Realization 1

Michaela is expressionless.

There was no reason for her to change her expression.

Her origin was that of a mere scabbard.

The trajectory of her life pointed towards being a killer.

Therefore, she had no occasion to change her expression.

She was always emotionless in everything.

“Wittelsbach.”

Because she didn’t feel emotions, there was no reason for her expression to change.

“Did you call?”

“Yeah. You’ve been looking unwell lately, so I was wondering if something happened.”

Despite that.

The girl who had spent a good year together in the student council, someone who could be called an acquaintance of sorts, said so.

“…You say I look unwell.”

“Yeah. It’s subtle, but a bit different from usual.”

“It must be your imagination.”

It was strange.

Michaela didn’t pay it any mind.

“Nothing has happened to me.”

“Really?”

“…Really.”

That’s right.

Nothing had happened to her.

“Nothing has happened to me.”

If something had happened, it wasn’t to Michaela, but─

“I see.”

Lee Ha-yul smoothly changed the subject.

“Still, if something does happen, I’m willing to listen. It’s a thank you for always helping the student council.”

“Not necessary.”

“Are you sure? I’m okay with consultations about interpersonal relationships too.”

“…”

She hesitated for a moment.

Interpersonal relationships.

The most vulnerable area for Michaela.

Lee Ha-yul is the head of the Academy.

As such, she communicates with many others.

If that’s the topic, a consultation with Lee Ha-yul would surely be effective.

Maybe Michaela could learn about interpersonal relationships too.

If that happened.

If that happened, a little more, with that child…

“…Unnecessary meddling.”

She briefly indulged in a pointless fantasy, then immediately forgot it.

Having such fantasies about someone precious, it wasn’t like her.

“The consultation is available later too, so let me know anytime if you need it.”

Though she had shaken off the fantasy.

Ha-yul’s words lingered in her mind.

“…I understand.”

Lingering in her mind, making her confused.

The confusion didn’t end with just the student council time.

“Senior.”

Monsters are rampant.

The confusion continues even in the usual hunting grounds.

“Senior…”

Grotesque beasts emanate killing intent.

To kill the two girls.

“Senior…!”

Michaela didn’t move a muscle.

No, she couldn’t.

“Senior!”

“…!”

And then.

■■■─!

The hwando strikes.

With a death cry, the monster’s head flies off.

“Senior, are you okay?”

“…Yeah.”

A careless act of being distracted.

Something she would never have done normally.

“I’m fine. There’s no problem at all.”

Michaela answered easily.

There was nothing wrong with her physical condition.

“…Let’s stop here for today.”

There shouldn’t be any change in her expression.

But Han Seoyeon’s face was worried.

“We’ve earned enough anyway. Let’s go rest!”

As if she was worried about Michaela.

Her intonation was lively, but her voice wasn’t.

“…”

Michaela just walked sluggishly.

In silence all the way.

Until they reached the dormitory.

“…Senior, are you really okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Han Seoyeon worried about Michaela’s well-being several times.

“Still, it seems like you’re not feeling well somewhere.”

Her physical condition was fine.

The issue was mental.

In truth, there were things she wanted to ask.

If she asked and heard the answers, she might feel better quickly.

What happened that night.

Why she was embracing Han Suho.

She had clearly promised to share sorrows and pains, to trust.

Why was she hiding it.

If she heard the answers to these, she would feel completely better.

But the words wouldn’t come out.

Because she started thinking about “what if.”

What if she didn’t get the answer she wanted.

Michaela and Han Seoyeon are friends.

Certainly nothing more than that.

Michaela didn’t have the right to aspire for anything more.

She doesn’t suit a good person like Han Seoyeon.

So, yes.

It wouldn’t be strange for a girl like Han Seoyeon to embrace another woman, not her.

‘…How foolish.’

So Michaela couldn’t understand why she was feeling confused.

“Hmm.”

Han Seoyeon let out a contemplative sound.

“Ah, I got it!”

As if she had a brilliant idea, she clapped her hands and smiled.

“Senior, come over here for a moment.”

“What for…”

“Just come quickly!”

Grab! Han Seoyeon took Michaela’s hand and pulled her.

It was a girl’s hand.

Despite having lived in the slums, it was soft without calluses.

Unlike Michaela’s cold ones, it was incomparably warm.

It’s a strength she could easily shake off.

But she didn’t resist.

Michaela’s body leaned towards Han Seoyeon.

“Ta-da! Lap pillow!”

She ended up lying down just like that.

Leaning on the girl’s thighs.

“…!”

“You did this for me when I was feeling down before, so this time I’ll do it for you!”

How should she describe it.

It was quite different from an ordinary pillow.

Fragrance.

Completely different from detergent or fabric softener.

It smelled like a girl.

“How is it, how is it?”

Sweet enough to take her breath away.

“Is it soft? Comfortable? Does it feel good?”

“…I see.”

Michaela carefully steadied her breathing.

“It’s hard.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!”

What she said was a purely material impression.

