Episode 354. Harmonious Sisters (9)

After finishing dinner.

Irene went to Alice’s hospital room.

“Alice….”

At first, she thought about visiting Lee Hoyeon, but she couldn’t just leave Alice alone.

Lee Hoyeon could check on Alice’s condition later; it wouldn’t be too late.

Knock knock-

• Who is it?

“Alice. It’s Unnie.”

• Ah, yeah. Come in.

Inside the hospital room, Alice could be seen lying down.

Irene approached the bed and sat down in a chair.

“Are you okay?”

“… Of course, I’m fine. Why is everyone asking about my condition.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize…”

Alice looked at Irene, who was smiling gently, and let out a wry laugh.

Irene showing up right after dinner felt strange; it felt like she couldn’t get any time alone today.

“Did you finish all your work? You must have a lot piled up.”

“Mhm. Of course. I came quickly because I was worried. Did you eat dinner?”

“Yeah. I ate out. How about you, Unnie?”

“I ate too. Ah, should I peel an apple for you?”

“Thanks.”

Irene sat down and started peeling an apple, while Alice, who had been blankly watching Irene’s hand movements, continued the thoughts she’d been having before Irene arrived.

Her relationship with Lee Hoyeon.

It was clear that both she and Lee Hoyeon had feelings for each other.

Maybe the problem was that they somehow started things off with physical contact…

It was already irreversible.

Alice needed to think about how to act from now on.

This was her first time experiencing something like this.

“Speaking of which, I heard Scarlet took a resignation form.”

“… Scarlet? Why?”

“I don’t know. Some people take them just for fun sometimes, but Scarlet isn’t the type, so that’s the problem.”

“People take them just for fun?”

“Yeah. There are so many unique people in the world.”

Irene continued peeling the apple while telling Alice about her day.

While chatting with Irene, Alice suddenly thought.

Unnie has more life experience than me, so maybe she has more dating experience too.

Of course, she had never heard about Unnie having a boyfriend, but she had never asked either.

Surely a stunning beauty like Unnie wouldn’t have been unable to date anyone for 28 years.

She’d be better than me, who has no experience at all, and she could probably give me dating advice.

This was something she couldn’t have imagined before, but now that she was a bit more comfortable with Irene, she could easily bring up her concerns.

Because Alice and Irene were family.

Alice opened her mouth while watching Irene peel the apple into a cute bunny shape.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend, Unnie?”

“… Why all of a sudden?”

Irene stopped peeling the apple.

She must be focusing on my story that much.

Alice felt grateful and continued speaking.

“Just because. I don’t really understand that stuff. You know… dating or love.”

“Have you developed feelings for someone?”

“Hmm, should I call it attraction? Uh… I think we have that feeling for each other. Yeah. We definitely do.”

Alice felt the heat rising in her slightly flushed face.

She felt embarrassed for no reason, and since it was her first time telling someone this, it felt very awkward.

“Well. I don’t have much experience either.”

“But you have more than me.”

“… How about we talk about something else? Remember when we used to play house together?”

“Play house? How old were we?”

“Alice was 8 years old.”

“Unnie, really… How do you remember something from over 10 years ago.”

Alice shook her head.

Conversations with Unnie sometimes go off track like this.

She knew Unnie cherished old memories, but for her, the present and future were more important than the past.

“Alice….”

“Right. It’s okay for me to be discharged tomorrow, isn’t it?”

“Mhm. Okay.”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

Alice stretched with a sigh of relief at the thought of finally escaping this hospital room.

Judging by how she avoided the dating advice, Irene probably didn’t have much experience either.

Maybe she was even inexperienced.

Unnie was always absorbed in work and training.

In that case, she, as the younger sister, should be considerate.

Hmm hmm.

Alice nodded and changed the subject.

Meanwhile, Irene watched Alice stretch refreshingly and clenched the hand holding the apple tightly.

Why was Alice coming to her for such advice?

It was good that Alice trusted Irene, but hearing such things was worse than not hearing them at all.

She hated the thought of Lee Hoyeon and Alice getting closer, hated it immensely.

‘… I have no choice but to make a bold move now.’

Seeing Alice’s condition, she understood. They absolutely had to keep them apart.

She couldn’t let anyone touch her precious Alice.

But she couldn’t overpower Lee Hoyeon either.

That meant she had to use a different approach.

*

In the Iris Guild’s Guild Master’s office.

Isaac frowned as he looked at the document the woman before him had handed over.

“… Are you serious?”

“Yes. I learned a lot during my long time here. Thank you very much.”

“I thought maybe when you took the resignation form, but… what’s the reason? You were treated well enough, weren’t you.”

The woman who submitted her resignation was an ace even within the Iris Guild.

And she received top-tier treatment.

Moreover, having shown immense talent from a young age, she received the Guild Master’s favor, so she didn’t undergo the sexual torture training most female assassins received.

Of course, her skills backed it up, making it possible, but it was also true that she gave up an opportunity only female assassins could have.

Isaac placed Scarlet’s resignation letter on the desk and met her eyes.

“As written on the resignation letter, it’s personal…”

“Scarlet. Were we only on that level?”

“… I apologize.”

“It seems like something difficult to talk about.”

“…….”

“Do you remember the contract?”

“Yes. I remember.”

“… Haa.”

The Iris Guild is a leading French guild that presents itself as an information guild.

