I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City - Chapter 119



118 – Rohan’s Happy Circuit

“Ummm…”

Rohan opened his eyes, cradling a feeling of refreshment.

Could this truly be the effect of a mere thirty-minute nap?

The aftereffects had completely vanished; his head felt clear, his body light.

‘Feels like I slept soundly for hours.’

He idly reached out, groping for his phone.

“Huh?”

The time displayed on the phone screen was peculiar.

Question marks plastered themselves all over his mind.

‘Not AM, but PM?’

He had laid down for just a short nap in the morning, but lunchtime had already passed.

An awkward afternoon hour, too early for dinner.

Even after rubbing his eyes, the clock trapped within the screen remained unchanged.

‘I distinctly told them to wake me in thirty minutes… did they just leave me be? Did I sleep that soundly?’

Lost in such frivolous thoughts, he was about to move and check on Sion and Clara when…

Rohan felt it.

A strangely disturbing sensation in his lower body.

“…?”

Suddenly, a sense of foreboding seized his entire being.

Nevertheless, Rohan’s gaze didn’t stop its descent.

‘No way… really?’

A nasty stickiness clung between his skin and pants.

And on top of that, dried stains.

He registered it first as a scent assaulting his nostrils.

A chill crawled up his spine. He confirmed it.

Then, despair crashed over him.

‘Am I going to die?’

He came to his female colleague’s house, dozed off for a bit, and then this? A wet dream?

Even the mental fortitude that had withstood torture at the hands of Omegas felt shaky, about to shatter.

“…”

Waking up and feeling clear-headed might not be the result of sleep.

Maybe it’s just post-nut clarity.

‘It’s been a while since it happened… Ah, I just want to die. Is there a rope anywhere?’

Just as Rohan sank into the depths of his despair,

the sound of girls chattering outside the door reached his ears.

In an instant, his consciousness iced over like a bucket of ice water dumped on him.

Instinct searched for a breakthrough to prevent social suicide, even murder.

‘Sion and Clara are outside.’

Whether they knew about this shameful situation or not was uncertain, but Rohan didn’t have the option of confidently walking out the door.

That was absolutely out of the question.

‘The window!’

His eyes found a brilliant escape route.

He could get out that way.

It was a stroke of luck that it was a mansion close to the dormitory.

He resolved to change his clothes, take a shower, and get back quickly.

Rohan moved with the utmost silence,

opened the window, and used his socks as makeshift shoes for his escape.

He cleaned himself up and even grabbed a pair of pants that were as close to the originals as possible.

Rohan completed that whole process in under ten minutes.

Then, he used his keycard to open the front gate of Sion’s house. He re-entered through the window of the room he’d been in.

And calmed his trembling heart.

He slowly turned the doorknob and left the room.

His heart pounded, wondering if Sion and Clara knew about this whole thing.

“…You’re awake.”

“Oppa… did you sleep well…?”

The two of them were seated at the newly arrived dining table.

The atmosphere was undeniably strange. This only intensified Rohan’s anxiety twofold.

Had they failed to notice him coming and going, changing clothes?

Relieved by the lack of any mention, Rohan went and sat at the table.

He observed them.

‘She changed clothes again?’

Was she preparing to go out? Was this the air of sulkiness that comes after preparing meticulously, only for him to oversleep?

In Rohan’s mind, rationalization and wishful thinking began to spin together.

“Did you perhaps try to wake me, but I fell back asleep?”

“S-sort of.”

“…”

Sion averted her gaze slightly as she answered.

Klara also lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers.

“I’m really sorry. Did you at least have lunch?”

“…”

This time, there was no reply. They both closed their mouths simultaneously.

Sion and Klara quietly exchanged glances, then unconsciously darted their tongues out to moisten their lips.

“…We ate our fill.”

“Y-yeah…!”

Judging by their demeanor, they must have eaten something delicious and filled their bellies.

But Rohan was hungry.

Feeling a pang of hunger, he simultaneously decided on a way to lift the girls’ spirits.

“It’s a bit late, but should we head out now? Have dinner, do some shopping.”

Rohan’s offer to play the pack mule finally made Sion and Klara’s eyes light up.

They hurried to get ready, pulling on layers of clothing.

Rohan’s party left the mansion and headed toward an area densely packed with commerce.

Rohan felt a wave of relief that the major incident, where an academy student named Rohan nearly faced social death, had been successfully swept under the rug.

Rohan repeatedly vowed to ensure that he thoroughly improved the moods of the two girls.

