episode_0061

“… Then, that’s basically the end of the story. Then, let’s think about this problem for now. Everyone, get some rest. I want to go to school after dinner. I’d like the chairman and Yuren to help me out a bit… .”

Okay, that was natural… I looked around and everyone was looking at me with an expression that said, ‘You’re trying too hard.’

And Yuna, Suin, the chairman, and Yuren exchanged glances and went down to the basement together. There’s no way they’re already that close?! So they’re probably going to the training room together.

It’s a good thing that you’ve developed a training habit in the meantime.

by the way.

I sat down next to my senior, who was sitting on the sofa looking at me quietly.

I asked cautiously.

“Hey, senior… .”

“No, I can’t take it out. I’m not trying to be stubborn… I really can’t move my hands.”

Senior must have known what I was going to say.

I thought that if the ring that came out as [A Promise that Binds Souls] was something that could share each other’s pain and wounds, wouldn’t it be okay to take it off?

But it was impossible.

When I try to take off the ring with my finger, it just stops moving.

It wasn’t like something was being filtered out or something was ‘system-prohibited’ or something I couldn’t do. I knew all too well that I didn’t want that.

“Maybe if the two of you don’t really want it together, it won’t work. It’s just a feeling… right?”

“I think so… .”

If you think about it, it’s so obvious.

[A promise that binds the soul], in other words, a marriage. This ring appeared for that purpose.

Of course, the actual word for marriage uses the character 婚, which means to get married… but what I want is closer to that meaning.

There is nothing I wish for more than to be bound as one soul with my senior. I am sure you are the same, so it is only natural that I cannot take off this ring.

“Then… shall we try the test…?”

The senior nodded.

I need to make sure that I can share my pain and hurt while wearing this ring. If I don’t, I’ll be so… embarrassed, considering I’ve set the mood like this so far.

“Then… please… .”

The senior took a deep breath and looked at me.

“Huh? Am I the one who’s hurting?”

“There’s no way I could hurt my junior… .”

“My heart aches even when my senior frowns… .”

“I feel bad that my junior doesn’t even frown in front of me… .”

hmm….

This fight won’t work.

“Since we have to test each other’s abilities anyway, there’s no point in leaving it out. I’ll do it next time, senior. ”

After saying that, I pushed my face towards my senior. Okay, I thought, pinch me or hit me, whatever you want… but what my senior chose to do was to bite my earlobe.

He didn’t bite that hard, but it was an unexpected action, so I flinched a little. The next moment, the slight burning pain in my earlobe disappeared… .

“Ouch!”

The senior made a sound of pain.

I looked around my ear and there was a small but clear bite mark. I pressed my earlobe gently and after a while, the pain seemed to have subsided.

“I guess it’s like this. When my junior is in pain, I can somehow tell, so I wish I could be in pain instead, and that’s how it turned out.”

This time it was my turn to try.

I gently bit the earlobe opposite the one where the injury had moved. My senior is sensitive to pain, so be careful…

“… Junior, even if it’s just me, it doesn’t hurt when you bite with your lips… .”

I had no choice but to ask with a little more force in my senior’s embarrassed voice.

“읏!” The senior endured it by making a small sound. Because of his delicate skin, the bite mark on his earlobe felt strangely deep.

The strange discomfort that came with it. That feeling of tightness in my heart must have been a signal to me that my senior was in pain.

Instead, there was no need to even think about wanting to get sick. The bite marks on my senior’s ear had disappeared. I felt a slight pain in my earlobe, but it was nothing special.

“… It really works… .”

“That’s what it looks like.”

Just in case, I checked again. This time, I wondered if the wounds I took from the opponent could be moved again… but it seemed like that wasn’t possible.

Unlike me who has complicated feelings, my senior has a very happy expression.

“Why are you so happy… .”

“For the first time, I found a way to help my juniors.”

“This isn’t helpful… .”

