For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Do you know the saying, “Victory is assured with fresh juice”?

“Pervert! Stalker! Criminal! Planning to do something violent with my weakness?! Like in an erotic novel! Like in an erotic novel!”

Now, I was the victim.

“What nonsense are you talking about, Student Yandel?!”

“Is that not the case? If not, why else would you leave me alone? Why leave the diary so conspicuously?”

“That’s because…”

Iona faltered in her words, possibly hiding something.

Even if she wasn’t planning to make me do something by exploiting my weakness, it seemed she intentionally left the diary for me to read, right?

But why? Was there a reason?

…No. The reason wasn’t important now.

I remembered the time I accidentally spilled all my freshly bought fish-shaped buns on the ground and teared up.

“I trusted you! I trusted the Professor…!”

“No, no! Calm down! Doesn’t something seem odd? The intruder is not me but Student Yandel!”

“Yandel doesn’t know that! Soon, I’ll be attacked by the Professor! It will be a mess because of the desires that have accumulated!”

“Are you throwing a tantrum here?! I’m confused about whether you want to be attacked or not!”

Iona, puzzled by my sudden regression to a childlike state, fidgeted without knowing what to do.

Good. Was this the right time to solidify the situation?

I lay sprawled on the unnecessarily wide desk and casually turned my head to the side.

The pitiful teardrops were a bonus.

“If you want to do that, then just do it!”

Perfect. It was perfect. Having done this much, surely the focus of the conversation would blur.

Filled with guilt and self-loathing, I wondered if this was right, but still…

Once I decided to make a mess of the situation, I had to follow through to the end.

As the effect of the fish-shaped buns was wearing off, I gathered my emotions by recalling the tragic ends of various street foods like skewered chicken, egg buns, walnut cookies, tteokbokki, and hotteok.

Drip.

Just as a tear was about to wet the desk….

“…Alright. Has Student Yandel given permission?”

Huh? What’s this? This reaction shouldn’t be happening here.

Surprised by Iona’s unexpected remark, I slowly opened my eyes.

Swoosh. Click.

There was Iona, climbing onto the desk to pounce on me, relishing the taste.

Though our skins didn’t directly touch, the distinct coolness unique to vampires was palpable.

And perhaps, due to the suppressed enchantment, a faint sweetness lingered like an aftertaste.

Iona’s presence swelled within me, firmly establishing itself.

What in the world was happening?

Half anticipation, half worry, and half excitement. My heart was overworking at 150%.

Just when I was about to calm my racing heart, Iona’s blood-red eyes suddenly sharpened, as if viewing prey.

As if to say that nothing of what I was thinking was going to happen.

…Oops!

Did I press too hard, making her come back to her senses?

Sometimes, in a crisis, instead of panicking, some people’s minds work much better than usual.

It seemed Iona was that type.

Realizing the situation, further attempts to shake Iona would not work.

Still, with a hopeful heart, I squinted my eyes and let out a playful voice.

“Ehehe.”

“What’s this? Still half asleep, huh? It’s okay, Student Yandel. Once you sleep and wake up, you’ll be fine!”

Saying that, Iona picked up an erotic book.

“Wait a moment, Professor. I’m in my right mind. I won’t talk nonsense now…”

“Iona Punch!”

Thud!

“Ouch.”

Before I could finish speaking, I was hit on the head with a book.

That wasn’t a punch…

In my blurring vision, only a sense of injustice vividly lingered.

---

When I came to, Iona was in front of me.

“Hello! Hello! You finally opened your eyes!”

“……?”

What? Deja vu?

I was sure something like this had happened before…

I blankly tilted my head, but as soon as I saw a book with a familiar title next to Iona, everything came back to me.

“Ah!”

At my startled look, Iona’s smile deepened a bit more.

“Hey! Hey! You’re going to tell me properly this time, right?”

“…Yes.”

Really, there was no helping it. If I spouted nonsense about fresh juice victory or whatever again, I’d just keep getting knocked out with a book over and over.

Now, I had no choice but to speak honestly.

This and that, squirrelly-squirrel talk.

“That’s how it happened.”

As I cautiously finished speaking, Iona began to tremble slightly.

What? Was she angry? Did I mess up?

Briefly preparing a shield while cautiously gathering mana…

“Hehe. Haha. Ahahahah!”

For some reason, Iona started laughing loudly, stomping her feet.

What’s with her? It was more unsettling when she just laughed without saying anything.

Was this what it meant to be on pins and needles? Unlike Iona, who was giggling, I ended up fidgeting quietly.

Noticing me, Iona started patting my shoulder with her usual playful smile.

“It’s okay! It’s okay! You wanted to land a hit by any means? It’s great to have such enthusiasm! Yes, yes! Professor Iona really likes students like that! Though it seems a bit early for that! Ahahahah!”

“Ugh. Gah.”

Every time I got hit on the shoulder, my body shook violently. How could a magician have such strength?

Was it because she was a vampire?

