The Secret Library (1)
My roommate couldn't easily drop the wariness she aimed at me, her expression frozen stiff.
From the outside, it might have looked like some random guy was shooting hostile glances her way out of nowhere, but the reality was quite different. After all, Do Yoonchae was a crossdressing heroine from the original novel — a woman who had enrolled at Cheonmu Academy disguised as a man precisely so she could share a dorm room with the protagonist.
'The original novel just described "him" as a pretty-faced guy, so I let it slide back then, but now that I know she's a woman, all I can see is a woman.'
She had one of those androgynously beautiful faces — you could call her handsome just as easily as you could call her pretty. That was only natural, since even in the original novel she'd been treated as half of a flower-boy duo whenever she walked around with Seo Woojin.
Either way, to my eyes, which knew the truth, she was nothing more than a woman desperately trying to hide her identity. Of course, at this point in time I had no way of actually knowing Do Yoonchae was crossdressing, so casually hinting at her secret was strictly off the table.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lee Seonho — Combat Support Department."
"…Right."
I offered my hand, half wondering if we might shake on it, but she just side-eyed me and pretended not to see it. Like a stray cat wary of human touch. I nearly let a laugh slip at the sight.
"Let me say this up front — I'm the type who takes his personal space seriously."
"Huh?"
"Roommate or not, I'd appreciate it if you didn't go rummaging through my things without permission, or barge into the bathroom while I'm bathing. Things like that. You understand what I mean, right?"
Really, why don't you just walk around with a sign that says I'M A WOMAN, huh?
I knew she'd enrolled at the academy disguised as a man because of unavoidable family circumstances, but even so, her attempts to conceal her identity were hopelessly clumsy.
For her sake — for all her hard work — all I could do was play dumb and let it slide.
"You're saying the most obvious thing in the world. That much is basic etiquette between roommates."
"…Right. Fine."
"Anyway, here's to four good years together. That sword you've got — Swordsmanship Department, I'm guessing?"
"Yeah. That's right."
"Oh, come to think of it, I'm about to grab lunch with the friends I made during the entrance exam. Want to come along? They're all good people."
"…I'll pass. I'm fine, really."
Crossdressing heroines really are a cheat code.
If a pretty-faced guy got all prickly and standoffish like that, he'd just come across as an insufferable bastard — but put the beautiful-girl filter on, and somehow it all just reads as adorable.
Since I'd need to spend the next few months focused solely on whittling down her guard anyway, there was no point in pushing her to come along.
Her conquest difficulty was certainly steep, but once I managed to break through that wariness even once, she'd be the heroine positioned in the easiest possible environment to train — more so than anyone else.
'If I really wanted to, I could dig up her weakness and start conditioning her from day one, but honestly, that just sounds boring.'
Time was the one thing I had in abundance. No need to rush.
"Got it. Well, I've got friends waiting, so I'll head out."
"…Right."
"Oh, hold on — I don't think I caught your name. We're going to be sharing a room, so I should at least know that much, shouldn't I?"
"Do Yoon…chae."
"Do Yoonchae? I'll just call you Yoonchae, then."
"…Do whatever you want."
And so Do Yoonchae remained, still unable to loosen her guard around me, her every response grinding out like a rusty hinge.
The academy's curriculum was broadly divided into two categories: major courses and general electives.
Major courses were, naturally, subjects designed for students of the same department, while general electives were lectures anyone could take regardless of their major.
Technically speaking, majors were further split into required and elective courses, and the general education track had its own required and optional categories — but there was no need to memorize every last detail. What mattered was which classes the heroines would be taking during the semester, and which events would unfold in them.
Fortunately, being in the Combat Support Department meant I stood to gain quite a lot on this front. Right up through fourth year, the Combat Support Department had almost no required major courses at all, save for the graduation project.
'Honestly, when you consider the abilities of the students who enroll in Combat Support in the first place, it'd be hard to design a standardized major curriculum for them anyway.'
The Combat Support Department was a collection of students whose abilities were somehow too ambiguous for direct combat, or who didn't fit into any of the other combat-oriented departments. Even when two abilities looked similar on the surface, they often worked in completely different ways, which made systematic instruction nearly impossible.
Setting aside my own ability — my buffs (well, not buffs, Suggestion, technically) — I could immediately think of two others off the top of my head. One granted an actual physical-enhancement buff that boosted bodily performance; the other conjured stamina-restoring food that recovered mana and energy through eating. Same category on paper, worlds apart in practice.
Potion-brewing specialists, trap-crafting specialists, students gifted at forging and maintaining weapons and armor, students with a natural talent for navigating dungeons — the Combat Support Department was where Awakened Trainees with every conceivable utility ability gathered under one roof.
A department that had no combat capability to speak of, just a hodgepodge of marginally useful dungeon skills tossed together like a junk drawer — of course there was no proper major curriculum for it.
And if even Cheonmu, the number one academy in the country, treated its Combat Support students like this, the other academies were probably even worse.
'Then again, this is exactly why I can build my schedule around taking classes with students from other departments.'
The others all had one or two required major courses that forced their hands, but I had none. And as for the required general education courses, I could take those alongside the heroines anyway, so it made no difference.
