Why Only Me?
"This side's clean... What about over there?"
"Spotless. Not a single trace."
"Hmm...."
"How do you even fight without leaving any traces at all...."
"There's not even residual mana from the Demon."
The academy security team couldn't help but be bewildered. No matter how thoroughly they combed the scene, not a single sign of combat turned up. Just the Demon's corpse. Aside from that, nothing suspicious presented itself. It felt as if the Demon had been dealt with somewhere else entirely, and only the body had been dumped here.
"He didn't even give it an opening."
"Sir?"
While everyone stood frowning at the living room, the oldest veteran on the academy security team spoke up. Kim Pelle, the team's ace who had studied abroad and come home, cupped his chin as he looked down at the scene.
"An S-class Demon that couldn't even release its mana... What do you think that means? A Demon's greatest drive is the instinct to survive. There's no way it wouldn't have used mana when it was about to die."
"Then that means...."
"That's right. Lee Ho-yeon is a fighter so overwhelming that an S-class Demon couldn't even react before it went down."
"...!"
"I'll need to report this separately. Keep your mouths shut, just in case."
"Y-yes, sir. Understood!"
Kim Pelle let out a long sigh and shook his head. Even with his long career, he had never encountered a powerhouse like this. The youngest member of the security team was already getting a headache from the classified information he had accidentally overheard.
"What is everyone doing?"
Mun Su-rin approached the security team, who were all gathered together shaking their heads.
"P-President!"
"Is the investigation going well?"
"Y-yes, ma'am."
The security team reported their progress to Mun Su-rin. On-site, the student council president held considerable authority. It wasn't just that there was no one else to take charge — Mun Su-rin was so competent that her young age became irrelevant. Even the proudest people on the scene, the ones who initially dismissed her, had no choice but to acknowledge her talent after working with her a few times.
"No traces at all.... It really was far too clean."
Anyone could see the scene looked unnatural. To professionals, it would look even stranger.
"Should we take a look inside the rooms as well?"
"...No. I'll just glance around in there myself."
"Understood. Then we'll wrap things up here. Hey! Pack it up!"
There were plenty of things that felt off... but she had to protect Ho-yeon's privacy. While the security team finished their on-site investigation, Mun Su-rin gave Ho-yeon's bedroom and bathroom a cursory look. Nothing particularly related to the incident. Nothing that stood out as strange.
And yet....
"That's a lot of toothbrushes."
Little things started catching Mun Su-rin's eye. The beds — one in the bedroom, one in the living room. Multiple toothbrushes that looked like they were actively in use. A computer with a complete streaming setup, as if someone were broadcasting from here. A lived-in feeling, you could call it. Signs of people.
Of course, this was Lee Ho-yeon's house, so traces of human life weren't the problem in themselves....
...I never heard that Ho-yeon does streams.
Something. Something about it bothered her. What was it? But she didn't want to go rummaging through his closet or drawers. That really would be invading Lee Ho-yeon's privacy. Mun Su-rin's conscience told her not to cross that line.
She tilted her head, puzzled — and then, by chance, she found a piece of clothing that looked like it had been stashed under the bed, lying there in a heap. It was a scrap of black fabric. When she picked it up with both hands and spread it out, she could tell exactly what it was for.
A piece that emphasized a woman's chest, stomach, hips, and thighs. A lewd outfit, designed to turn a man on.
"...."
Why was this in Ho-yeon's house?
"President! We're all wrapped up!"
The security team's voices called from outside while Mun Su-rin was lost in thought.
"Ah, yes!"
She had to go back for now. Mun Su-rin tucked the clothes back under the bed.
"...."
What on earth. Ho-yeon was hiding something from her. Maybe it was nothing. That scrap of fabric could just be some useless gift a friend had given him... and the computer could be a hobby he simply hadn't mentioned. She could respect that much.
But all sorts of thoughts kept complicating Mun Su-rin's heart. Lee Ho-yeon had a lot of women he was close with, after all.
"Haa...."
