Chapter 348: In Heat
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 348: In Heat
“H-Hyun-woo…?”
Lumina’s eyes widened as they met mine.
Her soft-looking goat ears twitched along with her surprise.
“It’s been two days. Are you feeling okay?”
“Y-Yes…!”
Maybe because she was as short as Jeon Seoha, I almost reached out to pat her head.
I barely managed to restrain my hand.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Instead, I took Lumina’s hand.
Of course, I had no ulterior motives. This was purely part of a medical check-up.
As I took her pulse and slowly channeled my energy into her, it flowed through her Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Minor Meridians throughout her body, relaying her condition to me.
‘…Thankfully, there don’t seem to be any problems.’
Like the others, Lumina had been exposed to Gremory’s power.
Just as the others complained of partial memory loss, it wouldn’t have been strange at all if she had also suffered some mental issues.
‘Then again, with a 1st Grade Alchemist right by her side, worrying is probably pointless.’
Marna Hircus could probably create a decent potion from common weeds on the street and brew an elixir with just a handful of medicinal herbs.
For her granddaughter, Lumina, to have any health problems was practically impossible.
That was why my connection to not only Marna Hircus but also Lumina was an important asset that always needed to be prioritized.
“U-Um… my hand…!”
“Ah.”
I immediately let go of Lumina’s hand.
“Sorry.”
“I-It’s okay…”
Lumina shook her head, her face flushed bright red.
“By the way, it should be a day off for first-years. What brings you to the club room?”
“Ah… well, Gaeun-sunbae called me, saying there was a research club dinner.”
“A dinner?”
I turned my head to look at Ryu Gaeun.
“Am I not a member of this research club?”
“I was going to contact you, too. But I don’t have your number.”
Even as she spoke, her gaze was fixed on a thick book.
The title was ‘The Origin of Demons.’
“But Gaeun-sunbae, where did you get the money for a dinner…?”
“From the club funds, of course.”
“…Did our research club even have something like club funds?”
Lumina voiced her doubt.
As she said, Diabology was, by all accounts, the poorest research club in the Gray Magic Tower.
It was so bad that the president, Ryu Gaeun, had to work part-time jobs just to buy books.
“Huhu.”
Thud-
Ryu Gaeun closed her book with a relaxed laugh.
She then pulled a document from her pocket and handed it to Lumina.
It was a statement of expenses for the research club’s activities.
As Lumina calmly read through the document, her eyes began to tremble slightly.
“…U-Um, sunbae? You didn’t, by any chance, blackmail a staff member, did you? That’s a crime, you know?”
“How harsh. This is a legitimate reward for our research activities.”
“A reward…?”
“You know that paper we submitted last month.”
At Ryu Gaeun’s words, Lumina pondered for a moment before her eyes lit up.
“Don’t tell me… are you talking about the paper on the ecology of demons? The one that got rejected so many times?”
It went without saying that the more results a research club produced, the more support it received in various forms.
Those results could be in many fields, like improving magic or developing new reagents, but writing a paper worthy of a professor’s recognition as a student also carried significant weight.
Of course, it was by no means an easy task.
“A professor must have been deeply impressed by the paper and increased our club funds.”
“…”
I remained silent at the sight of Ryu Gaeun’s confident smile, which was visible even through her mask.
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
‘But isn’t this a bit too much of an increase?’
I had asked Han Lael to increase the club funds, but I had specified that a normal amount would be sufficient.
The amount written on the statement, however, was excessively large.
“Now that all the members are here, shall we all go to a restaurant?”
“…Is it okay to use the club funds like that?”
“Of course. Everyone else uses them for personal reasons all the time.”
Ryu Gaeun looked at the card in her hand as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
Well, considering she usually survived on ramen or hamburgers due to a lack of money, it was only natural for her to be excited at the thought of going to a restaurant.
“I have other plans, so I’ll have to skip.”
“Oh, really?”
Ryu Gaeun looked visibly pleased.
It seemed the reason was that my absence would save them money on the meal.
‘…Should I ask to have the funds taken back?’
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but I exercised as much patience as I could.
“Sunbae, could you take a look at this?”
“Hm?”
I handed Ryu Gaeun the ‘Seal of Gehenna.’
“…This design looks like something an adolescent boy would think is cool. I respect your taste, but you’re getting older, so maybe you should try to avoid things like this?”
“It’s an artifact, so stop talking nonsense and take a proper look.”
“An artifact?”
At my words, Ryu Gaeun observed the seal from various angles before looking at me with a strange expression.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s just an ordinary ring.”
“…What?”
Her puzzled reaction left me speechless for a moment.
Something was wrong.
“It doesn’t react when I infuse it with magic power, and there aren’t even any circuits engraved inside. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“Um… may I take a look?”
“Hm? Sure.”
Lumina took the seal from Ryu Gaeun.
She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, then she too tilted her head in confusion.
“Hmm… I think Gaeun-sunbae is right. You must be mistaken, Hyun-woo.”
“…What?”
I grew confused as Lumina handed the seal back to me.
“I mean, this is really just an ordinary ring.”
*
The items I obtained through the dating app all possessed extraordinary abilities.
But no matter how special they seemed, their fundamental nature never strayed from the category of magic tools or artifacts.
So, just like with the pendant, I thought I could get some meaningful information about the seal from Ryu Gaeun.
However, their answers completely defied my expectations.
