Ch 130
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 130
I barely managed to pull myself together from my nearly collapsed mental state after Luciel's sudden appearance and explosive declaration, and moved to Se-jin's house for now.
There was a possibility that someone else might have seen the light that occurred when she appeared.
I asked Se-jin for understanding and tore a leaf to have a separate conversation with Luciel.
The magic Luciel had been researching wasn't simply magic to come outside.
Soul separation.
Just as in the original setting, Luciel is bound by a contract with a Demon Realm tree, so her soul is tied and she cannot leave the tree's side.
So the method she came up with was soul separation.
There's also clone magic originally, but that's magic where the main body and clone are clearly distinguished.
However, the name of the magic Luciel created is Half Soul.
As the name suggests, it's magic that perfectly separates even the soul, so both can be called the main body.
Since moving simultaneously is impossible, the Luciel on the Demon Realm tree side entered a sleep state.
When I actually went to the Demon Realm tree, there was an opaque black sphere just like when I first met her.
She says that by containing half of her soul in the necklace she gave me, she can not only feel the flow of time but also hear what I'm saying and see the surroundings.
And she can even descend like now.
Though there were many difficult terms in between so it wasn't perfect, I roughly understood how she was able to come out.
I also understand why she came out.
Recently she'd been busy with research so I didn't notice, but originally Luciel would welcome me like a puppy wagging its tail every time I visited.
When I left, she'd be extremely disappointed and ask when I'd come again.
But what she said when she appeared was completely incomprehensible.
'Shin-hyeok is mine, so don't mess around with him.'
"I understood the explanation about the magic. But what do you mean by me being yours?"
Why did she suddenly pop out and interfere with someone else's love life?
I wondered if this girl also liked me, but no matter how I think about it, that's being too self-conscious.
Luciel is terribly shallow about looks.
Even after promising to only say nice things, she calls me ugly whenever she gets the chance, so there's no way that could be... Then why is her face so red?
"Th-that's..."
Even stuttering.
"That's what?"
"I don't like you meeting other women."
"Do you like me?"
"..."
Haah, normally she would have retorted telling me not to talk nonsense, but seeing no response, it seems that's how it is.
"When on earth did this start...?"
Looking back at my memories, it seems like she did drop some hints.
"I... I don't know. Originally you're not my type at all, but you seduced me first!"
"Me? You?"
"You kissed me last time."
A kiss? What nonsense... Wait, could she be talking about that forehead thing I did when we made a promise last time?
She said that in Heaven, that's how promises are made.
"What kind of kiss is that? You said that's how promises are made in your Heaven, right?"
"You said humans don't do that. In the drama I watched on the laptop last time, they said that kind of thing is an expression of affection between people who like each other."
Dr-drama...
"No, wait... I think there's some misunderstanding."
"I'm not stupid. Besides that, you were nice to me. You gave me chocolate bars too. Gently... Yeah, you even smiled with your eyes."
"No, that's not..."
"Do you hate me?"
"It's not that I hate you..."
"Then what's the problem? I'm much better than that ugly girl from earlier."
"Don't talk like that."
To think even Luciel would like me...
It was already hard choosing between Teacher Kim and Se-jin, and now I feel like my head's really going to explode.
"You just need to choose whoever you like more."
Is it that easy?
"If... If you choose that ugly girl, I'll never see you again. Don't come to this place either."
Now she's even threatening me.
What's even more ridiculous is that she's the one making threats, so why is she trembling...
Anyone watching would think I'm the one threatening her.
Sigh, I can't help but sigh.
They say too much of anything is worse than not enough, and I guess popularity is the same.
I told her I wanted to think alone for a moment and came down to the camping car.
How did things end up like this...
Suddenly the novel I used to write came to mind.
I always made multiple heroines appear.
Most of my readers were male, so I thought they'd definitely like it if there were many heroines.
But when I actually tried to pair someone up, readers who liked the other heroines would revolt.
In the end, I chose the so-called 'harem' where the protagonist meets all the heroines.
I even had him get Middle Eastern nationality where polygamy was possible to maintain plausibility and married him to everyone, but the result was naturally getting cursed at terribly and failing.
Of course, harems aren't necessarily all bad.
There are actually many stories with harems that achieved good results.
But the protagonists in my novels always resembled me, being disgustingly indecisive and swayed this way and that.
A harem where everyone is happy?
Such a thing can't exist in reality.
The protagonists could choose harems because they were in novels...
Even if the world I'm in now was originally a novel, it's a reality I'm living directly.
Honestly, I did write harems, but I hate harems.
It's called a harem, but that's just putting it nicely.
Already saying you like one woman and then meeting another woman?
It's no different from cheating.
What I hate most... No, what I despise most is cheating.
I experienced it in my not-so-many relationships in my previous life, and it's also one of the reasons I ended up cutting ties with my family...
I felt someone's presence outside and turned my head to see Luciel peeking at me from outside the camping car.
When I looked at her, she hurriedly turned her head away, but I saw her face.
It was an unusually anxious expression unlike her, so I got up from the bed and went outside.
"Let's go back now."
"Where? Answer me first. Are you really going to abandon me and go with that girl..."
"I'll talk about it when all three of us are together."
Luciel looked displeased, but said she'd come out again and disappeared.
I tore a leaf and returned to Se-jin's house.
"Oh? Teacher, you came back quickly."
