Chapter 242: Finals Celebration Party (3)
After classes ended, I said goodbye to Lucy and Lumi and left the lecture hall. The student council had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon.
Is Ellis coming too?
I figured she'd show up since she called me, the PR department member, but as soon as class was over, Ellis bolted out of the room. We could've gone together if she was heading there anyway. Maybe she just doesn't want to be seen associating with me in public.
Ellis is a returnee student and a total prodigy among prodigies. The attention from the masses or the media might be a burden for her.
Of course, that logic doesn't apply to the less famous heroines.
Baek Ayoung, the Saintess, and Im Sol, the genius mage. Nam Da-eun, famous as one of the strongest first-years, and the promising beauty twins, Lucy and Lumi. And Moon Sulin, the student council president—needless to say.
Unless they're like Scarlett, Liliana, or Rebecca, whose existences most people don't even know about, they're all bound to be famous.
Come to think of it, Sulin noona's there too.
Sulin noona and I have this weird relationship. To use a metaphor, she's like a puppy that comes bounding over and jumps into my arms if I just call her name once. She's a heroine whose affection I could raise whenever I wanted, but the circumstances aren't right.
For starters, the stalker incident—the core event for conquering Moon Sulin in the game—never happened at all. It's a huge roadblock for me, who was relying on original game knowledge to conquer the heroines. It's not like you can just raise affection and call it conquered. You need specific events to hit 100% affection for full conquest.
But Moon Sulin doesn't know that.
Guess I have to just dive in and see.
Actually, there are still a few things left. Even after the stalker incident in the original, Moon Sulin had more events. Teasers like her missing father or the academy chairman are still dangling. Maybe I need to steer things that way.
Lost in these thoughts, I slowly made my way to the club building.
It's been forever, hasn't it?
I thought as I rode the elevator up to the top floor, the 17th. I'd put my name on the PR department roster, but I'd barely done any work—enough that if anyone found out, I'd be innocent even if reported.
Ding—
Arriving at the 17th floor, the elevator doors opened to reveal the student council room and meeting room. Excluding that one visit to celebrate my discharge, it had been almost a month. And even then, I hadn't done any work—just seen Sulin noona's face and left.
Not that there was much "work" to begin with in PR. The first and last shoot wrapped it all up. They'd taken photos for hours back then, and they still hadn't used them all up.
Heading inside the student council room, I saw the seniors frowning at their monitors. Still short-staffed and swamped, it seemed.
I opened the door and greeted them first. "Hello, seniors."
"Oh? Ah, junior!"
"Whoa, long time no see!"
I smiled at the approaching seniors. My public image was solid, so I got treated well like this. Plus, the remaining seniors were all on Sulin noona's side, so they made an effort with me too.
"I came for the meeting."
With the mindset of doing a proper job since it had been so long, I geared up to join—only for the senior in front of me to blink in surprise.
"Huh? Oh, the meeting's already over."
"...What?"
I couldn't believe my ears. I'd rushed over right after class, and I was late?
"The president said we'd handle the meeting ourselves and just relay it to the first-years!"
"...Why?"
"Beats me? She just decided that. I don't really get it either."
I'd actually been looking forward to the student council meeting. Trying to do some PR department work as [PR Dept. Lee Ho-yeon], and they shut it down. Bummer. Probably Sulin noona's way of being considerate. I'd gratefully accept it.
"Anyway, the president's in the middle of some work right now, so mind waiting a bit? Ellis is in the PR sub-room too."
"Oh, really?"
What, she got here first? I bowed politely in thanks and headed to the PR sub-room.
Desks facing each other. Fancy lighting and even a dressing room for models. This was the PR sub-room. Of course, I'd never used it once.
Thinking about the money sunk into building this place made my conscience twinge.
Ellis was lounging on the inner resting sofa.
"Ellis?"
I called out naturally as I entered. She was staring at her smartwatch with legs crossed, and she flinched in surprise when she saw me.
"What? Why'd you jump?"
"...Nothing. Long time no see."
"We saw each other in class earlier."
What was she even saying? We'd been in the same classes all day.
"... "
An awkward silence settled over the sub-room. Maybe I should ask why she doesn't acknowledge me in front of people... Nah, better save that for after more progress.
Since I walked in, Ellis hadn't even glanced at her smartwatch anymore, sneaking peeks at me instead. Back when we first met here, I'd clung to her to start conversations, but now it was reversed—and it felt pretty good. I'd put that "if you're handsome, you can be bold" lesson from Ellis to good use. Learned a lot of good stuff all around.
I could wait for her to speak first, but Sulin noona might barge in after finishing work. No way I'd waste this rare one-on-one chance, so I opened my mouth first.
