A Trivial Incident (1)
Monday, at the Archery Department Training Grounds.
Just like any other day, Han Sora had made the hour-long commute to the academy to get in her training. Since it was a weekday rather than a weekend, there were a handful of other students around, but with break still in session the grounds were far from packed. Paying the others no mind, she slipped quietly into a private lane and focused on her shooting, same as always.
Piing— shuuuuuk!
"……"
Not bad. She had always been good at hitting stationary targets, after all. No matter how much of her recent practice had focused on moving targets, this particular feel wasn't something she could simply lose.
What left her a little deflated, though, was once again the monster-shooting drill that followed.
'Krrrrrgh!'
"N-no…!"
Just yesterday, she was fairly sure she'd managed a hit rate of around fifty percent even on her own. Watching her skill snap back to nearly where it had started the very next day was a disappointment she couldn't do anything about.
She could blame it on her body still being stiff this early in the morning, but the truth was that Han Sora herself could feel it — and that was exactly what stung.
To get back to yesterday's level, she figured she'd need to spend at least an hour doing nothing but firing arrow after arrow.
'This is exactly when I need Seonho.'
But alas, today was not one of the days Lee Seonho showed up at the Archery Department Training Grounds.
If someone asked whether it wasn't a bit shameless of her — already two days in a row of receiving his help — to keep taking and taking, her conscience would twinge. But having now truly tasted the quality of Lee Seonho's support, there was nothing she could do about it.
If she'd never known from the start, maybe things would be different. But she'd been taught the 'best possible training method' even once, so of course the frustration crept in.
And since she couldn't exactly throw a fit at a man who had prior commitments and had no choice but to be away, today she had no option but to train 'alone.'
'He didn't even have plans yesterday either — he helped me out of the blue. And the day before that, we just happened to run into each other at the academy and he helped then too….'
From what she'd heard, today Lee Seonho was doing a training session to help Kim Isabel overcome her 'androphobia.'
That appointment had apparently been scheduled even before her own, so she had no grounds to complain.
After all, just like with her own issues, Han Sora had seen with her own two eyes how much Kim Isabel struggled because of her fear of men… and she also knew that Isabel harbored some inexplicable fondness for Lee Seonho.
She had never once seen the face beneath that veil, but from the way Isabel acted at the amusement park — the whole atmosphere around her — it was obvious she was quite conscious of him.
Just like Cha Eunju, Kim Isabel was her friend from the academy, so Han Sora had no desire to get in her way. Taking sides between the two was out of the question; at the very least, she shouldn't obstruct either of them.
Then again, the person with the most exhausting lot was probably Lee Seonho, receiving the affection of both women at once.
'Well, it's Seonho, so he can handle it.'
The man grew so desperate to help the moment he saw anyone in trouble — what woman could avoid developing feelings for him?
It wasn't as if he was only kind to women, either. He'd stayed perfectly composed, not a flicker of displeasure on his face, even with Seo Woojin, who had been outright rude to him from their very first meeting, or Park Cheonho, whose sheer loudness was a burden even to her.
…Completely unlike a certain someone who turned into a paranoid, snappish wreck the instant another man was anywhere nearby.
'He said he'd help me again starting tomorrow, so I'll just have to make do alone today. Once the semester starts, I won't be able to get his help this often anyway.'
Being able to improve little by little like this was a good opportunity in itself. She'd been shooting continuously, and it felt like yesterday's rhythm was slowly coming back to her.
'…Still, there is one thing I'm curious about.'
If I were Seonho's girlfriend, would he still have prioritized his appointment with Isabel that day?
Or would he have said his girlfriend's request came first and pushed the promise with Isabel to another day?
Knowing Seonho's personality, it would probably be the former… but well, you can never really know a person's heart once they're in love.
If either Cha Eunju or Kim Isabel ever started dating Lee Seonho… she couldn't help thinking that her training time with him might shrink.
'…Yeah. No cheering from me, then.'
Staying silent and telling them nothing isn't really interfering, after all.
It might be a sorry state of affairs for her two friends, so timid they could hardly even manage a confession — but it wasn't as if she was doing anything wrong.
So this past weekend was pretty much spent helping Han Sora with her archery training.
For someone I was focusing on exclusively, the progress was slightly underwhelming — but the conquest was moving forward steadily, so it wasn't a bad situation.
I was still seeing Choi Mari morning and night, and yesterday I'd run into Park Hana in her workout gear at the student cafeteria, too.
There was no room to carve out more time for anything else. Once the academy term began, I'd only get busier than I am now.
Which meant that during this final week, I needed to push things as far as possible with the other heroines as well.
…Including Kim Isabel, whose conquest I'd wrapped up a touch anticlimactically the last time around.
-Glance, glance.
"……"
There she is. Fidgeting and scanning her surroundings with restless little movements that leaked emotion despite her face being completely hidden — she looked a bit like a meerkat.
Having learned her lesson from the amusement park incident, she'd covered her conspicuous priest's habit with a white long puffer coat, but honestly it meant nothing. That veil of hers was the star attraction drawing everyone's gaze in the first place.
Though in the sense that she wasn't flaunting a habit that accentuated her figure to everyone around her? Ten out of ten. That much, at least, was worthy of praise.
"Isabel, it's been a while."
"…Ah, S-Seonho, s-sir…."
Maybe because it had been so long since we'd last met, there was a faint sense of distance compared to before.
Still, that much would be more than surmountable with today's date. After all, the moment I applied 'Succubus Heart,' Kim Isabel would cling to me like a barnacle.
