Chapter 114

Heck—

Heck—

The sound of faint yet labored breathing.

The once lustrous golden hair was now matted, and her smooth skin had become dry and rough.

“Why, why am I here…!?

Sophia.

Of English mother and Korean father, she was a mixed-race girl.

She had originally been a famous model active worldwide.

But two years ago, she had started working diligently as a foreign laborer in Korea, her father’s homeland, when a job opportunity arose.

Yet, she had no idea where she was now or why she was here.

Well, to be honest, she had a guess.

A year ago, she had suddenly awakened, and naturally, she felt the urge to become a hunter.

Always an action-first person who relied more on her body than her head, her decision was swift.

She immediately applied to the Velvet Hunter Academy and even took the entrance exam.

To be honest, she hadn’t expected much from the exam, as she hadn’t undergone any special training.

But lo and behold.

She had unexpectedly passed!

However, there were people who couldn’t accept this outcome:

Her parents.

The Velvet Academy admission letter and cadet uniform had been delivered to her house, but her parents had received them before she could.

On the night she received her acceptance letter…

Sophia found herself in a three-way confrontation with her parents.

-Sophia, being a hunter is truly a dangerous job.

-Mama, I know…!

-Sophia, you took the Academy’s exam without saying a word.

-Papa, that…!

-Why don’t you think about it again? Other children undergo specialized training from a very young age. But you, Sophia, get scared just from seeing monsters from a distance. It’s not that we’re against you becoming a hunter, but choosing this path with a light heart is an insult to those who have trained for it.

-And if you suddenly enroll in the Velvet Academy, what will happen to your modeling career? We already have contracts with cooperating companies, and the penalty for canceling CFs is astronomical. Do you have sufficient countermeasures in place for that?

Her parents desperately tried to dissuade her, presenting realistic reasons and elaborating on the dangers of the hunter profession, leaving no room for her to refute.

In fact, Sophia’s parents were well aware of their daughter’s personality, and they had always prepared for the possibility of something like this happening ever since she awakened.

-Alright, fine… I can’t argue with that.

Their thorough preparation shone through, and Sophia eventually gave in.

As a result, she never attended the Academy even though she had been accepted, and her awakening had come later than most,

In reality, she was just an ordinary person who had never experienced anything like actual combat, so her parents’ words weren’t entirely unreasonable.

After that, she put her dreams of becoming a hunter aside and continued to thrive in her modeling career.

Occasionally, when news about the Velvet Academy reached her, she would feel a twinge in her heart, but she would shake her head, convinced that it wasn’t her path.

But how did she end up here?

After finishing a dawn photoshoot and on her way home, she was suddenly kidnapped and brought to this strange place, only to find Lina, whom she had always seen online, right in front of her!

She soon realized something was wrong.

“Ugh, I couldn’t say anything because I was the first one to be dropped off…”

She had intended to protest to Lina after the exam explanation was over, but as she was the very first one to be dropped off, she didn’t even get a chance to speak up.

And so, she was now wandering the deserted island, shivering and muttering to herself.

“……My feet hurt, I’m hungry, thirsty, sleepy… I want to take a bath…”

It had already been two days since she started wandering on the deserted island.

Her stomach was always grumbling, and her throat was parched.

She hadn’t been able to get a proper night’s rest, and now she didn’t even have the energy to keep moving.

The only thing she had brought with her was a pair of bright red shoes from her modeling job.

But what use were a pair of shoes in this situation?

Sophia was currently wandering aimlessly in search of the ‘shop’ that Lina had mentioned.

[2000 coins]

Fortunately, as a Healer, she had received 2,000 coins as her basic allowance.

If she could find the shop, her immediate concerns would be resolved.

“But where is it? I don’t remember the map, and I have no idea where I am right now…”

Blame it on her foolishness, but there was no point in complaining now.

Back then, she had been too flustered and hadn’t fully grasped the situation, so she had been too busy staring blankly at Lina.

“What if a monster suddenly appears?”

She clutched the shoes like a lifeline and scanned her surroundings.

Tuktuk.

Tuktuk—

Swaaaah—!

“Rain?!”

As if her situation wasn’t bad enough, it started to rain.

While this would solve her thirst, what about afterward?

Sophia had no knowledge of survival skills, but she knew enough to understand that getting soaked in the rain in this situation was dangerous.

Just then.

Her eyes landed on a cave in the middle of the mountain.

“I might be able to take shelter from the rain in there.”

She forced her reluctant legs to move and began climbing the mountain, staggering with each step.

After quite some time.

She stood before a pitch-black cave.

“Hellooo— Is anyone there…?”

She spoke awkwardly, glancing around.

‘Is anyone here?’

But just in case, she tiptoed inside on her toes.

Chlap.

Chlap.

‘……Water sound?’

A strange sound of water came from within.

Gulp.

Sophia swallowed her dry saliva and ventured deeper into the cave.

And the scene that greeted her eyes.

“Huh!?”

Sophia’s golden irises widened in surprise.

His black hair, wet and gleaming like the night sky,

His skin, like porcelain, with well-defined muscles.

His eyes, dark and brooding.

His prominent nose.

Despite having seen countless men during her modeling career,

His appearance struck her like a heavy blow to the head.

A man was taking a bath.

“……Wow.”

The sight before her was so captivating that it made her forget her fatigue, and a gasp escaped her lips.

And then, his dark eyes slowly turned towards her.

