Chapter 96. One-on-One Duel (2)
[Match over! The winner is Cadet Jung Jinhui of Class B! This concludes the Round of 16 for the first-year one-on-one duels. There will be a 30-minute break for medical checks for the cadets, so we ask all spectators to take a short break as well!]
"It's over~."
"Yeah."
Min Yeji slumped into her chair.
"I'm going to step out for a bit."
Im Sol straightened up her stiff body and tidied her clothes.
"Where you going?"
"To get some fresh air."
"You're going to see Cadet Lee Hoyeon, aren't you? Seriously, you're so intense."
"No, I'm not."
Ignoring Min Yeji's sly smile, she left the spectator seats.
'There should be a bathroom around here somewhere.'
Im Sol looked around, searching for the restroom.
After washing her hands thoroughly and coming out of the bathroom, she was about to return to her seat but stopped when she saw the building map.
Just one floor down from her current location was the waiting room for the tournament finalists.
Of course, entry was restricted to authorized personnel only, but as a professor, Im Sol could claim she was authorized.
"...Should I go see him?"
Even if they didn't have anything particular to talk about, it seemed more worthwhile than chit-chatting with Min Yeji.
They could talk about magic, or about the duel, and she could cheer him on.
"Yeah, there's plenty of break time. It's not strange to go see my student for a bit."
With no particular thoughts, Im Sol headed toward the tournament finalists' waiting room.
[Match over! The winner is Cadet Jung Jinhui of Class B! This concludes the Round of 16 for the first-year one-on-one duels. There will be a 30-minute break for medical checks for the cadets, so we ask all spectators to take a short break as well!]
I don't care who won the last match.
I didn't watch it since both of them were extras anyway.
I was lying on the couch, browsing Everydae.
"Lee Hoyeon... search."
It was pretty fun to search my name on Everydae.
"Lee Hoyeon should die? What did I ever do to make you want to kill me."
Even when I saw hate comments, my Steadfast Willpower made me immune to mental damage.
"Lee Hoyeon... so handsome. Crazy. Okay."
But compliments about me always made me feel good.
And sometimes there was useful info too.
[Now that I think of it, doesn't Lee Hoyeon have some club besides student council? What is it?]
There were no comments, but the post had over 100 views.
I'm never recruiting members for [Let's Play Club] again anyway.
Once I conquer Lucy too, I'll use that space for sex with the twins.
"I should go to the club department and ask them to remove Let's Play Club from the list entirely."
After Felix, I blocked new member applications, but the club name still shows up on the list.
If there's a club with just me, Lucy, and Lumi in it, people might get suspicious. Might as well just abolish the club.
There are plenty of unused club rooms anyway, so no one would complain about us taking one.
I searched for Moon Surin too.
She always felt like a sweet girl with pretty eyes to me, but others saw her differently.
Just one photo of Moon Surin caused a stir.
No wonder there are so many paparazzi. Tsk.
I also searched for names like Sexy Succubus, Elise, Nam Daeun, Baek A-Young, and others that came to mind.
None had the overwhelming popularity of Moon Surin, just posts complimenting their skills or how cute or pretty they were.
Sometimes there'd be posts saying they weren't even that pretty, and those always got spammed with [You must be a girl, right?] comments.
I mean, what guy wouldn't think that face is pretty?
There was even this post.
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[It's so hard to see the Saintess's face...]
Used to live for seeing Baek A-Young, the school nurse, but now she's cracking down on fake illnesses...
Should I just break my arm for real...?
[These days if you go to the nurse's office with a fake illness, it's a warning. Two warnings and you get school service duty.]
[ㄴ Isn't it worth it for two Saintess visits and one school duty?]
[ㄴ The school duty is 300 hours....]
[ㄴ ??? Are they insane?]
------------------------------------
"Mm, as expected of Surin-noona. She's really good at her job."
With jerks like that, no wonder my noona is having a hard time.
Bastards.
Knock knock knock.
Just then, I heard a knock at my waiting room door.
"Who is it?"
