Chapter 142
Chapter 142
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Ah! If your friendship with Instructor Cho Seo-hyun is that important, shall I pull up her cadet records for you?"
I listened to Seong Sua's kind offer, but on the other hand, I couldn't help feeling worried.
Was it really okay to share cadet records so casually?
With an assistant instructor who was practically an outsider...
For now, I hid my desire to take them and politely refused.
"Oh, no, that's fine. Even if I want to get closer, handing that kind of information to a mere assistant instructor like me..."
"Come on, don't say that. We're colleagues!"
Seong Sua said she'd print them out by tomorrow morning and hand them over at the cafeteria.
But the conversation wasn't over yet. Seong Sua looked down at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Surely... you aren't planning on just walking away for free, are you?"
"Haha... What should I do for you, then?"
I laughed while breaking out in a cold sweat.
Truth be told, there was literally nothing I could offer someone like Seong Sua.
She outclassed me in wealth by miles, and her magical skills were superior too.
Even if I offered to help with classes, there wasn't much an assistant instructor like me could do for magic department lessons.
No matter how I racked my brain, there was nothing realistic I could provide in the real world.
And in the game, all I'd done was cling to her and squirm around.
"No matter how I think about it, there's nothing I can do for you..."
"Hehe... Then..."
Seong Sua trailed off, picked me up, and dragged me back to her place.
The moment we stepped inside, she plopped down on the edge of the bed and spoke.
"Lately, my body's been feeling..."
"...?"
No way... No way!
Seong Sua smiled and continued.
"Could you give me a shoulder massage?"
"...?"
Seong Sua had utterly shattered my expectations.
'...I'll get my revenge.'
[....]
I'll make her pay dearly for preserving my innocence(?).
She'd pay dearly for safeguarding my purity(?).
Out of Seong Sua's sight, I smirked slyly and replied.
"Well... Why don't you lie face down on the bed first?"
..
..
"Hngh... Haah... Ahng!"
"Does it hurt anywhere?"
"N-No! It f-feels good... Hngh..."
I massaged Seong Sua's shoulders and back from her side as she lay prone on the bed.
I absolutely did not touch any of her erotic zones.
Well, if her back or shoulders were erogenous spots, that'd be another story...
'Man, out of all the perks from my Hand Skill achievements so far, this takes the cake.'
-[Hand Massage LV 98]-
It wasn't quite 100, but it was as good as— a protagonist-level skill had popped up.
The true hand of God.
"Hngh! Haahng!"
Seong Sua was letting out moans of pleasure as she savored my handiwork.
Maybe because it was VR, there was no sweat or heat to feel.
But just imagining Seong Sua in the real world, writhing on her bed with her pajamas soaked in sweat through her VR gear, was thrilling enough.
It would be the best if her underwear were soaked too.
But right now, my top priority wasn't getting Seong Sua sexually aroused.
'The real goal is to make her so desperate for more tomorrow.'
I needed to create a situation where she couldn't forget today's massage and craved another one tomorrow.
It couldn't be half-hearted, but overdoing it would backfire too.
I had to satisfy her just enough, while leaving behind a lingering sense of fatigue that would make her want another massage tomorrow..
I focused solely on her back and shoulders, massaging her with utmost sincerity.
"Haahng! S-Sorry... I-I'm making weird noises... Hngh!"
"If it hurts and you're just pushing through out of consideration for me, we can stop here..."
"N-No! P-Please keep going. Ah, no... As long as it's not too hard on you, Instructor Seong Su-ho... Please. It feels so good... Hngh!"
I was carefully distributing pressure with my fingers, doing pure massage, not acupressure.
Yet she was moaning like that— it must really feel amazing.
"Haahng!"
Looking at the moaning Seong Soo-ah, I thought to myself.
'The strategy for Seong Soo-ah... this is the way to go!'
Welcome to the VR Massage Shop!
..
..
The next day, over breakfast, Seong Sua handed me a few A4 sheets.
"Here you go. It's not a big deal, but please don't go blabbing about it everywhere."
"Is it really okay for me to have a cadet-era record like this...?"
"No major issue. Records of graduated cadets aren't that important."
"Huh? What about pre-graduation cadets?"
"Those are under strict security."
Ambassador cadets' futures were set in stone.
Hero.
After graduating as heroes, they wandered in search of guilds to join.
Their first targets were the pinnacle guilds: the Order and the Tower.
Those who failed there desperately vied for spots in other major guilds with great renown, excluding those two.
If freshly graduated cadet records leaked easily, they could face dangers before even joining a guild.
Especially from shady groups of dangerous individuals.
But once they'd graduated and secured affiliation, the records weren't treated as critical.
And ten-year-old data? It was just archival fluff, nothing more.
Seong Sua handed over the documents with a bright smile.
"Still, if Instructor Cho Seo-hyun finds out, she might fly into a rage at me. Please just look at them quietly by yourself."
"I'll be careful. I'll just memorize it for personal friendship purposes."
I thanked Seong Sua profusely and finished my meal.
..
..
Before heading to the staff room after eating, I sat alone on a bench and skimmed Cho Seo-hyun's cadet records.
'Jeez... Is this even worth calling a record?'
The first page was a proper, well-formatted document.
There was a sharp photo of a confident young Cho Seo-hyun, along with personal details, academic history— all the basics for a cadet.
The problems started on the next page.
It detailed her class attitude and scores.
'Not a single good word or decent grade anywhere.'
Most entries were lined with "[Poor Attitude]" and single-digit scores.
I checked the name of her supervising instructor.
'Hong Mi-seon... Digging into this reveals even more unknowns.'
