Chapter 178
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Pink & Pink & Pink & Pink (3)
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"...W-We’re... really almost there..."
The more familiar the surrounding scenery became, the paler Iris’s mind went, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
It was just a trip back home, but the mere fact that she was going with Eugene had her this tense.
Iris cautiously lifted her head to glance at Eugene.
His calm, jet-black hair, long eyelashes, and the faint smile playing on his lips.
‘...Get a grip!’
Iris shook her head side to side.
She’d only meant to look at him to calm her nerves, but far from settling down, her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst.
‘...What... what am I supposed to tell... Mom...’
To be precise, it wasn’t her mom but the director, though Iris thought of her that way.
‘...She won’t... get mad that I came back after so long... with a guy in tow, right...? No, more than that... how do I even... introduce Eugene...’
Iris’s mind grew tangled.
The safest option was to say he was a teacher and she was a student.
That would invite questions about why he’d come all this way, but she could brush it off as volunteer work or charity.
‘...Still... I don’t want it to look that way.’
Truth be told, Iris wanted to show off her relationship with Eugene a bit.
And why not? Eugene was perfect husband material in every way.
It was a perfectly natural desire for any woman... no, any female.
Of course, she knew it was impossible inside Carnea Academy, so she’d kept it to mere fantasies until now.
But here, far removed from Carnea, maybe she could flaunt it a little. The temptation bubbled up inside her.
‘...Th-Then... say we’re lovers...?’
The thought flashed through her mind, and Iris let out a silent scream.
If she had to describe their relationship objectively right now, lovers fit perfectly.
They’d been doing some very lover-like things just a little while ago, after all.
One sticking point, though: their age difference.
No matter how positively she spun it, she couldn’t deny it was fairly significant.
‘...A-Age is just a number...’
Iris clenched her fists, thinking of her rivals, Lilith and Bianca.
She’d seen with her own eyes just how aggressive they were.
If she hung back just because she was older, she’d really get left behind.
Instead, she needed to push harder—precisely because of her age—to claim Eugene for herself.
‘...W-Wouldn’t... fi-fiancee... be better...’
She pondered it briefly, then shook her head.
Even Iris thought that was going too far.
Eugene had proposed marriage, sure, and she fully intended to wed him no matter what—but introducing him that way before even graduating from the academy? Way too desperate.
‘...A-Agh... I d-don’t know! Should I just... stake my claim right now?!’
Iris ruffled her hair wildly with both hands, then shot Eugene a fierce glare with burning eyes.
[Sater Orphanage]
I was fairly surprised as I looked around the Sater Orphanage.
Unlike most orphanages, this one was impressively large on the outside, and its facilities were luxurious enough to rival all but the best academies—Carnea aside.
"This way, Eugene."
Following Iris’s lead inside, I saw children happily running and playing.
A soft smile formed on Iris’s lips as she watched them.
"...Nothing’s changed here at all."
"Were you like that when you were little too, Iris?"
"Hehe. Who knows? What do you think, Eugene?"
"Hm... Somehow I can picture you bullying the other kids..."
"...Eugene! Is that how you saw me?!"
As Iris and I chatted while strolling through, a seductive voice called from behind.
"Oh my, Iris...?"
"...D-Di... Director!"
Iris whipped around at the voice, her face lighting up like the sun as she ran over and hugged her.
"Hehe. Don’t you call me ‘Mom’ anymore?"
"...Haha... D-Director... th-that was... ages ago."
"Oh? Ages ago? You definitely called me ‘Mom’ when you visited two years back..."
"...S-Stop...! ...Eugene... it’s not like that!... The di-director’s just teasing!"
She looked so young, you’d call her a big sister before mom.
The director of Sater Orphanage had pink hair a shade deeper than Iris’s but lighter than Lilith’s, with a beauty mark under her left eye that drew the gaze.
"..."
...I knew it was rude to think this, but overall, she exuded an incredibly erotic aura.
"Ah, Iris. And who’s this tall, handsome gentleman?"
Was it the pink hair? Even though she was dressed conservatively with hardly any skin showing and doing nothing suspicious, the lewd thoughts wouldn’t leave my head.
"...Uh... w-well..."
I grabbed Iris’s fumbling hand and spoke up.
"Nice to meet you. I’m Eugene, currently dating Iris."
"...!"
The moment I declared we were dating, I felt Iris squeeze my hand tightly.
"Oh my. Iris has finally brought home some prime husband material."
"H-Husband?"
"Yes, not yet—but that’s the plan someday."
"Eu-Eugene!"
Iris’s eyes and mouth flew wide open as she cried out, but I had no intention of taking it back.
"Ufufu. You two look perfect together. Oh, I’ve been rude—I’m Elaris. I run the Sater Orphanage. Nice to meet you."
Elaris offered her hand first, so I took it without thinking. Then she stepped closer and murmured in a silky voice.
"...Oh my... hehe... you’d be... really... really good..."
"...Th-Thank you..."
Something was off.
Her crescent smile hid her eyes completely, her rich womanly scent tickled my nose, and the constant fidgeting of her palm...
Just holding hands felt like a snake coiling around my fingers.
"...Di-Director?"
Iris seemed to sense the weirdness too.
As Iris stared in bewilderment, Elaris finally let go.
"Oh dear, how rude of me... It’s been so long since I’ve met a man like this, I got carried away. Come, this way. I’ll show you around."
"...Sure."
I stared at the hand Elaris had been holding moments ago.
"..."
There was a red mark on the back.
She’d scratched it lightly with her nail before pulling away.
Not an accident.
I’d seen her wink while doing it.
‘...Why?’
But I couldn’t make sense of it.
I’m not clueless.
If this happened in a bar late at night, it’d be blatant seduction.
But this was a brightly lit orphanage in broad daylight!
Pink hair or not, she wouldn’t seduce a total stranger—the guy her daughter-figure brought home as husband material.
‘...No idea.’
I sighed and shook my head after a moment’s thought.
One thing stood out as we toured the Sater Orphanage.
‘...Suspiciously many pinkheads.’
Not just Director Elaris—the kids... er, children had an unusual number of pink-haired ones too.
"Whoa! Handsome big bro!"
"Bro, hug me!"
"Gimme a piggyback!"
And oddly, the pink-haired ones would flock to me whenever they saw me, begging for this or that.
Nothing hard to do, so I obliged, but the weird vibe was undeniable.
"Ah, there’s the director over there. Hang on, I’ll go get her."
"...?"
I tilted my head at Elaris’s words while playing with the kids.
Elaris was the director—what did she mean?
Iris poked my side and explained.
"The di... I mean, the director’s twins. They run it together."
"...Iris, wouldn’t it be easier to just call her ‘Mom’?"
"Eu-Eugene! Wh-What are you saying! I’m not old enough to call anyone m-mom!"
"Hello."
A woman who looked identical to Elaris—except her beauty mark was under her right eye—approached and greeted us.
"I’m Clarice. I co-run the Sater Orphanage with my sister."
"...Eugene."
"Yes, she told me. Dating Iris with marriage in mind?"
"...Di-Director..."
"Iris, what’s there to be shy about? You should be proud to land a catch like this."
"Exactly, Iris. Guys this... handsome don’t come around often."
"..."
I hadn’t even mentioned my abilities or the Calliope name—why the glowing reviews?
Objectively, sure, I knew I was good-looking...
But I’d never gotten this much praise based on looks alone before.
‘Why?’
As I started seriously pondering this shady orphanage...
"...Te...Teacher...?"
A familiar pink-haired voice rang out.