No Turning Back!

It's been a whole week since I stopped Ga-eun and Emilia from turning into ghost stories. "Time flies, huh... haha."

Back then, I tried to give those two girls the will to live by stealing their first kisses with my Ultimate NTR Operation! I planned to forcibly rip away their precious innocence and the pure love they harbored in their hearts, making them hate me. I figured stirring up emotions like revenge and hatred would surely bring them back to reality. And my plan worked out brilliantly. Well, it succeeded, but... how should I put it? It didn't go quite as expected?

"Yeah, way off the mark."

—Rub rub.

"Hehe, what're you thinking about, oppa?"

"Hahaha, nothing at all, Ga-eun."

The fox-eared girl stuck right up against me, rubbing her face on mine the moment I got to the guild.

"But how'd you know I came in? I was super quiet."

"Oh, that? My hearing got way better thanks to these fox ears. I could even hear your voice from outside the building?"

—Twitch twitch.

A pair of fox ears flicking back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and forth atop her pink hair. I'd managed to stop Ga-eun from fully turning into a ghost story, but whether it was a side effect of halting the process midway, her fox ears stuck around permanently. At least the tail could be tucked away, but no such luck with the ears.

"Honestly, I was embarrassed at first, but after wearing them for a week, I've gotten used to it. Hehe."

"Glad to hear that. By the way, you've gotten even more popular, right? Something about 'A real-life fox-eared beauty has appeared!' and everyone losing their minds—"

"Hwaa! O-Oppa! Don't talk about that!"

"Hahaha, okay, okay."

"The broadcasters are already hounding me for interviews... it's so embarrassing..."

—Droop.

Her fox ears drooped limply, perfectly mirroring Ga-eun's dejected mood.

'At least it makes it easy to read her true feelings. Handy.'

—Grab.

I couldn't resist petting those twitching fox ears out of curiosity.

"Hyaaat...?! O-Oppa?!"

"Hm, they're fluffy and soft—feels great. No wonder novel characters are always touching beastkin ears."

Ga-eun's ears felt even better than I'd imagined, so now I had a habit of petting them every time we met.

"O-Oppaaaaa... N-Nooo... N-Not outside...!"

"Oh, right. You said they're super sensitive? Sorry, sorry."

I switched to stroking her soft, squishy cheeks instead.

"Haaah... They're sensitive, so be gentle..."

Ga-eun rubbed her lower belly, eyes glistening with tears. Apparently, touching her ears makes her tummy tingle?

"Oh, and oppa! Emilia wants you to come to the research wing."

"Why?"

"Dunno. She just asked me to pass it along."

"Got it."

"Hehe, I've got a meeting soon, so I'll head out first, oppa~"

"Alright, see you later."

Ga-eun gave me a quick wave goodbye and left. She kept turning back for more waves, clearly reluctant to part—like a girl totally smitten. The girl who'd regained her will to live through my Ultimate NTR Operation! shone with dazzling beauty. Facing Ga-eun, now brimming with love and obsession instead of hate and resentment, had me embracing a "whatever happens, happens" mindset.

How do I know she doesn't hate me? "The system made it crystal clear—no room for doubt!"

Ever since that day, I've been seeing these weird UI windows—status screens for people, I guess?

"Not everyone, though."

I couldn't see info for convenience store clerks or random passersby. Even after testing it in the guild for a week, some people showed up and others didn't, so I still didn't know the exact criteria.

"Seems like there's a usage limit too... Can't spam it."

A new ability was definitely a win. Advance intel like this would help not just in social situations but in tackling ghost stories too. And above all, it made me realize I'd been a total idiot when it came to reading the room.

"I had no idea Ga-eun liked me... She was always snapping at me and quick to throw punches—zero hints!"

Plus, Emilia liked me too, according to the system. Straight-up declaring her love had evolved into obsession.

"First kiss and that's enough to do it? Didn't she say she's liked her oppa since she was little?"

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't wrap my head around these two girls loving me—obsessing over me, even.

"System, is this legit? If I act on it and get slapped with assault charges for forcible first-kissing, I'm done."

I doubted it at first—was this real, or a system glitch? But after kissing Ga-eun and Emilia, the way they looked at me, their breaths, the subtle tremors in their fingertips... no way that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was acting. The moist, melty eyes only a girl in love gives her man. The slightly excited breathing. The earthquake-like shivers when I got close. If that was fake, they'd sweep the year-end acting awards.

"Haa... fine. If I can't trust the system and notification window, what can I trust?"

