Chapter 81

“Oh… Shall we go over there?”

“Where? Where?”

“Neigh!”

She pointed at the ‘pet cafe’. It was a place where people with companion animals stayed at the festival. It was the perfect place to entrust two beasts who wanted to play. When she ran with the two of them and opened the door to the cafe, all kinds of animals, including dogs and cats, raccoons, sparrows, and even crocodiles, were playing around.

‘Sevis… Is Sevis fine too?’

Turning her head around, Sylvia read the phrase ‘shapeshifter companions allowed’ from the instructions written on one side of the counter and felt relieved. Sevis and Limbo, who had excitedly followed her, looked around the inside of the cafe and then looked at her with questioning eyes.

“What are we playing here?”

“Neigh?”

After trying to ignore their gazes, she went to the counter and ordered one Americano and two sweet drinks, then sat down at the table. She turned her eyes to the side and waved to Sevis and Limbo. She felt guilty for trying to dump them here and leaving, so her eyes closed naturally.

“Go over there and play for a while. It looks more fun than expected.”

“I don’t want to…”

“Neigh…”

After looking back at the table where Sylvia was sitting a few times with a taciturn expression on their faces, the two reluctantly entered the space where the animals were playing. That was momentary. The two beasts, who entered a space apart from the table seats separated by barbed wire, hesitated for a moment, but soon began to jump around and play with excitement.

There were fun toys in the cafe that they had never experienced in the shabby cottage without curtains, such as nosework toys, bark sticks, and soft balls.

Along with that, the training of the skillful cafe part-timer, who was throwing toys here and there, was enough to keep them distracted. Unfortunately, perhaps the part-timer was working overtime without receiving any extra pay, because his face was pale, and he looked pitiful.

Sylvia, who had been watching them for a moment while slurping her Americano with a straw, quietly got up from her chair when she saw that the two were completely enchanted with the part-timer’s training. Then, she hid as much as she could and walked to the entrance of the cafe.

Before she left, she didn’t forget to take 100 gold from the emergency fund in the Secret Apple Box she won and hand it to the cafe owner. Fearing that the two beasts with sensitive ears would hear her voice even while they were distracted, she closed her mouth, quietly wrote a note, and handed it to the owner.

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[Please keep them distracted for about an hour]

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Seeing the note, the boss smiled secretly and gave her an OK sign. Sylvia nodded, then opened the door and left the café. Her hands were filled with sweat, and she could feel how nervous she was during that short moment.

“Phew, I can use the Free Hug Ticket now.”

Sylvia stood in a shaded corner of the beach and opened her inventory. It was to take out the Free Hug Ticket. When she shouted inwardly, ‘Use,’ a perfectly sized picket sign with the words ‘free hugs’ written on it appeared in her hand.

‘I just need to hold the sign, right?’

She confidently raised the hand holding the picket sign.

Were the handsome men going to hug her now?

‘Come on, handsome men!’

Her heart throbbed for a moment, but nothing happened. 5 minutes, 10 minutes… After looking around the area where not even one ant came close even after some time passed, she tilted her head and looked at the item’s description again.

‘Ugh… I’m getting angry.’

When I looked closely, the description in the Free Hug Ticket only said that hugging ten people would increase her level by one, and there was no additional explanation saying that handsome men would come first on their own to hug her.

‘What bullsh*t… Do I have to go around and do self-service? I thought the handsome men would come on their own and hug me… Ah…’

It was a one-time-use event item that might disappear immediately, so even if she was disappointed for a moment, she had no choice but to smile awkwardly and carry the picket around.

Somewhat embarrassed, she said, ‘I will give you a free hug,’ in a voice as tiny as an ant’s tears, but the handsome men only glanced at her once and turned their heads with cold expressions. She looked at them favorably because they were handsome, but they were extremely rude. It was a moment when she recalled the words of her ancestors; beautiful things have thorns.

‘Did the system give me this thing to mess with me? This is total humiliation…’

Tired of being humiliated in the sunlight, Sylvia dodged under the shade of a tree. As she was fanning herself, she looked down at her body. She was wearing the one-piece swimsuit with the flashy metaphysical pattern that Sevis had bought her, so her outfit was killing her vibe even more.

‘I can’t believe the shop owner said it was trendy. Sevis must have been scammed. Everyone but me is dressed in style…’

She sighed. One’s face is what completes a look, but it didn’t work because she was the only one wearing a lame swimsuit in a situation where the average looks were extremely high.

