The Novel’s Villain

54. Vacation (3)

Jin-woo observed Yoo-na while following her to Class A.

No matter how much he looked at her, he still couldn’t get enough of her new look. He had seen all kinds of different views while traveling through different dimensions, but nothing could compare to this.

Yoo-na pretended not to be, but she was extremely conscious of him. Every time his gaze landed on her, she couldn’t help but flinch.

Main characters often reacted to such behavior by asking what was wrong and if they were sick, leading to more misunderstandings.

Jin-woo decided to ask something else.

“What subject do you teach?”

“Mathematics.”

“That’s surprisingly ordinary.” He expected her to say swordsmanship or magic since they were in the Temple Academy, only for it to be something so mundane.

Unfortunately, while Yoo-na was powerful, her injury prevented her from becoming more than just an ordinary educator.

“I’m not good at math…”

“Oh, you can ask me for help anytime.”

“Thank you.”

Jinwoo looked at her.

“I think I’ll learn a lot from you.”

“Huh?”

Her eyes blanked out, which made her look like she was beginning to imagine things.

“Math.”

“O-oh, yeah. That’s great to hear.”

With her face flushed, she looked like she was on the verge of exploding.

Yoo-na rushed away.

‘Ugh…’

As he thought, he couldn’t bring himself to imitate the protagonists.

Still, though he cringed, he persevered since he wasn’t just a creature of adaptation. He was also an Emperor.

Jin-woo evolved.

In this world, such cheesy occurrences were quite normal. He had to get used to them.

They arrived in front of Class A, but Yoo-na’s spirit hadn’t returned yet.

This sight was truly quite rare. He couldn’t believe she was the real Yoo-na, who always maintained a straight expression.

Jin-woo looked at her and smiled.

“Teacher.”

“Yes?”

“Should I go in first?”

“Ah, right! I’m sorry…”

He followed her into the classroom.

There were about twenty students in it, all of them female aside from him. Hee-yeon was one of them.

Unable to control herself, the corners of her lips rose upon seeing him come in.

“I can’t accept this. He’s been specially admitted, but he still got into Class A?”

“He must be close to the principal.”

“That’s despicable!”

The students expressed their disdain towards him enough for Hee-yeon to glare at them, her eyes filled with fury.

“You doubt the principal’s decision, then?”

“That’s not it… Didn’t you walk here with him this morning, Hee-yeon? Perhaps…”

“Oh, no. I… Uh…”

She jumped up, her cheeks reddening.

“Settle down, everyone.” As soon as Yoo-na calmed everyone down, Hee-yeon sat back down.

That moment almost made Jin-woo clap.

‘The Emperor of Settings did well. Whoever they are, they’re quite virtuous.’

He had already met many people, but few of them realized true virtue like the Emperor of Settings did. With Jin-woo satisfied, he let out a sigh of relief.

Since Class A was an elite class, its culture dictated they shouldn’t acknowledge him because he was admitted into their ranks through a special process.

Though it was a bit frustrating, he knew it would be resolved sooner or later. He’d also be gaining the class’s trust and making the heroines fall in love in the process.

But Jin-woo wasn’t interested in such things.

He hated being stuffy the most, considering he had never been the type to put up with situations he despised.

The Emperor of Gold slowly opened his eyes, unable to let this event go. It was the best opportunity he could hope for, after all.

The wind brushed past him softly along with petals despite the window being closed, making his hair flutter gently.

He devoured this cringe-worthy setting with a more cringe-worthy directing. Under normal circumstances, this scene would’ve been strange, but it had an amazing effect in the Settings World.

If this dimension had awakened five virtues, the Emperor of Gold had already realized dozens and ascended to Nirvana.

“I’m Lee Jin-woo. I look forward to your kind cooperation.” He introduced himself with a faint smile, causing most of the buzzing atmosphere to disappear.

All of them could only look at him blankly. If they weren’t shaken by this moment, they wouldn’t be human.

As long as he was the Emperor of Gold, he would always be perfect.

His seat was next to Hee-yeon’s.

He got integrated into a faction that refused to recognize him as a student, but his actions caused the number of people against him to dwindle significantly.

Most of them looked at Jin-woo with eyes full of curiosity and attraction now.

Becoming a celebrity made him feel pleased.

‘High school…’

Jin-woo had no memory of attending high school properly since he kept going around to make money.

