Chapter 42. 20. A Taste That Cannot Be Respected (2)
"What is this?"
"These are things being made over there. In my opinion, this is the biggest cause of the rumors spreading."
"What on earth could it be..."
Lumian reached his hand toward the brown envelope. He wanted to check its contents.
But Boomer blocked his hand.
With a serious expression, he said.
"You might be shocked, so take a deep breath before looking."
"...."
Hearing that made him even more curious, but he followed the instruction for now.
He breathed in deeply, then out. After doing this three times, his mind calmed slightly.
'It's already a bad situation, what more could be added that I'd be afraid of?'
With a resolute expression, Lumian opened the brown envelope and took out its contents.
A book and several pictures fell out.
"....!"
Lumian's eyes widened.
Teoro turned his head as if he couldn't bear to watch, and Boomer silently waited for Lumian to collect himself.
After standing frozen for a while, Lumian picked up the book and brought it before his eyes.
He slowly read the title aloud.
"A Wild Flower Embraced by a Rose? Don't tell me this is..."
"That's right. As you can see from the cover, the rose is Karl Krone. The wild flower is you."
Just as Boomer said, looking at the book's cover alone, one could tell who it was written about.
Karl Krone with his upper body exposed, and a somewhat beautified version of himself facing each other.
He didn't know how it would appear in women's eyes, but from the perspective of the person involved, it was utterly horrifying.
Like a man possessed by something, he opened the book.
Then even more horrific content assailed his eyes.
"Ugh... uuuugh..."
Lumian couldn't hold out for even a moment and closed the book.
Then the pictures that had been beside the book caught his eye.
Karl Krone and himself, either bare or with clothes thoroughly disheveled, tangled together.
This too was enough to torment Lumian.
He looked at Boomer with dead eyes.
Additional explanation flowed from Boomer's mouth.
"As you can see from looking, these are items that seem to firmly establish that you and Karl Krone have a deep relationship. I briefly skimmed the novel too—Karl Krone follows you around obsessively, and while you act shy and embarrassed and say you don't like it, in the end you never actually push him away..."
"No, you don't need to explain in such detail! And how did you even get these things?"
"These are items being sold by the Subculture Research Club."
Teoro, who had been keeping silent, spoke up.
As if he didn't want to see any more, he quickly gathered the items and stuffed them into the brown envelope. Then he slowly continued.
"It seems they're still only circulating among the female students of the Literature Club, but if this continues a bit longer, the situation might grow uncontrollably. I think resolving this first is the most urgent matter."
"Of course! What kind of crazy girls make these things without the当事人' permission! And they're even selling them? Is that even a proper club?"
"I didn't know, but according to Boomer, it's a club with quite a deep history."
"Crazy, I don't care if the history is deep or not! It needs to be shut down immediately!"
Lumian sprang up and shouted.
It was understandable. The popularity he had built through immense hardship during the Sword Festival now had homosexuality attached to it.
The element he thought would be a plus for romance had instantly become a minus.
Whoosh—flame-like energy bloomed across Lumian's entire body.
Though invisible to the eye, everyone could feel it.
At that moment, Boomer spoke in a cautious tone with additional information.
"But... most of the lewd books I've been bringing until now... were also mostly made there."
"...."
"Most of the lewd books circulating in the Academy come from there. Regardless of taste."
Lumian fell silent for a moment after hearing Boomer's words.
He had enjoyed pleasant times through books throughout the semester. Naturally, he was at a loss for words.
After stealing a glance at Teoro, he spoke softly.
"...Anyway, I need to go tell them to stop making things related to me. Boomer, please guide me."
"Going right now?"
"Of course."
Lumian quickly changed into going-out clothes.
He didn't care what others enjoyed or what tastes they had. He wasn't narrow-minded enough to judge right and wrong in such matters.
But producing related merchandise without the当事人' consent and worsening the rumors was something he couldn't tolerate.
Having finished preparing, he said.
"Let's go now."
"Wait, take this."
Boomer took out a robe from his bag and handed it to Lumian.
It had a hood attached, making it good for concealing one's identity. He continued.
"When going to such places, showing your face is a bit..."
"...You're thorough."
This wasn't the skill of someone who had been there just once or twice.
Watching Boomer scratch the back of his head, Lumian nodded.
