“Phew…”
Back home, Iris flopped onto her bed without even changing clothes.
She had talked big in front of Teresa, but the thought of having to handle her next mission alone weighed heavily on her.
Doing missions and training all at once had also left her physically exhausted.
“Ah… No, I can’t!”
On the verge of falling asleep, she wiped the drool from her lips and quickly sat up.
She was on her own now and had to become a fierce, hardened hero.
‘There’s no one left to help me if I mess up now. I’m basically just a lone grunt. If I’m going to step onto the battlefield, I need to be fully prepared if I don’t want to die a pointless death.’
She got off the bed, changed into pajamas, and washed up thoroughly.
The warm water soothed her tired body.
Skipping the hair dryer, she dried her hair with a towel, then spread her legs wide and activated a skill.
In an instant, a grotesque object resembling a pelican’s beak appeared in front of her groin—a chain pouch.
The moment her patience snapped, she cursed out loud.
“Phew, fuck… No, let’s not curse. If I say harsh words, my luck might run away too. First, let’s put today’s potions and keys into the pouch…”
Rubbing the frown from between her brows, Iris took out the potions and first-aid supplies from her bag and placed them in the pouch.
Then, remembering something, she rummaged through the cupboard for food that could be stored at room temperature.
She planned to store emergency rations in the chain pouch.
As if it could read her thoughts, the pouch didn’t retract while she was moving around storing things.
The entire process happened while the grotesque pelican beak dangled in front of her crotch.
‘Ugh, it’s fine. I’m alone right now…
Phew, walking around while putting stuff in makes this feel oddly heavy.’
She patted her thigh and continued tossing food into the pouch until she paused.
Suddenly, an intrusive thought hit her: wasn’t she technically storing food between her legs?
‘Can I even call that an intrusive thought? It feels like the kind of common sense anyone would have… Well, I can’t help it. Am I supposed to waste a skill this useful? It stores things in a different dimension. I’ll regret it later if I don’t keep food in here for emergencies.’
Talking herself through it, Iris continued stocking food into the pouch.
Despite packing quite a lot, it didn’t get heavier—thankfully.
But if it had gotten heavier?
If it felt heavy between her legs… she didn’t even want to imagine it.
[You have stored many items. Using the skill frequently increases proficiency. LV.1 → LV.2. You can now store more items.]
‘Oh, the skill leveled up. So storing things and using it often raises the level? That must mean there’s a storage capacity. Good to know. Let’s test it out.’
Curious about the limit, Iris went to the balcony and brought in a box of tangerines.
She poured them into the pouch, and after a while, a message appeared:
[Storage is full. Cannot add more items.]
‘So this is the limit. Impressive.’
Iris tapped the pouch and murmured, Go in.
The pouch shrank and slipped between her legs.
She bounced lightly on the spot—no heaviness at all.
Feeling satisfied, she summoned the pouch again and asked it to return the tangerines.
Then she was horrified.
“What the hell? Unbelievable.”
The pouch spat the tangerines out like a pitching machine.
Couldn’t it spit them out in a more normal way?
Sighing, she picked them up, set a few on the table to eat, and put the rest back into the box.
Then, tapping her lips thoughtfully, she placed one tangerine back into the pouch.
‘I wonder if fresh food goes bad in here, or if it stays preserved. I’ll find out in a few days. If the freshness is maintained, I can store more types of food. That would be amazing!’
Hoping the tangerine wouldn’t rot, Iris quickly adapted to the idea of storing food between her legs and prayed the pouch had a refrigeration function.
With the storage skill tested, it was time to check her newly acquired skills in the status window.
***
LV.7 Chastity Belt Girl
[Skills]
Alarm LV.14
Running LV.13
Whip Swing LV.5
Claw Attack LV.5
Shield LV.2
Pocket In! LV.2
Fur Scatter LV.1
Light-Speed Spring LV.1
Show Me Your Back LV.6
[Special Skills]
Bash the Skull
Insight
[Status]
Joy/Excitement/Fatigue
‘So rich in skills now. This chastity belt guy’s practically a skill tycoon. Selfish bastard. Doesn’t even think of sharing with his friend…’
The two new skills were deemed appropriate for the chastity belt, so she didn’t bother trying to transfer them to the bracelet.
After closing the status window and doing some light cleaning, Iris suddenly looked up.
‘Wait, the whip and claw skills are both level 5 now.
That means I might be able to transfer them to the bracelet, right?’
Filled with hope, she summoned the whip.
Transfer to bracelet.
[Incompatible. Cannot be acquired.]
‘Sob… Fine. Then how about the claw…?’
The whip instantly transformed into a giant, grotesque claw.
As the skill leveled up, the claws got bigger and more monstrous.
If she could just get rid of this one, her groin would feel a lot lighter.
She looked at it anxiously and tried again.
Transfer to bracelet.
[Incompatible. Cannot be acquired.]
“Bastards…”
She didn’t even know who she was cursing at—it just came out.
Slapping the claw with her hand, she forced it to retract and collapsed on the bed.
Her pillow grew damp with a tear the size of an ant’s eyelash.
***
The next day, Iris headed to the indoor film set where Laika was shooting a movie.
It was her first day working as Laika’s road manager, and she’d been told to arrive early.
Wearing a gray hoodie and a matching flared skirt, she briefly introduced herself upon arrival and was quickly swept up in odd jobs.
Before Laika arrived, she cleaned the waiting room and prepped everything to avoid any filming inconvenience.
She even set out drinks.
Soon, the hallway grew noisy, and Laika entered the waiting room.
Unlike before, he wore loose training clothes, which gave off a very different vibe from his suit.
Back then, he’d seemed intimidating.
Now, with unstyled hair and casual clothes, he looked much younger and more approachable.
‘So ridiculously handsome…’
Iris straightened up when she heard him come in.
He glanced at her but said nothing, just crossed his legs on the couch.
Before she could greet him, he extended a hand.
“La—”
“Coffee.”
“Huh?”
“Give me coffee.”
Iris stood stunned by his rudeness.
Laika looked up, annoyed, and scanned her with a look of pity.
“Iris, do you not understand words? I said, give me coffee.”
“Ah, yes!”
She nodded slightly and handed him the coffee.
Without a word of thanks, he started sipping it through a straw.
Iris, hiding her annoyance, subtly punched the air in Laika’s direction.
When he looked up, she quickly waved her arms like she was stretching.
“Aigo, my back’s killing me…”
“Getting old already? Not just your eyes, but your body’s dumb too, huh.”
“Haha…”
Iris forced a sheepish smile, holding back her rage.
Laika frowned and resumed sipping his Americano with an air of arrogance.
That pretty face was almost enough to hypnotize her, but his nasty personality did a great job reminding her that he was a villain.
‘He was all polite last time. Was that just for show, because of other people watching? I guess this is the real him.’
As Iris secretly glared, Laika calmly read the script while sipping his coffee.
At that moment, a knock broke the awkward silence, and a man with a staff badge peeked his head through the door.