"Haa… haa…"
The space, entirely made of steel walls, was filled with the sound of rough breathing.
The room was roughly 100 square meters in size, with a high ceiling forming a cube shape.
Countless holes were drilled into the steel walls, and in the center of the space stood a woman, motionless.
Dressed in a white shirt and sleek black trousers, the woman stood in a poised stance, gripping her sword tightly despite her labored breathing.
Her white shirt was drenched in sweat, making it nearly transparent, but she paid no mind.
There was no one around to begin with, and even if there were men present, she wasn't the type to care.
After steadying her breath for a while, Song Ara clenched her eyes shut and shouted:
"Level 7, start!"
At her command, the holes in the walls unleashed a barrage of bullets toward her at terrifying speeds.
Though the bullets flew menacingly, she didn't dodge a single one.
Clang! Clank! Clang!
She slashed and deflected the endless stream of bullets with her sword.
Just as it seemed she would block every single one, one bullet slipped through and struck the back of her hand.
"Ow!"
The moment Song Ara was hit, the bullets stopped firing.
"Sigh…"
She shook her arm, enduring the sharp pain radiating from the back of her hand.
The floor was littered with spherical plastic bullets that had been fired at her.
After shaking her hand for a while, Song Ara flopped onto the floor, lying sprawled out.
Beads of sweat dripped endlessly from her forehead, shimmering silver as they hit the ground, while her sweat-soaked shirt clung to her, revealing everything underneath.
But none of that mattered to her.
Her mind was completely occupied by the sparring match from earlier that morning.
Instructor Seong Suho, who kept interfering every time she was on the verge of reaching Instructor Cho Seo-hyun.
"…How could I have won?"
The morning's class had been nothing more than a sparring session, completely unrelated to victory or defeat.
She wasn't upset or annoyed by what had happened—she knew that much.
But every time she was just about to reach Cho Seo-hyun, Instructor Seong Suho got in the way.
All she felt was a burning desire to overcome that situation.
That was why she had skipped dinner and come straight to the cadet training facility, replaying the morning's events in her head.
Yeah, she hadn't even eaten dinner.
"Wait! What time is it now?!"
Her eyes darted frantically to the digital clock on the wall.
10:34.
It was already past bedtime, well beyond dinner hours.
And since the school cafeteria closed at 10 PM, no one would be serving food at this hour.
Song Ara stared blankly at the clock and muttered:
"My dinner…"
Slumping her shoulders, she grabbed her cadet jacket and trudged back to the dorm.
***
Sung Suah held my hand—now child-sized—as we toured the village, saying:
"I think we should switch the village to nighttime mode first."
"Nighttime mode?"
This game was designed to sync with real-world time.
If it was 10 PM in reality, it was 10 PM in-game; if it was 8 AM outside, it was 8 AM here.
Because of that, the game had a system where you could adjust NPC activity and shop hours to nighttime for players like us who logged in late after work.
"They said it changes immediately once you apply. Let's try it."
"Okay."
Sung Suah's behavior toward me had changed somewhat as an instructor, but in-game, she was completely different.
Whether it was because of my appearance or the fact that we were completely cut off from the outside world, she acted without hesitation around me.
From holding hands to hugging, it felt like she was making up for everything we couldn't do over the weekend in a single day.
And there was another amusing side effect of my smaller body:
'Whoa… Looking up at her chest from this angle feels weird…'
Having only ever looked down at women's chests before, this upward perspective was strangely unfamiliar.
For some reason, I felt like if I accidentally groped her now, she might actually forgive me.
Luckily, before any indecent urges could swell, we arrived at the village office.
"If we apply for nighttime mode here, all the NPCs will move and adjust their schedules to night," she explained.
Still gripping my hand tightly, Sung Suah led me inside.
Man, she's really treating me like a kid…
Once inside, she glanced around before pointing at one spot.
"Here… Ah, we just need to talk to that character."
An NPC was sitting there.
Without thinking, I let go of Sung Suah's hand and dashed over to take a look.
"Whoa!!"
"???"
The NPC I was staring at was a 1.5-head-tall SD-style anthropomorphic dog.
