episode_0159

Chapter 159 – Ordeal

In a room covered with purple wallpaper, a girl faced a mirror within a space filled with cute dolls and props.

“Done!”

The dark eyeshadow covering her eyes and the impressive red lipstick on her lips stood out.

Deborah, armed with smoky makeup as always, turned her head this way and that, twirled around to check her full appearance, and then finally left the room.

As she entered the living room, Roxana, who was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine, subtly asked.

“Oh my? Why did you dress up so beautifully?”

“Teacher-nim, how do I look?”

“You look good. Are you going to meet your boyfriend?”

“Ah, no! Just a friend!”

The same routine from last time repeated.

She knew it was a joke, but because she felt guilty about secretly dating her Teacher-nim’s lover, she absolutely couldn’t take it casually.

At Deborah’s intense reaction, Roxana smiled broadly and posed a sharp question.

“So, a male friend. Is it perhaps the boy who gave you the ring?”

“…Yes.”

“Heh heh! Is that so? Have a good time. You’ll be back by night, right?”

“Ah, probably! See you later!”

She had said she would be back on the same day, but since her schedule might change, she gave an ambiguous answer and left the house.

Riding the elevator, she left the magic tower and headed to the academy.

And at that very moment, in the girls’ dormitory of the academy, Isis was busy preparing.

“Is this, this one okay? Or this one?”

She spread out dozens of clothes on the bed and held each one up to the full-length mirror.

Her looks and figure were so outstanding that any style of clothing looked beautiful, but to Isis’s eyes, nothing quite hit the mark.

At least for today, she wanted to appear the prettiest in the world to Ruan.

But the more she compared the clothes, the more their respective strengths and weaknesses stood out, making it impossible to distinguish which was better.

She soon came to the conclusion that she absolutely couldn’t choose clothes by herself.

“What should I do? Who should I ask?”

The first person she thought of was, as expected, Regina.

As a princess, having received the gazes of many people and encountered countless garments, her fashion sense was quite outstanding.

She would probably choose something that suited her if asked for advice.

The problem was that it was uncertain whether Regina was still in the dormitory, and more importantly, not much time was left until the meeting time at the main gate.

Even if she wore clothes that were a bit less attractive, being late for an appointment was unacceptable.

Isis’s eyes instinctively turned to one side.

“If I wear my uniform….”

The academy’s uniform was designed directly by the imperial designer. Naturally, its beauty and functionality were guaranteed.

In fact, many people wore their uniforms on dates, so there wouldn’t be a problem, but….

“Still, that won’t do.”

She couldn’t spend a glorious first date so casually.

In the end, after much deliberation, the clothes Isis picked up were the beige off-shoulder knit and short H-skirt that she had initially considered.

Having made her decision, she took off her pajamas to change clothes.

As the thin slip came off, her semi-naked body, clad only in underwear, was revealed.

Isis suddenly focused on her underwear.

“…Should I wear different underwear too?”

It was unlikely, but if Ruan were to cling to her, saying he didn’t want to send her away tonight, she might feel ashamed in her current state.

So that she wouldn’t be embarrassed even if Ruan saw it, she needed to wear something reliable….

“Hah!? W-what am I thinking!”

Isis, who had almost forgotten her position as a sister for a moment, shook her head vigorously.

She made herself realize the reality.

“We’re siblings. Snap out of it!”

Although something happened in the snowy mountains, it was merely an unavoidable accident. Unless they were put in such a situation again, there was no possibility of the same thing happening twice.

Even while repeating that to herself, Isis couldn’t help but feel a lingering regret.

“Hmph….”

Isis, who let out a small sigh, left her underwear as is and began to put on her clothes.

Soon, she stood before the mirror.

Currently, she was beautiful enough that everyone, young and old, would turn to look if she walked down the street.

“Hmm! Not bad.”

But Isis, whose objectivity was thoroughly shattered, left with only the impression that it wasn’t the worst, and departed the dormitory.

The moment she appeared on the street, all eyes around her gathered.

“Oh my. Look over there.”

“Isn’t that the President? Where is she going?”

“Could it be a date? Her outfit clearly looks like she’s going on one.”

Everyone who passed by said the same thing.

Isis worried if any strange rumors might spread with Ruan, yet she couldn’t hide her excited feelings.

With light steps, she headed towards the main gate.

And just as she arrived at the main gate, she could see Ruan already waiting.

She waved her hand and ran towards him.

“Ruan!”

“Ruan!”

At the same time, from the opposite direction, Deborah, also beautifully dressed, waved her hand and ran towards them.

The two of them, with Ruan between them, met each other’s eyes.

“…Was it Deborah? What brings you here?”

“I have a date.”

“……With whom?”

“……Ruan.”

“……”

“……”

Silence fell instantly.

The two, who had been having a silent conversation for a moment, gathered their gazes towards Ruan as if they had made a promise.

He, without any sense of the atmosphere, smiled brightly.

“You’re both surprised, right? Today, all three of us will move together!”

At the sight of him exaggeratingly spreading his arms as if it were a surprise, Deborah and Isis’s faces turned cold.

“Ruan. Is this fun?”

“Older sister finds it not fun at all.”

The two, who were usually positive no matter what he did, showed such a reaction that even Ruan couldn’t help but be flustered.

He cautiously observed their expressions.

“Uh, oh… Are you two angry?”

“Not particularly?”

“I’m not angry, but I’m a little disappointed.”

The two gave contrasting answers.

Deborah pressed him sarcastically, and Isis frankly expressed her feelings.

From that, Ruan had an intuition: if he didn’t apologize right away, he would pay a very expensive price later.

