06. Evolution?
06. Evolution?
+++
On the way to school(?)
Sihwan muttered to himself, recalling the morning's events.
"Luna... Luna...."
He'd been singing Luna-Luna so much that now he was starting to think he might as well buy her just to stop hearing that word.
Well, even originally, if he had the financial leeway, he'd been leaning toward buying her anyway. The money was the issue.
"Pussy options expanding is a good thing, right?"
"...What's with that tone."
"To put it another way, it's like adding a new training event. Every girl's hole has different quality and feel, so it's good to experience a variety."
Bari casually spouting shit that deserved a slap across the face.
Good thing they were inside the car—if he'd said that outside and run into Rihana or Sasha or someone, it would've been a real pain in the ass.
Ah. Of course, Eleonore was right next to him already shooting him ice-cold glares.
"What're you so worried about? 10,000 gold is pocket change. Sell just one carton and that's 200 gold, right?"
"That's true, but."
"Just think of it as buying a slightly expensive onahole. Plus, she's human. DNA-wise, same species! It's gotta feel special, right? So far, you've only known me and Eleonore-ssi."
Bari seemed convinced that buying her was the absolute best option.
Sihwan didn't really disagree.
It was just that this was his first big purchase, so he was mulling it over.
"Definitely, a same-species girl... worth collecting."
"Yeah. And she's a complete slave, too. Perfect for all kinds of experiments."
"Yeah."
In the end, Sihwan nodded.
Back when he first entered the Tower, he was broke, but now, nearly three weeks in, he could rake in gold anytime. In this situation, passing on Luna for a mere(?) 10,000 gold felt like a loss in itself.
"Um... still, she's the same race. You don't feel any resistance to enslaving her?"
Eleonore, who'd been listening from the side, finally chimed in reluctantly.
Talking so casually about buying and selling their own kind as slaves.
How barbaric could they be?
As an advanced race and an elf, she couldn't comprehend it at all.
If it were an elf like her captured as a slave? She wouldn't think of buying them—she'd just set them free.
"Huh?"
"I mean, if I saw an elf being enslaved, my heart would feel so uncomfortable...."
"That could be. But not for me."
"...."
"I feel bad for her, but I'm no saint. No need to spend my money and effort to go out of my way and free her."
"Plus, she's a beauty."
"Oh yeah, I heard humans as a whole species have been enslaved. Wanna check that out sometime?"
"Where the humans are?"
"Yeah. It's right by my in-laws' turf with the Management Committee. Could kill two birds with one stone and meet my mother-in-law, too."
Humans living in the Tower.
And humans living outside the Tower.
Treatment was miserable either way.
That's why he wanted to see it at least once. How his not-quite-kin were living....
They arrived at the Academy amid the chatter.
Or rather, their house was inside the Academy to begin with.
"Oh my, what's that?"
They ran into Rihana right as they got out of the car.
She stood there frozen, eyes wide round as she stared at Sihwan's group.
Exactly the reaction Sihwan wanted.
That's why he'd bothered taking the car for a five-minute walk.
"Ahh, this is called a 『Car』...."
"Your tone sounds so fucking retarded."
"...."
"So, a car? Not a Magic Carriage?"
Wounded by her rough speech, Sihwan closed the car door and replied.
"Don't compare it to that shitty thing, okay?"
"A type of Magic Carriage?"
"Too annoying to explain, so just know it's not."
Bari had been driving the car so far, but once everyone was out, it parked itself in the carriage area.
"You smoke?"
"Why? Gonna say you hate girls who smoke or some bullshit?"
"What're you talking about? Who gives a fuck about that."
"Then why ask?"
"Hey now. As trainee rep, I can ask the vice rep, right."
"Whatever...."
Rihana gave him a what-the-hell look, but soon answered, 'Pretty much, yeah.'
Sihwan nodded in satisfaction and pulled out a pack of cigarettes he'd gotten from Bari.
"Here. A gift."
"This is...?"
"Expensive stuff. A whole one gold per stick."
"Cigarettes?"
"Yeah. 'Cigarettes'—new product I just developed."
"You?"
"Something like that."
She took the cigarettes, giving Sihwan a weird once-over.
"Well, out of nowhere, but thanks. I'll take it."
No girl hates gifts.
Even inside the Academy, Sihwan was in full promo mode.
"Cigarettes are originally bad for the body. You guys can handle them because your physiques are top-notch, not because they lack harmful stuff. But the cigarettes I developed minimize that harm. And pipes or cigars are a hassle to maintain, right? This? No need. Just pull one out and smoke. Toss it somewhere, and as long as it's not wet, you can relight it. So—,"
"Hey."
Yu Ina cut into Sihwan's pitch.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The vein bulging at her temple said it all about her mood.
