The Masked Man Returns!
Shuddering with embarrassment, Yoo Hwa-young left, and Cheon Seong, who had been moving busily the whole time, finally got to enjoy a rare quiet moment of rest.
“Well… what should I do?”
Even this rare rest wasn’t worth much. Honestly, he had nothing special planned.
In the past, his rest always meant chatting with Hana and Yuna, or spending time with Beatrice. He had never tried anything more.
At best, he would train the Heavenly Demon Divine Art or raise his mastery of space magic.
But now he needed to stabilize himself, so there was no point in that either.
His phone was clean—no game apps, no subscribed YouTube channels.
“Ah, I remember. Nepira said she’d be streaming.”
Last time he visited Mir, Nepira mentioned she’d be broadcasting under an alias. What was it again? Nabi-ra? Anyway, Nepira was streaming.
No better ideas. He downloaded the streaming app he had heard about.
But…
“Ugh, why does creating an account feel so complicated? Like… is this it?”
He wasn’t even the type who used YouTube like normal kids. How could he master this?
After struggling with the app for a while, he somehow created an account and opened the search bar to find Nepira’s stream.
“Um, Mir probably made the broadcast account, so the name should be… ah, found it.”
He didn’t know the exact broadcast name, but Mir was the type who focused on big things and ignored small details. Searching for Nabi-ra under the alias brought up Nepira herself on screen.
—Na-ha-na-ha!
—Wowwww! Nabi is the cutest today too!
The stream had just started, so the chat was flooding with quick greetings. Nepira smiled and waved at them happily.
—Uwaaaah! Nabi is the best!!
—Queen! Please let me lick your feet—!!
—Oppa mu!
There were some gross chats too, but Nepira answered the ones she could with a smile.
[Main Character-nim, thank you so much for 1,000 honey sticks!]
<Ha-na, Nabi is super cute today~!>
—Ah! Chairman-nim is here!
—Chairman hyung, you’re shooting again today!
“Ah! Main Character-nim, Nabi Nabi. Have a fun day. Are your reactions the same as usual?”
The stream was far larger than Cheon Seong expected. Even ten minutes in, viewers had passed three digits.
“Honey sticks? That’s the sponsor thing, right?”
When he looked up what the frequent honey sticks were, the fees were ridiculous. Why would anyone throw away that much money just to watch reactions?
Nepira reacted to every donation with a smile, but Cheon Seong still couldn’t understand why anyone would pay just to see her smile.
“She’s adapted well.”
In his past life, the Lust of the Seven Deadly Sins—Nepira—had been the one who mocked others and crushed them underfoot. Now she was laughing like a normal girl.
The sight made him question whether he even needed to kill her. He felt anew that he had failed in his regression.
While watching the strangely entertaining stream, time flew by. The academy was ending soon.
‘This is more fun than I thought.’
It felt like healing. Pure innocence he lacked. The way Hana looked at him with pure eyes and smiled brightly came to mind.
“Well, Hana is still the cutest, though.”
Just then, the door to the infirmary opened. A red-haired woman entered with a mischievous little demon grin—the same one that had become Hwa-young’s signature.
“Hey! I’m here! Did you miss me? I missed you!”
“Shut up and come quietly.”
“So you missed me?”
Cheon Seong smiled faintly and gave her forehead a tiny pat.
“I don’t know, you brat.”
“Ugh! You’re so hard to please. I only wanted to see you once!”
Puff
Puff
Cheeks puffed out as Hwa-young crossed her arms and turned her head away, yet she kept stealing glances at him. It was strangely cute.
“I did miss you. Did I get what I wanted?”
“Tch, I would have been happier if you hadn’t called me ‘you.’ But I missed you too.”
Still smiling, Hwa-young threw herself into his arms, the place she had been missing all day.
“What about Yuna? Didn’t she come with you?”
“Pfft, when it’s like this, it’s only me you need to take care of.”
“Fine, fine. Then what about Yuna?”
“Tch, she said she had to stop by somewhere first. And later someone else is coming?”