"Medical check."
"Huh? Isn't it A-Young?"
"...Yeah."
I could tell it was Baek A-Young just from her voice.
I got up from the couch and opened the door myself.
Baek A-Young entered the waiting room, pushing a cart with some strange equipment.
"Congrats on making the quarterfinals."
"Thank you. But, a medical check?"
"Yeah. All quarterfinalists have to do it."
"I see...."
As I sat on the couch waiting for Baek A-Young to speak, she didn't do the medical check. She just kept staring at me.
"A-Young."
"Mm?"
"You came to my room last, didn't you?"
"H-how did you know?"
"Just had a feeling."
I feel like I can predict A-Young's thoughts without checking her status screen now.
Probably thinking about locking the door already... something like that.
★ Heroine Status Screen
[Baek A-Young]
- [ Affection: 89 ] (+0.4)
- [ Lust: 80 ]
- [ Appetite: 30 ]
- [ Fatigue: 25 ]
Current Status: Should I lock the door? Maybe I can say lust is part of the medical check?
She's thinking worse things than I am.
"Any issues that might interfere with the duel? Like, any sudden discomfort..."
Please don't stare at my dick.
That's sexual harassment.
"Hold on a second."
I got up and locked the door to the waiting room.
"W-why are you locking the door all of a sudden?"
"Why do you think."
Baek A-Young was giving her all in her eye-twitch acting, but didn't realize the corners of her lips were curling up.
"A-Young. What if my lust is interfering with the duel? Will you take care of that too?"
"I-I'll try."
"Open your mouth."
"Mmm... smooch."
I pushed Baek A-Young onto the couch and kissed her. As I sucked on her tongue and slid mine into her mouth, she eagerly joined the kiss.
With one hand, I unbuttoned her blouse and slipped my hand into her cleavage.
"Haaah... chu."
"Haah... come here."
"Mmm... honey...."
I pulled away from her lips and reached under her skirt to prepare for the real thing.
fff
The heat radiated through the stockings, and I reached up her skirt to take it off.
Just then.
Knock knock knock.
"...!"
"Hngh...!"
At the sudden knock on the waiting room door, we both froze in place.
"W-who is it?"
I quickly gestured to Baek A-Young and slipped back into my cadet uniform.
Baek A-Young understood and quietly started buttoning up her blouse without making a sound.
"It's Professor Im Sol. I just dropped by to see how you were doing."
Seriously, professor? Why are you suddenly showing up at my waiting room?
You barely even contact me usually.
"Just a moment! I'm in the middle of a medical check!"
"Medical check? Got it."
Thankfully, Im Sol waited upon hearing the word "medical check."
We hurriedly fixed our appearance one last time.
This should be perfect.
After exchanging a look with Baek A-Young and nodding at each other, I opened the door.
"It's break time, and I had nothing to do, so I came to see what you were up to... were you busy?"
Im Sol stepped in while talking, but went quiet when she saw Baek A-Young's face.
"Hello, Professor. I was getting a medical check as a quarterfinalist. This is Nurse Baek A-Young. Nurse? This is Professor Im Sol."
I spoke up first to dispel the awkwardness.
"Hello, I'm Professor Im Sol."
"Ah, hello. I'm Baek A-Young, the school nurse."
Though Professor Im Sol greeted her first, the awkward air hadn't quite cleared.
Baek A-Young's face was still a bit flushed, maybe from leftover excitement.
For some reason, I felt like a husband caught cheating.
"Ahem. Professor, have a seat here. The check will be done soon."
"Alright."
Im Sol sat beside me, and only then did Baek A-Young begin the actual medical check.
Of course, there was no way something was wrong with my body.
I hadn't gotten hurt in the duel, and it hadn't been long since seeing Baek A-Young.
"You're healthy. No issues."
"Of course. I'm tough as nails."
"True. What else would you be if not healthy."
As I chatted casually with Baek A-Young, I could feel Im Sol's gaze from the side.
"You seem close with Nurse Baek A-Young?"
