Chapter 261: Side Story – The Agony of a Playboy (1)
iJg6There was something wrong with Korin these days.QO6
2BbpThat was the conclusion Marie had come to upon observing Korin for a while since his return after a voluntary aid mission.sdA
fdS6OHe postponed answering their questions and suddenly left, only to zone out regularly after coming back.B0DPv9X
Jx4jr‘Maybe… I was pressuring him too much.’ulh
mLDUrging him to make a decision might have been too much of a pressure for him, but even then, Marie wanted to hear his reply.XHQSy
7zjdgHrDespite being aware of a potential and fearsome future where she wasn’t chosen by him, there was a strong desire in her to be chosen by him over anyone else.GW7ruk
SgK“Now, that’s it for today’s lesson. Well done everyone.”dDLX7
Td9zLAt the end of the combined lesson of 3rd and 4th year students, Marie approached Korin.uqe
8L6“Korin…”9CqJ1Tp
nkvm2It’s not like she wanted him to give her a response right at this moment. Korin didn’t seem to be in a good mood these days, so she simply wanted to have a chat with him.cMF1q
5HtBut the moment she tapped him on his shoulder, Korin reacted in a fright.ohPO
NdTq7k“Hugek…!”J3ylW3
xNV“K, Korin?”KLt5
QCaa3eHe seemed repulsed as if he came in contact with something that shouldn’t be touched, which came as a great shock to Marie.EZSlF
Gi8iKorin… shrugged me off?sL5yu
CM4TZIt was the first time that this had happened.0NA
tWQCB“Ah, s, sorry. I was thinking about something else.”KH8dBq
sjh1“U, uun… N, no problem!”UBwVx
kmtBMarie forced herself to maintain the bright look in her eyes and attempted to dismiss it like it wasn’t a big deal.Xu3
G0dlc“What… is it?” he asked.Fqms
9rq“Uh, uhh… You know…”m0ZJdpI
GbSfShe hinted at something with her eyes.PgXbj
jzgH4rIt was a tacit promise the two of them had. Although he was awkward about it at first, Marie knew how Korin wasn’t against their bodies being in a very close proximity whenever she was sucking his blood.9Lmy
7uK05kShe knew that both Korin and herself were vaguely looking forward to it every time but…vlhLRvj
TgiwFTW“Sorry sunbae. Not today. Maybe next time…”QoIP
RkI7TG“Haht?!”v60JWj
VbhIt was the first time in the past 3 years that she had been rejected like this. Marie was so shocked that she forgot to even breathe and froze stiff.r8UC
A1m“Let’s do it next time, okay… I have to go, bye!”CXigj
YZzM0mdAll she could do was watch him leave in a rush.m51BW2N
4cQ9F“I, it’s been more than ten days though…”adqZRJ
COf3GIxA great joy that blood packs couldn’t give her went further and further away.Pws
aNB2****ZKQ
YTSoRHuman habits were hard to change.u79Rbq1
ni7exnAlthough he had defeated Tates Valtazar and was the strongest person in the entire planet who didn’t require any more training, Korin frequented the training rooms regardless.C3uAil
jHqMany people looked for him whenever he was outside to lay their eyes on the Sun, the hero, or the one behind the prophecy and such, but the training rooms of the Academy were mostly quiet as the youthful teenagers preferred other ways of spending their time.2nB8J
Emr9opWAnd that was why Alicia was able to monopolize Korin for herself in the training room.JQuN1T
Hw6I“Korin-ssi. You seem a little… different today.”Esf8W
VvmF“Hmm…”4svQ
1IOTaking a break after a duel, the two of them were wiping off sweat with their towels. It was only a 10 minute break but that didn’t stop the two from having a discussion about martial arts.tZ9UK
Gesah3“You don’t seem as sharp today. If you weren’t planning on going for a full-on attack with a stab, I think it would have been better for you to snap my sword away instead.”4UsNmU
