Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Festival (2)
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"Ugh..."
The back of my head throbbed.
Had I pushed myself too hard? My whole body ached.
Lilia was still nestled in my arms. She must have been exhausted too, because she was sleeping deeply.
Squeeze, squeeze.
"Mmm..."
I awakened my senses while fondling the soft breasts still in my hands.
The horns and wings that had sprouted from Lilia were already gone.
"That's really something."
Even when I touched where the horns had been, it felt completely normal. Flat as a board, no trace left behind.
'An awakening... or something like that?'
I'd awakened during sex myself, so maybe Lilia had been masturbating while waiting for me and triggered her own?
No, that didn't quite fit... Even for a succubus, wouldn't that be a bit too pathetic?
I checked my smartwatch. It was 7 p.m.
I'd come back before 9 and gone to bed, so I'd slept about ten hours.
But why wasn't this one waking up?
Squeeze.
"Ahh..."
I pinched Lilia's nipple with the hand that had been gripping her breast.
"Wake up. You'll get addicted to sleep if you keep going."
"Hng... Mm."
Squeeze, squeeze.
Playing with her nipple like that made Lilia squirm and snuggle closer to me.
"Lilia. We've gotta go get some chicken skewers."
"Ugh... chicken skewers."
At the mention of chicken skewers, Lilia snapped to attention and opened her eyes.
"Haaah..."
She stretched, her ample breasts thrusting toward me as if showing off their size.
"It's already night. The festival must've started by now, right?"
"Let's play together..."
Lilia looked at me through a yawn.
"Of course. You wanna wash up first?"
"Yeah..."
I sent Lilia to the bathroom and checked my smartwatch.
There were a ton of messages piled up.
First, I replied to the one from Professor Im Sol around when the survival exam ended.
- Professor Im Sol: Good work on the survival exam. Swing by the lab sometime.
- Me: Thank you. I'll drop by tomorrow or the day after!
There were more below that.
- Soo-rin sis: You really worked hard today. I'll buy you a meal sometime during the festival.
- Lucy: That friendly spar was awesome! Wanna hang out tonight?!
- Lumi: Sorry I couldn't stop by the arena this morning. I watched the video, and you were so cool, Ho-yeon.
"Whew..."
I told Lucy we'd hang out tomorrow.
I said the same to Lumi, and thanked Soo-rin sis while saying we'd catch up later.
Okay. All set.
Time to get ready to head out.
After Lilia finished washing up, I took a shower too.
It'd been a while since I'd gone out, so I styled my hair a bit.
While I was at it, I turned on my smartwatch to check public opinion on Everyday.
Sure enough, my name was at the top today too.
📰 Breaking News [Breaking!!!!! Lee Ho-yeon Reveals Dual Attributes] He unleashed ice attribute against Shin Dong-min in the friendly spar. Check the video at the bottom—it's not fake, not edited. As someone who saw it live, it was insanely cool... The whole ocean froze with a single gesture, goosebumps everywhere... The noisy crowd went dead silent. And this was right after the survival exam yesterday—he looked exhausted, eyes bloodshot with dark circles, cheeks hollowed out. Still insanely cool. That aura he gives off? Anyway, I'm dying lol. Everyone there probably feels the same. Anyway, we've only had celeb candids lately—forget the weird stuff and check out rising star Lee Ho-yeon! [Video] Recommend plz — Anonymous [Yeah, it was legit insanely cool.] — Anonymous [Ho-yeon's the cool one, why you getting the recs?] — Anonymous [This is a candid too, you madman lololol] — Anonymous [Reply: Yeah it is, fuck lol] — Anonymous [I survived to the last day of survival exam. 80 people teamed up just to catch Ho-yeon lol. He still got 1st.] — Anonymous [Reply: For real? That make sense? It was an exam?] — Anonymous [Reply: You been to the academy or what? Last year's battle royale, C-Class banded together from the start and went wild, so pissed students teamed up 200 strong to wipe C-Class first lol. They all ranked low lol] — Anonymous [That bastard was with girls during survival too, probably just fucked and got tired late?] — Anonymous [Reply: PDF? I'll take one.] — Anonymous [Reply: Cut the bullshit. Anyone who's done survival knows. He slept over 12 hours that day from exhaustion. Ho-yeon's stamina is unreal.] — Anonymous [Passing with dislike tap.] "Hm. Not bad."
No more fake or whatever nonsense in sight.
Guess you have to show your power in front of the masses often for them to believe it.
Public opinion's great... The only thing bugging me is Moon Soo-rin.
Excluding my post, most top recs were celeb daily life pics, especially Soo-rin's taking a big share.
'She's right on the edge now...'
I'm not expecting her to break down completely, but she's holding out too well—no clue how to approach.
"Oh, right. Elf's Essence."
It suddenly popped into my head.
Time to take this.
I rummaged through the sub-space pouch I'd tossed in the living room and pulled out the Elf's Essence.
"Where'd you pick up another weird thing? Some mana stone clump?"
Lilia, drying her hair, eyed the Elf's Essence curiously.
"Nah, it's a spiritual medicine. Got lucky and scored it. I'm taking it now—keep watch for me?"
