The Body Already Knows the Answer
My thighs tingled with a strange, electric sensation. It was no coincidence. Ever since Lucia had nearly pounced on me yesterday, I'd allowed her to touch them. I'd thought she'd stop after a little while, but I never imagined she'd spend five or six straight hours doing it. Of course, that wasn't the only reason my thighs still throbbed.
"...Hngh."
It was class time at the academy, and we were in the same group from the entrance ceremony, receiving proper instruction. Ignoring the lecture in full swing at the podium, Lucia kept kneading my thigh.
"Please... just stop already... ngh..."
I grabbed her arm and begged, but it only seemed to excite her more. Her face grew even redder as she continued to stroke my leg. The way she was panting with those perverted little breaths sent chills down my spine.
"We're... in the middle of a lecture..."
The professor's gaze kept drifting in our direction, which only made things more uncomfortable. A student writhing and panting during class was bound to stand out. Honestly, the fact that we hadn't been caught yet felt like a miracle.
"That's why I'm controlling myself just enough."
Right. It wasn't so much a miracle as it was her terrifying ability to adjust her strength perfectly. She kept the volume low, touching me with delicate precision while still making sure I felt that constant, obscene pleasure. Thanks to her, I spent the entire lecture trapped in a contradictory state of feeling both good and terrible at the same time.
"Besides, isn't it more suspicious the way you're fidgeting around like that?"
It was ridiculous to even say it out loud, but Lucia had become a master of secret caresses right under the professor's nose. I'd grown used to nervously glancing at the podium, terrified we'd get caught. It made sense—this had been going on nonstop for three days straight ever since Lucia and I went to that room cafe together.
This feels like something's gone very wrong...
It was supposed to be just one day of letting her have me. Somehow she'd taken it upon herself to extend the period indefinitely. I still remembered how shocked I'd been the first time she touched my leg right in front of the professor during class. She didn't know the meaning of moderation. The moment an opportunity appeared, she'd go for it.
"You actually like it, so why are you acting so difficult?"
And here she was, saying things like that while openly stroking my leg in the middle of an active lecture. This is sexual harassment, you awful woman. If I reported you, you'd be eating prison food.
"No, I'm not...? It doesn't... ngh... feel good at all..."
If I tried to push her hand away, the commotion would draw even more attention. A few students in front of us kept turning around, clearly bothered by the rustling of clothes. I couldn't even imagine what kind of reaction I'd get if I actually stopped her hand here. Lucia probably knew that, which was why she only touched me during moments when I couldn't properly react. What a cunning little devil.
"Then stop making those moans and say it properly. It's your reactions that make me unable to stop, you know?"
When I clamped my mouth shut as tightly as possible, Lucia leaned in close and whispered in a seductive voice.
Crazy sadistic Geumtaeyang bitch.
What frustrated me most was that this wasn't something I was doing because I liked it. It was a purely physiological reaction. Imagine someone who'd barely interacted with women suddenly getting their thighs stroked and caressed for days on end. Whether you looked at it logically or biologically, there was no way not to react.
Still... this is a huge blow to my pride...
I'd told her with my own mouth that I hated it, that she should stop, yet here I was getting all flustered from just a few touches. At this rate, I wasn't any different from those adult novel heroines who end up underneath the protagonist without any proper buildup. I was trying my best to endure it, but the constant touching had made me even more sensitive... Damn it, enough. The more I made excuses, the more pathetic I felt.
"Hey, what are you two doing?"
At that moment, the girl sitting in front of us turned around with an uncomfortable look. Short bobbed hair and a perpetually irritated, sullen expression. It was Heidi.
What the hell are you doing during class?
Heidi had been extremely annoyed lately watching me and Lucia stick together. Even though I'd rejected her confession, she seemed to think I'd gone and fallen for Lucia instead. I'd tried to shake her off, but Lucia just kept following me—what was I supposed to do? It wasn't my fault!
Though looking at what we're doing right now, I don't really have a leg to stand on.
Still, I'd only lent her my leg. I hadn't given her my heart yet, so saying I'd completely fallen for her was a stretch... Wait a second. Wasn't this exactly the kind of self-justification a heroine used right before getting NTR'd in those comics, when she was already mostly corrupted?
I quietly reminded myself once again that my body and heart belonged to me alone, and weren't anyone's property. But—
"Hup!"
I hated how my body immediately reacted to the slightly more delicate touch that had crept up on me. Though I supposed it wasn't entirely my fault, since the hand that had been on my thigh had suddenly moved to my ear. It wasn't. I was not some 19+ comic heroine whose body reacted to the slightest touch!
