Chapter 90

YuSung fell into a deep sleep, possibly due to using up both his physical and mental reserves.

‘…What time is it right now?’

While faint, he had managed to regain some consciousness, which was why he knew that someone was busily preparing his meal on the other side of his closed bedroom door.

“Hmmhmhm~♪ Hmhmhm… hmhmm!”

Someone’s voice was quietly humming a lullaby. YuSung smiled slightly and got out of his bed.

‘…So it’s Sumire.’

Creak.

He opened his bedroom door. Sumire started at the motion.

“Ah! …Y-you’re awake?! Good timing. I-I bet the racket must have been a bit too loud, and it woke you up, huh?”

“No, it’s alright, I liked the sound. And I had to get up, anyway.”

YuSung checked the time using his Pocket—it was 9:10AM, well past their appointed time.

‘…Good thing I told Sumire my passcode.’

After taking care of his basic morning hygiene, YuSung sat down in the chair. As he did so, Sumire placed a plate laden with her food on the table and took off her apron.

Thick slabs of bacon, crispy slices of toast, a cup of warm milk, and fried eggs.

Sumire took the seat opposite YuSung and watched him with a rather eager expression on her face.

“S-since it’s breakfast, I prepared stuff that wouldn’t be too hard on your digestive system!”

Her expression shifted to nervousness. Sumire only wanted one, small thing, despite the fact that she had spent the morning toiling away at the stove.

‘W-will he like the taste?’

All she wanted was for YuSung to say a single phrase: “delicious”.

Amidst her anticipation, YuSung stabbed a thick slab of bacon with his fork and tore a piece of it away using his mouth. That was due to the fact that he was unused to knife work being used during meals, as he was raised on Martial Spirits’ Mountain.

“H-how is it?” asked Sumire, waiting for YuSung. It was the nerve-wracking moment of truth for her.

“Delicious.”

That one word made Sumire slowly bite her lips and hold back tears.

Being able to cook for YuSung in the morning was one of the happiest moments of her life.

‘This is just like…’

Due to that, her delusional switch was flipped.

‘…a-a honeymoon?’

A giggle seeped out of Sumire’s mouth.

YuSung, after tasting everything—including the toast—looked at Sumire, only then thinking to ask her something.

“ What about your breakfast, Sumire?”

“A-ah? I was thinking of having my own after you finished your meal, YuSung-ssi…”

It was because she had prepared his food before her own. Sumire, of course, didn’t want to miss the sight of YuSung eating her food because she was too busy cooking her own.

“…Aren’t you hungry, though?”

His tone of voice was the same as always, but YuSung was actually rather concerned for the other girl.

“…A-a little?” Sumire was incredibly glad to see him show consideration for her. “Ah, but…! Only a teensy bit! Not enough for you to be worried about, YuSung-ssi… I can just make more now, after all!”

She ended up answering him in a confused manner in the heat of the moment, despite the fact that she really wasn’t all that hungry.

“Then, Sumire, why don’t we eat together instead? I only need to eat half of this for breakfast.”

“Eh? Huh? But…”

She liked it when YuSung ate every last bite of her food, but the piece of bacon outstretched towards her was a completely different story.

His rough knife work could be seen on the edges of the piece of meat.

“Here, Sumire.”

YuSung smiled lightly and nudged the outstretched fork in his hand toward her.

‘Sh-Shin YuSung-ssi… i-is personally feeding me?’

It was something that Sumire could never refuse. Without thinking, she opened her mouth.

Nom. Munch munch.

She bowed her head after savoring the flavor of the bacon. While the expression she was wearing was hidden from view, her ears were bright red.

“How is it? Good, right?”

“Y-yes, i-it’s deliciousss..”

“You’re okay with milk and toast, right?”

YuSung’s own expression was completely nonchalant as he looked at the other girl.

Sumire herself already knew that his actions were nothing but simple goodwill. The thought snapped her back to reality, bringing an odd sense of immorality with it.

But even still, she decided to be just a little more selfish.

“…Yu-YuSung-ssi! Th-then… I’d like a b-bit of toast…”

For some reason, she asked for a bite of her own food much like a sinner asking for forgiveness. She didn’t even make a move to grab the toast herself, despite it being near her.

“Here. Bread is delicious when you eat it warm, after all.”

Eventually, YuSung easily took the bread himself and handed it over to Sumire. She munched on the slice of toast, face awash in unimaginable bliss.

“I’sh… r’lly goo’…”

She seemed to think of it as so delicious that tears of joy were springing out from her eyes. YuSung felt his mood lift just watching her.

