The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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Ignoring the warm and soft sensation on my back and hands, I carefully moved her into the room.

She hadn’t really drunk much, so there was no smell of alcohol at all, but despite that, a unique scent from the animal was tickling my nose.

I liked that smell, but in the past, my family would have freaked out at such an animal scent and would never have allowed us to keep pets.

But Ho-yeon was definitely not a pet.

“…Heave-ho.”

With a princess-like posture, I gently lifted her as if carrying a treasure chest and laid her down on my bed with utmost care.

She stirred for a moment as if uncomfortable, then seemed to find a comfortable position and quietly fell back into a deep sleep. I let out a breath of relief.

Seeing her sleep with the most peaceful expression made me think she really was too defenseless.

At the same time, I slightly regretted having suggested she try a drink.

She said it was her first time drinking, and I thought I’d check her limit and show her what alcohol was, but I never expected she’d be out after just three glasses!

Each time she softly inhaled and exhaled, my gaze instinctively fell upon her rising and falling chest.

And then…

“…So soft.”

I gently caressed her head.

With black mixed in a white backdrop, I had always wondered what her hair would feel like, and indeed, it was soft. It seemed like she took care of it every day.

Knowing someone was watching from behind her, my hand naturally gravitated towards the good side.

Though I was tempted to touch it since it looked so luscious, thinking of Byeolbi’s words made me restrain myself.

She had allowed it, but I wasn’t sure if that had truly been her intention for permission or a warning. Other gods also described her existence as anomalous.

To begin with, her purpose in the story hadn’t even been revealed. There was that little information about Byeolbi. I also didn’t know her abilities accurately.

I only knew she was infinitely close to being omnipotent.

Knowing such a being was watching Ho-yeon, I couldn’t act carelessly.

…Still. Just this once, wouldn’t it be okay?

“Ho-yeon…?”

I cautiously called her name to check if she was awake. If she woke up, I really wouldn’t know what to say.

Fortunately or unfortunately, she had no reaction.

The only response when I called her name was her ears twitching for a brief moment. I called her again just in case, but it seemed she was still deep in slumber.

Then this was finally the real deal.

I silently asked myself countless times if this was something I should really do, but I found this one nearly impossible to resist.

“…”

Slowly, like an ant crawling, I reached my hand toward Ho-yeon’s chest.

And it touched.

No sudden lightning struck or unexpected birds flew in.

I could simply feel the soft, elastic sensation at my fingertips. Just touching the bare skin peeking through her dress made me feel an odd sense of accomplishment.

For a moment, I thought maybe Byeolbi’s words could be taken more literally than I had thought.

Originally, I only intended to touch, but my thoughts had changed a bit.

I gently stroked her exposed skin with my fingers. With her still showing no reaction, it was hard to restrain myself.

…Sorry, Ho-yeon. This time it’s your fault.

At first, just using one finger; then two. Then three. Greedily, I even tried to grab it all, but it seemed that was too much, as a reaction immediately followed.

“…Huh.”

I guess that was a bit too much. And for just a moment, I felt a sense of emptiness for my foolish actions in giving in to temptation.

What on earth was making me do this?

The sensation was excellent, but was it really worth risking her trust?

Reality hit me hard, and I decided to just wash it off.

Since she had occupied the bed, I would have to sleep on the floor today, but with spare blankets and pillows, it wasn’t a big concern.

After all, I couldn’t just lay Ho-yeon down on the floor.

When I washed with cold water, it felt like my mind was clearing up. I toweled off and changed into pajamas, only then realizing I should have washed with warm water.

I normally wouldn’t make such a foolish mistake. Thoughts of how “a certain body part can make a man foolish” crossed my mind.

It seemed to be true.

Well then… what should I do? Maybe I’ll just pet Ho-yeon until I fall asleep.

“…Where is this?”

A strange ceiling. My head didn’t feel like it was splitting open, nor was my body sore, but I didn’t feel like I had truly slept.

So, yesterday, I boldly drank under Dokan’s words.

I drank, but…

What happened next?

It felt like someone had erased the memory of what happened next, and I couldn’t recall it at all.

“…Ugh, what on earth happened…?”

Dancing, watching a silly play, eating. Happy memories came to mind, and I felt a fleeting happiness, but they didn’t explain my current situation.

Getting out of bed, I realized I was still in yesterday’s clothes. I looked for something odd, but everything seemed like wrinkles from sleeping.

The only thing off was the shoes I had evidently taken off in bed.

