.....Found You

The female elf from earlier suddenly turned her gaze toward me. The pressure was still there, but her eyes weren't as cold as when she'd been looking at Lucianne. "Why me?"

"You did something interesting."

"So now you have a tricky choice to make?"

At my words, the female elf gave a slight smile. I smiled back and continued. "I hit women just fine too."

"Hmph. It would be nice if I got the chance."

Eventually, the female elf began walking toward the front door. As she moved slowly, she spoke to me. "Elf society has its eyes on you."

"To assassinate me? I tore that pointy-eared bastard apart fair and square, so why the hell are you like this, seriously."

"...You should be careful with the word 'pointy-eared.' Anyway, that's not it."

The elf had already reached the classroom door. Just before leaving, she spoke with a faint smile. "Rather, something interesting will happen to you soon."

"Usually that kind of thing isn't fun at all for the person involved."

"Well, for now, I hope you enjoy this moment in peace. Then, if you'll excuse me."

With those words, the female elf left the classroom. Then she came back in, gave us a brief nod, and dragged the collapsed Lucianne out with her.

[She sure cleans up trash well.]

'Very polite of her.'

Just then, Jung Ayeon, who had only now come to her senses, rushed over and started questioning me frantically. "Lord Shinu! Weren't you supposed to be talentless? What in the world is going on!"

"I don't know either. Seriously, why is this happening."

"Shinu, what are you going to do if you really get expelled?"

Hye-ji asked urgently, her face full of worry. I scratched my head at that.

"Guess I'll just go do loading and unloading or rocket delivery or something."

"Ahem, ahem. If you have nowhere to go, say something."

"Oh, you gonna hook me up somewhere?"

Hye-ji looked strangely confident. I wondered what kind of connections she had.

"My dad's at Samsung, so I can easily take responsibility for someone like you."

"Hey, don't you have to pass the open recruitment and do an interview for that?"

"Open recruitment?... I don't know what you're talking about."

"What do you mean? You said Samsung."

The conversation was slightly off-track. Eventually, when it went nowhere, Hye-ji hurriedly wrapped it up.

"It is Samsung though? Anyway, if you have nowhere to go, tell me. I'll take care of you."

"Yeah, thanks for worrying anyway."

I patted Hye-ji's shoulder a couple times as thanks. Just then, Professor Pilyong came to his senses and started class. At that moment, Hye-ji leaned in close and asked in a voice only I could hear.

"Shinu, but did you really awaken an ability?"

"You didn't believe a single thing I said yesterday?"

"No, the atmosphere was like that too, so I didn't think it was real."

Hye-ji looked apologetic. It felt a bit weird that she'd reacted that way after I'd worked up the courage to tell her, but she was still someone I could trust.

"You're the only person here I can actually trust right now."

"Yeah!! Okay!! Don't worry, just trust me!!"

Hye-ji grinned widely as she moved away from me. Then a voice spoke up in my head.

[What will you do if you really get expelled. Is there no one else you can ask for help?]

'Ah, there is one.'

As soon as the first class ended, I contacted the one person I could somewhat trust. It was none other than—

Kang Hyuk. My parents would obviously ignore any messages from me. With my already limited social circle, he was the only one left.

There was a brief pause before a cautious reply came.

I was relieved. Honestly, I didn't know how he'd help, but my mind felt a little more at ease. Just as I was about to put my phone away, a frantic message came from him.

He didn't send anything else for a while, as if he was thinking. Just as I was wondering what it could be, a reply came.

The moment I saw that, I immediately contacted Ye-lim.

I searched for reverse bunny costumes on an internet costume site. Right on time, Ye-lim sent her address. Without hesitation, I bought one of every type and had them delivered there.

I was done with Ye-lim. I contacted Uncle again.

Then a sudden thought hit me. I quickly sent him a message.

That name just felt wrong. Like it would make the kid do drugs.

For now, I decided to visit Professor Pilyong's research building after all classes ended. Since the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠faculty meeting was also around evening, I planned to stop by the research building and then check out the meeting while I was at it. And right now—

Hye-ji and I were eating in the cafeteria. Then I suddenly noticed Jung Ayeon being grabbed by some female student.

"This lady cannot help you!"

"Ah, please, just once! You said we take classes together!"

Jung Ayeon looked extremely troubled. In contrast, the female student holding onto her had a desperate expression while clutching a book.

[Why don't you call her over?]

'It's annoying though.'

Still, I called Jung Ayeon over as the voice in my head suggested. Then two pairs of eyes turned toward me. Jung Ayeon, who spotted me, started turning pale. Meanwhile, the female student brightened up the moment she saw me, shook Jung Ayeon off, and ran straight over. Jung Ayeon tried to shout something, but the student's mouth was faster.

"Hello! My name is Choi Daeun. You're Kim Shinu, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. What's up?"

"I've been wanting to meet you so badly!"

"Are you my fan or something?"

"Yes, that's right. I've been a fan since the first time I saw you!!!"

It was strangely moving. The fact that she'd been a fan since the first time made it even more so. I wondered if this was what it felt like to have a fan cheering for you since your nobody days.

"Thanks for being a fan, really."

