The Heavenly Demon Divine Art's Secret
Long eyelashes fluttered open, and clear green eyes gazed steadily at me. Cheon Hayeon calmly sat up and adjusted her collar. Because of the small pajamas, her chest was still half-exposed. Still, it was far better than earlier, when even the pink areola had been nearly visible. Cheon Hayeon nonchalantly tidied her tousled hair.
"...Ahem."
I let out a small cough. This was a situation straight out of a trashy erotic novel, but the details played out differently. Cheon Hayeon truly wore an expression as if nothing were amiss. ...Was she really unbothered?
When I stared at her intently, Cheon Hayeon tilted her head and parted her lips.
"Good morning. Is there something you wish to say?"
No, this wasn't some reversed-gender world. Why did I have to be the one to bring it up first?
"Don't you have any shame? Do you usually sleep like this with just anyone?"
"Your jest goes too far. Do I seem the sort to share a bed lightly with others? Aside from my father in childhood, this is the first time."
She'd shared a bed with me after knowing me for only a day. To be precise, it was closer to just sleeping without even holding hands.
"This is my bed, though."
"I am aware of that, of course."
"No, I'm asking why you specifically came to sleep right next to where I was sleeping...."
"I see. Your question is reasonable."
Cheon Hayeon nodded naturally.
"...No need to call it 'reasonable.'"
"I do not know where to begin. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art I have cultivated is an incomplete martial art."
"What...?"
I'd asked why she came in the middle of the night, and suddenly I was hearing about the Heavenly Demon Divine Art being incomplete. I hadn't imagined that at all.
Cheon Hayeon narrowed her eyes and swept her long golden hair with her fingers.
"To be precise, it was once complete in the past, but it would be accurate to say it has become incomplete. A portion of the latter half's mnemonic chants has been permanently lost."
"Is it all right to tell me that? Isn't that a weakness?"
Revealing the weaknesses of one's own martial arts was no ordinary matter. Much less when the person in question was the future Heavenly Demon.
"It matters not. A complete Heavenly Demon Divine Art would contend for supremacy throughout the ages, but even if slightly incomplete, it remains the greatest martial art under heaven."
An extremely arrogant attitude. Cheon Hayeon's golden hair sparkled brilliantly under the warm morning sunlight.
"That's some confidence."
"One who is to become the Heavenly Demon of the Divine Cult is always like this. To become the greatest of all ages with the greatest martial art under heaven. That is my goal."
Cheon Hayeon proudly puffed out her chest. The faint smile like a crescent moon on her lips was quite beautiful.
"I get that much. But what does that have to do with you coming next to me while I was asleep?"
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn't a conversation to have right after waking up disheveled.
"The Heavenly Demon Divine Art I cultivate reacted to you."
...Huh?
"Reacted?"
"I thought it might be a mistake, but after sharing a bed with you, it became certain."
"...That phrasing 'sharing a bed' seems prone to a lot of misunderstandings."
"Did we not share a bed?"
"No, that's not usually how it's used between men and women."
When I'd asked Han Yeoreum about Yin-Yang Harmony, had she felt this same suffocating sensation? It was hard to breathe.
"You have a talent for saying incomprehensible things. In any case, when I shared a bed with you, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art rose and moved on its own. That should not have been possible originally."
"Is that a good thing?"
"It would be better to speak directly. The more I share a bed with you, the more I believe I can grasp a clue to the final lost mnemonic chants of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
What on earth was she talking about? What did sleeping together have to do with that? If she said so, then so be it, but it didn't make sense logically. Even as a game veteran, this was the first I'd heard of such a thing.
Regardless. Putting it all together, it meant that in the game, Cheon Hayeon, the Heavenly Demon, had contended with the Black Dragon Sword Emperor for supremacy under heaven using only an incomplete Heavenly Demon Divine Art. If she slept with me, the incomplete Heavenly Demon Divine Art might become whole.... In other words, there was now a chance for a monster to evolve into a transcendent-level monster. And the reason was me.
...What was this? It was clearly a good thing, but the circumstances felt... impure.
"You're not joking, right?"
"Do I seem the sort to joke with you?"
"No. So you're saying you want to keep sleeping with me from now on?"
"If you find it uncomfortable, I will not force you, but I would like your permission. If there is anything you desire, I will grant it within my power."
"I'm fine with it. Do as you like."
Becoming the benefactor of the future greatest under heaven? An irresistible temptation.
"I am grateful. I look forward to sharing a bed with you going forward as well."
"More importantly... you should avoid using the phrase 'sharing a bed' around others."
"Is there a problem with calling a bed a bed?"
"Usually, 'sharing a bed' means... well...."
"I do not understand why you hesitate. Or is there something difficult for you to say? I am generous, so you may speak freely."
Cheon Hayeon covered her mouth slightly and laughed. Fine, whatever. If she wanted to hear it that badly, I'd just tell her.
"'Sharing a bed' usually refers to Yin-Yang Harmony between men and women—that is, sex. If you say it carelessly elsewhere, won't it cause enormous misunderstandings? You know what sex is, right? Sexual relations between men and women."
