225. Deal (1)
225. Deal (1)
Ding─♬
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Name ─ Jin Yu-ha (☆☆☆)
Gender ─ Male (20)
Stats
Strength ─ 77(+10) Mental Power ─ 99(+10 ,+10%)
Mana ─ 79(+10) Endurance ─ 80 (+10)
Speed ─ 82(+10) Charm ─ 110 (+10)
Specialization ─ Swordsmanship SS (new!)
Title
─ Flower on the Cliff [Cliff Flower (崖花)]
─ Sword Genius [Sword Demon (劍鬼)]
─ Unconscious Flirting Hotspot
─ Fl*wer on the Cliff
─ Homme Fatale
─ Chef of Destruction
─ Clueless
─ National Side Dish
First Achievement Title Ⅰ ─ The One Who Defeated the Impossible. Demon Slayer
{ +10% damage to all types of Demonized Humans and Demons. }
First Achievement Title Ⅱ ─ The First to Slay a Fire Dragon. Dragon Slayer (new!)
{ +10% damage to all types of Dragon Clan. }
Skills ─ [ One Slash, Two Halves ], [ Quick Draw ], [ Sword Dance ], [ Dark Shadow Step ], [ New Moon (Moonlight Earring equipped) ]
Traits ─ [ Detection ], [ Eye Opening ], [ Intuition ], [ Charisma ]
Exclusive Weapon ─ Moonlight (月光)
Items: Bracelet of Experience (Bound), Ability Boost Ring (Bound), Ring of Affection and Obsession (Bound, currently applied to 6 people.......) (new!)
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"Ah······."
I stared at the semi-transparent status window completely filling my vision and let out a voice full of deep regret.
Honestly, I felt a bit hurt······.
Last time, in the Jukai Forest, I obtained the Ring of Affection and Obsession alongside Ichika, an exceptional Special,
and it's true that thanks to it, Utopia's combat strength has risen to an incomparable level compared to before.
But that's an item that scales with the affection I feel for others.
While everyone else was getting 3%, 4% stronger,
I myself couldn't receive that benefit.
Plus, before we went on the U.S. Monster Subjugation Request, Master held me back to help train the others. Everyone got even stronger then, too,
but I just gave demonstrations as an assistant instructor. I stayed the same as always.
Well, I did get stronger.
It's not like I neglected my training.
In fact, I squeezed and split my already packed schedule, and even cut my sleep to push my individual training even harder.
But it felt like everyone was zooming ahead in sports cars,
and I was the only one chugging along in a rattling tractor.
So, how could I not feel left out?
I even felt secretly anxious that I'd be abandoned after everyone caught up to the stats I raised early by spending resources.
But that's not the case anymore.
Because, 3-Star!
I'm 3-Star now!
In Velvetsra, being 3-Star is a qualification in itself.
It's the admission ticket that determines whether that character qualifies to enter the final chapter!
As if to agree,
all my stats rose by 10, and on top of that, my Swordsmanship Specialization went from S-Rank to SS-Rank.
I didn't get a new trait like Charisma this time, but that didn't matter.
Because a rank increase in specialization is overwhelmingly huge, incomparable to that.
'SS-Rank Swordsmanship, I want to test it out······. I wonder if Master would let me if I asked······?'
That was when I was roughly finished checking and turned my head.
Click─
A flash burst and the shutter sound rang out.
'Ah....... Right.'
I slowly lowered my gaze.
Just as expected, I saw my naked body.
I had no choice but to speak in an awkward, creeping voice.
"......Uh, you guys? Please, could you, uh, look away for a sec?"
*
In an instant, a light suddenly poured down onto Jin Yu-ha, and an intangible energy settled into him.
Those who knew what this was—
Im Ga-eul, Sofia, and Baek Seol-hee—widened their eyes.
"Uh, H-Hoobae. Th-This is definitely, from before······."
"Yes, I-I think that's right······. N-Now's not the time for that! Camera! Camera!"
"......Disciple."
But the rest who had never experienced the moment Jin Yu-ha's star rank rose were uneasy.
"Jin Yu-ha......? Wh-Why's he, acting like that?"
"Yellow Dog, is he okay?"
"Hmm, seeing how the Instructor is staying quiet, it doesn't seem like it's dangerous......."
Shin Se-hee glanced at Baek Seol-hee and spoke.
Because if it were truly a dangerous moment, there was no way that Instructor would just stand by and watch.
"Benefactor, looks like he's in pain......."
Ichika was right.
Within the pouring light, Jin Yu-ha bit his lip tightly as if in pain and let out a groan.
"Grrrrrrh······."
It looked as if an irresistible force was pressing down on his body and he was barely enduring it.
Then, at some moment, the pouring light blazed brilliantly, blindingly bright.
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!!"
Seeming unable to endure it any longer, Jin Yu-ha opened his mouth wide and screamed.
"Jin Yu-ha!!!"
The party members immediately tried to run toward him,
"Hold it."
but by then, Baek Seol-hee had already drawn her sword and was blocking their path.
"Y-You! What is this non—"
Lee Yu-ri tried to snap at Baek Seol-hee,
but Baek Seol-hee simply gestured with her chin toward Jin Yu-ha to cut her off.