'Yeah, better safe. Check it out for me.'
There was a limit to pestering Seong Sua with questions.
The help she'd given was more than enough.
'Weird... The only thing I've perfectly resolved is the Viola issue.'
Of course, I hadn't told them about my Hand Skill or anything like that.
I'd shared detailed progress reports, especially on Han yeo-reum, which they loved.
Armonia had informed them of the bizarre regression phenomenon while assuring them we were handling it well.
Zodiac kept asking about regression countermeasures, but since it was our exclusive edge, she'd deliberately held back.
I skimmed the rest of Cho Seo-hyun's records, stashed them in my dorm, and headed to the staff room.
The room was still quiet when I arrived.
And amid the calm, Cho Seo-hyun was, predictably, asleep again today.
I'd been a bit late reviewing her records, but few people were milling about yet.
I glanced around, sat in the chair behind her, and communicated.
'...I'll slip in for a bit.'
Class was approaching, but dream-diving opportunities like this didn't come often, so I took the risk.
Mindful of Armonia's warning, I entered Cho Seo-hyun's dream.
..
..
The moment I entered Cho Seo-hyun's dream, a classroom scene filled my vision.
It was morning-ish, and the cadets sat rigidly, tense and straight-backed.
And beside me, on the podium, stood a woman.
"Congratulations on enrolling in Hero Officer Academy. My name is Hong Mi-seon. From today onward..."
Hearing her words, I was stunned inwardly.
'Hong Mi-seon? She shows up right away?'
I subtly turned my head for a peek at her face.
I recognized her instantly.
She was the 40-something instructor from Cho Seo-hyun's previous dream who'd muttered 'annoying.'
'So this woman was her instructor.'
Beyond just appearing prickly, she had an impression of being utterly devoid of manners..
"As cadets of Hero Officer Academy, feel your responsibility and..."
I half-ignored Hong Mi-seon's drivel and scanned the room.
Most cadets sat straight but weren't really listening.
Amid those tuning her out, one person alone held her head high, listening intently.
Cho Seo-hyeon, with her long hair, was listening to Hong Mi-seon's words with sparkling eyes.
'...Cho Seo-hyun. Like in that photo, she must've smiled a lot back in cadet days. Cute.'
Unlike instructor Cho Seo-hyun, her default expression had a soft smile.
It wasn't a beaming grin, but rather—how should I put it—a refreshing smile? A cool smile? That kind of feeling.
A deep, respectful, considerate smile graced cadet Cho Seo-hyun's face.
"Since it's the first day, no classes today. Head to your assigned dorms. And..."
As I focused on Cho Seo-hyun, the instructor finished, and the scene shifted abruptly.
Now it was some training facility.
'Whoa, close call. Cho Seo-hyun's mental strength is still too high; I can't alter much.'
Dream-diving consumed more mana the stronger the target's mind was.
I'd only come to gather info briefly, so I didn't bother manipulating the dream.
The facility was about 30 pyeong— narrow for training, suited for a small group.
Inside were two people.
One stood arrogantly, arms crossed; the other lay sprawled on the floor.
'Hong Mi-seon and...'.
The standing one was Hong Mi-seon.
And gasping raggedly on the floor before her was...
"Pathetic... Collapsing and resting mid-training? You mocking your instructor?"
"S-Sorry! Kyaa!"
Crack!
The female cadet barely rose on trembling legs like aspen leaves, but Hong Mi-seon's whip tore her forearm flesh, sending her tumbling back down.
'Cho Seo-hyun...'
Hong Mi-seon, who had swung the whip, yelled at the fallen Cho Seo-hyun..
"To think a brat like you entered as the top student? The Hero Academy's really hit rock bottom."
"S-Sorry!"
Cho Seo-hyun snapped to attention at her words.
Her uniform was in tatters, blood streaming from wounds all over.
Though she was shaking violently, her eyes were shining with intensity, and she was struggling with everything she had to maintain a rigid attention posture..
Hong Mi-seon spoke, eyeing her.
"Does it seem strange? You probably don't understand what's being trained by just being hit with a whip, right?"
"N-No, ma'am! I never doubted your training methods!"
Cho Seo-hyun listened intently, face set with resolve.
"Right... You think I'd do this for fun? Drag you here after hours out of boredom?"
"Th-Thank you so much for the personal training! Kyaa!"
Crack!
Hong Mi-seon whipped again before Cho Seo-hyun could finish.
Was this even training?
Cho Seo-hyun just stood at attention while the instructor mercilessly lashed her defenseless form.
"Kyaa? That's street-wench noise! Watch your mouth!"
"S-Sorry! Hngh!"
Crack!
Relentless whipping.
Watching, my head began to throb.
'What the hell am I seeing...? Did this really happen?'
This wasn't mere bullying or hazing.
The instructor was unilaterally assaulting her cadet.
Systematically tormenting a fresh, eager prodigy without mercy, clipping her wings bit by bit.
'...Fuck, this pisses me off. Time to bail.'
I couldn't help in a dream anyway.
I couldn't bear watching Cho Seo-hyun like this and exited the dream.
..
..
Back in reality, Cho Seo-hyun's back came into view.
Seeing her twitch, I urgently shook her awake.
"Instructor Cho Seo-hyun."
"Ungh... Haah... Haah...?"
Cho Seo-hyun looked around frantically, sweat beading on her forehead.
She sighed deeply, then spoke.
"...Time for class."
"Yes."
As she wiped her brow and rose, I clenched my fist and messaged Armonia.
'Armonia.'
'Armonia, look into this woman Hong Mi-seon as fast as you can.'