Cheon Seong wondered if it was another awkward morning incident, but Hwa-young noticed and shook her head.
“No, this time I really saw her leaving. I came alone when I got here.”
“Is that so…”
Cheon Seong’s voice sounded drained. Hwa-young glared at him with narrowed eyes.
Cheeks puffed out again, clearly displeased.
“Why the sudden glare?”
“That’s what anyone would do if their loved one doesn’t come when they’re supposed to.”
“You’re my girlfriend, remember? You’re not yet.”
Even though they were close, Cheon Seong drew the line. Hwa-young’s sharp stare and the cold wind in her cheeks showed her irritation.
‘I really said something too harsh.’
Cheon Seong realized he was wrong and quickly looked away. Hwa-young sighed heavily.
“Why did I end up liking you? Sigh—”
He hadn’t said he liked her, and no one had threatened her with a knife. Yet he felt like the villain.
“So why did you come? To spend time together again?”
“Huh? Oh, right. I almost forgot—I had something to give you yesterday.”
“There’s something for me? What is it—”
Tap
Tap
When Hwa-young said she had something, Cheon Seong tilted his head, curious. But she unbuttoned the top few buttons of her shirt and slipped her hand into her cleavage.
“…What are you doing?”
“Ah, it’s an important item, so I put it here.”
“Then why keep it in your chest?”
“Um… because it’s the safest place? Ah, found it.”
Curious why she would carry something so important in her chest, Cheon Seong asked. Hwa-young answered that it was safe and pulled out a white, transparent crystal.
It looked far too ordinary for something important. Cheon Seong looked puzzled, but Hwa-young shattered that illusion.
“This is the crystal the boss dropped when he died in the dungeon back then.”
“…Right. If you knew, give it to me now.”
Cheon Seong felt uneasy at her playful smile. What trick was she playing this time? When he repeated that it was important, Hwa-young tucked the white crystal deep into her cleavage, leaned forward, and said:
Whoosh
“Here, take the important thing yourself. Oh, and if you want to touch my chest, you can feel it as much as you want.”
Because the crystal was too deep, reaching it would require touching her soft breasts. Cheon Seong sighed and used a basic levitation spell to lift nearby objects. Even though his body wasn’t fully healed, he could still use basic magic with some discomfort.
He tried to lift the crystal, but another mana interfered and dispelled the spell.
“…What are you doing?”
“Hey, that’s cheating. Your body isn’t even healed yet, and you’re using magic? Just use your hands~ I said you can touch my chest if you want!”
Squish~
Hwa-young squeezed her elbows together to push her chest forward. Cheon Seong tried levitation again, but every time it was dispelled by her interference. He sighed deeply and reached out to her chest.
Even basic magic could slowly damage mana circuits if overused, so he had no choice but to do it directly.
His hand was about to grab the crystal when the infirmary door opened and a noisy sound came from outside.
“Hey! My best friend! Visiting the sick, huh?”
“…”
“Hi, Cheon Seong.”
“Hello. I came to visit the sick.”
Two people entered the infirmary to visit the sick. Kim Ha-jin, a man, looked stiff. His bright green eyes were clouded and he stared silently at the two. Beside him, Dang Hwa-ran stared without a word.
Unlike the others, the academy’s top and second-place students, Seol Si-yun and Hae-sol, greeted them casually.
“Um… s-sorry. Enjoy your time!”
“Yeah, what are you doing.”
“This is why we should step aside. We’ll come back later.”
Hwa-young leaned toward Cheon Seong with her shirt unbuttoned, and Cheon Seong reached toward her chest. Ha-jin, thinking they were about to do something improper, hurriedly pushed the others and closed the door.
“…You okay?”
“K-kuk—”
Once the noisy culprits left and quiet returned, Cheon Seong asked Hwa-young, her face bright red with tears welling up. She covered her blushing cheeks.
For a while, her embarrassed whimpers filled the infirmary. Cheon Seong sighed and simply comforted her.
Stealthily, he took the white crystal from between her breasts.