Why Only Me? (5)

"Scarlet. You were in Korea because of Elise, weren't you?"

"Yes. For a personal investigation..."

"Ah, I remember now. Sebas Chan personally brought you in — specialized in stealth as you are — to investigate Lee Hoyeon. Now that the job's done, you're helping Elise's secretary. That right?"

"That's correct."

Isaac nodded, flicked his cigarette to the ground, and crushed it under his heel.

"Leave that to Sebas Chan. I want you back on Lee Hoyeon. That's an order from your Guild Leader. I'll talk to Sebas Chan myself, so don't worry about it."

"...Understood."

Scarlet kept her expression carefully neutral and nodded.

"Feel free to use a honey trap if you want... ah, wait, that wasn't your thing, was it? Anyway."

For the record, most female infiltration agents used honey traps. There was no reason not to use every asset they had. And most of those honey-trap agents had made seducing Isaac himself their personal goal.

"The way he keeps looking at you — he's interested. I've got a good eye for people."

"...Yes."

"Even if you can't seduce him, work on him. Try to scout him for the Iris Guild. And if you can peel him away from Elise entirely, even better."

"I'll do my best."

Isaac was operating under a rather significant misunderstanding. Even if Scarlet succeeded in winning Hoyeon over, it wouldn't separate him from Elise. Hoyeon was, after all, completely insane about women.

"But I won't put too much pressure on you. Just extracting information is fine. Even just building a rapport is fine. That kid's going to be huge no matter what."

"Understood."

Isaac smiled, clearly pleased with himself. Honestly, his pride had taken a hit at first — failing to immediately subdue a cadet and getting dragged into a proper scrap instead. But once the one-minute mark he'd originally aimed for had passed and five minutes had gone by, he'd been startled. By the ten-minute mark, he was outright impressed.

Of course, it hadn't been his full power. True to his epithet, the Emperor of the Night, Isaac's abilities doubled the moment the moon rose. Even in his daytime state, though, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he stood comfortably among the ranks of the strong. Night simply elevated him to a caliber worthy of the word "Emperor."

Ten years...? No, five. Maybe even less.

Almost no one ever passed Isaac's standard, because the standard itself was absurd. They had to be younger than him, and stronger than Isaac had been at that same age. Most of those he'd acknowledged had been exceptional in one particular field. Lee Hoyeon was different. Compared to Isaac at twenty, the boy was far too strong. It was the first time in his life he had encountered a talent he couldn't even measure.

If he just maintains that growth curve...

He'd be perfect to leave the Iris Guild to. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He didn't seem to know any stealth or infiltration magic yet, but that broken barrier of his was more than enough on its own. His offensive power was sufficient, and the creativity and flexibility of his magic were excellent. It had to have been his first time facing someone like Isaac, and he'd immediately poured out useful spell after useful spell.

Still... I can't give him my daughter. Not yet.

Isaac had rules. Standards for any man who wanted to take his daughter. First, Elise had to truly love him. As long as she existed as his daughter, she deserved to be happier than anyone else in the world. But love alone wasn't enough to live on. The man had to be able to protect Elise even if Isaac himself were gone. Which meant a man who could defeat Isaac at full power.

...

He'd never even seen the possibility before. He'd thought he could keep her by his side forever. Today, he had seen it.

You've grown up, haven't you, Elise.

Thinking of the daughter who had grown up in what felt like an instant, Isaac felt a little gloomy. She'd already taken that Hoyeon kid with her, after all.

And Scarlet, standing right beside him, just wanted to go home already.

"...Come in."

Elise had called me to her house, saying she wanted to apologize in person. Honestly, I'd already gotten an apology straight from Isaac, so it didn't matter much... but I followed her anyway. It had only been a few days since I'd come here for a massage, but walking into a heroine's home still made me a little tense.

Elise's room was tidy, but her desk was a mess. Documents lay scattered as if she'd bolted out mid-work, and something was still open on her laptop. She picked up a half-finished glass of wine, swirled it a few times, and sat down.

