Episode 431. No Negotiation with Terrorists

“… Are you really okay?”

“I told you I’m fine.”

“Still, people’s bodies are weird like that; one minute they feel fine, the next they hurt. I’ll take you to the lab. I have plenty of time anyway.”

Professor Im Sol shook her head, looking at her disciple with worried eyes.

She was grateful for her disciple’s offer to escort her home, especially with him looking like a mummy slung over his shoulder, but Lee Hoyeon’s condition wasn’t great either.

He looked even more haggard than she did.

He might even be more tired than she was.

“I’m fine, so go back. I won’t say it again. I’m just a little tired, nothing a disciple needs to worry about.”

“… Hmm. Understood. Contact me if anything comes up.”

If she was going to deny it that strongly, it was hard to argue further.

Besides, the lab wasn’t that far from here. It should be fine to let him go alone.

Lee Hoyeon headed home, carrying Albedo, who was tightly bound by magic ropes.

“This is tough….”

As soon as Professor Im Sol saw Lee Hoyeon disappear, she slumped her head down.

The Incubus’s charm was a truly strange experience.

It felt like all the energy was draining from my body, so I curled up like a snail to resist with all my might.

Even when Lee Hoyeon told me not to resist, I felt a similar sensation and was anxious, but I trusted him and let my body go, and the pain eventually disappeared.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t get to ask how he broke the charm.”

At first, Lee Hoyeon seemed like he was going to touch my body, but then at some point, he started kicking Albedo.

I don’t know for sure, but maybe he threatened the Incubus and forced him to release me?

Honestly, the fact that it could only be resolved if another man aroused me was weird.

There’s no way such a lewd magic exists in the world.

At least the discomfort in my body was gone, so I was satisfied.

Anyway, Professor Im Sol’s condition had recovered.

She continued walking slowly towards her lab.

Thump-

As soon as she entered the lab, her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto a lounge chair.

“Why, why am I like this….”

Professor Im Sol placed her hands on her cheeks.

Like a teenage girl experiencing puberty, her face flushed, and her hands trembled.

The cause was obvious.

Lee Hoyeon.

His face kept popping into my head for some reason.

I knew he was handsome, but was he that handsome?

“….”

Professor Im Sol cleared the papers in front of her and rummaged through her desk.

There was definitely an article with a picture of me and my disciple somewhere here.

“Found it….”

A photo of me and him together.

I didn’t really like it because reporters had forced us to take it at the conference, but today, I found myself liking it.

“I should have sparred with him today….”

Professor Im Sol swallowed the rest of her words, filled with regret.

With my current condition, it wouldn’t be strange if I lost to Lee Hoyeon.

In that case, right about now, he and I….

“No, what am I thinking right now?”

But she quickly snapped out of it and lightly slapped her own cheeks.

What kind of ridiculous thought is this?

When we’re both in perfect condition, I need to be able to beat him perfectly.

That was the minimum requirement.

“….”

Professor Im Sol licked her dry lips and grabbed her smartwatch.

His growth rate is incredible, and he needs a lot more sparring experience with me.

But Lee Hoyeon is busier than he looks.

He won’t be able to spar with me all vacation long.

Fortunately, he’s a model student who never misses his Academy classes.

If I don’t have time, I can just create it during class.

Ring- ring-

“Yes, Professor Im Sol. What is it?”

“… I have a question about next semester’s Magic Department curriculum.”

Professor Im Sol called the head of the Magic Department.

His skills were below Professor Im Sol’s, but he was the one she’d foisted the troublesome position onto because she hated the hassle.

“Ah, yes. The standard curriculum has been sent via email to all professors. You should be able to check your email.”

“I believe we need to increase the proportion of practical combat training for the cadets who are directly exposed to the growing threats of terrorism and monsters.”

“… Pardon?”

The department head asked again, seemingly taken aback by Professor Im Sol’s sudden statement.

It wasn’t surprising, considering this was coming from someone who usually skipped meetings, citing annoyance.

But Professor Im Sol continued.

“The monsters from Pandemic are getting stronger and more organized. While theory is important, I believe we need to emphasize practical experience, which is why I’m calling. What I’m thinking of is a class where we create a realistic training environment for sparring with professors to directly identify weaknesses. It will take quite a long time, so we’ll need the help of all department professors….”

“Professor Im Sol, we truly appreciate your interest in the department. I’ll make sure to submit it as an agenda item for the next meeting, so please calm down….”

The department head tried to calm Professor Im Sol’s fervor while beginning to jot down the idea.

---

Albedo was tightly bound in magic ropes, wrapped like a mummy.

However, he still had enough strength to struggle, twisting his body back and forth occasionally.

“Gck. Mmph….”

“Move again and I’ll kill you.”

“….”

I walked home with the now quiet Albedo slung over my shoulder.

I needed to concentrate, not get distracted by trivial matters.

“Hellish magic….”

Black energy rose in the air at my will.

Ever since absorbing Albedo’s magic and vital energy, I felt like a new sense had opened up.

A new sixth sense, beyond the ones I was already aware of.

If I had to describe it, it felt similar to when I first awakened my magic.

“I never expected it to be resolved like this.”

If I can perfectly control this hellish magic, the magic circle Rebecca and I are making will become even more complete.

Getting Liliana’s help would mean teaching her everything from scratch, and I couldn’t guarantee the quality.

It would be great if there were other uses for it too.

I walked home, practicing the hellish magic.

It felt like I’d gotten a new toy, so I was in pretty good spirits.

“Mmph. Ughhh! Mmph.”

“I told you not to move.”

“Ughhhhh. Mmph mph.”

Albedo didn’t back down from my threat and kept moving his body.

Does he really want to die?

