The fragrant scent of Iris still seemed to linger on his face.
As he tried to pull his face away, he ended up burying it even deeper in her chest, which was truly a crisis.
With his head lowered, he put his hand into Hudeuti’s pocket and pulled down tightly.
Then, trying to look as natural as possible, he adjusted his pants.
Luckily, he was wearing jeans—if he had been wearing sweatpants, the outline of his erect member might have been visible through the loose fabric.
“Haa…”
“Johannes, I just… this is… um…”
Iris misunderstood the sigh Johannes let out and fumbled to explain, but then shut her mouth.
What excuse could she possibly give?
Skill user, ability holder, top target for cult recruitment… all words too difficult to say out loud.
At that moment, as Johannes lifted his head, his gaze stopped on Iris’s chest, and a second crisis hit him.
Feeling how large and soft Iris’s chest was as his face pressed against it, her body hidden beneath loose clothing began to look seductive, and his mind filled with lewd thoughts.
Jeans are firmer than sweatpants, but they’re not invincible.
Could a mere piece of cloth withstand the commotion happening underneath?
If it got any harder, Iris might notice his condition.
Or he might ejaculate standing up, causing a terrible wet spot in front.
Worst case, Iris might smell the strange night-flower scent.
Johannes’s face turned pale as he pictured these ominous scenarios.
Looking down at the floor, he suddenly thrust a bag of snacks toward Iris.
Caught off guard, Iris reached out and took the bag.
“Th-this…”
“Why this?”
“I… I have to go. There’s something I need to do…”
“Suddenly? Wait, Johanne—ah!”
Johannes hurried to leave but slammed his shoulder hard into Iris’s.
He hesitated, spun around on the spot, then darted through the crowd like an arrow.
Holding her shoulder and groaning, Iris watched him leave with a sigh of emptiness.
He had appeared like the wind and disappeared like the wind.
She idly rummaged through the snack bag and sighed again heavily.
‘He must be… hard, right? It’s only natural for a guy. I should’ve just reassured him.’
Since his face was buried in her chest and he rubbed against her so much, Johannes’s body definitely had some trouble.
If there hadn’t been any changes since graduation, Iris knew Johannes had always been a lifelong solo.
She’d never seen him with a girl throughout their school years.
And judging by how awkward he looked like a broken robot in front of her, he probably had zero immunity to girls—a pure virgin for sure.
‘Maybe I shocked the innocent guy too much… How will I face him next time we meet…’
For some reason, she felt this wouldn’t be the last time they met.
Was there some fate connecting them from a past life?
They’d run into each other a few times by chance already.
Plus, since he appeared at the bakery every day, he seemed like a local.
Next time, she thought she should talk to him casually so he wouldn’t feel awkward.
‘It’s strange. Other friends live in the same neighborhood, but unless we make plans, we don’t bump into each other. Yet Johannes shows up so often. Is it really fate?’
If it is fate, she couldn’t refuse it and might as well become friends.
Though shy, what’s wrong with befriending a wealthy kid?
It might even be a good thing.
After meeting a few times, without realizing it, she even wanted to become friends with Johannes.
Compared to her gloomy and unpleasant past, this was a huge improvement.
If Johannes knew, he’d probably shed tears of joy for days, but there was no way he could know Iris’s feelings.
Turning her head toward the stage, Iris refocused on her mission.
Not with the same passionate expression as before, but with a very skeptical attitude.
After the speech ended, many of the audience moved toward the front of the stage, standing before people who looked like Enraka Church officials.
Standing on tiptoe to see, the people were filling out documents under the officials’ guidance.
I guessed these were religious membership forms.
Or maybe donation account registration forms.
‘I never thought I’d openly use my ability in a place like this. To think you can use abilities like that… well, recruiting believers must be easy for a high-level psychic skill user.’
The priest who used the skill on stage didn’t look like a hero at all.
Trying to charm innocent people, he might actually be a villain.
‘Why would the Hero app assign a mission to guard such a villain… huh? Now I see, this is a mission posted by a private security firm for ability users.’
Iris opened the Hero app and frowned when she saw the client’s name at the bottom of the mission post.
The security company hired by Enraka Church had posted the mission on the Hero app, acting like a middleman.
As Senior Teresa said, it seemed wise to choose missions on the Hero app carefully.
But since she’d accepted it, she’d finish it properly.
With a bad feeling, Iris watched the priest on stage.
The priest took a blue magic potion from his pocket and downed it in one gulp, ready to start his speech again.
‘Disgusting. He’s planning to charm as many people as possible here like harvesting crops during the harvest season… Well, I have my “Earthenware Head” skill, so I’ll be safe… wait?’
Suddenly realizing something, her head felt like it was hit.
There must be several heroes assigned to security missions here through the Hero app besides her.
Maybe the priest is using that skill continuously to attract ability users to his side?
If that’s true, it’s a really creepy situation.
The speech began again.
This time, the skill didn’t activate.
She’d noticed before that this skill randomly activated and didn’t always reveal itself just because someone else used it.
‘The religion’s name is Enraka Church… I should look into it more carefully… um, my mind feels fuzzy…’
Iris’s eyes grew cloudy like those of a stunned fish as she watched the priest’s speech.
She should have covered her eyes, but watching the priest had caused her to fall victim to the skill.
Immediately, the merciless invisible fists of the skill began pounding her head relentlessly.
A ruthless barrage of transparent punches.
Iris opened her eyes, bent her waist, then violently twisted her neck backward, experiencing the “Earthenware Head” skill’s grace.
As she suddenly started twitching and shaking like doing a dance, an audience member not affected by the skill rushed over, startled.
“Ugh… ah, are you okay? Someone here…”
“Gah, I’m fine. Really.”
Iris grabbed the arm of the concerned audience member.
Thanks to the “Earthenware Head” skill, she had broken free from the mind control skill.
Wiping the saliva from the corner of her mouth and shaking her head, Iris watched the audience member leave after giving her a serious look.
They must have thought she was strange.
Iris unwrapped a chocolate from the bag and stared wide-eyed.
‘I almost got caught by that priest’s skill just now? To be able to use that skill at this distance, he must be really powerful. I must never fall for it… wait?’
Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to pretend to fall for it?
Then she could become a believer of Enraka Church and maybe gain the skill from that powerful priest.
But…
‘He’s old and ugly. Like with Laika, you probably have to touch to get the skill… but no, that’s really not it.’
And he’s bald too.
No matter how tempting the skill, she didn’t want to deal with a bald, old, ugly priest.
It was a bit of a shame.
I wondered if internal people knew the church priests used psychic skills.
If so, there might be even more powerful ones there.
A group that charms people like this can never be righteous.
They might be one of the reasons the city of Gyodam is in danger.
‘Ugh? Again, the “Earthenware Head” skill…!’
Even though her head was still hot from the invisible punches, the skill activated again.
Iris twisted her body and scratched a random tree nearby, enduring the pain.
Couldn’t they wake her up peacefully for once?
After being pounded for a while, a long-forgotten manga plot suddenly flashed in her mind like lightning.
‘Ugh, I remember now. Enraka Church is one of the hidden masterminds. A huge religious group that has recruited many powerful figures in politics and business. There’s an ability user there who can read minds. That person…’