Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Stimulation
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"Ah, Amelia. What the hell is this..."
"I don't know either! Su-surely no one knew about it!"
Right after Teacher Claire disappeared.
Amelia and Yoo Siu were trembling uncontrollably.
They had no choice but to be.
After all, they knew who had rifled through the female student's underwear yesterday.
No, it wasn't just that they knew.
They were the perpetrators—the ones who planned and executed it.
From the planning to the execution, these two had carried out every step.
"Where did it leak from? ...CCTV? No, we definitely scouted all the blind spots. The security guard? Or a student?"
Mumble, mumble, mumble.
Amelia's voice swirled around Yoo Siu's ears.
...But something about the content felt a little off.
They'd already mapped out the CCTV blind spots?
What on earth was Amelia aiming for?
Yoo Siu's expression grew increasingly bewildered.
Maybe instead of catching Arte, society would be better off catching her first?
"Okay. ...Yoo Siu, our tails haven't been stepped on yet."
"Huh?"
"I don't know how our actions got exposed, but the culprit hasn't been pinned down yet. For now, we play dumb as much as possible. Got it?"
As the doubts in Yoo Siu's mind solidified into certainty.
Amelia flashed him a resolute expression.
"But if it's already out..."
"No. They know the incident happened, but they don't know for sure who did it. If we were busted, we'd be in jail by now."
True enough.
Rifling through a female student's underwear wasn't a trivial matter.
If they knew the culprit, they could've arrested them on the spot for impure intentions without issue.
"So, from now on, we act like we know nothing..."
"You two look pretty close."
"Eek?!"
Grab.
Someone approached without a sound and seized Amelia's shoulder.
Behind the startled Amelia, whose legs gave out, was black hair.
...Arte.
"H-Hiii..."
"Oh? ...Did I scare you too much? You okay?"
Yoo Siu caught sight of Arte supporting Amelia, but he couldn't take the scene at face value.
Of all the timings.
Right when he and Amelia were discussing their next move, why show up now?
He knew she was watching him.
But lately, she hadn't approached directly.
She definitely knew their secret!
"...Hey, Arte."
"Yes?"
"What brings you here...? This isn't exactly a busy spot."
"...Ah. Did I interrupt your secret meeting? Sorry, what should I do? Hmm, I was just coming back from the bathroom. Saw some familiar faces on the way, so I thought I'd play a little prank."
What a blatant lie.
The bathroom was in the opposite direction, not this way.
She's lying right to my face, so she has no intention of spilling it?
"Ahaha. Sorry. I must've startled you."
"No, it's fine. Right, Amelia?"
"Y-Yeah. Ha, haha... I'm totally fine!"
The flustered Amelia started insisting she was perfectly okay.
Arte gave a briefly suspicious look before smiling and speaking to them.
"Good to hear. ...Still, you should be careful. The teacher said there's a criminal prowling around inside the Academy, right?"
"Cr-Criminal...?"
"Yep. Apparently, they ruthlessly rifled through a female student's underwear. How shameless! They deserve divine punishment! ...Right?"
Smirk.
Arte's lips curved into a smile.
Is she asking for my agreement?
Her piercing gaze nearly made him apologize on reflex, but he swallowed it down and nodded.
"...Y-Yeah."
"Ah, it would be great if some brave student caught the culprit. Don't you think?"
Some brave student catches the culprit.
...Meaning Arte Isis catches me?
"It'd be nice if they could."
"Oh? Not interested, Siu? It's a shameless villain who rummaged through women's underwear. You'd get a big reward for catching them."
"...What are you getting at?"
"Ahaha. Well, I thought it might be fun to team up with you and hunt down the culprit. Wanna join?"
She wants me to catch myself?
That's ridiculous.
As he opened his mouth to refuse Arte, she stepped forward.
Smiling, she leaned in slightly and asked.
"What do you say? Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
Normally, it wouldn't faze him.
No, even after nearly a month without relief, it wouldn't have crossed his mind.
