her arms and tried to pull back in a fluster. So, with my remaining hand, I roughly grabbed her jaw and part of her cheek to stop her.

Then I applied more force to my hand. Benny’s teeth not only left a deep mark on my skin but even pierced a small hole, drawing blood.

Poke.

“Ugh!”

A small pain felt at the fingertip. When I glanced down, I saw a small wound created by Benny’s teeth. Blood flowed over it.

Benny must have realized the bleeding by now, with the metallic taste spreading in her mouth, and she stiffened.

Only then did I pull my hand out of her mouth and show her my finger, dripping with blood.

“Ta-da. It’s a tooth mark ring.”

“Are you out of your mind?!”

“Out of my mind?! I’m completely sane, you know?!”

Moreover, having acquired the 5-star Power of the Avatar of Love this time, my mental resilience had strengthened, making it hard to go crazy.

“Benny was sulking because she didn’t have a ring of her own, so I made one for you! Now it’s your turn, so give me your hand.”

“N-no. You’re bleeding! Let’s take care of the blood first!”

“It was intentional, you know? I’m always protected by various powers, so my skin is always in top condition. Just biting wouldn’t leave a mark, so I had to make a wound. It’ll heal quickly anyway.”

I shrugged and took Benny’s trembling hand.

“Don’t worry. I’m an unusual case, and I have no intention of hurting you. I’ll just leave a bite mark without drawing blood.”

“Huh? Wh-what?”

I opened my mouth and stuck out my tongue, and Benny, who had been fuming, froze as if stunned.

Ah! A sad creature who cannot be free from lust! …Well, I’m the same, after all.

Chuckling inwardly, I took Benny’s ring finger into my mouth. I licked the finger with my tongue and gently bit the first knuckle with my front teeth.

As I mentioned earlier, I bit down strong enough to leave a mark, but moderate enough that it doesn’t bleed or hurt.

“Phew. This should be enough.”

After removing my finger from my mouth, I wiped the saliva off with Benny’s clothes and held my hand out.

Benny, with a blank expression, couldn’t take her eyes off the sight of the blood still dripping.

“I can’t see well because of the blood, Benny. Can you clean it up for me?”

“Huh? Clean… Oh, got it.”

With a resolute expression, Benny nodded. She extended her tongue between her sharp teeth and started licking from the fingertips.

Even though it was bleeding, the wound wasn’t that deep to begin with, so there wasn’t much blood.

However, Benny started to lick off the blood from my fingers with unnecessary diligence.

Fingertips, knuckles, between the fingers, over the palm and back of the hand, and finally, the wounded area.

Benny licked meticulously and thoroughly. It took a considerable amount of time, and by now, thanks to the Power of Supple Skin, the surface wounds had healed.

This time, it felt like the speed had increased due to the enhancement.

Thanks to that, the moment Benny licked the wound and wiped off the beads of blood. The remaining wound revealed itself in a perfect form.

As if it were a tattoo, it remained in the shape of Benny’s teeth.

Benny, who was staring blankly at it, heard a whisper in her ear.

“How is it? How does it feel to leave your mark on my body?”

“……”

Without saying a word, Benny slowly lifted her head and looked this way. Her eyes were now brightly lit as if a fire had been ignited.

However, what sparkled within was not something noble like will or conviction, but desire.

It’s my first time receiving such blatant and heated gazes… This feels surprisingly good.

Basically, a writer is a creature that lives on attention.

But living as a man with my looks in this world, I got a bit indifferent to the constant attention.

The current Benny was as intense as Ellie, who had been teased by me to the limit.

A grin that couldn’t be suppressed crept up at the corner of my mouth. I spoke in that state.

“You seem satisfied, Benny. So, shall we get back to the main topic?”

“…Huh?”

“I’m talking about the craftsman. You said you would introduce me to a craftsman who can process crystals.”

“Y-yes, I did.”

A quick flash of rationality returned to Benny’s eyes. However, she still seemed hesitant, glancing at my hand as she continued speaking.

“Just tell me what kind of item you want, and what effects you hope it has. I’ll try to match it as best as I can.”

“There’s no need for us to go together?”

“…Yeah.”

“If Benny wants to go, I can accompany you.”

“Ah! Stop teasing and just tell me the options you want!”

“Two rings that don’t interfere with combat, one focused on enhancing the abilities of a wolf hybrid, and the other focused on reducing presence.”

“Combat? Does it have to be rings?”

“Huh?”

“Jonah, your main combat style relies on delicate handiwork, right? And Ellie fights barehanded. Rings would probably just get in the way.”

“Oh, that’s true… Maybe necklaces would be better?”

“A necklace can also be a hindrance if it moves too much. The best would be something fixed to the body like earrings or piercings…”

“Ellie wouldn’t like that, would she?”

“Yeah. Because she’s a proper young lady.”

Benny and I continued discussing what kind of item to make for quite a while. Perhaps because she is a high-ranking adventurer, she has a knack for practical magical tools, which was very helpful in many ways.

As a result, our initial plan to make a ring shifted to a necklace, then to a bracelet, and back to a necklace.

To be more precise, it was a choker.

“…Jonah. Are you sure this is okay?”

“Yes. With this, it won’t shake even with intense movement, and compared to a ring, its larger surface allows for more stable enchantments, right?”

“That’s true, but… Hm. The visual is a bit off, you know.”

Benny swallows…no, sighs and furrows her brow. But soon, shaking her head, she asked.

“Anyway, I got it. Is that all?”

“Yes… Ah.”

I opened my mouth unconsciously, recalling something belatedly. For some reason, Benny’s fingers twitched.

“Wh-what! If you need something, say it now. It’s hard to change once we start making it.”

“It’s necessary. Actually, it’s the most important thing.”

“What could it be to that extent?”

“…I hope it’s free.”

“…?”

Benny tilted her head, looking puzzled.

“You earned over 100 gold this time. Even if you spent some on buying the Crystal, there should be quite a bit left, right? Don’t tell me you bought the Crystal for 100 gold?”

“No way. That’s not it. It’s just, well, I had some other expenses. I’m broke now.”

“No, are you really that broke? Just tell me how much you can manage. I’ll try to find someone who fits that amount. We can worry about the enchantment later; even just making the choker should have a decent effect with the Crystal, so don’t worry.”

“Zero.”

“Stop joking.”

“I’m not joking. I’m really penniless.”

“…Really?”

“Really, really.”

“……”

Benny squinted and cautiously spoke.

“Jonah. Be honest with me. Is someone extorting money from you?”

“If there was such a person, I would have torn their head off already.”

“Or are you in debt to some dangerous people?”

“I usually avoid debt, so I’ve never taken out a loan.”

“Then where did you spend over 100 gold?!”

Seeing Benny’s horrified expression, I put on a solemn smile and pretended to pray.

Like an innocent priest who knows nothing.

“I spent it all on the Goddess of Love.”

“……”

Benny clamped her mouth shut as if at a loss for words. Technically, it’s not entirely wrong since it was blown on gacha.

Of course, Benny, unaware, thought it was wasted on something useless and scolded me a lot, telling me not to squander money.

“Haah. For now, I’ll pay this time, so pay me back slowly later. You have quite a bit to repay Lydia too, right?”

“Did I ever tell you I love you, Benny?”

“…Jonah, your love is too expensive!”

Avoiding the rampaging Benny, I returned to Fairy and Silver Coin.

It feels like I’ve been running away all day. I’ve done nothing wrong, though.

Bzzz-

The pocket-sized statue of the Goddess of Love buzzed as if to tell me to stop talking nonsense, but I’m sure it’s just my imagination.