"I'm sorry. My dad isn't right in the head... you suffered because of me."

"It's fine. It was a good experience in its own way."

Fighting someone strong was always a good experience. And since the opponent had been Isaac, he hadn't actually been trying to kill me, which made it even better.

Elise, however, puffed her cheeks slightly, as if my answer didn't sit well with her.

"That's not okay."

"Huh?"

"If something happens that deserves an apology, you should receive the apology. You can't just let things slide because you're being nice."

"Think about it. Why is it that when I dig into your past, you say it's fine? And this time a father you've never even met shows up and threatens your life, and you say it's fine? Are you pretending to be a nice guy, or are you just a pushover?"

Where was this coming from? Elise had launched into a lecture out of nowhere.

Hmm.

I'd been pretty confident in my firmness, actually. But thinking about it, she had a point. I was in the position of having to capture the heroines, so there were a lot of things I had no choice but to yield on. And... honestly, I just didn't get angry. I wasn't sure if my personality had gone strange after I became the protagonist. But what was I supposed to do about not getting angry?

"I can't help that I don't get angry."

"...Why? When the student council talks down to you, you get angry. When you fight with the vice president, you get angry."

Elise clearly couldn't make sense of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. Was this her way of checking whether I was a man she could have feelings for?

Well. There had been times like that, sure. It wasn't that I couldn't get angry.

Ah.

I finally figured out the difference between then and now. I had discovered a simple truth: a beautiful woman looks beautiful no matter what she does. That was why Liliana could mess around all she wanted and I never got mad. She was just cute. Isaac coming after me was the same. The moment I knew it had to do with Elise, the anger simply vanished.

"Those people just... don't have any charm, I guess? They provoke it."

"What do you even... haah. Fine. You really do take after Dad."

What was that supposed to mean? Elise pressed her palm to her faintly flushed cheek, then opened her mouth again.

"So why are you so interested in that Centaur? I was planning to give you an even bigger reward."

So she was curious about my fixation on Centaur too. It probably looked ridiculous from the outside — like I was going out of my way to volunteer my help. Fortunately, I had an excuse prepared for this.

"The Centaur is just... personal curiosity. Related to my magic research."

"That's our genius mage for you."

Elise smiled faintly and reached for the wine. She seemed to be intending to pour me a glass. I watched her pour in a bit of a daze, and now that I looked, the color in her hands and face was excellent. Had the last massage really been that effective?

"Right. How was the mana massage? I put in quite a bit of effort last time."

I really had put a lot of effort into caressing her. It was a shame we hadn't gone all the way to sex, but thinking about it — if we had, would Elise have come to save me today? She might have. She also might not have.

Elise's hand paused for a moment at my words, then she finished pouring and set the bottle down.

"...It was good. The effects were incredible, honestly. Ahem. Right. Since you're already here, want to do a massage before you go? I wasn't planning on it, but since you're here anyway, it would be convenient."

So that was why she'd called me to her house. Had it been about the massage all along? Elise glanced at my face, gauging my reaction. Now that I looked, a massage table had been set up behind the bed. She'd even finished the preparations.

But now wasn't a great time.

"I don't mind, but... has the last massage already worn off?"

"Huh?"

Elise stopped, looking slightly flustered.

"No. It hasn't... my mana is still circulating well."

Of course it was. Given how hard I'd gone with the extra service last time, there was no way it would have worn off already.

"Doing it too often isn't good. Call me once your body has settled down a bit."

"...Okay. Got it."

Seeing how disappointed she looked, I wanted to push her down right then and there... but I'd just met Isaac. That was way too terrifying. What if he happened to see? I didn't want to die just yet. It wouldn't be too late to do it when things were a little safer.

We drank wine and, for once, had a proper conversation that wasn't about massages. I already knew Elise's tastes, so it was more than enough for both of us to enjoy ourselves.

