I miss Hoshino Kasumi, my senior.
I notice Ishihara Saori’s eyes sparkle when I say that.
She jumps up and down, raising both hands high.
“Ooooh! I just got cursed by Deok-Sung-chan! Hehe, check check on my bucket list. Got cursed by Deok-Sung-chan!”
I always knew she was a 4D mad scientist type, but seeing it in action is a whole different level of crazy.
I never knew someone could be happy about getting cursed.
If I keep dealing with her, I might lose my sanity too, so let’s get to the point.
“Enough! Just check her body.”
I point at Kamiya Makoto.
Saori finally turns her attention to Makoto.
She circles around Makoto while staring, saying, “Hmm? Ah, is this the sick friend Deok-Sung-chan was talking about? Right?”
This aloof attitude matches her character perfectly—completely uninterested in anything that doesn’t catch her fancy.
“Yeah.”
“What’s wrong with Deok-Sung-chan’s friend?”
“There’s a nano-machine bomb in her body. I’d appreciate it if you could either remove it or find a way to stabilize it.”
“A nano-machine bomb… Okay. I’m starting to get a bit interested in Deok-Sung-chan’s friend. Hehehe.”
Saori grins, showing her teeth.
“But! No matter how much I love Deok-Sung-chan, I can’t work for free!”
“What do you want? I can prepare any amount of money.”
I have money to burn.
Even without tapping into the unlimited black card provided by the Korean government, the YouTube income from my nationalistic content brings in millions every month.
That means I can handle whatever amount she asks for.
“Well…”
Saori’s face turns red.
She rummages through her pocket and pulls out a photo card and a black magic pen.
“Here… Sign this limited edition Deok-Sung-chan photo card! Let’s take a picture too!”
I let out a sigh.
I’m not even a celebrity.
Actually, judging by how they treat me in Korea, it’s like I’m already a full-blown idol.
Does this mean I’ll have to keep doing this craziness when I go back?
Suddenly, I don’t want to go back to Korea.
Feeling a chill, I scribble my name on the photo card and take a selfie with her.
“Hehehehe. Great. Payment complete! Leave the rest to Saori-chan! Oh, if it’s Deok-Sung-chan, you can call me Saori-chan!”
“Just hurry up and solve her problem.”
Honestly, I’d rather she just ask for money.
That would make it a business relationship.
This feels more like I’m exhausted with a fan who’s borderline obsessive.
I never thought I’d experience what it’s like to be hounded like a K-pop star, but here I am.
“I just love getting cursed by Deok-Sung-chan! Alright! This Saori-chan will definitely solve the nano-machine problem! I filled the fridge with cola that Deok-Sung-chan likes, so feel free to drink it!”
“Go ahead and drink!!”
With one last dizzying remark, Saori takes Makoto inside the lab.
Isn’t she a total pervert?
I sigh and slump down in my seat.
My work is done.
Now all that’s left is to wait.
*
Makoto’s diagnosis and prescription were finished in no time.
“The gender-bending girl’s nano-machine bomb is the latest model, combining science, magic, and lost technology. So, it’s impossible to remove it all at once. However, I can manufacture a suppressant that inhibits the bomb’s activation.”
As she recited the exact line from volume 8 of the original, Saori prescribed a pill to Makoto.
“If you take this, the nano-machine activity in your body will stop. You’re currently under treatment, and the scan of the gender-bending girl’s body is being livestreamed on the monitor. See? The nano-machine activity has stopped. Of course, it’s temporary, and you’ll have to keep taking the suppressant, but I, Saori-chan, will definitely find a way to remove it.”
“Thank you, Ishihara-san.”
“Not Saori-chan, thank Deok-Sung-chan. If it weren’t for Deok-Sung-chan, I wouldn’t even have had the chance to look after you.”
“……T-thank you, Kim-kun.”
Makoto expresses her gratitude with trembling eyes.
Thud.
She kneels down.
Tears flow from her eyes.
*
A natural talent for assassination paired with an incompatible delicate and introverted personality.
Thus, the head of the Kamiya clan implanted a nano-machine bomb in her and forced her to cross-dress.
To control her, Kamiya Makoto, to suit his own taste.
Since she can barely remember her childhood, she was forced to learn assassination techniques and follow orders against her will.
‘I thought I’d never escape…’
From the start, she wasn’t a submissive slave.
There was a time when she tried to rebel.
[Master, I don’t want to learn how to kill people.]
