When boys and girls at the age when they are just beginning to awaken to the opposite sex spend so much time together, it is hardly surprising for them to develop feelings for each other.
It was especially common among students living in the academy city after escaping their parents’ control, filled with the excitement of being almost adults, or without anyone they could comfortably rely on.
Since most of them aspired to become hunters who might die at any moment, there was also the mentality of enjoying pleasure and indulgence while they still could.
As a result, it was not uncommon for students, swept away by their emotions, to make a careless mistake and end up having a child.
“You’ve probably all heard the saying that two people enter the academy and three graduate. But don’t dismiss it as nothing more than a joke, all right? You might not have felt it yourselves yet, but as graduation draws closer, you’ll start hearing that this or that person around you has had a shotgun wedding. It happened in my year, too, and your seniors are going through it right now. When you have time later, try looking up the graduation photos. You’ll be able to tell immediately when you see them.”
“….”
“Perhaps there are already some among you who haven’t reported it to the academy. But this isn’t something that can be solved by hiding it, so if that time comes, make sure to tell your homeroom instructor, the medical instructor, the counseling instructor, or someone else you trust. That way, you can think together about what to do, can’t you? If you receive strenuous training while pregnant because of a mistake, you could be in serious trouble.”
Meanwhile, students who unintentionally became pregnant sometimes abandoned their newborns.
In severe cases, crimes involving illegally selling them also occurred with surprising frequency.
That was why the academy city contained numerous orphanages, why children without resident registration were discovered from time to time, and why inhumane crimes and experiments involving children were carried out in secret.
The situation was no different in other countries than it was in Korea’s academy city.
It could be called a problem caused by the lack of responsibility among students who were not prepared to become parents.
Furthermore, it was also a social ill caused by a world that blindly guaranteed almost-adult status to young people in order to obtain excellent hunters.
And so….
“You may share love if you wish, but make sure you practice safe sex, children. Don’t behave irresponsibly. As an adult, I believe there’s no one uglier than a person who refuses to take responsibility for their actions. That’s why I don’t want to take the joke about two entering and three graduating lightly. At least those people have a sense of responsibility. I’m not ready for that myself yet, so I truly admire them.”
Every academy in the academy city regularly conducted sex education for its students.
Thus, instead of their regularly scheduled classes that day, Yeon Haneul, Go Eunbi, Min Arin, Nam Yuri, Lisa, and Noh Hyowon had to receive sex education in the cultural center.
The instructor in charge of the lecture, Yoo Noeul, taught material that was carefully tailored to a hunter’s curriculum, while at times frankly crossing the line in terms of explicitness.
As an aside, Park Ayoung, who was assisting her, watched her with pride as a former sex education instructor.
“In any case, we’ll end our discussion of the ways men and women share love here. If we go any further, we won’t have enough time. Anyone who’s curious can ask me or Instructor Park Ayoung later, and try accessing the related websites shown on the screen. If you do some research, you’ll find that there isn’t just one method, but a great many different ones.”
Next, I’ll explain specific methods of contraception.
The female students blushed and grew embarrassed when they watched videos of men and women having intercourse and moaning, while they became solemn when listening to serious discussions.
Yoo Noeul, who had been explaining everything with an open and composed attitude, changed the screen.
Then she called over Park Ayoung, the person disguised as Kim Mihyeon, Lee Gahyeon, and several others, and had them distribute the items in the baskets to the students.
“This is….”
Lisa examined the box marked with a number containing a decimal point.
Inside were row after row of objects she had seen once before.
“Isn’t this vitamin C? Water balloons.”
“….”
“But what does this have to do with anything? Why did they give these to us?”
Lisa Grace dangled the connected objects in the air.
Genuinely curious, she tilted her head and asked her friends for their opinions.
However, Yeon Haneul and the others kept silent, looking troubled.
Nam Yuri and Noh Hyowon, who opened their mouths, were completely oblivious to the situation.
“Huh? Lisa Lisa, you don’t know what that is? It’s a contraceptive.”
“A contraceptive?”
“Should I say it’s armor that keeps you from being completely conquered…?”
“What?”
“….”
Lisa blinked her blue eyes repeatedly.
It was entirely unfamiliar to her.
Yoo Noeul cleared up her confusion a moment later.
“It’s a gift to keep you from making a mistake. Be sure to use it when you have relations with someone of the opposite sex. The boys receiving sex education elsewhere have probably each received a box as well. As for how to use it….”
“No way. This… wasn’t a water balloon?”
Yoo Noeul personally demonstrated how to put the contraceptive on an explicit model.
The female students gasped.
