Orion Academy Dormitory.
With the first-year cadets away for their exam, only a few second-years remained in the building.
In Rohan’s empty room, two girls sat in silence, not making a single sound.
‘Oppa... I miss you.’
‘Rohan’s absence feels way bigger than I expected...’
Both Clara and Shion were thinking about the same person.
And their thoughts continued along the exact same lines.
They had been sending messages to Rohan as if reporting their daily lives, keeping him updated—
Yet Shion, after staring at her unresponsive phone, finally sat up in frustration.
She reached out and placed her hand on Clara’s back, who was lying on her stomach, deeply engrossed in a game.
"Clara."
"Hm?"
"Before we go shopping with Rohan, I’d like to buy at least one outfit to wear that day."
"Ah...! Then should we go now?"
Shion nodded. Their preparations were swift and silent.
And as expected, their conversation shifted to match the flow.
"I watched some videos earlier, and cooking seems simpler than I thought."
"...Really?"
"As long as a beginner follows the recipe exactly, the basics should be fine. If we play the video and follow along, we’ll manage."
Learning household skills.
Practicing physical training together.
In the end, it was all just a desperate attempt to fast-forward time until Rohan returned.
After all, they would eventually be living together anyway.
"O-Oppa will probably be tired when he gets back, so...! After today’s training, should we give it a try?"
"Yeah, I can’t just keep being the one emptying the fridge."
Clara agreed with Shion’s reasoning, recalling a phrase she had read in a book once—
"If someone wins you over with their cooking, you’ll never be able to escape them."
What if she mastered cooking and completely stole Rohan’s stomach?
A ridiculous fantasy bubbled up in her mind.
"Hehe..."
Without even realizing her own stomach was already captured in return—
Clara let out a small giggle.
***
"Why aren’t you sleeping? Hungry?"
"No... it’s nothing."
After agonizing over her decision, Ichinose ultimately closed her mouth.
Her rationality, which screamed embarrassment, had won over her instinct, which just wanted comfort.
She adjusted the rolled-up jacket she was using as a pillow, shaping it to find a better position.
Lie down.
Toss and turn. Sit back up.
Adjust the shape.
Lie down.
Toss and turn. Sit back up.
Adjust the shape.
A mechanical cycle, repeating endlessly.
‘...’
Ichinose felt like she was losing her mind.
No matter how she adjusted it, the discomfort wouldn’t go away.
Even Rohan, who had been tending the fire, was now looking at her with obvious confusion.
"Can’t sleep?"
Rohan asked quietly.
Honestly, admitting it would be too humiliating, so Ichinose felt like banging her head against a wall.
"...Rohan."
"Yeah?"
Finally, she sat up, facing him.
Trying to suppress her emotions, she lowered her voice and asked—
"If there was a way to maintain peak condition in our current situation, to what extent would you consider the risk acceptable?"
To Rohan, her question was half-incomprehensible.
Still, he rubbed his chin, pushing a stick into the fire as he gave a reasonable answer.
"I don’t really get what you mean... but if it helps maintain condition, you should do whatever’s possible within reason."
Was that the answer she needed?
Ichinose’s expression grew more serious than ever, filled with determination.
"I’ll be honest."
For the first time, her voice was firm and composed.
The tone alone made Rohan tense up.
He couldn't tell if it was nerves, a warning, or a confession.
"Are you sick? Did you catch a cold or something?"
"N-No, it’s nothing like that...!"
"If you’re not sick, that’s good. Just tell me what’s wrong."
After taking a deep breath, Ichinose pointed at her rolled-up jacket.
"My head position is uncomfortable. I can’t sleep."
"...What?"
"...The ‘pillow’ is too uncomfortable. I think I’m gonna get a stiff neck."
Would he think she was just whining, completely clueless about real hardship?
Ichinose hurriedly clarified her reasoning.
"I mentally prepared myself to sleep in an unfamiliar place. I was ready for it. But..."
"Yeah, experiencing it firsthand is different."
"..."
Rohan nodded slightly, understanding her situation.
Then, with a serious expression, he asked—
"Wait. So you couldn’t sleep last night either? I thought you were out cold."
"I did sleep... really deeply..."
Rohan blinked at her response.
His eyes naturally drifted toward her, observing the way she avoided his gaze.
His thoughts spun quickly.
It wasn’t a complicated problem to solve.
‘She slept deeply yesterday, but now the pillow is uncomfortable, so she can’t sleep?’
Where had Ichinose rested her head last night?
The answer was obvious.
And as soon as Rohan connected the dots, a realization hit him like an arrow.
'Knowing Ichinose's personality... she probably struggled a lot before saying this.'
Rohan felt his lips twitch violently, trying to suppress the urge to laugh.
This was not the moment to laugh.
If he so much as chuckled before she actually laid her head down, she might change her mind and back out entirely.
