"Yo, yo, yo~ Didn't you say you weren't coming back?"
Fresh from the laboratory, where he'd been studying Esther's Necromancy, Samuel stepped out to find his three employees waiting.
Frenda, ever the opportunist, was dutifully kneeling on the sofa, leaning forward in a submissive pose.
Kinuhata Saiai was biting her lip, visibly wrestling with her thoughts.
Mugino Shizuri, like a proud swan, held her graceful neck high, defiantly seated to the side.
"Heh… You know, Mugino? My favorite thing is dealing with stubborn types like you who think they've got what it takes!"
The human heart—perhaps the only true unknown in this world.
Those with a thirst for knowledge, or rather, a desire for conquest, loved to probe it.
Through subtle guidance and calculated moves, they'd place someone in just the right position at just the right time.
Success satisfied their need for control. Failure sparked curiosity about why they'd miscalculated.
It was like humans drawing lines on paper to confuse an ant, guiding it to a specific spot.
But if one ant ignored the lines and walked normally, people would wonder why.
Humans assumed they understood ants' biology, believing they could control them through that knowledge—an arrogant assumption.
When reality proved otherwise, curiosity took hold.
Godlike beings shared similar thoughts, but found ants too simple, so they turned to observing humans.
Samuel, though human, shared this penchant, but his targets were typically cute girls.
Through tailored approaches at the right moments, he'd win their hearts, each requiring a unique method.
The quintessential playboy tactic.
For him, it was a way to find fleeting amusement amid endless research and calculations.
Take Frenda—a classic opportunist. She was the hardest to win over. Her type rarely fell for anyone. While her body could be easily swayed with incentives, her heart was nearly impossible to capture.
Mugino, on the other hand, was the easiest. Her raw emotions and fierce pride made her vulnerable. Crush her arrogance at the right moment with the right method, and she'd fall effortlessly.
Now… it was time to apply pressure.
In an instant, Samuel closed the distance to Mugino, stopping at a range that suggested either a fight or a kiss.
For a fleeting moment, her defiant eyes wavered.
Kinuhata, watching, felt her hair stand on end, instinctively shrinking back.
Her gut told her Samuel was dangerous right now.
"Well! You're neither obedient nor running away… You're giving me a headache, Mugino-chan."
Samuel's hand rested on the sofa's backrest, his crimson eyes locking onto Mugino's tea-colored ones.
"Uneasy?"
His satellite-grade perception caught dozens of cellular-level changes in Mugino's expression in mere moments.
"Do whatever you want!"
Mugino kept her chin high, unyielding.
"Heh~"
Samuel scooped her up by the waist, spun, and sat on the sofa. In a swift motion, he flipped Mugino across his lap.
A breeze lifted her skirt as he yanked it up.
"Safety shorts? Ugh, so clueless! Who wears these under a skirt?"
His hand rested on her safety shorts, the soft sensation traveling through his palm.
"Jerk… I'll kill you…"
"Ohh~ So scary!"
The fabric disintegrated into atoms, reassembling nearby under Samuel's will.
"Oh my! This hobby of yours? White with little bears? Tsk, tsk, tsk… Didn't expect you to have such a cute side!"
As Samuel teased, Kinuhata and Frenda couldn't help but cast curious glances.
The humiliation of being seen in such a state by her subordinates surged through Mugino.
But Samuel wasn't done. His disintegration ability struck again.
Mugino felt the sensation on her skin intensify as a white garment fell before her eyes.
Her pale face flushed red, her eyes swirling with chaos. She struggled fiercely, desperate to break free.
"Hey, hey!"
Samuel leaned close to her ear, his voice a devilish whisper. "Stop squirming… If I lose control, you're done for!"
"Ugh~"
Clenching her teeth, Mugino's eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
She gripped the sofa's fabric, her teeth grinding as if they might shatter.
Smack~
His hand rose and came down hard.
"Ugh~"
She bit down, not from pain but from rage and humiliation.
Smack~
Smack~
"How's that?"
"I'll kill you!"
Smack~
"Not being good, are we~"
"…"
After what felt like an eternity of torment for Mugino, Samuel finally relented.
"Don't move… Stay like that until I'm done with them."
He raised an eyebrow at Kinuhata Saiai.
With Mugino's fate as a warning, Kinuhata obediently crawled next to Frenda.
For them, it wouldn't be as harsh as it was for the defiant Mugino.
Samuel didn't fully disintegrate… Well, Kinuhata's was pure white, Frenda's black.
"Pretty sturdy, huh? Bold!"
"No! No! (Super creepy~)"
Kinuhata, a devout believer in thigh-exposing fashion, often toyed with subtly revealing poses, like crossing her legs just so.
Now in Samuel's hands—or rather, caught with an excuse for some inappropriate touching—he couldn't resist running a hand over her legs.
***
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