"Of course. Would it be okay if I asked you for one thing?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"I've been writing articles about you, Shinu. Actually, this time—"

Something felt off. Just in case, I cut her off and asked urgently.

"Hold on, say that again."

"Huh? Actually, this time—"

"No. Not that part, before that."

"I've been writing articles about you, Shinu. This?"

It felt suspicious. An unknown anxiety started surging up.

"Did you write those school newspaper articles?"

"Yes! That's right! I've written all of them from the beginning until now!"

I almost killed her on the spot, but I held back. I still needed to do one final verification.

"'God of Virgins' too?"

"Yes! It's the hottest one I've written so far. It's still in the top 10 for total views."

"...Found you."

"Huh?"

Verification complete. It was you, you fucking bitch.

"First, let's get hit a bit."

"Why are you trying to hit me!"

"You fucking hack journalist!!! I suffered so much because of you!!!!"

Startled by my shouting, Hye-ji looked at me disapprovingly.

"Shinu! Why are you suddenly getting angry?"

"This bastard's the one who's been writing all my articles."

Then Hye-ji's eyes changed. She immediately turned to Choi Daeun and started her own verification.

"Did you write articles about me too, besides Shinu?"

"Yes. I wrote one because I couldn't tell if you were a guy or a girl."

"...Found you."

Hye-ji and I, as if we'd planned it, silently picked up our spoons. Then two spoons came down on Choi Daeun at the same time.

"God of Virgins? God of Virgins? Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm a girl! I'm a girl! I'm a girl, okay!!!!"

"Aaaagh!!!! I'm sorry!! Stop hitting me!!"

"I told you so."

We only stopped the violence after beating her for a long while. Choi Daeun, with tears welling up in her eyes, fixed her hair. Hye-ji and I growled at her.

"If you write any more crazy articles next time, you're dead, seriously."

"Remember this. I'm a girl. Not having boobs doesn't make me a guy, you fuck."

"Sob..sob..Yes, I understand."

Anyway, we'd hit her enough. Thinking this was sufficient, I asked why she'd come looking for me in the first place.

"So why did you come find me?"

Then the tears that had been about to overflow from Choi Daeun's eyes disappeared in an instant. She immediately thrust a book toward me.

"What's this?"

"I'm a school newspaper reporter, but I'm also an author!"

"So this is the book you wrote?"

"Yes, I changed genres this time and tried writing women's romance!"

Women's romance. Not my taste. But I couldn't understand why she was handing it to me.

"Really? But why this?"

"Could you sign it for me?"

"Sign it? I could, but what's my connection to it?"

I was confused. This wasn't even a women's romance novel, so why ask for a signature.

"Actually, I based the protagonist on you, Shinu!"

"Really? I'm the protagonist? Let me read it."

"My lord!!! Stop!!! Do not cross that river!!!"

But Jung Ayeon's cry was in vain as my hands had already opened the book. The contents began imprinting themselves in my mind through my eyes.

The content was strange. At the same time, it made me anxious. Just as I was about to check the title, it felt like an urgent warning was ringing in my ears. Telling me not to check, no matter what. But they say curiosity killed the cat. My curiosity ignored that warning and made me check the title anyway.

The Mutual Exchange Between Long-Lived and Short-Lived Species

I prayed it wasn't true. I hoped I'd misread it. No, even if I'd read it correctly, I hoped it didn't mean what I thought it meant.

"...Just asking to be sure."

"Yes! Go ahead."

"The long-lived species motif is that pointy-eared bastard I fought, right?"

"You barely read any of it, but you figured it out right away! Yes, that's right!"

Strength gathered in my hands and they started trembling. I asked the final question to confirm the crime.

"....What's the genre? And the age rating?"

"It's women's romance! The explicit content is moderate, but it's 19+ and the genre is BL!.......Ah."

"You said it was women's romance?"

Guilty. This bastard was guilty. A spoon had somehow found its way into my hand.

"......Move your hand away from your head. It'll break the bone."

"Wait! This just happened somehow! Aaaagh!!!!!"

- Whack!

I started slamming the spoon down on Choi Daeun's head with all my strength again. While mechanically repeating the action, I asked Hye-ji for a favor.

"Hye-ji, burn that for me."

"What is it? Let me see."

"Not my fault if you get traumatized."

While I was hitting Choi Daeun's head with the spoon, Hye-ji started reading the forbidden book. Then, without a word, she manifested a flamethrower and began burning it.

"No!!! My first edition!!!!"

"You deserve to get hit more, you fucking bastard."

"Shinu, I'll join in too."

"...I told you not to, my lady."

Of course, because Hye-ji used her ability in the cafeteria, several staff members came over. The charges were unauthorized ability use and arson. However, when Choi Daeun showed them the additional forbidden books she had, they gave me a pat on the shoulder with understanding expressions and left. No more conversation was needed. If they had the energy for that, they should be hitting her more.

"Save me!!! Save me!!! I'm sorry!!! Save me!!!"

Choi Daeun's hollow voice echoed along with the steady, rhythmic metronome of the spoon. The students who saw this quickly cleared out. They didn't want to get involved with the crazy dog duo for no reason.