Since the Emperor of Settings didn’t seem to have any ill will, it didn’t seem detrimental for him to relive his school days leisurely.

Yoo-na informed them of today’s schedule.

“Supplementary math will be held for this morning’s gym class. In the afternoon, the planned re-measurement of Holy Power performance will be proceeding.”

Everyone around him groaned, including Hee-yeon, whose brows had furrowed.

Classes began right after that.

Jin-woo looked through his bag, but he didn’t have any textbooks yet since he had just transferred today. Noticing this, Hee-yeon hesitated for a moment, then gathered up her courage.

“You don’t have textbooks, do you?” She asked in a trembling voice, to which Jin-woo nodded.

She gulped, lifted her desk, placed it next to his, then positioned her book in the middle.

The wind blew through the slightly open window, making the curtains dance as the cicadas chirped. Every time their shoulders touched, Hee-yeon flinched.

Jin-woo noticed something strange.

When Yoo-na looked in their direction, her handwriting on the board began to look crooked. Amazingly enough, the class continued without interruptions despite the situation.

Jin-woo looked out the window, finding girls wearing gym uniforms running around the track. There were also some playing tennis and students cheering for them.

Joyful shouts could be heard from the pool as well.

‘This is nice.’ He smiled softly.

After a while, Hee-yeon dropped her pen, causing it to roll towards his chair. As they both simultaneously reached out and tried to grab it, their fingers touched lightly, startling her enough to step away so fast she almost fell.

Jin-woo picked up her pen and handed it to her.

“… Thank you.” She held her pen in both hands for quite a long time. Yoo-na had to call her name a few times to barely return her to her senses.

It felt so surreal.

When lunchtime came, he realized he had forgotten the packed lunch Luna had made for him on the table at home. It didn’t really matter if he didn’t eat, but he decided to go to the canteen anyway.

‘I’m going to order the most expensive item on the menu.’

That was a luxury he couldn’t do in high school.

Just as Jin-woo was about to leave the classroom, Hee-yeon hurried to his side.

In her hand was a huge lunch box.

“I accidentally prepared too much. Do… Do you want to share…?”

When Jin-woo looked at her softly, Hee-yeon bowed slightly.

“Sure. Let’s go.”

“O-okay!” She grinned.

She guided him to the rooftop, saying they’d look too conspicuous in the classroom. A green fence enclosed its perimeter, matching the white floor quite well.

The sky above them was clear aside from the white clouds floating across it. As for Hee-yeon, she was quite well-prepared. She even brought her own mat, setting it up swiftly.

“You planned for this, didn’t you?”

“It’s a coincidence.”

That was hardly convincing, but that shouldn’t be pointed out in this world.

Jin-woo and Hee-yeon ate lunch beside each other, allowing him to notice her hands were covered with bandaids fairly easily.

‘Oh yeah…’

That was just like her true personality, but it seemed oddly different at the same time.

As he ate, she stared at him so nervously her hands were visibly trembling.

“It’s delicious.”

“Really?” She brightened up.

Feeling someone’s presence, he turned his attention to a corner, where he found Arcana hiding behind a large flowerpot. Looking back at him, she raised her thumb.

‘You’re doing great, master! Keep being sweet and kind! That’s it!’

She was taking pictures of them with a high-performance camera. Considering she had been imagining this sweet atmosphere for so long, she couldn’t help but run wild.

Hee-yeon bit her lip. A drop of sweat ran down her jawline, hitting her collarbone before finally reaching her uniform. The weather was a little hot.

Clouds occasionally obscured the sun, allowing cool winds to blow past them. As the wet spot on her uniform disappeared, the loud cicada cries began to subside.

She barely spoke.

“Well, if you don’t mind… Tomorrow… I think I’ll make a little too much again…”

“I’d love that. Please.”

“Got it!” She smiled warmly.

Arcana was wiping her tears with her handkerchief.

‘Enjoy your youth!’

She seemed quite impressed.

For his afternoon class, he headed to the gym. All of the Class A students were wearing combat uniforms provided by the Temple Academy.

Their attire was by no means ordinary, however. It was body-hugging and quite revealing, and it exposed their bellies and thighs.

It seemed to have come out of an anime.

‘Does it have any special effects?’

