158. Embarrassing Past Compilation (1)
158. Embarrassing Past Compilation (1)
Cold.
Gazes flew in, stabbing into me like daggers.
Im Ga-eul and Sofia stared at me, eyes wide.
Slowly, from top to bottom, a sticky licking sweep.
'...Wh-what the hell.'
Startled, I edged my body back.
Then in an instant, a thought shot through my head.
'No way... The Star Promotion effect?'
《Velvet School Life!》 is a collection-type mobile game where you pull and raise pretty girls.
A system designed to sell attractive characters and make money.
So the target audience was obvious.
And the scenes they wanted to see were set in stone too.
Among them, there was one event that drew the loudest cheers.
Star Promotion.
Because my character gets stronger?
Sure, there's that.
Since Star Promotion raises a character's rank by one tier and boom-boosts their overall performance by an entire level.
In fact, you could say I'd become a wholly different person just moments ago—all my stats jumped by 10 at once, and I unlocked a new trait, 'Charisma.' You could say I'm a completely different person. And on top of that, my growth ceiling and potential both expanded, so what's left to say?
But honestly, there was another reason that drove people crazier than all that.
The 'fanservice scene' built into every Star Promotion.
It was the moment when, in the process of physical evolution as strength intensified, the character's clothes tore apart.
Of course, since it's an all-ages game, there was no serious nudity,
but because it walked an ambiguous, edge-of-the-line tightrope, that very aspect fueled the imagination.
Some Players were so serious they claimed they played Velvetsra just to collect those fanservice scenes.
And as each fanservice scene was shared across the internet as image captures, flooding the comments with 'dayum' was the bare minimum.
'But... that's become me?'
Naturally, I'd never seen Jin Yu-ha's fanservice scene. I was too busy raising the star grades of the characters I was building up—why the hell would I have any reason to raise Jin Yu-ha? Why would I watch that? It rots your eyes.
With a stiff face, I slowly looked down at my body.
Riiip— rip.
The seams, barely hanging on, tore apart.
Clothes, completely reduced to rags and tatters. My upper body was so shredded it was hard to find even a scrap of fabric. Beneath the wreckage, trained pectorals and abdominal muscles stood out in stark relief.
And the most important part: the pants.
'Phew... What a relief.'
Looking down below, I let out a sigh of relief.
I guess you could call it the conscience of an all-ages game.
The thighs were ripped, and the seams were barely holding on as if riddled with holes, but the parts that mustn't be seen were narrowly, just barely, covered near the pubic bone.
'Still feels kinda crap though...'
Re-enacting that fanservice scene—the one originally meant for other characters—with my own body stirred up an indescribably complicated emotion.
'Well, whatever. Going shirtless is no big deal.'
That's what I thought.
But apparently not for the people watching this.
Im Ga-eul's face was blazing red like a bomb about to explode, and she'd gone so far as to get a nosebleed.
Sofia covered her eyes with her hands.
'But, Sofia... does covering them with your hands even mean anything?'
Through those gaps between her fingers, I swear you could fit three more eyes.
Anyway, as I stood there, scratching my cheek in a somewhat embarrassed mood.
Clack.
Clack.
Before I knew it, Instructor Baek Seol-hee was walking toward me, her expression having settled into calm composure.
She met my eyes without paying any particular attention to my body.
Twitch.
Baek Seol-hee, who had been staring at me, raised an eyebrow.
"...You've grown stronger."
"Yes."
I answered with a firm voice.
"That bastard was an enemy even I couldn't cut down completely. Did you finish him for good?"
"Yes, without a doubt. That bastard won't be reviving again."
"...I see."
Baek Seol-hee slowly nodded.
"A life-or-death battle always accompanies growth, after all."
"...Yeeah."
I answered a beat late.
Honestly, the guy was basically nothing special. His strategy was set from the start, and with the support of an awakened Im Ga-eul, I took him down easily.
But saying that here, right now, felt a bit off.
"Yes. Placing the hostages' safety as your top priority, entrusting them to me, and handling the bastard alone. As an instructor of Velvet Academy, that is something I must certainly praise. It was the best choice. Well done."
Yet for words of praise, her voice was too desolate and dry.
"...However, as your master, I cannot accept it."
"Huh?"
"Jin Yu-ha, can you not trust and rely on me a little more?"
Baek Seol-hee spoke, casting a quiet, heavy gaze at me.
Hmm, let's see. In the eyes of me, a holder of the Baek Seol-hee Emotional Analysis Level-1 Certification.
'...Is she feeling hurt?'
My master didn't seem to like that I'd dealt with the bastard alone. Well, it's true that things nearly reached a Demon-summoning, and the bastard stole away a Demonized Human's body. Judging it as dangerous isn't unreasonable.
It seemed like I needed to soothe her feelings a little.
"I made that choice because I trust you, Master."
"Because you trust me...?"
"Yes. If that dangerous bastard had actually come out into the world, that'd be one thing. But it seemed like he'd seized the Demonized Human's body."
"...That's right."
"So I was confident I could hold out. And even if I couldn't—you're the strongest and most reliable person I've ever met, so... I trusted that you would come back before it was too late."