“I’m hungry~”

“Oppa didn’t even get to eat lunch…”

“Starting with dinner is fine by me.”

Sion, having finished speaking, suddenly latched onto my right arm, sticking close.

Lohan sent a questioning glance, to which she responded with a confident face, offering a justified explanation.

“Lohan. This isn’t anything weird.”

“…Then?”

“I was just about to explain how many annoying guys would bother me if I walked around the street without any precautions.”

“Ah.”

Lohan, recalling the messages he’d received, gave a nod of understanding.

Sion was, for the first time, grateful to have been born into the elven race, a species representing beauty.

Not only could she say such embarrassing things with such boldness,

but she also wondered if it might be a slightly advantageous factor in being loved by Lohan.

“Oppaah…I, I’m scared of strangers, too…”

One of Lohan’s free arms was also surrendered to Clara.

Regarding that, Lohan didn’t need to ask for any explanation.

He knew Clara’s personality and her extreme shyness around strangers.

“If Sion and Clara are comfortable like this, then that’s how we’ll do it.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“Thank you, oppa…”

He wasn’t really in a position to be thanked.

Lohan was also feeling happy and enjoying the situation.

Ah! A harem? You know about those.

For Lohan, who had lived as a Hunter in Korea, it was an unbelievably delightful resonance.

Thanks to that, all that remained was the mindset of simply enjoying the present moment.

The gazes piercing him like arrows from all directions just felt like envy.

‘I had fun.’

Today, Clara’s day was perfect.

Lohan being so kind and considerate made her so happy she almost melted.

And to top it off, an unforgettable memory was made, overflowing with joy.

‘Especially the part where I thought Shion-unni and I wouldn’t notice….’

It was endearing how he escaped through the window, then returned wearing similar clothes.

That frozen expression he wore when he opened the door. I almost burst out laughing.

‘Rohan-oppa….’

Calling out his name, she tumbled around on the bed.

Amidst the man’s deep-seated allure, an unintentional charm coexists.

Just thinking of Rohan filled Clara with positive energy.

*Srrr…*

After rolling around for quite some time, Clara rose from the bed.

She approached the desk and pulled out a locked box from underneath.

*Click!* Unlocking it, she opened the box.

Various sizes of glass vials were visible. Each contained a different liquid.

Having received elite training in assassination, she knew how to handle and manage most named poisons, so she always kept vials of various capacities on hand.

Oil for maintaining blades and firearms was also stored here.

“…”

She had no intention of maintaining weapons or searching for poison right now.

Her purpose was different.

She found a small box hidden at the bottom of the larger one and took it out.

From noble mtl dot com

It felt like she took it out every ten minutes. She needed to stop, but her hand wouldn’t obey.

A box within a box.

It was a prize she received for placing first in an assassination test during her spy training at Xeno.

Back then, she hadn’t felt any joy, but now, she was glad to possess this object.

‘I don’t know what unni would have done, but…’

Immediately after the incident, Clara had a thought and searched through online medical texts.

The viscous liquid she had obtained today could be stored for a very long time if it was frozen at a specific temperature with antifreeze added.

The conditions were extremely demanding, but Clara was capable.

The palm-sized box recognized Clara’s fingerprint and *click!* unlocked.

Condensed technology.

An artifact that used magic and science to maintain the freshness of a minuscule amount of liquid and store it safely.

Inside the box, a small glass vial rested, holding Clara’s treasure.

An exceptional, potent poison? No. An elixir to heal any wound instantly? No.

Such things neither caught the girl’s eye, nor were they of interest.

“Heehee…”

She lifted the thumb-sized vial, observing it. A white, viscous liquid was contained within.

Humming a little tune, the girl examined the sticker affixed to the vial.

Today’s date and a heart were drawn on it.

‘Ah… I’m so happy…’

It wasn’t a matter of using this or preserving it fresh.

It remained, for now, simply a memento.

“Hehe…”

Clara’s eyes curved into crescents as she recalled a certain moment, a smile blooming on her lips.

A flush rose vividly on her cheeks.

It felt as if the peculiar heat and intense scent still lingered on her skin, sending a shiver through her.

She had also kept the ruined clothes, unwashed.

Clara was certain that Sion, too, had left theirs unwashed, as the washing machine remained idle.

That night, the girls stayed in their own rooms.

Sion and Clara did not seek each other out.

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And so, the days passed.

Rohan and the others passed the time by shooting at the indoor shooting range located in the mansion, or by training together.

As the holiday ended, the day to return to the academy dawned.