Episode 437. At Elise’s House (2)

The Iris Guild is the world’s best information guild, but at the same time, it’s France’s representative guild.

To protect information, one must possess strength commensurate with it. The level of Iris Guild members is also recognized worldwide.

As a result, interest is also focused on the successor to the Iris Guild, who will succeed the Emperor of the Night.

Although the Iris Guild values those with skill, no one dared to step forward for the position of successor.

This is because every Iris Guild member knows that the Guild Master cherishes his daughter.

Of course, the talent possessed by those daughters was also more than sufficient to inherit the guild.

Since they didn’t stop striving despite their outstanding innate talent, everyone couldn’t help but acknowledge it.

“Isn’t Young Lady Alice’s skill amazing lately?”

“This is a secret, but there are rumors that she won a sparring match against the Team Leader of Team 2.”

“Don’t lie. Even so, she’s still just a cadet…”

“Shh. The Young Lady is coming out.”

Sssshhhk-

“Hoo.”

Moving her mana, Alice evaporated the sweat on her head and exited the training ground.

The mana, now accustomed to her body, gently wrapped around Alice.

After recovering from her congenital mana disorder, the mana that felt awkward at first had now completely integrated with her.

Her originally built-up swordsmanship and magic mixed, creating a perfect balance, reaching a level that even the Guild Master, Isaac, found astonishing.

“Maiden. Your mana has stabilized considerably. It’s on a different level compared to when you first arrived. You’ve grown so much.”

“…Yes. Well, thank you.”

Alice nodded slightly and passed by Chiron, who was standing in front of the training ground.

“I still don’t understand why that magical beast is in the Iris Guild… but it’s true that he’s helpful.”

“If you filter out nine words of nonsense out of ten, the remaining one is truly good advice.”

Over the past few weeks, her skills have greatly improved with the help of Chiron and her father.

Alice returned to her dorm, feeling proud.

In a recent sparring match, she even subdued the Team 2 leader.

Originally, Alice’s talent was top-tier even within this world setting.

She treated her congenital mana disorder earlier than in the original work, and its side effects were reduced, so her rapid rise was inevitable.

However, the disappointing thing was that she hadn’t seen Lee Hoyeon in a long time due to spending time in France.

She regretted not being able to enjoy the vacation time while he was in the house next door.

The Iris Guild’s guild member dormitories.

Alice settled down in front of a familiar magic circle device.

It was a magic circle device that allowed conversation with someone far away, face-to-face.

The other party was Irene, who was on a business trip in Korea.

“Unnie. Have you been well? You seem busy lately.”

“Alice. Don’t worry. Seeing your face, Alice, relieves all my fatigue.”

“Mm-hmm. Don’t push yourself too hard, and take good care of the house, Unnie.”

“No matter what happens, I’ll keep it clean. Alice. Just trust me (Unnie).”

Alice smiled as she looked at Irene, whose eyes were dripping honey. The current Alice liked Irene.

Although they used to fight and quarrel when they were young, most of her negative feelings disappeared as she saw Irene taking care of her after she became an adult.

What she liked the most, especially, was the fact that there were no chances of getting entangled with Lee Hoyeon.

Her Unnie had always lived with a wall built around her regarding romance.

“When are you coming to Korea? I heard you said you’d come only after the vacation ends… Is that true?”

“I think so. I’m still not satisfied. I need to learn more from Chiron and Dad.”

“…It would be nice if you came a bit earlier. I can teach you swordsmanship too. In Korea. Um, there’s Cadet Lee Hoyeon too…”

“Lee Hoyeon?”

“C-Cadet Lee Hoyeon uses magic well too. So if I teach you swordsmanship, you could learn magic from Cadet Lee Hoyeon. I’m not saying you have to learn, just that it’s a possibility.”

“Aha. That’s true.”

Irene couldn’t hide her embarrassment and rambled incoherently.

She had subtly brought up Lee Hoyeon’s name to probe Alice, but she was the one who ended up getting flustered.

“C-Come to think of it, you’re close with Cadet Lee Hoyeon, aren’t you? Have you contacted him?”

“I already talked to Hoyeon. He might actually like it if I’m late.”

“…Ah, aha… So you called him before talking to me. That can happen.”

“Yeah. He says it’s a shame, but maybe he thinks it means more time to hang out with other girls?”

Alice said with a slight smile. Although it was regrettable that Lee Hoyeon might hang out with other girls, the time spent in France was just as important.

Anyway, since he was next door, she planned to call him over to her house for the time they couldn’t see each other once she returned to Korea.

‘Alice….’

Irene was quite surprised watching Alice’s attitude. Irene had watched Alice since childhood and thought she perfectly understood her personality.

That’s why it was even more surprising.

For Alice, who didn’t particularly like men, to show such a lenient attitude!

…And that she would contact Lee Hoyeon before contacting her own Unnie.

Because it was right after she had masturbated thinking about Lee Hoyeon, Irene felt a strange feeling for no reason.

She (Irene) always considered Alice her top priority, but Alice wasn’t like that.

Alice’s smiling face.

She didn’t want that face to be ruined, so she had intended to make them keep their distance from Lee Hoyeon, but she wondered if that was really the right action.

Perhaps it was just her own selfishness?

Irene’s thoughts were interrupted by Alice’s words.

“Unnie, what are you thinking? Are you listening to me?”

“Ah. Um. Sorry. W-What were we talking about?”

“You said you met an Incubus in the Huadong Dungeon. What happened with that?”

“Ahh… Yes. That… Cadet Lee Hoyeon agreed to cooperate. I heard he caught it himself.”

“…As expected, do similar creatures stick together?”

“Indeed, maybe so…”

Irene and Alice nodded, recalling their respective experiences.