At my lip service, the Instructor bit down on her lip, holding it for a long moment.
Hm, this is a pattern I haven't seen before either.
Can't tell what expression that is.
"..."
Instead of stroking my head like she usually did, Baek Seol-hee—
Flutter—
She unfastened the cloak she wore around her shoulders and draped it over my head.
Then, plop.
She placed a box on top of my hand.
'Huh? This... the Sword Maintenance Kit?'
Why is she giving back the one I gave her earlier?
'Is she so angry she won't even accept a gift?'
As I looked up at her with a worried face, Baek Seol-hee abruptly turned her back.
"...That was originally something I used. I've acquired a new one now, so you are to use that from now on."
The skin behind Baek Seol-hee's ears, as she said that, was faintly red.
'Ah, this is a pattern I know. Embarrassment.'
It seemed to be her own way of saying thank you.
"Everyone, let's wrap this up. The operation isn't over yet. Our job goes until we hand the captured hostages over to the Hunter Management Bureau."
Baek Seol-hee addressed Im Ga-eul and Sofia with a face that showed nothing.
"...Yeeah."
"...Yeh-heh."
I covered myself by fastening the cloak she'd draped over me.
But Sofia and Im Ga-eul still nodded, their gazes fixed on me.
* * *
The hostages received another round of treatment from Sofia and were safely handed over to the Hunter Management Bureau. A report was filed, thanks were received, and monetary compensation was even paid out by the Hunter Management Bureau.
A few days after that.
Whirrrrrr—
The massage chair kneaded her whole body as it ran, but Im Ga-eul stared blankly into empty space.
A hologram video was playing in front of her eyes, but it just passed over them without registering. She couldn't muster even a flicker of interest.
Just.
Haaah—
She heaved heavy sighs, her face flushed scarlet, and she jabbed her fists into the air. A kaleidoscope of emotions painted itself across her face.
The reason she'd become like this since that day was nothing other than this.
First, she'd had a taste of the Black Magic Stone.
With that overwhelming output and speed, she'd been able to fight on equal terms(?) against that terrifying Demonized Human.
So she was certain, without a doubt, that her abilities had awakened to the next level in that moment, and that she'd be able to wield that kind of power freely from now on.
But what's this?
With an ordinary highest-grade Magic Stone, she couldn't reproduce the power from that time. Of course, maybe thanks to that experience, she had gotten a little better at handling highest-grade Magic Stones now.
But they do say a woman who's tasted the Black Magic Stone can never go back.
Her body could no longer be satisfied even by a highest-grade Magic Stone.
"...Nnnnnggh! Where can I even get one of those things!! I need to see it again at least, just what it looked like, so I can find it!!"
So that's one thing.
And the second.
In that fight, drunk on power, she'd spouted nonsense without a hint of shame.
'Nice face you're making— surprised, hoobae?'
'I'll take care of things here. You just sit there and watch, hoobae.'
'That... is an afterimage.'
'I get the gist. Your level... Ahh, how pathetic.'
Sure, she sometimes said things like that normally, but they were all jokes or light banter. But that day, she'd clearly gone insane somewhere. Because she was seriously harboring the crazy idea that she stood at the 'pinnacle' of the world.
"Wh-why the hell did I say crap like that...!!!"
Swish!
Swish!
Swish-swish!
Im Ga-eul threw jabs into the air, punching away the phantom visions roaming through her head.
And the last thing.
The sight of Jin Yu-ha she had witnessed then still flickered before her eyes.
She already knew that Jin Yu-ha's appearance was special, even under normal circumstances.
But what she saw at that moment was truly....
The defined muscles glinting under the pure white light.
And the translucent skin tone that stood out in sharp relief.
It was lethality and decadence, as if beholding the form not of a human, but a god.
Gulp—
Saliva slid down her throat on its own.
Lusting after a man's body is said to be normal for a woman, but to think she'd become that kind of woman.
And what's worse, the subject is her own party's hoobae!
"Yu-Yu-ha is my hoobae!! And I-I'm his sunbae!!"
That's what she muttered to herself.
But the fatal image of Jin Yu-ha she'd seen that day had long been branded into her like a burn scar.
"Ehehehehe...."
Even now, just remembering it makes a loose laugh leak out on its own.
"Ever since then, my eyes keep wandering somewhere else... so I can't even talk to my hoobae properly! And I need to ask him about that Black Magic Stone, too!"
This can't go on.
At the very least, she needs to get the look of it into her eyes, so she can have a natural conversation.
In an instant, Im Ga-eul's narrowed eyes opened wide.
'Now that I think about it, Sofia... was recording everything, wasn't she!?'
It was a coincidence that she recalled the camera in Sofia's hands.
Yes, everything points to Sofia.
If she goes to Sofia, she can solve the three worries scrambling her head right now in one go.
The identity of that Black Magic Stone.
Erasing her embarrassing past.
And even that footage of Jin Yu-ha...!
It was just as she was about to spring to her feet.
Ding—♬
An alert sound rang from the video playing in front of her eyes.
「 Channel 'Utopia' has uploaded a new video. 」
Huh...?