The Infirmary
The sharp question from Senka left Koharu in silence once again. Her attempt to brush everything off with the same feigned innocence as Professor Yoon Arin had been utterly crushed. Senka, who had been stuttering in confusion just moments ago, now wore a deadly serious expression as she tried to persuade her.
At Senka's words, which sounded almost like a generous act of mercy, Koharu lifted her head high and glared at her with murderous intent. She clenched both fists so tightly that her whole body began to tremble. The killing intent was overwhelming. Even Senka, facing that bloodlust head-on, started to feel genuine tension. The atmosphere was so thick it wouldn't have been strange if a bloodbath broke out at any second.
That tense standoff continued for about a full minute. The attendant standing beside Koharu kept swallowing dryly. Finally, with a stiff expression, the attendant stared intently at Koharu and spoke in a low voice.
"Ojou-sama..."
Koharu, who had been glaring at Senka with lethal focus, shifted her gaze slightly toward the attendant who served her. The attendant's expression said everything without needing words. Indeed, if Koharu couldn't suppress her emotions right now and tried to overpower Senka with force, she could certainly accomplish it with her abilities. But the risk was far too great.
Even if she didn't kill Senka, Koharu was here as a representative of the mainlanders, enrolled at Gyeongseong Academy in Joseon on the director's orders. If someone like her were to beat a student the director had personally sent into a near-death state—especially a freshman who had just enrolled today—it would be catastrophic.
If Senka had attacked first without reason using her Individuality, that would be one thing. But Koharu had no justification to use hers. Using an Individuality of Grade 3 or higher without any justification or reason wasn't just a violation of school rules; it was grounds for criminal punishment. And if she actually injured someone, the weight of that crime would increase exponentially.
For the heir who was supposed to succeed as the family head to commit a crime was simply unacceptable. She had barely won the bloody succession race. If she were indicted by the prosecutors... Even if the family could use its influence to avoid punishment, the question of whether someone like Koharu, who had caused such an incident, was truly fit to be the successor would inevitably spread as skepticism among the clan.
If that happened, the collateral branch members waiting for any chance to push her out and seize the position would run wild. In short, Koharu had far too much to lose.
Not to mention, she had already used her Individuality once before to overpower Professor Yoon Arin. If the professor decided to publicize that fault, Koharu could at least claim it had been an unavoidable act to rescue Siwu. But fighting Senka now was an entirely different matter.
Crack.
She couldn't take Siwu with her right now. That fact filled Koharu with tremendous rage. Without realizing it, she ground her teeth.
"........."
She gave a single nod toward the attendant.
"......Understood."
With just that nod, the attendant instantly understood what instructions Koharu had given. It was clear she had served her for a very long time.
"Haa..."
She took a deep breath. Koharu worked to control her emotions and regain her composure. Soon, her expression returned to its usual calm. The fists she had clenched so tightly loosened once more.
Senka, who had witnessed all of this, unconsciously relaxed her tension. She had been ready to activate her Individuality at a moment's notice in case of an emergency, but fortunately, that preparation proved unnecessary.
"......"
It was the tone of someone granting mercy after sparing a life. Even Senka felt her pride sting. Who would feel good hearing such words from a junior younger than themselves? Still, Senka held her tongue. She knew full well that saying anything more would only inflame both their emotions further.
And so, their brief standoff ended without anyone getting hurt.
...
...
...
The place smelled like a hospital. It was the sharp, pungent scent of alcohol disinfectant, completely different from the smell of liquor. That unpleasant hospital odor. But it was quiet all around. Where was this?
His body felt incredibly sluggish. What had he been doing? Oh, right. He'd been dragged away by another crazy bitch named Koharu, who he'd thought was saving him from one insane woman...
...Never mind. He hadn't wanted to lose his virginity like that...
Ha, fuck... If she was going to do it, she could've at least been gentle. Instead, she smashed his face like she was trying to pulp it. This is so fucking shitty...
"Fuuuuck..."
"...Huh? Y-you're awake?"
