Academy – Forest

Seeing people trembling naked makes my heart ache.

First, I should reassure them.

-Snap!

I flicked my fingers again, neatly clearing the goblin corpses to one side.

“Don’t worry. I’m here to save you.”

“Ju, just spare our lives… Huh?”

The two women widened their eyes, clearly not expecting such words from me.

Do I really look like a bad person? That can’t be…

I approached the taller woman and placed my index finger on her lips.

“But keep today’s events a secret. If any rumors about what I did reach my ears…”

They nodded their heads up and down rapidly.

Should I place a Geas just in case?

As I pondered this, I brought my hand close to their heads.

‘Let’s not.’

But I soon stopped.

They didn’t seem like the type to foolishly ignore my warning.

With the situation handled, I quickly untied the ropes binding their bodies.

When I tried to help them up, seeing how exhausted they looked… I paused.

Their bodies were dirtier than I expected.

They were covered head to toe in goblin semen. The goblins had ejaculated so much inside them for breeding purposes that their stomachs even looked slightly swollen.

“Let me clean you up.”

I flicked my fingers to cleanse their bodies. I also cast an additional spell to clear their minds, knowing they must be mentally exhausted.

A faint spark of life returned to the women’s previously lifeless eyes.

‘Ah, I almost forgot this too.’

I nearly overlooked the most crucial part.

-Hmm.

“I also cast contraception magic on you. You don’t have to worry about pregnancy.”

“”Th, thank you!””

Now cleaned up, they were quite pretty.

One had noticeably large breasts while the other had cute smaller ones. I sensed mana from their chest areas-both seemed to be mages.

Seeing them naked naturally made me evaluate their bodies rather than faces. Come to think of it, they looked somewhat alike.

After staring for a while, they covered themselves, seemingly embarrassed by my gaze.

“Eek…”

“U, um…”

“Ah, sorry.”

I guess I was too engrossed in admiring them. Somehow, it’s become a habit to instinctively check men’s lower halves and women’s midsections upon seeing them.

‘First, they need something to wear.’

I opened subspace and pulled out several garments. Keeping one set for myself, I handed the spare clothes to them.

“Put these on. They might not fit perfectly.”

“Th, thank you!”

“So what are your names? Did you two take on this request together?”

The busty woman answered my question.

“I’m Emil. This is Ena. We’re sisters.”

Given their resemblance, I suspected as much. For family members to suffer like this near the city-how unlucky could they be?

“And there was someone named Ras who usually acted as our vanguard… *Sob*…”

No one else remained in the cave. He must have fallen victim to the goblin shaman.

Losing comrades is always painful. But I can’t resurrect the dead.

“Emil, Ena? Since things here are settled, let’s return to the city first.”

Though mentally traumatized from being raped by goblins, leaving this place quickly would be best for them.

I led them out of the cave and began walking toward the city.

Walking slowly to accommodate those following behind, I stopped before the cave where I’d stayed last night.

I needed to dispose of the remaining traces.

“Is something wrong?”

They looked anxious at my sudden stop. Understandable given their state.

“Wait here a moment.”

After having them wait briefly, I entered the cave.

-Bzzzz.

Insects swarmed over the slightly decomposed adventurer corpses. A fitting end for criminals.

“Thank you, everyone. Though our time was brief.”

-Whoosh!

I burned the fallen corpses and erased all traces.

Though lacking in finesse, they’d been good people-serving as excellent masturbation tools for a day’s enjoyment.

Exiting the cave, I spoke to the anxious sisters.

“Now let’s head back to the city?”

**

“We’re inside Vail now, so it’s safe.”

Passing through the city gates, the sisters completely relaxed their tension.

“Phew…”

“Thank goodness…”

“Feeling better now?”

“”Yes!””

“Then let’s go to the Adventurer’s Guild together.”

-Jingle jangle.

Entering the Adventurer’s Guild, Boris looked at me with surprise. When I approached, he sighed deeply.

“Why sigh as soon as I arrive?”

“I was worried about you. Given the distance, you should’ve returned by now.”

Had that much time passed? Enjoying myself after so long must’ve taken longer than expected.

I understood Boris’ concern-it had been a dangerous mission.

“Some things came up. These are the people from the lair.”

I subtly gestured toward the sisters behind me.

“Found in a goblin lair? Then you must’ve… had a hard time.”

As an experienced former adventurer, Boris seemed to guess their ordeal from their haggard faces.

“And this.”

I untied the bundle at my waist and unfolded it, revealing the goblin shaman’s head.

“This is…”

“There was a goblin shaman in the lair.”