Mun Su-rin hated this feeling. And she regretted what she had done. She should have just not looked at anything. Then her heart would have been at ease. With her mind still in knots, Mun Su-rin stepped back outside.
"I-is this... really okay? Rumi?"
"Yeah. Hurry up."
Rumi shoved Lucy forward by the back and pushed her into the club room. Inside sat the bed they had installed yesterday. Getting the school to approve it as a "rest fixture" had been incredibly difficult, but they had pulled it off in the end. Because Rumi had refused to back down.
Lucy found it deeply strange to see Rumi this passionate about anything. Whenever it involved Lee Ho-yeon, she became a completely different person.
"Lucy. This should be enough, right?"
"Yeah. It's big and nice, but...."
The bed was wide. Wide enough for the three of them to sprawl out and roll around without running out of room. Just looking at it made Lucy tense. The reason this bed had been placed here... she didn't need anyone to spell it out.
Watching that nervous expression, Rumi took Lucy's hand.
"Lucy. Do you not want to do it with Ho-yeon?"
"...It's not that I don't want to. I like him."
Of course Lucy liked being with Lee Ho-yeon and Rumi. If it were just hanging out like normal, "like" wouldn't even cover it — she would have been over the moon. But mixing their bodies together with Rumi... that was something Lucy needed a little time to prepare her heart for.
"Lucy. We have to steel ourselves for this."
"Steel ourselves?"
"...You know too, right? Ho-yeon has so many pretty girls around him. Like Nam Da-eun... and Elise."
"He said he's close with Miss Baek A-young, too."
"And Professor Lim Sol."
"Now that I think about it, he's a real bastard. Seriously."
"It's okay. There's two of us."
Rumi smiled faintly and squeezed Lucy's hand.
"You think so too, right?"
"Haa, yeah. Fine. Let's take Lee Ho-yeon down."
Lucy couldn't refuse her. No — the truth was, she was grateful Rumi had come at this so fiercely. Lucy had only done it once, so she was honestly still nervous about that kind of thing. She wanted Lee Ho-yeon, but she didn't really know how to go about it. Thanks to Rumi, they could actually make progress like this.
"I'll try hard too, Rumi."
"Mm.... I love you, Lucy."
"I love you more."
The twins pulled each other close and lay down on the bed.
"It feels nice, lying here together."
"Yeah. It reminds me of when we were little. Whenever things got hard, you always held me like this."
From the time they were small, Lucy had always looked after Rumi, who was frailer than other kids. As the older sister, it had been the natural thing to do, and she had never expected anything in return... but this time, she decided to say it out loud.
"Rumi. This time, you help me."
"Don't worry. We'll get Lee Ho-yeon lying right between us."
"Heh — I love that. I love that so much."
The twins giggled and spent the rest of their time in the club room just like that.
"Here, try this. Drumstick."
"Well, thanks a lot, Liliana."
Nam Da-eun, Nam Daehee, Liliana, and me. The four of us had ordered three whole chickens. Three chickens meant six drumsticks in total. After watching Liliana put away three of them and reach for a fourth, I gave her a look — and she caught my eye and held the drumstick out to me.
"But the drumsticks are the tastiest...."
"What do you think you're doing in front of a kid. Seriously."
"Liliana is so funny. Pfft."
"Daehee. Don't drool. Eat properly."
Nam Daehee was grinning at Liliana like none of this concerned her, and Nam Da-eun was just as unbothered, wiping her little sister's mouth. Tsk. These kids were too nice for their own good. I could picture exactly how much Liliana had been stealing off their plates whenever I wasn't around.
"You're not stealing all their drumsticks when I'm not here, are you? You order fried chicken every single day anyway."
"...I'm not."
I let out a hollow laugh as Liliana avoided my eyes and picked up a piece of the dry breast meat. Were all the ones who lived in Hell that childish? No. If I looked at it positively, maybe they just lived young.
"Hey, now that I think about it — you two are okay, right? Your bodies?"
It was a shameless thing to ask this late... but honestly, it had only just occurred to me. They had looked so fine I hadn't even thought about it.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Of course I am. Yap, yap."
