Aftermath

A thunderous crash ripped through the dungeon. At the head of the rescue team, a female cadet directed the operation with sweeping gestures, and every time her hands cut left or right, massive boulders went sailing aside one after another.

"President. That's enough—head back. You can leave the rest to us."

"No. Not yet…! There are still a lot of people inside."

Beads of sweat rolled down Mun Su-rin's face as she worked her mana.

Telekinesis. Her innate Authority—the elemental attribute of mana she had been born with. Mun Su-rin possessed an extraordinary gift for the manipulation, shaping, and materialization of mana. Telekinesis: a magic that could do anything, and yet could accomplish nothing. Her talent had shattered that theory to pieces.

A low rush of air followed the path of her hands as earth was carved away, opening a passage. According to the experts' analysis, following the existing corridors would never get the others out. Each tunnel was independent, sealed off from the rest. The only way through was to punch through the dungeon walls themselves.

"She's insane. Is that really a cadet?"

"I know, right? But isn't she pushing herself too hard? She's been digging a path by herself without a single break."

"Bet her boyfriend's trapped in there."

The hunters who had come along had nothing to do. They were combat personnel, and Mun Su-rin was far faster at breaking through walls than any of them. She had been carving a path alone for hours. She had already pulled dozens of cadets out of the dark, and still she would not stop.

"Wait a moment. There's one more person behind this—no, two."

The specialist trailing behind her, a mana detector humming in his hands, spoke up.

"You're certain it's here?"

"Yes. I can sense mana. One of them is extremely faint. Their life might be in danger! We need to break through immediately."

Mun Su-rin clenched her teeth, drew up even more mana, and flung the earth backward. Rocks and boulders in the way vanished in an instant.

"We're almost through!"

"The mana signature is flaring! Could they be in combat?!"

A dull, rapid thudding answered them. As the wall gave way, light began to leak through from the other side. Mun Su-rin pulled her mana up once more and tore into the stone. This was already her tenth rescue or more, and Lee Ho-yeon had not been among any of them.

Where on earth is he…?!

She had saved cadets who thanked her, and entire healer teams. But as she passed corpses whose faces could no longer be recognized, and scattered pieces of what had once been people, the dread in her chest climbed higher and higher.

As Student Council President she had duties waiting. As the Chairman's granddaughter she was expected to manage the Academy itself. As an outstanding third-year cadet she bore both the weight of expectation and the constant pressure of rivalry. Even her personal hours were never left in peace by the paparazzi. Mun Su-rin had been standing ramrod-straight in the middle of a desert, with no one to lean on. And only now, in the midst of all that hardship, had she finally found an oasis for her heart. She would never give up.

She gathered her mana and blasted through the wall in a single stroke. If this one was another bust, she would have to start the next job immediately. She cleared the fallen rock fragments, gathered the dust with a sweep of mana, and pressed forward.

"Huh? Su-rin?"

A voice that brought comfort just by being heard reached her ears.

"Ho—Ho-yeon! Are you okay?!"

She threw herself at him.

"S-Su-rin? What's going on? I mean—what are you even doing here?"

"Ho-yeon… Thank god. Thank god you're alive."

In an instant, every last thread of tension drained from Mun Su-rin's body. This warmth. This comfort. She had missed it so much. The sanctuary of her heart. The only person whose face alone was enough to put her at ease.

This man… I can never let him go.

Lee Ho-yeon's presence swelled larger and larger inside her chest.

"President! Something's wrong over here!"

"Th-this can't be! Is this what I think it is?!"

The rescue team pouring in behind her erupted into shouts.

Ah, crap. I haven't had enough yet.

Even so, Mun Su-rin lifted her head and surveyed the surroundings, just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in case. Every gaze in the rescue team was locked on a single spot.

Two ogres lay there.

An ogre was a monster that took at least two or three B-class hunters teaming up for a raid. Among mindless monsters, they were arguably the strongest thing that walked. And yet there they were—one with a hole blown through its belly, the other with half its head gone—sprawled side by side in the dirt.

