Yurika's "Truth," Read as Washing Machine (1)

He quietly turned off his phone. Her final words made his head throb, but he'd worry about that later.

'Worst case, send Song Junho in my place or something.'

Three weeks had passed since he'd parted ways with Jeon Eunbyeol. As expected, geniuses were geniuses. To catch up to its effects in less than a month—especially considering it was a unique potion only sold in shops—left no doubt about her genius.

'...If only she were a little more sanely crazy.'

In his previous life, he'd asked her to make Hiven's Mercy too. From memory, it had taken her five whole years to barely produce a degraded version. Compared to his first timeline, this was incomparable speed. Of course, it made sense. He'd skipped twenty years and received the essence his future self had devoted everything to achieve. It'd be weirder if she hadn't grown.

She might even become the head of the Jeon family faster than anticipated.

'She could naturally bring the Sanhaekyung under her wing too.'

He rested his chin on his hand, twirling the pen in his fingers.

'Everything's going smoothly.'

There were no zero risk factors, but he could just crush them head-on. For now, it was like having the wind at his back.

'If only crap like this didn't keep happening.'

A piercing gaze stabbed through his skull like it was drilling in. He subtly turned his head.

When their eyes met, the flustered girl averted hers. A nun's veil fluttered over her neat uniform. With her silver hair, she had that pale, ethereal look that naturally evoked the word "pale."

She was pretending not to, but furtively watching him. He'd explained her before, so he figured everyone knew.

'Yurika Heinrich.'

The one called the Saintess. His comrade from his previous life—and tied by a bad connection. They'd seen everything there was to see of each other, and now she sat in the seat next to him, attending class.

"Just how long do you plan on staring?"

"W-What are you talking about? I have no idea."

"...No, if you're gonna stare, at least do it sneakily. What's with the creepy side-eyes? Like some lovesick girl. Is peeping a noble hobby they teach at the church? If voyeurism's your thing, let me advise you to quit before you get excommunicated."

"Voyeurism? I have no such habit. Aren't you overthinking it?"

Yurika huffed like some tsundere, primly turning her head. But she was still watching him intently.

This wasn't the scheming expert from twenty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠years later. She was just a barely 17-year-old kid, so it probably wasn't an act.

'Was she this pure back then?'

Indeed, the time when she'd undergo her drastic change hadn't come yet. But it wasn't far off either.

'The circle activities.'

That's where she'd have her worst experience and completely shed her girlish innocence—becoming a saintess and a junkie in the process.

'Should I stop it?'

He debated leaving her to break, but considering her value and role, maybe he should save her after all.

'The one who grabbed and blackmailed me into it was her.'

If not for her, even if the world got wrecked by the Demon Lord, he could've at least protected his comrades to the end. But that was the connection from his previous life. Now, in this new one, did he really need to keep wearing colored glasses? He pondered briefly.

'...Same goes for Erina, huh.'

He didn't even know why he was agonizing over this in the first place. Swallowing a deep sigh from his chest, he recalled how it had come to this.

He'd mentioned it once before. The higher the class, the bigger the perks for students. The biggest difference was in class quality—specifically, the instructors' levels.

'Of course, with Kang Hanseong handling B-Class, it was a bit different...'

Anyway, the gap was usually massive. But even at Prunel Academy, there was an exception.

'External special lectures.'

Classes run only on weekends, inviting renowned figures to lecture. During these, class rank didn't matter—anyone who signed up could attend.

That said, honestly, how useful were they? Kinda iffy in reality.

'I expected someone who at least knew their way around a sword.'

He watched boredly. The woman at the podium was explaining enthusiastically. Blue mana clung to her blade's edge, suggesting she was proud of her skills. In gamer terms, Sword Expert level—enough to brag about. But to him, she just looked like a greenhorn showing off.

'And they call that level "extreme"...'

Empty carts rattle loudest, huh. Rumors weren't reliable. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Still, he couldn't just storm out.

The points from this worthless time were substantial.

Ten minutes later, it finally ended. As the next class followed right away, he pulled out his textbook from his bag.

"...That's him?"

"Yeah, the legendary alpha male, Choi Siwoo."

'...What?'

Alpha male? What bullshit was that?

"Fucking trash. You know how sweet and cute Instructor Yoon Jiye is? And he's the bastard who blackmailed her..."

"Nah, to me, that's peak push-pull. For a woman like Yoon Jiye to beg and cry like that? How charming do you gotta be? Word is, she begged him not to dump her."

"...It's all 'cause he's hot, right?"

"Nah, it's about the seduction. You guys don't know Choi Siwoo's real nicknames?"

"What nicknames?"

"Total Limb Demon! Butcher of Limbs! Rumor is he chops off the arms and legs of anyone who mouths off and displays 'em. Says he'll give 'em back if they behave."

"For real...? Holy shit..."

Crack-. He failed to control his strength, and the pen snapped.

The whispering guys flinched and turned away, pretending not to see.

'Fuck. This ain't right.'

Was this the infamous protagonist hate from webnovels? Being the target sucked ass.

'Endure, just endure...'

He endured silently. When it got noisy again, he tuned it out, planning to check later. That's why he noticed late.

Only when the presence approached within 2 meters did he look up. Backlit by a halo, Yurika stared at him.

"Mind if I sit next to you?"

'...Why the hell is this girl here?'

He racked his brain, but couldn't figure why she'd be here. Her grades weren't lacking, and it wasn't like she'd be interested in this class...?

Silence must've meant yes. She smiled and started to sit.

Before that annoying ass hit the seat, he raised his bag.

"No. Seat's taken."

"...Oh? But... the seating chart shows this as empty?"

She flashed a mischievous grin, waving her phone screen.

He restrained his rotting expression and clicked his tongue.

"Then, excuse m—"

Anyway... that's roughly how they met. Midway through chatting, the walls crumbled. About an hour had passed since her true personality emerged.

'Is it 'cause she's young...? A few talks and her real self spills out.'

He wondered if this was really the Yurika Heinrich he knew.

"What's your goal here?"

"No idea what you mean."

"Why sit next to me just to harass me?"

"Such rude words... Just two cadets interacting—why need a reason? I simply want to get close to Choi Siwoo."

"Oh dear? The Saintess must have tons of free time. Stop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasting it on a guy like me and go pray or something."

"Thank you for your concern, but I pray to Lady Irelua for peace and safety every day for an hour."

"Pray more. An hour? Goddess might feel neglected."

"They say time doesn't matter in bonds with gods. I think it applies to people too. Don't you feel our bond deepening, Choi Siwoo?"

"...Stomach's acting up. Spare me the nauseating lines. Hearing that makes me wanna spit blood."

"N-Nauseating...?"

The last of Yurika's mask shattered. She glared furiously, gritting her teeth with an "Eeek!"

Just as she was about to chew him out, the classroom door opened, and a new instructor entered.

"Grrr...! W-We’ll finish this talk later."

"Huh? Nah, don't wanna. Not doing it."

"...You, really!"

She stomped her feet, and he chuckled. This was satisfying. Tormenting the woman who'd tormented him in his past life felt damn good.

'Obvious, isn't it.'

He'd known her goal from the start.

'Erina Yulis.'

She was definitely here to dig for info on her. Probably checking if he was dangerous too, while at it.

Whatever. He wasn't gonna give her what she wanted anyway.