The next day.
For some reason, no matter how many times I tried to talk to her, Minerva wouldn't respond.
I'd started to wonder if maybe she'd slipped back into another deep sleep, but every now and then, in answer to something I said, she'd give me a small hmph of a snort.
And it didn't come across as scornful or condescending so much as... the kind of snort a child who'd gotten seriously sulky about something would make.
Her attitude didn't shift one bit, even after class let out. Despite my friends' invitations, I begged off—I was tired, I just wanted to rest a bit—and headed back to the dorm.
In the end, I went straight into my own shadow to come face to face with her.
"Minerva."
"..."
When she heard my voice, she made no effort to hide her displeasure.
"What brings you here?"
The sullen way she said it told me she was seriously sulking, so I stepped closer.
A glance told me that her tail, which always swayed softly at moments like this, sat as still as if nailed to the ground.
That alone told me the situation was far worse than I'd thought.
"You weren't saying anything, so I got worried."
"...Hmph."
Minerva snorted as if the very idea were beneath her.
Then she turned her head away, as if she didn't even want to look at me.
What in the world could be the matter, I thought—
And then I heard a snicker from somewhere.
[Bound by your own rope, are you, Minerva.]
"...Silence, Sbeungali."
[Forgive me. The sight of you acting like such a child was too funny to bear. My apologies, if I've offended.]
Cunningly, Sbeungali had pushed only his mouth out from my right hand to mutter on.
Maybe because of that, Minerva just shot my right hand a look fit to rip it to shreds.
Ever since Sbeungali had caught on that she would never attack me, he'd been poking at her nerves like this every chance he got.
A personal observation, but it really did make me wonder just how thick-skinned this creature had to be to keep pulling stunts like this.
[That said... as someone who's spent juuust a bit longer with this fellow than you have, might I offer one piece of advice?]
"I have no need of it. Shut your mouth."
She growled, the warning unmistakable.
"And I have known him longer than the likes of you. Make no mistake."
[Mmm, well, if you say so...]
Sbeungali muttered as if he were genuinely sorry to drop it.
Then, leaving one last grating snicker behind, he vanished.
Minerva let out a low rumble from her throat, as if she were truly out of patience.
"Hah..."
A moment later, she sighed deeply and looked at me.
"You."
She reached out with both arms to take hold of me, and asked in a small voice,
"...Just for a moment, may I do with you as I please?"
I nodded to tell her I didn't mind.
Minerva broke into a smile, and the hands holding me shifted to pull me into a tight embrace.
For an instant I felt a powerful sense of déjà vu, but it was already too late.
"This will sting."
With that, she sank her teeth into my neck and broke the skin.
The memory of last time flashed through me and I flinched. Then I felt her tongue lapping at the wound.
"Humans."
She rolled her tongue inside her mouth as though savoring my blood, then asked me,
"Do you taste blood in fine detail?"
"...No. I can't."
I shook my head.
She drew her tongue slowly across the wound once more, as if reluctant to let it go.
"This one can. There are many besides me who can. When we taste blood... we can read the essence of a person, the broad shape of where they came from."
She let out a small breath. Haa.
"Within your blood, alongside your own breath, my breath runs through it as well. As it should. You took my heart for your own. Your heart is also my heart, and that heart pumps the blood of dragons."
She nipped lightly at my neck.
It didn't hurt.
She held on, teeth still buried in my neck, and grumbled,
"...So why did you feed that blood of ours—without so much as asking my permission—to that vampire?"
"Ah."
That was when I finally understood why she'd been in such a foul mood.
It was true. Last night, I'd fed Alice Blesbuck my blood.
The reason was simple.
After being poisoned by Minerva, Alice Blesbuck had shown no signs of recovering on her own.
My blood—or rather, the blood I shared with Minerva—was both a deadly poison and an antidote.
Minerva might have only injected a tiny amount, but no one poisoned by a Seven Calamity's venom could possibly come through unscathed.
