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

Title: "I've Become a Rights Character in Academy City" – Chapter 119 "Ugh..." Rohan awoke feeling refreshed. Could this really be the effect of a mere 30-minute nap? His head was clear and his body felt lighter, as if the aftereffects had completely vanished. "Feels like I've slept for hours." He relished the sensation and instinctively reached out his hand. He grabbed the phone he had tossed beside him. "Huh?" When he turned it on, the time displayed on the screen seemed off. Question marks flooded his mind. "Is it PM and not AM?" He had intended to take a short nap in the morning, but now it was past lunchtime. It was that awkward afternoon time when it was too early for dinner. Even after rubbing his eyes, the clock trapped in the screen remained unchanged. "I definitely told them to wake me in 30 minutes... Did they just leave me be? Was I sleeping that soundly?" With that trivial thought, Rohan moved to check on Shion and Clara. Then he noticed it. An inexplicably bothersome sensation from his lower half. "...?" An ominous feeling suddenly took over his entire body. Even so, Rohan couldn't stop his gaze from descending downward. "Could it be... seriously?" A sticky, uncomfortable feeling was clinging between his skin and pants. And there was a dried stain too. As he recognized it, a scent reached his nose. His spine tingled. He checked it. And despair set in. "Should I die?" He had come to a female colleague's house for a nap and ended up having a wet dream? Even the resilience he had shown when tortured by an Omega was on the verge of breaking. "..." Perhaps it wasn't the power of sleep that made him feel clear-headed upon waking. Maybe it was simply the clarity after the fact. "I haven't washed it or changed it since it happened... Ah, I just want to die. Is there a rope somewhere?" While Rohan was plunged into deep despair. He caught the sound of girls chatting from outside the room. In a flash, his consciousness cooled as if ice water had been poured over it. Instincts sought an escape to prevent both social and actual suicide. ZGVPdDc2cnQxMFU0bVlrbnZITXlVaVdadUZaNERVRUYxeGJiY0JNQytJdXZNSWFoaC9xL0dqbU1FUjhUUWhlQw "Outside, there's Shion and Clara." Whether they knew the mortifying situation or not was uncertain, but Rohan had no choice of leaving the room with bravado. Such an option didn't exist, even unless beaten senseless. "The window!" His eyes found a perfect escape route. He could get out through there. Luckily, the mansion was close to the dormitory. He resolved to change clothes, shower, and return quickly. Rohan moved as silently as possible. He opened the window and used his socks as makeshift shoes to escape. After cleaning himself and finding pants of a similar color. Rohan finished the entire process in under 10 minutes. He re-entered Shion’s house via the front door with a keycard. Then returned through the window to his original room. He calmed his racing heart and slowly opened the door to leave the room. He wondered if Shion and Clara knew about this ordeal, making his heart pound. "You awake?" "Oh, bro... you slept a lot..." The two sitting at the newly set table. The atmosphere was a bit strange. This made Rohan's tension multiply. Had they not noticed him going in and out and changing clothes? The lack of mention made Rohan feel relieved as he went to sit at the table. He observed them. "Have you changed into different clothes?" Were they getting ready to go out? Was this atmosphere from preparing and waiting while he'd overslept and kept them? Inside Rohan's head, rationalizations and wishful thinking began spinning together. “Did I fall back asleep after you tried waking me?” "That... seems right." "..." Shion answered, briefly averting her eyes. Clara also lowered her head and just fiddled with her fingers. "I'm really sorry. Did you have lunch?" "“...”" This time, there was no answer. The two simultaneously closed their mouths. Shion and Clara exchanged quiet glances, and unconsciously moistened their lips with a slight flick of the tongue. "We ate a full meal." "Y-Yeah...!" Judging by their demeanor, it seemed they had eaten something delicious to their fill. But Rohan was hungry. Feeling the hunger, he chose a way to relieve the girls' moods. "Bit late, but shall we head out now? We can have dinner and do some shopping." As Rohan proposed being the errand boy, Shion and Clara finally brightened their eyes and began to get dressed quickly. The Rohan party left the mansion and headed to an area where stores were densely packed. Rohan was assured, relieved that the major incident, which came so close to social death, had been smoothly defused. He resolved again to thoroughly make sure the two were in good spirits. "I'm