But still, this scenery felt oddly familiar. It wasn’t unlivable, but the sight of the room was definitely one I couldn’t merely blink at.

And sprawled out on the floor was Dokan.

A woman who had been drinking was in her close friend’s room.

Oh dear.

Why was I in Dokan’s room?

As that thought crossed my mind, I jumped out of bed and shook him awake.

Dokan, startled awake like he had been hit by lightning, quickly snapped back to reality.

“Why am I here?!”

His mind was awake, but he was still half-asleep, demanding an explanation about why I was there.

With a look that said “well, here we go,” Dokan stretched and slowly began to explain what had happened yesterday.

“…So, you remember drinking?”

“Yeah.”

“You had about three glasses… and then you got super whiny and fell asleep.”

Whiny and then fell asleep? More importantly, I worried about any slip of the tongue I might have made while drunk.

“Did I… say anything strange…?”

“There’s nothing strange about unloading your worries to a friend.”

That sounded… but still, I was afraid of discussing sensitive topics.

“So… like family matters…”

“Oh, nothing like that. Just that I feel like my father has too many expectations of me, that kind of chat.”

If that wasn’t family matters, then what was it…?!

“Anyway. I had no suitable place to leave you after you passed out, so I had no choice but to bring you to my room. And then… well, this is how it turned out.”

That was his claim.

“Nothing weird happened, right…?”

More importantly, it was important if Dokan had done anything to me. No matter how much of a friend he was, I knew well how reckless a guy in his prime could be.

“…Yeah.”

Dokan hesitated for a moment but insisted there was nothing unusual.

Could that really be true?

But with no signs of anything wrong with my body, I had no reason to press him further.

“Really…?”

“To tell the truth… I did stroke your hair a bit. Sorry for lying.”

So he did do something!

But… that was within the bounds of forgiveness. He just stroked my hair after all.

When I was little, my father would scratch my back or stroke my hair when I slept.

Though Dokan wasn’t my father, I didn’t mind that much, so I decided to let it slide.

“…Just make sure to ask for permission next time. Of course, only when no one’s around.”

Though it might be different with others, Dokan stroking my hair might actually be okay.

“Yeah. I’ll do that.”

Though he had just woken up, he seemed to like that suggestion and smiled faintly.

More importantly, though, I felt like I had forgotten something big.

It was related to the academy…

Ah, right. Today was the first day back to normal classes.

“…Dokan.”

“Why?”

Dokan looked as if he still hadn’t grasped the situation.

“I just remembered, but today is our day to return to normal classes.”

“What? You must be mistaken. It’s until tomorrow.”

“We got found after being outside for a day.”

“Oh.”

He checked the clock. Only 20 minutes were left.

“…See you in the classroom!”

With that, I hurried back to my room. Fortunately, the hallway was empty, as the kids had already gone to class.

But with only time to change, there was no possibility for a wash.

Struggling with my clumsy hands, it took me five whole minutes to get dressed. I wondered if I’d have enough time, but… I still had to wash, even if just a little.

– I beseech you, God! Please cleanse this body of all impurities!

I knew I shouldn’t, but in my haste, I called out to God.

-…Hoh, you seem to be in a hurry. What’s the matter?

-I’m about to be late for class…!

I felt a sense of self-loathing for calling out to God for such a trivial reason, but I still didn’t want to be late for the academy.

– Hah, to call me for such a trivial matter. If it weren’t you, I would have punished you!

Though it may have sounded like that, I could feel God’s essence wrapping around me.

In no time, I confirmed that the tangled hair and lingering scent of alcohol had vanished, and after a short thank-you, I dashed toward the classroom.

There were ten minutes remaining.

That much time seemed tight, but I should be able to make it.

With that thought, I sprinted and just barely arrived two minutes before the ceremony started.

“…Huff, huff…”

Before entering the classroom, I tried to catch my breath and regain some dignity. When I finally entered the classroom, it was exactly one minute before the ceremony began.

That was cutting it pretty close.

Dokan seemed to have arrived on time too, as he was calming himself next to me. With the extra time, I glanced around the classroom and noticed a few empty seats.

…Looks like we have an injured student in our class as well.

With that, the teacher and… a certain girl walked in together with the start of the ceremony. Who was she?

Then the girl opened her mouth.

“Hello everyone. We have so many injured students in our class… Until they recover, I’ll be spending time in this class. My name is Cecilia. Thank you for your kind understanding.”

In short, she was the new student.