Without realizing it, he'd spat out the resentment bottled up inside him as a curse. At the same time, his eyes slowly opened. He bolted upright in a hurry.
His teeth... they were fine?
"...What the...?"
He had definitely felt his teeth shatter and fly out. Since it was his first time in his life getting beaten so badly that his teeth broke, even while being assaulted by that crazy bitch, he'd been secretly worried about them.
That wasn't all. He lifted his shirt and checked the areas where he'd been hit. Nothing. There should have been bruises at the very least, but there wasn't a single scratch on his chest or stomach.
"......W...what?! No, that..."
Only then did he notice the woman sitting beside him.
...Why is she blushing and turning her head away?
Ah... He quickly pulled his shirt back down. If the situation were reversed, it would be like a woman suddenly lifting her clothes to show her breasts, right?
"...I'm sorry..."
He apologized for suddenly exposing his body by lifting his shirt.
"N-no... Actually, I'm the one who should be tha— I mean, ahem."
It was obvious. She had been about to thank him for letting her see his body. If he had been in the position of seeing a woman's breasts, he probably would have felt the same... No, this wasn't the time to think about that.
"...May I ask where we are?"
"...Oh! This is the infirmary. The medical officer came and healed all the places where you were hurt before leaving..."
Medical officer? Not a doctor? By the way, did that even make sense? The bruises from being beaten were one thing, but shattered teeth couldn't be fixed so easily, could they?
"M-my teeth! How did you fix them? Does this even make sense? How could you do implants in such a short time..."
Overwhelmed with confusion, he kept firing off questions about the things he couldn't believe.
"The medical officer has a pretty high-grade Healing Individuality, so something like that was probably easy for her!"
H-Healing Individuality? Ah... so that was also a type of Individuality? Well, if there were Individualities that could brainwash people, it wasn't strange for something like this to exist. What a convenient world.
"I'm Li Senka. I came from Taiwan. I'm a third-year at Taihoku Imperial University, and I've come to Gyeongseong Academy this time as a new commissioned trainee!"
"Ah... I see... Se...Senka?"
"Yes!"
She kindly introduced herself to him. It sounded Japanese but not quite. Didn't people from Taiwan use Chinese names?
"I'm... Namgung Siwu..."
"Yeah, I know. The director told me to help you out."
Since she had given her name, he did the same. So this person was the one who saved him... He could tell without needing a long explanation. Her bright, cheerful expression gave him a sense of relief.
By the way, she already knew his name? And the director? The director had sent her? Then... at least she wouldn't try to harm him, right? She wouldn't try to devour him like those two crazy bitches, would she?
"U-um... This might be a rude question, but..."
"What is it? Go ahead and ask!"
She accepted his request with a smile still on her face.
"So..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you... want to fuck me?"
"W-what?!"
What an idiot. Even though it was his own question, it was way too rude. Senka's face flushed bright red again. Namgung Siwu, you fucking moron. That's completely lacking in manners. Even if he'd almost been devoured the moment he arrived here, and had actually been devoured, and had only suffered terrible things from women in a row... how could he treat a woman who had helped him like a potential sex offender?!!!
...Of course, those two crazy women had also helped him before doing those things to him... but that was the same as the women from his previous world. Yeah, he wasn't like those bitches. He should apologize.
"No! I mean... I'm sorry... That was such a rude thing for me to say..."
"N-no! It's okay! Being alone with a woman might be a little scary... So!"
The atmosphere had become incredibly awkward. Both Siwu and Senka looked in different directions, unable to continue the conversation. This was his fault. He needed to do something to clear up this suffocating awkwardness...
"...So do you actually want to?"
"Yeah... Ah!! No!! That's not what I meant!!!!!"
Pfft. He couldn't help but burst out laughing. Senka's reaction—accidentally nodding in agreement before panicking—was both stupid and incredibly cute. She was bigger than him, but not by as much as those crazy bitches from before. She still had the air of a rather young girl. And he could understand how Senka felt. There had been a time when he was desperate to get a girlfriend and lose his virginity too.
"Heh... khup... N-no... I'm s-sorry..."