Lisa was momentarily left dumbfounded by the sight.
“So… you’re saying Gyeonwoo has been deceiving me all this time….”
“I’m sorry, our Gyeonwoo….”
Lisa drooped her shoulders and muttered in a mournful tone.
Foolishness, embarrassment, anger toward Do Gyeonwoo, and a jumble of other emotions swirled chaotically inside her.
Yeon Haneul, sitting beside her, could not help but feel self-conscious.
That was when Yoo Noeul changed the subject.
“I’d like to let every single one of you try it yourselves, but since we don’t have enough time, only a few of you will come up to the podium and practice. Would anyone who wants to try raise their hand?”
“….”
“No one? You don’t have to hesitate. I’m sure it’ll be a valuable experience. If there are still no volunteers, shall we focus on those who have boyfriends? Anyone with a boyfriend, raise your hand. Ah, of course Haneul should raise her hand, right?”
“What? I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“But you do have a male childhood friend, don’t you? You all saw her kissing him on the cheek behind the library a few days ago….”
Yoo Noeul enjoyed teasing people.
When Haneul’s name was suddenly called, she saw the startled girl’s rabbit ears perk up and giggled.
“Ugh… I’ll go.”
“Good, you made the right choice. Make sure you master it perfectly this time.”
Yeon Haneul, who had unfortunately been caught kissing Do Gyeonwoo on the cheek by Yoo Noeul, had no choice.
With her face bright red, she stood up and walked toward the podium.
Soon, she was facing the female students, but she could not raise her head out of embarrassment.
Yet that meant she had no choice but to stare directly at the explicit model standing on the desk.
“All right, Haneul. Hold the end properly and put it on without leaving any air inside.”
“Y-yes….”
Yoo Noeul kindly removed the wrapper and handed her the contraceptive.
Yeon Haneul desperately wished she could hide in a rabbit hole as she carefully took it in her hand.
With Yoo Noeul pushing her forward, she approached the model right in front of her.
“It’s all right, it’s just a model. There’s no need to panic.”
Yoo Noeul gently coaxed her.
Having resigned herself to the situation, Yeon Haneul put the contraceptive over the model so she could finish her turn as quickly as possible.
“How is it? Not too difficult, right?”
“Yes….”
“Do the same when you’re with Gyeonwoo. When you go down the stairs, make sure to take a box of contraceptives and some lubricant from Instructor Park Ayoung as well.”
“…Thank you.”
The female students’ stares were overwhelming.
She wanted to get back to her seat as soon as possible.
She was so embarrassed she could die.
She hated Go Eunbi, who seemed to be filming the whole thing on her smartphone.
With all kinds of thoughts tangled together, Yeon Haneul finished her part and hurried down the stairs as if fleeing.
Even so, she did not forget to take the promised reward.
Meanwhile, Yoo Noeul answered questions from several of the female students.
“For the record, I’ve never dated anyone. I’ve never even had a thing with anyone. Don’t get the wrong idea! You think I’m lying? No, I’m telling the truth. When would I ever have dated? How do I know so much, then? People in the intelligence branch learn the arts of the bed, too.”
“So don’t go spreading strange rumors,” Yoo Noeul added.
* * *
After sex education ended, Lisa parted ways with her friends and headed to the academic building for class.
Her face was stormy.
“The more I think about it, the worse it is. How could someone do something like that?”
Regardless of whether the absence form in her hand became crumpled, Lisa clenched it tightly and strode along, grumbling her complaints nonstop.
There was only one target for her emotions.
“I’m disappointed in Gyeonwoo.”
So vitamin C had actually been a contraceptive. It was absolutely unbelievable.
It was embarrassing that she had calmly believed it all this time without knowing the truth.
At the same time, she felt resentful toward the friends who had not told her the truth.
Most of all, she hated Do Gyeonwoo for deceiving her not once, but twice.
‘At least Haneul and the others were trying to preserve my innocence, so there’s room for leniency. But Gyeonwoo took advantage of the fact that I didn’t know and teased me.’
The memory of having made Do Gyeonwoo her guardian and signed a white magic contract with him before came vividly back to her.
Lisa felt as if he had toyed with her, and anger rose within her.
“Just you wait. I’m going to hit him.”
She wanted to find Do Gyeonwoo and scold him right that instant.
But she still had class, so she had to suppress the impulse.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing she could do.
Lisa calmed herself as much as possible and decided to wait until she went to dinner with her friends.
Then she would punch him, pinch his flesh, strike him with a bamboo staff, jab him in the butt, and stomp on him with her shoe.
