In the Training Room, Getting Serious with a Beautiful Chaebol Heiress (1)
In the Training Room, Getting Serious with a Beautiful Chaebol Heiress (1)
Yoo Sia had been in an excellent mood since that morning.
It was thanks to Yujin.
"Body type? Not really into it?"
'...Hmm? Well, he knew what mattered. Big breasts weren't everything! Not that mine were small!'
She'd asked about his ideal type, and he'd said he didn't care much about body type, at least.
It was an answer she couldn't help being pleased with.
Not that she had any kind of complex about her figure, of course.
And in the first place, there was no specific reason she should feel good just because Yujin said so.
Whether it was empty flattery or not, it had still been nice to hear.
Thanks to that, Sia had been grinning from ear to ear all morning...
But her mood plummeted to the abyss the moment she saw Alice.
More precisely, the moment she saw Yujin fretting over Alice.
"Alice, are you okay...?"
"......."
'Why is he making such a big deal out of it? Anyone would think she's dying of some fatal illness.'
She could admit Alice didn't look well.
But if Alice herself said she was fine, shouldn't he back off and stop worrying?
Why did he keep fretting? Why did he look as though he wished he could be sick in her place?
It was driving her crazy.
'Haa. Still, I couldn't take it out on a sick girl. I'd have to look after her in his place.'
-Whisper, whisper.
"Hey, are you on your period? If you need an excused absence, tell me. I can help submit the paperwork..."
"Ha. I said I wasn't in pain. Why are you doing this too, Sia?"
"......."
'Had she been faking it, that damned vixen?!'
Sia had asked in case it was Alice's period, only for her to flatly deny it.
From Alice's perspective, she had only been telling the truth.
It really wasn't her period. She was already mortified that Yujin was making such a fuss, and she wished Sia would stop too.
That was all she had meant, but her embarrassment had made it come out a little prickly.
From Sia's point of view, however?
She'd practically whimpered like she was moaning with Yujin, but with me she went stone-faced? She didn't even act sick?
...Had she been faking it for attention, that damned vixen?
She couldn't see it any other way.
Her innocent teeth paid the price as she ground them furiously.
"Want me to take you to the infirmary? You really don't look well."
"Wh-why do you keep doing this...? I said I'm fine..."
-Grind.
'Unbelievable. Why would she treat someone who was worried about her like that?'
She wanted to shout it out right then and there.
That bitch was faking it. She was actually perfectly fine.
So get away from that bitch—that was what Sia wanted to shout.
But if she said the wrong thing?
Yujin. Sia was mean to me even though I'm sick.
Oh my god. Sia, I didn't take you for that kind of person. How could you be mean to someone who's sick? I'm disappointed.
That was exactly how it would go, wasn't it?
It was a scenario she had to avoid at all costs.
It galled her, but Alice was a talent the clan needed, and Yujin was the top-priority recruitment target.
It would tank both of their Affection ratings.
So Sia held it in and held it in...
'I'd be the one to hold back. She could only pull that stunt once or twice. If she kept it up, it'd backfire and he'd find her annoying. I just had to wait patiently...'
"I'll take Cadet Alice to the infirmary."
-Grind.
"———Hah?"
In the end, she exploded.
'Ha, what was this? Who carried a woman like that? Was she a princess? And that hateful bitch, putting on that shocked expression? Ha. Unbelievable. Ha.'
Yujin's princess carry was the thing that finally shattered her patience.
The fury that had crossed the threshold brought her, in turn, an icy clarity.
She was the type who grew utterly calm when truly angry.
"Like Cadet Yujin, any of you may finish class early depending on your individual performance. Everyone, do your best!!"
'Yujin was just as bad. Did he really fold the moment she wagged her tail? Ha, seriously.'
-Ding!
[Through repeated experience, you have acquired the Passive Skill 'Basic Mana Manipulation'.]
[Through repeated experience, you have gained proficiency. Passive Skill 'Basic Mana Manipulation Lv.1' becomes 'Basic Mana Manipulation Lv.2'....]
Her fierce determination to catch those two and make them pay even one second sooner pushed Sia's talent to its limit.
A level that would take a gifted cadet a month to reach...
She had reached it in a single hour.
-Grind.
