Walking a Precarious Tightrope
My heart pounded wildly—thump! thump! thump! thump……! It felt like it was about to burst any second. Was this the influence of the Dragon Heart? My entire body twitched in time with every beat. ‘This is insane…….’
This reaction wasn’t born of excitement, but of pure, primal survival instinct. And who could blame it? Right now, I was surrounded by three young ladies.
“……”
“Breeder, why aren’t you answering?”
“Baekdong-ah? I’m glad you’re safe, but……”
“You’d better answer properly, yap-!”
Sofia, Raylin, and Derke pressed in one after another, stepping closer with each word. —Gulp……!
That was why my heart was racing. Every corner of my body screamed at me through the thunderous beats: if you don’t want to die, get out of here right now.
‘I’ve never seen faces this terrifying before. Are these really the girls I know……?’
Every single one of them wore a grave expression. They had come out of concern for me, but Sonya and Eros clearly weren’t welcome. After all, I’d spent the entire day with those two.
“Hmmmm……?”
Before I knew it, Sofia was standing right in front of me. She let out a sigh laced with suspicion, her golden eyes quietly flashing as she stared at me.
“Baekdong-ah?”
“Breeder oppa?”
With her in the lead, Raylin stood to my left and Derke to my right. They called my name softly, gazing at me. Hot breaths brushed against my face. All three looked unconvinced. Their worship-level favorability meant nothing now. Worship? Anyone watching would think we were enemies.
‘One wrong word and my favorability is going straight into the ground.’
I couldn’t keep silent any longer. I had to pull myself together and say something—anything. If I just stood here frozen, my life might really end today. My brain worked furiously for a way to survive, but my body……
—Twitch, twitch!
‘M-My body won’t move……?’
The overwhelming pressure from the three dragons had me completely paralyzed. The guilt weighing on my conscience didn’t help either.
“…Breeder? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Sofia, standing at the front, asked quietly. She wanted to know if anything had really happened with the second-years—and demanded I explain everything from the beginning.
—Tremble, tremble, tremble……
At her question, Sonya and Eros, who had been silently shrinking in the back, began to shake. Their faces were pale with fear. They probably never imagined there were three more rivals, let alone that Sofia would be among them.
—Shake, shake……!
With my lips refusing to part, I squeezed out every last bit of strength and barely managed to shake my head. I was desperately signaling that nothing had happened between me and those two.
“Hohoho, good. That’s how it should be.”
The moment I shook my head, Sofia’s stiff expression and voice softened in an instant. Her once-dim halo now shone brightly around her temples, as if it had never faded. She must have been relieved by my answer. She had wanted that confirmation so badly—wanted to believe nothing had happened.
“…I believed in you, Breeder.”
“Hah, hah……! Th-Thank you for believing me.”
Once Sofia smiled brightly and eased the tension, I finally felt like I could breathe and speak again. It seemed I had somehow cleared the first major hurdle.
“However…… I can’t say the same for our juniors.”
“──?!”
But before I could even catch my breath, the next crisis arrived.
“Why on earth did they ask my Breeder to work with them in the first place? How presumptuous……?”
I’d thought we were past this, but she was already circling back to the very beginning. Sonya’s conditional rapport quest had been the root of everything, after all.
“That’s right, yap……! Something definitely feels suspicious, desu-yong-!”
“Hohaha? The second-years’ favorites are getting all clingy with Baekdong? I’m quite disappointed.”
As Sofia pointed out the flaw and voiced her doubts, Derke and Raylin shot murderous glares toward the corner where Sonya and Eros stood frozen in silence.
“…….”
“Why is everyone so quiet, yap-?!”
Derke growled first. She showed no hesitation even though they were her seniors. Whether she trusted Sofia and Raylin or simply didn’t care because it involved me, I couldn’t tell.
“Sonya and…… Zero s, was it?”
“Y-Yes! Th-That’s correct!”
“I-It’s Eros, not Zero s……!”
When Sofia spoke again, the two finally answered.
“I’ll ask you both directly this time. Did nothing really happen with Breeder?”
“Y-Yes……! Nothing happened at all! Other than him cooking a simple meal for us, nothing happened……!”
Sonya answered without hesitation. She was clearly trying to match my alibi. Eros, on the other hand, was stammering nervously. After forming a love pact with me, she had every reason to feel guilty. Plus, acting wasn’t exactly her strong suit.
“Waaah……? Oppa cooked for someone else……?”
“Baekdong was only taken along so you could use him like that?”
Derke and Raylin reacted first. Jealousy sparked in Raylin’s eyes. Her already red irises looked ready to burst into flames.
“Th-That’s not it……!”
“If it’s not that, then what exactly~?”
“W-We just—”
While Sonya struggled to respond to Raylin’s sharp tone, Sofia cut in.
“Hmm, still, Sonya isn’t the type to lie…… Since your statements are consistent, I’ll believe you for now.”
“Th-Thank you, Sofia sunbae……!”
Sonya’s reputation among the seniors seemed quite good, which allowed us a brief moment of relief. Just as I thought we could finally breathe—
“But why Breeder, of all people? Out of so many servants, why him?”