They had energy to spare, so they clearly hadn't been hurt.
"Still, it was an S-class Demon... and you took it down that easily? Did Da-eun get that much stronger?"
"Mm. Liliana helped a lot."
"Liliana?"
I looked over at Liliana, who was nomming away at her fried chicken. That was helpful?
"Why are you looking at me like that? I've gotten insanely strong too, you know? The gods watching from Hell must have blessed me. Heheh."
"...."
What kind of nonsense was that. Still, if Nam Da-eun was saying it, Liliana really must have gotten stronger....
Ah. Was it because I had gotten stronger while learning the Rune Barrier from Rebecca, and that had carried over to her? Come to think of it, I had grown rapidly ever since summoning Liliana. The mana she could draw on had probably increased by the same amount. It had been a long time since she'd had a proper fight, so it made sense she would feel it that way.
"Sure. You're the best. I always believed in you."
"Heheh. Then offer up a drumstick."
"Ho-yeon, when is Scarlet coming, though?"
I had been messing around trading nonsense with Liliana when Nam Daehee cut in with a question.
"Uh... Scarlet said she's busy with work. But she'll be here soon."
"I want to see Scout too. I haven't used my tail in so long, it feels all tingly."
Scarlet, huh. I pictured her at Elise's side. Honestly, with things this quiet, was it even okay to leave her over there? A sudden wave of unease had hit me back then, but both I and the girls had gotten a lot stronger since. Of course, true to this dumpster fire of a game, the power creep would get so bad later that this level still wouldn't cut it... so I just had to work harder.
"I'll ask her. She can at least show her face."
"Yay! Thank you!"
Daehee lit up. She had gotten pretty close with Scarlet too, huh. Watching my girls get along with each other never got old.
Ah. Right. Scarlet isn't a heroine.
I'd been seeing her so often I got mixed up.
"Ho-yeon. I wanted to ask something too. How did you meet that Rebecca person?"
"Yeah. That witch is so scary. She was going on about clans and whatever. I didn't get any of it."
"Rebecca... well. It's a long story, but I'll tell you properly."
We kept the small talk going. Sharing an ordinary day like this with the heroines really was a good feeling — the kind that healed you. Second only to sex, of course.
The day after Lee Ho-yeon was attacked by the skull-masked figure. Sunday. Scarlet delivered her report to Elise.
"An attack…?"
"Yes. I obtained the materials the academy is currently processing."
The documents Scarlet held out contained everything on the assault Lee Ho-yeon had suffered. She had siphoned the academy's information and supplemented it with what she had gathered through her own inquiries, so it was a thoroughly detailed brief.
"Hmm… All right. I'll have to get in touch. You may go rest."
"Yes. I'll take my leave."
After bowing to Elise, Scarlet left the estate and headed home. Unlike Sebas Chan, she had no need to remain at Elise's side every day.
What am I even supposed to do once I get home.
It was strange. In all the years she had been alive, she had never felt like this.
Scout~. Look at this. Doesn't it look tasty?
Hey, it's Scarlet, not Scout. How long are you going to keep that up.
Thank you, Miss Scarlet.
Unnie~ do this for me.
"Ha."
She was someone known, in her own right, for intelligence work and assassination. To think she would grow this attached. Terrifying people, all of them. Even as the thought crossed her mind, a smile had found its way onto Scarlet's lips.
I should pay them a visit soon.
Scarlet opened her front door with a pleasant little daydream still playing in her head. The moment she stepped inside and shut the door behind her, a survival warning screamed through every inch of her body, and she jolted.
Get out. Right now. Turn around and run.
Scarlet reflexively reached for the door she had just closed and pulled it open again.
But.
The deep, resonant voice that followed stopped every movement in her body. She turned back around. It was the most natural thing in the world — the way a herbivore's legs go weak at the sight of a predator.
In the living room, a man was stretched out on the sofa as if this were his own home. He looked perfectly at ease, like he had every right to be there.
"Guild Leader..."
"It's been a while. Looks like this place is treating you well."
The leader of the Iris Guild. Isaac. He was in her house.