'This wouldn't do. As his classmate, I'd have to give him a stern talking-to.'
[Passive Skill 'Basic Mana Manipulation Lv.Max' evolves into 'Intermediate Mana Manipulation Lv.1'!]
'...What was that? This was beyond anything the word "genius" could describe.'
It was an achievement that shocked even the professor.
Yujin had been perfect from the start, and since his ability was mental-type, his achievement could be chalked up to his EX-rank Innate Talent.
But hadn't Sia started from absolute zero?
He'd verified with his own eyes that she was a complete beginner.
And yet, she'd grown to an intermediate's level in a single hour?
This couldn't be dismissed as mere natural talent.
If he had to express her accomplishment...
'It was as though she'd already reached a high level once before.'
———She resembled Yujin, a regressor.
Of course, she was not to be compared with him, who had reached the pinnacle in one stroke.
But she, too, had begun to draw out the experience etched into her soul, a tiny fragment at a time.
It was a miracle brought about by her obsession with Yujin.
-Grind, grind.
'No, while I was at it, I should have him sign an exclusive contract with Cheonhwa. At this rate, some gold digger would ruin his life. We needed to manage him—I needed to manage him.'
Not that Sia herself paid the message windows before her any attention. In any case.
"...Professor, why are you staring at me?"
"Oh, no. It's just... I think that's enough for today, Sia."
"Ah. Yes. Thank you for the lesson."
-Whoosh.
Sia finally moved after emerging from her trance.
Her first destination was the infirmary.
[Out on a call....]
-Click, rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle.
"It's locked."
A suspiciously convenient [Out on a Call...] sign hung on the door.
The door was locked so tightly that no one could tell what was happening inside.
The light in Sia's pupils went out.
'She'd pretended to be sick, lured Yujin all the way to this secluded infirmary, and locked the door. What could she be doing in there? Haha.'
What could be happening inside?
She wanted to smash this door down and confirm it right now.
She wanted to demand to know what they were doing.
At the same time, she didn't want to see.
If that kind of thing was really happening...
———Because she didn't think she could stand it.
'They said using abilities on other cadets was grounds for disciplinary action. If a harmless hypnosis prank earned someone an interview with the Chairwoman...'
『Lord of Darkness (S-rank) — Controls darkness.』
'If I went on a rampage with my ability, not even Cheonhwa could contain the fallout.'
After chewing on her lip for a long while, Sia turned her back without a word.
If nothing was going on inside, there was no reason to barge in.
And if something was going on...
She might end up doing something that would make the news.
Sia knew better than anyone that she was a time bomb on the verge of exploding right now.
'First, I needed to talk to Yujin about what had happened and what kind of scheme that bitch had pulled.'
Heavy footsteps headed elsewhere.
The place Yujin had said he was going: the Training Room.
It was as secluded as the infirmary, a place even upperclassmen only used just before their graduation exams, never mind first-years.
And...
Before long, she came face-to-face with Yujin.
-Creeeak. Hop.
"I'm here~ Phew!"
"......?"
And he'd come hopping in with a needlessly innocent spring in his step.
It was so endearing that even Sia, who'd been stewing in rage, briefly thought, 'What was that? Cute.'
'Jumping when you entered a dungeon was basic etiquette... Kids these days probably didn't know that one.'
Yujin himself thought it was peak middle-aged-guy behavior.
Thanks to that, a bit of the venom drained from Sia.
'Pfft. What was he doing? Then again, he was twenty, just like me. We were both still plenty immature.'
"Hey, Yujin. What were you doing with her?"
Her earlier urge to kill the two of them forgotten, Sia attempted a conversation first.
Yujin was terrified.
"Huh, huh?"
'What was this? Sia was angry. Not maximum rage, but at least solidly medium-mad.'
The devoted husband that he was, he feared his wives' anger.
Even the subtle, half-deflated anger was more than enough to intimidate Yujin.
Sia's anger eased just a little more.
'She'd gone completely stiff... Damn it, she was making me go soft on her.'
"The infirmary door was locked. What were you doing in there?"
-Casually.
Thanks to that, a sliver of rationality returned.
Sia's eyes quickly swept over Yujin.
Clothes. Unchanged.
Hair. Dry and fluffy.
Scent...