There is not a single bit of hesitation in the eyes of the senior. He is brimming with the desire to immediately rob me of my wounds when the opportunity arises.

This is too much. It’s mine… I absolutely don’t want to give it to anyone else…

“No, it would be incredibly helpful.”

“How on earth… . From now on, I feel like I’m going to be someone who can knock on stone bridges and teleport… .”

I don’t think I can even eat fish for fear of a bone getting stuck in my throat.

“If you realize that it’s not just your problem when your junior gets hurt, you’ll take better care of yourself, right?”

“… .”

“While watching Suin Yang and Yuna fight with the chairman, I felt sorry for them for not sparing themselves, but in reality, they are juniors who think that it is okay for them to fight like that. Just being able to stop them from doing that is a huge help.”

The senior, who was worried about this but couldn’t bring himself to stop her, saying, ‘I don’t want to make things more difficult for myself,’ was actually welcoming this situation.

“Actually, I thought… my junior would be happy. If something goes wrong and I get seriously hurt or something, my junior would be able to take care of it for me… . I thought I got great insurance.”

I thought.

Of course I thought so.

If only I could do that, or if I hadn’t seen my senior get hurt like this beforehand, I would have definitely been happy to think about that fact.

“See, it really helps. I think it’s really good for two people to share their pain and hurt.”

“… Since when did your speaking skills get so good? I can’t think of anything to say in rebuttal… .”

“That’s right… I’m always thinking of my juniors.”

no.

I feel like my tear ducts are going to burst.

No, no. Every single word my senior says, and the eyes that look at me without wavering, strike my heart at every moment.

No matter how I think about it, I’m not suited for a defensive battle. I have to go on the offensive… I have to go on the offensive to survive.

“Oh, now that I think about it, there are some good points. I can now do things I’ve been putting off.”

“What do you mean?”

“That… That… There was something I couldn’t do because I was worried that my senior would get sick… ?”

The senior blushed after realizing the meaning after being puzzled.

Yes. To put it simply, I haven’t experienced a breakthrough… In fact, my senior sent me several signs that it was okay, but I was still worried…

I postponed it until after I captured Suin and secured the elixir… but after that, I didn’t have much time or mental space due to my period and the Elin sisters’ problems…

Why?

When I asked my senior to take my virginity, I wasn’t embarrassed at all, but now I’m extremely embarrassed. Why did you bring this up now? Are you feverish? Are you that clueless about the situation?

Huh? Was this a topic I deliberately avoided? Was it so embarrassing that I unconsciously avoided it because it was basically like saying, “Give me the virgin!”?

I felt my face turn bright red more than my senior’s and didn’t know what to do, but my senior lowered his head and struck me fatally.

“It’s okay… . It’s okay, but… .”

“Huh? But, what?”

“That… Even if it hurts, I hope my junior doesn’t take it… .”

Because his head is completely bowed, you can’t see his expression at all. All you can see is his hesitantly wriggling fingers.

“If possible, I hope it hurts really bad… . So much that I will never forget it… .”

“… .”

For some reason, my memories after that don’t remain in my head very well. I do remember carrying my senior into the living room, though… .

What is certain is that I had to change the sheets on the master bed twice that day, and that everyone looked at me with mixed feelings during dinner.

I had no idea where the food was going, but I was so worried that it would be a big deal if I ate too much that I couldn’t stand the sight. I focused on chewing my food thoroughly.

▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷▷

That night.

After finishing my work at school with the chairman, I returned home. The chairman went to the room where he was staying with Yuren, and I went straight to Suin’s room.

Judging from the light coming through the crack in the door, it seemed like she wasn’t asleep yet. I knocked but there was no answer, so I just opened the door and went in.

Suin was sitting blankly, her upper body resting on a long desk with a computer on it. Her large headphones were playing metal music at a volume that was loud enough for me to hear.

Not only can I not hear the knocking sound, but I am also doubting whether my eardrums are okay.