Relief? Not a chance. The tense standoff wasn’t over yet. Sofia dropped the honorifics and pressed on, tilting her head curiously. Setting aside our personal relationship, she seemed genuinely interested in why they had asked me specifically.
“Th-That’s…… We couldn’t find a replacement for Raylin sunbae. And we only found out about the staff change at the last minute, so there was no one else to ask. I’m truly sorry……”
“Is that so? Still, it would have been better if you had reported the situation to me, the student council president, first.”
“I-I wanted to as well, but…… There was the new student welcome party yesterday, remember? Plus, you were arguing with Diora sunbae, so I couldn’t get a word in.”
“Haa? I see.”
Sonya smoothly deflected Sofia’s surprise attack once again. Watching her handle it alone was reassuring. She really hadn’t become class representative for nothing. Even in front of seniors, she stayed remarkably composed despite how nerve-wracking it must have been.
“…Well, fine. Still, just in case, if either of you has feelings for Breeder, you’d better give up right now.”
With those words, Sofia turned her head again. Her face had grown calmer. Then her golden eyes shifted toward me.
—Slide……!
She gazed at me with deep, meaningful eyes and slowly drew closer.
“L-Lady……?”
“Watch carefully. Who Breeder belongs to.”
“Hup─?”
—Chuu♥
Suddenly, her lips overlapped mine.
‘In front of everyone like this……?’
Something soft and warm covered me. Her tongue boldly knocked at the door, demanding I open up and accept her. She wanted to proudly show everyone who I belonged to.
—Lick, slurp……!
I had no choice but to comply. Of course I had no intention of refusing. I couldn’t possibly reject Sofia, the first one I’d formed a love pact with. Honestly, I had missed her too. It had only been a day since we made the pact. If it weren’t for Sonya’s conditional rapport quest, I would have gone to Sofia first.
‘……And if this is how she can restore her pride, then maybe it’s for the best. I can handle a kiss like this anytime.’
Perhaps marking me openly in front of everyone would be enough to calm her down. If so, we might be able to move past this safely.
—Lick……! Slurp!
Sofia moved her tongue aggressively, as if determined to prove she had first priority. I obediently parted my lips to accept her—when suddenly—
—Tap, tap, tap……!
While everyone watched us in silence, someone poked my side repeatedly. I opened my eyes slightly to see a small finger beckoning me. That same finger was also poking Sofia’s side.
“Huh? Derke……?”
It was Derke. She was boldly interrupting her senior’s kiss, looking thoroughly displeased.
“Aaaah? D-Derke……?”
Instead of getting angry, Sofia pulled away from me in surprise. Given her usual gentle nature with juniors, her reaction was hard to understand. A fourth-year senior being pushed around by a first-year?
“Sunbae? What happened to the promise we made this morning, desu-yong……? The one where you said you’d give me priority, yap-!”
Derke looked up at Sofia with half-dead eyes. Her usually lively green irises had turned dull, as if covered in moss.
“Th-That is…… I couldn’t help myself after seeing Breeder’s face……”
“I can’t hold back anymore either, desu-yong-! Keep your promise, desu-yong……!!!”
“R-Right…… I’m sorry……”
Derke demanded her turn as if she had made a reservation. Sofia reluctantly stepped back, looking like a puppy with its tail between its legs. For some reason, she gave in without resistance.
—Thud……!
She buried her now-bright-red face downward. Shame and embarrassment were written all over her. After all, she had tried to save face in front of her juniors, only to be ignored by a first-year. Sofia couldn’t lift her head from the humiliation.
“Breeder oppa?”
Meanwhile, Derke called out to me confidently.
“D-Derke? You weren’t hurt, right……? I really missed you.”
“Hmph! Do you really mean that, yap……?”
“Of course. I actually came to see you this morning…… but you were sleeping so soundly that I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.”
“Huaaah……? Is that true, desu-yong? If something like that happened, you should’ve shaken me awake……”
“Sorry…… But since we’ve met again like this, it’s fine, right? I really missed you a lot, Derke.”
“Tch, if you’re just going to say that……”
“So, did you not miss me, Derke?”
“I-I missed you a lot too, desu-yong……”
—Squeeze……!
The moment Sofia stepped aside, Derke yanked me by the waist. Her sulky expression from earlier had already vanished. She rushed into my arms, unable to hold back now that I was right in front of her.
‘Thank goodness Derke isn’t the mischievous type.’
Even as she clung to me, Derke couldn’t quite meet my eyes.
—Sniff, sniff, sniff……!
She hugged me with all her strength and buried her face, sniffing loudly. She looked just like a puppy who had finally found her owner again, basking in the comfort of my scent.
“Sniff……! But, oppa?”
“Hm? What is it, Derke?”
“I’m glad I can smell you again after so long, but……”
“But……?”
“Your scent seems a little different after just one day, desu-yong. There are several smells I’ve never noticed on you before, yap.”
“…Cough?!”
W-Was she seriously figuring it out just from the smell……?