"Got it."
Problems were unlikely, but just in case, I asked Lilia.
I swallowed the Elf's Essence.
Gulp.
The moment it hit my mouth, sweetness spread across my tongue. Definitely a taste from beyond the human world. The forest scent seemed to permeate deep into my mind.
After swallowing fully, I checked the mirror for any facial changes, but nothing noticeable.
Crunch. Grind.
But inside my body, reactions kicked in.
"Ow, fuck... Warn a guy it's gonna hurt...! Ahh."
"Y-You okay? Hey! Don't die! We gotta eat chicken skewers!"
Crack.
My blood vessels, mana circuits, organs—they were forcibly shifting positions.
Changing to the most beautiful, efficient sizes and placements.
My face hadn't changed at all, so the internal transformations must've been massive.
"Agh... Fucking hurts."
"Eek. C'mere. I'll hold you."
Lilia spread her arms wide and hugged me, no idea what it even was.
I leaned into her embrace and slowly observed my body.
My mind felt clearer first off.
Energy surged through me, and my mana circuits had expanded.
"Feels good."
This is what tonic medicine's all about.
Whoosh, whoosh.
I threw punches into the air like shadowboxing.
The sensation was great.
"...He's lost it."
Lilia clicked her tongue at me.
*
The academy was in full festival swing.
Victoria Academy's heavenly festival was blazing hot from day one.
While Lee Ho-yeon slept, the first-years shook off their fatigue and roamed to enjoy the festivities.
Street stalls allowed only during festival lined the roads, and Lucy was strolling with friends, munching away.
"This is so good."
"Awesome, awesome. Glad we came out!"
Lucy's friends laughed while eating monster meat skewers from a stall.
Other first-years were recovering from survival fatigue, but Lucy and her crew pushed through tiredness to enjoy the festival.
"What're you doing tomorrow, Lucy?"
"Me? Probably hanging with Ho-yeon and Lumi."
"Whoa~ Jealous. We wanna hang with Ho-yeon too."
"Right? He's got that cool urban guy vibe, kinda distant."
"...? Ho-yeon?"
Ho-yeon as a cool urban guy? Lucy was baffled—it was a first. To her, he was diligent, kind, and had a playful side.
"Yeah, he doesn't chat much unless it's certain people. Keeps a distance."
"Totally~. I greeted him a few times, but he never greets first."
"Hmm..."
Thinking about it, she'd never seen Ho-yeon close with others.
"I think he's into you and Lumi."
"Wh-What?"
Lucy dropped her skewer, eyes wide.
"Yeah! Always hanging with you twins."
"I get it! He always greets first."
"Eek! So jealous!"
The girls around Lucy squealed and clapped hands.
"...Hmm."
Was it true? It kinda fit if she thought about it...
Just then, new customers entered the skewer stall Lucy's group had left.
While her friends squealed, those customers caught Lucy's eye.
"Ahh, so this is chicken skewers."
"Ooh... Tasty...!"
Ho-yeon and an unfamiliar woman were sweetly eating skewers side by side.
The woman wore sunglasses, so her identity was unclear, but she wasn't familiar to Lucy.
"Ah~. Say ahh. I'll feed you."
"What're you doing? We're outside."
"Hey, I bought it with my money—you gonna eat or not?"
"Sigh... Fine, later."
Munch.
"..."
Girlfriend, huh? Feeding each other like that.
'Yeah, we're not even anything, so what if he has a girlfriend.'
She knew it in her head, but her chest felt tight anyway.
Lucy couldn't watch anymore and bolted the other way.
"Huh? Lucy! Where you going!"
"Hey, quit teasing! Lucy! Wait up!"
Her clueless friends thought she was sulking and chased after.
*
"Hey, I said quit messing around."
I flicked Lilia's forehead for trying to keep feeding me skewers.
Flick. Flick. Flick.
One wasn't enough; I gave her three.
"Sorry! Ow! Sorry! It hurts! This is misogyny!"
"Where'd this crazy succubus pick up that crap."
Especially since she's not even human.
Flick.
I smacked her forehead again for the nonsense.
"Agh! They said guys never hit you if you say that!"
It was an invincible shield, sure. Just not against me.
"I'm an equalist—I hit regardless of gender. And using lines like that kills streams."
"Gasp. Really? Viewers taught me weird shit!"
Lilia fumed, realizing she'd been tricked again.
"Sigh..."
Her cute pout while clutching her forehead and eating skewers was adorable, but man, she's a handful to take around.
We had light perception interference on, so to others, Lilia looked like a normal woman.
Of course, people who saw us often would recognize me, but luckily, no acquaintances yet.
No familiar faces around.
Makes sense—the key heroines except Soo-rin are first-years who lasted to the end of the exam, so they're probably sleeping now.
I enjoyed the festival carefree with Lilia.
"Next, that! Gotta try takoyaki! Boss, 50 takoyaki please."
"50?! How?!"
Still, the stress from survival melting away felt great.
"Oh, Lilia."
"Yeah?"
Something occurred to me as Lilia stabbed takoyaki with a toothpick.
I needed to figure out that magic from yesterday.
"Come to think of it, what was that spell yesterday?"