Watching her vitality slip away by degrees, I'd fed her my blood immediately to neutralize the venom.
Even so, she hadn't recovered her stamina, and she still couldn't properly control her mana. She was resting in my room right now.
That was exactly why I'd brushed off my friends and hurried back to the dorm.
"..."
...Right. Last night I'd succeeded in convincing Alice Blesbuck.
I'd laid out the plan for her in detail, down to the finer points. She'd listened closely, sometimes asking questions, sometimes offering suggestions, and in the end she'd concluded she would throw her lot in with me.
There were two main reasons she'd come around.
The first: I'd shown her that I had defeated three Seven Calamities and carried their power within me.
The second: I already knew, in vivid detail, every ability and technique of Milited's that she had known about.
To her astonishment, I'd gone on to tell her I knew Milited's weakness, and that I'd already worked out detailed countermeasures and a full plan.
When she asked why I hadn't said any of this sooner, I'd hesitated for a moment before answering:
'Because I was afraid something might go wrong, and afraid that I'd be the one falling under suspicion.'
At my answer, Alice Blesbuck had flinched, then quietly lowered her head.
Then she'd told me she would gladly help me—and almost immediately fell asleep, dead to the world.
That was apparently what had set Minerva off.
"Minerva, that was—"
"I know it. I needn't have you say it. I know... I am being unreasonable, and I know it well."
She mouthed at the side of my neck once more.
Her tail twitched a few times, swaying just slightly.
"...And yet I cannot help it. So I will take it out on you in this manner, at least."
Mmph. She closed her teeth on my neck again.
I let her have her way, my body relaxed in her hold.
[Should've thought twice before slipping someone poison. Hoist by her own petard, that one.]
Sbeungali cackled out a laugh.
This time he was muttering inside my body, where Minerva couldn't hear him.
[Anyway, this is going to be a fine show if any of the others catch you. Just to be safe—have you ever had another woman in your room?]
"..."
[Especially that one you were whispering with earlier. The... I can't remember the name. The one with eyes like bellflowers. You'd best take particular care she doesn't catch yougyaaaaaaack!!!]
I listened to Sbeungali's piercing scream without expression and gently patted Minerva on the back.
In answer, the tail that had begun barely stirring slowly worked into a side-to-side sway.
"...I will not let this matter rest, so engrave that in your mind. Understood?"
She muttered, still sounding put out.
Her tail was thrashing in full force now, riding the momentum.
"Yeah. I'll be really careful from now on."
I just kept patting and rubbing her back as I answered.
"Hm?"
When I arrived at the dorm with some simple food I'd picked up, there were a couple of people loitering near the entrance. Two male students I'd never seen before.
"Ah."
"Finally."
The two unfamiliar boys sighed in relief and came over to me.
One of them smiled and spoke first.
"Hey, uh... you're Yu Ji-hyeok, right? It's nothing big—we're Professor Risneger's assistants. He said he had something he wanted to say to you, and there's something he wanted to pass along, so he sent us in his place."
"Oh, right. I've been waiting for you."
I smiled and went along with it, opened the dorm door, and let them inside.
As I shut the door, I glanced around and saw a few students wandering the hallway.
I made eye contact with a couple of them, gave a small nod of greeting, and closed the door.
"What's going on all of a sudden? Both of you, too."
The moment I'd locked the door securely, a woman's voice came from behind me.
"Apologies for the intrusion, but the situation has shifted rapidly... hm?"
Lydia, who had returned to her real form the moment she stepped inside, was speaking with a serious look on her face when she trailed off and tilted her head.
Her gaze had landed on Alice Blesbuck, lying in my bed.
"Oh. She's an old professor of mine."
"...A professor?"
Lydia repeated.
"Yeah. She came by last night about something urgent, too, but... I think the exhaustion just caught up to her and she collapsed. The situation's a little complicated, so I'm letting her recover here for now."
"...Ah, I see."
Lydia nodded a beat late.
