How Does Brother Namgung Know About the Academy...?
After the fierce mating left me unconscious, I came to in a familiar bed.
"……Hah……!"
The sticky pink lust had burned away, leaving my body refreshed, vitality coursing through me as if my very face had gained a healthy sheen.
But the fact that the lust had been sated meant……?
I-I actually did it……. And I even made that weird declaration…….
The words I had spoken right before blacking out flooded back, and I went pale with pure shock.
Yet at the same time, the sheer depravity of having done something a man should never do sent a shiver of excitement racing down my spine.
"Haa, what on earth is Young Hero thinking……."
And the source of that excitement and shame—Young Hero Geungwang—rose vividly in my mind.
He was the one who had made me swear to become his cock sleeve, yet I felt no real resentment. Perhaps because the pleasure he had given me was so overwhelming it buried every scrap of shame or negativity.
"Ugh……."
I sat there groaning when the Young Hero opened the door and approached.
"Ah, you're awake."
"Y-Young Hero……."
Ignoring how I floundered, unsure how to treat him, Geungwang cut straight to the point.
"Now then, let's finish the conversation we left unfinished. Just as you swore earlier—become mine. My cock sleeve, to be fucked whenever I want, who obeys my every word without question. ……That's fine, right?"
"Euk……! A-a cock sleeve……? Not a lover……? After saying you'd make me yours……"
When he had lifted me up and driven into me I had been too far gone to think, so I had agreed in a daze to become his…… cock sleeve. But still. A cock sleeve?
Geungwang's reply, however, was utterly shocking.
"……I said I would make you mine. I never said I would make you my lover. Honestly…… isn't that obvious? You slept with me under my own roof and then immediately spread your ass for other bastards. And now you want to talk about being lovers? How shameless."
As if slowly vomiting up something long suppressed, he sneered down at me with cold eyes.
The fact that he harbored such fury was something I had never imagined, and it hit me like a thunderbolt.
"What……? Th-that was…… we weren't even dating……."
"Huu……. Anyway, fine. You promised to become my cock sleeve, so from now on you get fucked by me alone. Understood?"
"………"
Perhaps because this bizarre cohabitation had continued and absurdly filthy acts had become routine, we had started saying things like this without batting an eye. And a proposal I would normally have rejected on the spot, I could not easily refuse.
Because…… the venom he had spat left me with a strange sense of guilt, and because the climax I had felt while begging to be lifted and fucked was a pleasure so immense I had never once experienced it in my entire life—something I could never forget.
"Euk………"
For those reasons I could neither refuse the Young Hero's proposal nor nod my head, the word "cock sleeve" still too repulsive. I simply kept silent.
But that silence was only buying time. If he pressed just a little harder, I would almost certainly give in.
"Come on…… you promised while I was inside you, didn't you?"
Driving a wedge into my torment, Geungwang demanded it in a voice that had grown softer still. Just as I was about to nod—
"That's far enough. You have crossed the line."
Brother Namgung appeared.
"That child is my prized disciple. Spending time with him is one thing, but claiming ownership is quite another. ……We had an agreement on that point, did we not? Withdraw now, and never raise this matter again."
Stopping me from nodding, Brother Namgung delivered those cryptic words to Young Hero Geungwang. The Young Hero clenched his jaw so hard the muscles stood out along his cheek……
"And if I refuse…… what will you do?"
He openly defied Brother Namgung.
"Y-Young Hero……!"
While I was struck dumb with horror, Brother Namgung merely shrugged with perfect calm.
"I understand how you feel, but it would be like throwing an egg against a rock. Please give it up."
"You never know until you try."
Perhaps his pride was stung by the far smaller Brother Namgung; Geungwang shifted fully into combat stance. Power surged through every muscle of his body like a charging bull.
"W-wait…… what are you doing?!"
I cried out in panic, trying to stop them, but it was far too late for two men who had already decided to fight.
Tak—
Young Hero Geungwang flung his arms wide, kicked off the floor, and charged Brother Namgung. The sight was like a war chariot drawn by a massive bull forged of solid iron. If those arms—capable of lifting three hundred and fifty geun with chest and arm strength alone—caught him……
"Hiiik…!"
Brother Namgung's slender frame would snap like a twig. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to watch.
Crash—!!
Yet…… when I counted to ten and opened my eyes, what I saw was—
"…………?"
