Of course, Miss Lillian had used the Dream Technique strictly for medical purposes.
She had overwritten the trauma triggered by the Curse of Fear with happy memories (even if they were fake ones).
There was never any real benefit for Miss Lillian to gain by casting the Dream Technique on me in the first place.
“Yes, I understand. Thank you so much for healing not only my body but also my mind. I ended up owing you again because of that unexpected incident during the Martial Tournament.”
“I heard the Witch of the Underworld descended personally and interfered? Honestly, she should know better—why act so immature?
It was the first real chance for you to make it to the finals since you entered the academy.
What a shame.”
“Ah… I had already used up most of the countermeasures I’d prepared, so even if I had gotten through Round 2 of the prelims, making it to the finals would’ve been impossible. So I’ll just go ahead and—”
“And where do you think you’re going?”
The Curse of Fear had been the real issue.
As for physical injuries, they were minor compared to what I suffered when I faced the Class-2 Devil Doll, the Facefish.
So, I dusted myself off and tried to get up—only for Miss Lillian to plop herself down on my chest.
Maybe it was because of her wings, but Miss Lillian was much heavier than an average adult woman.
And yet, the soft, squishy sensation of her sitting on me made the pressure oddly pleasant.
“Ah, well, it is the day of the Martial Tournament, and since I’m only lightly injured, I thought maybe it’d be better if I just cleared out for others…”
“There’s no need to worry.
On tournament days, a special medical team is stationed near the Colosseum separate from the infirmary.
More importantly—aren’t you curious?
About how we spent our first night together in the dream?
Actually, I deliberately left that memory out.
But if you’d like, I can recreate it for you right here, on the infirmary bed.”
“Ah, no, there’s really no need to go that far…”
With Professor Lillian leaning over me while sitting on top of me, my heart felt like it was going to explode.
Honestly, I’m a guy too, and since the effects of the Celestial Essence-Suppressing Elixir had long worn off, there was no way I could resist a woman as breathtaking as Professor Lillian when she flirted so aggressively.
Still, I was trying to leave the infirmary because Iris’s match was about to start.
It was one thing for someone like the Witch of the Underworld to blatantly interfere in a match—but in truth, when a contracted Awakened participated in the Martial Tournament, their Constellation had a duty to watch from the sidelines, check in on their progress, and offer guidance.
And considering I’d basically neglected Iris for the past month while focusing on my own training, if I even skipped watching her match, she’d be disappointed for sure.
So, with no other choice, I activated my Constellation consciousness and pretended to pass out under Professor Lillian’s weight… but what I saw shocked me.
“Wait… Professor Lillian’s not on top of me?”
Only my real body lay on the infirmary bed like a corpse, and there was no trace of Professor Lillian anywhere in the room.
It was then I realized—too late—that Professor Lillian had used a double-layered Dream Technique.
A dream within a dream.
I hurried back to my physical body.
Perhaps because I had become aware it was a dream, I began to feel a strange sense of discomfort—particularly from how unusually enhanced Professor Lillian’s chest had been.
“Oh my, was I that heavy? You startled me—I thought you’d passed out, Sunghoon.”
“Um, Professor Lillian, I’m really sorry, but… could you please end the Dream Technique now?”
“You want me to end the Dream Technique? But it’s already been dispelled, silly. This is reality, Sunghoon. Don’t you feel my warm hands and breath?”
“I mean, I wish this was reality…”
“Hmm… you’re right. This is also a Dream Technique. How did you figure it out?”
“Well, it’s just that your chest was a bit…”
“Ahaha!
I actually enhanced it to seduce you, but I guess it backfired, huh?
Well, it can’t be helped.
I’ll let you out now—but don’t overdo it, okay?
Emotional wounds are different from physical ones.
They might look healed on the outside but still be festering inside.
Take care now.”
Smooch!
Professor Lillian kissed me on the forehead, then scattered into dozens of glowing feathers.
Only then was I finally able to open my eyes in my real body.
Without delay, I headed straight to the Colosseum.
Unlike outsiders, students could watch the matches for free, so I bought some popcorn from the concession stand and took a seat in the Senior Division’s S-Area, where the preliminaries were taking place.
As I munched on the popcorn and waited, the name Iris Lunai appeared on the scoreboard.
