Final Exam Celebration (6)

Mun Su-rin, student council president of Victoria Academy, hummed a cheerful little tune in the empty council room. Today's work was finished, and she had gotten to see Lee Ho-yeon on top of it.

I never did manage to ask about the clothes...

She had tried, in her own way, but steering the conversation in that direction had been anything but easy. She had even floated internet streaming as a topic, except Ho-yeon had not seemed the least bit interested. And it was not as if she could just come out and ask him. It had been genuinely difficult.

Still, today had not been without its rewards.

Mun Su-rin lifted a hand and touched her shoulder. She could still feel the lingering warmth of his palm.

"Hh... haah..."

The cadet uniform his hand had rested on. Mun Su-rin slipped off her jacket, folded it with almost ceremonial care, and tucked it into her bag just like that.

"I should keep this one too, of course. Heh."

She would store it together with the oversized T-shirt Ho-yeon had given her last time. A preservation spell would lock in the scent and the warmth exactly as they were.

Now down to her undergarments, Mun Su-rin pulled on one of the spare cadet uniforms kept in the president's office, sat down at her desk, and began organizing what she knew. There had been things in her conversation with Ho-yeon that did not add up. She took out a pen and a notebook and started writing down everything that came to mind.

Even if Professor Lim Sol had told him about the field training exercise, there was no way he would have known the Iris Guild was taking part. Even professors did not receive the list of participating guilds. Which meant she had to assume there was a direct connection between Ho-yeon and the Iris Guild.

"The reason... Elise? That's probably it, isn't it?"

Tap. Tap.

Mun Su-rin drummed her pen against the desk, then started writing again.

"A move... a move."

Victoria Academy was the finest educational institution in the world, and its facilities were flawless. The dorms were single rooms as a baseline, and the living conditions were better than most of the houses surrounding the academy.

"Hmm. This one could go either way."

Of course, leaving the dorms was not strange in and of itself. Dorm life meant constantly running into people, and someone as well-known as Ho-yeon might well have gotten tired of that. Or maybe the last attack had soured him on the place entirely. There were plenty of possible reasons. This one was not worth suspecting.

"He did file the request properly, right?"

Mun Su-rin logged into the computer system and pulled up the dormitory records, just to make sure Ho-yeon had submitted everything correctly.

"Good. He did it right."

She nodded to herself, wearing a look of proud approval as she scrolled through the logs — and then she spotted something strange.

"...Huh?"

Two first-years from Class A had submitted dormitory checkout requests, one right after the other. Ho-yeon was one thing. But there was someone else.

"...Nam Da-eun?"

She had been the top cadet of the entire first year, hadn't she. Was it just a coincidence? Or was she involved with Ho-yeon somehow?

A nameless unease flooded through Mun Su-rin's chest.

Ho-yeon's talking with Elise right about now, isn't he.

What were they talking about? Business with the Iris Guild? Or something else entirely...

Mun Su-rin clenched her fist tight. She really should have driven Elise out for good.

No — should I have just called him? I should have only told Ho-yeon.

But regretting it now was far too late. Mun Su-rin shut down the computer and sank back into her chair.

People said you could not rank human beings by grade, but if you had to classify her, Mun Su-rin fell squarely in the genius category. Her brilliant mind was acknowledged by everyone, and her work ethic and communication skills were without a single rough edge. In short, a genius of both pen and sword — and on top of that, a woman of striking beauty and sound judgment.

And that brilliantly gifted Mun Su-rin was jealous of other women.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Her foot bounced restlessly as she muttered under her breath.

"...The dance. I was the one who signed up. I know I did."

There was only one thing Mun Su-rin wanted. She did not even need Ho-yeon to dance with her. She just did not want him dancing with another woman right in front of her eyes. Even someone as dense as Ho-yeon would pick up on that much.

Mun Su-rin let herself sink into the chair and squeezed her eyes shut.

Baek A-young. Elise. Nam Da-eun. Girls like Lucy and Rumi — all of them poured into black outfits that left almost nothing to the imagination, spinning across the floor in Ho-yeon's arms. The vision unfurled behind her eyelids as vividly as if it were happening right there.

She shoved the thoughts aside and activated her smartwatch. Stored there were all the recordings of Ho-yeon's voice and the photos she had collected so far. Naturally, she had recorded today's conversation as well.

She played the recording of Ho-yeon's voice — one she had edited herself — on a loop, and slowly calmed her heart.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah..."

Mun Su-rin stayed right there in the student council room and let herself rest. The Final Exam Celebration was drawing near.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faint chime sounded as I opened the dormitory door and, in the same breath, dropped the Rune Barrier I had been holding. I had just gotten back from the housemaster's office to file the checkout request.

"Thanks, Hoyeon."

Nam Da-eun, who had concealed herself inside my barrier and come along to file her request with me, spoke up from behind.

"Don't mention it. I was headed there anyway."

"Still. Oh — give me your clothes."

"Sure. But why do you keep taking my clothes?"

At some point, Nam Da-eun had started collecting them.

"You don't like it?"

She draped my cadet uniform over her arm and looked up at me.

"It's not that I don't like it. I'm grateful, actually."

"Mm."

Nam Da-eun gave me a smile with no laugh behind it and headed straight into her room. For reasons I could not pin down, she looked thoroughly pleased.

I washed my hands and walked into the living room, where Liliana — who had been sprawled on the bed — came straight over to me.

"What took you so long? I'm hungry! Let's eat, let's eat."

"I told you to just order something."

