Now that the Unlucky Sloth experiment had wrapped up, we had a clearer direction.
Facing Seo Ye-in, I began to speak.
“The situation is more serious than you think.”
“Unlucky.”
“Exactly. The bigger issue is that we’re not prepared.”
Take Shin Byeong-cheol, for example. Since he knows he’s unlucky, he always puts minimal safety nets in place and acts with caution.
That’s why, even though he keeps getting caught up in things, he still manages to survive each time.
Seo Ye-in, on the other hand, was born with blessed luck.
Since everything usually works out for her, she tends to go with the flow and act on impulse.
That means she’s more likely to get involved in incidents and end up in danger because of them.
“Think about everything that happened today.”
“A sad day…”
“We were only out for a short time, and look how much happened. Now imagine that going on for a whole week.”
“….…!”
Seo Ye-in seemed to sit still and start imagining it.
This time, we were lucky the Disciplinary Committee stepped in and stopped the fight before it happened, but there’s no guarantee they’ll show up next time.
She could even end up with a spicy chili in every bite of food she eats.
If these events keep chaining together…
Her gray eyes widened slightly.
“The school… destroyed…!”
“How did you jump to that conclusion?”
“This is serious.”
She had blown it way out of proportion, more than I intended, but at least the gravity of the situation had sunk in.
“There’s a very effective way to handle times like this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s called Turtle Mode.”
“?”
Seo Ye-in tilted her head in confusion.
I continued in the tone of a documentary narrator.
“When a turtle senses a predator, it hides inside its shell. And it stays like that until it’s safe again.”
“!”
“Let’s do the same. Hole up indoors until your luck comes back.”
“Great idea…!”
Seo Ye-in nodded enthusiastically, clearly pleased with the suggestion.
She even clapped her fingers together. A gesture she rarely made.
But of course, you should always listen to someone until they’ve finished speaking.
“Of course, that’s just a metaphor. We’re not actually turtles, right?”
“?”
“So if we’re going to spend time, let’s spend it meaningfully. Let’s train.”
“Nooo…”
***
We spent most of our time at the training center.
The only time we went out was to grab meals at the student cafeteria.
During the day, we beat down the metal training dummies or sparred with each other, sharpening our skills and abilities.
I focused on [Sylphid], while Seo Ye-in worked on [Fickle Trap].
With the trap’s power weakened, it was actually better for training.
She could set them off and trigger them freely without much concern.
At night, we gathered mana in the special training room.
Naturally, all while keeping Kim Ho Pillow Mode activated.
Since there wasn’t really anything else we needed to do, we planned to keep this up until the weekend of Week 12.
Fortunately, Seo Ye-in showed no signs of feeling cooped up. She was adapting surprisingly well.
She has always been more of an indoors type.
No wonder people called her a human sloth.
One thing that had changed, though. She seemed even more attached to me than before.
She always tried to keep me in her line of sight and stuck by my side no matter where we went.
So I decided to ask,
“Are you feeling anxious? Because your luck’s gone?”
“…A little.”
Seeing that, I felt a bit mischievous and asked again,
“What would you do if I ran away and left you here?”
“…Confinement.”
A rope appeared in Seo Ye-in’s inventory.
So she hadn’t thrown it away.
“Obviously, I’m joking. Where would I go? I’ll stay by your side.”
“Lifetime butler.”
“You still haven’t given up on that, huh?”
***
A few days passed like a hamster on a wheel.
I was training as usual when a message came in.
[Dang Gyu-young: (Surprised fox emoji)]
[Kim Ho: You’re here?]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Annoyed fox emoji)]
[Kim Ho: ?]
[Kim Ho: (Confused fox emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Interrogating fox emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: Why didn’t you come out to greet me?]
[Kim Ho: How was I supposed to know when you’d arrive?]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Fox smashing a table emoji)]
[Dang Gyu-young: You should’ve pitched a tent out front three days ago!]
[Dang Gyu-young: Was I the only one who missed you?]
[Kim Ho: Of course I missed you too, noona.]
[Dang Gyu-young: I’ll give you a chance to make it up to me.]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Fox holding a bat emoji)]
[Kim Ho: I’m coming.]
[Kim Ho: (Full-speed running fox emoji)]
I said to Seo Ye-in,
“Noona’s done with her midterms. I’m going to see her.”
“Let’s go together.”
As she said that, Seo Ye-in grabbed onto my sleeve.
Rather than wanting to see Dang Gyu-young, she seemed more like she didn’t want to be apart from me.
I narrowed my eyes and asked,
“You’re not going to start another fight, are you?”
“Peaceful personality.”
“Not very convincing.”
“Icon of trust.”
Seo Ye-in looked up at me with a confident expression.
Whether I believed her or not, leaving her alone felt more worrying.
Considering her luck stat had been in the negatives for days, there was no telling what might happen.
So I took Seo Ye-in with me and left the training center.
The closer we got to the Dungeon Building, the more frequently we saw third-year seniors. It looked like they were also coming out after finishing their midterms.
They really made it all the way to the sixth day.
Their individual skills were on par with or even above our Dragonclaw Soldiers. With a large enough expedition, they probably had a fair shot.
But they likely ran into the same wall we did. No amount of manpower could overcome the obstacles posed by the Dragonwing Soldier or the Craftsman Dragon.
Even if they were lucky enough to find a card synthesizer, landing a hit with [Piercing Spear] was another matter entirely.
As I kept walking past the third-years, lost in thought, I spotted two familiar silhouettes in the distance.
There they are.
It looked like they had recognized us too.