[Don’t want to learn? Do you still not realize whose hands your life is in?]
[Gahhhhh!]
The nano-machines implanted in her body did not only serve as a bomb.
The master manipulated the nano-machines to inflict unspeakable pain each time Makoto rebelled.
[You’ll never escape the grasp of the Kamiya clan. Makoto. If you don’t want to die or feel pain, just live humbly as a slave of the clan. I’ll at least feed you.]
Amidst the ongoing torture and abuse, Makoto lost her will to resist and gave up.
For her, the world was entirely the Kamiya clan.
She had no human relationships except for her torturer master and the cold-blooded assassins.
[You’re not a gasnaga. You have to live as a musma. Assassins are better off as musma, you see.]
A life where even her gender was denied.
That was the world that Kamiya Makoto had lived in until now.
Moreover, Makoto couldn’t even commit suicide on her own terms.
[Want to die? You can’t even die on your own.]
After ten failed suicide attempts and being terribly tortured for daring to try to take her own life, Makoto gave up everything.
So when her assassination plan was uncovered by Kim Deok-Sung, she resigned herself.
‘After all, life for me has only been suffering, so dying like this wouldn’t be so bad.’
Finally, I can die.
That’s what Makoto thought.
[Your bomb. I’ll remove it for you. But in return… If the bomb is gone, you will have to serve me instead of the master. That’s my condition, Kamiya Makoto.]
That’s why she accepted Kim Deok-Sung’s ridiculous proposal.
After all, she was already a dead woman walking.
Her agreement to serve him was sincere.
If he could lift the inviolable seal of a god-like master.
If such absurdity truly happened.
‘I guess dedicating the remainder of my life would be okay.’
“It’s okay to give everything up.”
Makoto thought that way.
But today, the moment she received the suppressant and the nanomachines stopped.
The world Kamiya Makoto knew collapsed.
The restraints that had controlled her, the powerful 문주 and the Kamiya clan she had revered like a god, were absurdly easily undone.
That realization finally hit her.
“Ugh, hic…”
Tears gushed from Makoto’s eyes like a waterfall.
“I’ll serve you as my lord, just like I promised. If someone like me is enough, I’ll become your sword.”
She placed her hand on her chest and swore.
“My very own lord.”
Makoto swallowed the rest of her words and smiled.
This is not friendship (Illustration included).
Three days since the transfer student arrived.
Olivia had been feeling increasingly out of sorts lately.
There was no need to worry about Nishizawa, that thieving cat, returning soon or Rin constantly vying for his attention. Those were always there.
The problem was the transfer student.
“Kim, let me carry your bag.”
She never expected her role would be taken by a guy, not even a girl.
Olivia pouted.
“Ugh…”
A groan escaped Olivia’s lips.
In her view, she saw the green-haired princely boy, Makoto’s face.
“Eek! It’s Kamiya!”
“Just standing there, Kamiya looks like he’s glowing.”
“Is that the Black Beast next to him?”
“Kamiya, what’s your relationship with Kim?”
Surrounded by girls buzzing like bees, Makoto sparkled with beauty.
“With Kim? Hmm… A friend I swore to be with for life… Maybe?”
Makoto scratched her head, blushing slightly as she replied.
Makoto’s arm brushed against Kim Deok-Sung’s shoulder.
Kim Deok-Sung’s expression twisted.
The girls nearby erupted in laughter at Makoto’s reaction.
“Eek!”
“Is the Black Beast aiming for Kamiya as well? Not even distinguishing gender? What a real beast!”
“Kim, doesn’t he look pretty good now?”
“Kamiya and Kim seem to fit well together, don’t they?”
The girls chattered excitedly.
“Hahaha…”
Makoto scratched her cheek, a hint of color on her face.
“By the way, Kamiya, your skin is amazing.”
“What kind of skincare do you use?”
“You’re a guy, but your skin is better than mine as a girl. So jealous.”
The girls surrounding Makoto blushed and chattered.
At that moment, Kim Deok-Sung’s face crumpled like a horror movie.
“Hey! What’s all the commotion here?”
Thud.
Olivia stepped forward, huffing in irritation.
“Don’t block the way to school! Everyone, scat!”
At Olivia’s shout, the girls dispersed immediately.
Left alone, Olivia huffed.
She didn’t feel good.
Even knowing that Makoto was a guy, a strange discomfort lingered.
‘No matter how you look at it, this is not friendship.’
