〈 Episode 332 〉 A Short Story Before the Last Semester (1)
*
The next day.
Even though there was still a bit of vacation left.
We returned to the Academy a little early.
“Fck.*”
[You, my dear, are wearing your shoes the wrong way.］
‘…..Maybe the numbness hasn’t worn off yet. I didn’t even notice because I can’t feel anything.’
With a rather haggard face.
My body ached all over because of last night, and my hands and feet trembled.
If I didn’t focus, it wouldn’t be strange to collapse right away.
Seeing me like that, Hyeji cautiously spoke up.
“Shinwoo… are you okay?”
“No.”
“…I’m sorry, husband.”
Hyeji and Elcia turned their gazes away, unable to meet my eyes.
They seemed to understand, at least to some extent, that what they did last night was excessive.
Of course, they looked a bit tired since they had taken the lead, but.
No one looked as bad as I did.
Then Caressy started rampaging, looking at the relatively easy target, Elcia.
“Where’s mine!!! Last time you did it, so this time you should let me do it too!!!”
“I refuse.”
But Elcia didn’t back down easily.
Though she felt guilty towards me,
It seemed like she didn’t feel the same guilt towards Caressy.
Just the usual shameless Elcia.
“Why don’t you broaden your heart!!! Why are you so narrow-minded!!!”
“Isn’t it natural?”
Suddenly, Elcia started thumping her lower abdomen like a drum.
“Because I’m a beauty!”
“It’s not your belly, you fcking Ear Goblin!!!”
In contrast, Caressy started stomping her feet with her tail puffed up.
[Are we perhaps testing Nopia’s patience?］
‘It feels like she’s already sharpening her knife?’
Though the others weren’t particularly conscientious either.
Elcia was especially brazen towards Caressy.
It seemed like there was still a bit of resentment left from when Caressy interrupted Elcia’s date previously.
However, discord among the heroines isn’t particularly good.
I struggled to step in and quickly extinguish the spark of a fight.
“Let’s go. There’ll be more chances later.”
“Got it.”
Caressy readily answered, putting on a calm expression.
She didn’t seem too bothered by it.
Though she couldn’t hide her drooping tail and ears.
“Thanks.”
“Meow~.”
When I stroked her head, finally, her tail and ears perked up lively.
At the same time, I turned my gaze to Elcia.
“And Elcia. Please refrain from tea-bagging. Caressy only got to do it once.”
“…Okay.”
She hesitated a bit, but Elcia finally agreed to that.
It wasn’t perfect, but it would suffice as a temporary measure.
Meanwhile, Hyeji and Ayeon seemed to be talking to each other, a bit impressed.
“Unexpectedly, Shinwoo has some backbone.”
“Are you talking about the thrusting power? If that’s the case, then obviously, the master is the best, right?”
“Exactly. A man’s backbone is important.”
The content was a bit weird though.
[So, what are you planning on doing now?］
‘Let me think for a bit.’
I recalled the members of the Academy I had asked for help from.
Research students.
Ability users.
Access Control Department.
And finally, the dining hall staff.
Among these, the research students have already been a great help to me.
They became the last opportunity for a turnaround at the stage of being elected student council president.
Without them, it would have been difficult to obtain the position of student council president.
Needless to say, my ultimate goal would also become a bit harder.
Though that wasn’t the only reason I helped them.
To be honest, it was also because I felt pity for their pathetic and miserable lives.
That was the best choice I had made.
[You pity them? But all you can do is set fires, right?］
‘That’s why I’m planning to set a fire.’
[Aah.]
On the other hand, the situation regarding the other members was currently difficult.
Both helping them and having them help me.
In the end, the only way to save them was to eliminate the Academy.
“What’s first, Shinwoo?”
“Husband! What can I help you with?”
“I’ll follow you wherever, as well.”
“Just trust me!”
Even if what I’m doing isn’t completely right, the heroines willing to help me.
This time, I decided to ask for their hands as well.
“Thanks, then I have a request.”
I decided to send them to different destinations.
While it isn’t bad to stick together,
I wanted to use the time as efficiently as possible.
First, I decided on Hyeji’s destination.
The Security Management Department.
“Hyeji, just say it’s the first week of April, and they’ll understand.”
“Is that it? Do you not need anything else?”
“It’s fine. I’ve already said everything. Thanks for taking care of it.”
As for Ayeon, she was to go to the research students.
“Ayeon, go tell the research students to get backup as much as possible before April.”
“Got it. I’ll whip those sluggish piglets!”
Before I knew it, Ayeon had a whip in hand.
It was just a bit far from a regular whip in the general sense.
After all, it looked more like a depraved leather whip you’d see at an adult store.
“Don’t do that. That could count as a reward.”
“Ah, my mistake. That was for my master. I’ll prepare another one for slaves.”
“……Don’t do that to me, fck.”
Caressy was heading towards the ability users.
“Caressy, just tell them from April. I’ll let you know the positions of the ability users.”
“Can I really go? Something feels off.”
Caressy’s anxiety was definitely valid.
The ability users tended to be a bit exclusive.
It would only be after throwing a bait several times that I could finally engage in sincere conversation.
Even so, Caressy was the right fit for this task.
“They often yell ‘Oh God, please!!!’ when they can’t hold on. The saintess will give them a warm welcome.”
“……I don’t think they meant it like that… but anyway, understood…”
Lastly, for Elcia.
“Can you go to the dining hall and tell them to prepare for the first day of April?”
“Got it!”
Through the process of elimination, it seamlessly transitioned to the dining hall.