Geungwang sprawled face-down on the floor in the exact posture of his charge, legs gone limp, unable to rise.
"Mm. Martial arts, at their core, are the means by which the weak protect themselves from the strong. And martial artists are those who spend all day thinking of nothing but how to thrash other people…… a waste of the rice they eat."
Having casually floored a man twice his size, Brother Namgung murmured the words with no pride or joy. If anything, it was the flat indifference of someone who had just finished a mildly bothersome chore.
"……At least I didn't misjudge the force. A light concussion from the jaw strike; his legs will work again after a short rest."
And so my bizarre cohabitation with Young Hero Geungwang ended far more anticlimactically than I had imagined.
"………I hope we can meet again."
Before he left, Geungwang spoke those words, and Brother Namgung and I each answered in turn.
"……Don't take it too hard. Whether others have stolen what was yours, or whether you simply shared a fine thing with them—everything depends on how you choose to see it."
"I…… I didn't actually dislike the Young Hero that much……. ……See you next time."
Hearing our replies, Geungwang looked deeply regretful, yet a little of the gloom lifted from his face as he left the inn.
"Huu……."
Once he was completely gone, I let out a long sigh of relief. In the few days Brother Namgung had been away, so much had happened with the Young Hero, yet I had at least managed to avoid becoming his exclusive…… cock sleeve.
Even so, if Brother Namgung had returned even one shichen later…….
Shudder—
The terrifyingly plausible, ominous image that rose unbidden made my whole body break out in gooseflesh.
Anyway, the Young Hero is gone, and I can go back to my cozy (lazy) daily life with Brother Namgung…… right?
Lying on the bed, stuffing snacks into my mouth while reading the currently popular light novel Flame Fist, a blissful smile spread across my face—only for Brother Namgung's next words to shatter that pleasant fantasy to pieces.
"Gaeul, how about attending the Imperial Academy?"
"……Th-the Imperial Academy……?"
The Imperial Academy was the place where only the most diligent prodigies studied, wasn't it?
"I-I haven't really learned anything……."
Surely he isn't telling me to start entrance-exam cramming at this age……?
Brother Namgung nodded lightly at my words.
"I know that. But do you think only people who study hard attend the Academy? There's something called a donation-admission system for the children of local magnates and wealthy merchants."
"Aha…… so……?"
"Exactly. You'll enter through donation admission, so as long as the money is paid, you can attend. I'll cover every expense. Simply showing up now and then won't hurt you anywhere you go, so try it once."
As always, the proposal came without the slightest warning, yet the terms weren't bad. Still……
"Y-you don't have some special task for me or anything like that, right……?"
Brother Namgung clapped his hands together with a sharp clap.
"You've finally developed some sense. ……Don't look so worried. I'll simply introduce you to a few good children; just get along with them."
Following Brother Namgung's instructions, I submitted the application. Without even taking a proper exam I received the acceptance notice and became a student of the Imperial Academy—all in about five days.
The moment the notice arrived, I followed Brother Namgung to the Academy dormitory where I would be staying. The Imperial Academy was only half a gak away if one hurried from the inn, or two gak at a normal pace, and the grounds turned out to be surprisingly spacious.
"It's not some village school—can you really get into the Imperial Academy this fast……?"
Brother Namgung answered offhandedly.
"I already made the arrangements while I was away from you, so of course. Remember this well: if money cannot accomplish something, it simply means you don't have enough money."
"………."
Just how rich is this man……?
I was staring at Brother Namgung's back with suspicion when he seemed to sense my gaze, the corner of his mouth curling as he spun around to face me.
"Hmm. So, what is your impression of Cheonju's Imperial Academy after looking around?"
"I've only just taken a single look; I don't have much of an impression yet……. Come to think of it, rumor says you have to be at least of weak-capped age—twenty full years—to enter. The other students would have started studying from five or six if they worked hard. Will I even be able to keep up with the classes?"
"As I told you before, no need to worry. Cheonju's Academy has only been standing a few years. As long as the tuition is paid, they won't care much whether you study well or poorly. Just enjoy yourself."
"Haa, is that so……."
I sighed and let my shoulders droop; Brother Namgung took my arm and led me forward.
"Come, hurry inside. This is the dormitory where you'll be staying from now on. The name hasn't been decided yet, but……."
"……Ah……!"