Chapter 177

Chapter 177

The Heroine of the 1st Playthrough Remembers My Training.

Episode 178: Pink And Pink And Pink And Pink (3)

‘…I…I’m almost there…’

As the surroundings became more familiar, Iris’s mind went blank, and her hands trembled.

She hadn’t expected to be this nervous just because she was going back to her hometown with Yujin.

Iris cautiously lifted her gaze to look at Yujin.

His calm, black hair and long eyelashes, down to his faintly smiling lips.

‘…Get a grip!’

Iris shook her head from side to side.

She looked at him to calm her mind, but instead, her heart was racing as if it might burst.

‘…How…how do I explain to Mom…?’

Technically, it wasn’t her mother but the director, but Iris considered her as her real mother.

‘…I…I’ve come back after a while, and I brought a man with me… They won’t say anything about that, right? No…more importantly…how should I introduce Yujin…?’

Iris’s mind became complex.

The safest choice would be to say they were teacher and student.

But then, why did Yujin follow her all the way here? Questions would come, but she could make up something about volunteer work or charity.

‘…But…I don’t want to look like that.’

Honestly, Iris wanted to boast a little about her relationship with Yujin.

After all, wasn’t Yujin the perfect candidate for a husband?

It was a natural desire as a woman… no, as a female.

Of course, she knew it was impossible within Carnea, so she had only thought about it until now.

However, here, far from Carnea, she felt the urge to flirt a bit.

‘…So…so we’re lovers…?’

The sudden thought made Iris scream silently.

If they were to describe their relationship most objectively, lovers would be accurate.

They had just been doing lover-like things until a moment ago.

However, one thing that bothered her was their age difference.

No matter how positively she thought about it, the age gap between Yujin and Iris was undeniable.

‘…Age…age is just a number…’

Iris clenched her fists, thinking of her rivals, Lilith and Bianca.

Hadn’t she seen with her own eyes how proactive they were?

If she backed off just because she was older, she would truly fall behind.

Instead, she should be even more proactive to win Yujin over.

‘…Ra…rather…fiancé…’

After brief consideration, Iris shook her head.

Even to herself, this seemed too much.

Yujin had indeed proposed, and now they were certainly going to get married no matter what, but to introduce him as her fiancé before even graduating from the academy seemed too presumptuous.

‘…Ah…I…I don’t know! Just stamp it already?!’

Iris, with her hair all mussed up by her hands, glared at Yujin with fiery eyes.

[Sater Orphanage]

I was quite surprised when I looked around the Sater Orphanage.

Unlike most orphanages, Sater Orphanage was quite large in scale and, although not as grand as Carnea, its facilities were luxurious enough to outdo many academies.

“This way, Yujin.”

Following Iris’s guidance, we entered the orphanage where we saw children playing happily.

Watching them, a gentle smile appeared on Iris’s face.

“…Nothing has changed here.”

“Were you like that when you were little, Iris?”

“Hehe. Who knows? What do you think, Yujin?”

“Hmm… I can imagine you running around hitting the kids…”

“…Yujin! Did you see me that way?!”

As we were chatting and walking around, a seductive voice came from behind us.

“Oh, Iris…?”

“…Mo…Director!”

Turning towards the voice, Iris ran with a beaming smile, embracing her.

“Hohoho. Aren’t you going to call me Mom anymore?”

“…Ha…ha…Director, you…why bring up such old stories?”

“Oh, old stories? Last year when you came, you still called me Mom…”

“…St…stop…! …It’s not like that, Yujin!…The Director is just teasing!”

She looked young enough to be called ‘sister’ rather than ‘mom.’

The director of Sater Orphanage had hair that was a deeper pink than Iris’s but lighter than Lilith’s, with a noticeable tear mole under her left eye.

“….”

Although I knew it was incredibly rude to think this way, she exuded an extraordinarily seductive aura.

“Oh, Iris, who is this handsome man with you?”

