Hidden Conspiracy and the Method of Salvation
"Arian, are you trying to feed me yourself?"
Yet I showed no sign of embarrassment. Instead, I smiled leisurely. Arian Liberin looked slightly disappointed, as if she had expected me to panic under her teasing.
"How can you stay so calm…? It almost hurts my feelings."
Any ordinary person would have lost their composure. A beautiful golden-haired princess straight out of a fairy tale was personally picking up a slice of pizza with her delicate hands to feed him. It was the kind of situation that would make anyone's heart race, especially with Arian Liberin's pure smile directed at them. Most men would have been completely flustered.
She really is stunning.
No matter how many times I looked at her, I never grew tired of her appearance. Her clear pink eyes curved into a gentle smile, and it was impossible not to feel one's heart skip a beat. Still, I maintained my calm expression on the surface.
"Don't tease me too much, Arian. I might actually start getting strange ideas."
"Oh? What kind of strange ideas are you talking about?"
Arian Liberin already knew exactly what I meant, yet she pretended otherwise. Her eyes curved into a soft arc as she smiled, her pretty lips lifting slightly at the corners. It was the natural, innocent smile of a pure princess—far more dangerously effective than any seductive expression.
But I met her gaze directly. "Misunderstanding that you have feelings for me?"
When I spoke so boldly without a hint of shame, Arian Liberin gave a slightly regretful smile.
"You're really like an iron wall. You could at least pretend to be flustered at times like this."
"Hmm, Arian. Do you actually like Jin?"
Unexpectedly, the most effective response came from Yee Eun-chae.
"Yee Eun-chae?"
"The fact that Arian is playing this kind of prank must mean she secretly has feelings for Jin, right? I learned that when someone likes someone but doesn't get the response they want, they express it through teasing. Or am I wrong?"
Arian Liberin looked slightly taken aback by Yee Eun-chae's serious expression before giving a wry smile.
"That's not it. I just feel close to him, so I was only teasing him as a friend. Seo Moon-jin isn't flustered either, see?"
"Oh! So that's what it was?"
Yee Eun-chae reacted as if she had just learned something new. With her limited experience dealing with people, she innocently accepted Arian Liberin's words at face value. Then she picked up a slice of pizza herself and held it out in front of my mouth.
"Jin! Say ah~. I'll feed you."
Yee Eun-chae smiled as she offered the pizza, and suddenly I found myself being asked to taste-test by both Arian Liberin and Yee Eun-chae.
"Oppa."
At that moment, Seo Moon-min-hye called out to me.
"You'll eat mine first, right?"
She held out a slice of pizza with a smile, and for the first time, I felt genuine tension. Seo Moon-min-hye was acting this way because she had seen Arian Liberin and Yee Eun-chae. She had already given herself to me so deeply that if I pushed hard enough, she would allow things to go all the way to sex. Even though she hadn't fully realized her own feelings yet, Arian Liberin and Yee Eun-chae's actions had stirred something in her heart.
This is bad.
I felt like facing the Eternal Dragon Terenity in direct combat would be less nerve-wracking than this.
"Um, m-me too…"
Yoo Eun-chae, wanting to join the atmosphere, also held out a slice of pizza toward me.
"Ah, thanks."
I took Yoo Eun-chae's pizza first and bit into it.
"Ah."
"Ack!"
"Oh my?"
Seo Moon-min-hye, Yee Eun-chae, and Arian Liberin's expressions shifted slightly. But when their gazes all turned to Yoo Eun-chae, she lowered her head deeply, her eyes welling up with tears.
"P-please spare me."
Yoo Eun-chae cried out with a face full of shame, begging to be saved.
"…Everyone, let's stop the teasing. At this rate, Hyun-ah is going to cry."
I approached Yoo Eun-chae and spoke in a serious tone while pretending to comfort her.
"Yes, that would be best."
Arian Liberin nodded in agreement.
"Ah, Hyun-ah… I don't know exactly what happened, but it seems we did something wrong. As your friend, I apologize."