"Right. Good thinking."
Wearing the robe would also allow him to avoid accidentally running into Karl Krone. It seemed best to keep some distance from that guy for a while.
Speaking of which, he wondered if Karl Krone knew about this situation.
'Surely that bastard isn't actually gay. No, he can't be.'
Lumian shook his head.
That was truly a horrifying imagination.
He'd think about that guy later, and first resolve the Subculture Research Club matter.
Having finished his thoughts, Lumian opened the door vigorously and said.
"Let's go."
***
"Huu."
In front of an old building located in a secluded corner of Tarazan Academy.
Tania Eloyze, looking at it, sighed.
She had come once before, but she still wasn't used to it. Thinking about what she had to buy this time made her face burn.
'It's a good thing I'm wearing a mask.'
Not just a mask. She had a robe pulled over her head too.
This was the infamous 'Subculture Research Club.'
She was the third-year top student with beautiful looks and dignity, receiving the respect of countless female students in one body... if word spread that she was frequenting such a place, her image would take a huge hit.
'That absolutely cannot happen!'
Tania shook her head vigorously. Her loose robe fluttered accordingly.
The fluttering of the robe stopped after a brief moment.
Having regained her composure, she clenched her fists tightly and headed toward the building.
'It's fine. I didn't come here because I'm interested in this kind of thing, right? What I'm doing is perfectly legitimate. I'm wearing a mask because others might misunderstand.'
That's right.
She was only here to build a solid connection with a fine talent named Lumian.
To adapt to his somewhat unique tastes and build tolerance.
'A pervert and a homosexual... no, bisexual, probably. He seems to like women too. Anyway! If you take that point away, he's sufficiently excellent and decent... I just need to understand that part!'
She had absolutely no interest in this kind of thing.
This current business is official work. It's absolutely not personal... Tania kept repeating this to herself internally.
But contrary to her words, her eyes were shining with anticipation.
A novel with Lumian Collard as the protagonist... what kind of content could it be?
She heard there are illustrations inserted here and there, how would they be depicted?
Swallowing her saliva, she quickly looked around, then ran swiftly to the building and knocked on the door.
Knock knock knock
"Who is it?"
"Um... that, well... I came to buy... some Lumian-related items..."
Bang
"Ah!"
The door opened before she could even finish speaking. And a female student appeared.
Tania looked at her with surprised eyes.
Her gaze was directed not at her face, but at her chest.
'Still... big.'
She was someone she had seen when coming to buy items last time too.
She seemed to be the president of the Subculture Research Club, and was the owner of an incredibly impressive chest.
Tania subtly lowered her head to look at her own chest area.
The excitement she had felt on the way faded, and a slight sadness set in.
"...You came once before. Please come in."
"Huh? Ah, yes!"
She thought, 'How did she know?' but only briefly, then Tania nodded.
She had come in exactly the same attire last time, so there was no way she wouldn't know. Following the president's guidance, she stepped inside the building.
The interior was the same as when she had come before.
Several female students exhausted from fatigue were writing or drawing. Or using magic to copy images onto blank paper.
Though they weren't dealing with Lumian and Karl Krone, they were pictures hot enough to make one's face burn.
'That magic... I heard it's quite difficult for an undergraduate to perform...'
To waste such magical talent in a place like this!
For a moment such a thought crossed her mind, but Tania soon understood her.
In the past, perhaps she wouldn't have been able to.
But after getting to know Lumian, she had become relatively lenient toward this kind of thing.
She had come to think that even perverts could have good personalities, be sincere, and capable.
"These are the items over here. Please take a look."
"Ah!"
Before Tania's eyes, the items she wanted were spread out.
Lumian Collard, or more precisely, countless pictures drawn with Lumian and Karl Krone together.
On one side, books that appeared to be novels featuring the two were piled up.
Tania picked one up with trembling hands.
And checked the contents.
'...This is!'
Slam!
Tania immediately closed the book.
Less than 3 seconds had passed since she opened it, but she couldn't bear to look any further.
What on earth did I just see?
She squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head deeply.
Her face was already flushed red enough to burst.
'This is too much!'
She had come to this place to respect and understand Lumian's tastes, to build tolerance so she wouldn't show awkwardness when dealing with him.