No backing out now anyway. I'd have to keep Ga-eun and Emilia close and watch over them. Their transformations had paused midway, not ended completely.

"Gotta check on Lea anyway, might as well keep tabs on Ga-eun and Emilia too. Feels like my to-do list just keeps growing."

Strangely, more than annoyance, I felt this urge to take responsibility for these girls to the end. Duty? Sense of responsibility? "Maybe something more... Who knows."

I shoved the deepening thoughts aside and headed to the research wing. Any more pondering and I'd turn into the 'playboy lolicon trash' the window warned about.

Dawn's Light Guild Research Wing A-3 Isolation Room.

"Excuse m—huh?!"

—Squeeze.

The moment I opened the heavy iron door, a small shadow barreled into my arms. Fresh light-green hair like grass in a vast meadow, coral eyes sparkling.

"Shin oppa... good morning..."

The genius girl with a petite frame and disproportionately large chest: Emilia.

"Emilia, were you waiting right by the door the whole time?"

"Yeah. Wanted to greet you the second you came in."

"Haha, starting the day with a beauty like Emilia welcoming me? Not bad."

"Really...?"

"Totally real."

"Happy..."

—Rub rub.

Emilia nuzzled her soft cheek against me like a cat. Watching her adorable display, I thought to myself:

'I'm such a hypocrite. I don't even know why she likes me, but here I am accepting it like it's natural.'

Still, I had zero desire to push away an Emilia clinging to me because she wanted to. Why? Because I'm trash.

'I'm married to a beautiful princess like Luna—we even exchanged rings—and I've given Lea cheek kisses, Ga-eun and Emilia full-on kisses... Pretending to have standards now? That's the real comedy.'

Best to just admit it. I'm trash—a married man groping other women, the lowest of the low!

'If Luna finds out later, I'll be on my knees begging forgiveness!'

I silently apologized to Luna in my head and gently set Emilia down.

"Anyway, Emilia, why'd you call me to the research wing?"

"Oh... Just finished Redhead's routine checkup."

"You handled Lea's inspection again? Thanks."

"Shin oppa, if you're grateful... come over to my place for coffee sometime..."

"Coffee?"

"Yeah... I want to be alone with oppa all day. Then I could... express myself better."

Emilia stared up at me blankly, but her cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Since the first kiss, she'd been able to show emotions a tiny bit more, for some reason.

'No clue what that 'Curse' abnormality in her notes means... but if being with me helps, that's no big deal.'

"Sure, I'll make time later."

"Yeah, thanks. Shin oppa."

"Haha, it's nothing. Plus, I wanna see you smile brightly someday."

"...Shin oppa's always been so kind... then and now."

I patted her even redder head and headed to Lea's isolation room. Peeking through the large glass window, I saw red hair bouncing around inside.

'Can't sit still for five minutes, huh.'

—Clank.

The door opened, and a redheaded knight charged into my arms like a bullet.

"Hehet, Shihyeooon~ Missed you so much!"

"Lea, you tough it out through the checkup okay today?"

"Yeah! It was tough, but since Shihyeon asked this body to behave, I powered through!"

"Haha, good girl, Lea? Guess we gotta hit the pudding shop after work."

"Ahem...! As a splendid knight and mighty ghost story, it's only natural, but this body can't ignore Shihyeon's tribute, so I'll graciously accept!"

Lea clung to me, boasting she'd endured the hated exam and deserved praise. I should've been used to it by now, but she still hated checkups.

"Shihyeon! So we heading home now?"

"We could, but I've got a special lesson planned for you today. Let's do that first."

Lately, I'd neglected Lea's education fussing over Emilia and Ga-eun. Today: common sense lessons plus real-world practice—grocery shopping and buying stuff outside.

'Even after ending her apocalypse tale, Lea needs education to live normally.'

But at "special lesson," Lea's face turned beet red, and she fidgeted anxiously.

"Sh-Shihyeon...! D-Don't tell me you're gonna do that special lesson again—like last time, touching this body and kissing...?"

Huh? That's not it.

"I-I know Shihyeon loves this body tons... And Weedhead told me you're a pervert with high libido...! But not in a crowded place like this!"

Emilia... what the hell did you tell her about me?

"Weedhead said you're a lolicon...! You like small, cute girls with big boobs...! I get wanting to touch this body, but not here with all these people! If you're gonna, at least wait till we're alone at home...!"

Before I could stop her rapid-fire rant, two hours later—I was officially dubbed [Dawn's Light Official Lolicon]. Endorsed by the guild master himself.