The look in Esmeralda's eyes—she always seemed unimpressed with me—sharpened another degree.
She glanced around the room for a moment, then suddenly started sniffing the air and waving her hands.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking for bugs or any other weird devices."
She snapped it out, then nodded and turned to Lydia.
"...Yeah, captain. Nothing here."
"Ah. Mm."
Lydia nodded right away.
For some reason she seemed a little relieved.
We sat down around the table I used in place of a proper dining set.
The moment we sat down, Lydia's gaze kept drifting toward Alice Blesbuck. I spoke up to put her at ease.
"She's someone I trust. You don't need to worry."
"Hm? Oh, all right..."
Lydia nodded.
She was strangely unable to focus today. She cleared her throat and then suddenly bowed her head.
"...First, let me say this. I can no longer help my benefactor from within the Association."
I nodded immediately.
"Your cover got blown."
"Yes, benefactor. I have no excuse."
"Don't say that. If anything, I'm the one who should be grateful for everything you've done up to now. More importantly, I'm just relieved you're safe."
She gave a small smile.
Esmeralda was still sitting in her chair, scanning the room around her with a look of plain disapproval.
"Choi Jun-hyeong caught me. We... Esmeralda and I had used our abilities to assassinate Maxim Goldenberg and take his place. Unfortunately, the whole thing was uncovered, so we're going to have to build our line into the Association from scratch."
"...That's a massive loss on your end because of me. I'm the one who should be apologizing."
"Surely not. You've extended me kindnesses that more than warrant it, benefactor. Please don't say such things."
Lydia said it with a small nod.
"First, let me share the new information I've gathered. ...Choi Jun-hyeong is using the Six Stars—revived by a man called Landschi—as familiars. Judging by their form and appearance, they look to be undead. That said, they're literally nothing more than living puppets, so they don't seem to warrant much caution."
"...So that bastard's picked up necromancy on top of everything else?"
I couldn't help muttering aloud, completely thrown.
Dragons might live for ages, but it was rare to find one who'd mastered as wide a range of skills as Landschi.
"And, well..."
Lydia let out a small sigh and went on.
"It seems Yoon Seul-hye has betrayed you."
"Betrayed?"
"Yes. A double agent, as the saying goes. They knew everything—even that you intended to launch a surprise attack on them on the day of the festival. From what Choi Jun-hyeong said, it sounds like she was pretending to throw herself on your protection while selling our information back to them..."
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that."
I waved my hand.
To Lydia and Esmeralda, who were looking at me like what are you talking about, I shrugged.
"That's because I'm the one who told her to do it."
At my words, Sbeungali whispered.
[Same story as that woman just told. This Yoon Seul-hye girl is doing better than I'd have expected.]
I gave a small nod at that.
...Just as he'd said, before I'd come back to the dorm, Jin Ye-seul had come up to me and quietly whispered.
Yoon Seul-hye had betrayed me.
And she'd handed over recordings of phone calls she'd tapped from Yoon Seul-hye.
I hadn't forgotten to tell her the truth either, of course.
Along with another favor I needed her to handle.
"...I see."
Lydia nodded as if she'd worked out the rough shape of the picture.
"Honestly, I could kill Choi Jun-hyeong any time I want. But... Landschi is a different story."
No matter how careful he was, he wouldn't see this coming—not with this many layers of traps stacked underneath it.
More than anything, I knew instinctively that an opportunity to lure that creature—who almost never showed himself out in the open—into the open wasn't going to come around easily.
"It'd be a waste to spend a chance like that on someone like Choi Jun-hyeong."
"It seems my worry was for nothing, then."
"No, I really appreciate that you came running to tell me. If Yoon Seul-hye had actually betrayed me, it would have been catastrophic."
I smiled lightly at Lydia as I said it.
"You came over this fast because you were worried, didn't you? Thank you, Lydia. I mean it."
"..."
"...Lydia?"
For some reason, she said nothing.
