Lucy and Rumi

Tuesday, lunchtime. Professor Lim Sol came to visit.

The moment she walked in and saw me waving at her like I was genuinely happy she'd come, she let out a disbelieving little laugh.

"I heard from A-young, but you really are built like a tank."

She looked faintly appalled at how healthy I seemed, even though every mana circuit in my body had been completely wrecked.

"Your disciple's just that impressive, Professor."

"For someone so impressive, I can't feel a scrap of mana coming off you."

"Ahaha... I'll probably be like this for at least a week."

Not being able to use magic was frustrating enough, but the thing that really made me uneasy was not being able to put up a Rune Barrier. Locking the hospital room door just didn't feel like enough security. Someone peeking in on my sex life was not an option.

"Still, it's a relief. Now all that's left is for you to soar as a genius mage."

"Come on, Professor. The genius mage seat is already occupied — you're sitting in it."

I was playing humble, but the truth was the internet had already started worshipping me. There were plenty of posts comparing my magical attainment to Lim Sol's. I hadn't even reached her knees yet.

"Thanks to you saving so many high-ranking officials, public opinion's turned around. The PR war is pretty much over."

"Thank you. It's all thanks to you, Professor."

My performance during the terrorist attack had definitely played a big part, but none of it would have been possible if Lim Sol hadn't laid the groundwork beforehand.

"A-young and Min Yeji worked hard too."

"Ah, of course."

A-young was one thing, but I really did owe Min Yeji a thank-you. The problem was I never seemed to run into her. Saving her last time probably didn't count as a substitute, did it?

"The magic research is going smoothly too. We're really in the final stretch now."

"Oh... so you'll be presenting soon?"

"Yeah. But we're presenting together. I'll take my time, so just wait."

"Mmm. Thank you."

Lim Sol beamed as she walked me through the progress on the magic research. Honestly, it was a pain... but what could I do? I just had to sit there and take it. She looked happier talking about magic than anything else in the world, and I couldn't bring myself to look bored. I listened with the most fascinated expression I could muster.

"Come to think of it, you won't make this week's magic expo, will you? Want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to call off the bet?"

Right — we'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bet that if I aced the exam, we'd go to this week's expo together. Being hospitalized kind of killed that plan.

"We can't just drop it, Professor. Next time. We'll go next time."

"Hmmm. Fine. I'll keep my schedule open."

I wasn't about to throw away an opportunity like this. The expo wasn't a one-and-done event. The next one would be coming around soon enough.

"Professor, speaking of which, about that paper..."

After about thirty minutes of small talk, Lim Sol stood up.

"I should get going. Academy classes are done now that exams are over, so nothing to worry about there... just rest up in here and you'll be fine."

"Yes... wait, Professor? What are you doing?"

Squeeze, squeeze. Lim Sol had put her hand on my crotch and was fondling me through the fabric.

"It's your fault sweets don't even take the edge off my stress anymore. You need to take responsibility."

"...Yes, yes. Help yourself. But just in case, lock the door."

"I locked it when I came in."

Lim Sol smiled faintly and squeezed harder.

"Always so thoroughly prepared. Nngh..."

Once I was hard enough, Lim Sol pulled my hospital gown off herself. A sticky bead of fluid had already gathered at the tip of my cock, standing at attention toward the ceiling. It hadn't been that long, but... this situation was plenty exciting on its own.

"It's not like you can take care of this yourself stuck in a hospital room. What kind of professor does this for her student?"

"...You're right. This is a first for me. Thank you."

I'd done plenty of dirty things in hospital rooms, but today was a first. I wasn't lying.

Lim Sol slowly parted her lips and took the head of my cock into her mouth. A warm, wet heat enveloped me, and a shiver of pleasure raced down my spine.

Slurp. Suck.

Obscene, wet sounds filled the hospital room.

A-Class, morning lecture.

The female cadets squealed and crowded around Rumi the moment they saw her newly cut bob.

"Whoa, Rumi? That haircut looks amazing on you!"

"Right? You should've done this ages ago! You're way prettier without that old-fashioned ribbon."

"Ah... um, I..."

"Hey, you're making Rumi uncomfortable. Cut it out!"

Overwhelmed by the sudden attention, Rumi whipped her head this way and that before shooting Lucy a desperate look for help. Lucy waded into the cluster of cadets, waving her hands wildly to shoo them off.

"Okay, okay. But seriously, you look really pretty, Rumi."

"Yeah... want to hit a café after class today?"

"I-I'm sorry. I have somewhere to be today..."

"Then let's go next time, okay?"

"Hey. I said knock it off."

Lucy chased off every last girl who refused to take the hint.

"Lucy... thank you."

"Don't mention it. But... why'd you actually cut your hair?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Lucy had only found out that morning. Rumi hadn't said a word about it yesterday.

"U-uum... image change?"

"Image change...?"

Why would Rumi need an image change? Lucy tilted her head.

After Lim Sol left from her lunchtime visit, the hospital room stayed quiet for several hours. In the meantime, I sent Mun Su-rin a message on my smartwatch.

Judging by the fact that Mun Su-rin hadn't come to visit, she had to be incredibly busy. If she was this swamped even though the terrorist attack hadn't even happened at the Academy, it was safe to assume everyone involved was just as busy — not just her.

Maybe they still haven't noticed Nam Daehee is gone.

