Chapter 51: Unusual tastes

“…I’ll just get dressed and open the door.”

“Alright.”

He bought himself some time. Their clothes were disheveled, and having been kissing for a while, they carried each other’s scent.

An ordinary person might not notice, but from what he could sense, Seol Ah-yeon was an assassin-type Awakened with at least A-rank power. With her likely high Agility stat, her sense of smell would also be very sharp.

Moreover, his left hand, which had been on Seung-ah’s chest, still carried her scent, and the fact that she had been crying was hard to hide.

While the school allowed relationships, it didn’t permit students to be alone together in dorm rooms after curfew, especially for that kind of activity.

While he was pondering how to handle this situation, Seung-ah sent him a telepathic message.

–Yu-won, I just remembered, there’s a celestial art my master taught me that can completely erase my presence…

–There’s something like that?

–Yeah. It’s called Cloud Mist. It hides your presence and makes you undetectable by any energy while you’re moving.

–That’s broken.

A technique that ignored all energies and completely masked one’s presence. It was the ultimate hiding skill.

–But it doesn’t make me invisible, so you can still see me.

He retracted his “ultimate” comment. If she was still visible, it was useless at close range.

–Then…

–I’ll use Cloud Mist and hide behind the door. If you can distract her for a moment, I can escape while she’s not looking.

–Okay. Oh, and leave your phone.

While he was taking on the risk of distracting Seol Ah-yeon, it seemed like the best option. The dorm rooms had anti-detection magic, so she wouldn’t know for sure if Seung-ah was still inside.

He could just say Seung-ah left her phone behind.

“Coming out.”

As he said that, Seung-ah released a white, smoke-like substance from her body, completely enveloping herself. Even though he could still see her, she was undetectable by his energy sense, and her presence was completely masked.

If he had someone else who could conceal themselves like Seung-ah, this would be an incredibly useful technique for ambushes.

He didn’t have time to marvel at it, as he had to open the door. Seol Ah-yeon’s face appeared outside. She was wearing her maid uniform and her usual expressionless face.

“You said Yoo Seung-ah was here? I think she left her phone in my room earlier.”

He held up Seung-ah’s phone in his right hand.

“In that case… may I take a look inside?”

For Seung-ah to escape, Seol Ah-yeon needed to come inside.

“Sure. Feel free to look around.”

As she stepped inside and was about to close the door, he knew he had to distract her. If the door closed, it would be difficult for Seung-ah to get out.

“Seol Ah-yeon.”

Calling her name, he grabbed her hand as she was about to close the door. As he drew her attention, Seung-ah slipped out through the partially open door.

Of course, he couldn’t sense her presence, and Seol Ah-yeon, whose hand he was holding, didn’t look back. He’d successfully helped Seung-ah escape, but now he had a problem.

“What is it..?”

He’d grabbed her hand impulsively to stop her from closing the door, but he had no idea what to say.

Seeing her expressionless face slowly change, he realized she might be uncomfortable with him holding her hand. He needed to let go and answer quickly, but his mind was blank.

“…Kim Yu-won..?”

Fortunately, he noticed a loose thread on the sleeve of her uniform. He used Samadhi Fire with his other hand to remove the thread and spoke.

“There was a loose thread.”

A flimsy excuse, born from desperate observation. Would she buy it? He waited for her response.

“Thank you… but could you please let go of my hand…”

“Ah!”

Focused on her response, he’d forgotten to let go. He quickly released her hand, and she covered the spot where he’d been holding it with her other hand.

‘Is she wiping it off because something dirty touched her…?’

It stung a little, but considering he’d grabbed a woman’s hand without permission, it wasn’t a bad outcome.

“Then I’ll check inside.”

“Sure.”

Seung-ah was already gone.

No matter how thoroughly she searched, she wouldn’t find anything concrete, only a suspicion that someone had been there.

She suddenly opened the closet, as if hoping to find someone hiding inside, but of course, there was nothing there…

“What’s this..?”

She picked something up with her fingers.

‘Huh…?’

Something that clearly looked like women’s lingerie had emerged from his closet.

“Why is this here…”

Judging by its style, the only person who would buy such lingerie was Estelle.