‘Even if he begs for forgiveness, it won’t help. Gyeonwoo had better prepare himself.’
As she proceeded down the hallway leading to the classroom, she sent Do Gyeonwoo a warning via messenger.
Afterward, Lisa raised her head.
That was when she spotted a group of people walking toward her from the other end.
They were students from the Grace Empire.
“Ah….”
“….”
A male student with strikingly fresh blond hair, followed by students trailing behind him like his devotees.
Lisa flinched when she saw them and tried her best to regain her composure.
Then she stopped walking to acknowledge them.
The other party seemed to have noticed her as well and was looking in her direction.
Soon, they came face-to-face.
“We greet Her Highness, the Twenty-Third Princess.”
“Is everyone doing well? And how is Brother Mikhail….”
As Lisa exchanged light greetings with the students from the Grace Empire, she asked after the male student at the head of the group.
The boy abruptly cut her off.
“I believe I told you to drop out.”
“….”
“You really don’t listen, do you?”
The Fifth Prince of the Grace Empire, Mikhail Grace, was Lisa’s half-brother.
He spoke in a cold tone and walked past without caring whether Lisa’s face stiffened.
The students, flustered, hurriedly followed him and left.
“….”
With her head bowed, Lisa stood alone in the hallway for a long while after they disappeared.
* * *
I had anticipated that the day would come when Lisa learned the truth.
That was why I had prepared myself mentally and made arrangements in advance, but when the moment actually arrived, I found myself at a loss.
―The others are bad too, but Gyeonwoo is the worst! How could you do that to me? Are you trying to become a shameless liar and a swindler?
That evening, after the academy had conducted sex education separately for male and female students, I had to endure Lisa’s beating when she appeared after class.
Her blows were incredibly painful.
“It still feels sore….”
“You’re the one who made me lie to you. It’s your fault.”
“I didn’t make you lie. I was being considerate. Honestly, when you asked what it was, would you have been able to boldly say ‘a contraceptive’ to someone you’d just met?”
“You have a point, but… yes, it’s still your fault. And you lied when we made the white magic contract too, didn’t you? This is definitely your fault.”
“…Whose side are you on?”
“Hmm… Who knows?”
We were out for a walk at night.
There was no one there except Yeon Haneul and me, yet she unconditionally took Lisa’s side and giggled.
I could not help but find her irritating.
Still, I endured it because she was holding my hand.
After that, we talked about the sex education class.
“Is it because this is a hunter academy? It was incredibly specific compared to what we learned in middle school.”
“Back then, the boys and girls took the class together. I was surprised this time, too.”
From what So Gukjin had told me, the boys’ sex education, led by him, had relied mostly on watching videos.
In contrast, according to Yeon Haneul, the girls had received sex education centered around hands-on practice.
Naturally, since we had attended different classes based on our sex, we were both curious and fascinated by what the other side had learned.
Before long, the conversation turned to the fact that she had unwillingly practiced using a contraceptive.
“It’s a shame I wasn’t there. I should have seen it myself.”
“You know how embarrassed I was earlier? I thought I was going to die of shame….”
I had already heard about it at dinner, and Go Eunbi had even sent me the video, so I could not help laughing.
Yeon Haneul pressed her lips together, displeased.
Cute.
I coaxed and soothed her so she would not get genuinely angry.
That was when I let the wrong words slip out.
“So, how is it now?”
“Huh? How is what?”
“That. Do you think you can put it on properly?”
“Huh?”
“Oh? Ah….”
Even if I had not intended it that way, my remark could easily have been mistaken for sexual harassment.
I realized my mistake only after I had said it.
Yeon Haneul came to an abrupt stop.
The atmosphere suddenly turned frigid.
I worried that I might have hurt her feelings.
Then, still clutching my hand tightly, she answered in a tiny voice.
“Yeah…. I’ll try to make sure I can put it on properly….”
“….”
This was something else.
It was awkward.
Unable to think of anything appropriate to say, I scratched my cheek for no reason.
This wouldn’t do. It would be better to say whatever came to mind.
“Uh… yeah…. I’ll look forward to it. I’ll try my best, too….”
“Yeah….”
This was something else.
It was even more awkward.
We met each other’s eyes, then shyly let out a laugh for no reason at all.
Afterward, we hurriedly changed the subject to shift the mood.
Come to think of it….
‘There isn’t much time left now.’
Time had been passing quickly as I prepared for the Geumgang Festival.
In a few days, the day we would subjugate Lee Gahyeon would arrive.
I hoped the operation would succeed without a hitch.
I Became the Mid-Boss’s Childhood Friend