Lizzie Lynn August (1)

Another month had passed since Ethan suddenly asked to touch my breasts.

Nothing particularly special happened during that month. After touching my chest once, Ethan didn’t make any further demands.

In fact, perhaps having made that request gave him peace of mind-over the following month, he even managed to win two matches against Harold during classes.

Since the top four students each get to spar with Harold once a week during class, this meant he won two out of four opportunities.

Of course, Harold wasn’t just sparring with Ethan but also taking turns with other students, so it wasn’t like he was at full strength-but the same went for Ethan when facing other top-ranked students.

So, without making excuses, I decided to acknowledge that Ethan had won two matches. Pointlessly nitpicking exceptions would only make things exhausting for everyone.

…The problem was that the moment Ethan won one more match, his sword-wielding hands would once again grab my chest.

Well, at this point, I wasn’t particularly ashamed of Ethan touching my body anymore. Since I’d already decided not to hide the fact that I felt something from a man’s touch, there was no need to be embarrassed!

Other than that, the uproar caused by Harold’s temporary appointment as a professor, and the protagonist exposing the corruption of one of the Engineering Department professors to “save” one of the heroines, changed the academy’s hot topics at least twice.

Thanks to those highly sensational rumors, the incident where Ethan and I had a duel in front of the auditorium on the first day of school had more or less died down.

I wouldn’t say we were close, but I had at least gotten somewhat acquainted with the freshmen in the Magic Department. Though at most, we were just grouped together during joint classes.

“Goodbye, Lilith!”

“See you tomorrow, Lilith!”

“Yes, everyone, please be careful on your way back.”

…Well, since this was the Magic Department, the connections I made here were all noble ladies of some sort, so all my classmates had a distinctly aristocratic way of speaking.

Of course, there weren’t that many high-ranking noble ladies like dukes or margraves in this academy, so most of the students I interacted with were from viscount or baron families.

Dealing with a genuine noble lady was exhausting in many ways, so this level of interaction suited me better. After all, the higher the nobility, the more pride and vanity they tended to have.

And recently, one such genuine noble lady had been persistently clinging to me.

A character who, in the original story, shouldn’t have even appeared in the main plot, let alone enrolled in the academy.

“Ah, Lilith~! Over here, over here~!”

“……”

The young lady of the August family, blatantly calling my name and drawing attention in the academy’s central plaza.

Shouting my name so loudly in such a crowded place naturally made my face burn with embarrassment.

‘…Pulling attention by yelling in public-just like her little brother.’

I couldn’t for the life of me understand why the eldest daughter of a margrave family had taken an interest in me and started sticking around.

Of course, just because she called me by my name without honorifics didn’t mean our social standings had actually changed, so I still treated Lizzie with proper etiquette.

“You don’t have to call me so loudly-I can hear you just fine, Lady August.”

“I told you, you can call me Lizzie.”

“…No, as the daughter of a mere baronet, I can’t address the young lady of the August Margrave family so informally.”

“I don’t mind, though?”

But I do. I mind.

There’s no way this perceptive girl doesn’t realize I’m using honorifics to deliberately keep my distance. She’s probably trying to find some weakness by coaxing me into using informal terms.

Given how she once picked a fight with me, thinking I was just some low-ranking noble girl, only to end up prostrating herself the moment Ethan showed up, she must have incredibly sharp instincts.

Even now, while pretending to be friendly with me, she’s probably scheming to create some connection with Ethan in the background.

‘The problem is, if I actually bring her in front of Ethan, the atmosphere is going to get really awkward.’

Given how they’d publicly caused a scene and were practically on bad terms, there’s no way they’d see each other in a good light.

At least Karaham, also from the Swordsmanship Department, seemed to be building a male camaraderie with Ethan by sparring with him at a similar skill level. But Lizzie, being in the Pharmacy Department, had no overlap with him at all.

Occasionally, she’d meet me like this when I had free time and chat for an hour or two-that was the extent of our relationship.

It was more accurate to say Lizzie was summoning me rather than us meeting.

“What brings you here today, Lady August?”

“Hmm, well. Did you have any other plans from now on, Lilith?”

“…I was originally planning to read in the Swordsmanship Department lounge. The book you gifted me last time, remember?”

“Hmm, so that means you don’t have any other plans, right?”

I literally just said I was planning to read.

For a noble lady like Lizzie, reading might just be a pastime, but for me, it was a stat-boosting event I absolutely had to complete.