'If he'd done something like that, there'd definitely be a strange smell on him, right?'
-Snatch.
'Hold still, Yujin.'
After a brief deliberation, Sia buried her nose against Yujin's body.
To check his scent.
-Sniff sniff.
'The faint smell of chicken meant he hadn't showered... Ah, his sweat smelled good. So I liked this kind of thing.'
"......!!!!!?"
'Why was she suddenly doing this?! This was indecent... H-her breasts were touching me!! Oh god, the Hypnosis Breeding Guy was going to get arrested!!!'
Without context, it would have looked downright perverted, but Yujin was too shocked to move, so there was no immediate problem.
One minute, two minutes.
After a total of three minutes had passed.
"......Phew. Huh? Yujin, why is your face so red?"
"Uh, um... Sia? Why are you suddenly doing this...?"
"Huh?"
Having sneakily indulged herself, Sia finally came to her senses.
Belatedly, she realized what she'd been doing.
"...!!!!!? N-no. This was... your smell..."
'What had I done?! Checking by smell? I'd just become a pervert who suddenly threw herself at a guy!!!'
Trying to check by smell whether he'd done something like that...
Besides, if he'd showered, smelling him would have told her nothing. Why had she done something so stupid?
And she didn't even know what someone who'd done that kind of thing smelled like.
She wouldn't have known even if she did smell it, so what was she doing?
Why on earth had she done something so stupid and perverted?
'What was I going to do...? Yujin would think I was that kind of girl...'
"Smell...? Ah, don't tell me I smelled that much like sweat?"
"......Huh?"
"I put Alice to sleep and then ran around buying medicine. I was going to work out anyway, so I planned to shower afterward... I didn't realize it was that bad. Sorry."
Most fortunately for her, Yujin trusted his wife.
There was no way Sia would throw herself at a guy she'd just met yesterday.
Sia was particular about cleanliness, so my smell had probably bothered her.
Could it be she came to demand an explanation but tripped?
The three minutes it took to recover were because she'd been flustered after tripping and ending up in my arms.
Yeah. That had to be it.
'Because there's no way Sia is a pervert with a smell fetish who sniffs guys!'
"Sorry I couldn't catch you when you fell!"
"......?"
'What's he talking about?'
It was a love for his wife so rock-solid it bordered on the self-hypnotic, baffling even Sia herself.
* * *
For a moment, the Yujindo between my legs had nearly drawn itself, but I'd held it back with all my might.
I explained the nurse's office incident step by step.
"So, you just put Alice to sleep right away?"
"Yeah. She looked so severely sleep-deprived that I put her under with hypnosis to block the pain for about five hours, just to let her sleep."
"And you didn't do anything to her?"
"I swear to heaven, as soon as we got to the nurse's office, I just put her to sleep. I even locked the door in case anyone came by."
'Tch. So this was still where we stood.'
...Even while explaining, I felt a bit bitter.
The fact that she'd rushed over because she was worried I might do something to Alice seemed to show how distant we still were.
Still, it couldn't be helped.
A guy with a hypnosis ability carrying a girl into the infirmary?
Even I'd be suspicious. Honestly.
As I earnestly explained with those thoughts in mind, a smile spread across Sia's lips.
-Snicker.
"That vixen got what she deserved. She should've stopped putting on an act sooner."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. I'm just glad~ to see you're such an upstanding guy."
I didn't know exactly what she meant, but she seemed to believe in my innocence.
"Thanks for seeing it that way."
"Pfft. So, are you going to train now? Work out?"
"Ah, yeah. I need to digest the chicken I had this morning."
Our topic naturally drifted elsewhere.
To the Training Room, where it was just the two of us amid rows of equipment.
"Hmm. Mind if I watch?"
"Huh? It's going to smell like sweat."
"......It's fine! It's a chance to see how you got to be so strong, Yujin! The sweat smell is honestly revolting, but!!"
"No, then I'll just open the window...."
"I'm fine so just hurry up and do it!! Right now!!"
Along with that unnecessarily spirited fighting cry,
"Got it. I don't know if I'd call it an apology, but I'll show you something really good."
"Huh? Something good?"
"I'm only telling you this, but... there's a training method that can raise one of your stats by a whole point in an hour."
"......What?"
And so, my serious fitness lecture began.