“Ah.”
Perhaps he could have said “Hello,” “Good day,” or “Have you eaten?” like any normal greeting. Cass had certainly thought of them. But in the end, the only thing that escaped his lips was a single syllable — “Ah.”
It was not exactly something that had to be said. But if possible, he had hoped to say something before the Dungeon Task began.
Her straight-cut brown hair fell to her shoulders, tied back simply. The white lab coat fit her perfectly, radiating an intellectual charm. Up close, she was actually half a head taller than him.
This was the person Siloque liked.
The person he had gone on a Victory Date with.
The one he had kissed…
Cass clutched his chest and suddenly lowered his head.
“Sorry.”
He spoke quickly and clearly. Before Teacher Gewina could even respond, he had already turned and sprinted away.
‘What is with Siloque’s friends… hanging around the Health Room door like a Specter every other day? What are they even trying to do? Don’t tell me another one is coming for life counseling. I’m really not good at that.’
Teacher Gewina leaned against the sliding door and rubbed her temples.
“Oh, was that Cass?”
In the hallway, a sprinting Cass brushed past Parenoa and Lorin. He was completely oblivious, leaving nothing but a gust of wind in his wake.
“Don’t run in the hallway. It’s dangerous, and you might bump into someone,” Parenoa tried to warn him, but she found that Cass was already long gone.
She kept her hand half-raised for a moment before slowly lowering it. “Lorin, is Teacher Gewina the kind of person who would scare Cass away?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Yeah, I agree. Besides, the way Cass looked… rather than fear, it was more like…”
The silver-haired girl gave a meaningful smile and did not continue. Instead, she walked toward the Health Room to greet Teacher Gewina.
***
8:13 PM.
Cass sat gloomily at his desk.
“Ugh…”
A laptop sat on the desk. He wore headphones and used the mouse to drag timelines and cut lines, editing video footage.
On the screen, a faceless figure in yellow used an electrical device to engage in a back-and-forth struggle with a snake-woman beauty. She was tied up tightly, with only band-aids covering her critical areas. The scene ended with the snake-woman, Yalier, rolling her eyes and twitching as she lost consciousness.
The raw footage was ten minutes long, but there was only about one minute of usable key information.
He clipped that segment, lowered the background noise, and modulated his own voice. He worked to make Yalier’s confession as clear as possible.
However, Yalier’s confession was mixed with high-pitched screams, making it difficult to distinguish. Siloque could only prop up his chin in boredom, listening to the audio over and over while constantly clicking the mouse to make adjustments.
“Brother! Blow-dry Hill’s hair.”
Click!
The moment he heard the first syllable of Hill’s name, before the door was even fully open, Siloque hit the ESC key with lightning speed. The screen instantly switched to a heartwarming video of a colony of meerkats.
“Sure, come in.”
With permission granted, Hill skillfully climbed onto his bed.
‘I successfully avoided letting my Sister see that kind of footage — or so I hope.’
Otherwise, he would only look more suspicious.
Using a hairdryer shaped like a space shuttle to dry his sister’s hair, Siloque performed a meaningless self-reflection in his heart.
“Hill, since we started going into the Dungeon, you’ve been asking me to dry your hair every day.”
“Because taking care of it myself is a hassle, and Hill likes Brother’s help. It feels very good. Brother can ask Hill to help style your hair anytime too. It’s an unequal exchange.”
“An unequal exchange?”
“Hill will only ask for your help when Brother is free, but if Brother wants, you can come to Hill any time within 24 hours!”
“…We are talking about hair, right?”
“Mhm— hair-drying, of course.”
Hill hummed a tune as her pale gold hair swayed gently while she scrolled through a mobile Game.
Siloque used a comb to smooth her hair, which carried the scent of milk and shampoo. Hill simply leaned back, resting her entire weight against his chest.
“Human, I’ve finished reading. Lend me the next one.”
Another person who didn’t knock.
Inafa pushed the door open while holding three manga books, staring blankly at the pair of siblings. She was wearing the tracksuit Hill had given her as pajamas. It fit her surprisingly well.
The relationship between the two had progressed rapidly.
“Ah, Illyon, do you want to play a Game together?”
“These are the remaining five books. Chapter 236 was hilarious, right? That axed panel.”
Faced with the invitation and the offered manga, Inafa snapped out of it and assumed her usual arrogant posture.
“Hmph? Ah… Hmph. Which one should I choose? Accepting the flattery of my subjects is also a pleasant trouble for the Guild Master.”
She tilted her head up and thought for a moment before nodding.
“Fine, I’ve decided. We’ll play a Game. But only for one hour. I have to sleep at 10:00 PM, and I still want to see the rest of the manga.”
“Illyon, actually, the ending — mgh!”
Siloque and Inafa both reached out simultaneously to cover Hill’s mouth.
“No spoilers.”
Hill had invited Siloque to play as well, but his video wasn’t finished yet. He could only refuse with tears in his eyes.
From the room next door, Inafa’s screams of “Eeyahha!” could be heard from time to time. Judging by the emotion, she was likely being bullied by Hill — they were playing a fighting Game.
Inafa could adapt to rhythm games that relied only on reflexes, but fighting games required memorizing moves and strategies. She was clearly not good at that.
Near 9:00 PM, Siloque finally finished the video and imported the data into his Ring Chart.
It was late; it was time for a bath.
After confirming that the two were still playing, he grabbed a change of clothes and a towel, quietly slipped out of the room, and headed to the large bathhouse deep in the west wing of the third floor.
“Phew…”
He leaned back into the hot water, letting out a comfortable sigh.
The feeling of soaking in hot water was more effective than any recovery potion. The fatigue from sitting too long vanished instantly.
He had learned his lesson this time and brought a wooden basin to float on the water. If someone suddenly burst in, he could quickly use it to cover himself. Inside the basin were his towel, shower gel, shampoo, and hair cream.
‘But Inafa is playing games with Hill. Maybe they’ll just sleep on the sofa tonight.’
They had pulled an all-nighter once before.
That time, they had some kind of pajama party.
Looking back now, it was just an excuse for them to make him wear silk pajamas and tie his hair into twin-tails for a laugh.
‘I really don’t want to go through that kind of experience ever again.’
Siloque opened LINE and briefly replied to messages from family and friends before chatting with Beiren for a bit. She mentioned that Cass had been lingering near the Health Room lately but ran away every time.
Just as he was about to contact Cass directly —
“That Butterfly Wave is such a cheat! It can attack twice! How are you supposed to fight that —”
A golden figure appeared through the steam.
Inafa was wrapped in a white towel, holding a wooden basin in her arms.
Just like last time, she froze in place the moment she saw Siloque.
“Yo.” Siloque waved a hand.
“Mgh…” Inafa gripped the edges of her towel and glared at him.
“Phew… cough.”
After a moment, she regained her composure. Her brow smoothed out, and her expression returned to a calm, relaxed state.
“What a coincidence, human.”
Unlike last time, she did not explode in rage.
“Don’t think you can take advantage of me every time. I’ve been on guard since that day. Watch closely!”
As she spoke, she unwrapped the towel from her body.
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