The morning section of Understanding of Weapons — a mandatory common elective — was a perfect example. It was the one class I shared with three heroines at once: Cha Eunju, Kim Isabel, and Park Hana.
The two of them aside from Park Hana had lately shown no hesitation in signaling their affection for me, so the seats on either side of me had naturally become their territory. Park Hana sat one seat removed from Kim Isabel.
Sandwiched between two busty heroines, I could tell you one thing for certain: the physical satisfaction was considerable. The slightest movement of my arms in either direction kept bringing their soft, abundant flesh into contact with my elbows.
-Bounce.
"Nnh…!"
"Sorry about that, Eunju."
"N-no, it's fine…. It was an accident, so…"
-Jiggle.
"Hah…?"
"Isabel, sorry. Did I hit you?"
"P-please don't worry about it, Seonho. It was my fault for leaning over like that."
Both of them had been conditioned to a considerable degree by now, so even an accidental-looking grope of the chest was generously overlooked. Come to think of it, they might genuinely be enjoying it deep down. Kim Isabel was currently under the effects of the Succubus Heart buff, which would have amplified her desire for me, and Cha Eunju had always had a gloomy, lewd streak to begin with.
Thankfully, the oblivious Park Hana seemed entirely unaware of the situation unfolding beside her. Then again, she'd started nodding off barely ten minutes into the lecture, so there wasn't much chance of her catching on regardless.
'Whoa, holy crap. Did you see that guy's face just now? Why is a girl like her glued to the seat next to a guy like that…?'
'The girl from the Recovery Department has a ridiculous figure too…? Her clerical habit's about to burst….'
In exchange, I could feel plenty of envious stares and whispered conversation drifting toward me from the seats behind. Cha Eunju and Kim Isabel had almost certainly heard it too, but women built like that had grown up hearing this level of casual harassment their entire lives. And right now, the two of them were locked in a silent territorial standoff, pressing their chests against my arms on either side, so they didn't seem to be paying it the slightest attention.
'Yes. This. This is what happiness is.'
A life where I could sit flanked by women who were, by any objective measure, exactly my type, and rub against their chests without the slightest protest.
Making no effort to hide from the other men's envious glares, I spent the entire lecture savoring Cha Eunju's and Kim Isabel's chests from both sides.
Sadly, the number of regular classes I could take alongside Cha Eunju amounted to exactly one. The rest she'd either failed to register for, or I'd chosen different subjects in place of the ones we could have shared.
Psychology: Combat and Mental Discipline would have been a good candidate for a second shared class, but taking it would have pushed me over my credit limit for the semester, so I'd cut it without hesitation. As the one who'd originally suggested we take it together, I felt a twinge of guilt — but then, she had to take that class regardless of whether I did.
Beyond that, there was Wilderness Survival Practicum, which I'd persistently talked the entire group chat into enrolling in together — though that one wasn't a regular class but an intensive course crammed into about a week in the middle of the semester.
Which meant that, unlike the other heroines, Eunju and I had no class we attended as just the two of us. I felt a bit like I was treating her as the fish I'd already landed, but for now, this was the best arrangement available.
'After all, Cha Eunju is still the only heroine conditioned enough to come trotting over the instant I call for her, any time, any place.'
Class hours were nice, but I had no intention of wasting my free periods either, so I planned to make maximum use of that time for our dates.
That was why I'd deliberately aligned my free periods with hers as much as possible. Just because she'd already fallen for me didn't mean I could slack off on her regular stress management.
"Alright, I'm off to the Archery Department building! See you all tomorrow, guys!"
"I'll head back to the Recovery Department lecture hall as well. See you tomorrow, Seonho."
"PARK HANA!!! Finally, at long last, COMBAT TRAINING!!! I finally get to learn from an actual martial arts hunter!!! I can't wai—!!!"
-THWACK!!
"Gahhk…!! K-ghk…!"
"…I'm off too. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, you two take care getting back."
"Y-yeah, got it…."
The group chat members had gathered for lunch, and now they were splitting off one by one to attend their respective major courses.
Unlike the others, I had no afternoon classes — and neither did Cha Eunju, who was already heading toward the dormitories. I sidled up beside her.
"Eunju, heading back to the dorm?"
"Y-yeah…. I don't have any afternoon classes…."
"Perfect timing, then. My afternoon's free too. Want to come out somewhere with me for a bit? Just us?"
"W-where to? Wait, just… us?"
"Mm. You and me, the two of us."
At the words just the two of us, a small smile flickered across her face before she hastily clapped a hand over her mouth to smother it. She was still utterly incapable of hiding anything. Watching her flounder, I made my proposal as casually as I could.
"I was thinking of taking a little walk around the academy. And while we're at it, I figured we could scout out a suitable spot for our 'hypnosis training.'"
"H-hypnosis training…?! H-here at the academy…?"
"It's been quite a while since last time, hasn't it? Feels like we should be starting up again soon. Right, Eunju?"
"Th-that's right…. W-we should start again soon, mm…."
At the news of their first hypnosis training in ages, Cha Eunju couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked up at me.
If she'd had a tail, it would have been wagging side to side without pause. It was an adorable reaction.