Im Sol asked, more out of genuine curiosity than jealousy.
Her eyes seemed to ask, 'How do you know the Saintess?'
"Ah, we met while volunteering. By the way, did you know you two are the same age? I was thinking of introducing you anyway. Since you'll be working at the academy together, wouldn't it be good to be friends?"
"Ah...."
"Haha...."
Im Sol nodded in agreement, and Baek A-Young gave an awkward laugh, already knowing thanks to me.
Ugh, why is this so awkward between them?
"Please take good care of me..."
"Yes, let's get along."
Im Sol responded to Baek A-Young's greeting, but was it a mistake to introduce them?
★ Heroine Status Screen
[Baek A-Young]
- [ Affection: 89 ] (+0.4)
- [ Lust: 80 ]
- [ Appetite: 30 ]
- [ Fatigue: 25 ]
Current Status: I was uncomfortable being around only guys, but this is a relief….
Thankfully, Baek A-Young seemed to view it positively.
What about Im Sol?
★ Heroine Status Screen
[Im Sol]
- [ Affection: 51 ]
- [ Lust: 25 ]
- [ Appetite: 30 ]
- [ Fatigue: 40 ]
Current Status: Since we're the same age at the academy, I'd like to get along….
These two... they both like each other, so what's the deal?
"Alright, how about exchanging numbers and keeping in touch later?"
I had to step in. We couldn't just sit around like this.
"And Nurse, if you're done with the medical check, you should get going. There are other cadets too."
Baek A-Young gave me a longing look like she didn't want to leave, but it couldn't be helped.
I couldn't exactly kick Im Sol out just to talk alone with the nurse.
If I were some frail, sickly girl, maybe I could fake illness, but I'm too sturdy for that.
"Alright... Professor Im Sol, could I get your number?"
Well, at least they exchanged numbers.
Whatever. I introduced them. They can take it from here.
"I'll be going now... Professor Im Sol, I'll be waiting for your call."
"Yes. I'll contact you when I have time."
Watching the two of them talk reminded me of when I used to plead for a meal with someone I'd never see again.
They both seemed interested, so I'm sure they'll see each other again.
Baek A-Young left with her cart of medical equipment.
She looked gloomy even as she left.
I turned to Professor Im Sol, who remained in the waiting room.
"Professor, what should we talk about now?"
"How about magic research?"
Im Sol crossed her legs and replied.
"...Sure. Sounds good."
Did she really come to the tournament waiting room just to talk about magic research?
Well, magic's the only thing that really matters to her.
*
The sound of crows filled the area, and the rotting trees swaying in the wind, along with moss-covered walls, gave off a desolate atmosphere.
On the outskirts of Seoul, long since devoid of human footsteps.
This was the intelligence investigation division of the Korea branch of Pandemic.
In the darkness, a voice—its gender indiscernible—echoed.
"We finally traced them this far. It's Korea."
"So you've come to the Korea branch yourself...?"
One person was completely covered in a robe, their identity hidden, while the man kneeling before them spoke cautiously.
"Yes. The last survivor of the Rune Clan is living in Korea. We must find him at all costs."
"Since receiving the orders, we've been searching in our own way... but there are too few clues."
"The survivor was a child, either a baby or around elementary school age. By now, he'd be either a grade-schooler or a young adult. What's certain is that he's male. Focus your investigation there."
"Is there any more specific trait we can use to narrow it down?"
"The Rune Clan's characteristic is red hair... but they could've dyed it, so exclude that. Search for a male in that age range with abnormal talent in the field of barriers. Got it?"
"Yes. Understood."
The man slowly stood up from his kneeling position and left the room.
The Pandemic executive left alone in the room collapsed onto the bed, unable to resist the fatigue of relentless investigation.
"I must find the successor... for the sake of our clan."
If it's Pandemic, they'll succeed. I joined them just to find the last survivor of our clan.
"It's fine. As long as I find the successor, everything will be solved. We can start over again...."
Staring at the moon through the window, he whispered to himself in solitude.