Chapter 160
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: A Changed Me (3)
Yoon Harin was someone I had a lot to say about.
She was the heroine-type student who'd unintentionally drunk my semen coffee and ended up seeing me naked in a mixed bathhouse.
We hadn't gone all the way, but running into her again here felt awkwardly uncomfortable.
And sure enough, the moment our eyes met as she opened the door and walked in, a moment of silence stretched out.
"......"
"Ah..."
Yoon Harin blinked innocently, oblivious to everything, then her face quickly turned red.
"S-Sunbae, why are you... here...?"
Her voice trembled faintly, as if she too remembered that day.
I forced myself to act casual and asked her back.
"That's what I should be asking. This is the staff lounge. What's a first-year doing here?"
"Ah, um, that...! I came to thank Instructor Seraphina. For helping Do-yoon earlier..."
"Hmm, you're the girl from back then."
Seraphina crossed her arms and looked at Yoon Harin.
"Your childhood friend, right? That kid? Keep a better eye on him from now on. The academy isn't so idle that we can babysit every family delinquent or troublemaker. If something like that happens again, you might end up facing disciplinary action too."
At Seraphina's curt warning, Yoon Harin bowed her head.
She glanced at me furtively as she replied.
"...Yes, thank you for the advice, Instructor."
Once the conversation ended,
Yoon Harin bowed politely to Seraphina and started to leave, but paused for a moment.
Then she gave me a strange look.
"Um... Sunbae. Could we talk for a bit?"
Ugh.
She wasn't going to let it slide just like that, huh.
'What excuse should I make? She's definitely going to grill me about the dolls.'
I felt wronged.
Who could've guessed the original story would derail because of the clones? If the protagonist party's favorability tanked because of this, that would truly be turning things upside down!
And as expected, she dragged me to a corner of the hallway outside the lounge.
It almost felt like a kabedon position.
Her face came right up to mine.
The sweet scent of her shampoo and her hot breath tickled my face.
"Sunbae."
"...Yeah."
"What happened today? I saw your face in the newspaper. You showed off that doll-making ability back in the rift cave when we first met. Did you sell dolls to that Geum Taeyang student?"
"Hmm. Seems like there's a little misunderstanding... Probably his family placed a separate order with our company. I heard there was an unintended accident on enrollment day."
"Hoo... I don't think you had any malicious intent, Sunbae. But."
She looked straight into my eyes and continued.
"I don't want your skills to be used for bad purposes. I think you feel the same. O-Of course, I'm not trying to overstep into your business or anything. Still, if you could pay a bit more attention to Do-hyun..."
Yoon Harin's straightforward words.
They were phrased so carefully, clearly considering how not to offend me.
It was kind of touching.
"Got it. I understand what you're saying."
"Really? Then..."
"It might not be much of a price, but Harin, I'll personally consult on your doll creation. Our company was already planning an event to make dolls for free for a few A-rank students. Since you and that Do-yoon friend suffered because of this, I'd like to specially include you two."
At my offer, Yoon Harin's eyes widened.
She hesitated for a moment, then started to shake her head.
"No, Sunbae. We can't make you take a loss because of us..."
But she trailed off and paused.
Then, in a very small voice, she asked me.
"By any chance... can I have that coffee from back then if I go?"
Ugh, right.
She still had no idea what that coffee she'd drunk was.
Cold sweat broke out at her innocent question.
I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth about the semen coffee.
Unless I planned to conquer her, I'd have to keep it secret forever.
She probably just thought the coffee's flavor itself was great...
'I'm collecting pleasure essence right now, so why is it still affecting her?'
Addiction? Or because of the semen accumulated in her body?
No, maybe not. It could just be a lingering memory.
Either way, I had only one thing to say.
"Sure thing. I'll prepare it for the day you come."
I forced a casual smile as I answered.
"Then, let's set a date later and come to our company. We can do a detailed consultation then, and you can drink as much coffee as you want."
"Really? Thank you, Sunbae!"
Yoon Harin beamed and bowed to me.
Her bright, innocent smile only deepened my guilt.
And right then.
I suddenly froze.
Over the past few months, balancing pioneer team duties and doll-making training hadn't just boosted my creation skills.
My overall senses for detecting mana and manipulating mana threads had grown exponentially.
Someone was eavesdropping on our conversation.
'...How long have they been there?'
I tensed up for a moment but quickly relaxed.
It was first-year students.
Not one, but two. Girls.
Maybe they just happened to pass by and overheard us?
'Or did they come on purpose?'
I kept acting casual and said to Yoon Harin.
"Alright, I'll contact you later. Get home safe."
"Yes, you too, Sunbae!"
After Yoon Harin left, I leaned against the wall and waited for the eavesdroppers to show themselves.
As expected, two girls emerged from around the corner.
One with tanned skin and a lively ponytail, the other with a quiet vibe and closed eyes, black hair.
One of them looked familiar...
'Wait, that's Han Yujeong?'
Han Yujeong, the squinting swordswoman character who joins the protagonist's party later on.
I'd seen her once a few months ago.
And next to her... vaguely familiar, but not someone who immediately came to mind. Probably a classmate in the protagonist's class.
Han Yujeong wore her usual inscrutable smile, but the girl beside her had flushed cheeks and eyes brimming with eager anticipation.
They stopped in front of me and bowed in unison.