hungry~" "You didn't get to have lunch, did you..." "We can have dinner first." As she finished speaking, Shion suddenly clung to his right arm, snuggling close. When Rohan gave her a quizzical look, she confidently offered a justified opinion. “Rohan, there's nothing strange about this.” “...Then?” "You've been told how bothersome it is when unwanted guys approach you without someone to fend them off." "Ah." Rohan recalled the messages he'd received and nodded in understanding. Shion, as a member of the beauty-representative race of elves, was grateful for the asset she was born with. She could say such embarrassing words with confidence. And believed it might be a slightly advantageous factor in earning Rohan's affection. “B-Bro, I'm also scared of people I don't know...” Rohan's other empty arm was now claimed by Clara. In her case, Rohan understood there was no need to demand an answer. He knew Clara's personality and extreme shyness. “If this makes Shion and Clara comfortable, then that’s how it should be.” "Thank you." "Thank you, bro..." Being thanked didn't fit his position. Rohan, too, felt this situation was enjoyable and satisfying. Ah! A harem? So you understand. It's a sweet resonance that Rohan, who had lived as a hunter in Korea, could never have imagined. So all that remained was an attitude to simply enjoy the present. The gazes piercing like arrows from all directions simply felt like envy. ***** "It was wonderful." Today was perfect for Clara. Rohan’s gentle attentiveness nearly melted Clara with happiness. Moreover, she was overjoyed to have made such a memorable day. "Especially thinking Shion and I wouldn’t notice..." The image of Rohan sneaking out the window and returning in similar clothes was endearing. When he emerged from the room with that stiff expression, she almost burst into laughter. "Rohan oppa..." She playfully rolled around on the bed, repeating his name. In between the gaps of his rich masculine charm lay unintentional cuteness. Just thinking of Rohan filled Clara with positive energy. Swish──. After rolling around for a while, Clara got up from the bed. She approached her desk and pulled out a locked box from below. Click! She unlocked it and opened the box. Inside were glass bottles of various sizes, each holding different liquid. Thanks to her elite training in assassination, Clara could handle and manage all kinds of renowned poisons. She always kept different quantities of glass bottles on hand. She also stored oils for maintaining blades and firearms here. "..." However, she had no intention of managing weapons or seeking poisons today. Her purpose was different. She sought out a small box hidden at the bottom. It seemed she took it out every ten minutes or so. She knew she should stop, but she couldn't help herself. A box within a box. It was a reward she received for placing first in an assassination exam during her spy training at Zeno. Although she hadn’t felt any joy back then, she was now glad to own this item. "Who knows how Shion unni handled it." Following the incident, an idea had struck Clara, prompting her to search through online medical textbooks. The sticky liquid obtained today had a surprisingly long shelf life if stored with antifreeze at a specific temperature in frozen conditions. Though the conditions were demanding, Clara was capable. The palm-sized box recognized Clara’s fingerprint, and click! The lock released. Concentrated technology. An artifact that used magic and science to maintain the freshness of minute quantities of liquid and ensure safe storage. Inside the box was a small glass bottle containing Clara's treasure. A special and lethal poison? No. A potion to heal wounds instantly? No. Such things never caught the girl’s eye or interest. "Huhu~" She lifted the thumb-sized glass bottle and observed it. It contained a white, sticky liquid. Humming gently, she checked the sticker on the bottle. It had today's date along with a heart drawn on it. "Ah... so happy..." She wasn’t preserving it fresh to put it to any particular use. For now, it was simply a keepsake. "Hehe..." Recalling a certain moment, Clara's eyes formed crescent shapes and her lips curved into a smile. Her cheeks flushed deeply. She still felt a tingling warmth and the lingering distinct scent on her skin. Her wrecked clothes were stored rather than washed. Since the washing machine wasn’t in use, Clara was sure Shion had done the same. That night, the girls settled into their respective rooms. Shion and Clara didn’t seek out each other. ·· ·· Days passed like that. Rohan and the others spent time honing their skills in the mansion’s indoor shooting range and training together. And soon, the day arrived for them to return to the academy as the holidays came to an end.