Ambush (4)
"The Rune Clan...? Never heard of 'em."
"Me neither, deong."
I began explaining Rebecca to Liliana and Nam Da-eun.
"It's normal not to know. Hmm, like a minority ethnic group, I guess."
I'd been worried about breaking it down for the two who had no prior knowledge, but fortunately, they accepted it without much resistance.
"But why's that minority want your cum, deong?"
"It's a long story... Rebecca's the last survivor of the Rune Clan. She wants my genes because I'm good at magic, to revive her clan. In exchange, I'm learning magic from her."
It was a pretty curt explanation, but what else could I say?
"...If Ho-yeon likes it, then it's fine."
"You really have a knack for seducing women, huh? Whatever, I don't mind."
Nam Da-eun said it was okay if I was fine with it, and Liliana nodded too. Reliable girls, as expected.
"Yep, they're totally your girlfriends, right? Figures—pretty ones stick together."
Rebecca was giggling behind me, eyeing Liliana and Nam Da-eun.
"Yeah. Please don't fight or anything. I'm begging you."
"Having so many women because you're capable... Still, I want you to impregnate me first."
"...".
Tsk.
"Ho-yeon, what do we do with this?"
I turned toward the voice. Liliana was crouching by a fallen mine, pointing at it.
"...Dunno. What to do with this bastard."
What the hell were we supposed to do with these skull-mask guys?
"Torture him? I'm a pro at that."
"...Gonna shove your tail in him like with Scarlett?"
"If you want? It's dirty, but once you tail-fuck 'em, they spill everything..."
"Are you insane? That's gross. And no touching other guys. Don't even think about it. Got it?"
Scarlett was a girl, so that was fine—but I couldn't let Liliana's body touch some guy's.
"Hehe... Gotcha."
Classic double standard on my part, but Liliana seemed to like it.
"Just... hand him over to the academy. They'll torture him there."
There had to be an academy torturer like the one who handled Gil Steven. Leave it to them.
"Then what about this mess? We gotta clean the room too, right? Ourselves?"
"Hmm..."
I pondered while staring at the fallen mine. These skull-masks... Moon Sulin had investigated them before. Connected to former VP Shin Dong-min.
Should I tell Sulin noona?
There was the option to quietly bury the skull-masks, or escalate and get Moon Sulin's help. With Rebecca here, burying quietly seemed feasible.
That's when I spotted Nam Da-eun sweeping glass shards in the corner of my vision.
"Oh right, gotta clean the house too."
Smashed appliances, broken windows... We could hide the mine corpses, but not this. Shit, what a pain.
Thwack!
"Guhk..."
I kicked the fallen skull-mask's gut and approached Nam Da-eun.
"Da-eun-ah. Let's clean up together later."
Nam Da-eun didn't respond, just kept sweeping vigorously. She seemed lost in thought.
"Could just use Clean magic for this..."
Sweep—sweep—
What're you doing?
I pulled up the status window for Nam Da-eun, who was spacing out while sweeping.
Current Status: Wants to get pregnant...? I could do it if I try. But what about Da-hee...?
"...".
Ah, headache incoming. Hold on. Need to sort this mess out. Too complicated.
First, the skull-mask.
"Gotta deal with this skull-mask first. Rebecca-ssi, can you handle it?"
I pointed at the mine, limbs severed, still bleeding out... but alive thanks to mine vitality.
"Sure, I can clean it up. Want me to tidy the room too while I'm at it?"
"The room? I can use Clean magic myself."
"To bond with baby daddy's girlfriends... Lemme show you. Train the Rune Barrier to its limit, and this becomes possible."
Rebecca closed her eyes, focused, and deployed a Rune Barrier.
"Huh? Rune Barrier...?"
I stared at Rebecca as she suddenly unfurled one. She smirked confidently and continued.
"Watch closely. With your talent, baby daddy, you might pull it off someday."
Mana from Rebecca's hand merged with the Rune Barrier, and strange currents stirred inside the space. It felt like motion sickness after a long bus ride.
Plop.
Drip-drop.
Crackle-crackle.
Then, something unbelievable happened.
Glass shards on the floor started trembling.
The shattered TV screen fizzled, and food spills from the fridge floated up.
"Wha—huh?"
Nam Da-eun dropped her broom in panic as the swept-up glass began levitating. Debris from the dustpan escaped back out.
"What... is this...?"
Fizzle—fizzle—whirr—
The fridge split in two, food sucked back in, and it seamlessly reassembled, humming to life. Shards on the floor rewound like tape, flying to the window. Puzzle-piece perfect, the glass reformed flawlessly, no cracks. Scratches on the wallpaper, crumbled walls, wardrobe—all restored. As if nothing happened.
"Whoa, whoa... what?! Never heard of magic like this! Who the hell'd you find as a teacher?"
"Incredible..."
Liliana and Nam Da-eun gawked. I was stunned right beside them. No—I was the most shocked.
