-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Man Who Almost Became a Slave
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Take it off before I rip it off you with force."
Ashy glared at me, growling low.
Her voice came at me like a threat, heavy and ominous.
'Ah.'
I could feel the misery of all those characters in the novel who'd picked fights with Ashy for no reason and suffered for it.
How unjust must that have felt.
It hit completely different reading it in print.
Tears blurred my vision.
Smoothly... quietly...
Regardless of the injustice, I undid the waistband of my pants.
Doing what Ashy wanted was the only thing I could manage in this situation.
"Puppy, hurry up... Don't dawdle, strip!"
Ashy barked sharply.
It felt less like anger at my slowness and more like urging me on.
Even that was overwhelming pressure to me.
"A-alright, I'll do it."
I couldn't afford to upset Ashy.
I was utterly in the inferior position here—following her orders was my only shot at survival.
With trembling hands, I loosened the waistband and slid my pants down.
Ashy stared at me with her eyes wide, her expression more blatant than a pubescent girl seeing a man's cock for the first time.
"Hoo, haa—."
Her piercing gaze flicked back and forth between my face and my dick, making me intensely uncomfortable.
Her eyes full of anticipation, Ashy swallowed hard.
I'd pulled my pants down.
My half-erect cock dangled there.
"Don't ever hide your dick from me, even if you cover up in front of other girls. That's an order."
Embarrassed, I tried to cover it with my hand.
The moment I reached down, Ashy smacked it away.
It packed real force—I flinched.
After that, I couldn't even think of covering up.
"Puppy."
"...Yes, Hero."
Ashy called me Puppy.
I had no idea how she knew my nickname, but...
Her ragged breathing set off alarm bells.
Her flushed, excited face was a little scary.
This didn't feel like the moment to ask.
"Sit on the bed."
"..."
Ashy gave me a light shove.
I perched on the soft bed and looked up at her.
The quilt felt nice against my bare skin.
Better than I'd expected.
"Not 'Hero.' Call me Ashy."
"..."
Ashy shot me sparkling eyes.
She'd definitely just told me to call her by name.
Was this another order like before?
Or just playful teasing?
My head spun trying to pick the right option.
"Hurry up. 'Ashy'—"
As I hesitated, she raised her voice, urging me.
Her expectant eyes made it clear this was no joke.
She really wanted me to say it.
So I mustered my courage.
"...Ashy."
With my cock fully exposed, I called the hero by name.
When I said her name, did she bloom like a flower and come to me?
No clue.
"Kuhuhu, heuk-euk."
Anyway, the second I said it, Ashy reacted dramatically.
She rubbed her thighs together and crossed her legs tightly.
Clutching her chest, she let out moans.
"..."
Tears welled up in Ashy's eyes.
Just from calling her name, she looked deeply moved.
Like a child she'd painfully given birth to finally calling her "Mom"—
'...What's wrong with her?'
This was crazy in a whole different way from the novel.
Gave me chills.
We'd known each other less than an hour.
No long-lost family reunion warranted eyes like that.
"Haa, haa, haa...!"
With a single moan, Ashy panted as she approached me.
She craned her neck forward, lips pursed hesitantly.
She grabbed my head so I couldn't pull away.
"What are you—"
We were close enough to feel each other's breath.
I couldn't avoid her gaze.
"Puppy. I was so lonely all by myself."
"Why are you—mmph...!"
Ashy cupped my cheeks with both hands and pressed her lips to mine.
Our awkward collision let a sweet breath slip into my mouth from her soft lips.
Too stunned and absurd for words, I stared at her wide-eyed.
I couldn't even think to push her away.
'...'
Tears streamed from Ashy's tightly shut eyes.
I couldn't understand her feelings, but I just couldn't...
Smack, smooch—.
Suppressing the urge to hold her gently, I placed my hands on my thighs to steady myself.
I couldn't risk messing up and angering her.
All I could do was purse my lips and wait out the clumsy kiss.
"Hngh, haa..."
Ashy slowly pulled her lips away.
As her head drew back, I closed my eyes.
