My Taboo Academy

"Primary weapon’s a Glock 19."

The jam rate had dropped a lot lately.

High Technique stat. My overall rank still showed D because the system hadn’t updated, but the actual numbers were already solid enough for C-rank work.

That was probably why I had been able to keep her alive this far without looking completely useless.

The fact seemed to have left a bigger impression on her than I expected.

"...A pathetic D-rank who still acts so damn confident."

The earlier venom was gone.

Starting her period in the middle of a zombie ruin had clearly shredded her nerves.

I wanted to fix at least one thing for her.

’If there’s any building left standing I’ll raid a convenience store if I have to.’

This city looked like it had been dead for a thousand years. Finding anything useful felt impossible.

Then I saw movement.

"Zombie?"

I crossed the flashlight and pistol in a proper grip and checked the corner. A thin old man was shuffling deeper into the building, apparently unaware of us.

"Cleo. Stay here."

"Where are you going?"

"Thirty seconds, max. I won’t go far."

"...Okay. Just... don’t disappear."

I needed to know what he was.

If it was the boss I would end it here and now.

[「Crimson Eye」 activated]

[Devil Merchant]

[Faceless Old Man]

[An existence that has wandered the realm of death for four thousand years. Power comparable to an SS-class hunter]

"Hey."

I kept the gun trained on him.

Merchants sold everything that existed and a few things that didn’t, right?

The hooded figure turned. True to the name, there was nothing where a face should have been.

"...You’re not the Goblin King, but you’re still a merchant?"

"Yes..."

"You sell sanitary pads?"

"..."

’Do not laugh. Do not laugh.’

Reading zero expression made the whole exchange feel surreal.

"Pads. I’ll buy if you have them."

"..."

*Swish.*

His gnarled hand moved. I almost fired on pure reflex.

He dug through the bundle and pulled out a white package.

Organic pure cotton cover sanitary pads.

"You’re actually selling them..."

Nothing was impossible in this world, apparently.

"How much?"

The price that came back nearly made me choke.

"One hundred twelve thousand, one hundred ten coins. Everything you have."

...

He had read my exact balance.

The most expensive sanitary pads in human history, priced to the last coin in my account.

"That’s the value of a pack of pads"

Ridiculous.

You could make them out of solid gold and still not reach that price.

Aria’s earlier warning about demon merchants rang in my head. They always traded on desperation. In this situation, what was a pack of pads actually worth?

’I want to tell him to fuck off... but.’

There was zero chance of finding pads in these ruins. Clearing the dungeon could take hours or even longer than a day. Telling Cleo to "just deal with it" until then was technically possible. She probably wouldn’t even complain.

But I didn’t want to leave her like that.

I remembered some old forum post about even enemy soldiers sharing pads when it mattered. For women it was that serious.

’It’s expensive as hell, but...’

Expensive was an understatement. A meal with Elle had cost five coins, roughly eight thousand won. These pads were currently valued at one hundred seventy-nine million.

"Any chance of a discount?"

"YIIIIKES!! AAAACK!!"

The old man threw his arms up and started shrieking like I had insulted his ancestors.

"Okay! Okay! Fine!"

God damn it.

I was officially the only man alive who had spent a hundred seventy million won on sanitary pads.

"While we’re at it—any fast-acting wound medicine?"

"Only pads..."

’At least he didn’t say no to the first request...’

"Throw in a change of underwear as a courtesy and we have a deal."

"...Very well."

He produced a set of plain white underwear.

[Coins deducted]

[The Demon Merchant leaves the field]

"I’m back."

Cleo’s eyes were red. She had been crying.

"Ah."

[「Fleshlight Aptitude Assessment」]

[Cleo]

[Difficulty – None] [Fleshlight Aptitude: A]

[Virgin] [Underwear – Cute pink set]

[Once a beautiful girl who held deep hostility toward men. Top student at prestigious Veyron Academy with exceptional talent. Her sharp tongue and difficult personality left her isolated.]

’...’

"What’s that in your hand?"

Right. One hundred seventy million won well spent.

"Found them on the way."

Maximum deadpan delivery.

World’s greatest big brother, reporting for duty.

"..."

Cleo, the same girl who casually tore people down for being weaker, who never showed mercy to the brother she despised was full of hidden soft spots. Even Yuna had always known that.

A lonely blonde girl who had been waiting for someone reliable to lean on.

’Magic-focused stats. If a D-rank pervert brother ever got serious, she wouldn’t be able to stop him.’

Classic erotic-game heroine design.

Just like Yuna, whose entire world already revolved around her brother, Cleo felt like the type who would break completely after one overwhelming experience and end up apologizing at his feet.

The kind of base sexual fantasy Mira loved writing.

Today I wasn’t interested in any of that.

I just wanted to keep her safe and treat her decently.

