Weekend? (2)

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"I-I'm sorry, Master. I'm sorry... hah. Hngh... Scout, stop...!"

While I rubbed myself against Liliana's lips, Scarlet worked her tongue over her with tireless dedication.

"Ah, s-sto—ahh. Mmh... slurp..."

Whether she felt me twitch as I drew close or simply knew the signs, Liliana took the head into her mouth and sucked in earnest. I came across her tongue with one hand still on her breast.

"Hah, mmph... gulp. Slurp, ngh..."

I emptied every last drop down her throat, then pushed back in to clean myself off. I lingered just long enough to enjoy the heat inside her mouth before pulling free and standing up from the bed.

If I went all the way, Liliana would get exactly what she wanted. I wasn't about to give her that.

"I'm going grocery shopping. You two have fun."

"H-hey—you're just leaving me like this?"

Scarlet's eyes flew wide. She grabbed for me, unable to believe I was actually walking out. Liliana, however, seized her by the chest.

"Scout. Come here. You dare betray me?"

"Y-yes♡"

If you're enjoying it that much, what are you complaining about?

"Have fun."

"Haah, hah... haaah."

"After everything I've done for you! You bitch!"

I watched the two of them tumble across the sheets, then stepped out of the room. In the living room I pulled on my clothes and sent Elise a reply.

I wondered if Elise had any idea the spy she'd planted was currently doing that in my bedroom. I wasn't sure it was wise to let Scarlet linger around our place this long, but watching me was her job. I could bluff my way through it if it came up.

I left the dorm and headed for the nearest supermarket. We'd already had kimchi stew last time, so spicy pork stir-fry it was.

I'd grown oddly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fond of Scarlet after seeing her around so often. She was a bitch who'd tried to betray me, no question — but she was decent in her own way, and there was something almost cute about how dense she could be. She'd brought me a lot of good intel, too. The least I could do was feed her something decent. These days you could find any recipe online. I just needed to follow one.

It was still morning, so the supermarket was nearly empty. I grabbed meat and seasoning, tossed a few packs of instant rice into the basket, and was heading for the produce section when a familiar back of a head caught my eye.

"Nam Da-eun?"

So she was at the supermarket again. Leaving the dorms had been banned until yesterday, which meant she was probably stocking up all at once.

Nam Da-eun dropped a bottle of shampoo marked SUPER SALE into her basket, then stood there staring at the price tag, clearly running the numbers.

Still living this hard, huh.

I wanted to sponsor her somehow, but she was in no position to accept that kind of help. There was no clean way to support her. I couldn't just walk over and stuff cash in her hands, either. And why was her wallet so beaten to hell?

Clink-clink—

Coins came pouring out of Nam Da-eun's wallet. Dozens of them scattered in every direction, and a dime rolled right up to my feet. I picked it up and looked over. She was using Spatial Dominion just to gather the change.

"..."

I pulled out my own wallet. I didn't usually carry coins, so all I had were two fifty-cent pieces. Giving her too much would be obvious. I'd just slip these in quietly.

"Here. One of them rolled pretty far."

I walked up as she counted. She whipped her head around before I'd even finished speaking.

"Th-thanks."

She glanced at the coins in my hand, met my eyes, and flushed red as she took them. Luckily, it seemed she hadn't counted exactly how much she'd had. Then again, there had been a lot of coins.

"It's been a while. Going to see your sister?"

Her basket held the same snacks she'd bought the last time she went to visit.

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

"What'd you do during the festival, after Survival ended?"

"Just... trained and rested."

Oh. So she was actually training properly. That was excellent progress. Last time it had seemed like she wanted to spar with me. Might as well ask.

"Want to spar on Sunday, then?"

"I-is that okay?"

"Of course it is. Friends can't even do that much? Consider it payback for the special exam, too."

Getting close enough to have an ordinary conversation with Nam Da-eun was genuinely encouraging. It would be a huge help when I eventually needed to win her over. I was planning to hit the training grounds anyway. I might as well spar while I was there.

I talked with her a little longer, exchanged numbers, and we went our separate ways.

"Haa..."

Nam Da-eun trudged back to the dorm. She was glad she'd picked up one extra snack to bring her sister tomorrow, but honestly, she was mortified. Lee Ho-yeon's face as he held out those two fifty-cent coins was still burned into her mind.

"This is so embarrassing."

