In the Club Room
Clean.
Not taking our clothes off had definitely sped up the cleanup. A single cast of Clean and every trace of sweat and everything else simply vanished.
We straightened our clothes and rose from the bed.
"I should get going, A-young."
"Mm... go ahead."
Our encounter had been brief but deep, and now it was time to head back. Lunch period had less than two minutes left—I'd have to use Acceleration just to make it. Still, I'd finished inside her properly. No regrets.
That was time well spent.
Probably the most productive lunch of any cadet in the entire academy. What could possibly beat having sex with the school nurse in the infirmary?
Anyway, I needed to get back to the lecture hall.
"...A-young."
"..."
Baek A-young caught one of my fingers, looking up at me with the eyes of a puppy watching its owner walk away. She knew she had to let me go. This was just a little sulk—a protest because she wanted to stay with me longer. Those pleading eyes were hard to ignore, but there was no helping it. I had class. Lucy and Rumi would be waiting, too.
I gently pried her fingers free and pulled her into a soft embrace.
"I'm going, darling."
"...Okay. Come again next time. I'll be waiting."
I parted from Baek A-young and stepped out of the infirmary. Outside, a crowd of cadets was already lined up, waiting for treatment the instant lunch ended.
"I just want to see the Saint..."
"Be honest. You're only coming here to look at the nurse. How else do you get hurt every single day?"
"...I'm just working hard."
Tsk, tsk. I shook my head and headed for the lecture hall. It wasn't like guys like that were rare. No point paying them any mind.
How am I supposed to jump A-young next time?
I mulled it over as I ran toward the lecture hall, trying to figure out how I could recreate that same atmosphere for another round of rape-play. Threats wouldn't work anymore—we'd built too much trust for that. Forcing her against her will didn't make sense either.
Or would it? She might actually like that.
Still, putting her through something she outwardly acted like she hated felt wrong. A woman's heart mattered too.
"Tsk. Maybe I should ask Liliana."
She was a succubus. She'd have some knowledge on the subject, right?
A moment later I stepped into the lecture hall and spotted Lucy and Rumi whispering to each other on the far side. Class was about to start, so whatever they were discussing had to be important.
I glanced around while the twins still hadn't noticed me. Elise and Nam Da-eun were in the room as well. I didn't really acknowledge either of them at the academy. Elise had that young-lady air that made her hard to approach, and I hadn't been close with Nam Da-eun for very long.
Nam Da-eun was smiling as she tapped away at her smartwatch. Probably messaging Nam Daehee.
Come to think of it, who does Nam Da-eun even eat with?
I ate with Lucy and Rumi every day. Elise would handle herself just fine—she wouldn't care whether anyone was watching. She might even go out to some fancy restaurant.
But Nam Da-eun?
I should ask her when I get home.
It wasn't like she had friends to eat with, so she was probably eating alone. That felt... well. Da-eun was basically my girlfriend now, too.
I was looking at her as those thoughts ran through my head, and she noticed my gaze. She looked over.
A small smile.
Watching her smile at me, even just a little, was strangely wonderful. That girl used to never show any expression at all. It put me in a good mood. I returned a small nod of greeting and turned away. She didn't seem like she wanted us acknowledging each other at the academy.
That was when my eyes met Elise's. She'd been watching me in secret.
"..."
The moment our gazes locked, Elise squeezed her eyes shut, gave a small shake of her head, and went right back to staring at her smartwatch.
"...?"
What was her problem? Had the treatment worn off? No—that should last quite a while.
Is it because of the massage?
I'd turned her down yesterday when she asked for one. I'd be seeing Elise soon enough anyway over the Centaur situation. If she wanted a massage then, I could just give her one.
I walked over to Lucy and Rumi, who were still whispering.
"Lucy, Rumi. What are you two up to?"
"Uh—ah, Lee Hoyeon? It's nothing."
"Hehe. You made it."
The twins, who'd been huddled together giggling, sprang apart the instant I arrived. As if nothing had been going on at all.
"...What's with you two?"
I was curious, but I decided to respect their privacy. Just watching these two mess around was entertainment enough.
I sat down between the twins and got ready for class. They both had short hair, but Lucy had dyed hers sky-blue again so people could tell them apart.
"Hoyeon. You have to come after class today. You have to."
"Huh? Oh, the club room? I know. We already said we'd go together."
"Yes. You have to. No exceptions! Lucy's looking forward to it too."
"Ru-Rumi...! Don't say weird stuff! And you're the one who's more excited than I am!"
"That's not true. Lucy likes it too, that's why we're..."
"..."
Keep it down. People are staring.
The words hovered on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't bother saying them. It would get quiet soon enough anyway.
"Sorry, Rumi... I got too loud."
"It's okay, Lucy. I'm sorry for teasing you."
