“Then, how about we go to my place, get cleaned up, and fill our stomachs?”
“···!”
“There are things I want to discuss regarding immigration, and I also need to thank you for helping Rohan.”
Rohan intervened in the conversation, trying to convey Clara’s intentions to Juyen on her behalf and get her out of there.
Given the girl’s timid nature, he thought there was no way she’d accept such an offer.
“Th-thank you! Then… excuse me…”
But what in the world?
Before Rohan could even move, Clara bowed her head deeply and nodded in agreement.
‘…Clara?’
Who knows what she was feeling to accept Juyen’s invitation.
At her response, Rohan was so shocked that his heart did a backflip and his throat felt blocked.
Honestly, it was more bewildering than admirable.
His words were stuck in an incomprehensible situation.
The girl shifted her gaze and locked eyes with Rohan.
Though she had voiced her intention to go, Clara didn’t look too good.
Her hands were trembling from nervousness, and her complexion was pale.
It seemed like accepting the invitation had overloaded her mind.
‘But why?’
Why did she accept Juyen’s offer?
Rohan racked his brain, wondering if he had missed something in the girl’s actions. He pondered whether he should stop her now and ask.
But the resolve in Clara’s eyes seemed firm.
“Rohan. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Juyen’s voice snapped Rohan out of his thoughts.
Juyen, with a faint smile, brushed her red bangs aside and continued the conversation.
“You said you haven’t eaten properly while drifting around. It’s late, but how about you join us for dinner, Rohan?”
“Is it really okay for me too?”
“Clara seems more comfortable when she’s with you. I’d like to hear more details too.”
“···!”
Juyen’s sharp intuition and judgment.
Clara, though blushing shyly, looked a bit less tense.
“Rohan. The Security Bureau will drop you off at the dormitory. Go get cleaned up and come back slowly.”
At those words, Rohan looked down at his outfit.
‘Total rag.’
His cadet uniform was torn to shreds and stained with blood.
It was the kind of outfit that would draw stares if he walked down the street.
“Don’t even think about moving around alone. If you wander around like that, you might get reported and end up back at the Security Bureau.”
“···.”
Without a word, Rohan got into the security officer’s car at Juyen’s command.
As they moved, he made sure to exchange messages with Clara to confirm her intentions.
··
··
‘I wanted to go to oppa’s place…’
Clara watched as Rohan drove away in the car, lost in thought.
He said he had changed a lot recently.
Sure, there were many changes for the better, but there were also moments like the current situation where he acted with absurd audacity.
Before he could even think rationally, his mouth moved first, leaving him utterly embarrassed when he came to his senses.
As for why he accepted the offer, even Clara herself couldn’t quite figure it out. Thanks to that, being left alone with Juyun was beyond nerve-wracking.
Juyun, who had finally regained her composure and was processing the fact that Clara and Rohan had returned safely, was lost in thought.
The conversation between the two was completely one-sided.
“Shall we get moving too?”
“Y-yes…”
After Rohan left, Clara shriveled up like a flower deprived of sunlight.
The shyness she had shown so far didn’t even come close to what she was displaying now. She was sweating buckets, barely managing to squeeze out answers to Juyun’s questions.
Still, Juyun wasn’t fazed.
After all, she was an instructor at Orion Academy, responsible for students around Clara’s age.
As they headed home, it seemed like the girl’s lips had opened ever so slightly.
*Ding-dong!*
Juyun opened the door and gestured for Clara to come in.
“Think of this as your own home and make yourself comfortable.”
“Th-thank you…!”
Clara took off her pitch-black boots at the shoe rack.
She lifted her lowered head and looked ahead. And then she froze in awe.
‘Wow…’
Juyun’s residence in the academy city. Should this be called a house or a palace?
In any case, it was wealth that far exceeded Clara’s expectations. Her shoulders couldn’t help but shrink.
The girl followed Juyun, passing through a corridor longer and wider than her own room.
And then she faced a living room the size of a sports field.
Juyun, pulling the hesitant Clara along, opened a cabinet and began taking out toiletries.
At the same time, she spoke softly.
“Take out any weapons you have and put them somewhere comfortable. I won’t touch them. If I wash them as they are, either the washing machine or the weapons will break.”
“…”
Of course, she already knew without being told.
Clara began taking out her weapons without resistance. She knew how meaningless and shabby her blades looked in front of Juyun.
Excluding the weapons hidden in her boots, the girl began placing her weapons on the table.
Two classic fixed knives, one karambit, two folded balisongs, a silencer, and a pistol.
Even the empty magazine she had used in the dungeon.
After neatly arranging these, Clara kept only her most important weapon, Arachne, in her hand.
