Master, Master...!!
“Master! Master...!!”
That night, with curfew fast approaching, Seong Hyun-jin rushed to the dean's office. Eleonora, who had just finished her work and was about to head to her room, greeted him with a slightly surprised look.
“Student Seong Hyun-jin? What brings you here so suddenly?”
“Dean, where is Master right now?”
“If you mean Lady Karin...”
Eleonora glanced toward the room next to the dean's office, where she herself stayed. Reading her gaze, Seong Hyun-jin strode forward and shouted loudly.
“Master! Your disciple has something urgent to ask!”
“Wait a moment! Don't go in, Student Seong Hyun-jin! Lady Karin is...”
“Master!”
Despite Eleonora's attempts to stop him, Seong Hyun-jin flung the door open without a second thought. In truth, he had a pressing matter, so he had no choice—but it was a terribly poor decision.
“Mas... ter.”
“......”
Karin stood in the room as if she had just finished bathing. Fortunately, she had heard Seong Hyun-jin's voice and wrapped herself in a towel, but it couldn't fully conceal the sensual beauty of her body. Her ample breasts strained against the towel, the fabric clinging tightly to reveal her stunning curves. Water droplets trailed down her uncovered thighs and calves, a sight captivating enough to enchant thousands of men.
Of course, back at the mountain cabin, she often walked around half-exposed, but fresh out of the bath felt entirely different. Her skin, newly washed and even whiter, smoother, with steam rising faintly—it was pure poison to Seong Hyun-jin.
He forgot why he had come, standing there dumbstruck, staring blankly at Karin.
“...Hah.”
Karin let out a light sigh at his blatant gaze and scolded Eleonora outside.
“...Demon Star, could you not have stopped him from entering?”
“I definitely tried, Lady Karin. Student Seong Hyun-jin seemed in such a hurry; he wouldn't listen.”
Eleonora shook her head slightly as she spoke.
“Isn't it because this master showers her disciple with too much affection that this happens?”
“If you take issue with this master's educational philosophy, care to prove it yourself?”
At Karin's question, Eleonora waved her hands and backed off. Karin, looking faintly disappointed at her attitude, turned back to Seong Hyun-jin.
“Disciple, whatever your reason for coming, leave for now. This master will dress and call for you...”
“...Master.”
“Hm?”
Seong Hyun-jin, who had been out of it, finally responded directly to Karin. His voice grew deeply serious.
“Your unworthy disciple has just realized something for certain.”
“...What do you mean?”
Karin couldn't even think to scold him for not backing off, given his earnestness. Seong Hyun-jin stepped closer.
“Everything approaching me was mere illusion. Temptations from devils, fleeting lures for momentary pleasure!”
“What are you suddenly talking about...? Why are you coming closer?”
Though Karin pointed out his behavior, he showed no sign of stopping. Like a runaway train with failed brakes—that was Seong Hyun-jin right now.
“In this moment, I have awakened, Master! You alone are the one this disciple loves beyond all else!”
He threw his arms around Karin's body. Not just a hug—he wrapped her waist and flung himself into her embrace. Her voluptuous breasts pressed atop his head, and feeling that sensation, Seong Hyun-jin grinned foolishly.
“Wait...!”
Karin's sense of balance wouldn't falter even in a typhoon, but faced with her disciple clinging to her towel-clad body, she panicked and stumbled. Her leg caught on the bed frame behind her, and she toppled backward onto the mattress.
Thud!
Lying on the soft bed, Karin furrowed her brow slightly as she looked down at her disciple rubbing his cheek against her stomach.
“Hehe, as expected, this disciple has only his master.”
“...Disciple.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Care to imagine what will become of you if you don't move right now?”
Startled by her chilling tone, Seong Hyun-jin looked up. And he saw it.
“Gasp...!”
The towel barely covering Karin's body had slipped perilously low. Though the peak of her magnificent curves wasn't visible, it was so tantalizingly close that one might think the edges were peeking out. Overwhelmed by the sight, he forgot Karin's anger and stared blankly.
The result...
“I told you to stop staring and move!!”
Smack—!!
“Guhk...!”
Karin's powerful kick sent Seong Hyun-jin's jaw spinning. Not just his jaw—his whole body somersaulted through the air and out of the bed.
Crash! Roll—.
Having tumbled far across the floor, Seong Hyun-jin came to a stop rolling right at Eleonora's feet. She gave a brief assessment.
“Student Seong Hyun-jin doesn't usually act like this, but he always courts disaster with Lady Karin...”
