The Eve Before the New Semester
In that brief moment, it felt as if all my pain and fatigue had transformed into ecstasy, piercing through my very body.
Seolhye lowered her wooden sword on the spot.
"That’s it. You’ve finally revealed it."
I collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.
My fingertips were still tingling, and my entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
But—
A strange sense of peace bloomed in a corner of my heart.
Like this,
After falling countless times,
After being struck countless times,
After rising countless times.
The path of the sword remained at my fingertips.
Seolhye approached me and patted my shoulder.
"Now you are becoming a true swordsman. You will likely encounter such realizations from time to time in the future. Do not let them slip away."
Cheonghwa approached from behind.
Quietly,
She spoke softly.
"Master, congratulations. That movement just now was undoubtedly the first form of the Hwan Kingdom Sword Method: Severing the Heavens."
"I’ve seen it before when I was young, too. Severing the Heavens, was that the name? Anyway, congratulations, Master."
I clenched my palm, where sweat and blood were mingled. The scratches were already beginning to heal.
"......I'll do even better next time."
My vision was blurring, but strangely, the world felt much clearer.
The eve of the semester opening.
"Ahhh!"
Chicken and beer after a workout are one of the few remaining truths in this world.
I took a mouthful of chicken and rinsed my mouth with beer.
"Master, you might get indigestion if you eat so hastily."
Cheonghwa said as she carefully refilled my glass.
"Well, what’s wrong with a little indigestion? How could I miss out on something this delicious?"
Yuyeon playfully shook a chicken bone in her sauce-stained hand.
Baek Seolhye was already eating her second chicken leg.
At a glance, her expression seemed indifferent, but she had unconsciously placed another piece on my plate.
The smell of chicken, the small laughs, and the sound of beer glasses clinking—it felt as if my somewhat tiring day was melting away softly.
"Tomorrow is already the start of the semester."
"That's right. It's been almost a month since I met you all."
"Honestly, it doesn't really feel real. It feels like just yesterday that you took my virginity, Hyun."
"No... Yuyeon, was that what was happening when you came out of Master's room this morning?"
"Why? Are you interested too? Our Hyun is definitely solid. His stamina in that department is probably better than yours, right?"
"...Honestly, I'm curious. If you two are doing it every single night..."
To talk about such lewd things right in front of the person involved... It was embarrassing to hear at a dinner table. The way Seolhye glanced at me with a flushed face was also burdensome.
"...Yuyeon, stop... stop talking..."
"People from the Vermillion Bird Hall are naturally open-minded. They say that whenever a festival is held, regardless of status, they do it as soon as they lock eyes."
Wow.
"...Yeah. That's right. But seriously, they're all kissing and sucking each other like it's great, but they won't let me do it?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Because of you! You said my vagina belonged to you, Hwan Hyun, whether I became your bride or your fucktoy, and you even put a chastity belt on me."
"What."
I didn't know she would go that far.
"But... but how could you say that to me?"
"Master? Was there something I didn't know about?"
"Uh... well..."
I think she's talking about the first time.
"No. You told me it sounded like I was spreading my legs for everyone! Isn't that just too much?"
"...Master."
"This is the Master's fault. Apologize to Yuyeon quickly."
Hearing the backstory, it was an even more serious problem. I didn't know if it was because of my pride or because I didn't want to ruin the mood at the time, but I had just brushed it off. Perhaps I had inflicted an indelible wound upon her.
"...I'm truly sorry about that."
"Forget it. It's my fault for growing up like a slut."
Tsk. I have a feeling I'll be regretting that for a long time to come.
"What exactly is the Vermillion Bird Hall?"
"A place where they gather brats, torture them, and once they're grown, they release them to breed again."
Nothing good came out of Yuyeon's mouth.
"Torture? What are you talking about?"
"It's to get them used to pain. They do all sorts of things to hurt people. So thanks to that,"
—*Crunch!*
Yuyeon suddenly bit her own index finger. It happened so fast that I couldn't even think to stop her.
"Hey, hey! Why would you suddenly... huh?"
A few drops of blood came out and then stopped. It was a bizarre sight: flesh regenerating and bone growing back in an instant.
"Thanks to that, I did gain a crazy recovery ability."
"...Wow."
"The bizarre culture of the Vermillion Bird Hall is famous. Thanks to that, they've also gained the image of berserkers who charge in without knowing pain."
"Anyway, once you become a body like this, people's gazes change, you know? I used to live with my brain pickled by the hormones that come out when you're in pain, but now that's impossible, so conversely, I seek pleasure instead of pain."
"So that's why the culture is so promiscuous..."
"It wouldn't be so bad if it was just sex all the time. Drinking, gambling, drugs... Well, the Hall Master steps in and those kinds of people disappear quickly."
I guess they have their own countermeasures.
I had suddenly heard a very heavy family story.
...
Wait,
In the gap where the conversation briefly cut off, Seolhye quietly let out a word.
"Jinyul loved chicken, too."
Only then did I look at the end of the hallway, at the door that was closed without the lights on.