At the very least, I needed to finish reading this book before the midterms to somehow scrape through the first semester’s grades.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to blow off an invitation from the August family’s young lady just to read, and I did owe her somewhat for this book.

Lately, meeting her like this once or twice a week and humoring her had become part of my routine.

“Today, we’re going to the dessert cafeteria run by the August Trading Company! Do you like sweets, Lilith?”

“…I don’t dislike them.”

“Perfect! There’s still about two hours until Karaham and Prince Ethan’s swordsmanship class ends, so how about we enjoy some light refreshments at our family’s cafeteria in the meantime?”

“If you’ll allow me to continue reading while we have refreshments… then I don’t mind.”

“Of course, I won’t disturb you!”

…Ugh, this is so awkward it’s driving me crazy.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

My formal interactions with Lizzie began about three weeks ago.

Of course, it wasn’t because I wanted to approach her first-it started as nothing more than a chance encounter.

At the time, Lizzie Lynn August, the young lady of the August Margrave family, helped me out of a difficult situation I’d gotten into for unrelated reasons.

It all began when I ran into her while browsing the underground general store in the central plaza during Ethan’s free period.

“Understanding Magical Flow, Understanding Magical Flow…”

As I mentioned before, simply enrolling at Luminor Academy provided ways to improve Lilith’s damn Luck stat.

By taking classes focused on accuracy or using books and special equipment found throughout the academy, it was possible to boost the stat.

And “Understanding Magical Flow,” available only at the academy’s underground general store, was one of the key items for raising the Luck stat. Once my academy life stabilized, I went to the bookstore to obtain it.

“…Ah, found it.”

Fortunately, since I already knew the book’s design, finding it wasn’t too hard.

Amidst the dark, dull-colored books in this medieval fantasy bookstore, the green-covered one stood out so much it was impossible to miss.

From the dusty shelves lined with various old tomes, I managed to get my hands on the book I wanted.

‘Just reading this one book can increase my Luck stat by 2.’

Someone might say, “What’s the point of just 2?” When playing as the protagonist, by the third playthrough, I usually skipped such minor items.

It wasn’t worth the hassle of visiting the academy’s underground general store, rummaging through shelves, and spending 2 gold coins just for a measly +2 Luck.

But right now, Lilith desperately needed even that +2. Once I finished reading this, her current Luck stat of 2 would double.

Her abysmal 4-5% accuracy would also jump to 9-10%.

…Of course, even then, it would barely reach double digits-still pathetic.

‘If I can just survive this semester, things will get better next semester.’

Once I completed all the Luck-related courses this semester, I could raise the stat to around 10, which would push my offensive magic accuracy to about 25%.

Combined with Triple Casting, I could at least fake a 50% accuracy rate.

Spending over half a month’s salary (2 gold coins) on a single book was painful, but for me right now, buying +1 Luck for 1 gold coin was a bargain.

‘It’s actually cheaper to raise it now. If I wait until my level is higher, the efficiency will drop drastically.’

With that thought, I confidently walked to the counter-only for my mind to go blank at the shopkeeper’s words.

“10 gold coins.”

“……What?”

“Did you mishear me? Ten gold coins.”

“……”

What the actual fuck. Scamming people has its limits.

I knew damn well this was a 2-gold book, and she’s inflating it five times?

I was about to let loose a string of curses, but my rationality barely held them back.

Since I was the one who needed this book, I had to negotiate with the shopkeeper who demanded 10 gold coins.

“I-Is this book really that expensive…? It doesn’t look that valuable…”

“If that’s what you think, then don’t buy it. Plenty of people buy from our store anyway.”

“C-Could you lower the price a little…? I don’t have much money on me…”

“Twenty.”

“……What?”

“What kind of disgusting aegyo is this from someone who isn’t even a man? For you, it’s twenty or nothing. If you don’t like it, get out.”

“……”

This crazy bitch, I swear to god.

Just as I was debating whether to punch the shopkeeper in the face, a familiar-looking pair-a man and a woman-entered the underground store.

Hearing their voices and conversation, I immediately recognized who they were.

“Sister, why are we visiting an underground general store like this? Doesn’t the academy have a store for students on the first floor of the student council building?”

“Obviously, it’s because they sell things there that you can’t get elsewhere. Use your head, Karaham.”

“Then why did you drag me along…?”

“Because having you here makes haggling much easier. Now stop complaining and just… huh?”

The August siblings, descending the stairs from the surface to the underground.

Running into these two, whom I was already familiar with in many ways, was the starting point of my current relationship with Lizzie.