Did you remember anything?

Seen in that light, it made sense that this body's original owner had managed to land such a beautiful girlfriend.

After all, being handsome was one thing, but freely controlling your size and increasing your stamina? Those were abilities you couldn't come by just because you wanted them. The original owner really had been one hell of a stud.

But...

"It doesn't seem to work."

After pretending to try a few times, Lin En shrugged.

"If controlling Origin Substance really is as easy as eating and drinking, like you said, I don't feel any power inside me that I can use."

Shakira looked startled and confused. "That... shouldn't be right..."

Then, as though something had occurred to her, she stamped her foot and gave Lin En a petulant look, like a girlfriend sulking.

"Lin Ke! You're always teasing me."

"If you really can't use your Origin Substance's Sequence, then how did you put that guy in the hospital this morning? Don't try to fool me. I heard someone came looking for trouble with you, and you beat him down before he could even put up much of a fight."

At those words, the corner of Lin En's mouth lifted.

"You know all the details, huh?"

Shakira froze, then immediately feigned anger.

"I was worried about you! You... boo-hoo... I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Lin En cheerfully slipped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"That's because there was something wrong with the guy himself. The Evil Spirit he summoned wouldn't listen to him at all, so it turned on him! As for me? Of course I was happy to get a few extra hits in. If I could really use a Sequence, I'd have sent him flying with one slap. Why would I bother wasting words on him?"

Shakira rubbed her eyes, watching his expression sidelong as she asked pitifully,

"So... everything you said was true?"

"Of course it was."

"Then why exactly..."

Shakira stared at him blankly.

Lin En said softly,

"Do you think there's a possibility that it isn't that I can't use Origin Substance, but that... my [Origin Substance] was removed the night I fell unconscious?"

Shakira's expression jolted at his words.

But she quickly shook her head, looking every bit a young girl as she chided him,

"Don't joke about things like that! It's not funny at all. Don't you know Origin Substance isn't something that can just be removed? Especially the first one. It grows right inside your brain. If it really had been removed, you'd have died long ago!"

"Don't tell me I'm hugging a corpse right now! Honestly!"

Lin En couldn't help grinning.

That's right.

In a sense, what you're hugging right now really is a corpse.

"We're here!"

Shakira pointed to a house up ahead and happily pulled him toward it.

"That's where I live!"

She blinked and turned to look at Lin En's face.

"Whatever happens, stay at my place today. Maybe being here will help you remember more about our past. After all, this place is full of so many wonderful memories we shared."

Meanwhile.

At the church.

"Are you sure?"

Several teachers from the Arcane Academy stood beside the bed, looking at Loren, who lay there with thick bandages wrapped around his crotch and an expression that said he had nothing left to live for.

Because he'd been hit with [Weak Point Break], he could do little but lie with his legs spread wide, both suspended dozens of centimeters above the bed, his face hollow and utterly hopeless.

The slightest movement sent waves of shattered agony through his balls.

One of the teachers asked doubtfully,

"What kind of madness came over you that you dared attack a classmate right in the classroom? And you even used Origin Substance. Think you're some hotshot?"

"No. Not a hotshot," Loren answered hollowly, utterly devoid of hope.

His shot had already been shattered.

"I don't really know what happened, either. As soon as I got to the classroom and saw him, I started getting angry for no reason, and then I couldn't stop myself from going at him. Maybe I was just in a bad mood, but I swear I never meant to defy the school rules! I wouldn't dare, even if I had ten times the nerve!"

He raised a trembling hand and swore.

The two teachers exchanged a glance.

"Then let me ask you again. Did you see anyone before you returned to the classroom?"

He froze, instinctively turning his head away to avoid the teachers' eyes, his expression evasive.

"Well... um..."

The teacher looked stern. "We've already learned some of what happened. Someone said that before class, Lin Ke seemed to have had some intimate contact with a girl in the hallway, and you were apparently there too. So was it because of [Jealousy] over that girl and Lin Ke..."

Bzz-

Almost the instant he heard the word [Jealousy],

red ripples once again spread through the depths of his pupils. Suddenly, he seemed to become a different person, jerking his head up with immense, uncontrollable fury in his eyes.

"Lin Ke! You..."

But before he could even get up, the two teachers exchanged a glance, stepped forward in an instant, and jabbed him between the eyebrows.

Loren's expression froze instantly.

His body was fixed in place.

"[Heart Corrosion]."

Just then, behind the door to the sickroom, the blond boy opened his eyes, his arms folded across his chest.

"A high-level Sequence. Similar to charm, but stronger. If I'm not mistaken, someone who controls this Sequence amplified the [Jealousy] in his heart."

And whenever he heard that word or mention of anyone associated with it,

those negative emotions would immediately erupt.

Meanwhile, at Shakira's home in the lower city.

Not long after Lin En followed Shakira inside, while he was admiring the exquisite little ornaments in her room, the curtains were suddenly drawn, plunging the entire room into darkness.

Then he heard a ripping sound behind him.

It sounded like fabric being torn.

Lin En instinctively turned his head.

Immediately, he saw Shakira standing by the front door, her waist-length hair tumbling loose. With a sweep of her slender arm, her long red dress flew away, revealing her flawless body right before his eyes.

She covered her chest with one hand, her gaze soft as water, standing before him like a goddess untouched by the mire.

"Lin Ke, do you remember anything now?"

Lin En: "!!!"