Based on instinct, he immediately bowed his head.

“I’m sorry! It was a joke! I won’t do it again!”

This was the main gate of the academy. In this place, where countless people were gathered, even if he was the one who made a mistake first, bowing his head required a lot of resolve.

Nevertheless, at his actions, which showed not even a hint of hesitation, their moods softened slightly.

“Hmm… What should we do?”

“Since he’s gone this far, should we forgive him?”

“P-please, I beg you. I’m reflecting on it.”

At their much softened tone, Ruan, who thought ‘this is my chance,’ made a dejected face and pleaded.

Looking at that face, the two thought.

‘So cute!’

‘My little brother is so cute!’

The sight of Ruan being so dejected was rare to see.

It was to the point where they wanted to hug him and say it was okay right away, but the two were conscious of each other. The two, whose eyes met naturally, nodded their heads and spoke.

“Raise your head. This much is enough.”

“Ruan. Older sister is not angry anymore either. So, quickly lift your head.”

Ruan, who quickly glanced sideways, saw the faint smiles on both their faces and raised his head.

“Thank you both for forgiving me! I’ll be careful from now on.”

“It’s nothing. We also overreacted a bit.”

“That’s right. Just be a little more careful next time.”

As if she hadn’t been wary of Deborah just a moment ago, Isis, who was agreeing with her words, suddenly threw a question to a rising doubt.

“By the way, Ruan. Then why did you call us today? You’re not really planning a 2:1 date, are you?”

Isis believed.

That Ruan wouldn’t possibly be trash who openly tried to two-time.

Even though this world was quite lenient towards polygamy, it didn’t make women confront each other like this without proper explanation.

Most importantly, she was family.

If someone said they enjoyed a 2:1 date with their older sister and a classmate, they would be told to ‘stop talking nonsense’ and receive contemptuous stares.

Isis didn’t want Ruan to be that reckless.

‘No, perhaps I might wish for it.’

If such rumors spread, she wouldn’t be able to marry another man, so wouldn’t he take responsibility?

Just as she was unfolding all sorts of fantasies in her mind, Ruan answered the question.

“First, the reason why the three of us gathered today is to conquer a dungeon.”

“Dungeon?”

“Yes. Deborah here happened to find information in an ancient document. I also confirmed the location, but it seemed difficult to conquer with just the two of us. Right?”

Ruan gave Deborah a meaningful glance.

At that blatant sign, Deborah let out a deep sigh and acquiesced.

“That’s right. I happened to find it in Teacher-nim’s library.”

“Anyway, that’s why Older Sister needs to play an active role. This place is quite dangerous.”

“Is it that dangerous?”

“Yes. But you don’t need to worry too much. That ancient document also had how to conquer it written down. Right?”

At the meaningful glance that poured out again, Deborah showed the same reaction this time as well.

“Yes, yes. I found it all~ in Teacher-nim’s library.”

“Then, Older Sister, you roughly understand, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. Let’s depart now. If we go quickly, we can return quickly!”

Ruan quickly took the lead.

And the two, after regretfully looking at Ruan’s hand and their own, hurriedly followed behind.

*

Three people stood in a canyon below a sheer cliff, a place filled with all sorts of strangely shaped rocks.

“Ruan. Is it here?”

“Yes. There’s a dungeon inside here.”

“Now, explain in more detail. What kind of dungeon is it?”

On the way here, I deliberately didn’t disclose the dungeon’s information. That’s because pushing forward with Deborah’s ‘ancient document’ as the sole excuse had too many loopholes in the explanation.

If I were to receive a fatal critique, I might unnecessarily arouse suspicion.

But here, there’s no need to worry about that. Because we can quickly enter the dungeon before they detect anything suspicious.

I slowly explained.

“To tell the truth, the place we’re going to is not a dungeon.”

“It’s not a dungeon?”

“Yes. It’s the temple of the Fighting God Alahak, which existed in ancient times.”

“Fighting God Alahak? Such a god existed?”

Isis’s eyes widened.

In the current era, all traces of gods except for the Light Church have disappeared, so it’s understandable.

Furthermore, the Light Church was even spreading claims that the Goddess Repentia created all things in the universe.

“I don’t know the detailed inside story either. More importantly, there’s something called a ‘trial’ in the Fighting God Alahak’s temple. If you pass that trial, you can receive the Fighting God Alahak’s blessing. There will probably be the sect’s treasure too.”

“So you came to get that?”

“Yes. It’s quite unsettling these days, isn’t it? We don’t know when the Dark Sect’s attack will happen, so we need to be prepared. …Ah! It’s right there.”

Confirming that the conversation was going into deeper parts, I directly turned her attention.

At the part I pointed to, there was the entrance to the temple.

It had already completely collapsed, to the point where one might wonder if it was just a pit, but upon closer inspection, it was different from ordinary ones.

The murals densely carved into the walls, even though they were weathered and not clearly visible, still allowed one to feel their sacredness.

“It’s real. Here, people are kneeling before a general.”

“You saw, right? Then let’s go quickly. If we keep hesitating, we might have to stay overnight today?”

“Huh? Ah! T-that’s…!”

Isis’s face turned bright red.

Seeing her glance at Deborah, it seemed she was embarrassed to show her sleeping appearance to someone she wasn’t close to.

Following her, Deborah also objected.

“Ah, no! Teacher-nim will scold me!”

“Teacher-nim?”

“Yes. She said I absolutely have to come back today! So, no!”

“What a shame.”

“W-what did you say?”

“Nothing. Then let’s hurry up.”

At the thought of a night with two beauties that had flown away, I entered the temple, shedding tears of blood.