.

.

.

“……”

A golden-haired beauty stood before me, mouth agape, eyes locked on me.

Tier 1 Healer, 【Saint】 Sophia.

Yeah, I knew she would come here.

I had set up camp here specifically to meet Sophia.

‘But I didn’t expect you to come while I was taking a bath.’

She stood frozen, staring at me like a statue.

“Um, can you give me a moment to get dressed?”

At that, she spun around, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“So, so sorry! I, I didn’t know anyone was here! I, I wasn’t trying to peek! I, I’m not a pervert!”

Sophia stuttered, flustered.

“It’s fine.”

Chlap.

I stepped out of the makeshift bathtub on the cave floor and said,

“Really?”

“Yeah, as long as you don’t sneak glances while I’m getting dressed.”

“……I, I’m so sorryyyyyy!!!”

Sophia turned away again, her face tense with embarrassment.

I chuckled and finished drying off before getting dressed.

“Okay, you can look now.”

Sophia slowly turned her head.

And upon seeing me, she made a face that seemed a little… disappointed?

‘Whatever, it’s not important.’

“Who are you?”

Since I had been waiting here specifically to meet her, it was clear that something was amiss, so I asked.

“……Sophia!”

“Sophia, huh. Are you a cadet at the Academy?”

“Th, that! I, I’m not a cadet, though. I don’t really know why I’m here myself… Anyway, more importantly, You’re dick! Was it dick?”

‘……What?’

I frowned.

Did she just see that? She shouldn’t have.

I had covered it with a towel.@@novelbin@@

“I read it in the articles! Dick on the Cliff!”

Ah.

Shit.

My alias.

Flower on the Cliff.

It had been a long time since I’d heard someone else use that alias, and it seemed it had spread outside the Academy.

“People call you that… I’m not really familiar with Korean, so I don’t know exactly what it means.”

Whether she interpreted my expression or not, Sophia hesitated and added,

‘Now that I think about it, the setting is that you’re not very fluent in Korean because you’ve lived abroad for a long time, right?’

She had a Korean father, so she was quite proficient in the language, but due to the setting that she had lived abroad for a long time, she occasionally mixed up certain words.

‘I’ve seen a few scenes where she makes jokes about it, but it’s dizzying to experience it firsthand.’

I shook my head and said to her,

“……It means ‘Flower’.”

“Ah-ha!? Flower! Dick! I love smelling it! I like looking at it, too! I have a model of it at home!” (LoL ha ha ha ha ha)

Sophia closed the distance between us like an energetic beagle, her words tumbling out.

It’s fine, Sophia.

Hmm, it’s because you don’t know, right?

“……Just call me Jin Yuha.”

I said in a disgruntled tone.

“Yes? Jin-Yuha?”

“Yeah, that’s my name.”

“Oh, yes! Understood! Name! Jin Yuha!”

I stared at her.

Golden irises, wavy blonde hair, long limbs.

Though she had endured hardships for two days, her beauty was still evident despite the fatigue.

‘I didn’t expect her to know me.’

When I thought about it, it wasn’t strange at all. The reputation of the Utopia Party was still spreading outside the Velvet Academy.

‘……This might make things a bit easier.’

As I silently observed her, she couldn’t bear the awkwardness and spoke first.

“Um, I wasn’t supposed to come here! I don’t know how I ended up here!”

“You weren’t supposed to come here? Aren’t you a Velvet Academy cadet?”

I already knew her situation, but I played along as if I didn’t.

“Yes, yes! Of, of course, I took the exam and passed, but I’ve never been to the Academy even once!”

“So you’re an Academy cadet.”

“……Huh?”

“You’re still registered as a cadet at the Academy.”

“But I never signed up for any classes!?”

Sophia looked confused.

The Velvet Academy is fundamentally meritocratic.

As long as one has the skills, they are free to enjoy as much freedom as they like within the Academy.

That’s why Kang Do-hee could afford to be so bold during the initial course registration.

Otherwise, the students would have to attend classes even when there are special events.

To put it extremely, it was possible to graduate without signing up for any classes at all, as long as one performed well in the mid-term and final evaluations, just like Sophia.

‘……But for that to happen, Sophia needs to rank within the top three in this mid-term evaluation.’

In the game, Sophia never fails to rank within the top three.

Why? Because it’s necessary for the game to progress.

If she doesn’t rank within the top three, the game doesn’t proceed to the next episode.

In other words, it’s an endless retry loop until you rank within the top three through repetition!

But now, there’s no convenient retry option if you don’t rank within the top.

It literally means expulsion.

That’s why I had been waiting for her here.

“Why don’t you take a rest first? You look pretty tired.”

I spoke in a gentle tone to ease her tension.

“……Ah, but is that okay? You already set up camp here, didn’t you?”

“Well, I didn’t make this cave, so I have no reason to claim it as mine alone.”

“……Oh.”

“I’ll prepare a meal.”

“Even so, I can’t just impose on you like this…”

Korrrlrrk—!

A loud growl erupted from her stomach.

Sophia’s face turned bright red, and she bowed her head.

“Just sit tight. I’ll make something for you to eat.”

“Ye…es……”

Yeah, raising her affinity towards me is the priority.

She was the reason why I hadn’t specifically looked for a Healer until now.

‘Hmm, what should I cook for her?’

I picked up a makeshift chopping board and the dagger, pondering.