She understood where he was coming from. She must have looked pathetic, unable to buy a bottle of shampoo without doing the math, so he'd just slipped her some leftover change. But embarrassing was still embarrassing.

"...What if those two fifty-cent coins were just lying on the floor?"

It wasn't impossible. He could have picked up coins that were already on the ground without thinking, assuming they were hers.

"...I don't know."

Ding—

Back in her room, Nam Da-eun sat at her desk and opened a notebook. She needed things to tell her sister.

"Well, I talked to Lee Ho-yeon today, so... I'll tell her I ran into a friend while grocery shopping... and that I'm going to spar with that friend."

Nam Da-eun started scribbling, diligently constructing her story.

Back at the dorm, I followed a Home Cooking Teacher video and made spicy pork stir-fry.

"You can't just show up whenever you want. This is K-home cooking — available only when the man of the house feels like eating it."

"W-woooow..."

Clap, clap. Scarlet started applauding, watching my face carefully for cues.

"If you play along with that crap, there'll be no end to it—kyaaah!"

I smacked Liliana on the head for running her mouth, then sat down to eat with them.

"Oh, this is good. Home Cooking Teacher never misses."

"It's delicious... You're a really good cook, Ho-yeon."

"Following a recipe isn't cooking."

Liliana grumbled for no reason, poking at the pork with her chopsticks.

"Then you make something. Shouldn't a succubus be good at taking care of her man?"

"Chicken tastes better, so why would I cook?! You give me money to order chicken! And didn't I pay for this pork stir-fry too?!"

"...Just eat up, Liliana."

Being the head of a household with no control over the finances was rough. At least I had the initiative in bed. I'd have to settle for that.

See you tonight.

I plotted my petty revenge as I fired up my smartwatch. Looking at your phone during a meal was rude, but there was nobody here to call me out on manners.

"Nothing new, huh."

It looked like the terror investigation was going to be handled internally by the academy from here on. The other posts were just humor threads, idle chatter, celebrity photos.

"What's this?"

One post, though, caught my eye.

"What the hell is wrong with these idiots."

How inferior did you have to feel to go around spreading garbage like this? The fact that it had over a hundred upvotes was even more surprising.

"Hmm... though I might need to address a few of these."

I didn't actually owe anyone an explanation, but there were parts that someone completely clueless might fall for. The magic circle stuff, for instance. Of course, the magic professors who'd been on-site had already given their testimony, so I wasn't sure it was even worth responding...

"Ah, whatever. I'll ask Su-rin noona."

We were meeting tonight anyway. I'd bring it up then. I turned off my smartwatch and picked up my chopsticks again.

After a rough meal I killed time hanging around with Liliana until her streaming hours started, then left the house. My appointment with Mun Su-rin had come around.

I arrived at Pungmidang, a place I'd grown fairly familiar with by now.

"Welcome."

"I have a reservation under Mun Su-rin."

"Ah, you're with Ms. Mun Su-rin's party."

I always met Mun Su-rin here, and even though it was the same staff every time, they always treated me like they'd never seen me before. Was that just how high-end restaurants did service?

"Right this way, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠please."

I followed the staff member up to a private room on the second floor. I'd pretty much memorized the layout at this point. Next time they could just give me the room number.

Knock knock.

"Noona, I'm here."

"Mm. Come in."

Mun Su-rin was as beautiful as ever. Her platinum-blonde hair fell straight down her back, and the line of her hips was stunning. Taking the glasses off really brought her looks to life. She closed whatever video she'd been watching on her smartwatch and met my eyes.

"Hello, noona. What were you watching?"

"Hm? Heheh... just some funny video."

"Ah. So you watch that kind of stuff too. Oh, right — you must've had it rough with the terror attack."

"Not at all. Thanks to you, there were no casualties. I don't even want to think about what would've happened if someone had died."

"Come on. I didn't do that much."

I sat across from her and we talked. The meal was warm and easy, and a smile kept blooming across her face.

Wait... why is she this cheerful?

Being cheerful was a good thing, of course. Watching Lucy's mental state shatter had hurt me too. That was why I'd agonized so much over whether to pursue Mun Su-rin in the first place. But this was weird. Too weird.

Judging by how often those secret photo posts of her showed up on Everyday, this was the stretch when her psyche should have already crumbled into dust...

Was there something I didn't know?

Just in case, I checked her status window.

"...What?"

"Hehe, hm? What is it?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

I'd been so startled I'd let a sound slip out.

Why is this noona trying to get me to say I love her?