He didn’t know when she’d put it in his closet, but Seol Ah-yeon’s expressionless face seemed to grow even colder.

To quickly resolve this situation, he had to sacrifice something.

“…I… have a hobby of collecting… such things.”

“…There are signs that someone has worn this…?”

‘She even wore it?!’

Just how far was Estelle trying to drag him down? If he asked her why she’d put it there, she’d probably say it was a gift to keep him company at night.

If it weren’t for this situation, he would have gladly made use of it, but who knew it would cause such a problem.

“…I… sometimes try them on.”

He made another sacrifice, and she, with an even colder gaze, put the lingerie back in the closet and nodded.

“…I see.”

She probably now saw him as a pervert who grabbed women’s hands and had a cross-dressing hobby.

It was a ridiculous misunderstanding, but he had no other choice.

After checking the bathroom, she came out and spoke.

“There’s no one here. I apologize for suspecting you.”

“It’s okay. You were just doing your job.”

Since someone had been there, she really didn’t need to apologize.

“Then I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yes. Goodnight.”

After seeing her out and closing the door, he immediately went to his bed, unlocked his phone, and texted Estelle.

–Estelle

–Yes? What’s up, Yu-won? At this hour?

–You put the lingerie in my closet, didn’t you?

It could only be Estelle.

–Oh, you finally found it?

And the culprit didn’t deny it. Her tone even sounded smug. He was about to text her, saying she’d gotten him in trouble with the staff and that he’d been labeled a pervert, but he deleted the message.

‘If I say that, I have to explain why she came to my room at this hour and why I was alone with Seung-ah.’

He wasn’t obligated to explain things he didn’t have to. Besides, it was only polite to keep Seung-ah’s confession a secret unless she wanted him to reveal it.

‘Wait, is this different…?’

Shouldn’t he tell his wives that he received a confession from another woman? His head spun. He came to a quick conclusion: he didn’t need to tell them right now.

Since Seung-ah said she wouldn’t hold back anymore, he figured it would come out eventually. First, he needed to question Estelle.

–Why did you put it there?

–I thought Yu-won might be lonely, so I put it there for you to use.

It was the reason he’d expected.

–Do you not like it?

Well… honestly, he didn’t dislike it.

–No, I’ll put it to good use.

♡

She sent a heart emoticon. Unable to argue with her, he simply resolved to make the most of the night.

“…That was warm.”

Leaving Yu-won’s dorm room, she spoke to herself. Her body was sensitive to karma, and she felt intense discomfort when touching someone evil.

But for the first time in her life, she touched someone with Absolute Good karma, and she felt a deep sense of fulfillment. Unable to describe this new sensation,

“He has a strange hobby, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

Unlike others who leered at her, he hadn’t shown much interest in her appearance, and when he grabbed her hand, she only sensed his surprise, not any romantic feelings.

While it bruised her ego a little, it also piqued her interest.

‘But I’m supposed to recruit or assassinate him…’

After her parents died, she and her younger brother ended up in an orphanage.

It turned out to be a place that secretly trained orphans to become villains, and she was also trained there.

Herself, with considerable talent, and her frail younger brother.

They threatened to kill her brother if she didn’t cooperate, and she eventually became the most skilled person in that training facility disguised as an orphanage.

Recognized as having the potential to become an S-rank villain, she was sent to infiltrate the academy under orders from her boss.

Recruit top student Kim Yu-won, or if that’s impossible, assassinate him. That was the order.

She’d tried to argue that such a thing was impossible in an academy full of S-rank Hunters, but she ultimately agreed when they promised to free her and her brother if she succeeded.

‘For me and my brother, I have to…’

Either drag someone else into that hell or kill them. She felt disgusted with herself, but her family was too precious to her.

Even if she became trash, she wanted her brother to live a bright life in a bright world, not in that hell.

‘To do that, I need to get closer to him.’

To recruit or assassinate someone far stronger than herself, she needed to get close to him.

However, having been raised as an assassin her entire life, she had no idea how to get close to a man.

‘Should I give him my lingerie…?’

Perhaps he would like it, considering his peculiar taste. With that thought, she returned to the staff quarters.