Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses
Chapter 72: Jenny got... a problem

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Jenny got... a problem

Click.

The door gave a sharp click before swinging open with a barely perceptible squeak as Asher stepped out of the bathroom wearing a white top and shorts. His silver hair was still slightly damp from his shower, and he moved with the casual confidence to his space.

He walked toward his wardrobe—thankfully now properly positioned on his side of the room—and opened it to find the standard academy-issued outfits: combat wear for training sessions, casual indoor wear for downtime, and various uniforms for different occasions. Looking down, he found shoes and slippers arranged neatly below: sport shoes in two colors, white and black, along with the standard indoor footwear.

He picked out a comfortable tee shirt and began unbuttoning his white top, preparing to change into more suitable loungewear. The fabric had barely left his shoulders when he heard an indignant feminine voice pierce the air.

"Hey, you shameless bastard! Can you not stripe in front of me?"

He looked up to see his purple-haired roommate with an expression of pure outrage, her red eyes flashing with embarrassment as her face flushed a delicate pink. She was gesturing wildly at him with what appeared to be genuine shock at his casual attitude toward changing clothes.

"Well, you could always just look away," he said with characteristic bluntness.

She was about to cover her eyes in horror at how shameless this young man actually was, but then realized he had compression shorts underneath. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

"Huh?"

"What? Unlike someone around here, I don’t find pleasure in being an exhibitionist," he said matter-of-factly, now putting on comfortable black shorts and slippers before walking toward the dining room. "I just believe in efficiency over unnecessary modesty."

"Hey, now that’s low! It was an oversight, damn it!" she called after him, referring to her ... bra incident. "Boys should be simple-minded and not so petty about these things."

"So in your opinion," he said, pausing to look back at her with raised eyebrows, "you as a girl are entitled to mistakes while I, as a guy, should be held accountable for my actions?" He noticed she had cleaned up the dining area pretty thoroughly—much more organized than when he’d left it.

"... I mean," she crossed her arms and lifted her chin with shameless confidence, "we girls deserve to be pampered a little bit."

"... I see," was all he said, his tone suggesting he found her logic completely unreasonable. He walked toward the pot he’d left simmering earlier, only to notice the fire beneath it had been extinguished.

"Mm?" He raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Jenny, who suddenly found the wall pattern absolutely fascinating.

"Jenny," he said, and she reluctantly met his gaze. "Yes?" she asked, trying to look innocent.

"You did this?" he asked, gesturing toward the cold cauldron.

"Well, it was stinking up the place something terrible," she said defensively, wrapping her arms around herself. "I just wanted it to stop steaming and making those weird bubbling sounds."

He narrowed his purple eyes, studying her expression. Something about her defensive posture and the way she kept glancing at the pot suggested there was more to this story.

"Did you... taste it?" he asked carefully.

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine, yes I did! You’re making this seem like some huge crime. It wasn’t even as good as it smelled anyway."

He just stared at her blankly, his expression unreadable. The silence stretched between them until she began fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Okay look, I’m sorry... I was just curious how the stuff tasted. I’ve never seen such a weird-looking soup before," she said, but he continued staring at her with that same blank expression.

At this point she was getting genuinely nervous. It was just soup, right? Why was he getting so... emotional about it? It wasn’t even that good... okay, that was a complete lie. For some reason, she had actually loved the disgusting-looking concoction.

The truth was, it had been all slimy and unappetizing to look at, but it smelled incredible—not at first, but after she’d gotten close to the pot and opened it to examine its contents, she’d felt this indescribable urge to taste it. At first she thought she was going crazy for even considering consuming something so visually unappealing. But the previous irritating smell had suddenly disappeared, replaced by an aroma she had never encountered before—rich, complex, and somehow calling to her on a level she couldn’t explain.

She’d found it weird too, but curiosity had won in the end. And once she’d started tasting it, she couldn’t stop. It had given her a feeling similar to when she’d first awakened her abilities and absorbed ether—that addictive, energizing sensation that made her want more and more.

"Sigh. Alright, just tell me how much it cost you to make. I’ll pay you back—just stop giving me those creepy staring eyes," she said, rubbing her neck absently.

He eventually sighed, running a hand through his silver hair. "Do you know what you just ingested?"