And Lee Yu-ri, her eyes widening to the size of lanterns, couldn't help but hold her breath.
"Gasp!"
It was the same for the other party members.
Every single party member's eyes rounded and they swallowed hard.
"Hoo."
"Hmm."
"H-Hoobae······."
"......This is more intense than last time."
"......."
It couldn't be helped.
When the light receded, a bare body was revealed amidst pure white steam.
For some reason, his hair had grown long and was wet.
Jin Yu-ha's clothes had almost all disappeared, and beads of sweat glistened on his sculpted muscles.
The few remaining scraps of cloth artfully covered his body,
but paradoxically, that only inflamed the imagination, making it look even more bewitching.
It felt like witnessing the pinnacle of decadent beauty.
'Kyaa! Wh-Why is he making a scene stripping everything off! It's embarrassing!'
Lee Yu-ri's face turned apple-red as she fanned herself with her hand to cool down.
'......Sluurp. As expected, shouldn't we rethink sharing Jin Yu-ha with each other?'
Shin Se-hee swallowed hard out of thirst.
A deep possessiveness and desire to monopolize momentarily flickered in her eyes.
'Yellow Dog's muscles...... are truly a work of art.'
Kang Do-hee looked Jin Yu-ha's trained body up and down as if licking it with her eyes.
'Benefactor, mm. Good.'
Ichika nodded, quietly sticking up her thumb.
"......Uh, you guys? Please, could you, uh, look away for a sec?"
Jin Yu-ha belatedly looked at his party members and spoke in an awkward voice,
but there was no way anyone listened to him.
Click....... Click....... Click.......
Only the sound of Sofia's shutter continued to echo through the silence.
And it was then.
"Utopia! You bastards......! What on earth did you do to this place!"
A young girl's voice suddenly cut in.
A girl with purple twin-tails.
It was Chairwoman Rina.
"Wait, is that a Fire Dragon? What in the world have you done! Jin Yu-ha, it was you, wasn't it!"
Her indignant gaze turned toward the Fire Dragon's corpse,
then immediately toward Jin Yu-ha.
But her eyes couldn't help but soon be colored with dumbfoundedness.
"Huh? Jin Yu-ha, why are you completely naked again?"
"U-Uh, well......."
Jin Yu-ha was using his hands to cover himself with his clothes, which were now torn to rags, as if ashamed.
He looked as if he had suffered some terrible ordeal.
Chairwoman Rina whipped her head around with a "no way" expression.
"N-No way....... Are you all sexually harassing a single male cadet within your own party? No, Seol-hee? Even you!?"
* * *
In a room in the Ice Palace, a place layered with protective magic.
Wrapped in a blanket, I was facing Chairwoman Rina alone with her.
It took quite a long time to clear up her misunderstanding.
Because it didn't look good that Sofia was taking pictures during my promotion earlier.
I had to step up and even receive a lie detection spell to explain things before her misunderstanding was finally cleared.
"......Is it truly not like that? If you are perhaps being threatened with a weakness, tell me now. I have absolutely no tolerance for such things."
Having already heard a long, detailed explanation, Chairwoman Rina still spoke as if she found it suspicious.
"I'm telling you, it's not......."
"Hmm, anyway, a Star Promotion, you say....... So, you caught a Fire Dragon."
Chairwoman Rina spoke as if she had instantly grasped the entire situation just from hearing the words 'Star Promotion.'
"......Still. It's unforgivable. How dare you turn my private resort into a mess?"
"You barely even use it because you're so busy anyway. And besides, the water heating thing, what's the big deal. There's no real reason to use a Fire Dragon for that."
Rina spoke in an angry voice, but I retorted curtly.
"Wh-What does a brat like you know about the romance of a hot spring heated by a Fire Dragon!"
"You just built a cool building roughly and then, because it felt like a waste, you shoved a Fire Dragon in there to make it look cooler. That's the real story."
"......!"
Chairwoman Rina's eyes went wide.
'You think I don't know? Your personality?'
If this Ice Palace was created by Chairwoman Rina's hands,
and a Fire Dragon was sealed down below, kept alive to heat a hot spring, the reason was simple.
Because it looks cool!
This person is surprisingly a huge mood-driven person.
"And I'm telling you this because I think you've roughly got it figured out, but if the Fire Dragon woke up and caused a ruckus, it'd be hard even for you, Chairwoman, to step in now, right? It's better to get rid of it before it causes unnecessary trouble later."
"You, just how do you know about that!"
"Well, it's simple. If an ability user like you, Chairwoman, could actively use that power and step forward, there'd be absolutely no reason for this world to be as dangerous as it is now."
"......!"
"So, you must have established the academy to raise someone to inherit the hero role you used to perform."
Throughout my explanation, Rina wore a surprised expression several times.
As if she hadn't expected me to know to this extent.
'I pulled a bit from the content revealed in the later part of the story, but I had no choice.'
The reason I was suddenly telling Chairwoman Rina all this?
"So, about that Fire Dragon we caught......? Could you maybe make it into an Elixir for my party members to take?"
It was precisely for this deal!
"The party closest to being Chairwoman Rina's successor would probably be ours, I think. How about a little investment?"