Only Seo Moon-min-hye wore an expression of unresolved frustration. Yet she still didn't understand why she felt that way. Although she loved me as a man, her awareness of us being siblings prevented her thoughts from reaching that conclusion.
"Alright, let's all just finish eating our pizza. And Hyun-ah, don't be too surprised. We were just playing around among ourselves."
When I spoke to her in a gentle tone, Yoo Eun-chae looked at me gratefully. Perhaps because of that, she quietly accepted it when I moved closer and patted her back.
[Oppa is weak to girls who are about to cry?]
Seo Moon-min-hye's thought reached me, but neither Arian Liberin nor Yee Eun-chae found it strange that I was comforting Yoo Eun-chae.
Hmm, as expected, Hyun-ah's skin feels really nice too. Even through the uniform, it's pleasant to touch.
There was no way I could let anyone know I was thinking that.
* * *
The days of academy classes continued. Starting the next day, we began practical lessons by taking out monsters we had personally captured from their cages and facing them directly. We learned how to confront monsters in real combat situations. In theory classes, we studied the processes by which heroes saved citizens while focusing on the types of dungeons and monsters and their combat patterns.
After the first week passed, the day finally arrived during the following week's lessons.
Artificial Dungeon Practical Training.
It was because we would be conducting lessons inside artificially created dungeons made from cleared and damaged dungeons as materials.
Groups of ten, huh.
With a thousand students divided into teams of ten, there were a hundred teams in total. Most of the members in my team were on the weaker side.
"Ah, hello. My name is Joo Ho-seung."
There was a short man named Joo Ho-seung who looked visibly timid, along with female students who seemed terrified at the mere mention of a dungeon, even if it was artificial. However, Osada Saya, the Japanese female student who had been in the same team last week, looked relieved to be on the same team as me.
"My name is Choi Jae-hoon. I'm truly grateful for the sponsorship from the Yucheon Group."
Choi Jae-hoon, who had also received sponsorship from the Yucheon Group, was another example.
This guy has an ability that enhances defensive power.
He could even apply that defensive power to weapons he held. While it worked on shields, it could also be applied to weapons, and a weapon with enhanced defense could still serve an offensive role. Additionally, he had considerable talent in the earth attribute. In the original story, he had remained a minor supporting character, but thanks to the support from the Yucheon Group, his skills seemed to have improved compared to the original.
He seems not just favorable toward me, but even loyal.
Since his life had turned around thanks to the Yucheon Group, he apparently felt loyalty toward me as the group's successor.
"Ah! Why can't I be on the same team as Jin this time either! Even Hyun-ah and Arian got separated from me!"
Yee Eun-chae vented her frustration with a visibly depressed expression at the team assignments. Though she was honestly expressing her disappointment, her beauty made most people unconsciously feel sympathy for her. But it couldn't be helped.
"For this class, all the top-ranked students have been distributed evenly. Even though it's an artificial dungeon, this is to prepare for any unforeseen situations. Also, for safety, everyone will be given armor that generates a protective barrier, but remember that using it means disqualification!"
The instructor this time was a man named Jeong Won-hyung, who had a rather strict and cold impression. However, given that the class involved dungeon practical training—even if artificial—it was only natural.
"Even though it's an artificial dungeon, since it's made from real dungeons, the inside is vast! There are also multiple entrances, and the paths will all be different! From now on, I'll divide you hundred teams into groups of ten and place each group into one of the ten artificial dungeons. I hope you all achieve good results!"
A thousand students divided into a hundred teams, with ten teams each entering one of the ten artificial dungeons. The structure of placing one top-ranked student in each team was to prevent student deaths in case of emergencies, and armor with protective barrier functions had been distributed to everyone for safety. Since the difficulty inside the dungeon wasn't very high, even the lowest-ranked students could survive without dying as long as they kept their wits about them, given that they had been admitted to the National Hero Academy.
The only problem is…
Today, right here, the conspiracy to kidnap Arian Liberin was about to unfold.