"Uh... Yeah."
Actually we talked for over an hour, but only less than 3 minutes had passed here.
"That angel from earlier? I don't know what to call it... What is it? A monster?"
A monster...
Even if she doesn't look human because of the wings, that's too harsh.
This is going to...
"Who are you calling a monster? You lowly human."
Luciel popped out and snapped, just as I expected.
"Stop it."
"Why are you only scolding me? That ugly human started it first..."
"I'm not only scolding you, Se-jin didn't know, so that's why she said that."
I calmed Luciel down and slowly explained to Se-jin everything from when I first met Luciel.
Since Se-jin had visited the Black Temple during her Hunter School days, she seemed to understand to some extent...
The explanation went relatively well, but when I finally mentioned that Luciel also liked me, the atmosphere rapidly cooled.
I didn't expect a harmonious atmosphere anyway, but it's like Siberia... No, even if we went to the middle of Antarctica, it wouldn't be colder than here.
"Teacher, so you agreed to wear that necklace?"
"Huh? I didn't particularly agree to it, Luciel just put it on me as a gift..."
"I'm asking if she properly explained when she gave it to you? If not, then that angel is completely perverted, isn't she?"
"Per... Perverted? Se-jin, why are you like this too?"
"You said she can eavesdrop on all your conversations and even secretly spy on you with that necklace."
"Ah..."
"Putting such a necklace on Teacher without proper explanation or consent, that's really the worst."
I hadn't thought much about it, but hearing Se-jin's story, it does feel a bit unsettling.
"What do you know! Don't speak carelessly. You might lose your head... UGH!"
Since she went beyond just glaring to even threatening, I poked her side to subdue her.
"What are you saying to a kid?"
"She called me perverted and the worst first, didn't you hear? Shin-hyeok, why are you only taking her side from earlier?"
She looks quite hurt.
"I'm not taking anyone's side..."
"Fine, the explanation is done, right? You said earlier you'd tell us when all three of us were together."
"Teacher, what are you going to tell us...?"
"I thought only your face was ugly, but your head is stupid too. He's choosing between you and me. Not confident? Kang Shin-hyeok, hurry up and say it. Is it me or her?"
"I... I'll follow whatever choice Teacher makes."
Two pairs, four eyes stare only at me.
I chose Se-jin between Teacher Kim and Se-jin.
But between Luciel and Se-jin, I absolutely cannot choose either one.
Both are too precious to me.
Besides, if I choose one of them in this situation, my relationship with the other would completely end...
"Don't tell me you still haven't decided and want more time?"
"That's not it."
After spectacularly ruining a story with harem and writing other works, maybe it became a habit without me knowing, but I put in many heroines again.
I tried to control it this time since I didn't want to fail like last time. But the development got twisted anyway, so I asked fellow writers I knew for advice.
How to avoid going harem in this situation.
The answers were all similar.
Not putting in romance from the beginning.
Even if you do, just manage things appropriately and only connect them at the end.
But the heroines had already all confessed to the protagonist, so it wasn't much help.
In the end, I was wondering if I should go harem again when a writer who had been writing for a long time and had several hit works told me something.
They said there's only one way to avoid going harem when you've made multiple heroines appear and have them all confess.
"I can't choose one of you two."
"What does that mean? Are you saying... You want to date both of us?"
"Tea... Teacher?"
"What do you take me for? I'm not trash enough to force such unreasonable demands on you two."
"Then what are you trying to do?"
Luciel still has that defiant attitude.
"So I won't date either of you. No, I won't date at all."
"What?"
"Wh... What do you mean?"
Both look completely stunned.
The answer the popular writer told me was 'No Romance.'
NO-ROMANCE.
Make all the heroines irrelevant and just run the plot until completion.
Writing like that would get some criticism from readers who wanted harem, but it would still be somewhat comfortable to write and there shouldn't be major problems until completion.
Following that advice, the result wasn't a huge hit, but it had the best performance among all the stories I'd written so far.
Of course, the current situation isn't a novel but reality.
"It's not like I'm saying I'll never date until I die, and if my heart leans toward one side, I'll talk about it then. But for now, I won't be in a relationship with either of you."
I can't never date for life.
"Idiot."
"This is unfair to me. She gets to stay attached to Teacher continuously in necklace form. Plus, you said the place where that perverted angel originally is has a different flow of time, so she spends much more time with Teacher. I..."
Hearing this, it's definitely disadvantageous conditions for Se-jin.
Well, it's not like I can live with Se-jin.
Even if we lived together, spending much more time with Luciel due to the time difference is unavoidable.
And I can't tell Luciel not to come out.
"Luciel."
"What?"
"Let Se-jin go to where the Demon Realm tree is too."
"HUH, for whose benefit?"
"Then I won't go there anymore either. If I don't provide magic to the necklace, you can't come out either."
Though she was reluctant, the threat seemed to work as she made arrangements for Se-jin to go to the Demon Realm tree too.
I don't think it will take too long.
If we wait about 2 years, both of them will meet Do-hyun.
In the original work, both Se-jin and Luciel liked Kim Do-hyun, so there's a high possibility their hearts will change when they meet him.
It could be even faster if one of them gives up before then.
"Ugly girl, you give up quickly. Shin-hyeok is too good for you."
"You're not even human. You should give up."
Of course, for now, neither seems likely to give up easily.