Clearly the village mascot, the female character exuded charm.
As soon as I rushed over, she greeted me cheerfully.
"Hello! My name is Bangul! How can I help you today?"
"Wow… No way… She's… so cute…"
Having only played NTL games until now, I rarely encountered characters like this.
This was the cutest character I'd ever seen in my life.
Just like how Sung Suah hugged me, held my hand, and touched me freely, I felt an overwhelming urge to squeeze this character.
Beaming, I passionately gushed about Bangul to Sung Suah.
"Wow… Instructor Sung Suah. Isn't this character just adorable?"
"…."
"…?"
But Sung Suah's expression had darkened.
Awkwardly, I spoke up again.
"Uh… Don't you think she's cute?"
"…Let's switch to nighttime mode quickly and go."
Sung Suah hurriedly applied for nighttime mode in front of Bangul, then dragged me out of the office by my hand.
Pulled along helplessly, I was led all the way back to the house.
With my smaller stature, I couldn't resist her strength at all.
Once we got home, I cautiously asked:
"Um… Instructor Sung Suah? Is something wrong?"
"…Ah, no. I just wanted to make up for what we couldn't do over the weekend quickly."
Sung Suah forced a smile and tightly gripped my hand.
Watching her, I silently communicated with Armonia.
'Is she jealous of that?'
[When it's just the two of you, she seems bothered by you paying too much attention to something else.]
'But I just said it was cute… What about you? Wasn't Bangul cute?'
[Not my type.]
'….'
Are you jealous too?
...
...
...
Today, Seong Su-ah and I decided to go fishing while exploring the village.
Our first goal was to pay off the initial house loan and upgrade the house one level.
Decorating could wait until after that.
As we fished leisurely, I asked:
"Instructor Sung Suah do you know what kind of classes the Assassin Department has?"
"The Assassin Department?"
Sung Suah thought for a moment before answering.
"Hmm… I don't actually know much about it either."
"Ah…"
"Most Assassin cadets are taught in strictly controlled facilities managed by the Church. Even instructors can't enter the Assassin Department building."
If even someone like Sung Suah couldn't enter, it clearly wasn't an ordinary facility.
If I loitered around there, I'd probably get hauled off before I could even resign.
'Seriously, it's just a place to train kids, but it's way too different from the Combat and Magic Departments.'
[…Even for training cadets, the security feels excessive.]
'I'll need a way to infiltrate if I want to find anything out.'
I had stealth skills, but against heroes of this world's caliber, I'd definitely get caught.
If I were discovered while sneaking in, I'd be arrested red-handed with no excuses…
Plus, the Assassin Department was where the protagonist of this world, Cho Kang-hyun, roamed.
Getting anywhere near him meant a 100% chance of getting caught, regardless of stealth level.
I'd end up dead if I tried gathering intel on him and got caught.
I needed another approach.
When I suddenly fell silent, Sung Suah placed a hand on my shoulder and asked quietly:
"Why are you curious about the Assassin Department all of a sudden?"
"Ah… Just wondering. Haha…"
"Aww… Tell me~"
With a mischievous smile, she poked my sides repeatedly.
But her poking forced me into an involuntary dance.
"W-Wait! Haha! Ahh!"
"Oh? You're really ticklish, huh? Take this!"
"S-Stop!! Hahaha!! Aah!!"
She kept poking until I finally gave in and spoke, only then relenting.
"I-It's… haa… haa… just that there's so little known about it… haa… haa…"
"Hehe… Well, even most academy officials don't know much about the Assassin Department, so it's natural to be curious."
She added that even cadets often got scolded for loitering around the building out of curiosity.
For now, it seemed there was no information to be gained from Sung Suah.
'Whew… I thought I was gonna die. I almost blurted out Cho Kang-hyun's name…'
[Wouldn't it be better to just ask about Cho Kang-hyun directly?]
'No, absolutely not.'
Sung Suah would probably answer if I asked about him.
Given her personality, she'd filter out anything too sensitive.
But the real issue was her guilt.
Right now, she was happily spending time with a man behind her fiancé's back. If even a hint of guilt toward Cho Kang-hyun crept into this atmosphere, our VR life together could end immediately.