"Oh, right, Ellis. I'm thinking of getting a place off-campus instead of the dorm. Who do I talk to about that?"
"A house?"
"Yeah. Like you, moving out of the dorm."
"Talk to the dorm supervisor. There's the management building. They'll tell you in the lobby."
"Oh, thanks!"
I already knew, of course. No way I hadn't looked into it while house-hunting. Just pretending not to know to break the ice—and it worked.
"Ahem."
Ellis cleared her throat awkwardly. Looked like she wanted to say something, so I checked her status window.
Current State: Talk about business—no, the centaur stuff, then naturally lead into the massage. Yeah...
So that's her goal.
No wonder she kept glancing at me. She got rejected last time I brought up the massage, so she's come prepared this time.
"Uh, about the centaur thing."
"What about the centaur?"
"...Dad—the guild master—won't tell me the progress. Said he's doing it alone with you."
"Oh, really?"
I thought Ellis was in the loop too, but apparently not.
"Yeah. So, if the schedule gets set, could you let me know? I'd like to go when the time comes."
"Ah... Yeah, sure. No problem."
Isaac might get mad, but he wouldn't hate his daughter visiting. Total daughter-con.
"But why do you wanna come? Could be dangerous."
"...It's something I'll have to do eventually. I want to learn. Dad's all protective and never takes me to places like that. If I'm with you, he'll let me."
"... "
If that's her reason, she might get scolded. Isaac's overprotective as hell with Ellis.
"Ahem. And, uh, that thing. My body's been feeling stiff lately."
"Your body?"
I barely held back a grin. She could just say it outright, but her pride made her beat around the bush—and it was adorable.
Seeing my blank look, Ellis bit her lip slightly. She clearly hated having to say it directly.
"I, uh, want a massage."
"Oh, a Mana Massage?"
"Yeah. Yes."
Right on time—the drug's effects were wearing off. A week was a solid run. Ellis looked relieved, like she'd cleared a hurdle. Obvious as day.
Watching her, I got the urge to tease.
"Mind if I check?"
"...Huh?"
Before Ellis could frown in misunderstanding, I continued quickly. "Not that I don't trust you— I wanna check your mana circuits myself. Need to know how much they've shrunk to set a proper date."
"If it's that... sure. But do I need to take my clothes off?"
Ellis nodded, then eyed me cautiously.
"Nah. Just like this. Skin's better, but this is just a prelim."
Seeing a pretty girl's body is always fun, but this spot was risky. Sulin noona could walk in anytime. Besides, clothes or no, the massage effect was the same. All an excuse anyway.
"O-okay, then check."
Ellis had already gotten up from the sofa and sat in a chair at the desk by now. Hands on her lap, posture straight—she looked a bit tense.
"Yeah. Relax, loosen up."
Squeeze.
I gently placed my hands on Ellis's shoulders.
*
Meanwhile, Moon Sulin finally wrapped up her backlog of paperwork and finished organizing the meeting notes.
"Phew..."
Thinking of Lee Ho-yeon, who should arrive soon, she'd rushed to clear her desk.
"Great work, President."
"Thanks."
Moon Sulin took the coffee her secretary brought. Finally done for the day—she felt a swell of pride. She could rest until Ho-yeon arrived...
"Oh, right, President. Ho-yeon and Ellis are waiting in the PR room."
"Khup! Cough! Cough!"
"P-President?!"
The secretary, beaming happily at the job well done, panicked at Moon Sulin's sudden choking fit.
"What do I do! Are you okay?!"
"W-why didn't you tell me sooner!"
"Y-you said not to disturb you during work... Sorry! I'm sorry!"
The secretary, who'd been chewed out by Moon Sulin several times lately, bowed deeply in apology. Snapping to, Moon Sulin realized this wasn't the time.
"Ugh, fine. I'll go."
She wiped the coffee from her lips and stood. Keeping Ho-yeon waiting—what a blunder. She already had plenty nagging at her mind; why did stuff like this keep happening?
Moon Sulin had two big concerns. First: the [Sexy Succubus's Lewd Outfit] found under Ho-yeon's bed. She'd initially planned to ask him directly but realized that was stupid. It'd be admitting she'd searched his house. No clear solution yet—she'd shelved it.
Next: the rivals. She knew of three for sure. The Lucy-Lumi twins he hung with daily. And the infirmary teacher, Baek Ayoung.
The twins were obvious, always clubbing together. Baek Ayoung had priors too—on TV spouting stuff like they were dating, or CCTV catching her taking a knife for him like some dramatic couple. Nothing sat right.
"Ugh."
What if they were doing something weird right now? No, probably not. Shaking off the needless anxiety, Moon Sulin hurried to the PR sub-room where Ho-yeon waited.