“…Ugh! You’ve hurt a maiden’s heart!”

If she were to speak honestly as it is, wouldn’t it sound like a pervert no matter what?

“If a lap pillow doesn’t work…”

After much deliberation, Han Seoyeon said what she thought was the best solution.

“…Want to touch my chest?”

“…”

Of course, Michaela couldn’t answer right away.

The reason, naturally, was that it was absurd.

“What does the act of touching breasts have to do with anything.”

But she had to ask.

Michaela wasn’t very knowledgeable about trends after all.

“W-well! You know! Maternal instinct or something…!”

Various clichés from novels.

If we had to pick the best among them, undoubtedly Han Seoyeon’s choice was ‘Are you okay? Want to touch my chest?’

There was no more intuitive way of comfort in the world.

To comfort with a girl’s most precious and attractive part!

“You.”

Strangely, Michaela almost frowned for a moment.

“Have you comforted others in this way too?”

“What…?”

To Baek Da-eun too.

To Han Suho too.

Has she been comforting them in this way?

“O-of course not!”

She disliked that.

Such a thing, was too much.

“I’m not that kind of loose woman! I’m saying you can touch because you’re my senior!”

“…I see.”

She felt relieved hearing that answer, having thought she disliked the idea too much.

“It might be a bit much for others, but it’s okay if it’s you, senior!”

Although Han Seoyeon was proudly saying it was no problem to touch her like this.

In reality, it was close to a joke.

A prank that the usual Michaela would have brushed off as a joke.

She said this, but she didn’t actually think she would be touched.

“Alright.”

“Uh, wait. What did you─”

Michaela got up from Han Seoyeon’s lap and reached out without hesitation.

“Ah…!”

It touched.

On that spotless white palm, Han Seoyeon’s that.

“Ah, uh, ah…!”

“I’m not sure.”

She could feel it through the bra.

The sensation of that hand.

“Maybe I should knead a little instead of just caressing.”

“No, that, um, senior…!”

Delicately.

And surely.

Michaela’s hand caresses Han Seoyeon’s chest as if fondling it.

“Ah, huu…!”

It’s a cliché expression, but Han Seoyeon realized her face was turning as red as a ripe tomato.

No voice came out.

Whether from embarrassment or joy, tears welled up in her eyes.

“The bra is in the way.”

“─!”

Beyond the uniform, the shirt, and further, the bra.

Michaela’s hand touches flesh.

Directly.

“Hu, huaaa…!”

It was the first time someone had touched her chest.

A strange sensation of softness and fluffiness.

Han Seoyeon writhed in embarrassment.

“Is this okay?”

“No, that, um…!”

Only then did Michaela check Han Seoyeon’s face.

“I, I, I need to go to the bathroom for a moment!”

The red-faced girl ran away without even facing the object of her unrequited love.

“Certainly…”

Michaela was left alone.

Her mood was much better than before.

“This is good.”

Whatever it was, the satisfaction of having experienced the girl’s first time.

The sense of superiority that the girl’s shy face was directed only at her.

She wanted to have such a time again.

More than that, she didn’t want to give up such a time to anyone else.

As the girl’s close friend, Michaela felt this way.

In the quiet student council room.

The girls sat side by side.

“I knew you’d come. I have a knack for these things.”

“…Skip the small talk.”

Michaela stared at Lee Ha-yul.

“So, what’s the consultation about?”

“…Interpersonal relationships.”

Consultation.

That was the reason the two had gathered for something other than student council work.

“It’s about a relationship with a close friend.”

“I see. A close friend, you say.”

It was truly an adolescent girl-like consultation topic.

“Specifically?”

“…I have a close friend. One I always want to share joys and sorrows with.”

“And?”

“That friend has been hiding something from me recently.”

The story flows.

“Despite experiencing something I don’t know about, they haven’t given me even a word of hint.”

“They’re keeping a secret, you mean?”

“They even seemed to be getting close with another woman, not me.”

Flowing naturally and then.

“…What did you say?”

It stops.

“There was no hint to me at all.”

Ha-yul’s mind was full of question marks.

As if not caring about that,

“I don’t like it.”

Michaela continued as if it was natural.

“It bothers me.”

Ha-yul briefly held her forehead.

She held it and reconsidered.

“No, didn’t you just say it was friendship?”

“That’s right.”

“…I think the premise of this consultation is wrong from the start.”

“Premise?”

Michaela blinked her eyes in pure confusion.

The premise is friendship.

Between Michaela and Han Seoyeon.

“No, this doesn’t sound like something between friends at all.”

If it’s not friendship.

What remains by process of elimination is.

“That’s not friendship, it’s love.”

“…Love?”

The name is love.

Michaela faced the answer she had unconsciously been running away from.

“…Senior, you were acting strange today.”

Being so absentminded.

And so intensely, her chest.

“Surely, it’s not because of the Yuri Aura… right?”

Han Seoyeon shook her head.

It was that senior.

The possibility of her being charmed by a fascination skill was low.

Probably.