Tvig0RySince there were only a few that could fight on their level, Alicia and Korin tended to give feedback to one another to make up for anything they lacked. It was mostly Korin giving feedback to Alicia, but today was a little bit different.eHNxw
9P4BP“Korin-ssi?”YfJcV
Zmv“…”jf36
TLOANoticing that Korin had been silent this whole time, Alicia wondered if was devising a new spearmanship or something, but soon realized that his serious eyes had been on her.XaQv
oHK1y8“K, kuhum…! It’s a bit embarrassing if you keep staring like that.”GPpKurn
mgTHv3Q“Alicia…”Hia
z34S“W, what is it?”akUXhz
qVOaAlicia gulped as her cheeks turned red. It couldn’t be helped as she could feel the strong, blazing passion in his eyes as Korin stood up and began walking towards her.Hkg
ZSIpJOOWhat was he going to say?a21fk2
95DZ0rUntil the war against Valtazar, Alicia often attempted to have more physical contact with Korin. Although he seemed slightly troubled by it at times, he didn’t appear to hate it altogether.AUY
HQuGJShe was currently drenched in sweat but… that too could be a positive when seducing guys, right? After all, she still remembered how Korin was stealing glances at the bead of sweat traveling down her neck.Z0Kyf
pfu“Alicia,” he said.JdzpnKr
hawPA7“K, kuhum… Yes?”3MU
faumkK“You should be wearing proper clothes.”ig99
ANo9Z4Y“…Sorry?”hiacq
PYubHis words were so out of the blue that it caught her completely off guard.FhQlh
vLzXs“It is not a good sight for a lady of a marriageable age to be so open.”v8lN
AzeQYRW, was he saying that after all this time?d5Z7
tJ6lEIndeed, it was true that Alicia wore clothes that were a bit more revealing than normal. The El Rath Kingdom was quite open about skin exposure in the first place, and it was even more the case for the Arden Household as they were located at a humid environment to the east.iK0L4
FfLDKtHAs such, it was normal for everything from her casual clothes to party dresses to reveal either her cleavage or the side of her chest, and she tended to have little coverage over her thighs as well.FTOw
RpvhSuch things were normal in the east where she grew up, so Alicia didn’t think much about it but…c2N
e3knKVi“You ought to wear clothes with less exposure than this. It’s a bit uncomfortable.”M8H
LnU“U, uhh…”XmSD
yr1NRXM“And let’s avoid being just the two of us like this from now on. We need to be mindful of other people’s eyes.”xHwVbZy
wcJT“K, Korin-ssi?!”sgoF
dQDczYou are saying that after all this time? A bit late isn’t it?!SxXTbfu
haxAlicia was puzzled by Korin, who had suddenly turned into a conservative male.p7K
YeC4sYou’ve been glancing every time though!MzQSkn4
hACyXvaFor the past 3 years!4gDt
oX4w****6a1
dHkSDcIt was around 11 pm after a coloring session with Ren and Ron, that Hua Ran was climbing up the stairs.ujUQ
PHlVes[Is it your turn today?]oj5VcCG
81kS“…Un.”cDmZe3
LJdtMrThe place she was headed was not her room but Korin’s.cJWr1Wo
bwPuIt had been 2 years since the first time she slept on the same bed as Korin. It started as something to alleviate her boredom but these days, it was an important part of their routine as Hua and Ran took turns sleeping with Korin.RUe
aVYJu[It’s been so long though… Can I sleep with him today~?]TESPiJz
UbxC0M“No. You lost the coin toss already.”4e6e41e
ADt7qn[Hing~]vx8B8
gX2Actually, it had been a while since both of them had slept with Korin. After finding out the truth behind how babies were made back in the North, Hua Ran had been keeping her distance from Korin.v8HTo4n
AlMwM– Knock knock!qjxoo
RijLAnd since Korin left for a long-term voluntary mission immediately after that, it had been a very long time for the two of them.KGf0E2
h3y4Gf– Come in.qiOv5f
