I Only Summon Villainesses

I sat in the bathtub, warm water consoling skin that had endured three months and almost two weeks of hell.

I stared at the white ceiling and let my body sink deeper into the warmth.

God, how I loved warm baths.

Other thoughts surfaced now that I was no longer running for my life. The quiet gave them room to breathe.

’I wonder how they’re doing now…’

I had not thought about them once. Could not afford to in my position. Survival demanded a singular focus, and anything beyond the next threat was a luxury I could not spare. But now that I was free, my mind wandered there on its own.

How was Elena doing? Emma? The rest of my classmates. I could not help but wonder if they were still at the Academy or if they had gone their separate ways. Perhaps they had been going to gates and conquering Spirit Beasts, gaining experience, growing stronger.

’I need to do that too.’

I leaned up slightly, water sloshing against the tub’s sides.

Now that I was safe, I needed to fight more Spirit Beasts. Properly this time, from the lowest tier, learning the correct way to deal with each one. It would not be easy, especially considering what I now knew: each Spirit Beast progressed through levels one to nine before evolving to their next tier. The ladder was longer than I had imagined.

I clenched my fist beneath the water.

’Not like I have a choice anyway.’

I chuckled and leaned back, letting the tension drain from my shoulders.

“Right now, I just need a bath.”

I stayed a few more minutes, savoring the warmth, before finally pulling myself from the water. Droplets trickled down my body as I stepped onto the cool tile and stood before the mirror, grabbing a towel.

By chance, I caught a glimpse of myself in the steamy glass.

’Boy, aren’t you hot.’

I had to say it because, honestly, my body… back on Earth, I could only dream of looking like this. I had tried gyms a couple of times and never made it past one day. Life enjoyed screwing with me, and that one day was usually leg day.

But here I was. My training with Kassie and the chaotic workout routine I had forced on myself, often interrupted by sex, was actually working. My chest had broadened. My abs were defined. The ridges along my sides were emerging like they had something to prove.

I looked lower.

The little guy between my legs was not bad either. I was a grower, even from before this world. I knew the glory of my cock existed primarily in its erection.

I turned, craning my neck to glimpse my back in the steamy mirror. The contours forming there were impressive.

I nodded slowly.

“This is really good.”

Then I toweled off, pulled on shorts, and came out of the bathroom. Maggie was still on the sofa where I had left her. I looked at her for a moment, hesitating.

“Would you be willing to… ugh, nevermind.”

I stopped as soon as I saw the glare she turned on me.

“Shouldn’t you check on your red princess?”

’What is it with the nicknames?’

I walked past her and through the partition to the bedroom. There I changed into a set of clean black trousers, a soft grey linen shirt, and a jacket that Tristan had brought a few minutes ago, which had prompted me to take my bath in the first place.

I adjusted the collars of both the shirt and the black jacket, then cinched the belt that came with them at my waist. Not too tight. Comfortable enough to move. I returned to where Maggie sat, her gaze fixed on the window.

“I’m not sure how to contact her. I don’t want to recall her. I fear she might be busy.”

She turned and looked at me like I was a pile of something unpleasant she had discovered on her shoe.

“What?” I frowned.

“You are a Summoner. You don’t know about Link?”

My frown deepened. “What is Link? Nothing of the sort was ever taught to us in the Academy.”

Maggie scoffed. “You’ve run out of excuses, Summoner. You have long left the Academy and should be held accountable for what you lack to know.”

I looked down for a moment, feeling the weight of that. Then I raised my head and met her gaze.

“Then teach me. Tell me what I need to know.”

Silence stretched between us. She continued to stare at me, her expression flat. I stared back with all the determination I could muster.

“You really are prideless and shameless, aren’t you?”

I smiled. “Quite the contrary, actually.”

I gestured as I continued. “I’m a man of many values. So I am actually prideful. And I am shameless, because that is what it takes to uphold my values.”

Maggie looked at me like I was something defective. The expression on her face urged me to continue.

“What? Just because my values are different from what the world holds dear doesn’t mean you should look at me like that. These things are important to me too.” My voice hardened. “You really think I make jokes about breasts and asses because I don’t have better things to do?”

My tone had turned completely serious now.

“These are the things. These are the important things to someone like me. The better things to do. I will kill for this. What is so difficult to understand? It’s not even like I blur the lines of morality in upholding my values.”

Her gaze suddenly intensified.

“And why don’t you?”

The question stopped me cold.

“What do you mean, why don’t I?”

She shrugged. “You understand that pride is pointless before what you don’t consider valuable. You understand that shame is needless before what is important to you. Why, all of a sudden, do you accept the lens of morality? You seem to be a man who operates on independent values. You don’t acknowledge the ways of the world, so why does morality matter to you?”

Her gaze hardened further, her cold eyes pinning me in place.

“Or do you forget that morality is a way of the world? Another value the world holds dear.” Her voice dropped. “Why does it matter to you?”

For the first time in many years, no words bubbled in my throat. No sarcastic response. No joke. No usual sexual deflection to sidestep the uncomfortable moment. All of it fled from me.

An unpleasant frown climbed my face.

It felt like Pyre Saint had just poked something I had buried deep.