"I already did, actually~"

"Good girl. Well done."

I was exchanging the usual pointless banter and about to call over to Scarlet when Liliana refused to let me go. Normally she would spout one bit of nonsense and then release me. This was a different pattern.

"Liliana?"

I looked at her, staring straight at me, and opened the status window.

"...Hey. Use your words. Just say it."

Only after checking her heart did I see the filthy intent lurking in those eyes.

"You already know. Heheh."

Haaah. So when she said she wanted to eat, that was not the kind of meal she meant.

"...We just did it not that long ago."

The way she was acting, you'd think it had been a month. We had done it just a few days ago.

"Back when it was just the two of us, you used to jump me every single day... hnk. Have you gotten tired of me now? Hnk hnk."

Watching Liliana make sobbing noises with her mouth when there was not a single tear in her eyes, I could not help but laugh from sheer disbelief.

"Families don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do that kind of thing."

"...If that's how you're going to be, I've got ideas of my own. Daehee!"

"Yeah, unnie? What's up?"

Nam Daehee, who had been playing with Nam Da-eun, came pattering over at Liliana's call.

"Hey. Hey, hey — you crazy succubus, I swear—"

"Then just do me already...!"

Liliana wrapped her arms around my waist and clung to my leg like she had no intention of letting go. Meanwhile Nam Daehee had gotten close enough to watch the two of us acting like complete lunatics.

"Unnie, why are you holding onto oppa's leg?"

"Well. The thing is, oppa started adding more girls, and then..."

"Hey, hey hey! Fine! I get it, I get it!"

"So you've finally understood my heart? Come on, Daehee."

"Huh? Unnie. What? Huh? Huh?"

Having finally wrung a yes out of me, Liliana nuzzled her face against my leg, then swept her hand across my crotch as she let me go. Then she took Daehee's hand and headed for the bed.

She had been blackmailing me a second ago, and now she was over there playing the good girl. What kind of daylight robber was this.

"...Tsk."

Truth be told, I did not really mind. If she had just snuck over after everyone was asleep, I would have done her no problem. It was only embarrassing because she pulled that in front of Daehee. And the way she kept sneaking glances at me even while playing with the kid made it feel deliberate, which was just plain annoying.

I would get my revenge tonight.

"You've returned, Hoyeon-nim."

I was in the middle of plotting a thoroughly unsavory revenge when a voice suddenly spoke up right behind my ear.

"Ah, shit. What the—"

I spun around, startled, and found Scarlet's face, nodding as she looked at me.

"Found another one. Your awareness drops whenever you're having dirty thoughts."

"...And what exactly are you planning to do with all my weaknesses once you find them?"

"For your protection. Protection purposes."

"..."

Why was every last woman around me completely unhinged. It was one of those moments that made me miss Surin-noona all over again.

"Incidentally, Hoyeon-nim. The Iris Guild has completed all the formalities."

"Yeah? That was fast."

I had already finished discussing the field training with Scarlet. I had shared the information the moment I heard it from Professor Lim Sol.

"There was originally a slot reserved for Lady Elise, so they only needed to add one more. Will your schedule be all right, Hoyeon-nim?"

"Me? I'll just... have to make it work."

Judging by Surin-noona's reaction today, the request to add an Iris Guild slot seemed to have gone through without a hitch. The problem was not me. It was Rebecca. Rebecca, who had agreed to look into the information for me, still had not been in contact.

"While I'm thinking about it, I should send her a message."

I had been leaving her alone so I would not get in the way of her work, but asking about her progress should be fine.

I sent the message, turned off my smartwatch, and thought it over. Even if she could not get the information by next week, dragging things out any further would be tricky. If I waited too long, the Iris Guild might just catch Centaur on their own. The time I had was not infinite.

"Understood. In that case, I wish you luck."

"Luck?"

Scarlet smiled faintly and bowed her head. An uneasy feeling crept over me, and I looked toward the living room.

"Unnieee... I'm sleepy."

"Mm, come here. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Come sleep with unnie."

I could see Nam Da-eun leading Nam Daehee into the bedroom — and behind them, Liliana, staring right at me.

"It may be rather strenuous. Liliana-nim has been quite dissatisfied lately that you haven't been the one initiating."

"...Is that so?"

Hearing it put that way, I did feel a little bad.

Grrrr—

I looked at Liliana, who was making a weird rumbling sound even though she was not a cat, and walked toward the bed.

Inside the infirmary at Victoria Academy, with all her work finished, Baek A-young was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"This is bad. This is really bad..."

She paced back and forth around the infirmary, radiating anxiety. A message had just arrived.

But there was no celebration for the medical team. If anything, they were on high alert, bracing for whatever accidents might happen.

"...But I'm the school nurse."

Professors without classes got the day off, but she, a teacher, had to work? That was not fair. They were both faculty. What kind of sense did that make.

Mm-hmm.

Having talked herself into that conclusion, Baek A-young promptly discovered an even bigger problem. The Final Exam Celebration was a festival for the cadets. The real question was whether she, as a staff member, was even allowed to attend.

"...Can't I just go? No, wait. Would that be overstepping? Showing up where all those fresh-faced twenty-somethings are having fun... ah, I'm in my twenties too. So it's fine, right...?"

It had always been a festival that professors and cadets alike could attend, so there was nothing to worry about — but Baek A-young, who had only joined the academy this year, had no way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of knowing that. In the end, it was not until she called the student council herself and confirmed it that Baek A-young finally let out a sigh of relief.