r3YEntering the room, she saw Korin sitting on the bed reading a book. Seeing Korin in his pajamas for the first time in a long time, Hua felt her heart starting to race.g5ag0ym
FwaI8sr‘I should have worn… different pajamas.’CBQef
AO6vP0N[Why? It’s cute.]0oN
nXtX‘But instead of cute… something that’s, that’s…’K8VLmxH
Mzk[???]EsuHXkH
hU7FEven to her sister, Hua couldn’t reveal that she was thinking about lingeries, or revealing clothes that Marie, Alicia or Estelle would wear.aNmtWl
GAym“…”AQSOZ
zdjrAx“Why don’t you come in?” Korin invited her in, seeing Hua stay silent for a long time near the door.9pu5sv
f95GdouWalking up, Hua took a seat on the enormous bed right next to Korin.WHVd
MvY“What are you reading?”pXE
kiXYje4“…A book about philosophy.”zy71
NAPHv“Philosophy?”baiYMn
VwFjW7P“Like a philosophical debate on… interpersonal relationships…”PptD
RNqtlgHua stole a glance at the title on the front cover of the book he was reading, but couldn’t understand what it meant.Molv
oNv“Is it fun?” she asked instead.FkFjMd8
RpYj“It’s very intriguing. Makes me wonder how a book like this could exist.”oX1r
lh5“Really?”kt07h12
RqlHua leaned her head on his shoulder and read the book with him, but it was so full of difficult words that she couldn’t understand much of what it was saying. She wondered if Ran knew.2yuJ
hgLd[Why do you need philosophy on marriage? I wonder why he’s reading case studies from overseas.]tjhko5
tZpql2JShe didn’t seem to understand it either.Cf9Bv3R
cDz1gAlthough it was hard to read, the warmth being conveyed through her cheeks was so addictive that she continued reading the incomprehensible array of letters.PnnOTV
1ZTI“I’m sleepy.”X507QV1
gGlbp“…Alright.”MxErk3
ExnBIlSeeing Hua dozing off, Korin closed his book. He then noticed that there was only one pillow on the bed.MOV5Cn
aitUy1The two of them had been sleeping on the same bed for a long time, but Hua often didn’t bring her own pillow. On her part, it was because she learned over time that Korin would provide his arm to be used instead of a pillow if she didn’t have one, but there was no way for Korin to know that.DQPt
E5xuX72“You can use my arm then…”9Q7M
RvXKorin paused in the middle, right as he was about to habitually lend her his arm.AandQV4
w0ji“???”gPv3JZ5
AWxNP[Oppa?]0qCM6QH
0Eo“…”eLJcpXi
9L4i04RFor a decent period of time, Korin stayed thinking like that before suddenly giving a shocking announcement to the two of them.YJtQzx
AlV“You two… Let’s stop sleeping on the same bed from now on.”aYmQgq
PeNoL“…!!”OOhy
A96E1OB[Huhh?]Ld8Lm9
VFBWhat was this about all of a sudden? Hua Ran blankly stood there blinking her eyes but Korin didn’t give her the time to process it.vZhGBnt
FiZu“There is a Confucian saying that you shouldn’t even let boys and girls sit together past the age of 7. It wasn’t right in the first place to have a lady of a marriageable age to be sleeping on the same bed as a male.”SYNCEan
vtQrdoC“But…”qNasf
Fmqa0It’s been two years though?tpn
htJRPjvIt had already been two years since they had warmed up each other’s bedside at night, so what was he saying after all this time?I6sF9T9
vuZy“My sleeping habits aren’t that good either, right? I accidentally touched you during my sleep and you hit me as well.”G223X0G
TsocbP“T, that much is fine…”kkTC
pOmfLHua was so shocked that she stuttered but Korin remained firm.6XoUuyF
hbfGbig“No. Looking back, I’ve been way too inattentive. I should have done this much earlier.”r0o
3tW1vIC“Wait…”hRkL9DZ
E28tOK“So you two. Let’s sleep separately from today.”7vgC0
6VnTFJb[!!!!!!]xpjprQE
ByUThey were chased out of the room.da525
3kWwR2Hua Ran blankly stood there looking at the door closed shut before their eyes.G2wiSC
HvVL6zn****59wcJk