"You... you...! What did you just...!"
As Heidi stood there, stunned by the bold thing Lucia had just done right in front of her, a memory flashed through my mind. It was from the entrance ceremony, when Lucia and Heidi had gotten into that little argument while listening to the explanation.
While I was feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu and growing fear, Lucia smiled sweetly at Heidi and said,
"My, you shouldn't be turning around during class. Pay attention to the professor."
Heidi glared back without missing a beat.
"What exactly have you been doing to make your face that red? Is touching his ear just the beginning? And don't think I haven't noticed those little moans you've been making."
Please, just look forward and stop this. I could already feel several gazes turning our way, and it was incredibly uncomfortable. But my silent plea didn't seem to reach them. Lucia continued speaking with the smile of a mastermind.
"What kind of dirty thoughts must you have for you to be hearing such hallucinations? How utterly vulgar."
Even as she said that, her hand remained stubbornly on my leg. At this point, I couldn't even tell if the person next to me was human or a little demon.
"I heard Jack clearly tell you to stop...!"
"The professor seems to be looking this way. Why don't you quietly face forward?"
"Ugh...!"
In the end, Heidi couldn't properly counter Lucia's attack, which had cleverly used the geographical advantage of the classroom. Seeing it like this, Heidi really did look pitiful. Everything she'd said was true.
I let out a deep sigh, secretly hoping Heidi would win, when Lucia linked her arm with mine and whispered softly into my ear.
It'd be a nice time for you alone, you evil woman.
I'd fled to the bathroom. No matter how bold Lucia was, she apparently had no intention of following me into the men's restroom. I didn't know why I had to run away, but since she wouldn't listen when I told her to stop, what else could I do?
If I tried to speak more firmly...
She'd just get this suspicious sparkle in her eyes and say things like You're so cute when you're like that... which made it hard to get tough with her. And trying to shut it down completely like I had at the room cafe before would draw too much attention since we were at the academy. The fact that Lucia only did these things in crowded places left me with no choice but to keep enduring it.
When I rejected the confession at the middle academy last time...
There had only been Heidi around, so I'd been able to deliver those harsh words. But it seemed Lucia wasn't the type to fall for the same attack twice. She really was a difficult opponent.
I quietly made my way over to the urinals, letting my thoughts stretch out like melted cheese until they practically stopped. This was comfortable. I could just kill time here quietly and head back once class was almost over—
"Hm? Aren't you that guy from our class?"
Ah, I was finally trying to get some rest. Why did someone have to talk to me now? I'd been stuck with Lucia the entire time at the academy, so I didn't really have any close friends yet.
Even though I felt uncomfortable, I put on a smiling face and slightly turned my head toward the voice.
"I heard that standing next to someone who entered the men's bathroom first is like issuing a duel. You got confidence or something?"
A purple-haired boy was grinning, though he looked slightly angry.
"...Hah."
The moment I saw his face, a sigh escaped me. We'd been in the same class, and I'd been planning to slowly get close to him when the opportunity arose. I never expected to meet him here.
"Nice to meet you, Raul."
"...You know my name?"
Of course I did. Raul was a thousand-year-old spiritual beast hiding his true identity, lurking among humans. He was the main character of the third episode that would soon begin.
"I was going to have to meet you anyway."
It was the third day since the second episode had been forcibly ended before it could even happen. Since the second and third episodes were supposed to be about two weeks apart, there were roughly twelve days left until the third episode started.
"Meet me? What a funny guy. Why would you?"
In other words, it was time to meet him and prepare for the third episode. In that sense, running into Raul here could be considered lucky.
Still, it's unclear whether intervening in the episodes will necessarily lead to a good direction...
The second episode had been completely ruined because of my interference. I was thinking that starting with this episode—or the next one—I should try to let things proceed as close to the original story as possible. I needed to see exactly how much my meddling had changed things.
"Hey, I'm asking you. Why did you want to meet me?"
While I was thinking, I could sense the subtle wariness and hostility in his tone. When I delayed my answer, a thick killing intent filled the bathroom in an instant, as if he would tear apart the person in front of him the moment things went wrong.
What a crazy bastard.
I'd just been thinking about following the original story, and while I'd decided to let this episode play out naturally... there was still one thing I felt I had to tell this guy who was radiating murderous intent at someone he'd just met.
"Did you get dementia or something? Living for a thousand years must've really ruined your manners..."
The place he belonged right now wasn't the academy. It was a dementia care center.