Chapter 109
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: The Visible Future
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That succubus... That succubus... That damn succubus.
I thought I'd kept the Vow of Purity intact, rejecting her as firmly as possible while toeing that razor-thin line.
So why was this trial happening to me again?
'No, the Vow of Purity is still perfectly in place. Doesn't that mean I've held out fine so far? So why is this...?'
No, that wasn't it.
There was no need to sink into these thoughts so soon.
At the very least, while I was stuck in the hospital, I wouldn't have to see her.
I just needed to come up with some plan before discharge.
Just then, I recalled seeing an essay on a community forum from a user who'ded Sophia's father over 1,000 times.
If I used those methods wisely, it shouldn't be impossible.
"Yeah... that should work."
"Hm? What'd you say?"
Seol Yu-bin, who had been sitting in the guardian's chair by the bed scrolling on her smartphone, tilted her head and looked at me.
"What should work?"
"Oh, uh, it's nothing. What are you up to anyway?"
"Me? I'm applying for this right now."
Seol Yu-bin turned her smartphone screen toward me.
Squinting, I slowly read the small text on the screen.
"Ah... Academy new... professor... application? Academy new professor application?? You're applying to be a professor?"
"Yeah."
"...Why?"
From the moment Seol Yu-bin, who was supposed to appear and vanish, started sticking around longer.
I'd already anticipated variables arising from this Seol Yu-bin who deviated so far from what I knew.
But... out of all those possibilities, who would've thought the one I'd dismissed as unlikely—Seol Yu-bin joining the Academy—would actually happen.
I barely reined in my mind, which wanted to blast off to Andromeda, thanks to my Composure trait, and continued.
"No, I mean, why? Do you meet the qualifications?"
"Of course~ Korea's Academy is so high-nosed. If you can make it, great; if not, buzz off. Other academies have been sending me love letters begging me to join as a visiting professor for the past two years."
"Th-that's... impressive. So you're really coming to the Academy?"
"Yeah, for real. The stares might be harsh, but I've been bothered that I couldn't properly teach you at the Seol Clan, so I'll finish the job at the Academy."
Seol Yu-bin said that and turned her smartphone screen back toward herself.
And my mind turned to mush.
'Academy... professor...? For real...?'
Forget how far this strayed from the original story.
There had already been that incident at the front gate last time, and the news had run headlines like "Seol Yu-bin's man" or whatever.
And if she ended up in a professor-student relationship on top of that...
The ripple effects her presence would cause in the Academy were too horrifying to imagine.
But the person in question casually continued while staring at her phone.
"Oh, don't worry. I won't play favorites just because I'm teaching you."
Except those words somehow carried zero convincing power.
"No, it's not that... You don't need to avoid favoritism... It's just so sudden."
"Sudden is life's default setting, Hyun-sol."
"Don't use your standards, sis."
Seol Yu-bin chuckled, scanned me once from the bedside, and said in an unexpectedly gentle voice.
"Hyun-sol, sorry, but what you need to worry about isn't me coming to the Academy.
Nor is it that woman, Chae Yeon-hwa."
"Th-then what?"
As I asked in a trembling voice, she poked near my heart with her finger without further explanation.
"I don't know exactly what you did... but you've become the master of the Eternal Frost's Ice Crystal, right?
So what do you think you should do now?"
"Uh... well, who knows?"
Unable to give a clean answer, she dusted off her hands and stood.
"I'll leave the rest to your imagination? Here's a hint: the Ice Crystal's master must always stand with the Seol Clan. See ya~"
As her footsteps faded out the door, I quietly exhaled.
Because I'd fully understood what she meant.
"......Life... why does it keep twisting like this."
To be precise, it wasn't twisting so much as the world's flow bending more and more around me.
A day later, the door opened without a knock, and turquoise hair swayed gently.
"......You okay?"
Sophia cautiously asked after my condition and walked to my side. The moment she sat in the chair, she bit her lip lightly and gently grasped the back of my hand.
"How's your body? I heard you absorbed the Eternal Frost's Ice Crystal."
"Fit as a fiddle."
I deliberately raised both arms to flex my barely-there biceps.
But contrary to my expectations, Sophia's eyes wavered.
"I'll... get stronger."
At the sudden declaration, I blinked, and Sophia slowly lifted her head.
"It's really hard now. I don't... want to keep seeing you get hurt."
"...."
Wait, isn't this heroine dialogue?
This won't do.
"Ah, uh... thanks. But don't overdo it."
"......Yeah."
A short breath escaped, and Sophia gave a faint smile.
"Once you're recovered... let's resume magic lessons. We need to finish the shape rune magic circle soon."
With that, Sophia quietly left.
Her retreating back somehow looked more resolute.
"Hyun-sol-kun!!~ Are you alive??!"
The door burst open.