Unless the people who normally kept watch over Nam Daehee were exceptional hunters, they wouldn't see through Dr. Kang Hyo-rin's magic formation. Dr. Kang Hyo-rin had abilities on par with an S-class hunter, after all. Of course, if the guild master inspected it himself, he might catch on. Given enough time the formation would weaken, and its output would drop the farther the caster got. But they might not have checked yet because of the investigation — Nam Da-eun had slipped out without a word, and they still hadn't made a move. If nothing had happened, she should still be living at the Academy. That was why they were leaving her alone.

Not bad. The more time I had, the better.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the hospital room door. The visitors the nurse had mentioned earlier, no doubt. Lucy and Rumi.

"Yeah. Come in."

The door slid open.

"Hi hi! We came yesterday but they kicked us out, so here we are today."

"Hello, Ho-yeon. Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for comi— wait?"

Rumi, who'd been standing behind Lucy, cautiously stepped into view, and my eyes went wide. The long hair tied with a red ribbon — her trademark — was gone, replaced by a short bob.

"Whoa. Rumi, you cut your hair? It looks amazing."

"Th-thank you."

"Right? Right? Everyone at the Academy was going crazy over how pretty she looks."

"Lucy... don't say that. It's embarrassing."

Lucy showed Rumi off like it was her own accomplishment. I'd felt guilty about not looking after them much lately, but whether Lucy was just that kind or simply hiding it, she hadn't said a word about it. I was genuinely grateful.

But why did Rumi cut her hair?

In the original, they'd both kept their hair long the whole time.

"Why'd you cut it?"

"She said it's an image change."

Lucy answered for the mortified Rumi.

"Image change...?"

"Y-yes..."

"Image change" was a phrase that fit Rumi about as well as a square peg in a round hole. Wasn't that something the popular kids did?

So she really just... did it?

She looks pretty, so whatever. We talked happily, the first real conversation we'd had in a while.

That night, at Lee Ho-yeon's dorm.

"Unnie, unnieee! Look at this! Chicken! Chicken!"

"Don't you run off with my chicken!"

Crash! Bang!

Nam Daehee and Liliana tore around the room with fried chicken in their hands while Nam Da-eun and Scarlet sat on the sofa watching them. They looked exactly like parents who'd dropped their kids off at an indoor playground and were keeping an eye on them from a distance.

"What does Miss Liliana do, exactly?"

Nam Da-eun asked Scarlet with completely innocent eyes.

"...She's my colleague."

"So she's a superior, like Ho-yeon?"

Scarlet normally addressed her as Lady Liliana, so it was a reasonable assumption.

"...Yes. That's correct."

A faint flush crept into Scarlet's face. Lee Ho-yeon, Liliana, and Scarlet. A shame she'd never felt when it was just the three of them living together came flooding in. Back then, sexual pleasure had been enough to drown out the embarrassment — but ever since Nam Daehee arrived, Liliana's playtime with Scarlet had all but vanished. With her wits about her again, Scarlet found herself mortified by Nam Da-eun's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠question.

She couldn't betray them anyway because of the contract, and this place was more fun than her last job, so she had no complaints. Just the embarrassment.

"Still, it seems like a close-knit workplace."

Scarlet clicked her tongue inwardly as Nam Da-eun nodded with that blank expression of hers. Then a question occurred to her, and she asked it.

"By the way, Miss Nam Da-eun, is it all right that you're not attending class?"

"There's not much point in going."

"Ah..."

Knowing Nam Da-eun's circumstances, Scarlet immediately regretted the question. For someone who'd been threatened that her sister would be in danger if she didn't take first place in practicals, the Academy had to be a place she was thoroughly sick of.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Sensing Scarlet's discomfort, Nam Da-eun spoke up first to let her off the hook.

"I'm sorry, Miss Da-eun. So are you planning to leave the Academy?"

Nam Da-eun gazed at Nam Daehee with distant eyes and opened her mouth.

"For now, I want to spend time with Daehee. And if I get the chance... I want to pay the Buyer Guild a visit."

"The Buyer Guild?"

"Thanks to Ho-yeon, I finally have time to think. And I started wondering... why did I just sit there and take it like an idiot for so long?"

"..."

The innocent girl had been stained black. But Scarlet had no way of knowing the humiliation Nam Da-eun had endured for so long, so she kept her mouth shut.

"There's something I wanted to ask. Do you know what Ho-yeon likes?"

"Pardon? Ho-yeon?"

"I was thinking of getting him a gift."

Nam Da-eun wanted to repay Lee Ho-yeon. She wanted to show her gratitude to the man who'd saved her and Nam Daehee, but there was nothing big she could offer right now. If she was going to settle for something small, she at least needed to know his tastes. Doing nothing at all would weigh too heavily on her conscience.

"Uh... what Ho-yeon likes..."

Honestly, Scarlet didn't know his tastes either. She wasn't even sure the man had hobbies.

"..."

As Scarlet racked her brain, a single phrase flickered through her mind.

Seducing women.

That was the only thing that came to mind. But she really didn't want to say that to the Nam Da-eun sitting in front of her.

"What Lee Ho-yeon likes? Obviously se—"

Liliana, who'd apparently been eavesdropping, jumped into the conversation — and Scarlet clamped a hand over her mouth just in time.

"What color?"

Even after hearing Liliana's words, Nam Da-eun didn't make the connection to sex. The word simply didn't exist in her vocabulary. Already well-adapted to Liliana's outbursts, Scarlet quickly came up with a cover.

"Ah, color. Color... he likes flowers with pretty colors."

"Flowers with pretty colors..."

Nam Da-eun nodded, deciding then and there that she'd bring flowers with pretty colors on her next hospital visit.