Mun Su-rin swept the area with a quick glance. Baek A-young and Lee Ho-yeon. Those were the only two people in sight. Baek A-young was an extraordinary healer, but she was known to have no combat ability whatsoever. The only fighter here was Lee Ho-yeon. His torn, disheveled clothes were soaked in blood. He must have taken some fairly serious wounds in a fierce fight.

"Ho—Ho-yeon, you…!"

Lee Ho-yeon turned his head to check on Baek A-young. He seemed to relax once he saw the other women on the team looking after her.

His personality's good, too.

Personality aside, though, there was something she needed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ask right now.

"Did you… take down two ogres by yourself?"

"Uh…"

Things had gotten weird again. We should've had sex somewhere else, for fuck's sake.

"Ms. A-young, were there any other party members besides Cadet Ho-yeon?"

Over there, they were draping an outer garment over Baek A-young and looking after her.

"Y-yes. It was just the two of us. Ah—if you go a bit further down that passage over there, there's a corpse. By the time we found them, they were already being eaten by an ogre, so… we couldn't identify them."

"Th-then that means there was one more ogre?"

"Uh… I guess so?"

"Then surely you don't mean… Cadet Lee Ho-yeon killed three ogres all by himself?"

"Huh? W-well, that's technically right?"

The further the conversation went, the more puzzled Baek A-young's expression became. It was an wait, this isn't how this was supposed to go kind of face.

"Th-that's impossible! A cadet—a first-year—took down three ogres alone?!"

"This is front-page material. A once-in-a-generation prospect…!"

"W-wait a second… that's true, but, um…"

I was pretty sure I had asked her to hide my strength, and she had already gone and told them everything. I turned my back to Mun Su-rin and shot Baek A-young a look of sheer exasperation. She met my eyes, then scratched her head with a sheepish little grin.

I'm. So. Rry.

She mouthed the apology at me, syllable by syllable.

"I'll wrap up here and take the Saintess and Ho-yeon out. My mana's running low, so it's about time I headed back anyway."

"Yes, ma'am. We'll handle the rest."

Looks like Mun Su-rin planned to leave with us. But why had she even come with the rescue team? As Student Council President, she should have had a mountain of things to do right now.

I hadn't even started Mun Su-rin's route yet. Why did she like me this much? She wasn't telling me, so there was no way to know.

We followed Mun Su-rin as she took the lead, passing through the dungeon walls. Not one hole—there were well over a dozen punched through the stone. No wonder we had never found a way out. How many walls had she crossed to get here?

"Did the Student Council President do all of this?"

"It's just one of my more modest talents, Saintess."

"Oh, you really don't have to call me something so grand…"

Baek A-young and Mun Su-rin fell into easy conversation as we walked. Honestly, I was filthy exhausted and just wanted to get back to the dorm. Soon the portal leading outside came into view.

Finally getting out of this godforsaken dungeon.

We let the portal take us without a second thought. After a brief wave of dizziness I opened my eyes to find the waiting area in utter chaos. Cadets receiving emergency treatment. Cadets whose faces were covered with cloth. And beside them, cadets and adults weeping. It was a bitter sight.

"I-I have to go help right now. I need to help too."

"No. Ms. A-young, you're in no condition yourself. You need treatment—what are you even saying?"

"B-but…"

Baek A-young might have been a pervert, but when it came to saving people, she was always sincere.

Footsteps approached. A professor with a familiar face was coming toward us.

"Yes, there are still six more unaccounted for. Rescue operations ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are currently underway, and…"

Kim Jin-hyeok, our homeroom professor. He had been walking over while talking on his smartwatch, then stopped short when he saw us.

"Correction—two additional rescues confirmed. Four remaining. Yes. I'll take command."

He ended the call and came over.

"Saintess, and Cadet Lee Ho-yeon. I'm truly relieved you're both safe. First, Saintess, please stop by the treatment station over there. Ho-yeon, you come with me."

Leaving only those words, Kim Jin-hyeok turned and started walking again.

I followed Kim Jin-hyeok back to Class A. A few cadets and medical staff were standing by. The cadets were apparently getting their medical checks here.