“The bathroom is through that door. Leave your clothes by the door, and I’ll wash them for you, so don’t worry and go take a shower. I’ll also set out some spare clothes for you to change into.”
“Ah, th-thank… you…”
Clara took the item from Juyun and scurried off to the bathroom.
“The bathroom is bigger than my room…?”
She couldn’t help but marvel every time she passed through a door.
Clara quietly closed the door behind her and began to carefully undress.
Finally, down to her underwear.
She slightly opened the door, stuck her hand out through the gap, and placed her laundry outside.
Before heading to the shower, which seemed like it might run out of hot water any second.
The girl observed her naked reflection in the mirror.
She moved this way and that, checking herself out.
“Am I… too small?”
She grabbed and squeezed, feeling soft and pliable, but it didn’t quite fill her hand.
It was something she never paid attention to before, but lately, it had been bothering her.
“Noah unnie is like that, Sion unnie is big too… and even that person…”
All the women around Rohan seemed to have outrageously voluptuous figures.
Except for herself.
Being around such impressive people made her feel like her own figure was lacking.
“…”
If she had eaten well during her growth spurt, maybe the result would have been different.
Clara felt a pang of sadness looking at her meager curves reflected in the mirror.
Meanwhile, outside the bathroom.
“Huh?”
Juyun, who was about to do the laundry, stopped in her tracks when she saw Clara’s discarded clothes.
Her mouth unconsciously fell open.
“Where on earth did she get underwear like this…?”
Juyun had always thought Clara’s outfits were unique and flashy. But what was hidden underneath was even more so.
In Juyun’s hand was an incredibly risqué sheer underwear. A tiny piece of fabric that barely covered the essentials.
It looked like her bottom would be completely visible if she wore it. It was so thin that her fingers could be seen through it.
“Is… is this what everyone wears these days?”
Juyun was flustered.
For someone who only sought out comfortable, plain materials, this kind of underwear was something out of a fantasy.
While the laundry was spinning in the machine, she started seriously considering whether it would be okay to lend Clara her own boring clothes.
She was genuinely starting to worry about it.
*****
“Phew!”
Rohan, who had just arrived at the dormitory, finally had some time to relax and savor his reward.
Despite all the commotion, things had been resolved more neatly than he expected.
He struggled to peel off his cadet uniform, which had stuck to his skin as the blood dried.
He rummaged through his jacket to check the reward Sion had given him.
Clara had already consumed hers on the spot, but Rohan had saved his. He needed some time to focus after consuming something like this.
“This is big.”
Two fingernail-sized fruits rolled around in his palm.
Knowledge about this item had entered his mind as soon as he left the dungeon. Rohan had known about it before, but…
It was also an item.
[The Fruit of Ivy Roselia]
◇ A fruit left behind by the devouring flower bud, Ivy Roselia.
◇ Consuming it slightly enhances physical abilities and magical power.
◇ The effect diminishes with repeated consumption.
In Abyss City, it’s something you can gather by continuously running dungeons, but who knows how it is in reality.
Whatever it is, I need strength urgently. So, I won’t refuse the gesture.
Rohan even ate the two that Sion left behind.
“Mmm.”
Sweet, but with a slightly astringent aftertaste lingering on the tongue.
I think I understand why Clara made a face when she ate this.
After swallowing it, how much time had passed?
Rohan focused his mind on the changes he felt.
‘Oh! Is this magical power?’
Even if it’s low-grade, maybe because it’s a potion. The magical power in his body popped up like chewing popping candy.
That sensation quickly subsided, and Rohan felt a satisfying progress, despite the description saying it was minimal.
‘Good. Next.’
It’s time to check the real important reward.
The reward called “Seneca’s Luck,” which I didn’t understand just by hearing the name.
Rohan, who couldn’t grasp what it was even after receiving it, could find the answer by opening the Shop.
< Shop ─ Lv.2 >
◇ ■■■■ Skillbook – 5,000P (1-time purchase available – granted by Seneca’s Luck)
◇ Low-grade Stamina/Mana Potion – 100P
◇ Dining Hall Reservation Ticket – 50P
◇ Concentration Enhancing Scented Candle – 50P
··
··
◇ Samhwa Kingdom Fruit Set – 10P
◇ Rainbow Macaron Set – 8P
◇ Chicken/Pizza – 8P
◇ Large Combat Ration – 5P
··
··
[Remaining Points – 8,772P]
The pleasure of having plenty of points, even after buying and eating food and potions, is secondary.
The letters on the random skillbook were garbled. It must be because of that thing called Seneca’s Luck.
Curiosity was intensely stimulated.
It’s not a problem that can be solved by thinking deeply.
Rohan immediately moved his hand.
[■■■■ Skillbook has been purchased.]