bZ2CVR2After coming back, I started putting distance between myself and the girls.k2Kivu
vw6U6EMThinking logically, this was the right decision and after rationally looking back at my own actions, I realized just how inattentive I had been this whole time.7imrPWv
zriAHaving a tight hug while letting Marie suck my blood; stealing glances when Alicia, drenched in sweat, would defenselessly wipe her armpits; and I would sleep at night with Hua Ran by my side.gqke
eKNnViI had been enjoying such things as if it was a privilege just given to me.xXWRW
fhGnIt was wrong! We weren’t even dating and I had crossed the line too much!MZdLCzS
FvXAnd most importantly, there was a reason why I was being careful not to be tied down into a relationship with one specific girl.Npow3tX
Rhd1“Fuu… It would be a nightmare if the Precepts got activated again…”ids3a
C31cThis past week, I had been locked up in Park Sihu’s alternate dimension acting like a husband.MvgK4
9KJS5NTo this day I still couldn’t understand.lVjOj4
RE9rsbPark Sihu… or Park Sirin, was it? The one that hypnotized me and said she loved me was most certainly the 99th Park Sihu from the last iteration.YdmUcj
Y95vAI had definitely killed Park Sihu; I dealt with him ahead of time right as he was about to kill Alicia and saved her, but the 99th Park Sihu appeared in front of me in her real body as Park Sirin.KZT1fOH
y9JThen who was the Park Sihu I had killed? Was it a simple copy mimicking the same moves? Or a different version; the 100th Park Sihu?mN7G
A2WRegardless of whether it was Park Sihu or Park Sirin, or 99th or 100th, what was important was that Park Sihu, who should have died in any case, had safely returned back to earth.xPks2M
yEGMWas that the system all along? Were you sending people back to earth when they died? What a freaking nice-ass system?! Isn’t it usually ‘The End’ when you die?kgoS
DVzfgMII felt like I had been disadvantaged this whole time, thinking that my life would be over the moment I died.K2snc
6v6Well… that wasn’t the important part.H3A3tt
fFY8d1Whatever the case, it meant that Park Sirin had somehow returned to this world through the dimensions… and in that process, I unintentionally experienced the backlash I would receive from the Precept.9AC
aJC〚I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.〛bdShZqx
rmHMK[Fulfil your Precept]hdLj5
SMUfAn extra quest.70KTGO
BTMVFaDuty and the 1st Precept, that I would not disregard the misfortune of the good. It showed off its horrible side-effects even in love relationships.5Wg
pEHX1aA[You are not fulfilling your Precept. 50% penalty has been applied.]YmX
IGw“Fuck…”pLq
ty9rWhat I had felt was merely 50% of the entire penalty. Well, considering I was getting the backlash from seven S-ranked quests at once, I was fortunate to not be dead already.rZe
Gtiv“But like, technically, am I not the Danann of the Sun? Like a God of the Sun?”yYFTk6
h1pzuWas I going to die just from not following Precepts?eFp
nvIOR“………”pkoc
nhmXwP3Whatever. Complaining would get me nowhere.WakCh56
wBCWhat was certain was that if I didn’t beat all the extra quests, I would face the repercussions from the remaining six failed quests.ojmAc34
7LlThat would probably kill me.Psda
hgC3That seemed… unavoidable.euhJ
S11h1“So I die if I choose one huh? What kind of stupid quest is this!?”uovkCfX
DlfeZ“……Woof!”WErba
eNfqI couldn’t consult this with most people, and eventually I found Doggo, my biological son. I coincidentally crossed paths with him, while he was strolling the streets in the form of a large dog having dirty relationships with female dogs around the town.N5Dk7d
yPc[Doggo?]rbwL
MTu[Woof?]CtfSVXO