Is it a woman’s intuition?
Makoto’s attitude was different from how Kurosawa and Ishihara treated Kim Deok-Sung.
Olivia’s instincts were ringing alarms.
She didn’t like how the trip to school continued like this.
‘It was better going to school with Shinozaki and Nishizawa.’
Those two thieving cats were annoying, but they didn’t make her feel this way.
‘This is irritating…’
Just then, while Olivia was pouting her lips.
“Good job, Olivia.”
She heard Kim Deok-Sung’s voice in her ear.
Olivia’s face turned red.
“What, why would you compliment me on something so obvious? I’m not at all happy about it! It’s not like I did it for you! And hey, Kamiya!”
Thud.
Olivia placed her hand on her chest and glared at Kamiya Makoto.
The gazes of the two women collided in the air.
The gaze collides with the air.
“What’s the matter, Miss Bonaparte?”
Kamiya Makoto flashes a prince-like smile.
A smile so charming, any girl would swoon.
‘Disgusting…’
But to Olivia, it felt like nothing more than a contemptuous smirk.
“Carrying Kim Deok-Sung’s bag is the duty of this personal maid, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte. Hand over the bag right now!”
Hearing Olivia’s words, Makoto lets out an awkward laugh.
“I’m Kim’s soul mate. Wouldn’t it be better if I carry it instead of you, Miss Bonaparte?”
“Shut up!!”
“Both of you, shut your mouths.”
Kim Deok-Sung speaks with a hint of irritation.
The two immediately fall silent.
“Hey, Makoto. Give my bag to Olivia.”
“…Okay, got it, Kim.”
“Ha! I knew you’d choose me, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte! You truly are someone who can’t be without me!”
As Olivia receives Kim Deok-Sung’s bag back, she smiles victoriously, but then she notices Makoto’s gaze.
Inside Makoto’s green eyes, there’s a clear emotion of jealousy.
The prince’s mask had long since shattered.
Olivia bites her lip.
‘This transfer student… is suspicious.’
A countermeasure is needed.
*
It’s the fourth day since the transfer student arrived.
“Hmph, hum hum, hum hum hum hum♪”
Nishizawa Eri is in a good mood.
She strolls down the academy corridor, humming a tune.
Yesterday, the school community service ended.
Today marks her return.
“Today is the day Eri-rin reunites with her master♬”
Nishizawa Eri fiddles with the dog collar around her neck.
It feels like warmth is radiating from the collar.
Thump.
Her heart races.
“Hehe…”
A smile spreads across Nishizawa Eri’s face.
She can’t wait to see her kind master again; her pounding heart won’t calm down.
Tap.
She stands in front of the 1st Year A-Class Classroom.
“Master…”
Nishizawa Eri’s face turns red.
A smile curls at the corner of her mouth.
Nishizawa Eri’s seat is right next to Kim Deok-Sung.
That means they’re partners.
‘The only student who can be paired with my master, besides the princess and the cow, is me.’
Hehe.
Nishizawa Eri chuckles.
Taking a deep breath, she flings the door open.
“Master! Good morning! Eri-rin is finally back from community service… Huh?”
Nishizawa Eri’s eyes widen.
As usual, Kim Deok-Sung wears a dissatisfied expression.
But next to him sits someone else instead of her.
A beautiful boy with green hair and green eyes.
It’s Kamiya Makoto.
“What are you doing? Who are you to sit in Eri-rin’s seat without permission?”
Nishizawa Eri narrows her eyes.
Makoto, seeing her face, flashes his prince smile.
“Oh, hello, Nishizawa…-san? I’m Kamiya Makoto. I transferred here not long ago. Just call me Kamiya-kun.”
No sooner had Makoto finished speaking than gasps filled the air.
“Makoto-kun’s voice is so cool!”
“If Nishizawa-san is the best beautiful girl in the region, then Makoto-kun must be the best handsome boy!”
“This guy isn’t just the best; he’s the galaxy’s top handsome!”
“Don’t they seem to get along pretty well? They look like a perfect couple! If only Nishizawa-san didn’t have such a rough mouth.”
“This guy, but Makoto-kun already has Kim-kun!”
“Kim-kun, no way you have that kind of taste?”
Kim Deok-Sung’s expression twists, listening to the extras.
“I couldn’t care less about that. Answer my question. Why the hell are you, a piece of trash, sitting in my seat? It’s unpleasant. Trash.”
Clack.
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