Amelia's signature bright voice filled the room in an instant.
"Long time no see, Amelia. Luckily, I didn't die."
"Yay~ That's a relief! Don't die! You can't die! I still have over a hundred things I want to do with Hyun-sol-kun!"
I won't ask what those 'things' are.
Something tells me crossing that river would be irreversible.
Amelia beamed and tossed her hair.
Her lime-green eyes sparkled toward me.
"So! Where does it hurt the most? Mana circuits? Heart? Waist? Shoulder? Let me heal you with a healing punch—"
"Don't heal with punches... I'll really die."
"Ehh— I hold back so you won't~"
Her innocent, over-the-top energy was familiar, but it felt a bit dangerous.
Suddenly, Amelia stepped closer, straightened my blanket, and said.
"......I was really worried."
This time, her voice held genuine feeling.
I blanked out for a moment.
"......Thanks."
Amelia grinned brightly again.
"Because when Hyun-sol-kun hurts, my heart hurts too♡"
...Was that literal or emotional?
Unable to ask, I watched Amelia wave cheerfully as she left.
The door opened quietly.
Yoo Ji-an entered, exuding the exact opposite calm aura of Amelia.
"......So the bad omen was real."
"Pardon?"
Yoo Ji-an scanned me up and down, then lightly stroked my forehead with her palm.
"Maybe I should've held onto you that day somehow? No... from what I heard, that would've gotten everyone from the Seol Clan killed... Still, since it all worked out, that's a relief."
"That's not your idea of comfort, is it?"
"Not comfort, just... occupational habit. Analyze first."
Classic Yoo Ji-an.
She approached my side and placed a small, translucent potion bottle on the bedside table.
"What's this?"
"Recovery potion I whipped up while the junior was out cold."
"......Not experimental, right?"
Yoo Ji-an subtly averted her eyes.
"...The experiments are done. Thanks to you?"
"Pardon? What?"
"Nothing."
She looked ready to turn me into a test subject for another weird potion.
But just before turning, Yoo Ji-an's expression flickered oddly.
"...And."
"?"
"Good to see your face in one piece. Catch you after classes start."
Yoo Ji-an left the room crisply, as if she'd wrapped up all business.
Next came before the door even opened.
That distinctive fresh aura.
"Hyun-sol~! I'm here!"
Choi Eun-ha bounded in with a huge smile.
Her momentum nearly had her sliding across the hospital floor.
"Hyun-sol, long time no see? You okay? Did it hurt a lot? Did you cry? Pass out? Get dizzy?"
"Do I have to answer all that?"
"Yes!!"
I sighed.
"I'm fine. A bit of rest and I'll be good."
Choi Eun-ha plopped into the chair and said with sparkling eyes.
"Good... If Hyun-sol gets hurt, I'd really... be sad."
Then cautiously, she placed her hand atop the blanket.
"You haven't paid your life debt yet, so you can't die... I'd be so sad if you did."
Her sky-blue odd eye peeked through the hair covering one side, wavering strangely.
"So get better quick. Got it? And next semester, I'm transferring in too, so let's get along?"
"...Yeah. Thanks."
Ah, right.
I couldn't just celebrate surviving the apocalypse-level main story.
'Feels like her joining will cause a massive uproar...'
Shortly after Choi Eun-ha left, that distinctive aura emanated from beyond the door.
The feeling you get gazing at moonlight?
Sure enough, Wol Ha-yeon opened the door.
Her hair—pale purple outside, seeping into sky blue inside—shone brightly under the room lights.
"......Condition?"
"Still breathing."
Ha-yeon nodded and approached, naturally taking my wrist.
"Pulse is a bit unstable... Mana recovery's slow too."
"...Spot on, as expected."
"Obviously."
Her words were curt and haughty, but her fingertips were gentler than anyone's.
"Don't get hurt."
"...Hm?"
"I don't want to see people around me dying or getting hurt anymore."
Saying that, she shyly averted her gaze.
"Anyway... get better soon."
With Wol Ha-yeon last, no more visitors came.
Yoon Seo-rin was apparently swamped handling Association Chairman duties while Yoon Seo-jun was away.
Two days later.
Discharge approval finally came, and I opened the hospital room door in light clothes.
"Phew... Finally getting out."
The morning air felt incredibly fresh.
Just being able to move again was a bit overwhelming.
So with a light heart, thinking of prepping for the upcoming second semester, I opened the door.
Slide—!
That instant.
"Hyun-sol student... Long time no see."
Someone standing at the door called my name and pushed me back inside.
After a moment of panic, I collected myself and checked their identity.
Pink hair, the usual pristine white suit.
And succubus pupils unlike any human's, with no attempt to hide them.
The one who'd pushed me back inside was Chae Yeon-hwa.
"Pr-professor? What is...?"
"Just need to talk for five minutes~"