Final Exam Celebration (3)

Once every last class had let out, I said goodbye to Lucy and Rumi and slipped out of the lecture hall.

The student council had a meeting scheduled for this afternoon, after all.

Is Elise going too?

They'd called me in as a member of the publicity department, so I'd figured Elise would be there as well — but the second class ended, she was already out the door.

If we were headed to the same place anyway, we could have gone together. Maybe she just didn't want to be seen acknowledging me in public.

Elise ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a study-abroad prodigy among prodigies. The attention of the public and the press might have been more than she wanted to deal with.

Then again, if we're using that logic, none of the heroines are exactly unknowns.

Baek A-young, the Saint. Lim Sol, the genius mage. Nam Da-eun, famous even among the first-years for how strong she was. Lucy and Rumi, the gorgeous twin prodigies. And Mun Su-rin, the student council president, went without saying.

Unless you were someone like Scarlet, Liliana, or Rebecca — people whose very existence most of the world didn't know about — fame was more or less inevitable.

Come to think of it, Su-rin noona is in the mix too.

Su-rin noona and I had a strange kind of relationship. If I had to put it into words, she was like a puppy that came bounding over the instant I called her name, ready to throw herself into my arms.

She was a heroine whose affection I could raise whenever I felt like it — but the circumstances just weren't cooperating.

For one thing, the stalker incident that had been the core of Mun Su-rin's route in the original game had vanished entirely. That was a serious obstacle for someone who'd been capturing heroines based on original-game intel.

Raising affection alone wasn't enough to clear a route. You needed a specific event to push that affection to 100 and lock in a complete capture.

And with Mun Su-rin, I had no idea what that event was supposed to be now.

I guess I'll just have to throw myself at it and see what happens.

There were still a few threads left, to be fair. Even after the stalker incident in the original, Mun Su-rin had more events waiting. Her missing father. The academy's chairman. Those plot hooks were still sitting there, untouched. I might have to steer things in that direction.

Turning those thoughts over, I made my way toward the club building at an unhurried pace.

It's been way too long, hasn't it?

I rode the elevator all the way up to the seventeenth floor — the very top — and wondered, not for the first time, whether it was even acceptable to have my name on the publicity department roster and do this little actual work. If anyone ever found out, I could report myself and still walk away not guilty.

Ding.

The seventeenth floor. The elevator doors slid open onto the student council office and the conference room. Aside from the one visit I'd made to celebrate getting discharged from the hospital, I hadn't set foot here in nearly a month. And even then, I hadn't done any work — I'd just looked at Su-rin noona's face and left.

Not that there had been much work to do. Publicity department business, and that had started and ended with a single photoshoot. The pictures we'd spent hours taking that day had all come out so well they still hadn't used them all.

I stepped into the student council office and found the upperclassmen frowning at their monitors. Still short-staffed, still buried.

I opened the door and greeted them first.

"Hello, seniors."

"Hm? Oh — Hoyeon!"

"Hey, long time no see!"

I smiled at the seniors as they came over. My public image was a good one, so I tended to get this kind of warm reception. On top of that, every senior still left on the student council was on Su-rin noona's side, so they made a point of treating me well.

"I heard there was a meeting, so I came."

It had been a while since I'd actually done any work, so I figured I ought to take it seriously. I was ready to sit down and participate — and then the senior standing in front of me blinked.

"Huh? Oh, the meeting's already over."

"…Excuse me?"

I doubted my own ears. I'd come the second class ended. How was I late?

"The president said we should just handle the meeting among ourselves and pass the information along to the first-years, so that's what we did!"

"…Why?"

"Beats me? The president wanted it that way. I don't really know either."

I'd actually wanted to sit in on a student council meeting. I'd shown up ready to do some real work as Lee Ho-yeon of the Publicity Department, and they wouldn't even let me help.

A shame. It was probably Su-rin noona's idea of looking out for me. I decided to take it as a kindness.

"Anyway, the president's in the middle of something right now, so could you wait a bit? Elise is already in the publicity office."

"Oh, is she?"

So she'd gotten here first.

I bowed my head in thanks and headed into the publicity department's office.

Desks set up facing each other. Fancy lighting. Even a dressing room, all prepared for a model. This was the publicity office — and I had never used it, not even once. Just thinking about how much money had gone into building this place made my conscience twinge.

Elise was sitting on the lounge sofa in the back.

"Elise?"

I called her name as I walked in like it was the most natural thing in the world. Elise, who'd been sitting with her legs crossed and staring at her smartwatch, startled the moment she saw me.

"What? Why'd you jump?"

"…No reason. It's just been a while."

"We saw each other in the lecture hall earlier."

What was she even talking about? We'd sat through every class together today.

"…"

An awkward silence settled over the office. I considered asking her, while I had the chance, why she never acknowledged me when other people were around — then decided against it. Better to wait until I'd captured her a little further before poking at that.

Ever since I'd walked in, Elise had stopped looking at her smartwatch entirely. She kept stealing glances at me instead. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first time we'd met in this room, I'd been the one hanging on every word just to keep a conversation going. Now the tables had turned, and I had to admit it felt pretty good.

I'd also been putting her own lesson to excellent use — if you're good-looking, you can get away with anything. I'd learned a lot of useful things from her, one way or another.

I could have waited for Elise to speak first. But if I did, Su-rin noona might finish her work and walk in on us. I wasn't about to waste a rare chance to talk to her alone, so I opened my mouth.

"Right, Elise. I've been thinking about getting a place of my own instead of staying in the dorms. Who do I talk to about that?"