Maybe due to her pink hair or the minimal exposure of her skin despite her conservative attire, the thought of her being ‘seductive’ didn’t leave my mind.

“…Ah…so…so…”

I grabbed Iris’s hesitant hand and spoke.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yujin, who is dating Iris.”

“…!”

The moment I declared we were dating, I felt Iris’s hand grip mine tighter.

“Oh my, Iris has finally brought home a good candidate for a husband.”

“Ca…candidate for a husband?”

“Yes, not yet, but I plan for it to be that way someday.”

“Y…Yujin!”

Iris exclaimed with wide eyes and mouth, but I had no intention of retracting my words.

“Ufufu, you two look good together. Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Ellaris, the director of Sater Orphanage. Pleased to meet you.”

As Ellaris extended her hand for a handshake, I took it without much thought. The moment I did, she took a step closer, speaking in a gentle voice.

“Oh my…hohoho…this could be…really, really nice.”

“…Yes…thank you…”

Something felt off.

Her eyes narrowed into crescent moons, her seductive scent brushing past my nose, and the sensation of her hand continuously playing with mine.

Maybe it was due to the first impression, but even though we were just holding hands, it felt like a snake was coiling around my hand.

“…Di…Director?”

Iris seemed to sense something strange as well.

When Iris looked at her with a puzzled expression, Ellaris finally let go of my hand.

“Oh my, what an impropriety… I haven’t seen such a man in a long while, so I got carried away… Come this way. I’ll show you around.”

“…Yes.”

I looked at the hand Ellaris had been holding just moments ago.

“….”

There was a red mark on the back of my hand.

She had scratched it with her nails before letting go.

It wasn’t a mistake.

I saw her wink while she scratched me.

‘…Why?’

But I couldn’t understand at all.

I was not completely oblivious.

If this happened in a bar at midnight, it would clearly be flirtation.

But this was an orphanage, in broad daylight, not a bar at night!

Even with pink hair, wouldn’t she avoid seducing a man Iris, who she considered like a daughter, brought home as a potential husband?

‘…I really don’t get it.’

After some thought, I sighed and shook my head.

While wandering around the Sater Orphanage, one thing became clear to me.

‘…There are suspiciously many pink-haired people.’

I was not talking about Ellaris, the director, but among the orphans… no, even among the children, there were unusually many with pink hair.

“Wow! He’s a handsome big brother!”

“Big brother, give me a hug!”

“I want to ride on your shoulders!”

Strangely, the kids with pink hair would follow me around, asking for things whenever they saw me.

It wasn’t hard to do what they asked, but I couldn’t help but feel something was off.

“Oh, there’s the director. Just a moment, I’ll go get her.”

“…?”

While I was playing with the kids, I tilted my head at Ellaris’s words.

If Ellaris was the director, what did she mean by ‘the director is there’?

Then, Iris poked my side, explaining.

“Um…no, the director is a twin. Both of them serve as directors here.”

“…Iris, wouldn’t it be easier if you just called her Mom?”

“Y…Yujin! What…what are you talking about! I’m how old, and you want me to call her Mom?!”

“Hello.”

A woman who looked exactly like Ellaris, except for the tear mole being on the right side instead of the left, approached and greeted us.

“I’m Claris. Together with my sister, I am in charge of Sater Orphanage.”

“…I’m Yujin.”

“Yes, I heard from my sister. You’re dating Iris with the intention of marriage, right?”

“…Di…Director…”

“Iris, why are you embarrassed? You should be proud to be with such a man.”

“That’s right, Iris. It’s not easy to meet a man this…this handsome, right?”

“….”

I didn’t reveal my abilities or my family name, Calliope, so I couldn’t understand why I was getting such good reviews.

Of course, objectively speaking, my appearance was excellent, but…

I had never been praised this much based solely on looks before.

‘Why?’

Just as I was about to seriously think about this strange orphanage…

“…Te…teacher…?”

A familiar pink-haired voice sounded.