The Scent of Obsession

The moment consciousness began to return, the first thing I felt wasn't the excruciating pain I'd expected. It was the complete opposite.

'...So soft.'

The sensation enveloping the back of my head and nape was impossibly gentle. A premium goose-down pillow? No, this was far more elastic and warm. It felt like my head had sunk into a massive, squishy marshmallow—cozy and dreamlike.

The scent tickling my nose was unfamiliar too. The metallic tang of blood and the earthy smell I'd caught when Kyle's gang beat me had vanished completely. Instead, a rich body scent—something like a blend of delicate lilac and noble lily—seeped deep into my lungs.

"......Mmm."

I barely managed to lift my heavy eyelids. My blurry vision slowly came into focus. I'd expected a white ceiling, but what blocked my sight was... an enormous mountain range threatening to burst from beneath a white robe.

"Oh my, you're awake?"

A voice drifted down from above me. It was as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beautiful as a heavenly melody. Startled, I reflexively jerked my head up.

"Mmph...?!"

Thump!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It happened in an instant. My rising face plunged straight into something heavy and incredibly soft hovering above. The overwhelming mass was enough to cut off my breath. My vision flashed white as my nose and mouth were completely swallowed by the supple flesh.

"Ahhn...♥"

At the same time, a strange, sweet moan escaped from above. Only then did I realize it. What I'd been resting my head on wasn't a pillow—it was someone's bare thigh. And what was now smothering my face was her chest.

"Hehe, you shouldn't move so violently. Your wounds haven't fully healed yet."

I froze, eyes darting around in panic. Once the situation sank in, a cold sweat ran down my spine. The woman had laid my head on her lap and was leaning over me. Her gravity-defying, overwhelming breasts were pressing down on my face. Every time she laughed and shifted, that massive volume jiggled and rubbed teasingly against the tip of my nose.

"Wh... who..."

My words came out muffled against her. She smiled sweetly and straightened up. Fresh air finally reached my face.

Golden blonde hair and golden eyes brimming with benevolence. A sacred beauty that could disarm anyone's heart at a glance.

"Nice to meet you, freshman. I'm Yuriel, a second-year student."

Yuriel. In the original story, she was the vice president of the Imperial Academy's student council and a Saintess dispatched from the Holy Kingdom of Oration. Why was she cradling my head on her lap?

Crackle.

'...Voyeurism?'

The status window comment stood out more than her name, leaving me unsettled. Her interest was dangerously fixated on me.

"Why... am I here..."

"This is the infirmary. You were lying in front of the dormitory covered in blood, so I brought you here."

She gently wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. Her touch was different from Adelia's. If Adelia's was like scorching, dangerous flames, Yuriel's was like soft, sticky water.

"Your injuries were severe. Cracked bones, damaged internal organs... It must have hurt a lot, right?"

Her golden eyes looked down at me with pity. It was the same gaze a master might give a stray puppy found on the roadside.

"So I healed you. I used quite a bit of holy power, but... hehe, it was worth it."

Now that she mentioned it, my body felt remarkably light. The shattered solar plexus and jaw that Kyle had wrecked were completely gone.

I instinctively tried to sit up. But she gently yet firmly pressed down on my shoulder.

"You need to stay like this a little longer. You require rest."

"Um, Senior... this seems a bit too close..."

"Oh my, are you feeling shy? How cute."

She leaned forward again. The deep valley that had swallowed my face earlier was now blatantly exposed through the neckline of her white priestess robes.

"You know, junior."

She whispered softly into my ear.

"I saw it earlier. Under the zelkova tree."

"......Pardon?"

My heart sank. Under the zelkova tree—that was where I'd held Adelia as she sobbed. It was supposed to be a deserted spot.

'Could it be... that warning message from before...'

The message that had said [Someone is watching you]. So the owner of that gaze had been this woman.

"That arrogant Hero was crying her eyes out in your arms like a little child."

Her finger tapped lightly against my lips.

"So I got curious. What kind of boy could make that Hero cry..."

Her golden eyes narrowed into crescents. This wasn't simple senior kindness. It was rivalry toward the toy Adelia had claimed, or perhaps pure inquisitiveness. She wasn't an ordinary Saintess either.