He had to take this seriously—only then would Ichinose feel comfortable enough to go through with it.
"Alright."
"...Huh?"
Rohan shifted slightly away from the fire, then patted his thigh twice.
His face was kept as neutral as possible, with all his effort focused on acting like this was no big deal.
"If you need it, just use it. Maintaining your condition is worth it."
Hearing his casual acceptance, Ichinose let out a breath of relief—
But at the same time, her face turned bright red at the realization of what she had just asked for.
She stood up awkwardly, moving her jacket aside from the ground.
"S-Sorry for the intrusion..."
After hesitating for a long moment, she finally lowered her head onto Rohan's thigh.
'!!!'
The moment she did—
Comfort.
Ichinose felt an explosion of internal fireworks.
'This... this is it...'
A perfect 100-point pillow.
The ideal balance of firmness, the perfect height and width, and a pleasant warmth.
Forgetting the mountain of embarrassment, she already felt like falling asleep.
Drowsiness flooded her mind, her consciousness growing hazy.
Just as she was sinking deeper into sleep, she felt something lightly covering her body and opened her eyes a crack.
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"Sorry. Did I wake you?"
Rohan’s button-down shirt had been draped over her like a blanket.
Now, Rohan himself was only wearing a thin T-shirt, the traces of his training clearly visible.
"..."
Their eyes met—and when she saw him smiling down at her, Ichinose immediately shut her eyes tight.
She even lifted an arm to cover her face.
She should have thanked him first, but her fatigue and embarrassment made rational thinking impossible.
Instead, for the first time—she whined.
"I must look really pathetic..."
"Not at all."
"I can’t deny I was raised in a greenhouse... I really feel it right now."
"I never thought that. I only laughed because you’re like a baby."
"...A b-baby?!"
Sleepiness instantly vanished.
Pure shock.
How far was she going to fall from her dignity as a fellow cadet?!
"Baby-nose."
"Don’t give me weird nicknames... If you tease me too much, I might run away..."
"Alright, alright. Just go to sleep."
To think she was being teased like this while still stuck in this position...
"Rohan..."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm right here."
Her initial shock and protest lasted /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ only a moment.
Because soon—
Her exhaustion took over, draining the strength from her voice and pulling her into drowsiness.
"...Thanks."
Ichinose murmured softly through her lips—
And then, she fully succumbed to sleep.
***
"Hmm."
Standing on the ocean’s surface, Hekes of the Reverse Praise Society observed the horizon.
Beneath him, a massive sea monster served as his foothold.
'So that general is over there.'
His gaze fixed on the transport ship, appearing as a mere dot in the distance.
The island where the cadets were stationed was faintly visible, though its outline was blurred by the weather.
'If I go any further, I’ll be detected.'
Hekes kept his distance carefully, ensuring he wouldn't be spotted by Juyeon.
Then, he activated his magic, extracting the stored genetic factors within his body.
Ziiiiirrrrk—
In his palm, a double helix of magical energy began to twist and coil—
A geometric structure commonly known as DNA.
'The Paradise Order knights... the other instructors... About a year's worth of stacking should be enough.'
There was no need to kill anyone outright.
He just had to stall for time—until Juyeon and Omega’s battle concluded.
As long as Juyeon wasn’t on the island, everyone else was nothing more than toys for him and Omega.
The moment Juyeon lost, that island would turn into hell on earth.
A goldmine of valuable test subjects.
Just imagining the potential research made Hekes shudder with excitement.
"..."
But for now, he forced himself to stay calm.
Carefully adjusting the genetic factors, he ran another calculation.
This new combat body of Omega's—was built specifically to fight Juyeon.
Absolutely everything had been sacrificed to optimize it for that single objective.
'Omega. You will win and redeem yourself. Make sure to bring me plenty of precious test subjects as a gift.'
The more he analyzed the odds, the higher Omega’s chances of victory seemed.
And he had plenty of hostages to use as leverage.
Besides, he had already gathered enough data on the instructors guarding the cadets and the Paradise Order's reinforcements.
In the battle between Omega and Juyeon, those people wouldn’t matter.
Even so—
Something felt wrong.
A tiny, nagging sense of unease itched at the back of his mind.
'Hmm...'
But he ignored it.
Such irrational emotions were meaningless to a man of pure theory.
He had a job to do.
'Let’s begin.'
The genetic factors he had created dripped from his palm, dissolving into the ocean.
Causing chaos on the island was already part of his mission—
But at the same time, he needed to secure an escape route for Omega, just in case.
There was no one else who could replace Omega—so he had to make sure he survived.
'Omega has a hot temper, but he values his own life.'
Suppressing his unease with a mix of confidence and anticipation—
Hekes slowly released his magic, carefully weaving the delicate preparations for what was to come.