"Oh, Cadet Lee Ho-yeon, you look perfectly fine. Your clothes are torn, but… ah, I heard you went in with the Saintess, so you've already been treated~."

The nurse muttered aha, aha to herself, then asked for my contact information for ongoing status checks, just in case. I was about to give it without a second thought—then I noticed her face was faintly flushed. When I told her she could just contact Professor Kim Jin-hyeok, she clicked her tongue.

Even the medical staff at our Academy are rotten, huh. Trying to get a cadet's number.

Once the medical check was done, I was free to return to the dorm. The cadets waiting here were teammates still holding out for people who hadn't come out yet.

"Were Rumi and Nam Da-eun rescued, by any chance? They were in my group."

"Yes, Cadet Rumi and Cadet Nam Da-eun were among the first rescued. Cadet Nam Da-eun went back right away, and Cadet Rumi waited here before heading back to the dorm with Cadet Lucy."

"Ah, thank you!"

What a relief. I had been worried Nam Da-eun might have abandoned Rumi, but that had been a needless concern after all. Elise had participated in the training too, but she was so strong she would be able to hold out until she was rescued.

"I'll be heading out, then. Thank you for your hard work."

"Yes."

I offered a rough goodbye and left Class A. Exhausted. I just wanted to get back to the dorm and rest.

On the way, I sent Mun Su-rin a thank-you message. I was about to text Lucy and Rumi too, but they had already sent messages asking if I was okay. Contact through the smartwatch network was prohibited during training, so I was only now able to check. Feeling grateful that they had been thinking of me, I wrote out careful replies and headed into the dorm.

Liliana was streaming in her room. I stripped off my cadet uniform and threw myself onto my bed in the living room.

"Ahh, I'm so fucking tired…"

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

Wandering a dungeon for hours on end had been a considerable burden even for me. I was considering just closing my eyes then and there when a message window appeared in front of me.

"Ah, right. This thing."

I would. Of course I would, but… I didn't think I should do it right now. I was way too tired. Conversations with gods like this were supposed to follow the iron rule that no time passed no matter how many hours you talked—but you never knew. I had to consider my body's safety, and with class tomorrow, the weekend would be better…

"Could we maybe postpone it a few days? I'd like to do it on Saturday."

Thankfully, the God of Bets seemed like a decent guy. I had poked at it figuring it would get rejected, but it worked.

"Ah, but now I'm wide awake."

It had been the perfect time to fall asleep, too. Well, might as well take a shower then. I grabbed the cadet uniform I had tossed aside and headed for the bathroom. After stripping down to nothing, I stacked the uniform and underwear neatly and stepped into the shower.

Blood had soaked into the uniform and even the underwear, but if I ran them through the washer and hung them on the magic hanger, they would come out clean on their own. Victoria Academy's technology—number one in the world.

I had already cleaned my body once with Clean magic, but I still felt grimy. It wasn't that anything actually dirty was stuck to me. It was more of a mental thing. There was a feeling of refreshment you only got from washing with actual water.

I finished showering, came out, picked up the cadet uniform, and went to toss it in the washer…

"Wait. It's actually gone. I'm not imagining this?"

A ghost? This time I checked for sure. My underwear had vanished again. There was a ghost living in this dorm.

Yeah, right.

I stomped over and pounded on Liliana's door. This perverted succubus bitch had graduated to kleptomania.

I hammered on the door like I was going to smash it in.

"Hey! Liliana! Open the door!"

"W-what's going on?!"

A clattering crash came from inside the room. I didn't wait.

"Open. The. Door."

The latch clicked. Liliana couldn't disobey a voice laced with my mana, and the door swung open.

"D-don't come in! Just wait a second!"

"Move."

I shoved aside Liliana, who was throwing her whole body in the way to stop me, and walked into the room.

On the bed, two pairs of my underwear sat side by side. One had been rolled into a tight little ball and was soaked through—god knows what she had done with it. The other was still clean, untouched. That was the pair I had just taken off.

"Haa…"

I let out a sigh and looked at Liliana.

"I-I'm sorry…"

Liliana hung her head, her entire body flushed red. From between the legs of that perverted old-maid succubus, fluid dripped down in fat, steady droplets.