"Now that I've touched you myself, I understand. You're strangely... addictive, aren't you?"

She stroked my hair with a mysterious smile.

"What's your name, junior?"

"......Roy. Roy Banes."

I omitted my middle name. It was the name my father had never permitted his bastard son. It perfectly represented my status as an F-class.

"Roy Banes..."

She rolled my name on her tongue as if savoring it.

"I'll remember it. Roy."

"Let's see each other often. If you get hurt, come anytime. Big sister will fix you right up."

A chill ran down my spine. I hurriedly sat up.

"Th-thank you! Thank you for healing me!"

I practically fled from the bed. If I stayed any longer, I'd be devoured by that soft swamp. Yuriel sat on the bed with her legs crossed, calmly watching me with her white thighs exposed between her skirt.

"Be careful on your way. And try not to get beaten up again."

Leaving her laughter behind, I burst out of the infirmary.

"Haa... haa..."

The night air was cold. I walked along the forest path toward the dormitory, catching my breath. My mind was a mess. Just dealing with Adelia was overwhelming, and now I'd gotten tangled up with the original story's Saintess too. Moreover, her attitude... it felt less like goodwill and more like observation.

'Still, my body's completely healed.'

I clenched and unclenched my fist. The pain had vanished entirely. It was infuriating that Kyle and his gang had done this to me, but thanks to them, I'd made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠contact with the Saintess and recovered my body as a bonus. Revenge could wait until tomorrow. Adelia wouldn't let it slide if she found out. For now, I just... wanted to rest. I was mentally exhausted.

After trudging along, I soon found myself in front of the old dormitory building. A dilapidated, crumbling structure. The residence for ordinary students. Only moonlight illuminated the hallway.

'My room was... 302, right?'

I took the key from my pocket and opened the door.

Creak—

The door opened with the sound of rusty hinges. The room was pitch dark. I groped along the wall for the light switch as I stepped inside.

"Huu..."

I let out a sigh, closed the door, and turned around.

Thud!

"......?!"

Something soft and heavy pressed against my chest. It wasn't the wall. It wasn't the bed. It was a person's body, radiating warm body heat. Someone was blocking my path in the darkness.

Moonlight pierced through the window, casting the silhouette of the figure standing before me. Platinum blonde hair glowed faintly.

"Hello? My Roy."

"......Adelia?"

My heart sank. Why was she here? We'd clearly agreed to meet tomorrow before parting ways.

She was looking up at me with crescent-moon eyes in the darkness. It seemed she'd been sitting on the dormitory bed and had just stood up—her clothes were far more disheveled than before. Two buttons on her shirt were undone, and her skirt had ridden up dangerously high.

"Were you surprised? I missed you, so I came early."

She smiled brightly, grabbed my collar, and pushed me toward the bed.

"Wait, you... how did you get into the men's dormitory..."

"Is that what matters? I just came through the window."

What use were locked doors against the Empire's strongest Hero? I was momentarily speechless. But that wasn't the real problem. The look in her eyes right now... was anything but ordinary.

The welcoming expression from moments ago had vanished. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Her nose twitched toward my collar.

Sniff. Sniff.

"......"

She buried her nose in my chest and took a deep breath, as if analyzing my scent. The corner of her beautiful lips curved up in a terrifying way.

"Oh my."

In an instant, her gaze changed, and her voice grew as cold as ice.

"Ugh, what is this? Whose scent is this? It's so strong?"

Crackle.

She tightened her grip on my collar. There was nowhere to run in this narrow dormitory room. A Hero driven mad by jealousy, and her accomplice who had come back covered in another woman's scent.

"Hmm, there's a faint medicinal smell... You got treatment, didn't you? Right?"

She was smiling, but her eyes held no trace of humor.

"But the scent... it's so thick, like you were rolling around with some bitch?"

Srrrng—

The sound of a dagger being drawn echoed once more in the darkness.

"Explain yourself, my Roy. If I can't accept it..."

Her icy gaze swept over my lower body.

"I might have to carve out everywhere that woman touched."