"You... really picked those up? The pads and the underwear?"

"Yeah."

The mental image of Mira screaming while this expensive pack of pads sat in my hand was almost funny.

They had cost a fortune.

If it actually helped close the gap between me and Cleo, I wouldn’t regret a single coin.

"Thank you."

Her voice cracked. Thick tears started falling like something inside her had finally given way.

For the first time she seemed to accept that I was actually on her side.

"...Thank you, brother."

I stayed with Cleo until the last of the tears stopped.

"We’re family. You don’t have to hide this kind of thing from me."

It’s fine to look weak sometimes.

I’ll still be right here.

’If I’d grown up with a little sister this cute...’

I probably would have spoiled her rotten and bought her whatever she wanted.

We didn’t share blood or childhood memories, but protecting her as an older brother still felt natural.

"Done crying?"

"..."

Embarrassment finally caught up with her. Cleo turned her face away.

"I need to change."

"There’s a half-intact room over there."

"Don’t look..."

The walls were full of holes. Privacy was basically a suggestion.

"I won’t"

I caught the briefest glimpse of her lifting her skirt and sliding her panties down while I was scanning for zombies. That was all.

"Brother... are you still there?"

"Yeah. Not going anywhere."

She sounded less suspicious and more afraid I might have left her alone.

’...She’s gotten really soft.’

Was it the sanitary pads?

Compared to the constant sarcasm and hostility, this version of Cleo felt almost angelic.

"Need a hand?"

"No. ...How did you even get the right size?"

’That damn old man...’

How the hell did a faceless demon merchant know my sister’s underwear size? The packaging was sealed and brand new, but the whole thing still felt weirdly invasive.

Once she finished changing, Cleo’s expression looked a lot lighter.

"Can you walk?"

"If I take it slow."

The bandage was already spotting with blood.

Walking carefully would be fine. Running or sudden movement would tear it open again.

That meant no chasing and no quick dodging.

"How’s your magic reserves?"

"Plenty. I could still handle a few hundred of those zombies without breaking a sweat."

Classic A-rank mana pool.

Her firepower was reliable.

’Best approach is treating her like fixed artillery...’

That kind of plan only works if you actually trust each other.

Did we have that kind of trust yet?

"What if I just go ahead and clear everything myself?"

"Too wasteful. You’ll burn through your mana for no reason."

If Cleo ran dry, we were both screwed.

Especially with the rank-up anomaly still hanging over the dungeon. Every spell had to count.

I laid out the plan.

"We move to a more open area. I’ll make noise with the gun and pull everything toward me. When I give the signal, you wipe them out."

Zombies reacted to sound. A quiet fight wasn’t happening.

If I started shooting, they would come.

We could use that.

’Problem is, if it goes wrong, Cleo can’t run.’

"If the plan falls apart, I carry you and we get out. I won’t leave you."

"You?"

"Yeah. Can you trust me that far?"

"..."

I was basically asking her to stand still while I dragged a zombie horde straight to her position so her magic could do maximum damage.

No mage agrees to that unless they believe their partner will actually come back for them.

There were plenty of ways it could go wrong, too many zombies, not enough firepower, getting surrounded.

"If it works, we clear the whole pack in one go."

"Yeah."

" Alright, I’ll do it."

That hit harder than expected.

The Cleo who had entered this dungeon would have scoffed at the idea of trusting her back to a D-rank.

She accepted the plan without a single complaint.

Something that had never existed between us before, actual trust.

’Then I have to live up to it.’

Even if everything went to hell, I would keep her safe.

Gun, fists, feet, whatever it took. Even if the horde swallowed us.

I wasn’t leaving Cleo behind.

...Preferably we wouldn’t reach that point.

When we stepped back out into the ruins, she looked up at me.

"What are you thinking about right now?"

"I keep wishing I’d bought a revolver earlier. I skipped it because I thought you might be waiting."

I had planned to rotate through handguns whenever one jammed.

Revolvers don’t jam the same way, cylinder and chamber are one piece.

Having one right now would have been perfect.

"...Heh."

The tension broke enough for her to let out a small laugh.

"Did you actually think it would come down to you? You’re underestimating me."

"Hard not to when you’re an all-in magic klutz."

"What’s wrong with all-in magic? A mage speaks with firepower."

"...That line is way too close to a certain explosion-obsessed comic wizard."

I got actual chills remembering it.

"We can still talk about comics!"

"What happens to the girl in that story?"

"She burns herself out completely... and the male lead always ends up carrying her."

Cleo’s fingers tightened on my sleeve.

"Does that make you the protagonist?"

"..."

The way she looked at me, damp eyes, soft voice, faint blush made it hard to believe this was the same sharp-tongued sister I knew.

"...If you fall, I’ll carry you."

She nodded once.

We shared one last look before the real work started.

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