He needed strength in order to protect even small instances of happiness like that.

* * *

* * *

The ‘Tower Day’ festival…

The event that F Class had prepared in the empty auditorium was none other than a haunted house. Their theme was a graveyard of the undead.

“Grr…”

SiWoo was genuinely impressed at the sight of the ghoul as it drooled all over the place.

“…You guys brought dirt? And just how are you gonna clean all of this up later?”

Renia, who was in charge of the haunted house, began shouting a reply in a confident manner.

“Hey! Think about the later, later! Our instructor told us to treat practice like it’s the real deal, remember?!”

“What are you talking about? How does an event count as practice?”

Among the bustle of the crowd of students, Sumire was in the corner of the auditorium, summoning undead from her ring.

“Y-you, go over there… and surprise anyone who appears from that corner. Can you do it?”

“Clack! Clack!”

The skeleton rattled its jaws energetically at her command.

Sumire clenched her ring in her hand and mumbled, as she did so, another magic circle was drawn on the ground, summoning a death knight clad in armor.

Flaaash!

“Glory to… my master! Command me however… you please!”

“Oh! D-Death knight-ssi… you can go to that corner…”

“So I must cut… the heads of the enemies who… appear from that corner! Blood for… my master! Destruction to… the enemy!”

The death knight lifted its greatsword high up into the air, showing off an aggressive fighting pose.

“Hieek!” Sumire, startled, frantically waved both of her hands. “Y-you can't! All you need to do is surprise them!”

“I-I under… stand! …A fear more terrifying… than death to… the enemy!”

It seemed as if the death knight had managed to get somewhat of a grasp on her intentions.

Sumire began summoning her familiar, who was currently resting at the Castle of Phantasms. A light began to emit from her right hand.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Flaaaash!

“Munch. Chew.”

Lilith was in a rather laid-back position and eating chips, but only for a moment, as she quickly dropped the chip bag and stood up from her spot.

“M-master?!”

“Ah, s-sorry! Were you busy?!”

“No, no! I wasn’t! I, Lili, will do anything and go anywhere in any situation if it’s my master’s will! Please, give me a command!”

Lilith seemed to be filled with quite the vigor for some reason. It looked like she had been summoned away while in the middle of eating chips.

“…And this is that succubus? What kind of rank 5 boss eats human snacks?”

At that point, SiWoo was getting sick of retorting to everything—Sumire’s summons defied common sense. Despite that fact, her presence in the haunted house could definitely be felt.

“Kyaaaaa–”

“Ack! It got me! The monster got me!”

“This isn’t a prop! Th-the corpse is moving?!”

“The skeleton’s speaking to me!”

Various screams could be heard throughout the venue. Sumire felt a sense of pride.

Renia was an opportunist at heart, pleased about the unending line leading into their attraction. She approached Sumire.

“YuSung, your idea was amazing! And Sumire, your undead abilities are also amazing!”

“Eh? Th-thank you! But it’s all because everyone worked so hard…”

“Stop! On days like these, there's no need to be humble! Oogh, you little bundle of luck, you…!”

Renia gave Sumire a tight hug. YuSung smiled slightly at the sight of them becoming close.

“Renia, how is the festival going so far?”

“We already have 300 customers! And it’s still morning! Didn’t I say this is one of the best ideas ever?”

Indeed, the haunted house that F Class had built was a huge hit. On the other hand, the haunted house that D Class had made had nothing but tumbleweeds rolling through it.

The rumors about F Class’s venue hadn’t only spread through the students…

“So I heard this place is popular?”

“Professor So HaeJung. What a surprise, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Instructor Lin Xiao and Professor So HaeJung…

It seemed as if talk about the haunted house had managed to reach the faculty as well.

“Hey, everyone!” Renia’s joyous voice cried out, ”Let’s power through this until noon! Even with that, we’ve plenty met our quota! Plenty!”

The F Class students rejoiced.

“Woooo! We’re free!”

“Hell yeah! This is all thanks to Sumire!”

“Naw, this is thanks to YuSung’s idea.”

YuSung turned his gaze towards Sumire, body staying still in one place. He had enjoyed the festival even as he was wracking his brains over the problem of Shin HaYoon.

There was still plenty of time until six o’clock, when he had promised to meet EunAh.

“Is there anything you want to do at the festival?” he asked.

“Uh, me? That’s hmm…”

Sumire opened her mouth to respond.

“I definitely want…”

Her answer came surprisingly quickly.

Sumire had probably decided in advance what she wanted to do with YuSung.