But the moment I saw her opponent’s name, I was so shocked I spat out the popcorn in my mouth.
“What the hell—Preliminary Round 1 against Palace Star Neriel!?”
Neriel the Palace Star was ranked 4th in the senior division, so it was similar to how I ended up facing Vellimond the Carrion Hawk in my own first-round match.
But rankings were just numbers.
If I had run into a hyena on a narrow bridge, Iris had just run into one of the Demon King’s Four Generals on that same bridge.
Even just going up against a mid-tier student in the senior division would’ve been a tough battle—but meeting not just a high-ranker, but someone from the absolute top?
My knees were shaking.
Even though I knew it was unlikely, I couldn’t help but worry—what if Iris lost so overwhelmingly that it crushed her spirit?
Just as I was getting anxious, a mysterious young girl wearing a frilly dress and holding a frilly parasol suddenly approached and elegantly lifted her skirt hem to greet me.
“Hello there. I’m Anemoa Dallant from the Dallant Trading Company. If it’s not too much trouble, could I buy ten minutes of your time with this Dallant silver coin?”
“Eh? Are you talking to me?”
“Yes, that’s right. I was very impressed by your performance in the first round of preliminaries, Kim Sunghoon.
I didn’t come here with any bad intentions—I just wanted to ask if you’d be interested in forming a sort of sponsor relationship.”
It felt kind of strange, hearing a cute silver-haired girl say with her own mouth that she wanted to sponsor me.
But her innocent eyes didn’t hold even a speck of malice.
I was just confused as to why a sponsorship offer—a kind of event that usually only comes to those who perform excellently in the martial tournament—would come to someone like me, who didn’t even make it to the main rounds.
“Um, you said your name was Anemoa, right? Are you aware that I’m known as the ‘eternal bottom-ranker’ and that I haven’t even formed a contract with a Constellation yet?”
“Of course I know. That’s exactly why I’m trying to invest now—when Kim Sunghoon is still severely undervalued.
Buying low and selling high is the basic rule of business, right?
Oh!
But don’t misunderstand—I’m not trying to buy or sell you like some kind of slave or anything.
I just genuinely want to build goodwill.
It pains me to see students full of passion and talent fail to bloom just because the academy doesn’t give them proper support.”
“I’m really grateful for the offer, but… honestly, I’m still struggling to manage myself.
I don’t think I’m at the stage where I can talk about sponsorships or trading companies.
And the Desdore family might not take it too kindly either…”
“Oh my, are you worrying about our Dallant Trading Company?
Well, I suppose the Desdore folks are a bit… troublesome, especially that Belimond corpse hawk you faced.
Still, since you’ve said as much, I’ll take a step back for now.
But there’s still time left from the ten minutes I bought with this Dallant silver coin—so I hope it’s okay if I sit next to you and chat a bit?”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
As Anemoa Dallant took the seat beside me, the scent of jasmine perfume tickled my nose.
It pained me to reject a proposal from such a beautiful girl, but forming a sponsorship contract with a trading company required just as much caution as forming a contract with a Constellation.
After all, they weren’t volunteers.
Especially the Dallant Trading Company—they were infamous for being ruthless enough to pursue debtors across dimensions.
Some people even called them the “Silver Coin Devils,” so keeping my distance was probably the safest choice.
So, as Anemoa subtly rubbed her arm against my side, I ignored it and focused on Iris’s match.
That’s when she spoke up.
“Iris Lunai. If Kim Sunghoon is considered the lowest-ranked, she’s the highest-ranked rising star in Pantheon Academy.
Our Dallant Trading Company, along with countless others, fought tooth and nail to form a sponsorship contract with her.
One company even offered her ten percent of their own shares, but she politely declined them all.
The scary part?
She didn’t drive them away like some common peddlers—she listened to every single offer carefully and still said no.
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
Are there really things in this world that can’t be bought with money?
Even Constellations trade among themselves using Karma.”
“I’m not sure. She’s a fellow student, but honestly, I have no idea what goes on in Iris’s head. We’ve never really had any meaningful interactions.”
“But weren’t you chosen as her partner for the school trip?”
“Yeah, I was. But you might not believe this—even during the trip, we never had a proper conversation.
We just ended up stuck in a weird box, and I literally got carried around by her for three days straight.”