Episode 593. The Culprit Was Lee Hoyeon.

Lee Hoyeon enjoyed a date with the Lucy-Lumi twins.

To be precise, he was dragged around by them… but since they looked happy, he was satisfied.

“Lee Hoyeon! Look at this. They give out coupons if you eat a hamburger.”

“What kind of game is this?”

“Lu, Lucy. Hoyeon-ssi… If you don’t need the coupons, could you give them to me…?”

He even gave all the game coupons to Lumi while eating hamburgers.

“Lumi, what’s the name of this flower?”

“I don’t know. The scent is really refreshing.”

“Hey kids. That’s a poisonous plant, so be careful.”

“P-poisonous plant. Hoyeon-ssi. Be careful…!”

“Tch, it’s fine as long as you don’t eat it. You can smell it.”

They even walked through the academy’s garden, which had all sorts of things.

He had intended to just learn magic from Professor Im Sol and part ways, but somehow he ended up spending a lot of time with the twins.

“Why is the sun setting already? It’s just getting started.”

“Lucy. I’m dying of exhaustion. Let’s head home soon.”

“Eeeh. Already?”

“We played for almost 10 hours, and you say ‘already’?”

“Hmph. Hoyeon-ssi. I don’t want to say goodbye…”

Lee Hoyeon smiled as he looked at Lucy and Lumi.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

It didn’t even feel like they had played for long, but the sun was setting beyond the buildings.

“Come here.”

He pulled the teary-faced Lucy and Lumi into a hug with both arms.

The twins clinging to his arms were really cute.

“I’m sorry I was busy. But I’ll come visit the club room tomorrow.”

“Okay. Hoyeon-ssi! See you then!”

“Bye~! Bring Daeun and Liliana unnie too!”

“Got it.”

Lucy and Lumi said they had become closer with Daeun and Liliana while he was away.

I’m worried that crazy Succubus didn’t do anything weird.

Lee Hoyeon was already worried that the club wasn’t running properly because he was busy.

I feel a bit jealous that they played without me, but it’s good they’re getting along.

I feel especially relieved that Daeun is there.

Bye-bye.

Lee Hoyeon waved goodbye to Lucy and Lumi, who were waving back regretfully.

He wished he could play with Lucy and Lumi all day, but there were still many people he needed to see.

‘Everyone will want to see me as soon as possible.’

Everyone probably feels the same way, wanting to see Lee Hoyeon back in Korea quickly.

From the heroines’ perspective, it would be unpleasant if they met someone right away but had to wait a few days for someone else.

He had no choice but to see them multiple times a day.

“Even so. How could I forget the most important thing?”

Lee Hoyeon sighed and turned his body towards the academy.

At the same time, he sent a message to Im Sol on his smartwatch.

• Me: Sol-ah. Can I come back again?

There’s no bigger idiot than this idiot.

He got caught up in lust and had sex, but forgot to mention the actual reason.

Destroying the black pillar is such an important task.

How could I forget to mention this?

‘When I’m with the heroines, I feel like my concentration drops.’

I sometimes don’t notice someone approaching, and my memory seems to get worse.

That’s why I’m always surprised by Scarlet.

Is this like a protagonist nerf applied to Lee Hoyeon?

“No reply.”

Lee Hoyeon looked at his unresponsive smartwatch and walked towards the academy.

Even though there’s no reply, he doesn’t really mind.

If there’s no reply from other heroines, he’d think they’re busy, but Im Sol’s lack of reply just means she’s stuck in the training room.

She’s probably engrossed in training after seeing the magic I showed her last time.

Wouldn’t she jump up and down with joy if I told her I didn’t accelerate space, but slightly distorted perception?

Just imagining our professor getting excited makes my heart flutter again.

Lee Hoyeon was already smiling as he increased his pace.

*

The magic institute, almost deserted.

Lee Hoyeon got off the elevator and entered the strangely quiet research lab.

“Sol-ah? Sol-ah…?”

A quiet lab meant Im Sol was engrossed in a magic experiment.

Lee Hoyeon approached her office.

And he was met with an empty office.

“Huh? Where is she?”

He was flustered because she wasn’t there, even though he expected her to be.

Lee Hoyeon started searching the second floor, calling out for Im Sol.

And when he entered the training room, he found her.

The sofa in the training room.

She was lying on the narrow sofa where he had made love with Im Sol while Lucy and Lumi were training.

“… No way, is she sleeping right here?”

He had left Im Sol lying on the sofa when he took Lucy and Lumi out, so she couldn’t have just fallen asleep like that, right?

Lee Hoyeon approached the sleeping Im Sol.

The training ground behind her was still shimmering.

That meant she had been using the training ground until very recently.

‘She must have collapsed while training after seeing my magic.’

Once Im Sol gets fired up, she gets absorbed until she literally collapses.

She probably collapsed onto the sofa without even having the strength to go to bed because she was so focused on training.

“If you sleep here, your mouth might get crooked.”

Swoosh-

Lee Hoyeon manipulated his mana to lift Im Sol’s body.

He couldn’t feel comfortable letting her sleep here.

He could just put her to sleep in the bed in the room next to her office.

Lee Hoyeon carried the floating Im Sol to the office.

As he carefully and slowly lowered her onto the bed, Im Sol, who flinched slightly, soon fell fast asleep.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to wake up.

Lee Hoyeon looked at Im Sol’s peacefully sleeping face and sat down on a nearby chair.

She looks quite pretty when she’s sleeping.