Vampires get physically and magically stronger as their rank increases. Being Lord-level, Iona’s basic physical abilities must be considerable.

It took a while for Iona’s laughter to stop, by which time I wondered if I would end up bruised from all the shoulder hits.

“Ah, of course, that’s one thing, but unauthorized entry into the lab and snooping around is another issue.”

“Isn’t that part of Professor Iona’s responsibility? You showed it on purpose!”

“Saying it like that makes it sound weird! Well… the diary part is true. I did want to show it to Student Yandel on purpose.”

“So, my body was the goal…”

“No! No! Sorry if it seemed like a trap! But that’s really not it! Why do you have so much confidence in your body anyway?!”

“Uh… maybe it’s a judgment based on my experiences so far?”

Lately, Carla had been either blatantly touching my face or subtly moving her hand down.

As I nodded to myself, Iona, for some reason, widened her eyes and gently patted my shoulder.

“It’s… okay! It’s okay! You’re an academy student now, right? The academy will protect you. And so will I.”

“???”

Ah.

Was this what I thought it was? Often, commoners born with outstanding beauty end up having their lives ruined by that very beauty.

Was I being misunderstood in that way?

As I pondered whether to clarify or not, Iona continued with a seemingly serious expression.

“Anyway, back to the main point. It’s true I showed Yandel the diary. But I’m not trying to make you do anything strange. I just had something I wanted to ask.”

“Couldn’t you have just asked me directly?”

“…Huh? Really? Really? If I ask, you’ll just tell me?”

“It depends on the content.”

I shrugged my shoulders, and Iona blinked blankly.

The Eurelia Continent had developed quite a bit for a fantasy world… but that didn’t mean there was something like the internet.

Naturally, the value of information was still high.

She must have thought I knew something after seeing me reveal the powers of the Boiling Silence.

And now the opportunity has come.

I could roughly guess what Iona wanted to ask.

“You’re more interested in the cultist sects’ branches than the locations of dungeons.”

“Right. Right. Especially if it was a follower of the biased God of Plunder.”

“There are a few places I know of…”

“But if you know the location of Ayla, I’d like you to tell me that first.”

“……”

What?

“Don’t tell me, the sister mentioned in Professor Iona’s diary?”

“Yep, yep.”

“…Is she still alive?”

“Definitely, definitely. I met her directly about 10 or 20 years ago and even cut off one of her arms!”

“Don’t tell me that Ayla is the Ayla I know…?”

“Right! Right!”

Iona smiled brightly as usual, but there was a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

“The Cardinal of Intolerance. I’d like your help in finding the Watching Ayla.”

“……”

The Watching Ayla was a boss who appeared in the latter part of the story during the full-scale academy event.

Of course, the protagonist was aware of her existence but never actually engaged in battle with her. There was no model, so her appearance remained a mystery.

At that time, the protagonist was preoccupied with battling enemies of the Apostle level, not those of the Cardinal level.

So, who defeated Ayla? That would be Iona.

More precisely, it was a group of professors and students led by Iona.

In any case, it was true that Iona played a central role.

Iona’s moment of glory, briefly depicted in a cutscene in the latter part, stemmed from that event.

That crazy developer.

Was this how everything was connected?

Why wasn’t this story included in the main H&A? It’s clearly important!

No. Not really.

H&A had always been about stories where the player’s choices could save someone destined to die or awaken hidden talents.

In other words, it showcased scenarios that could be positively altered by the player’s decisions.

But in the case of Iona and Ayla, it was a problem that resolved itself without my involvement.

Was this why Iona’s story wasn’t featured in H&A?

Was she considered unapproachable because her story concluded without anyone’s help?

The speculations assembling in my head were alarmingly swift.

Perhaps interpreting my stunned silence as contemplation, Iona interrupted my thoughts with a sense of urgency.

“Me too, me too. I’m not asking you to tell me for nothing. I’ll cover up today’s intrusion into my lab by Yandel, of course, and I’ll actively support whatever Yandel does in the future!”

“Uh….”

“Is… is this still not enough? Then, should I offer you all the points I can, saying it’s thanks to Student Yandel for providing crucial information? You want points, right? It’ll definitely be a big help!”

“That’s the thing…”

“More?! I can’t officially offer anything more… Ah! Should I make blood crystals periodically for you? Or… huh! Don’t tell me, Student Yandel, you’re after my body…?!”

“No. I was going to say I don’t know the location of the Watching Ayla.”

“Ah…”

Iona sighed as if deflated.

It was too early to be disappointed.

Ayla was only mentioned by name in the main H&A, a boss with no location or detailed information provided.

All I knew was that the Watching Ayla, fittingly, received several demonic eyes as powers.

“But it’s not like there’s no way to find her.”

After all, Ayla was a Cardinal of the Church of Intolerance.

“If we shake down the branches of the Church of Intolerance, something will surely come up, won’t it?”

“…Huh?”

I grinned at Iona, who was gaping at me.

This was a chance for an achievement.

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