While active in the public sphere, the Iris Guild completely dominates the French underworld.

It’s said jokingly that crime rates in France are higher during the day than at night.

A position where one could gain both honor and wealth.

That was the Iris Guild.

As such, the Iris Guild strictly manages its members.

Especially if one knew a lot of important information like Scarlet, a special contract was necessary.

Specifically, a contract regarding ‘memory’.

It was a contract to seal all information and experiences gained within the Iris Guild.

Because memories would disappear to the point of interfering with daily life, Iris Guild executives usually didn’t consider transferring elsewhere.

“… Haa. That guy is really useless. Alice and Scarlet too….”

“…….”

Scarlet quietly lowered her head.

She didn’t know when she was found out, but it was strange she hadn’t been caught earlier.

Even after coming to France, she kept visiting Lee Hoyeon’s place, and especially taking the hits for him during the Centaur capture operation was excessive, even by her own standards.

After that day, leaving the Iris Guild was confirmed.

“You rejected my date request so coldly, that’s too much, Scarlet.”

“Guild Master. Given the age difference, how can you still say things like that.”

“This is why it’s useless to be nice to pretty women.”

Isaac chuckled slightly as he gathered the resignation letters from the table.

“The contract is canceled, Scarlet. I won’t erase your memories.”

“… What?”

“It was a pact made to scare you in the first place. I’ve never actually done it.”

“What do you mean…”

“Thank you for everything, Scarlet Light.”

Scarlet smiled brightly and lightly shook Isaac’s outstretched hand.

Lee Hoyeon would probably understand this much.

“Guild Master…”

Thump-

“Stop smiling like you’re handsome. I won’t fall for it.”

“You could have fallen for it just once.”

Isaac stroked the hand Scarlet had pushed away and smiled.

“Live happily, Scarlet. Don’t get caught by a bad guy like me.”

“… Don’t worry.”

Scarlet thought of Lee Hoyeon’s face.

Maybe it would be okay. Since he overwhelmingly surpassed the general standard of a ‘bad guy’, she felt less bothered.

Instead, she thought, ‘What can you do, he’s always been like this.’

‘Ideally, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place.’

Since she was already involved, she had no choice but to do her best.

Scarlet bowed her head to Isaac with a smile.

*

After finishing dinner with Alice.

I tried to extend the date a bit more, but Alice refused, saying she was still hospitalized.

She mentioned that if I delayed any longer, Isaac and Irene would cause a scene.

Right, if those people caught me, it would be troublesome for me too.

I took Alice back to her room and headed to the dorm alone.

On the way back to the dorm.

The Iris Guild was quiet as a mouse.

The buildings were dark, and the guild members seemed to have gone home.

Of course, the Iris Guild’s underground operations would be starting now.

I looked at the quiet Iris Guild buildings and thought.

‘Things are progressing well.’

Alice seems to have opened up to me a lot.

Honestly, it feels like I’m pushing things forward with physical intimacy, but I guess that’s the life of a playboy.

I have no choice but to do this until this world accepts my harem.

Is this how an unfortunate genius born in the wrong era feels?

“Did the two of them arrive already?”

I muttered, looking at the lit-up dorm.

Inside, I could sense Liliana’s presence.

Since I ate dinner a bit late while giving Alice a massage, Scarlet and Liliana must have returned earlier than me.

As I opened the door and went inside, I heard a familiar voice.

• Hmm hmm~ One, two, three, four.

“What’s this?”

Hearing Liliana humming from the living room, I carefully went further inside.

Liliana was clearing her throat and swaying her body. She seemed too focused to have noticed me yet.

As I quietly approached to surprise her, Liliana started singing.

“Kiss kiss on Master’s lips. Then your pussy gets wet~. Kiss kiss on Master’s cock. Then your cock gets long~.”

“…”

They say people lose their voice when too surprised, and this was exactly that situation.

‘My head hurts.’

This was the first time I’d heard a song that made my head hurt just by listening.

To think such a song existed in the world.

“Huh?! You’re back?”

Liliana turned around after hearing me rustle, saw me, and approached with a bright smile.

Right.

The song was weird, but she was still cute.

“Yeah. Did you eat well?”

“Of course! Ah, I made a new song. Wanna hear it?”

“… Uh, um. Should we?”

Ting-

I thought I might have to listen to that hellish song again, but luckily, a message arrived just in time.

“Ah, just a moment. I got a message.”

• Rebecca: Daddy!! Something big happened!

“…”

Why is this person acting like this again?

What is she talking about out of the blue.

• Me: Ms. Rebecca. Please tell me slowly.

• Rebecca: I’ll come over now and tell you.

“… What is it.”

“Why?”

“Ms. Rebecca says something big happened.”

“Isn’t it a big deal because it’s time to make a baby?”

“… No way.”

I almost got convinced for a second.

Rebecca isn’t the type to exaggerate that much.

Although, if I had to say, she has a playful style… I’m not sure.

Maybe something really happened.

“Speaking of which, where’s Scarlet?”

“Scarlet? I don’t know. She said she had something to do.”

“Something to do?”

Where did everyone go without me?

I guess I have no choice but to hang out with Liliana until the other two get back.

“I can’t help it. I’ll have to hang out with you.”

“Okay. Then listen to my song.”

“… Fine. Let’s do it.”

She’s not letting it go.

I sighed and listened to Liliana’s song.