The Demon's Aftermath
A bloody wind swept through the In-Seoul class of the retake academy. A significant number of the In-Seoul class managers received extreme sentences, and all related parties were subjected to indefinite interrogation. Even instructors and corporate officials were dragged in. It was safe to call it utter destruction. The top-ranked Hyeseong Academy in the nation had been pushed outside the top fifty in the evaluation rankings—a massive upheaval. That was how destructive the demon incident had been.
The same held true for the high-ranking figures who had watched the duel at the time. The man they had wished dead turned out to be the son-in-law of the Samjin family, and he had even slain the demon. On top of that, Baek Seol—the very person possessed by the demon—had shown a self-sacrificing devotion by protecting him, propelling him to nationwide stardom. The event had been broadcast live in real time, and the man was under the protection of both Taeheo Singun Heo Shin-ah and Taeguk Singun Lee Seon-hee. Without forgiveness, their lives would have become extremely difficult.
That was why my phone was flooded with messages from presidents and high-ranking executives.
‘With this, have I caught up to Lee Ah-rang in terms of support level?’
“Now it’s really just training.”
I muttered that in the hospital room. Rising from the bed, I stretched and checked my physical condition. Rotating my shoulders, stamping my feet, I made sure nothing felt off.
‘As expected, the money was worth it.’
Taeguk Singun had spent a hundred billion won on my treatment. The treatment had been so excessive that all my stats had improved. Even the scars covering my entire body had almost completely disappeared. It might have been an expression of confidence that I could win with this level of support.
“Yoo Ji-tae-nim. Are you feeling unwell?”
“……Hmm.”
Baek Seol, lying in the bed across from me, looked at me with bright eyes. She wore a steel collar engraved with purple runes around her neck. The collar monitored Baek Seol’s condition in real time and inflicted fatal damage the moment she attempted anything dangerous.
“No. Seol-ah. It’s just because of the entrance exams.”
“Ah. I see. If you ever need help, I’ll devote my entire body to assisting you.”
Baek Seol clenched both fists and poured energy into her body as if to encourage herself.
“…Yeah. Thanks.”
“Not at all.”
I couldn’t give Baek Seol a cold response. Compared to how she had been trembling and trying to lick my feet or committing all sorts of eccentric acts to atone over the past few days, this was a significant improvement. It was too late to turn back now. I had already taken Baek Seol as a concubine.
“Status window.”
Skill: Hephaestus (SS)
Taeguk Singun had admitted me to the hospital and poured nearly a hundred billion won into gathering medicinal herbs and treatment methods from around the world, resulting in all my stats increasing by 0.5 to 0.6 each. Thanks to the training I squeezed in at the hospital, the levels of my skills had also risen considerably.
I sent a message to Taeguk Singun.
“……”
A somewhat twisted reply came back.
‘Well, good is good, I suppose.’
Though it felt like I was sinking deeper into a quagmire, it was still a good thing that my chances of winning the competition had increased. According to the reports I had received, my promotion to the Elite University Class seemed to have gone smoothly.
‘Now the problem is Baek Seol.’
“?”
Baek Seol blinked like a child. Her death sentence had been indefinitely suspended. If I hadn’t taken Baek Seol as a concubine, she would have been immediately dragged into the military and subjected to all sorts of things—I had been horrified when I heard that.
‘In other words, marrying Baek Seol is something I absolutely cannot back out of. If I do, Baek Seol is finished. Moreover, since I now hold the power of life and death over Baek Seol, I have to take responsibility for all of her future actions.’
…Well, it was a cause for celebration that all the contracts and debts hanging over Baek Seol had been nullified.
“Yoo Ji-tae-nim?”
Whether she knew it or not, Baek Seol gazed at me innocently.
“Are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“I hold your life in my hands. If I want, you have to do anything at any time. If I tell you to offer your body, you have to offer it.”
Baek Seol lowered her head deeply. Her golden hair swayed gently. With a blush on her face, Baek Seol looked at me through her bangs. She tightly gripped one of her breasts that had risen above her hospital gown with one hand.
“Th-that… right now. Would you like to?”
“…No. Not right now.”