“I’ll pick up some food while I’m at it!”
“……Eat reasonably, okay?”
To be honest, I was a bit anxious.
Elcia could never resist food.
And now she was headed to a dining hall filled with food.
Without a brake to stop her at all.
“Of course, I’ll just eat a little! Do you not trust me?”
“Yeah.”
“Did I not eat enough yesterday? I still have the energy to speak, don’t I?”
“Sorry.”
In the end, I decided to send Elcia to the dining hall.
Looking at Elcia’s eyes, half-turned due to greed.
I doubted she would listen if I tried to stop her.
And if I wasn’t careful, my own safety could be at risk.
[What do you plan to do about saving the dining hall staff while sending the source of destruction?］
‘That’s the paradox we have to overcome to dismantle the Academy.’
“Let’s meet at Hyeji’s dormitory afterward.”
After sending everyone off to their respective destinations.
I also began to move.
To prepare for a neat conclusion.
*
Rustle.
One sheet of paper fluttered down, and then the next content unfolded.
Not long after, another flutter of paper repeated itself.
Before long, the last page was revealed.
A short text written on the top.
And below it, a blank space that seemed to demand something.
Bang!
Finally, that blank space was filled with red ink.
As the one who stamped it muttered grumpily in the background.
“……How long must I keep doing this?”
“It can’t be helped. The only person who can handle it right now is the chairman.”
The owner of the voice was the chairman and his secretary.
Though they spoke straightforwardly to avoid irritating the chairman’s mood too much.
The chairman still grumbled in a disgruntled tone.
“If that lizard girl hadn’t been absent without leave, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“They say her behavior suddenly grew mysterious a few days ago.”
“It’s strange that she, who never missed a day off, didn’t come. Could it be some love escape?”
“Who knows. Please proceed with the next approval.”
While answering the chairman’s complaints, which were erroneous yet seemed valid.
The secretary again mechanically passed on the documents without a hint of hardship.
However.
Thud.
“Ah, sorry about that.”
It seemed the receiver had limits to receiving like a machine.
In a moment, the documents passed by the secretary slipped from the chairman’s hand.
Consequently, the bundle of papers scattered all over the floor.
“Please wait a moment. I’ll pick them up right away.”
“No, I’ll do it myself.”
The secretary tried to step up as if it didn’t matter, but.
The chairman quickly bent down towards the floor before her.
“Really, you don’t need to bother…”
“If I dropped them, I’ll pick them up.”
The unexcused absence of the lizard beastman.
That was pressure for the chairman as well.
While normally there would be no complaints about his job being hell, suddenly it stopped, and.
Thanks to this, his workload had increased.
In the chairman’s mind, he thought that it was just minor complaints piling up.
And he tried to be careful that such things would not happen to his secretary.
“Then please pick them up quickly.”
“……Understood.”
Suddenly feeling a bit flustered and thinking maybe it wasn’t necessary to be careful.
Anyway, they decided to quickly handle the matter in front of them.
But perhaps due to his hurried mind, his tired body didn’t keep up.
Slippery.
“Huh?”
He stepped on a piece of paper that wasn’t in his line of sight for a moment.
As a result, the chairman slipped and was about to fall forward.
Faster than his hands could reach, his face was about to meet the ground.
Thud!!!
“Watch out!”
The secretary quickly grabbed the chairman’s arms tightly.
Thanks to her, no major disaster occurred.
“Thank you.”
Excluding the awkward situation where the chairman was leaning against the secretary.
The chairman, with a flustered face, quickly opened his mouth.
“…I feel a bit weird, so can you let go of me?”
“I-I’ll help you up immediately.”
Surprisingly, the secretary also stuck to her stubbornness in these trivial matters.
Though she didn’t show it, she unconsciously blurted it out due to embarrassment.
However, the problem was.
“Let go now; I’m fine.”
“P-Please wait just a moment! Ugh!”
The chairman’s weight was just a bit too heavy for the secretary to handle.
She was struggling a bit and letting out soft groans as she tried to stand him up.
It would have been fine to just let go, but her pride being hurt had caused problems.
The unnecessary pain bred from stubbornness had both of them groaning.
“Urgh! My arm hurts, let go! Grr!”
“Just a moment!!!”
One fortunate point for them and one unfortunate point was there.
Firstly, it was fortunate that their painful groans didn’t last long.
But unfortunately, it was when the groans ended.
Bam!
“Gahhh!”
“Whoa!!”
It ended when someone unexpectedly visited the chairman’s office.
And that someone was definitely someone who shouldn’t be here at this time.
“……”
That person was none other than Kim Shinwoo.
He was simply staring at the chairman and the secretary, who were in a rather awkward position.
Then, the chairman, who was maintaining a flustered pose, began to speak as calmly as possible.
“……I can explain everything.”
“I’m at my limit! I’m sorry! I can’t take it anymore!”
“Ah, no! That’s not what I meant—!”
The chairman desperately denied it.
But sadly, Kim Shinwoo’s actions were a little faster than the chairman’s words.
What a shameful turn of events.
Click!
“W-Wait!!!!!”
“D-Don’t move!”
In an instant, Kim Shinwoo took out his phone and quickly snapped a photo.
Then he hurriedly left the chairman’s office.
Leaving only the two behind.
Thud!
“Ugh!!!”
One of them was the chairman, who was panicking and flailing about.
His previous embarrassment gained him no results at all.
The only achievement was a crumpled sheet of paper.
And the other was the secretary, who was squandering her energy, gasping for breath.
Annoyance fueled by embarrassment surged a bit too strong.
*
