Chapter 61. On the Bed (1)
How did it come to this?
The moonlight, once hidden by clouds, began to shine down onto the bed.
Could it be because the house’s owner has no interest in cleaning?
The glass window on the ceiling is covered in an inexplicable layer of dust.
Surely, dust that should be washed away with rain or snow sits stacked up.
The moonlight couldn’t pierce through it, casting bizarre shadow patterns on the blanket.
As the moon moves and the wind blows, the shadows start to writhe.
The woman beside me.
Hugging a gun and rubbing her face against it.
The shadow, monstrous in form, reached out towards her with its mouth.
A sharp-toothed black beast.
A beast yearning for her purity manifested as a wriggling shadow and began to engulf her.
It’s an illusion.
A simple illusion.
The movement of the moonlight doesn’t change that quickly.
True, the window is dusty, but that alone shouldn’t create such thick shadows.
Even if it accidentally forms like that, it shouldn’t be able to move like that.
Yet it still appears to my eyes.
The dark beast formed by the light of the moon turned its back, swallowing the starlight.
The wriggling black predator.
With its mouth open, it seeks to devour the solid being of the dark night.
This is why I didn’t want to share a bed with anyone.
Dragged forcefully onto the bed by Yumil, who wouldn’t let me escape to the sofa.
“I can’t let the old hero sleep on the sofa, right? Isn’t that right?”
“Ah? Yes! Of course. The bed is big anyway, so we can all sleep together…”
“But… it bothers me…”
“Then we’ll sleep on the sofa, so you can take the bed!”
No matter who I am, I’m not so shameless as to let the homeowner sleep on the sofa.
Caught in Yumil’s trap, I was dragged into the bedroom.
That’s how the current situation was created.
Three women lying in one bed.
Yumil.
Chung Solim.
The big bed is wide enough that it doesn’t invade anyone’s space, but that’s not the issue.
First of all, I don’t want to share my sleeping space with others.
Secondly, there’s a young woman right next to me.
Not just one.
One of them looks just like me, so how can anyone think she’s a woman?
Without being able to close my eyes, the night drags on.
The shadow monster of the illusion nibbles at people, but it has no effect and continues its attack.
Continues. Continues.
How much time has passed?
“Are you awake?”
“Shut up.”
The root cause of the whole situation spoke.
“You teased the innocent Chung Solim, so is it okay if I do this much?”
She giggled.
That girl knows I hate sharing a bed with others.
Yet, she still forces this upon me out of spite.
“Let’s talk.”
“I’m going to sleep now.”
“You have basic physical capabilities similar to mine. You could stay awake for several nights, you know.”
Yumil seems unusually cocky today.
She rolled the blanket around herself and edged closer to me.
The fluffy bed didn’t cause vibrations even with a person rolling around, but the thin blanket hugged her closer.
“Don’t take the blanket… don’t get so close…”
In the meantime, Chung Solim started talking in her sleep.
As the blanket was pulled away, I couldn’t help but notice her pajamas.
Thin, tights-like pajamas.
While they weren’t as tight as motorcycle suits, they revealed enough of her developed body.
It would be rude to stare at the body of another woman, so I quickly averted my gaze.
Instead, I found myself facing my own dark reflection.
She bared her teeth and made a playful expression.
That Yumil.
This must be intentional.
She certainly enjoys watching me squirm.
Meanwhile, Chung Solim, wanting her blanket back, flailed her arm that wasn’t gripping the gun, but when it didn’t come back to her, she hugged the gun tighter and curled up.
For the sake of her honor, I didn’t turn to look.
That was merely to use my other senses to perceive the situation.
Why is it that even in times like this, my senses paint a clear image?
I could afford to slack off a bit.
Is making me flustered her idea of fun?
The face before me twisted more into a mischievous grin.
Her eyes narrowed, her mouth widened, revealing gleaming white teeth.
I never thought having memories would make it this hard.
I didn’t realize how painful it could be to be targeted only in my weak spots.
It can’t be helped.
“In the weekly hero program, there’s a Kim HyunSae.”
The reporter said, trying to regain control and clearing his mind.
I refuse to be tangled up with some kid hundreds of times younger than me.
“Go interview that guy as the Black Marauder. Don’t disclose Chung Solim’s identity, do it solo.”
“Are you saying to keep it a secret from Solim?”
“That’s up to you. Anyway, if the interview gets out, everyone will know eventually. I recommend not hiding it.”
“What do you mean by go solo?”
You must have a rough idea of my thoughts, so why are you asking me back?
It enables the fact that there’s a connection between the Black Marauder and Chung Solim to remain unknown. You know that well, don’t you?