Pretending I hadn't seen a thing.
"Puppy, you suck at kissing."
Ashy peeked her eyes open and gazed at me steadily.
Her sky-blue eyes were hazy and unfocused.
She licked her lips, savoring the lingering taste.
I sucked at kissing.
The reason was simple.
I wiped my lips and answered.
"...It was my first time."
"Mm... Your first, huh..."
Ashy leaned back slightly, touching her own lips.
"The diary didn't mention your first kiss."
"Diary?"
"...Something like that."
Ashy furrowed her brow as if recalling something, then squatted down.
Naturally, it put me in a position looking down at her.
"Your first was with Gertong, then."
"...Gertong?"
"Puppy, your first kiss partner."
"...?"
I had no idea who Gertong was.
Judging by the name, he sounded like someone from this world...
But not a name I remembered.
Likely some extra who veered off the main path of protagonist Luke's journey in the original novel.
And that guy was my first kiss?
It was ridiculous that Ashy spoke as if she knew about some partner I didn't even recognize.
'What?'
I couldn't make sense of what Ashy was saying.
I'd heard the words clear as day, but they felt full of holes.
There was something she knew that I didn't...
Thinking back, things had been off since we met.
Starting with her boldly striding into the auction house,
brusquely shutting down the female auctioneer and draping her jacket over me to cover up,
like a hero swooping in to rescue a princess—
'...She definitely came looking for me, right?'
Call it self-importance if you want.
The situation pointed that way—no other explanation fit.
Ashy had wrecked the auction house.
She'd acted like she knew I was there.
That sparked a question.
How could she know that?
I hadn't even known where I was headed.
Ashy didn't have that kind of power.
Prophecy or foresight belonged solely to saints and saintesses.
Even they struggled with the heavy toll on the body.
I'd dropped into this world just recently.
Less than a week ago.
The odds of Ashy, fresh out of the Academy, having intel on me were zero.
The only variable where she alone knew me, knew our connection.
A way to know about me without prophecy or foresight...
'...Regression?'
If I'd possessed a reader into the novel, why couldn't Ashy regress inside it?
Given her position, it wasn't impossible.
Hero Ashy was the one who survived to the final battle alongside protagonist Luke.
Unique among the heroes, excluding Luke's heroines.
Daughter of an angel, greatest talent in history—those traits propelled her to the top.
Luke landed the finishing blow thanks to protagonist protection, but...
The one who got him there was Ashy Greyfield, the hero panting and drooling in front of me right now.
'I don't know what happened after the epilogue.'
As a reader, I'd never know what Ashy got up to...
'I need evidence...'
My hypothesis needed backing.
Luckily, the most solid proof was right here.
Ashy Greyfield, the source of all this.
Showing up for someone she shouldn't even know, stripping my pants, shoving her tongue in my mouth.
This shameless woman.
Whether she'd seen the future or regressed, I'd just ask her.
How she knew my location, my name and nickname, why she harbored these feelings in secret.
"...Ashy."
"..."
Ashy gazed at me steadily.
Surprised I'd called her first, she waited for my words.
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn't normal affection.
So blatant even a dense protagonist would notice, though a bit twisted.
Definitely not the "crazy bitch" hero from the original who got screwed over.
She was different.
I spat out the question lingering in my mouth.
"Regression. Don't tell me... you regressed?"
"...Oh."
Bingo.
In that instant, Ashy beamed innocently.
Her curving eyes gave me certainty.
'No way...'
She'd regressed.
Chills ran down my spine at the realization.
Unbelievable, but I tried to process it.
Not impossible.
If a reader from outside could possess a body, what was so special about a character regressing within the story?
Just shocking that it was Ashy.
Luke was the protagonist—wouldn't it make sense for him to regress?
"Figured it out already? You're always so quick on the uptake."
"You really... regressed...?"
"Yeah. Came back from the future to the past."
Since I'd called it out, Ashy's face lit up noticeably.
She didn't even try to hide it—just laid out the truth.
"So you came straight from Academy graduation to find me...?"