But this was too extreme.
Looking at things like this, she thought she wouldn't be able to get closer to Lumian—she wouldn't even be able to meet his eyes.
"Is the level a bit intense?"
"Ah, um..."
"There are some with a bit more pure love feel, how about those?"
"Y-yes."
Tania, brought back to her senses by the president's words, received another book.
But she couldn't bring herself to read it. It seemed she could only check the contents after returning to an enclosed space where no one else was, namely her own quarters.
Breathing out hot breath, she rummaged through her pockets.
To pay the price.
But before asking the president about the price, one of the displayed products caught her eye.
It was a portrait of Lumian.
'...Handsome.'
Most things had Lumian Collard and Karl Krone drawn together, but it seemed there were quite a few individual fans, as portraits drawn solo were also stocked.
She approached the portrait of Lumian without realizing it.
And slightly pursed her lips.
'They drew it well, but there was no need to distort it like this.'
The picture had some differences from Lumian's actual appearance.
The nose was higher, the eyes bigger. The skin was white as if powdered, and the lips were red like cherries—a much more delicate and feminine appearance than his real face.
Of course, it was clearly recognizable as Lumian, but it didn't please Tania.
Just as he was, he was sufficiently handsome and fine.
While she was thinking this, the president interjected again and spoke.
"Are you planning to buy this picture too?"
"Huh?"
"You seem interested. If you buy them together, I'll give you a little discount. How about it?"
"Uh, um? Um... yes, please do that."
Tania nodded in confusion.
The president, having received money from her, smiled brightly and then packaged the goods.
Watching the books and portrait disappear into the brown envelope, Tania wore a flustered expression.
'I didn't need to buy the portrait...'
But now she couldn't undo it.
And actually, the money wasn't that precious to her.
While the slight distortion was displeasing, it was also quite a well-drawn picture.
Keeping it in her room would be good for constantly reminding herself of her goal.
Also...
'Ugh, whatever! I already paid, so there's nothing I can do about it!'
She wasn't living a financially struggling life anyway, so making various excuses about the purchase was stranger.
She just bought it without much thought. That's that!
Around the time she was organizing her complicated thoughts, the packaging was finished.
The president of the Subculture Research Club smiled brightly and handed the envelope to Tania.
"Here you go. Come again."
Having received the items, Tania bowed politely.
Then she scurried away and exited the building. Hugging the brown envelope tightly, she thought.
'Let's hurry back to the dormitory.'
Only then would her mind calm down.
She felt incredibly tired even though she hadn't stayed long.
But at that moment, she sensed three people in robes approaching from afar.
'No!'
Tania was startled and fled far away.
Though she was covering her face, she didn't want to create a situation where her identity might be discovered.
As she was distancing herself from the Subculture Research Club building, a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Did that person buy that too?"
"Who knows? But it could be possible, right?"
"Damn, I need to tell them to stop this quickly. Let's go."
'Lumian? Boomer?'
She had enhanced her hearing with aura just in case, so she could hear their words.
Tania gave up going home and hid behind a tree that had grown in a suitable spot and observed the three.
She didn't know what was going on, but she couldn't contain her curiosity.
'What is it, why are they hiding and watching?'
One of the three robes, Lumian, frowned slightly.
A person who had been running away holding a brown envelope was hiding behind a tree and watching him.
She seemed to be a knight cadet. Her movements were quite fast, and her skill at concealing her presence was top-notch. Of course, not enough to escape his eyes.
'Don't know. Let's not pay attention.'
He decided not to pay attention.
Right now, blocking the rumors was the most important thing to him. He didn't want to think about anything else.
With a fierce expression, he roughly knocked on the door of the Subculture Research Club building.
Bang bang bang!
"Please come out! I've come to have a talk!"
"...Please wait."
A voice full of dissatisfaction came from inside. It felt like she was angry at the rude behavior.
However, Lumian didn't bat an eye.
He was the victim. The mental damage he had suffered from the 'Subculture Research Club' until now was immeasurable.
'Just try coming out. I'll completely smash it.'
Finally, the door opened, and a female student appeared.
Lumian's furious gaze pierced her.
However, the destination of his eyes was not her face.
Her large breasts, made even more prominent by her crossed arms—that was the final destination of his gaze.