From now on, it would be better to avoid being seen with Chung Solim as much as possible.
You couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.
If you have my memories, you must know how dangerous it is to act like that.
“I don’t know how I could explain until now, but from now on, Chung Solim will be frequently seen in the press. I need to nip this in the bud…”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been following Solim until now while conducting transmissions, but Solim has never been caught. Didn’t you find that strange?”
I hadn’t thought about it separately.
With my skills, I can hide and it’s easy to run while carrying Chung Solim. Most average girls wouldn’t be able to catch up.
Was there another method?
With the thought of that lingering in my mind, she opened her mouth and laughed.
“I’ll show you directly.”
As she said that, I felt mana gathering within her body.
I wondered if she was going to do something.
Just a bit, and I could feel the mana within her body draining.
The manifestation of magic. And at that moment…
SHLUUURRRP
Yumil’s face started to flake away.
It wasn’t a metaphor; her face literally started to flow down like liquid.
Before I could even be shocked by it, her face quickly began to reconstitute itself.
Like handling clay, her face began to morph into a person.
At long last, I could see what she wanted to call herself.
“Well, how about this?”
Her hair was a short yellow bob reaching her shoulders.
The face of a woman giving off a neutral vibe from not growing properly.
Her pupils were clouded, her gaze unfocused.
…Is this a transformation spell?
“It’s precisely a shape-shifting spell. But the range is limited to my body, and I can’t do impression tricks, so it’s basically useless.”
It seems like she awakened her magic as the magic girl.
Unlike me, she seems to have a talent for magic.
It looks like her original transformation ability and her magic as a magical girl merged to make that kind of change.
“So, you changed your appearance and went around unnoticed.”
“You didn’t think I just wandered around like that, did you?”
Her laughter rang out.
“Don’t make that face while laughing.”
“So, can I hang out with Solim now?”
“Don’t beg with that face.”
“Okay, okay, but don’t take me to the interview location.”
“I naturally know that too.”
As she said this, she smiled again.
Is maintaining that face testing my patience?
“Change your face.”
“Why? Is it because of an old flame?”
What a brat.
And it’s not an old flame.
“I have my limits for how long I can hold back when you keep showing me.”
“I know the location.”
Oh, then that changes things.
I hadn’t been able to find out with all the incidents popping up while trying to.
“I heard it’s on the Hokkaido side of Japan.”
“That’s a contaminated zone.”
“There’s a no-access area for the management agency to land at the end. It’s been confirmed that they built a house to live there.”
I see.
I’ll have to take my students there.
Once she confirmed that my mood had calmed down, she disintegrated her face again and returned to her original look.
Right after she dispelled her transformation, she curled up the blanket and started rolling around on the bed again.
“Is the reporter you mentioned reliable?”
“I don’t know either…”
“…Then why are you asking me to interview him?”
If asked, I’ll just do it without complaint.
That thought welled up in my mind, but I held it back.
I must be kind to sentient beings.
Besides, didn’t she just deliver the information I was looking for?
“If you can criticize the International Federation in front of the spokesperson of the management agency, there’s no way they won’t bury or refuse an interview.”
“Oh, that reporter! Now I remember.”
During the public interview with the Black Marauder, he passionately argued why I shouldn’t be designated as 0-Rank.
If the Black Marauder himself comes to interview, he might just publish it somehow.
“Can I do the interview on my terms? Any demands?”
“Just keep it reasonable.”
Since she has my memories, she’ll know how to handle it.
While I was talking to the rolling Yumil on the bed, an unexpected incident occurred.
“It’s cold.”
SLAP
A soft burden pressed against my back.
“What’s behind me?”
“It’s Solim, who threw away her cold gun and found another blanket. You handle it.”
Something about her tone felt off.
Like she knew this would happen, her demeanor was unsettlingly flat.
“Is this how you usually sleep?”
“Pretty much. Every day when I wake up, there’s saliva on my face.”
I’ve been fooled.
I should’ve been suspicious about the arrangement from the start.
Why am I in the center?
Shouldn’t Yumil be in the center while I’m at a corner?
Why did she intentionally wrap the blanket around herself?
“Yumil?”
“Good night.”
“Yumil?”
GRRRR
Instead of answering, Yumil started to gnash her teeth and fall asleep.
Are you grinding your teeth too?
“Yumil!”
Now there was no response at all.
Instead, the warm softness pressed against my back grew stronger.
Long ago, I remembered a line from a comic.
No paradise lies where you escape to.
The place I fled to escape from my student is another battlefield.
Help me.
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