"Yeah, we were comrades."
"...And that's why I ended up like this...?"
"...That's what our relationship was."
Ashy hesitated a moment before answering.
The lie was obvious.
Her confident tone almost fooled me.
"Why exactly?"
"...To meet you."
"..."
Ashy lowered her head with troubled eyes.
Seeing her wilted like that, it seemed I...
This was a depressing tale.
Round one was round one—nothing to do with me now.
"Thanks for saving me."
"Hngh. Good thing you know to be grateful."
My mind raced.
The events at the auction house flashed by.
A question popped up.
"You said Gertong was my first kiss partner?"
"...Kuh... Yeah, that's right."
If Ashy hadn't regressed and the auction went on,
without her saving me, I'd have been sold off to that piglet number 16, no question.
For a whopping 300 million sol.
'That guy was Gertong?'
No one else fit.
Circumstantially, my fate was sealed: sold to a shit gay, ass torn to shreds.
And horrific things along the way...
"Pfft, kek, realized the truth?"
Ashy giggled.
She slyly nudged my thigh aside and slipped between my legs.
Her teasing voice and suggestive touch made my cock stiffen.
Blood rushed in.
Something felt off.
Close enough to do lewd stuff like this?
Me and Ashy?
"...Were we the kind of pair that did stuff like this?"
"To be precise—"
Clink, clink.
Suddenly, a strange sound came from Ashy's hand.
A peculiar silver cage and ring linked together—
Perfect size for a flaccid male cock.
'Looks just right to lock over a dick.'
This felt ominous.
If there was such a thing as gut instinct, this was it.
A dizzying chill shot up my spine.
"Puppy."
"Kuh...?!"
Ashy gripped my cock tight.
Half-erect and still softish, she kneaded it roughly.
Ecstasy danced in her eyes.
Pure as a kid with a new toy.
I was fucked.
"Your dick is mine. Your body, your heart—everything. That's how it was in your past life."
"...What...?"
"...Kang Ajin, you were my slave. Got it?"
"Wait. Hold on a sec."
I had a rough idea what she was planning.
If I didn't stop her now, I'd end up in something insane.
"From now on, when you want to beg me for something, call me 'Master.'"
"..."
Not a normal relationship, then?
Could people really use "Master" between them?
By the time I realized something was seriously wrong, it was too late.
The moment she fitted the male chastity device,
I wouldn't even control my own erections anymore...
Castrating my manhood...
"N-no...!"
"Be good. Don't move."
"You're putting a chastity cage on me—how am I supposed to stay still?!"
"Wow, getting all formal without even begging? That hurts my feelings."
The words "crazy bitch" rose to my throat.
Ready to spit them out any second.
But they didn't escape.
"Ugh, ack..."
"Puppy."
Ashy grabbed my cock and balls, forcing the ring on.
With brute strength, she stuffed my manhood in.
I shoved at her shoulder.
No matter how I thought about it, this was wrong.
Dodged the shit gay, now a fucking psycho bitch?
Absurd.
The instant I resolved to bolt.
My body flipped.
In the blink of an eye, I was flat on the bed.
I saw Ashy's back.
She'd pinned me down with her ass.
And clamped hard on my balls.
"Puppy, you wanna die for real?"
"Aaaah, aaah...!"
"Doesn't even hurt. Fuck, stop whining."
Unfamiliar sensation.
Not painful, but my legs went weak, spine tingling coldly.
"Be still. You won't escape no matter how you thrash."
"...A guy in a chastity cage... That's not a thing..."
"It's right here, where else?"
Ashy's hand worked my cock.
She fitted my limp dick into the silver cage and locked it.
Just the padlock left, and my cock was done for.
I shoved at Ashy.
Felt her lower body's heavy weight pressing down as I pushed at that big ass.
Not a budge.
Scared I'd get hit, couldn't kick my legs.
Nothing I could do.
Nothing but resign and accept...
"Kang Ajin, dick, bye-bye."
Click.
Ashy cackled as she snapped the tiny padlock shut.
The cold, hard metal enveloped my cock.