Lucy and Rumi let out matching little whines, locked eyes, and threw their arms around each other. Then they nuzzled their faces together, as if soaking in each other's warmth.
This wasn't the first or second time they'd gone from a brief spat straight into a hug-and-nuzzle session. I'd gotten used to it. It was cute, honestly. The way they grew even closer every time they fought reminded me of watching a pair of neighborhood kids.
The door slid open.
"Hello! I'm Kang Hyo-rin, professor of Dungeon Studies!"
Fortunately, the twins pulled apart as the professor walked in, and afternoon classes began.
"..."
"Is something the matter, Lady Rebecca?"
"It's nothing. My head just hurts more than usual today."
Rebecca was sitting in her hideout, nursing a headache. After discovering she'd been under mind control and parting ways with Lee Hoyeon, she had summoned every one of her subordinates. And she had realized they were all under Maestro's brainwashing.
Once she'd learned to recognize the nature of that mana, it was easy to spot. It had taken root in every single one of their hearts.
When did it get this deep...?
Even her right-hand man—her most trusted lieutenant, who'd never once met Maestro—was under the spell. When had he made contact? To think the man was this thorough.
"Understood. I'll take my leave, then."
"Yeah. Go get some rest."
But Rebecca didn't undo her subordinates' brainwashing. She couldn't keep looking after them, and they wouldn't be able to act convincingly anyway. Better to just leave them as they were.
So he's been siphoning my information.
Fortunately, she'd never made any plans to betray Pandemic. She'd known from the start that they were using each other. She'd simply been pulled into a far uglier mission than she'd realized—without even knowing it.
Tsk.
Not a single person on my side.
Rebecca felt a loneliness she hadn't experienced in a long time. She'd at least believed her own people were loyal to her. And every last one of them had been brainwashed by Maestro.
"...No. That's not true."
She did have someone on her side now.
Lee Hoyeon.
Come to think of it, they hadn't even exchanged contact information. Her disciple and gene donor. His title: baby daddy.
"...My baby daddy. I can just go find him, right?"
No way to reach him, so she'd have to go in person. Rebecca dusted herself off and stood up. The academy would be letting out soon. The women who spent time with her baby daddy seemed afraid of her, so she planned to meet him right at the academy.
After afternoon classes ended, I headed to the club room with Lucy and Rumi, who spent the entire walk singing.
It's been a while.
What with exams and being hospitalized, so much time had passed that I hadn't even thought about the club. I'd been meeting Lucy and Rumi separately anyway. Honestly, there wasn't much reason to come all the way to the club room.
"Pretty clean, right? Rumi and I have been taking care of it."
"That's right. Lucy and I worked hard on it."
"Oh... yeah. It is clean... huh? What's that?"
As I stepped further inside, I spotted something that had no business being in a club room. Lucy and Rumi sat down at the table as if they hadn't noticed a thing.
"Have a seat. I'll go grab some coffee."
"Café latte for me, Rumi!"
"I'll take an Americano... no, what is that?"
What sat at the edge of my vision was a pink bed, dripping with the twins' taste. And it was enormous. Bigger than a king—what did they call that, a California king?
"I'll go make the coffee."
"Rumi, wait—"
"Lee Hoyeon, did you see this? They're saying a Centaur showed up in France."
Lucy beamed as she held out her smartwatch.
"...Yeah, I saw."
They had zero intention of answering me. They were deliberately ignoring the question. Fine. I'd play along. If I waited, they'd tell me eventually.
I made small talk with Lucy until Rumi came back with the coffee. We talked for a while after that. It felt good, hanging out with friends again after so long.
"You could've at least stopped by, though. Do you know how hard we worked to start this club?"
"I only got out of the hospital a few days ago. I've had a lot of people to see."
"Ah, right, right. Almost forgot."
"Lucy. Hoyeon had his reasons."
I looked at Rumi, who was happily sipping an iced chocolate, and finally spoke up.
"Alright. Now tell me. What's with the bed?"
It wasn't like I couldn't guess. You'd have to be an idiot not to understand the intent behind setting something like that up. I just wanted to hear it from Lucy and Rumi themselves.
"...Our weapon?"
"It's the place where you'll fall for us."
"..."
Lucy averted her eyes slightly. Rumi, on the other hand, took hold of my arm.
"We've thought about it a lot... and this is the only way. There are two of us, after all."
"...If Rumi says so, then I... ah, I'm not saying I don't want to. It's just, uh, nngh..."
Rumi and Lucy traded lines back and forth as they closed in on me. I'd never experienced anything like this. This was new territory for me, too.
"A-anyway. Just take your clothes off. I don't want to explain."
"I'll put your clothes away."
Before I knew it, the twins had each taken one of my arms.
Well. Fine.
I'd seen this coming the moment I laid eyes on that bed.
I let them have their way, and they dragged me toward it.