Feeling just as embarrassed, I blurted it out like a machine gun. Cheon Hayeon's hand, which had been calmly tidying her golden hair under the warm sunlight, froze in place. Her pupils widened gradually, and her lips trembled slightly.
...She really hadn't known what she was saying.
"I-I understand. I shall wash first."
Cheon Hayeon, who had been frozen like a broken machine for a while, suddenly stood up and went into the bathroom. That was her being embarrassed. The future greatest under heaven, the golden-haired, busty beauty, the Young Heavenly Demon getting shy—it was an absurd situation and an absurd thought, but she seemed cute. Was this right? My feelings were complicated. Now I didn't know either....
***
"Let us go."
Cheon Hayeon opened the door. While I had been washing, Cheon Hayeon had already finished cross-dressing as a man. Of course, it was only relatively masculine; even now, it was difficult to guess her gender. As if to prove it, gazes from both men and women alike were fixed on Cheon Hayeon.
"Why do you walk so far behind?"
Cheon Hayeon turned back and tilted her head. Why indeed.
"Walking with you draws too many stares. It's burdensome."
"...I do not understand. How could a man like you care about others' gazes?"
"I'm just an ordinary freshman."
"Ordinary? A man to whom the Heavenly Demon Divine Art reacts cannot possibly be ordinary. You would do well to understand yourself a little better."
Cheon Hayeon was seriously misunderstanding. It wasn't as if I could explain that until recently I'd been an ordinary game addict.
"You'll see eventually."
Once she got caught up competing among monsters, Cheon Hayeon would surely clear up the misunderstanding.
'This is hopeless.'
Just thinking about competing among monsters already made my head throb. Cheon Hayeon suddenly stopped walking and stared straight at my face.
"Even now, your face is quite pleasing to look at. Is there truly a need to wait until later?"
"...I wasn't talking about my face."
It was fortunate I knew Cheon Hayeon was a woman. If a guy had said that with that look in his eyes, it would've given me chills.
"Is that so. How amusing."
"Let's just hurry up and go."
Today's class was on Hand Techniques. And Cheon Hayeon was taking it as well. After climbing the hill for a long while, a wide clearing appeared.
"Kim Mugong, why are you so late... This person, don't tell me?"
Han Yeoreum, who had been pouting and grumbling, widened her round eyes.
"You must be Han Yeoreum."
"Y-Yes, and you are?"
"A pleasure. I am Cheon Hayeon."
"...Nice to meet you too."
Han Yeoreum greeted her in an awkward posture. Then she grabbed my arm and dragged me into a corner.
"Cheon Hayeon means the Young Heavenly Demon, right?"
Almost pressed right up against me, Han Yeoreum whispered in my ear.
"Yeah. The future greatest under heaven."
"You two got close already?"
"When I was leaving the dorm, Cheon Hayeon said she was taking the Hand Techniques class too. So we came together."
Saying we'd shared a room was still too much. That could lead to trouble. My intuition was sounding a strong alarm.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
Han Yeoreum whispered worriedly.
"No, the verification's done. I just told her that you and I know she's the Young Heavenly Demon and a woman, so we can get along comfortably."
"...She's not trying to kill us, is she?"
"Her way of speaking is just like that. She's a good kid. Don't be like that."
"...You're not acting like this because she's a woman, are you?"
Han Yeoreum narrowed her eyes.
"Would a cross-dressing Young Heavenly Demon even look like a woman to you? Have you made any friends yourself?"
Of course, the Young Heavenly Demon Cheon Hayeon without her cross-dressing was an entirely different story.
"Not yet. My roommate is Seomun Yerin, but she's not very human-like."
Seomun Yerin could be like that. There was a reason she was called the Heavenly Sword. That title didn't just indicate her lofty realm; it also contained the unfathomable nature of Seomun Yerin herself.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
I lightly patted Han Yeoreum's head as she let out a deep sigh.
"Okay."
Han Yeoreum bumped her head once against my chest before leaving the corner.
"Let's go. The professor will be here soon."
"Yeah."
Cheon Hayeon remained motionless in the spot where she had been standing earlier. She truly looked like a painting.
"You two seem quite close for mere bad friends."
"...'Bad friends' is just a joke. Think of us as childhood friends."
Han Yeoreum protested timidly.
"I see. To me, you look like lovers. It is a pleasing sight."
"L-Lovers?"
Han Yeoreum's face turned bright red as she lowered her head deeply.
...Why was she like this again?
"Has everyone gathered?"
An old man with his hands behind his back approached us. For a moment, my mouth fell open in a daze.
"Why the expressions? Are you that surprised I came?"
The old man laughing heartily before us was Dokgopae. The academy principal, and the current greatest under heaven, known as the Invincible War God.
'...Why on earth?'
During course registration, the professor for the Hand Techniques class hadn't been listed. Since it was such an unpopular class, I'd assumed some random professor would be assigned, but I never imagined the principal himself would step in. From the corner of my eye, I saw that not only Han Yeoreum but even Cheon Hayeon was staring at Dokgopae with wide eyes.