‘But that doesn’t mean I can just throw away the item. It’s annoying…’

Sylvia had no choice but to walk around holding the picket again. It was now after lunch, and the sun was in the center of the sky. Her expression, irritated by the suffocatingly hot weather and the fact that things weren’t going her way, became increasingly displeased. As Sylvia muttered a small curse, even ordinary tourists who passed by were slowly avoiding her now.

“I’ll give… I’ll give you a free hug…”

‘Wait?’

Sylvia, who kept suffering humiliation with a red face, suddenly had a good idea. Come to think of it, isn’t Seriously Talking Nonsense the most useful one among all her skills?

‘That’s right! I have that! But if I use that skill, I will get a status abnormality…’

Recalling the side effects of the skill, Sylvia, who had a bright expression, soon drooped her shoulders. Was there any other way?

Then, as she was trying her best to think of something, the tourists’ conversations reached her ears.

“Hey, did you see the pamphlet? They said a wrestling contest will be held later at the entrance of the beach.”

“Are you talking about the Mud Wrestling Contest? I heard that it was a tournament. Ahah, sounds like fun. Shall I sign up to participate?”

“Come on, Arthur. You’re going to lose right away without winning a single match.”

‘That’s it!’

The corners of Sylvia’s mouth raised slightly as she overheard the conversation of the tourists.

A wrestling contest! Exactly, if it was a wrestling contest, the handsome men would have no choice but to hug her.

After buying a rope from a stall and hurriedly tying the picket to her waist, she hurried to the entrance of the beach. When she arrived, they were still accepting applications for participation, so she quickly filled out the application form. When she handed out the paper she had filled out to the official, he tilted his head.

“It looks like your weight class is too small, will you be able to compete properly? It’s a festive event for fun without distinction between men and women, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to hold out among strong people.”

“It’s okay.”

“Please fill out the consent form for precaution. It will be a headache if you charge us a hospital fee for being turned upside down and being injured internally.”

Being injured internally? She was fine after doing 80 laps of headspin. There was no way that was going to happen. Sylvia filled out the consent form without hesitation, bought juice at the stall, drank it, and waited with a pounding heart. She was one of the last participants, so she decided to watch it from the audience first.

After a while, there were firecrackers and a fanfare, and the voice of the host sounded loudly, announcing that the mud wrestling contest was about to begin.

“Now, let the wrestling contest begin! Enter the first players!”

“Pff!”

Sylvia, who was sitting in the audience slurping the juice, spat it out as soon as she saw the participants entering the mud pool.

They all boasted of their great bodies. As she lowered her gazer from the broad shoulders and firm forearms that she wanted to hang on to, and saw the thick chest and beautiful abs that were properly divided like rice paddies, her mind became confused. Maybe they were tanned properly, but their healthy-looking coppery skin made them look even more deliciou—even more stylish.

She could not even think of wiping the juice that flowed down her chin. She held the half-drank juice and stared blankly at their appearance.

‘This is killing me. I’m glad I signed up.’

She thought about targeting one of those players for an instant, but then shook her head. She didn’t even finish targeting the main characters, it seemed unreasonable to widen her route recklessly.

‘It’s been more than a month since I started the game, and I was only able to target Mr. Noel. I’ll end up in hell if I waste time, so I’ll have to be satisfied with just a hug.’

Bam—

When the bell rang to announce the start, the participants greeted each other politely and soon wrestled fiercely as they tried to overturn each other.

Wrestlers who showed a passionate and lewd play without hesitation, with mud all over their bodies…

Twitching pectoral muscles and thigh muscles that seemed about to burst. The sweat trickling down between the clearly defined muscle lines caught her attention as she concentrated. It was also touching to see how passionate they were, holding each other’s bodies tightly so as not to lose.

Watching the match, Sylvia inhaled heavily, feeling like she was going to start hyperventilating.

A beautiful battle scene that would never happen again. Her heart beat wildly at the paradoxical sight, that was so shameless yet so right at the same time.

“Hng…”

“Ugh…”

They let out rough groans occasionally, as it seemed difficult to hold out. Looking at them, even though they were the ones fighting, Sylvia’s body seemed to be getting hotter than the players’. She turned her head to see if anyone else was feeling the same, and the crowd was staring at the mud pool with bewildered expressions.

‘Good… Good… Everyone should watch these desirable matches. I can’t believe they’re showing this good thing for free, without even charging an entrance fee. Because of that, the tourists are crowding the place.’

Before she knew it, the end of the wrestling approached. The battle between the two men was decided by a narrow margin.

“The winner is…!”

The middle-aged judge raised the winner’s arm and shouted. At the same time, Sylvia thought. This… this is a wrong decision!

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