OdCSHe was walking out of a clothing shop in the city, wearing the most expensive branded clothes from that store when I found him.1nVdZj
dreodxa[Sir Doggo our VIP! This is the newest beret! Please take it with you! Aigo~ it looks amazing on you just like everything else~]05LM8B
BS8[……]pfHqN
XXbG9NJ[……]7N7AYN
2A6SIt felt a bit weird, and made me wonder if this would be how a parent would feel seeing their son walking out of an expensive shop.ijQf
w9hztThis guy… He was using the whole 5th floor of the Guardians Office as his dressroom wasn’t he…?iW5j02b
N1AocWhat kind of dog-human likes branded clothes so much? He never ate dog feed for food either; he only ate MB9+ meat.HnxSCn
vCViAHis mother definitely got him into a wrong habit, but even a son as terrible as that… could help me with one thing.m2Q8lG6
JjVe1kP[Doggo. Should we have some food together?]TRodF
6jX7irI took Doggo to a nearby high-class restaurant and asked for advice.vWhOuKK
qMx4Oz“So… that’s how everything is right now.”xuAC
LtHitRa“Woof?”QYihxc
3iB“It’s a bit… complicated for daddy. I know what you’re saying, but this whole relationship is very complex. I have my ‘Duty’ involved, and I can’t make any of them unhappy.”WoUZRV
GbEB“Woof woof!”H17yMo
GC1H“Do you think I wanted this situation for myself?! And aren’t you siding with your mother way too much? I’m your father, you know? ‘Father’! Excuse me?! How dare you say that to your biological father? What? Put that finger down would you!?”Lg2
CLIDoggo wasn’t the nicest counsellor, but while gulping down on the 36 ounces of medium rare steak, he continued listening to my story.Nciiqay
fEwjhj8“Fuu… so the problem boils down to this. How do I untie this complex knot of a relationship without making any of them unhappy?”5SPC
3rpLKb“Woof. Woof wooooof!”mjq
GOU1e4– What a trashy thing to be worried about, papa.qdl9A5V
eY3I know! I know I’m trash! But let me hear some advice from my son, who has so much relationship experience that he’s leading a debaucherous life!ZE1CPb
LWmcHb“Woo. Woooof!”82sg8A2
vlaM– It’s simple. You just have to satisfy all the bitches.SdiiqTa
UIa“How is that possible though? If I choose one, the rest would be unhappy…”cLniB
IaKlz“Woof?”27dR9
6Ui– Why do you have to choose only one?Y2vlNb
oePipWC“Huh?”aAjNz
AO16GB“Woof woof.”Ysc5K
y5BcWmW– You can eat them all. What’s the concern?VQv5fe
K09“Oi you…!”9wKvGM
Ycj5What’s with your words! I know you’re a dog, but come on! What do you mean ‘eat’?8HWmsZI
upW1lHowever, I couldn’t manage to correct him on his word choice. Although there was a problem with his choice of words…3UYK
PxdUl“You… have a point!”JTw
jdH5evDoggo’s advice provided a simple solution to the questions I had been asking myself while pushing the girls away.zRdYuWj
AouHow did I not think about this before?JnW
Bh3dDIf choosing one would make the rest unfortunate, why not just choose all of them?751KNoB
31M9QCNI know, I know! It sounds like something a piece of trash would say.BMhXzVW
8bAnBBut there’s no other option, right?QU2C
za1GWBecause all of them loved me so much; so much so that they would become so unhappy to the point that the Precept considered them to be misfortunate, I had no choice but to choose all of them to make everyone happy!oIbq3iu
XdVIcu5“That’s it! Harem! Harem was the solution all along!”uJOa
3T11‘Truth will set you free’BMpgBN
cfNSpaI have found the truth!ynKc
yU7P“Woof woof! Krrrhh…!”oGa00
yVgndr– You wanna die? Mama is the only one you should be choosing.iVa8H
HuNfYou said it yourself though!gKKa
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HaydenZeMan
VIP Qi RefinementFor a minute I thought we were going down a PTSD route when it came to women, after all this is his second time being drugged and assaulted