"No!! I really don't!! I'm not that kind of girl!!!"
"Yeees... Hahaha! I get it, so calm down~"
Watching Senka desperately deny it only made him laugh harder. It had been a long time since he'd laughed this hard.
"A-anyway! Seeing you joke around like that, it looks like you're all better! Let's hurry to the administrative office!"
Senka, looking slightly pouty at his mischievous teasing, brought the playful atmosphere to a close.
"The administrative office?"
"Yeah, you haven't finished your enrollment procedures yet, right?"
"Ah..."
Now that she mentioned it, he'd been harassed by those crazy bitches the moment he arrived and hadn't had time to complete his enrollment.
"Even while you were resting, I got a ton of calls. They sounded pretty annoyed... We should go quickly."
"Then... let's go quic— Ah..."
He tried to get up from the bed, throwing off the blanket, but his legs gave out and he nearly collapsed to the floor. Fortunately, Senka caught him before he fell.
"Th-thank you..."
"You should be careful. Even if a recovery-type Individuality heals your physical wounds, it doesn't remove the fatigue and strain left in your body."
Another thing learned. So that's why there were no doctors. Because there were recovery-type Individuality abilities, there was no need to develop medical techniques? What a convenient world.
"......"
Suddenly, after saying that, Senka turned her head in the opposite direction of his face, her cheeks burning bright red, and said nothing. She seemed extremely embarrassed by their close physical contact. He could understand how she felt, but... it was incredibly cute. Was this what the lives of the stunning women from his previous world had been like?
"...If you want it that badly, should I take your virginity right here?"
"R-really?!?!?!?!"
She looked way too happy about it.
"Of course I'm joking."
"Aaaah!!!!!"
Once again, when he teased her, she got genuinely angry and started fuming.
"You shouldn't make jokes like that to your senior!!!"
"Ah... hehe... I got it, so let's go lol."
Leaning on Senka's support, he slowly left the infirmary. As they walked, Senka, still heated up, gave him a long lecture.
"I'm letting it slide because it's me, but if you say such obscene things to other women, you'll be in big trouble!! Got it?! A boy should know how to behave modestly!! Understand?!"
The maternalistic ideology mixed into her scolding was an added bonus.
"Yeees... Nuna-nim..."
"N-n... Nuna...?"
When he playfully responded to her lecture with the title "Nuna-nim," her mouth split into a wide, happy grin as if she really liked it. Wasn't she being too honest? Still, since she was a third-year, it was true that she was his senior. By the standards of his previous world they would have been the same age, but according to what his mother had told him, he was nineteen this year... He was once again realizing that not only his appearance and body but also his age had changed.
"If you keep acting so cute like that... Nuna might misunderstand..."
Uh... Her expression didn't look normal. Seeing Senka's face, he unconsciously felt a sense of kinship. Had he teased her too much because he thought she was safe? Putting that aside, playing with someone's emotions like that wasn't something a decent person should do. How many times had he been toyed with by women's fake flirting in his previous world? If he bought them a meal or coffee, the flirting would disappear like magic. And in this world, going around acting cute with fake flirting wasn't a good thing at all.
Thinking back on what had happened to him... Of course, it wasn't because he had acted cute, but still... The things he had gone through were truly horrific. Recalling them again made him feel depressed. Was he enduring it so calmly because he still held onto male values and ideology from his previous life? If a woman had gone through something like that, she probably wouldn't be making jokes like this at all—she'd be so wrapped up in trauma and shock that she couldn't even speak properly. Was his mentality really this strong? Or had his brain broken somewhere? He didn't know.
But one thing was certain. If he fell into depression and did nothing, the situation would only get worse. The women of this world were far more dangerous than he had thought. He needed to act in his own way and create the safest possible environment. He knew it wouldn't be easy. Even so, he had to keep trying.
He didn't know what kind of person Senka truly was, but compared to the other crazy bitches, she seemed relatively safe. Still, she couldn't stay by his side forever. What should he do from now on...? The road ahead looked incredibly bleak.