According to the Magic Eye of Information, it was the basic Holy Armor attire. To allow the wearer’s Holy Power to flow naturally, it kept their skin bare.

This world seemed peaceful, but it was infested with dangerous monstrosities. To increase their efficiency even a little in combating such threats, they designed an outfit that could maximize their unique ability’s output.

Still, Hee-yeon was the most powerful among her fellow students.

Jin-woo’s gaze made her feel shy, but she didn’t cover herself. Still, her nape was burning red.

“This is shameful.”

“I can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for us.”

Only a few students cursed him now, and those that did were just extras that weren’t even worth mentioning.

Yoo-na stood in front of the bead-shaped Holy Power meter.

“Let’s begin the measurements.”

First, the female students who were underestimating Jinwoo were measured.

‘6.2?’

He didn’t know if that was high or low. However, glancing at the setting book, he learned that those that exceeded 5 were considered superb.

When Hee-yeon stood in front of the measuring device, the students’ eyes filled with anticipation.

Hee-yeon was the object of admiration in Class A, and with good reason.

Her Holy Power was 15.

“That’s why she’s worthy of her title.”

“The only person who suits Red Star is Hee-yeon.”

The students admired her. As they said, her armor was red.

‘The main character is set to have no Holy Power…’

The meter didn’t respond to mana.

Jin-woo approached Yoo-na.

“Can too much energy break that device, ma’am?”

“Yes, but there’s never been a case like that before, so you can rest easy. It’s made from the remnants of a star. It won’t break.”

“I see.”

The material it was made of apparently handled Holy Power quite well, which was why it was even used to create weapons.

Usually, main characters would be ignored here and would only be acknowledged through a special event later, but the Emperor of Settings didn’t seem to have enough patience for that.

“Put your hands on it.”

He did as instructed, but the number the marble displayed didn’t even move from 0.

Crrrggshhghkghgkkk!

However, just as the students began to raise a commotion, the measuring device began to crack even though he was just resting his hand on it gently, applying no strength to his grip.

Boom!

Soon enough, it shattered into pieces that fired in all directions.

“Damn!”

Shards struck the leg of the first student to insult and disrespect Jin-woo, forcing her to drop to the floor.

Her wound wasn’t severe, but it was enough to bring her immense pain. After all, despite their minuscule size, they contained Jin-woo’s energy.

He approached her.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh… My legs…”

“May I take a look?”

As she nodded, he placed his hand on her calf and retrieved his energy from her injury.

The student let out a soft moan.

A cool sensation enveloped her whole body. Every time he touched her, her back arched.

“What’s happening…”

Her eyes widened as she looked at Jin-woo. Her leg no longer had any wounds. Even the pain was gone.

Jin-woo thought it was only natural. He had freed her from all the rampaging energy that penetrated her skin, after all. The Emperor of Gold worked hard to ensure every nook and cranny of her body had been purified.

“Ahh…”

She felt happy, though her eyes had grown hazy.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was going to break.”

“Ah… It’s okay. It’s okay. I should be the one apologizing to you. For no reason, I…”

“We’re in the same class, so how about we just get along?”

“Yes!”

His life would be a little quieter now.

He looked at her and smiled.

“I think I got hit as well.”

“Can you treat my arm…”

“My thighs!”

The students all pleaded to Jin-woo.

Hee-yeon, rolling her eyes while looking at them, came to his side and gently fell on the floor. Meanwhile, Yoo-na looked at him from afar.

‘His power surpassed 17.’

Jin-woo’s Holy Power was deemed unmeasurable. However, his touch became far more famous than his strength.

* * *

His first day was quite fun.

He hadn’t found all of the Golden Women’s Association members yet, but he decided to take his time since there was no need to rush. Jin-woo left the school with Luna and Hee-yeon, just like how he got there.

Hee-yeon lived in the swordsmanship dojo said to be owned by a family of samurais, which was near his house.

Luna grabbed Jin-woo’s arm and glared at Hee-yeon.

“Go already. And may we never meet again.”

“Hey, you’re still young.”

Hee-yeon smiled at her and glanced at her empty lunchbox, which caused Luna to frown. She then approached her and whispered something right next to her ear that made her stumble out of sheer shock.

At that moment, her attention turned to Jin-woo. Her cheeks puffed up.

Her reaction would seem exaggerated in real life, but it was nothing out of the ordinary in the Settings World.

