episode_0103

Perhaps it was because I had been away for quite a long time.

The girl showed an intense reaction.

“Haa… Haaa…”

Rough breaths pounded against my ears.

The fox buried her face in my neck, continuing to breathe with a heat that felt like it would burst.

The desperate warmth spread all the way down to my chin.

“Irene-nim?”

Perhaps she had been anxious.

I had suddenly disappeared without a word, so she might have worried I wouldn’t return at all.

For her, there might have been no one else reliable around except me.

She seemed as glad to see me as she had been away.

With a feeling of commendation, I gently hugged the girl’s body.

“Haa, haa…”

The fox clung to me, her breath ragged.

Her sticky body heat embraced me.

As our chests pressed together, soft flesh was crushed, conveying an overt sensation.

Perhaps because our navels were pressed against each other.

I could feel her firm body shape through her clothes.

A precarious posture in many ways.

“Oh dear.”

A subtle scent of her skin tinged the tip of my nose.

Just before being devoured by a beast.

As I lay there for a while, as if enjoying that scenario, the girl, who had been silently pressing down on me, raised her head.

Irene, whose eyes met mine, had a somewhat disheveled expression.

“…You’re late.”

Her trembling black pupils.

Beyond them lay joy, longing, and gladness.

And relief.

“You were so late… I thought I’d been abandoned. I was anxious.”

So she had worried about that after all.

I offered a bitter smile.

First, I intended to alleviate her worries.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

“…”

“I will never abandon you. Even if everything in the world turns its back on you.”

“I know… but I was still scared.”

“You’re such a coward.”

“Maybe.”

“Then I suppose I’ll have to comfort you until you’re no longer afraid.”

I stroked her head as if to reassure her.

The fox meekly accepted my touch.

The snake leisurely explored her flowing hair, then reached out to her perked-up orange ears.

The caressing touch seemed to wickedly tease her.

“…Hmph.”

The girl bit her lip as if to suppress a sound, then slowly let out low, hot moans.

The breaths she couldn’t quite swallow gradually permeated the surroundings.

“Haa… Ugh, hmph.”

“A good child deserves a reward, don’t they? Thank you for waiting so patiently.”

It was something I’d learned by touching various parts of her.

Irene especially liked it when her ears were touched.

It was somewhat similar to how puppies expose their bellies to their owners, I suppose.

It seemed like a sign of loyalty, and she seemed to enjoy it herself, so I would touch them whenever I had time before leaving.

I played with her soft ears, moving them back and forth.

“Ah, ugh…”

All the fox could do in response to her owner’s uninhibited touch was to twitch her shoulders and suppress her reactions.

As if enduring the tingling sensations that welled up.

The girl hugged my body even tighter.

A single breath, which had grown as hot as a furnace, touched my neck and melted like ice.

Our body temperatures entwined in between.

We remained on the floor for a while, lying down.

***

After the intense reunion ended, we got up from where we had been lying.

The girl’s cheeks still had a trace of heat.

Her complexion was worryingly red, but I complied with her request not to mind it.

I informed the other guild members that I had returned.

“You’ve returned, Master-nim.”

Neria welcomed me as if she had been waiting.

Perhaps because I had contacted them in advance, she didn’t seem as surprised as before.

“Hahaha! I heard the news of your return! Commander-nim!”

The Red Sword Saint, Kyle, then rushed over.

“I should have come to escort you… I apologize.”

Lena saluted with stiff precision.

They were the three core combatants of Astro.

I conversed with those who had come to the Commander’s office.

The Vice-Commander asked first.

“Have you finished all your business?”

“Ah… should I say it was successful? It’s not complete yet, but I’m steadily progressing through the stages.”

“I see.”

“Today, I came to pick up Irene-nim. She started living at the Academy again yesterday.”

“Yeah. I’m going.”

The fox nodded beside me.

Her expression was indifferent, but the tail behind her bottom was wagging, making a swishing sound.

I chuckled softly and stroked the girl’s head.

Meanwhile.

Kyle looked at us with satisfaction, then began to speak with a hearty laugh.

It was words praising Irene.

“Hahaha! You’ll probably be surprised! She’s gotten ridiculously strong over the past three weeks!”

“Ohh.”

“I merely reviewed the fundamentals with her… but as expected, since she’s reached a new level, even a simple inspiration creates enormous waves.”

“For the highest star to give such high praise.”

“It just reminds me of my own youth, doesn’t it!”

“Is she really that good…?”

“Of course, I’m talking about when I was 12!”

“…”

That’s more like it.

It’s not even the latter half of the original work, so there shouldn’t be signs of a ‘star’ already.

I chuckled, as if in exasperation.

“Hahaha! But the evaluation that she’s gotten stronger is undeniably true!”

“Of course, I believe you.”

I could tell immediately.

Because the atmosphere was different.

If before, immediately after her awakening with flames, it felt like an uncontrollable energy overflowed, now she possessed a distinctly refined sharpness.

It was a stillness that seemed capable of cutting through even the falling silence.

I had entrusted her with expectations from the start, but her level had risen far more significantly than anticipated.

I praised her, feeling proud.

“You’ve worked very hard. As expected of Irene-nim.”

“…It’s just. You could say the teacher was good. It was nothing special.”

The fox, feeling unnecessarily shy at times like these.

I didn’t intend to point it out.

Instead, I poked her flushed cheek, letting that speak for itself.

Turning away from Irene, who had turned her head, I shifted my gaze toward the silver-haired girl standing beside her.