In the blink of an eye, one of the silhouettes vanished and then, something stirred in the shadow beneath my feet.
Suddenly, Dang Gyu-young popped out and threw her arms around my neck.
But the bright smile she greeted me with only lasted a moment before her lips pushed into a pout.
“You seemed to be doing just fine without me. That stings a little.”
“No way. I missed you so much I came out to meet you like this.”
“Not that.”
“Then what?”
“Your slot increased, didn’t it?”
▷Bond [2/2]
1. Dang Gyu-young
2. Seo Ye-in
She must’ve been able to check the skill details even from inside the dungeon.
Her arms around my neck tightened a bit.
I replied casually.
“Let’s not get too caught up in the slots. There’ll be more added over time. I’ll even give Go Hyeon-woo a spot eventually.”
“Go Hyeon-woo too?”
“Of course. He’s basically one of the founding members.”
“……”
“And no matter how many there are, you’re still number one.”
“……Hehe, right? I’m number one, aren’t I?”
A pleased smile tugged at the corners of Dang Gyu-young’s lips.
But just then, Seo Ye-in who’d been standing nearby tossed out a comment.
“Encouragement reward secured.”
“……”
Dang Gyu-young’s eyes narrowed again.
Her grip on me tightened once more.
“Looks like you didn’t just do fine. You built the Great Wall of China without me.”
“It’s not that serious. I was just keeping my promise after a hard-fought battle.”
“Can’t you break a promise like that every now and then?”
I answered shamelessly.
“I’m just a consistent kind of guy.”
“A consistently awful one, maybe?”
“I’ll take that.”
When I nodded without hesitation, Dang Gyu-young kept pressing.
“So, how many times? The kisses.”
“Does the number really matter?”
“Mhmm, so I can double it.”
“Like I said before, this isn’t a competition.”
“Yeah, this isn’t a competition.”
Dang Gyu-young’s eyes blazed with fighting spirit as she looked back and forth between me and Seo Ye-in.
“This is war! You raided the house while I was gone!”
“……!”
Seo Ye-in didn’t flinch. She met her gaze head-on.
So much for that “peaceful personality”. That had clearly been a bold-faced lie.
But the standoff between them didn’t last long.
That was because Jegal So-so approached with a face full of curiosity.
“What’s going on? Morning drama? Let me in on it!”
“Sho! Why do you always want to butt in?”
“Because you guys are always having fun without me! Let me in! Just one bite!”
“Oh, not this ‘one bite’ thing again! Hey, get her out of here!”
A bunch of Qyu Shadows popped up and charged toward her, but Jegal So-so had clearly seen it coming. She stepped gracefully through them using light footwork.
With fluid movement, she slipped through the encirclement and landed softly at my side.
Then, with a playful grin, she asked,
“Hey, Young Monarch~ Didn’t you miss your noona?”
“You crossed my mind from time to time.”
“Good. You should think of me. Even if not as much as Qyu-Qyu.”
Jegal So-so nodded contentedly.
Then, in a slightly sly tone, she continued,
“Next week is a full rest week, right?”
“That’s right.”
“You remember the promise we made, don’t you?”
“You know how many promises we’ve made. Hard to keep track of them all.”
Since I wasn’t sure what she was referring to, I tried to prompt her for an answer.
But going up against a seasoned third-year vice president and especially a Jegal was a losing battle.
The two noonas exchanged a deadpan glance.
“Did he seriously forget?”
“For real? How could he forget that?”
They folded their arms and closed in on me from both sides, turning up the pressure.
And that finally jogged my memory.
“Ah… you mean the trip to the downtown area?”
Back during the Fixed Zone tournament, they had gone off on their own, banging drums and making a bet.
Each of them had wagered that Mo Yong-jun and Han So-mi would make it to the finals.
The result? Both were eliminated in the preliminaries.
Sho-Qyu nodded at the same time.
“We said we’d buy you a meal.”
“Take turns.”
“Twice.”
“Dessert included.”
That mention piqued Seo Ye-in’s interest too, and she tugged at my sleeve.
“…Arcade.”
“Not right now.”
Normally, we might’ve gone just to blow off some steam, but the situation right now wasn’t good.
I placed my hand on Seo Ye-in’s head as I explained.
“Sorry, but I’ve got to take care of her.”
“Take care of her? Why?”
“She’s under a heavy penalty. We’re trying to lay low for a while.”
“How long is ‘a while’?”
“We’re not sure either. If things go well, it might be over sometime next week. If not, it could drag into the week after.”
Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so both voiced their complaints in unison.
“Hey, backing out like this is cheating!”
“She’s under a penalty. We can’t exactly drag him out.”
I spoke gently, in a calm and soothing tone.
“It’s not like I don’t want to hang out with you, noonas. Let’s push it to next time.”
“…I guess we don’t have a choice.”
“If the situation improves, I’ll message you.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
The two didn’t press the issue any further and backed off.
Then they each went their own way, saying they’d focus on club management for now.
As I watched them walk away, Seo Ye-in tugged at my sleeve again.
“Can’t we go?”
“It might be dangerous.”
At the very least, it’s riskier than staying within school grounds.
Is it really worth taking that risk just to have a little fun?
Unless I can get some kind of item out of it…
Like an arcade prize, for example.
With that thought, I decided to check the prize list.
It gets updated from time to time, but most of the items are everyday stuff like tiger plushies that are pretty much useless for me.
Still, once in a blue moon, something really good shows up.
And when I saw the very top of the list, I couldn’t help but change my mind.
…Yeah, I have to go now.
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