"Hello, Sunbae. We're Kwon Jia and Han Yujeong, first-years in Class 1."
"Hey. What's up?"
Kwon Jia spoke up as the representative.
"We're interested in your dolls too, Sunbae. Could we join that event as well?"
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement.
I chuckled at her bold request.
"Eavesdropping isn't a good habit."
"Ah, no! It was just by chance! Really! We didn't mean to listen in!"
Kwon Jia floundered with her excuses.
Han Yujeong calmly took over for her.
"It's true, Sunbae. We didn't intend to, but we overheard part of the conversation. We judged it to be very important information for us, so we took the liberty of approaching you."
"Important information, huh."
"Yes."
Kwon Jia mustered her courage again and spoke up.
This time, very directly.
"We're really interested in your dolls too. Even if we look like this, we're first-years in Class A! If it's not too much trouble, can we join the free creation event? Please?"
Well, of course it was rude...
I naturally scanned them both.
'Their figures are just...'
Kwon Jia.
Healthily tanned skin and firmly toned muscles.
Yet, her ample breasts and slim waist stood out clearly even over her uniform.
Especially her hips, bouncing elastically with every movement—enough to captivate any man.
The ideal body of a physical warrior woman.
And Han Yujeong, being a heroine from the main story, went without saying.
She boasted volume equal to—if not greater than—Kwon Jia's.
The buttons on her neatly buttoned uniform blouse strained perilously, as if about to pop.
The mismatch between her refined appearance and sensual figure stirred a strange sense of taboo.
'Both are excellent.'
Perfect materials for making into my clone bodies.
'Coming to Class A was the right call.'
The talent pool here was on another level.
The better they were, the more their looks and figures shone—that was the game's chronic structure. Especially those close to the protagonist showed higher potential.
I smirked inwardly and told them.
"Even if you hadn't come to me, I was planning to announce it officially in a week."
At that, Kwon Jia's face lit up.
But she soon hesitated, glancing at me cautiously.
"Um... Sunbae. How many spots are there in that event?"
"Why?"
"Well... the competition might be too fierce..."
I curled my lip at her transparent question.
Girls who were upfront weren't so bad.
"You've got some greed, huh."
"Ah, no! It's not like that...!"
"Fine. Telling your class friend could be seen as favoritism by others. If you don't tell anyone else about my talk with Yoon Harin today, I'll include you two."
"Really? Thank you, Sunbae! We absolutely won't tell anyone!"
"Good. I'll contact you later, so wait for that."
I said that and was about to send them off.
But as Han Yujeong turned to leave, I gave her a very subtle glance that Kwon Jia wouldn't notice.
A signal to stay behind a moment.
If they were both extras, I wouldn't differentiate, but this world's foundation was ultimately Dominant Evil. Those needing special treatment deserved unconditional attention.
'Even an S-rank hunter far stronger wouldn't outlive story-assured survivor characters in terms of odds.'
In other words, the difference between extras and mains was 'survival probability.'
Especially since my skills prioritized the original body's survival above all, Han Yujeong—the rapier swordmaster joining the protagonist's party—was as much a key figure as Yoon Harin.
'Though too much interest could backfire...'
For now, I just hoped she'd remember me.
Luckily, Han Yujeong caught my glance.
She sent Kwon Jia ahead first, then returned to me.
Her face still held that faint, inscrutable smile.
It's fine. Don't tense up.
She's a squinting character, but not the scheming type.
"What is it, Sunbae?"
"Don't you remember? We met at the training grounds a year ago. With your senior, Park Jinseong."
"Ah..."
A year ago, at the academy training grounds.
Park Jinseong, the Swordsmanship Sect thug who'd shown off to impress her, the academy prep student observing.
I'd embarrassed him a bit in front of her with Instructor Cheon Da-eun's skill.
I thought I'd left a decent impression.
At my words, Han Yujeong's eyes widened ever so slightly.
She remembered too.
"So you were the one from back then."
She smiled faintly.
"Yes, right. You sparred with my senior using those ice gloves. I knew you were a Maker, but... I didn't expect to see you again like this."
She seemed oddly pleased to run into someone she knew at the academy.
I subtly asked her.
"Like your friend, you're interested in clone creation too, right? Just checking you're not being pushed into it."
"No. I'm interested."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Honestly, maybe more than her."
Han Yujeong clasped her hands, looking strangely delighted.
Her unexpected answer surprised me a bit.
I'd thought she wouldn't care much about that sort of thing.
"Why's that?"
"If your doll could attend classes for me, I could focus solely on sword training during that time."
It was puzzling.
Isn't that just skipping class?
It didn't fit the refined noble lady concept at all, but whatever.
"I see. Then, are you free tomorrow?"
"Pardon? Tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I had a cancellation tomorrow, so I've got an opening. If you're okay with it, I'd like to do the consultation right away."
She probably wouldn't like being singled out specially...
So I made it seem coincidental and slotted her in first.
She hesitated at my suggestion.
But soon nodded.
"Yes. Sounds good."
At her acceptance, I lightly took her hand.
And slowly pushed pleasure essence into her body.
At the same time, I made her look straight into my eyes.
"Then, looking forward to it, Yujeong."
"Ah, yes... Sunbae."
Han Yujeong's pupils trembled faintly.
A light blush rose on her cheeks.
I'd mastered plenty of ways to acquire debuff curse skills for clones, precisely for situations like this.