“An ordinary ring…”
If anyone else had said it, I might have dismissed it as a simple mistake.
But I couldn’t do that this time.
Ryu Gaeun possessed extensive knowledge in fields related to demons, and Lumina was the granddaughter of a 1st Grade Alchemist.
For both of them to come to the same conclusion, ignoring it would be nothing short of denying reality.
“…I guess I’ll have to stick this in my inventory for a while, too.”
I could go find a mage who specializes in artifacts, but since this was an artifact related to demons, I couldn’t just go around asking recklessly.
Of course, I could ask Choi Hyena to find someone tight-lipped, or I could ask Han Lael directly, but both of them seemed busy with the aftermath of the recent Gate incident.
Han Lael was personally handling the situation on-site, and Choi Hyena was apparently following her grandmother, Choi Young-ok, learning the family business.
“Come to think of it, they did contact me.”
Choi Hyena had sent a warning not to pick up any girls in the UK, while Han Lael had sent a message saying she would soon reward me for saving Han Seoah.
Thanks to them, I had a feeling I would be busy for a while after returning from the UK.
As I was lost in these thoughts while walking down the hallway, I remembered what Lumina had said before I left the club room.
—My grandmother said she would really like you to visit sometime. She wants to thank you in person.
A reward from a 1st Grade Alchemist. I couldn’t even begin to guess what she planned to give me.
‘Looks like Lumina kept the secret well, though.’
Judging by Ryu Gaeun’s reaction, she didn’t seem to know that Gremory had appeared at the Gate.
Of course, Han Seoah might have told Han Lael, but that was fine.
In the first place, the reason for hiding this incident wasn’t for my sake, but for those who participated in the field training.
If the truth about Gremory’s descent were to be revealed, the Vatican would try to interrogate everyone who participated in the training.
And if they suspected any wrongdoing, there was no telling what they might do.
Just thinking about what happened with Purpur last time, they were more than capable of it.
“I heard the Church has a lot of influence in Europe… I’d rather not get involved with them if I can help it.”
Even if it was a place full of people who were half out of their minds, the Church was still a massive religious organization with immense influence all over the world.
If I got entangled with the Church in the UK, the accusations from the Purpur incident could be brought up again, and things could get much bigger.
Of course, with the Saint having vouched for me, the situation wouldn’t escalate to the worst-case scenario, but no one can predict the future.
The best thing to do was to stay as quiet as possible without causing any trouble and then return home—
“…Found you.”
As I was lost in thought walking down the corridor, a cold voice pierced my ears.
I slowly turned my head and saw a familiar face at the other end of the hall.
Light violet hair, eyes a shade darker, and a faint killing intent.
“…Riyal?”
*
SLAM!
The door to an empty classroom was shut violently.
Riyal, who I had run into in the hallway, had dragged me here without a word.
It felt like our roles were reversed, but I wasn’t clueless enough to point that out.
‘…What is she doing now?’
Riyal, who had been glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me just moments ago, hadn’t said a word for five minutes now.
“Sniff, haah…”
She was just hugging me with all her might, her face buried in the crook of my neck, sniffing me.
It’s not like I was emitting pheromones or anything. I had no idea why she was suddenly acting like this.
“Hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but first, calm down and—”
SQUEEZE!!
The moment I tried to gently push her shoulder away, her grip on me tightened.
For the record, this wasn’t on a level you could just brush off as cute.
It was strong enough to easily crush a wooden doll reinforced with steel rods.
A normal person would have had their ribs broken and passed out long ago.
Squish—
“…?”
Suddenly, a sound that made me doubt my own ears reached me.
It was a sound so familiar I couldn’t possibly ignore it.
“Hngh…! Uungh, nngh…!♡”
Hearing the faint moans, I slowly lowered my head.
My eyes fell on Riyal, who had her hand between her legs, fidgeting.
My mind went completely blank.
The sight was so unbelievable by my standards that I thought I must have been mistaken.
But no matter how many times I looked, it was what it was: she was using me to get off.
‘…In heat?’
Riyal’s species is unicorn.
And since horses have a mating season, if I assume Riyal is going through the same thing, then it makes sense…
“Suck, sluurp…♡”
No, it didn’t make any sense at all.
As if sniffing me and playing with herself wasn’t enough, Riyal started sucking on my neck.
Dealing with the marks Noel and Jeon Seoha made every morning was already a chore, and now it looked like I’d have to do it at lunchtime too.
Sliide—
While my mind was momentarily distracted, Riyal’s hand reached for the front of my pants.
I snatched her wrist.
“Hoo… If you go any further, I don’t give a damn about any sacred ritual. I’ll just fuck you. So think carefully.”
Sacred Ritual (聖式).
High-level mythical beasts, including unicorns, consider their first sexual experience a sacred rite. They call their first night with their partner a sacred ritual.
The problem was that they strictly forbade any sexual relations outside of it.
In other words, to have sex with Riyal, I needed to marry her.
Last time, I didn’t want to get tied down, so I tried to run away, only to get beaten to a pulp by her.
But if she was the one to cross the line first, I had no intention of holding back either.
“So let go of this hand and hurry up…”
“…No.”
“What?”
Riyal, who had kept her face buried in my neck, slowly lifted her head.
She looked up at me with a flushed face, hazy, unfocused eyes, and a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
“I-I am a noble unicorn and the heir to the Everhart family! There’s no way someone like me would mix my body with a filthy human male…!”