It was often used by younger-sister-type of heroines, after all.

When they got home, Luna entered the house first. She didn’t speak to him for quite a while, but she sighed in the end since Jin-woo didn’t acknowledge her silence.

While he was sitting on the sofa, she lay down on his thighs.

“Give me a massage too.”

“Huh?”

‘What did she just say? Did she hear what happened in school from someone?’

He couldn’t even begin to guess.

Jin-woo had always been generous, but he was even more so today.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. If it’s you… I’ll be fine.”

He did what she asked him to do… very thoroughly. His hand movements were extraordinary, even superior to Lee Min-woo’s, who became the elves’ idol.

“A-ahh… Oh, brother…!”

Luna’s breathing became steep. Since she was constantly under a lot of stress, many of her muscles were tense. Luckily, Jin-woo was with her to carefully and gently loosen them up.

As he did, her body twitched and twisted, sweat glistening on her forehead. At that moment, the genre of the story began to change!

Luna grabbed Jin-woo’s shirt and looked at him with watery eyes. When her hot breath brushed across his cheek, the Settings Fragment came out of her chest.

He immediately picked it up and studied it using the Magic Eye of Information, finding a strong will residing in it.

‘I want to flirt and conduct skinship with the Great Emperor. However, as a goddess, that’s just not possible. I might be seen as a lewd deity otherwise!’

He fulfilled that wish.

Luna and Jin-woo’s faces were quite close.

“Huh? Master?” She blinked, her gaze remaining on him. After a few seconds, her shock caused her to roll away like a ball.

“Oh…” The things she had done to Jin-woo began to pass by her mind like a panorama.

Her face began to redden, almost as if it was going to explode.

“Aahhhh!”

Luna started running around the living room.

Puck puck peck!

Picking up the large bunny doll on the sofa, she slammed her face into it.

“Ahhhhh! What did I do?! Noooo!”

She then grabbed her head as she rolled all over the floor.

Jin-woo just watched her in silence, thinking the aftermath’s effects on her seemed to be quite heavy.

Looking at her, he smiled.

“It’s okay. Your brother understands everything.”

“S-stop it!”

“You’ll take care of me, right?”

“Ahhh! Stop! Stop!”

“Your brother…”

“Kyaaaaa!”

Thump thump!

Luna covered her ears and started pounding her forehead on the ground, feeling tormented.

She tried to forget about it through pain, but her memory was far too sharp.

“Please forget about what happened, master.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, though.”

“Ugh…”

Luna couldn’t control her cramping hands and feet. It felt like her whole body was drying up.

“We’re not done yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“If your attitude suddenly changes, everyone will grow suspicious of you.”

“That’s…”

“That might create problems for us or, worse, put us in a dangerous situation.”

She stiffened at his words.

He wasn’t wrong. If Luna began to behave differently, everyone would immediately notice it.

In this world, Luna’s love for her brother was well-known.

If she didn’t act upon it, she might compromise their safety.

“Is this hell?” She mumbled out of frustration.

Jin-woo smiled warmly at her.

“You don’t want to be the only one to have these memories, do you?”

“I don’t.”

There was a saying that sharing one’s pain would halve its burden.

Luna nodded in agreement. It had happened before, and that was already difficult as it was to live with.

‘Well…’

At least she’d get to flirt with Jin-woo.

“Alright! I’ll cooperate with you.” She said as she jumped up.

That made their situation take a strange turn.

Luna accidentally tripped, causing her to fall towards him, who accepted her into his arms. Just as she looked up at him, they heard the door open.

“I heard a loud noise. Are you two okay?” Hee-yeon hastily entered their home. She had a dish in her hand.

Jin-woo and Luna’s gazes turned towards her at the same time.

‘We should’ve seen this scenario coming.’

‘I agree.’

The timing of Hee-yeon’s arrival was just far too perfect!

Their strange position caused her to drop what she was carrying.

“Hey, I don’t think you should be doing something so… naughty…” Hee-yeon hesitantly uttered, the look on her face darkening.

Luna looked at her with a serious expression before making eye contact with Jin-woo again.

‘This is good.’

‘Right?’

‘Its destructive power is amazing when applied to reality!’

‘Well, can you keep this act going?’

‘Do not worry, my lord! I won’t fail you!’

Luna’s enthusiasm began to rise.