It was the Vice-Commander, who had been silently holding her spot all this time.

“Neria-nim.”

I introduced a new topic.

“I have a request.”

“If Master-nim commands it. Anything, gladly.”

The girl replied affirmatively without hesitation.

It was her usual straightforward loyalty.

Perhaps because she was the organization’s first member and oldest connection, she had always followed me well.

With a faint smile, I began the main point.

“I’d like you to collect some data.”

“Data… what kind?”

“Mana Stone Disease. I need data on that.”

“Understood.”

“Most publicly known information will probably be useless… so it would be best to look into banned books or the cultists.”

“I will prepare it within a week.”

There were no questions to the command.

Only a short answer and a firm will to surely carry it out.

I lightly patted the girl’s shoulder.

“Then I’ll be counting on you.”

Mana Stone Disease.

It felt unsatisfactory in many ways.

The Emperor’s subtle reaction, and the fact that its exact details haven’t been revealed, suggested that additional investigation was needed.

The original work also left this part as a kind of MacGuffin.

If I wanted to know the hidden story behind it, I would have to make a move myself.

The Vice-Commander flinched when my hand touched her shoulder, but replied in a stiff tone to avoid showing it.

Her expression was rigid.

“Yes, Master-nim.”

Of course, even if she tried to maintain that composure, she couldn’t erase her trembling pupils.

I massaged her slender shoulders a few times, as if teasing her.

At that.

“Ah… ugh… hmm…?”

The Vice-Commander simply malfunctioned.

It was an amusing reaction, as expected.

I wanted to enjoy it a bit longer, but knowing she might cry if I continued, I subtly pulled my hand away.

Her eyes were sparkling, as if it had indeed been precarious.

I pretended not to notice and moved on.

“Hehehe… it’s about time I returned.”

I had seen the guild members’ faces after a long time, finished giving separate instructions, and seen that the children were doing well, so it was truly time to return.

I gestured to Lena, who was waiting.

The black-haired woman extended her hand at my signal, then tore open a faintly glowing rift in the air.

It was none other than a portal back to the Academy.

I held out my hand to the fox, who had been listening to the conversation from behind.

“Shall we… go now? To the home we shared before.”

Irene looked my way.

As if there was no need to hesitate, the girl grasped my hand with her warm body heat.

“I’ve been waiting.”

And so, we stepped through the portal.

***

A week passed like that.

It had been a busy month in many ways.

It was a season where many landscapes changed from time to time.

Rose, with the help of the Princess and the snake, was gradually adapting to the outside world.

Their strained sisterly relationship also seemed to be slowly recovering.

I heard from the exclusive maid that they were both trying, even if there was still some awkwardness.

Though there was still a long way to go in many respects.

-Now the two of them sometimes even smile!

-Every time that happens, I just tear up… It’s all thanks to you, Young Master-nim!

Tanya, who was excitedly bouncing as she spoke.

I stroked her small head.

Even though it had been busy, it was a schedule that left a sense of reward.

After that, peaceful days continued.

The issue with Rose had been temporarily resolved, the troublesome cultists were quiet, and there was no other news.

It seemed as if a peaceful daily life was finally continuing.

Of course.

That is, until I heard the news.

“The exam, you say?”

“You mean you didn’t know? The final exams are starting tomorrow!”

“Oh dear… I had completely forgotten.”

“I knew you would. You made a promise to study together, and then you suddenly disappeared for three weeks, so it’s understandable you’d forget.”

“I have nothing to say about that. I apologize.”

“Hmph. It’s fine.”

Apparently, the exams start tomorrow.

And it’s the notoriously difficult written exam, a long-standing tradition of Galimar Academy.

For most students, it would be the moment they realize a major disaster.

“Y-Young Master-nim… are you alright?”

“Of course not! He couldn’t have studied outside, and this time his grades are going to drop significantly!”

Different reactions came back from each of them.

The protagonist, worrying about me.

The villainess, boasting loudly.

I covered my mouth with a serious expression and replied.

“Ah… I’m fine.”

“I-I’ll tell you the exam scope separately. There are a few subjects not on the first day, so…”

“Thank you, Regia-nim.”

Regia was full of concern.

On the other hand.

“That’s a shame. It seems I’ll have to take the top score in the written exam this time, won’t I?”

Emilia’s nose was subtly raised.

Perhaps because she still harbored regrets about the top written score, her blue eyes were particularly sparkling.

She seemed certain of her victory.

“What a crisis…”

I muttered briefly and meticulously covered the exposed part of my mouth.

So that no expression might leak out.

‘I’m sorry, but.’

I was grinning darkly behind my hand.

Because I was imagining how amusingly warped the villainess’s expression would be, as she confidently puffed out her chest.

A thrilling rush of dopamine surged.

‘She probably can’t even imagine.’

For this exam.

She couldn’t have known there’d be a madman who studied while living as a live-in physician for the past three weeks.

The thought of never letting her take the top score made my whole body squirm.

I wasn’t particularly greedy about grades, but somehow, the thought of Emilia taking the title made me feel spiteful.

In the end, I persistently prepared for the exam every day, carving out time in the early mornings.

Solely to crush my opponent.

I completely carved out my own life.

It was truly the mindset of a chaotic troublemaker high on dopamine.

“Just you wait! Now my name will be higher up!”

I thought to myself.

Fat chance.

Your fate is ‘bean’ again this time. [A reference to a Korean internet meme signifying always coming in second place.] Your fate is ‘bean’ again this time. [A reference to a Korean internet meme signifying always coming in second place.]