When I tapped his shoulder, he looked back at me in surprise, then seemed relieved, then got scared again and threw his chair back. The wheel chair that had been sliding around couldn’t handle the momentum and fell backwards.

“Eww?!”

I quickly ran over and grabbed the chair. Suin, who was struggling as if she was going to fall, grabbed my arm and let out a surprised breath.

“Why are you so surprised? Were you doing something bad?”

“You must have done something bad! What on earth did you do to make that gentle senior say something like that?!”

“… … … … .”

Let’s not even mention the fact that most of those words were mine.

“So you were soothing your excited heart with a song?”

“Bar, stop talking nonsense!”

Of course not, but I think that surprised reaction included a bit of a sting. I looked around Soo-in’s room, wondering if it would be fun to tell her the truth.

Suin’s room was exactly like the image of a typical otaku’s room.

The walls are covered with posters of various animations and games, there is a glass closet with figures in it, bed sheets and large pillows with character drawings on them, and a drum set with a cover.

The most amazing thing is that there is enough space to fit all of this, but as someone who lived in a small studio apartment until recently, I can’t help but feel the anger of the proletariat…

“Did you play the drums too?”

I took off the cover and looked at the condition, and it seemed like he had practiced quite hard. It might be different if it was an electric guitar or bass, but it’s rare to see drums. It’s also rare for someone to touch something after being inspired by a piece of work.

Well, I didn’t really have the image of liking such intense metal. This may be a prejudice, though.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I thought I knew a lot about you, but I found out that I didn’t.”

“What are you talking about?”

Although he reacted as if it was ridiculous, Suin also knew the reason for my coming. The expression on his face was filled with a plea to not touch him if possible, but unfortunately, he couldn’t do that.

“What we were talking about earlier this afternoon. Do you know that guy named Shin Myeong-jun?”

A look of pain crossed Suin’s face.

In the game, Shin Myeong-jun was a slave character used only in the beginning.

He has learned kendo and has [Acceleration] and [Magic Sword Transformation], so he can be used as a decent combat agent if acquired early on. [Acceleration] is always a good ability in the battle world, and [Magic Sword Transformation] is good for adapting to various situations.

However, no matter what, he can’t reach the realization stage, and even the initial stage of growth is low. His skills as a prosecutor are at the lowest level, and he doesn’t develop any new abilities.

A character that doesn’t perform very well at first and then becomes meaningless and forgotten.

The character himself doesn’t have much drama either. He even says that he lived a surprisingly ordinary life.

Because he was quite handsome, a few female players initially took notice of him, and some players who disliked handsome men would harass him by making him their slave.

So there would be no contact with Suin. That would have been the case… .

“… I finished the female transformation potion… and the first one I wanted to use it on was that guy… .”

“… He’s handsome, but… You wanted to get your hands on him by turning him into a woman?”

“… … … … … … … !!!”

He quickly covered the mouths of those about to have a seizure.

It’s night. It’s time for everyone to sleep.

“Sorry. This was my bad. That was a really bad joke.”

After I took my hand off my mouth after apologizing, Su-in glared at me, panting. As I continued to apologize, she sighed wearily and said,

“I think I noticed, but in high school, I was a senior in a club and I was constantly bullied… .”

“But you met him again when you came to military school, and you were bullied?”

“… .”

I thought it was natural to hold a grudge in that case, but for some reason, Su-in refused to acknowledge it.

“Is there anything else?”

“… … … … I was relieved that we wouldn’t meet often since we were in different units… But I had a record of being bullied in high school, so I gave it to my girlfriend. She… spread it to our unit.”

for a moment.

wait for a sec.

I think I know who that girlfriend is….

“Yeah. Yoojung. Unit 2217 Yoojung. The first one I made into a slave.”

And a few days ago and today, the child asked Suin for help again.

Suin looked up at me and said.

“I guess bad relationships really have no end. Right?”