“I moved her, but… what about the black pillar matter?”

He needed to ask Im Sol to help destroy the black pillar… but if she just fell asleep, he didn’t know when she would wake up.

If she fell asleep exhausted, she might sleep until tomorrow.

“But waking her up feels wrong too.”

It’s an urgent matter… but the status window he saw earlier weighed on his mind.

Her inner thoughts wishing to be treated as a lover.

Lee Hoyeon chuckled softly and stroked Im Sol’s hair.

“… My Sol is quite cute, you know.”

Im Sol’s charm lay in her mature side mixed with her innocent side.

The cuteness that comes from that gap is incredible.

‘I need to see Ahyoung-ssi and Surin noona too.’

Lee Hoyeon checked his smartwatch.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Surin noona is currently discussing matters with our country’s higher-ups because of the Gate to Hell.

It seems he’ll be able to meet her tomorrow at the earliest, or the day after tomorrow if it’s late.

Baek Ahyoung also seemed busy, as she hadn’t contacted him since last night.

‘Is the emergency room busy?’

It doesn’t seem like there would be many patients, but he should visit Baek Ahyoung too.

Click-

Lee Hoyeon turned off his smartwatch and looked at the sleeping Im Sol.

He didn’t want to wake her, but he had something to say.

So what should he do?

‘I’m tired, so I’ll just sleep with her.’

His deliberation wasn’t long.

The only heroine he needed to see right away was Baek Ahyoung.

But since she wasn’t responding either, he’d just sleep with Im Sol until she woke up.

He was also tired from being dragged around by the Lucy-Lumi twins.

“Haa. I’m going to sleep a bit too. Sol-ah.”

Lee Hoyeon carefully lay down next to Im Sol.

As expected of a magic bed, it was really soft and comfortable.

‘We had a serious conversation here last time.’

Im Sol’s words, saying he was her only choice, were touching.

He remembered falling for Im Sol all over again back then.

He should tell her about that when she wakes up.

Sniff sniff.

“Mmm. Nnngh…”

Even in her sleep, Im Sol smelled Lee Hoyeon approaching and clung to his arm.

She smelled the sweet scent emanating from Lee Hoyeon’s body.

“I’ll give you one of my arms, so let’s sleep together.”

“Hrmm…”

Lee Hoyeon closed his eyes, watching Im Sol hug his arm.

‘She’ll be surprised when she wakes up.’

Lee Hoyeon smiled.

He looked forward to seeing Im Sol’s cute expression when she opened her eyes.

*

Baek Ahyoung hunched her shoulders as she left the Hunter Association.

Fatigue was evident on her face.

Baek Ahyoung adjusted her wrinkled clothes and stretched.

“Ugggggh… Haa. The people at the Association are really tough.”

She had visited the Hunter Association for the first time in a while.

The reason, of course, was the Gate to Hell.

Although Baek Ahyoung had no combat power, she was treated importantly by the Hunter Association, known by the name ‘Saintess’ who could heal any wound.

Since a global emergency had occurred, she was naturally summoned.

She was now on her way out after finishing a 12-hour-long emergency meeting.

“It’s tough, but I have to work harder to support my darling…! Ah. Reply. I need to reply…”

Baek Ahyoung checked her smartwatch with a crestfallen look.

As expected, three messages from Lee Hoyeon had piled up.

• Darling: Ahyoung-ssi. Is it okay if I come see you today?

• Darling: If it’s difficult, tomorrow is fine too, or even late at night.

• Darling: Please don’t go out alone. You know the Gate to Hell appeared, right? We don’t know when monsters might appear there…

Reading Lee Hoyeon’s lengthy words of concern warmed Baek Ahyoung’s heart.

She felt like all the stress she had received until just moments ago had vanished.

“I wonder if I can see him tonight? The ER should be quiet these days. Maybe we could even have an ER date…

I could introduce my darling to the ER staff. Hehe.”

Just as she was about to reply to Lee Hoyeon.

Ttiriri- Ttiriri-

An alarm rang on Baek Ahyoung’s smartwatch.

[Professor Im Sol’s training time exceeds 20 hours.]

“… Sol is doing it again.”

After Im Sol collapsed from her research, during which she skipped eating and drinking for a week.

Baek Ahyoung had asked her assistant to keep an eye on Im Sol. (Im Sol would naturally cover the costs.)

However, she often sent the assistant home, claiming she concentrated better alone, and started training again, so Baek Ahyoung set up an alert like this.

“20 hours isn’t a major issue, but…”

Im Sol’s passion was astonishing even to Baek Ahyoung.

For Im Sol, whose baseline training was 12 hours, 20 hours was slightly pushing it.

But accidents happen precisely when you think you’re safe.

‘My work is done, so maybe I should go see Sol for the first time in a while.’

In fact, Im Sol had also been summoned by the Hunter Association as an important combatant.

Lee Hoyeon was exempt due to his student status, but Im Sol was a professor.

‘She probably ignored it thinking it was another spam call…’

Or maybe she didn’t answer at all.

She might have known but still not come out.

Because she’s so free-spirited, no one truly knows what Im Sol is thinking.

As a friend, Baek Ahyoung wanted to change her a bit, but Im Sol’s strong individuality made it impossible.

“I have something to tell her… and I need to bring Sol to the next meeting too. Hmm. I should go to her lab for the first time in a while.”

She would prepare for any potential accidents and, if all goes well, deliver the meeting details.

Baek Ahyoung nodded at her perfect plan and headed towards the magic institute.