'I'll have to delay anything involving Cho Kang-hyun. Unless she develops romantic feelings for me first, it'll only backfire.'
While in this VR world, Sung Suah needed to start seeing me as a man.
I had to avoid any situations where Cho Kang-hyun would cross her mind while we were together.
Unlike the other women I'd met, the key here was to let her take the lead until my appeal took root deep in her heart.
I played along with her antics, making sure she didn't get distracted.
"Look~ There's a fish over there. Let's catch it quickly!"
"Whoa!"
Sung Suah suddenly lifted me up, hugged me, and carried me toward the silhouette of a fish.
...
...
...
A sudden wave of sleepiness hit me as I stretched and yawned.
"Haaa…"
"…."
Time was nearing midnight.
The moonlit forest didn't feel dark at all.
Honestly, it didn't seem necessary to have caught those glow bugs earlier.
Despite being a deserted forest, the game's design made it feel completely uncreepy.
My inventory was packed with fish, all rendered in adorable pixel art.
I picked up one of the freshly caught fish and shook it playfully, laughing.
"Since it's a game, it doesn't feel gross at all, huh?"
"The glow bugs and other insects are all cute like that too."
"Should we sell these and call it a day?"
"Ah…"
Sung Suah made a disappointed face.
"Um… Can't we play a little longer? It'd be nice to pay off the loan quickly."
"Ah… Well, wouldn't it be better to take it slow? It's a game meant to be enjoyed leisurely."
"Hehe… Wouldn't it be even better to enjoy leisurely life after quickly paying off the loan?"
What is this? Some kind of legendary paradox?
A slow-life game where you work like crazy to pay off debt so you can enjoy slow life?
"If you're sleepy… here!"
"Ah!"
Sung Suah suddenly sat me on her lap and began stroking my head.
"Take a nap here. I'll keep fishing in the meantime."
"Th-That's… I feel bad every time…"
"Aww… No need to feel sorry for that."
Sitting on her lap, I could feel her soft chest against the back of my neck.
Even though she must've felt my touch too, she hugged me without hesitation.
Her pillowy chest pressed against me, gradually stimulating my lower abdomen.
But despite that, nestled in her arms, sleepiness overwhelmed me.
Half-asleep, I murmured through our mental link:
'Haa… Armonia… Wake me up in the morning…'
[Understood.]
Soon after, I succumbed to sleep.
***
Sung Suah watched as Seong Suho suddenly dozed off and whispered softly:
"Suho… sir?"
"Haa…"
Whether due to the VR headgear dulling his senses, Seong Suho didn't wake from her touch.
Gently, she lifted him and carried him in her arms.
As she carried him home, worry began creeping in.
'…Will he think it's weird? Me deliberately keeping him until he falls asleep every time…'
Luckily, Seong Suho never seemed bothered.
But from Sung Suah's perspective, concern was growing.
"The longer the tail, the easier it is to step on." That saying held true in every world.
Usually disciplined, Sung Suah found herself increasingly drawn to this rebellious feeling in-game.
Yet, entranced once more, she hugged Seong Suho and lay down on the bed.
Cradling him tightly in her arms, she murmured:
"Haa… How can someone be this cute?"
"Haa…"
She spent the rest of her time stroking his cheeks until she, too, fell asleep.
***
"…Huh?"
"…."
When I opened my eyes to the sunlight, an unfamiliar sight greeted me.
Two beautiful mountain peaks welcomed me.
Sung Suah was hugging me, fast asleep.
Her chest pressing against my cheeks jolted me awake.
As I basked in the energy of her bosom, a sudden communication came through.
[Master, are you awake?]
The voice and tone made it immediately clear who it was.
'Ah, Lena?'
[Yes, that's right.]
'Wow, you stayed up all night watching over me? Thanks.'
This was the first time I'd communicated with someone other than Armonia, so I was about to chatter excitedly when—
[Um… Master.]
'Hm? What?'
After a pause, Lena spoke gravely.
[Sung Suah… She's a dangerous woman. Be careful.]
'….'
Not you too…
***
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