But that sensation from yesterday.
That scent suddenly flashed back.
...Leaning forward, the leotard peeking at Arte Isis's neckline stirred Yoo Siu's senses.
"Huh? Doesn't it sound fun?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Oh no.
Yoo Siu realized what had slipped from his mouth.
Sure enough, Arte didn't miss the slip and grinned happily.
"Great! Then we'll hunt the culprit together. I'll let you know once the plan's set!"
Watching Arte walk away with leisurely steps—unlike her sudden arrival—Yoo Siu thought.
I'm screwed.
Also, that's the direction to the bathroom.
She lied straight-faced.
If she was coming from the bathroom, it should've been the other way.
"H-Huuh...! I-I thought I was dead. My heart hurts..."
"You okay?"
"Do I look okay? Wow, you really scared me."
Only after Arte left did Amelia snap out of it, catching her breath and calming her pounding heart.
"She suspects us, right?"
"Yeah. No doubt. She might not be certain we're the culprits, but she's suspicious."
"Sigh, we expected that... but this is gonna be tough."
As Amelia said, they'd anticipated it.
After all, Arte herself was the only one who could report it to the teacher.
She must've realized somehow that someone rummaged through her locker.
He didn't know the method, but she clearly suspected them.
"Why'd you accept her offer? You should've refused, no matter what."
"Th-That was..."
He couldn't say it.
That he'd been distracted by the glimpse of her leotard when she bent over and accepted without thinking.
He'd die before admitting that.
"Whatever, it's done. No point dwelling. Better to think about what to do next."
"What to do next..."
"How about we see what plan she comes up with first? ...We don't have many options right now anyway."
There was nothing off about Amelia's suggestion, so he nodded.
No, even if there was something weird, he probably would've nodded anyway.
Yoo Siu felt guilty for accepting Arte's proposal.
"Alright. Let's do that."
"Sigh, yeah. Time to head back. Wonder what plan she'll bring... I'm already scared."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hehe. A resounding success, Writer-nim. Right?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Of course! Heroines teaming up with the infiltrated villain at school to hunt him down and defeat him—classic plot! This is a hit!] I'd been on pins and needles, worried Yoo Siu might refuse.
Fortunately, he seemed to think it over briefly and accepted.
Animation never lies.
Beautiful girls' requests while leaning in a bit always get accepted, so I gave it a shot, and it worked.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [But you mentioned a plan. Got something in mind?] "Plenty. There's a setup that's just begging to appear in a situation like this, and it's already out there."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...?] What?
Forgot again?
"Sigh. ...The club. The club."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Club...? Oh, oh! Right, I remember! The Exploration Club! Yeah, that was a thing... Gulp!] "It's already out in the open."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Heh, hehe...] What would Writer-nim have done without me?
Probably gotten every insult in the book from readers.
Starting with "You set this up and don't use it? MacGuffin much?" and every other complaint imaginable.
She might still be getting flak, but thankfully, things seem smooth sailing for the novel.
"You haven't set the infiltrated villain's ability, right?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Yeah. Just the infiltration setup so far.] "Since it's an Übermensch ability user, how about a Chameleonkin?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [...!] Well, Chameleons don't actually blend into surroundings enough to vanish from sight.
And as widely known, they can't freely camouflage at will—it's just color-shifting with body temperature.
But novels don't always stick to realism.
As long as the perception is that chameleons are camouflage masters, Chameleonkin are always stealth experts.
They could pop up anywhere without it seeming off.
Just setting the infiltrated villain as a Chameleonkin opens up countless scenes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Reader-nim... is a god! She's a goddess?! No, a god!] "There you go again."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Setting it now! Infiltrated villain is Chameleonkin... Ability: Environmental assimilation! Perfect, done!] "Great. Then let's wait and see."
Once that Chameleonkin starts causing trouble again, I can approach Yoo Siu like, "I've got a great idea," and drag him to the club.
Feeling like the plot would flow perfectly this time, a smile crept onto my face.