I loosened Albedo’s magic ropes slightly.

“Puhah. Incubus! Why aren’t you listening to me? Don’t you recognize me, Albedo?!”

“I’m not an Incubus. You crazy bastard.”

“It’s just that… your vital energy… Wait, just a moment! I have something important to say!”

I couldn’t just kill him before taking him to Liliana, so as I tried to cover his mouth again, the Incubus urgently stopped me.

“What is it.”

“It’s difficult to maintain vital functions.”

“What kind of bullshit is that now?”

“I’m serious. I’ve used up all my vital energy… I might die soon.”

So that’s why you were struggling, even if it meant death.

Since I was going to die if I stayed still anyway.

“Hmm….”

I pondered for a moment.

Albedo, the Incubus.

Honestly, I have no intention of treating him well.

It’s not because he’s an apostle of Pandemic.

It’s because he tried to touch my woman.

In fact, I want to kill him right now to eliminate a potential threat, but I can’t since there’s information I need to extract.

Besides, he’s not much of a fighter for an Incubus, so I wasn’t too worried.

“Take some of my vital energy.”

“If possible, a woman’s… Fine.”

It’s ridiculous to give him another woman’s energy while he’s my prisoner.

I transferred a minuscule amount of my vital energy.

This should be enough to last until I get home.

I’ll worry about the rest when the time comes.

Ting-

“Good afternoon, everyone.”

Upon arriving home, I greeted Scarlet and Nam Daeun, who were in the living room.

“Hoyeon! I thought you’d be back later.”

“Welcome home, Hoyeon-nim. But what is that? Did you go fishing?”

Nam Daeun approached me with a smile, while Scarlet showed interest in Albedo slung over my shoulder.

Fishing, huh? Well, he is a big catch, so I guess it’s kind of similar.

“Would I bring one home from fishing? I caught an Incubus.”

“Mmph. Mmph mmph!”

Albedo started freaking out the moment he heard a female voice, but I had no intention of showing his face.

“An Incubus… I heard about them from Liliana-nim. A race that favors beautiful women and virgins.”

“Yeah. I was setting a trap, and he just happened to show up. Lucky me.”

“It seems I have one of that race in front of me too.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Scarlet lowered her head.

Engaging with this nonsense would lead nowhere.

I looked around for Liliana.

“Where’s Liliana?”

“In her room.”

“Okay. I’ll go myself. I can’t let you two come into contact with this filthy thing. You might catch something.”

“Is Liliana-ssi okay…?”

“She’ll be fine. She’s a Succubus.”

Nam Daeun asked worriedly, but really, would a Succubus fall for an Incubus?

Even in the Underworld, there are lines you don’t cross.

Besides, just like I’ve adapted to Liliana, she must have adapted to me.

There’s no way she’d fall for this guy, who’s uglier than me.

Knock knock.

“Come on in!”

Hearing Liliana’s cheerful voice, I opened the door to find her lounging on the bed, eating snacks.

Her husband comes home exhausted, and the head of the household is still living life without a care in the world.

It’s absurd how she always claims to be the head of the household while acting like this.

“Eh? You’re back already?”

“Yeah. I caught an Incubus. Liliana.”

Thump-

Without much thought, I tossed Albedo into the middle of the room.

Pop.

Liliana, who had been lying down, reacted to my words, got up from the bed, and stared curiously at the tightly bound Albedo.

“What is this? You caught an Incubus this quickly? Is he actually a weak Incubus?”

“He claimed to be the Demon King’s successor himself, so probably not. Besides, a weak Incubus wouldn’t just randomly appear on Earth.”

“That’s true.”

“Mmph mmph. Mmph ughh.”

Albedo didn’t struggle like before, but he kept making muffled sounds, wanting to speak.

Liliana whispered softly, looking at the bound Albedo.

“Does he remember my form from the Underworld too?”

“Probably.”

That’s the only reason I brought Albedo here.

To extract information about the Underworld.

Information about Liliana or the Demon King would be good.

If all else fails, I hope he can at least tell me about the current economic situation in the Underworld.

I patted Liliana’s head as she started to look a little down.

As if. She was just playing games on her bed a moment ago, pretending to be weak.

“I’ll remove the bindings from his face for now, so ask whatever you want to ask. I’ll help too.”

“Okay. Got it.”

Good thing this is the second time.

I’ve dealt with Chiron before, so this shouldn’t be as shocking.

I released the magic ropes around Albedo’s face.

“Hah! Damn it. This damned bastard… C-Calliope? Run! It’s Calliope! Damn it!”

Albedo forgot he was even bound and thrashed side to side like a caterpillar.

Seeing him waste what little magic he had left, I felt a bit sorry for him and nudged Albedo’s back with my foot.

“Hey, hey. Stay still.”

“Hieeeek!”

I stopped Albedo’s magic from dissipating into the air.

I didn’t want to replenish his vital energy again.

“Huh? What the? Lee Hoyeon, how are you using hellish magic?”

“I learned it while fighting Albedo this time. It wasn’t as difficult as I expected.”

“You can just learn it if you want to? You asked me for help last time.”

“There’s nothing you can’t do if you try hard enough. Adults never lie. Take that to heart.”

“Ah… Right. You just lacked effort.”

Liliana clicked her tongue sympathetically as she looked at Albedo.

“He looks so pathetic like this, like a common Incubus. And your face is way better-looking.”

“I think so too.”

“Y-You bitch… Ah, N-no. I apologize. You there. What is your identity! How dare you have Calliope with you!”

Albedo trembled violently upon seeing Liliana, then turned to me and yelled.

Judging by his reaction, he definitely knows Liliana.

Just what the hell has Liliana been doing in the Underworld?