Her lips parted as if to say something, then closed firmly again.
In the middle of all that, Esmeralda—who hadn't said a single word until now—deliberately positioned her body to block Lydia's and spoke to me.
"Unlike me, the captain takes a long time to recover when her clone disappears. So if you've got something to ask of her, ask me instead."
She didn't bother hiding her hostility. She mouthed words at me silently.
Don't try anything funny. Before I actually kill you.
"..."
Her glare was lethal enough that I had no choice but to give a small nod of acknowledgment.
"...Yes, yes. Understood. I'll be in touch again, unnie."
Yoon Seul-hye ended the call with the thing-that-used-to-be-Xiao-Jie and let out a small sigh.
She might be playing double agent on Yu Ji-hyeok's orders, but every time she played the spy like this, her heart felt like it was dropping out of her chest.
But she also knew, all too well, that this was the only option left to her now.
All she could do was pray Yu Ji-hyeok would keep his promise to spare her life.
"It's, it's going to be fine..."
Any moment now, the door would burst open and Choi Jun-hyeong would come to kill her. Or Yu Ji-hyeok's promise to spare her would turn out to be a lie, and she'd be shoved into the jaws of death.
Because of that, she had nightmares every single night, and she'd dropped three kilos.
"Hahh..."
But there was something she feared even more than that.
And that was—
"...Who were you on the phone with?"
"Kya, kyaaaaaak!!!"
The voice at her ear made Yoon Seul-hye scream and pitch forward.
She flailed, crawling along the floor away from the voice, before finally managing to roll over and look back at the source.
There, looking down at her with a beaming smile, was Jin Ye-seul.
Jin Ye-seul was looking down at her.
"Wh, wh, wh... ngh. What's, going on?"
"Wh, wh, wh, what's going on, you ask."
Jin Ye-seul smiled brightly, lifting Yoon Seul-hye's phone—which she'd already snatched at some point.
And then, astonishingly, in Yoon Seul-hye's exact voice, she began reciting the conversation from moments before, word for word.
"'Don't worry about Yu Ji-hyeok. Yes, he really does trust me. Yes, yes. Don't worry. Yes... unnie, I'm doing exactly what Mr. Choi Jun-hyeong told me to do. From the looks of it, he's really planning to spring a trap on the day of the festival.'"
"Ah, ahh..."
Yoon Seul-hye started to tremble.
She hadn't done anything wrong—or rather, anything wrong by Jin Ye-seul—and yet face to face with her, it felt like she ought to confess to crimes she'd never committed and beg for forgiveness.
"Wonder what I could have come looking for you about?"
Jin Ye-seul smiled brightly once more.
Yoon Seul-hye shook her head wildly and cried out, desperate.
"Yu—Yu Ji-hyeok! I mean, Lord Ji-hyeok! He's the one who told me to do it! I swear!"
"Hm? Ji-hyeok told you to?"
"Yes, yes! Why would I lie? It's true, it's the truth—! I really didn't betray him, I swear! Please, believe me!"
Yoon Seul-hye shouted it, shaking far harder than she needed to.
The being called Jin Ye-seul had already become, within her, something she could never resist—terror itself.
"Hmm..."
Jin Ye-seul nodded.
Yu Ji-hyeok's words a short while ago, and Yoon Seul-hye's words just now, both rang true. There wasn't a sliver of a lie in either of them.
Yoon Seul-hye was playing double agent on Yu Ji-hyeok's orders.
But that wasn't what mattered.
"U-um...?"
"..."
Jin Ye-seul was still smiling.
It was only then that Yoon Seul-hye's face drained of color.
She'd realized—far too late—that Jin Ye-seul had come looking for her for an entirely different reason from the start.
"In that case..."
Jin Ye-seul slowly drew a long metal needle from inside her clothes.
The sight of it stripped Yoon Seul-hye of even the ability to make a proper sound.
"Wh, wh, wh."
Jin Ye-seul whispered.
"What's going to happen now?"
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