I'd already confirmed her proactive side once at the amusement park, so as long as the Suggestion was laid properly, there'd be no need for any bold gambles on my end.
"Ah, ah, the entrance ceremony isn't even until later…. M-making you come all the way to the academy church on a day like this, I-I'm sorry…."
"Sorry for what? I had an errand nearby anyway, so I was just stopping by. Don't worry about it."
"P-please take good care of me today…, Seonho, sir…."
"You too, Isabel. Looking forward to it."
For the record, as a precaution, the plan was for me to escort Kim Isabel from the academy church personally.
So far, Jo Jin-hyun had only ever made a move on me, but with the story having changed, there was no telling whether some other player I didn't know about might be targeting Isabel somewhere out there.
Still, with the Ring of Reincarnation and basic martial arts supplemented by Suggestion, I could protect one person just fine as long as we weren't inside a dungeon.
The moment I was thinking this and about to lead Kim Isabel out of the church, a sharp, venomous voice called out to me.
"Hm. Would you be the young man Sister Isabel mentioned?"
"Sorry?"
A woman with long black hair, wearing a distinctive dress trimmed with black lace — a slight contrast to Kim Isabel, who was head to toe in white clerical garb.
This was my first time seeing her in this world, but the instant I caught that tone and those provocative eyes, I knew exactly who she was.
"S-Sister Selena…."
Yoon Selena. The villain woman of 'Black Moon' who had infiltrated the Cheonmu Academy Church.
She was also the other of the two women I was trying to draw out through Jo Jin-hyun — the one who wasn't Min Ye-won.
"Going out, are we? I must say, it's a little surprising that Sister Isabel, who isn't accustomed to men, would go out alone with one."
"Y-yes, that… that's right…."
"As I understand it, it's been less than two weeks since that incident at the amusement park. I do wonder — might going out lead to her getting caught up in something dangerous yet again? It concerns me, you see."
"……"
Flustered by Yoon Selena's domineering manner, Kim Isabel froze stiff as a frog before a snake, glancing around nervously.
I supposed it made sense — unlike students in other departments, those on the church track tended to rise through the church hierarchy itself.
And since they'd keep working in the same field even after graduation, this kind of pecking order persisted even between people just one year apart.
"We're just… going for a light walk, that's all…."
"And a light walk requires the company of that gentleman, does it? Or was it that you intended to go out precisely because that gentleman was with you?"
"……"
"Sister Isabel. I'm only saying this because I worry about you. If word spreads that a Saint Candidate like yourself keeps leaving the church on weekdays, or worse, that she's keeping company with a man, people might start questioning your devotion, wouldn't they?"
As if she simply wanted to keep Kim Isabel within her line of sight. What an excuse.
In a couple of years she was destined to become my number-two slave, to be trained and used like Min Ye-won, so there was no need to pick a fight with her now — but if she was going to interfere with a main heroine's event, that was another story entirely.
Even if it made the taming process more tedious later on, conquering a main heroine would always matter more to me than pampering a villain.
"Forgive me for interrupting, but I don't believe my relationship with Isabel is any business of yours to meddle in, Priestess Selena."
"Meddle? I'm merely confirming who a sister of our church is accompanying outside its walls. If you were going out with some trustworthy woman, I wouldn't have said a word. But when it's a suspicious man like you, alone together, how can I help but be suspicious?"
"It's not as if you're living Isabel's life for her. Besides, judging from the fact that you're assigned to the academy church at all, you can't be more than three or four years her senior — yet the way you talk, anyone would think you've got twenty more years on her."
"…I beg your pardon?"
"S-stop it…. P-please, both of you, stop…."
Yoon Selena's eyebrows twitched, her displeasure written plainly across her face.
Into that atmosphere — one spark away from raised voices — Kim Isabel gingerly wedged herself between me and the woman.
"I-I know you're both saying this for my sake…. B-but I still don't think fighting is good…."
"…I'm sorry, Isabel. I got worked up for a moment. And Priestess Selena — I apologize for my rudeness just now."
"Wha—…."
Yoon Selena, who had been ready to go to war seconds ago, was thrown off balance by my sudden pivot — head bowed, tail tucked between my legs.
A beat later, wearing the expression of someone who'd just been played, she ground her lower lip between her teeth. With that one small maneuver, Kim Isabel's heart had already tipped firmly to my side.
"I… I too raised my voice unnecessarily, in a manner unbecoming of a priestess of the church. I apologize, Seonho, sir."
"Thank you, Priestess Selena."
Once I'd bent my pride and lowered my tail first, she had no choice but to accept the apology — and if we'd fought evenly but only she came out owing an apology, it would have looked bad for her in front of Kim Isabel, too.
Without giving the scowling Yoon Selena a moment to breathe, I pressed the attack.
"It seems I lost my temper when you called me an untrustworthy, suspicious man. However, unimpressive as I may look, I enrolled as the second-ranked student at Cheonmu Academy, so I believe I can more than prove my credentials.
I fully understand your concern for Isabel as well, Priestess Selena, given the dangers she's faced recently. As the academy's second-ranked student, I will protect her with my very life and see her safely home to the church — so might I ask you to kindly grant her permission to go out?"
"……"
Even that woman knew there was no point in picking at the issue again and blocking the outing in this kind of atmosphere.
"Fine. You have my permission. But if anything — anything — happens to Sister Isabel, I will not forgive you."
"I'll bear it in mind, Priestess Selena."
And so Yoon Selena, having gained nothing for her trouble, granted permission for Isabel's and my outing.
…When you finally fall into my hands as a slave, woman, you'd better be ready to have that ass absolutely wrecked.