She frowned, the neck rubbing becoming more insistent. "Um... s-soup?" she asked hesitantly.

"Really? So I left all the regular pots available here and specifically got myself a cauldron to cook soup? Really?" His gaze said it all: Are you serious right now?

"Gulp." She gulped audibly, then began scratching around her neck more frantically. "So what the hell was that thing?!"

Panic was setting in fast. She had initially suspected the concoction wasn’t just soup, but it had tasted so incredible that she’d ignored her instincts. By the time she’d realized what a massive mistake she’d made, she’d completely emptied the pot. In a desperate attempt to cover her tracks, she’d grabbed some random herbs from the elite lounge garden, thrown them into the cauldron, and tried to cook them into something resembling normal food. Her cooking skills were questionable at best, so she might have panicked a bit and just dumped whatever plants she could find into the mix. The resulting smell had been so nauseating that she’d turned off the fire and fled the scene.

But now... now she was realizing there was a very real chance she’d consumed some sort of poison.

"Just calm down," he said, walking toward her with his hands outstretched in a peaceful gesture. After all, there was no point in her panicking when she was clearly the cause of her own problem.

"Why are you telling me to be calm? I am calm, alright? Do I not look perfectly calm to you?" she asked, now literally acting like someone going through withdrawal as she scratched various places on her body while trying to maintain what might generously be called a smile. "Just tell me what the damn thing was!"

"... An experiment," he said simply.

She suddenly stopped moving, just staring at him with wide red eyes. "What?" was all she could manage as her face began turning an alarming shade of purple.

Good thing I didn’t ingest it myself, he thought with scientific interest, though he kept his expression outwardly concerned. And how convenient—a test subject.

"You... you mean you were experimenting in our dorm?!" she asked, her eyes beginning to glow with an ominous purple light.

She’s losing composure, he realized. If this situation escalated much further, he’d not only lose the chance to observe the potion’s effects firsthand, but he could also face expulsion.

"Jenny, look at me," he raised his hands in surrender.

"I am looking at you, alright? I am looking at only you," she said, her breathing becoming increasingly ragged. Her face was deepening to a darker purple by the moment, her eyes wide and wild, a subtle trembling increasing throughout her body.

"I can fix this. You just have to remain calm," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN REMAIN CALM?!"

BOOM!

The explosion of ether-enhanced force sent him flying like a ragdoll. He crashed into the wall with a sickening thud, pain shooting through his entire body, but he forced himself to get up immediately. He couldn’t afford to stay down—he had to find a way to contain her before she completely destroyed their room and possibly half the dormitory.

"Jenny... come on, just chill... alright, nothing bad is going to happen. It wasn’t poison, okay? It was a tonic for healing," he said, wiping blood from his mouth.

"A healing tonic? Fuck you! Why would you make a healing tonic when healing potions are sold everywhere?!" she screamed, her voice cracking with fury and panic.

Okay, that was a stupid excuse, he realized, but he pressed on anyway.

"Don’t come any closer," she suddenly said, and he frowned at the genuine fear in her voice.

Well, crap.

"Come any closer and I will freaking kill you!" She was trembling all over now, her body overflowing with chaotic ether. Her complexion had turned a deep, unnatural purple, and most alarming of all, her beautiful purple hair was falling out in clumps.

"M-my hair... my beautiful hair!" She clutched at it desperately, but more strands kept dropping to the floor.

This is getting completely out of control, he thought desperately. He had a sleeping potion in his spatial ring, but getting her to drink it would be nearly impossible in her current state—even attempting to convince her would be suicide.

But then, a certain crazy idea came to him. He thought it through quickly, searching for alternatives. There were some other options, but they would take too long to implement, and he wasn’t sure how much time he had before she completely lost control of her powers.

"Screw it," he muttered, manifesting the sleeping potion and pouring its contents into his mouth without swallowing.

Then he dashed forward, running toward her with everything he had.

"I SAID DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!" She roared, slashing wildly with ether-enhanced attacks. Asher’s body was cut in multiple places, blood splattering around the room, but he ran like his life depended on it—because it probably did.

Just before she could unleash a truly devastating attack, he lunged forward, grabbed her face gently but firmly, and...

Forced the liquid into her mouth with an unexpected kiss.