Cheonghwa glanced in that direction and said,
"Moo Jinyul hasn't come out even once today. I haven't seen her come out since we arrived here."
Yuyeon immediately added her voice.
"Right! Isn't it a bit mean to eat just among ourselves? It would be much more fun if we ate together."
I tried lifting the corners of my mouth for no reason.
"Could it be that she just doesn't like the smell of chicken?"
Yuyeon replied with a laugh.
"Who doesn't like chicken!"
That was when it happened.
—*Click.*
The sound of an old doorknob turning quietly came from the hallway.
We all looked in that direction.
The door opened very slowly, cautiously, as if someone inside was gathering their courage.
Moo Jinyul poked her head out awkwardly from the crack in the door.
Her face, revealed under the light, was pale—perhaps because she had been in the room for so long—and her hair was unkempt and tangled.
She seemed to be the shortest. Seolhye was the tallest, followed by Cheonghwa and Yuyeon, but she looked even smaller than them.
...And her chest was incredibly large.
It was a chest far too violent for her small frame.
Summons four entities with deep connections. This skill disappears when the effect identical to the summoning activation is confirmed.
Usually, the pet one is raising is summoned.
Yuyeon waved her hand broadly.
"Jinyul! There's a seat here! Come quickly, before the chicken gets cold!"
Seolhye said calmly.
"I saved a chicken leg for you."
Moo Jinyul tried to say something, but she mumbled so low that her voice was barely audible.
"...Thank you."
After muttering briefly,
She slowly approached the table.
"...Hi?"
An awkward silence flowed for a moment. Moo Jinyul lifted her eyes to scan the table slowly, then carefully picked up a piece of chicken.
Her fingertips were trembling slightly.
"......Hi......"
I had spoken first, but Jinyul couldn't meet my eyes directly, only shifting her gaze slightly away.
"Jinyul, let's eat together. You said you liked chicken, too."
Yuyeon tried to brighten the mood with a deliberately cheerful voice.
"......Yes......Thank you......But......I......suddenly......butting in......I'm sorry......"
Her voice trembled as thinly as a thread. As if afraid of what reaction I might have, she kept closing her mouth at the end of every sentence, conscious of me. I tried lifting the corners of my mouth for no reason.
"It's a bit much to eat just among ourselves. I thought it would be complete only if you were here."
Jinyul bowed her head, then glanced at me as if stealing a look.
The gaze was short, and it quickly disappeared under the table again.
"......Yes......"
She hesitated for a long time even to answer once, then pressed her lips shut again.
Beyond being shy, a subtle aura of wariness seemed to permeate her.
Cheonghwa watched the situation and said softly,
"There is no need to feel burdened. Master is a good person."
Jinyul nodded carefully.
"......Can......I......continue to stay......here......?"
Yuyeon waved her hand broadly and replied,
"Of course! I'll make sure to save your share from now on, too!"
Seolhye threw in a word.
"I saved a chicken leg. Eat slowly."
Jinyul looked surprised at those words for a moment, then shyly smiled again.
"......Thank you......everyone......"
After that, the conversation continued naturally.
Jinyul still didn't meet my eyes as if wary of me, and whenever someone approached, she curled her body up as much as possible. Every time she ate a piece of chicken, she clutched her sleeves, looking as if she were ready to run away at any moment despite being among strangers.
I deliberately pretended not to notice such behavior.
I felt that if I approached too closely, she would only drift further away.
I decided to leave only small laughs without words and wait until Jinyul got used to it on her own.
"......I......Can I......go in......a little earlier......?"
Hearing that, no one stopped her.
Yuyeon waved her hand as if it were a pity, and Cheonghwa nodded quietly. Seolhye remained expressionless.
Jinyul quietly put the chicken leg bone down on the table, bowed her head deeper, and rose from her seat.
"...It was delicious... everyone... thank you..."
"Huh? You're leaving already? Ah..."
Jinyul was going to go in without having eaten more than a few bites, but no one said anything.
Her face was already flushed as if she couldn't take any more, and the way her eyes rolled around, having lost their place, was all too visible to those of us remaining.
"Please rest well. Since the Academy semester is starting, I hope you get used to Master as soon as possible."
"...Yes."
—*Click.*
With that short answer, her figure disappeared beyond the door.
"Jinyul is a bit extremely shy. Just coming out like this must have been a big decision, so if you had talked to her, the rejection response would have popped out just like it did now."
"...It's fine. If we keep seeing each other's faces like we did today, a day will come when she opens up."
In this state, there was no reason to rush. It would be a bigger problem if I approached her blindly and ended up being rejected instead.
Command... no, did Cheonghwa call it a 'Spirit Command'? I thought about using that to force us to get close, but I didn't feel like it.
"Tsk. I'll go get more alcohol."
"Seolhye, do you have nothing but food and exercise in your head?"
"Huh?"
"Don't fight. You are in front of Master."
Right, it was something that could be resolved by getting close with patience.
"Drink, drink! Eat and die! Haha!"