"You can see. I'm advertising."
"...."
"So, why now, and here of all places?"
"Gotta do it where everyone can see. Perfect with the blackboard right there."
"...."
Ever so kindly, he even circled the crude cigarette sketch he'd drawn while explaining.
Of course, seeing that shot Yu Ina's anger level through the roof.
"Anyway, it's a top-of-the-line cigarette—tastes great, not bad for health. Normally one stick's one gold, twenty gold a pack, 200 gold a carton. But we're classmates, right? First five buys get a special discount."
"Hey."
"Wait a sec. Let your husband do some business."
"Urk...! It's class time right now!!"
"Jeez. It's all just a half-assed curriculum anyway—what's wrong with a little promo?"
"Half-assed?!"
"That's right? Anyone can see it's a rushed-together syllabus. Help me out instead."
Right in front of everyone, Sihwan pulled her into a hug and shoved a cigarette at her.
"Here, you're the model."
Crunch.
She ground her teeth.
Her rage was hitting critical levels.
"Ah, right, the ones we shot before—,"
Smack!
Was getting backsmacked the fate of all husbands?
In the end, he took a solid whack on the back.
+++
"What the hell is this."
Ha Yeon-seo's office.
The Academy got dozens, hundreds of letters a day.
Most were about Academy operations or Guild stuff, but occasionally ones begging to save their kids or spewing curses would come.
Couldn't be helped with their psycho method of starting entrance exams by killing hundreds of applicants.
So usually, if it wasn't from a Guild and was from some random household or family, they'd go, 'More bullshit,' and toss it in the incinerator without reading.
But from a Noblesse family?
Even she couldn't just ignore it.
"Jin Seong-hyeon?"
"The guy you chased out before, Chief Instructor-nim."
"Ahh."
With the Steward's helpful explanation, she finally remembered.
"That poorly raised punk. But what the hell does this even mean?"
Sender: Jin Family on the 5th floor.
Thinking it was a curse, she opened it—surprisingly, it was asking her to take good care of his son and sending a modest gift.
"It's been over a week since we kicked his ass out... 'take good care'? Is this a fuck-you?"
"...No way. Must be some mix-up, right? Or...."
As the Steward trailed off, Yeon-seo lifted her eyes from the letter to look at him.
"Went missing midway... or something...."
"Ha. That make sense? Noblesse getting 'missing' my ass."
Not worth a damn.
No matter how much of a fuckup he was, and male Noblesse to boot, he wouldn't go missing on the 1st floor.
"Maybe the time lag? Something like that?"
The Steward had half-joked about missing, and quickly pivoted to another idea.
"Hmm... but the send date bugs me. Three days ago."
Even three days ago was nearly a week after kicking out Jin Seong-hyeon.
Plenty of time to get back even without arms.
"Ah. Maybe he died? Yu Ina Instructor blew off both arms, right? Weak-ass guy like that probably croaked soon after. That'd explain missing, too."
Even as she said it, she nodded.
The most plausible story so far.
Dead or missing, so no word to the family—and the family figures the kid who went to the Academy hasn't come back, so 'Did he enroll just to see that woman?'
It still didn't make total sense, but it was the best bet.
"......If that's really it... this could be a pretty big problem, no?"
"...."
Yeon-seo sighed, rubbing her temples in headache.
Cue the usual suspect: cigarettes.
She'd switched from pipe tobacco to the cigarettes from Sihwan lately.
"Ugh. So fucking annoying."
Lately, shit kept piling up.
Previous batch grads and instructors wiped out on the 11th floor, then this arrogant human Ryu Si-hwan she'd never heard of barges into the Academy, becomes trainee rep, and now complaint letters from sponsor Guilds are stacking up.
And now Noblesse missing & death case.
Not confirmed, of course.
But the fact he got both arms chopped and booted from the Academy was real. Things were about to get very annoying soon, almost certainly.
"Haa. Can't even make it home? Fucking retard..."
"...."
Rage exploding, maybe? She spat out rough words totally unlike her usual self.
"Whew... anyway... look into it. What happened after we chased him out... if he made it back alive or dropped dead on the way. And... no reply. Wait and see. They might send more."
"What about the gift they sent?"
"Toss it. I gotta accept that shit?"
The Jin Family was already rootless trash in her book—couldn't even raise their kid right.
How valuable could a gift from such low-class trash be?
Normally, she wouldn't toss it no matter what.
But right now, irritation was swirling. Needed this to vent stress.
"Even so, it's pretty expen—,"
"Toss it."
"Yes. Understood."
The Steward caught flak for backtalking.
"When you go, bring that human and Yu Ina Instructor. Need to hear something."
"Class...? Yes. I'll fetch them, Chief Instructor-nim."