Rise of the Eromancer

ERO 68

"Hm…"

The sound of something hollow dropped to the floor. Whether the sound was Rhys dropping his bag, or him dropping to his bed, no one will really ever know.

Once again, he found himself alone in an empty room with nothing but a bed and just four walls and a roof.

The only upgrade of this from his room in the dormitory of his high school was that it had a kitchen of its own — a small single-room apartment given to him by the government, once again. This time, however, as payment for his services to the country.

He could have gotten a bigger one due to his rank, but he wanted to be in Old York City—no, he needed to be in this city.

"Ugh…" Rhys let out a groan that filled the entire apartment, before grabbing something from the chest pocket of his military uniform. The list of requirements to register as an Explorer for a 'Special Case'. The special case being a Lowborn.

The military service was already crossed out, but there was still one that seemed to be staring back at Rhys.

[Official Recommendation from Any Explorer Academy.]

As the receptionist told him, he needed to spend a week taking classes from an Explorer Academy, only then could he get an Official Recommendation — the worst part is that it wasn't guaranteed, no… the passing rate for a Lowborn is 1.6%.

"Do I really have to go through this again…?" Rhys grumbled to himself as he finally got up from the bed. And with a small but very deep sigh, he retrieved his laptop from his duffle bag; another freebie from the government… or perhaps it was from Ayesha, Rhys didn't really ask.

But as Rhys was about to open his laptop and apply for the nearest Academy, someone suddenly knocked on his door.

"..." Rhys once again rummaged through his things in the bag and grabbed his scalpel, before quickly running to the door and looking through the peephole. And as soon as he saw who it was, he quickly hid the scalpel in his belt and opened the door.

"Dr. Kata—" And before he could even let out a word, Katarina suddenly barged inside the room and immediately gave him a hug.

"Rhys…" Katarina whispered. And if it wasn't for her breasts, the tears that were falling from her face would have surely damped Rhys's chest, "...Why… why didn't you call when you returned?"

"I was about to—"

"What…!?"

And once again, before Rhys could finish his words, Katarina suddenly pushed him away; her eyes, staring at Rhys's right arm… or at least it was supposed to be there.

"What…" Katarina's breaths started to stutter; her trembling hand, very slowly reaching toward Rhys's right sleeve… only for it to just sway as she grabbed it, "Where…?"

"T—"

Katarina quickly started unbuttoning Rhys's uniform, swiftly removing it as her eyes focused on Rhys's missing arm. And now, with just a white shirt, the disproportion of his body was made more obvious.

"I…" Katarina's lips shivered as her eyes looked back and forth between Rhys's face and his missing arm, "I'm…

…I'm sorry."

"Dr. Katarina, no…" And as Katarina began sobbing as she grabbed his shirt, Rhys could really only just embrace him with his remaining arm.

"This… it's my fault," Katarina started crying even stronger as she felt only a single arm hugging her, "I… I could have stopped you from joining… I knew, I knew something like this would happen and…"

"It's fine, Dr. Katarina," Rhys placed his hand on top of Katarina's head, before resting his face on it, "I knew what I signed up for, it's not your fault."

"It is… it is…"

It took perhaps an entire hour for Katarina to calm down. And with her crying voice and her desires almost unified to the point it was almost deafening Rhys, Rhys really only just… listened and waited.

"Did… you accomplish what you set out there to do?" — was Katarina's first question as she wiped the last tear trailing from her cheek.

"I did," Rhys nodded, "And I learned more than I could have ever expected, maybe even everything I need to move forward."

"I… could see that," Katarina looked at Rhys. His face was still covered by his hair, but it was obvious to her that any doubt he ever had on them was no longer anywhere to be seen, "And you grew taller too. You're like a basketball player now."

"Hm," a small hint of a chuckle escaped Rhys's lips, "...Can I ask how you found me?"

"I… have a friend—you don't need to know," Katarina waved her hand as she started walking around Rhys's small apartment, "Anyway, since you're going to be living here from now on, you would need some things. I think the apartment next door is free, I could buy it so you can connect the two and make your house actually liveable."

"That's… not necessary," Rhys could really only sigh as he watched as Katarina already started planning, "I have only been back for a day and you're already taking care of me, Dr. Katarina."

"Well, I'm… kinda your guardian, no?" Katarina let out a small giggle, causing her humongous breasts to jiggle, "And I won't stop taking care of you until you stop calling me your doctor. You baby."

"...Will you really stop taking care of me if I don't call you doctor anymore?" Rhys looked Katarina in the eyes. And without even any hesitation, Katarina shook her head.

"No," Katarina smiled, "You will always be my patient, Rhys Wilder."

"...Thank you."

"Now, I can buy the—"

"There's no need for that."

And before Katarina could offer to buy the other apartment again… Lina suddenly emerged from the window of the apartment.

"The fuck…?" Katarina's voice quickly lost all of its gentleness as she watched as Lina casually stepped inside.

"I already bought the apartment next door," Lina waved her hand at Rhys, "We'll be neighbors from now on, Rhys."

"You…

…you did what!?"