Alice tilted her head slightly at her Unnie’s empathy, but she didn’t think much of it.

The sisters continued their conversation all night long, their chat blooming with laughter.

*

The day after capturing Albedo alive.

Lee Hoyeon was in his room, researching while having Albedo sit there.

There were differences between Hell’s mana and human mana.

Liliana was weak in theory, so he couldn’t ask her, but he held at least some hope for Albedo.

However, unfortunately, it didn’t work out that easily.

“Well, it makes sense. Asking you, who has only seen Hell’s mana since birth, about the differences wouldn’t yield any answers.”

“Yes… That is so… Rather, I find Earth’s mana fascinating…”

Albedo, whose face was deeply wrinkled, wore a faint smile.

He gave off a vibe like some kind of immortal hermit who had transcended the mundane world.

To be able to change like this in just one day, isn’t this the Incubus’s hidden talent?

And he became polite. It seemed like all his strength had drained, rendering the name ‘Golden Sun Incubus’ meaningless.

“It’s probably because there are no male hormones.”

“Well, forget it. It’s nothing much, really. Let’s get going soon.”

Lee Hoyeon got up and pulled the mana ropes wrapped around Albedo.

It was almost time to meet Irene.

“What will happen to me now…? Am I going to die, as expected…?”

“No. You’re going to where Chiron is.”

“Ah… Chiron…”

“Do you know each other?”

“No. The successors didn’t have good relations… However, we were aware of each other’s existence…”

“Hmm. Well, figure it out yourselves. Chiron is doing fine, so he probably won’t kill you.”

He planned to just dump Albedo at the Iris Guild and run. He had no intention of caring about what happened to Albedo afterward.

Since I heard Chiron is doing well, he probably won’t kill him.

Lee Hoyeon came out of the house, bringing Albedo. The meeting place with Irene wasn’t far.

Right next door. It was Alice’s house.

“So Irene is using that huge house all by herself.”

Alice had called yesterday.

Alice, currently in France, was focusing on her successor training.

Alice probably planned to come back to Korea only after the vacation ended.

Coordinating schedules during the vacation became a little easier.

Until then, Irene was the only one staying at home.

“Irene… Actually, I feel like I could just recklessly pounce on her.”

It’s true that Irene likes Alice. But it’s also true that she hasn’t forgotten the pleasure of intertwining bodies with me several times.

I’ve seen it on the status screen, and I can tell just by looking at her eyes.

The gaze of a female wanting a male.

Irene had that kind of look.

Maybe it would be better to take action, even for her sake.

I’ve done a lot of bad things until now, so we should get along well through sex.

Kkiiiik-

Lee Hoyeon casually opened the gate and entered Alice’s house.

He had notified them last night that he would come around this time.

“…I wish she would reply to my message.”

“Setting the time was enough. What’s the big deal?”

Lee Hoyeon greeted Irene, who had her arms crossed, and ushered Albedo, tied up in mana ropes, into the house.

A blond-haired old man tied up in mana ropes.

Irene stared intently at Albedo’s face.

“…Is this the Incubus?”

“Yes. After beating him up until he was almost dead, he ended up like this.”

“He’s definitely blond, but…”

Irene frowned as she scrutinized Albedo.

Although the face she saw in the Huadong Dungeon was still there, the awkwardness couldn’t be helped.

“I apologize for back then… I am truly sorry…”

“Uh. Uh… Wait, what?”

Lee Hoyeon inwardly chuckled as he saw Irene flustered by Albedo’s apology.

He couldn’t explain complicated things like essence absorption, so he lied, saying he beat him up carelessly and he just got old.

Irene seemed convinced just by that explanation.

“…It seems right. The appearance, the aura felt… No, it’s a bit different, but I think it’s definitely him.”

“That’s right. Or you could ask Chiron, it’s fine. I mentioned the two of them know each other.”

“Chiron… Okay. I’ll report that too.”

Lee Hoyeon handed Albedo over to Irene.

With the Incubus gone from his hands, he finally felt liberated.

Lee Hoyeon extended his palm to Irene with a light heart.

“So, what about my reward?”

“…Reward?”

“Yes. I performed quite well in the Huadong Dungeon, and I caught the Incubus too.”

It was true.

The Huadong Dungeon had S-rank demons, and Moon Sungmin was there too. Moreover, Albedo, who could use charm, was present, so if Lee Hoyeon hadn’t followed, the investigation team could have been wiped out.

“Reward. That… I’ll suggest it. I don’t have anything I can give you right now.”

He had said it without much thought, but seeing Irene consider it seriously felt strangely emotional.

Irene’s hostility had lessened significantly compared to last time.

He didn’t know what emotional change had occurred in the meantime, but from Lee Hoyeon’s perspective, it was more convenient this way.

“Alice says she’s coming only after the vacation ends, so Irene-ssi, how long will you be staying in Korea?”

“I, I… around next month.”

Actually, Irene’s schedule still had quite a lot left.

She was scheduled to be in Korea for at least a few months after the semester started.

But she mixed in a slight lie to probe Lee Hoyeon’s intentions.

“Hmm…”

★ Heroine Status Screen

[Irene]

• [Affection: 53] (+ 0.2)

• [Lust: 80]

• [Appetite: 30]

• [Fatigue: 30]

Current State: I want to do it before Alice comes… W-Well, as expected, if I don’t bring it up directly, I have no choice but to do so myself….

Lee Hoyeon gave a wry laugh looking at the status screen. As expected, his eyes were not wrong.

He needed to say it directly, for Irene’s sake.

“Regarding the Incubus reward. I’m okay with receiving something else from you, Irene-ssi.”

“Something else…?”

Lee Hoyeon watched Irene’s eyes widen as he wrapped Albedo’s body tightly with mana.