Why the hell can't I do this with Rune Barrier?
Moments later, the living room—minus the central limbless mine—returned to normal. A severed mine sprawled in an ordinary dorm felt utterly surreal.
"...Rebecca-ssi?"
"Haa... Tough doing it after so long. I'm getting old."
Rebecca sweated, exhausted.
"No way—that's impossible."
This was straight-up broken.
"Don't freak out. Can't rewind living things. Only stuff without mana. And it's harder than it looks."
"Still doesn't make sense."
Reversing time's mana flow... No clue how.
How do you even reverse time like that?
"Exactly. Looks hard, but it's way harder. Learn from me later."
"...Thanks."
Having kids with Rebecca means no retirement worries. How strong would they be? Scary thought. And teaching me this for free? Amazing.
"But another girlfriend's coming now? Too many women ain't good for the kids' mental health."
"Huh?"
Thud-thud-thud.
Eh? I sensed familiar mana rushing here too. Moon Sulin's.
"Hold on. Just a sec."
I slipped out of Rebecca's Rune Barrier.
"Hide for now. With the girls."
"Keeping it secret from that girlfriend, huh~? Got it."
"Whoa, whoa... insane mage..."
"...".
Liliana and Nam Da-eun were still reeling from the time-rewind magic. I snapped to, preparing to greet Moon Sulin.
Ahem.
I cleared my throat, waiting. Door bell, and I'd answer.
"Ho—Ho-yeon-ah!"
BAM—
"...".
But unlike my plan, Moon Sulin burst in aggressively. The dorm door exploded. Literally—like popcorn.
"Uh...?"
"Hey, Sulin noona."
"Wha—huh? That assassin's..."
Moon Sulin finally noticed the limbless mine on the floor.
"You... handled him yourself?"
"...Yeah."
I didn't even see the fight... but sure.
"Incre—impressive. So clean... Worried for nothing. G-good thing. Ah, oops... Sorry about the door. I'll fix it."
Moon Sulin averted her eyes, sheepish.
"Thanks, noona. You came looking for me, worried?"
Now I noticed her clothes. Same as when we met—crop top and jeans, torn everywhere, exposing skin, bloodstained. Probably rushed here post-attack, no time to change. Skull-masks tied to Shin Dong-min, so they hit her too. Didn't expect a kill-shot beyond stalking... Glad she's unhurt.
Current Status: Thank goodness. Really thank goodness...
Moon Sulin coming like this? Grateful for her heart.
"N-no, you didn't need to come."
"No, really. Sigh, what a mess."
I wiped blood from Moon Sulin's face.
"Good, no scars on your face."
"Wh-why...?"
She flustered at the sudden touch. But I had to look after her.
"At least change into clothes from my house."
"Y-your clothes?"
"Can't walk around torn up."
I grabbed an oversized T-shirt from the closet. Big enough for her ample chest. I signaled Nam Da-eun in the Rune Barrier—get Nam Da-hee from the room too.
She nodded; I handed the shirt to Moon Sulin.
"...Thanks. I'll treasure it."
"Uh, sure."
Don't people usually say they'll wash and return it? She hugged my T-shirt like a treasure.
...Noona, that's gonna get all bloody.
*
Moments later, the academy security team Moon Sulin called arrived.
"S-rank mine. Bind him tight, no slacking."
"Yes, ma'am!"
They bagged the limbs, secured the torso, hauled it off.
"President, mind if we analyze the scene...?"
"Ah, yeah. Ho-yeon-ah, wanna grab food? Gotta help here."
"Sure. Thanks, noona."
Moon Sulin directed in my T-shirt. She handles everything—grateful. I bowed to her, ignored the poking-around team, and left the dorm.
"Food time?"
"Sounds good. What's baby daddy like to eat?"
Rebecca, Liliana, and Nam Da-eun followed; Da-hee still asleep on Da-eun's back.
"...But Rebecca-ssi, won't Pandemic find out you're cozy with me?"
"Oh... right."
How'd she climb to exec? Impressive ability, maybe.
"Go back for now. Check for brainwashing traces from Pandemic."
"...Yeah, priority."
Rebecca frowned. Pride stung by brainwashing admission.
"Just in case—don't act like the brainwashing's gone."
"Duh. Fun playing with girlfriends, but save some for baby-making. Got it?"
"...Y-yeah."
Rebecca smirked and vanished. Rune Barrier teleport too?
"I want chicken. Buy me chicken. And she's scary. Too strong."
Liliana clung post-departure.
"Freaked me out first time too. But she's nice."
"Yeah, fixed our window. Chicken it is."
"Da-eun-ah, what do you want?"
I ignored tail-nibbling Liliana, asked Nam Da-eun piggybacking Da-hee.
"Whatever Ho-yeon likes."
"Chicken!"
"Sigh. Fine, let's go."
I cast a subtle perception block, headed to the shops.