Now properly dressed, Karin still frowned as she puffed on her pipe.
“So, what brings you to seek your master at this late hour? Surely not to earn another beating.”
“...Of course not, Master.”
Having come to his senses after the hit, Seong Hyun-jin knelt before Karin and nodded. Now alone in the room with just the two of them—after the blow sobered him, he properly explained he had a private matter to discuss, and Karin permitted it. Thanks to that, the room's owner, Eleonora, had tearfully excused herself to give them space.
Karin took a drag from her pipe and removed it, asking Seong Hyun-jin.
“Speak properly. Why have you come?”
“Truth be told, I came because I have a worry.”
“A worry?”
Karin tilted her head.
“What worry demands you rush here like this? If it's not so urgent, tomorrow would suffice.”
“It is urgent, Master.”
Seong Hyun-jin immediately replied it was pressing.
“Your unworthy disciple faces the crisis of a lifetime.”
“...If you're about to spout nonsense like before, best to stop now.”
“It's not that, Master.”
Seong Hyun-jin sighed deeply. Then, he spoke from the heart.
“I don't know what to do going forward.”
“Hm?”
At the genuine words from his heart, Karin immediately recognized it as a real dilemma.
“Going forward? Has something happened?”
“Well...”
Seong Hyun-jin honestly recounted the day's events. Now aware of their feelings, he continued as if his worries were endless.
“I don't know how to face them from now on. We're not strangers who can avoid each other; we'll keep crossing paths... The future feels so uncertain.”
Seong Hyun-jin looked deeply troubled, but as Karin listened, her expression gradually brightened.
Not just the Dragon Star's child, but the Demon Star's disciple too?
Karin inwardly rejoiced at the women flocking to Seong Hyun-jin. It felt like things were proceeding as they should. One reason she had sent him to the academy was to let him meet other women and develop proper tastes.
His reaction just now suggested he still had far to go, but if he formed deep bonds with the Dragon Star's daughter and Demon Star's disciple alike...
Those strange desires he harbors for me will fade in time.
It might make him seem a bit of a playboy, but this world had no rule binding one to a single partner. Compared to the highly advanced civilization powered by spirits, civic consciousness lagged somewhat.
Taking her original world as an example, the civilization neared modern levels, but civic awareness lingered at medieval-to-early modern stages. The persisting class system and empires invading others on might-makes-right logic for self-interest proved it.
Not every aspect matched her modern society—advanced civilization brought similarities—but strongman logic applied in areas like marriage customs.
Though such customs might repulse in other contexts, for Karin desperate to divert her disciple's attention, it was a weapon to persuade him.
She spoke simply to the fretting Seong Hyun-jin.
“Why make such a fuss? The answer is already clear.”
“Pardon? Surely I can't accept both their feelings? And I already have you, Master...”
Flabbergasted at how naturally he included her, she retorted.
“Exclude this master for now.”
“I can't do that.”
“...And why not simply accept both their feelings?”
Seong Hyun-jin shot her a look as if asking what nonsense that was—did she want her one disciple to become a philanderer? But Karin explained calmly, her face serene.
“Disciple, this is another world. Why assume even here that one must pair with only one?”
“...Isn't that obvious? Or not here?”
“You've lived in the mountains, so you wouldn't know. Some nations enforce it, others don't.”
Seong Hyun-jin's eyes widened. Seeing his reaction, Karin dropped another bombshell.
“And the Magic Kingdom practices polygamy.”
“......!!”
Unable to contain his shock, Seong Hyun-jin pressed Karin urgently.
“Th-this place is a harem paradise made real?!”
“...Aren't you too pleased? Don't show it so openly in front of other women, or they'll all hate you. Restrain yourself.”
“Incredible...”
Whether thrilled by the revelation or lost in fantasies, Seong Hyun-jin grinned broadly. He bowed his head deeply.
“I'll heed your advice, Master.”
His expression cleared, as if a weight had lifted.
“Following your words, Master, it seems I had no real need to worry.”
“Indeed. Cease harboring those odd feelings for this master and share sweet romances with girls your age.”
“Haha...”
Seong Hyun-jin laughed awkwardly, and Karin took a deep drag from her pipe, exhaling slowly.
He hadn't promised outright, but as his bonds with peers deepened, that answer would change in time.
But why? This was the very situation Karin had hoped for.
“Thank you for the advice, Master!”
Watching Seong Hyun-jin beam innocently, his worries resolved by her words, Karin felt an inexplicable emptiness.