After we finished talking, I left Elise's mansion and headed for the dorms. Conversations with a beautiful woman were enjoyable no matter how long they went, but Elise had work to do and I couldn't stay out too late, so we wrapped it up at a reasonable point and parted ways.

"This is exhausting as hell."

Every single day lately had been packed to the brim, and that was the problem. I wished incidents would just stop happening for a while. I missed the old days of fooling around with Liliana and falling asleep.

Walking at an unhurried pace, I remembered the original purpose of today's outing.

"Ah, damn. I never did look at houses."

I'd come out to look at a place to move, and I'd ended up drinking wine and chatting with Elise. The conversation had been nice, of course... but I still needed to look at houses.

"Should I go look now?"

A familiar voice spoke up beside me.

"Look at what, exactly?"

"A house. I mean a house."

"You really don't get startled, do you."

"I knew you were following me."

I'd only said it out loud because I knew Scarlet was behind me. Otherwise I would have kept it to myself. I glanced to the side, and there she was — looking annoyed, as usual, that her stealth had been seen through again.

"Isaac — I mean, Mr. Isaac?"

"He went to meet the Korean Branch Manager. He said if he thought about it, that was the only place that made sense. He'll probably leave the country immediately. He's not a man with a lot of time..."

"Hmm. That's a relief."

I wasn't sure why the Korean Branch Manager was coming into this, but they'd handle it themselves. Internal guild affairs. If Isaac was heading back, did that mean Scarlet could come home again?

"Then you'll be able to see Liliana and Dahee more often. Though not like before, I suppose?"

"No. I'll have more free time now, so I can be around like I used to."

"Oh, that's good."

If Scarlet was coming, that was even more reason to move.

"But before that..."

Scarlet stopped walking, turned to face me, and bowed at a full ninety degrees.

"I'm sorry, Hoyeon."

"Hm?"

"I should have done better..."

What was with her all of a sudden?

"Is this about Mr. Isaac coming after me?"

"...Yes. I was the one who disclosed information about you. There were circumstances, but a mistake is a mistake."

Scarlet bowed even deeper, the picture of genuine remorse.

"It's fine, get up. It didn't really matter anyw—"

Wait.

I cut myself off and thought about it. I couldn't just let everything slide like this. Like Elise had said, I needed to get a little angry. Might as well practice while I had the chance.

"If you're sorry, then do me one favor."

"...A favor?"

Scarlet glanced at my face, one hand drifting up to cover her chest.

"No, not that. Just find me a new house. I was going to look today, but I couldn't because of Mr. Isaac."

"Ah... that's unexpected. I can do that much."

Unexpected? That's a bit much.

"It's not like I always ask for your body."

"That's not what I meant... understood."

"...?"

Scarlet nodded, leaving behind a strangely loaded remark. What on earth was she thinking to make a face like that? Had that comment not been because she thought I was only after women?

A soft chime rang in front of my eyes.

"Oh..."

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

Scarlet had gotten a status window too. Was it because she'd become more deeply involved with me, Isaac, and Elise, increasing her influence on the world?

But her thoughts are a little impure.

Anyone watching would think I was a buffalo that charged at every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠woman I saw.

"That's harsh."

"Pardon?"

Scarlet tilted her head, looking completely clueless.

"Tsk. Never mind. It's nothing."

That side of her was charming in its own way, I supposed. She was calculating most of the time, but she helped me when it mattered. She'd been a huge help when I was capturing Nam Daeun, and she handled all sorts of miscellaneous work besides. I never would have guessed that a relationship starting from a fraudulent contract would develop like this.

Anyway, I already felt more than enough gratitude toward Scarlet.

"I'm always grateful, Scarlet. Find me a good house."

I offered the words with genuine thanks, and Scarlet smiled the way she always did.

"Yes, Hoyeon. I'll enjoy the work as well."

It felt a little late to be noticing this, but still.

The blonde women around me really were all beautiful.