"A place?"

"Yeah. I want to move out of the dorms, like you did."

"You'd have to tell the dorm supervisor. There's an admin building — if you go to the lobby, they'll point you in the right direction."

"Oh, nice. Thanks."

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

I already knew that, of course. There was no way I would have planned a move without looking into it. I'd just pretended not to know so I could get the conversation started, and it seemed to have worked.

"Ahem."

Elise cleared her throat. She looked like she was about to say something, so I checked the status window.

So that's what she was after.

No wonder she'd been watching my face. Last time she'd brought up the massage, I'd turned her down. This time, she'd clearly come prepared.

"So, about Centaur."

"What about Centaur?"

"…D-Dad — I mean, the Guild Leader won't tell me anything about how it's going. He said he's handling it with just you."

"Oh, is that right?"

I'd assumed Elise was already in the loop. Apparently not.

"Yeah. So I was wondering — once a schedule gets set, could you let me know? I want to go along when the time comes."

"Ahh… well, I don't see why not. Sure."

I was a little worried Isaac might lose his temper, but surely he wouldn't mind his own daughter coming to watch. He was a complete daughter-doting fool. It'd be fine.

"But why do you want to come? It could be dangerous."

"…Because someday it's going to be my job. I want to learn. Dad says he's protecting me, and he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never takes me anywhere like that. If I go with you, he'll have to bring me along."

"…"

If that was her reason, I might actually get an earful. Isaac's overprotectiveness toward Elise was no joke.

"Ahem. And also. That, um. My body's been feeling a little stiff lately."

"Your body?"

I barely managed to keep the corner of my mouth from twitching upward. She could have just said it outright, but her pride made her talk in circles, and it was painfully cute.

Elise took one look at my perfectly clueless expression and bit her lip. She clearly hated having to spell it out.

"I, um. I was hoping I could get a massage."

"Ah. A mana massage?"

"Yes. That's it."

It made sense. The effects were just about due to wear off. Lasting a week was already pretty good.

Elise looked like she'd just cleared a major hurdle and could finally breathe. Anyone could have seen the relief on her face. Watching her like that made me want to tease her a little.

"Mind if I check?"

"…What?"

Before the slight frown on her face could turn into an actual misunderstanding, I kept going.

"It's not that I don't believe you. I just want to see for myself how much your mana circuits have shrunk. That way I can pick a definite date."

"If that's all it is… but do I have to take my clothes off too?"

Elise, who had been nodding along, looked at me carefully.

"Hm? No. We'll just do it like this. Bare skin is better, but this is only temporary."

Looking at a beautiful woman's body was always a pleasure, but this place was a little too risky. Su-rin noona could walk in at any moment. Besides, the massage worked about the same whether she was dressed or not. The clothes thing had only ever been an excuse.

"Th-then go ahead and check."

Elise was already up off the sofa and sitting in the chair at the desk. She sat perfectly straight, hands resting on her knees, looking just a little tense.

"Alright. Don't tense up. Just relax."

I set my hands slowly on Elise's shoulders and pressed down.

Meanwhile, Mun Su-rin had only just finished the mountain of paperwork that had been piling up, and she'd gotten the meeting notes organized on top of that.

"Hahh…"

She'd torn through the work as fast as she could, thinking of Ho-yeon, who would be coming to see her any minute now.

"You've worked hard, President."

"Mm. Thank you."

Mun Su-rin took the coffee her secretary handed her. Finishing today's work left her with a warm sense of accomplishment. She could rest like this until Ho-yeon arrived, and then…

"Oh, right, President. Hoyeon and Elise are waiting in the publicity office."

"Kh—! Cough! Cough!"

"P-President?!"

The secretary was beaming, delighted about something or other, and Mun Su-rin started coughing as if the coffee had gone down the wrong pipe. The secretary, who'd been in a fine mood now that the day's work was done, could only stare in alarm at the president's sudden fit.

"Oh no! Are you alright, President?!"

"Wh-why are you only telling me this now?!"

"I-I'm sorry? You told me not to interrupt you while you were working… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

The secretary, who had been scolded by Mun Su-rin more than a few times lately, bowed her head low in apology. Seeing that snapped Mun Su-rin back to her senses. This was no time to be standing around.

"Ugh, fine. I'll go."

Mun Su-rin wiped the coffee from her lips and stood up. She'd kept Ho-yeon waiting. That was something she should never have done.

She already had more than enough on her mind. Why did more problems keep piling up?

Two things in particular had been occupying Mun Su-rin's thoughts.

The first was what had been found under Ho-yeon's bed: the filthy outfit the sexy succubus had been wearing.

At first she'd planned to just ask Ho-yeon about it directly, but she'd quickly realized how stupid that was. It would have been the same as admitting she'd gone through his house. She still hadn't come up with a clean solution, so she'd put it on hold.

The second was her rivals.

The competitors Mun Su-rin knew about for certain numbered three. The Lucy-and-Rumi twins, who were with him every single day. And Baek A-young, the school nurse.

The twins, who hung around him constantly and even ran a club together, went without saying. And Baek A-young already had a rap sheet. One minute she was on television saying things that made them sound like a couple, the next she was on CCTV taking a blade for him like some tragically devoted lover. There wasn't a single thing about any of it that sat well with her.

"Ugh."

What if he and Elise had been doing something they shouldn't?

No. Surely not.

A nameless unease prickled at her, and Mun Su-rin picked up her pace, heading for the publicity office where Ho-yeon was waiting.