I scratched my head. In any case, it was an incident involving the appearance of a demon. A tremendous uproar had erupted. I had even been criticized for Yoo Hyun-ah’s poor management regarding how I was being protected, and I had run around here and there to defend her. If another secretary came, this level of freedom would become absolutely impossible. I had also gained Yoo Hyun-ah’s support there, which seemed to have created some strange misunderstandings, but I would deal with that later. For now, I had desperately cleaned things up.
But there was something more important.
“Can you call Marbas for me?”
“Ah. Yes.”
Baek Seol’s eyes changed. Her innocent, clear gaze turned mechanical. She spun her shoulders around, spread her legs wide like a boy, and let out a sigh.
“Ah. Yeah. Got something to say?”
“Yeah. Who was Toma Hanna?”
“Is that an order?”
“Yeah. It’s an order. Answer me, Marbas.”
Marbas flinched.
“Itoha. If they try to catch her, she’ll cooperate, but by now she’s probably already returned to her home country.”
Marbas betrayed her own mother without hesitation. I found the answer so unexpected that I asked back.
“…Is it okay to say that? She’s your mother.”
Marbas grinned and fondled both of her breasts.
“Because right now, if it’s your order, I have no choice but to obey anything. It can’t be helped.”
After saying that, Marbas stared at me and opened her mouth.
“Hey. Give me some spirit root.”
“Hm?”
“It’s fine, just give it.”
She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. When I tossed her the spirit root, she pressed it firmly against her stomach.
“Ugh.”
Marbas clenched her toes tightly and twitched her body. She had forcibly shoved the spirit root into her stomach. Marbas rubbed her belly gently and smiled.
“Take the spirit root tomorrow. I’ll fill it with mana to the brim.”
“Trying to help it grow?”
“Of course. Right now, you’re my one and only master. It’s only natural that I want to serve you as much as possible. I’d like to do other things and serve you too, but you’d hate that….”
I decided to test her since I didn’t trust her. I would use Hephaestus’s gratitude points to gauge the other party’s sincerity.
“I don’t particularly hate it. It’s cute. You are.”
“……What are you saying.”
‘For now, I can trust her a little.’
I reached out my hand forward. Like telling a dog to give a paw. Marbas hurriedly got down from the bed and approached me. Then, spreading her legs awkwardly, she placed her chin on my hand.
It was different from Baek Seol. If it had been Baek Seol, she would have looked at me affectionately and given a devoted smile as if she would accept anything. Marbas’s eyes were unfocused, perhaps because she didn’t know what would happen to her. Moreover, her mouth was slightly open.
“I see.”
“Wh-what. If you want to do something, do it.”
When I raised my palm and lightly patted her cheek, her pale skin flushed slightly red. Marbas drooled and smiled foolishly.
“Take care of me, Marbas.”
“……Ah. Yeah.”
Marbas closed her legs.
‘For now, I can feel a little relieved.’
I sent Marbas back to the bed and lay down on my own. In the end, hiding my gender had failed midway.
‘What will the Elite University Class be like?’
Since I had hidden my gender in the In-Seoul class, I had no idea how people would react if I entered the Elite University Class as a man.
Because I had wasted quite a bit of time in the hospital, only about fifty days remained until the university entrance exams.
“I’ll have to work even harder.”
I muttered that while clenching my fists tightly.
“Ah. Right.”
Then Marbas, facing me, suddenly opened her mouth.
“Why?”
“Um. No. It’s not important, but Itoha said something like this. Thinking about it now, maybe that guy already knew I would fall like this.”
“…What was it?”
Marbas nodded.
“It seems your mother has been running wild lately, so even if I go back, I might die.”
“……Itoha said that?”
“Yeah. She seemed quite afraid. Can you tell me what kind of person your mother is?”
I scratched my head.
“…Well. I don’t really know.”
My mother had never once told me what kind of work she did. Well, she hadn’t even taught me real history, so of course her occupation was the same.
“…She was a pretty scary person.”
“I see. Itoha was also extremely afraid. That guy, the general.”
“I see.”
Talking about my mother wasn’t very pleasant. I averted my gaze. Then Marbas, as if understanding, returned her body to Baek Seol.
EP 5 The Demon of the In-Seoul Class at the Retake Academy (Complete)
Spring had come to the Elite University Class.
University entrance exams D - 49
EP 6 The Elite University Class at the Retake Academy