“So mutants really were appearing… Reports about variants have been increasing lately. They should’ve decreased after the Great War…”

“Maybe the Demon King is reviving.”

“Don’t make such scary jokes.”

Boris gave me a disapproving look at the mention of the Demon King.

I stifled the urge to say ‘It’s not a joke.’ Even if I told him, he wouldn’t believe me.

“No injuries? Goblin shamans are tricky when they ambush.”

“I went prepared after hearing about possible variants. Stayed properly cautious.”

“But where’s your academy uniform? You’re really unharmed?”

He eyed my changed clothes suspiciously.

Sharp-eyed uncle. Gold Plate Adventurers didn’t earn their rank easily.

“Just got torn during the fight. Need to buy new ones.”

“Good then. Here’s your reward.”

-Thud.

He pulled a pouch from under the counter and placed it before me. I quickly grabbed and opened it-quite a sum inside.

“Nice payout.”

After pocketing the pouch, I looked at the dazed sisters behind me.

“Emil, Ena?”

“”Ye, yes?!””

They looked flustered at the sudden address.

“Life will be tough now, so talk properly with the uncle. He’ll help you.”

They’d likely quit adventuring. After such an ordeal, returning to combat would be difficult.

But as mages, they wouldn’t starve.

“Uncle, please take care of them. They’ve been through a lot. See you later.”

As I turned to leave after finishing the conversation, Emil thanked me.

“Th, thank you again for saving us!”

“I was paid to do it. Be more careful from now on.”

This world remains full of dangers.

‘I’d decided to stop helping others.’

Yet helping them gave me a sense of fulfillment. My nature seems unchangeable.

Part of me finds it amusing-I resolved to live more selfishly, yet here I am.

Leaving Emil, Ena, and Boris behind, I exited the guild.

-Thump.

Stopping my wandering thoughts, I sat on a roadside bench. Time to prepare for returning to the academy.

‘Need new uniforms, review plans-lots to do.’

Then I remembered something forgotten.

“First, I should visit Jade.”

Nearly forgetting the most crucial thing could be disastrous.

For the plan’s perfect success, I needed to meet Jade regularly.

“Let’s go.”

Changing direction, I headed toward the forest behind the academy.

**

The academy’s back forest grew dark in the evening, but moonlight filtering through dense trees brightly illuminated the clearing.

Whoosh-

Whoosh-

Swish-

Only insect sounds and Jade fiercely swinging his sword echoed through the quiet woods.

Sweat streamed down his cheeks-he’d clearly been training for hours.

After a while.

Jade stopped swinging and steadied his stance.

“Huu…”

After several deep breaths, he began concentrating. Mana gathered around his sword.

-Huum.

But the amount was pitiful-barely reaching the lowest ‘3 Stars’ level expected of academy students.

Still, he persisted, pouring his mana relentlessly until finally coating the entire blade.

The sword trembled, barely containing the mana.

Jade angled it sideways and swung at a tree’s flank.

-Thunk!

The blade bit deep as if to cleave the trunk in one stroke, but-

-Creeak.

It jammed midway and stopped.

“Ha, still not working…”

At the pathetic result, Jade dropped his sword and collapsed.

-Thud!

“Haa, haah…”

Exhausted from continuous practice, he lay catching his breath.

Then.

‘…Bright.’

The round yellow moon hung in the sky above.

Gazing at it, Jade lamented his cursed talent.

‘Why am I so talentless? If only I had slightly more mana aptitude…’

He’d worked harder than anyone since before academy enrollment.

But his damned mana talent couldn’t be overcome through training.

His brutal efforts only achieved the barest 3 Stars threshold.

-You lack talent.

-Why not choose another path?

Despite such advice, he persevered. But recently, with no progress, his resolve wavered.

Rustle, swish-

Something approached through the grass.

Jade bolted upright.

‘Who comes here at this hour…’

Looking toward the sound, a woman slowly emerged.

Blonde hair, blue eyes.

A familiar face.

‘Le, Lena?’

Lena, one of Jade’s few friends.

Spotting Jade sprawled out, Lena waved cheerfully.

“Jade, you were here as expected.”

“Le, Lena? What brings you here?”

Startled, Jade scrambled up, hastily straightening his clothes and dusting himself off.

He couldn’t let Lena see him so disheveled.

“You suddenly came to mind… You always train here evenings, right?”

Lena blushed, seemingly embarrassed about visiting him at night.

“Y-you came to see me…?”

“Yeah. Did you train all day again?”

“Y-yeah…”

Jade naturally stuttered before Lena.

He wanted to impress her, yet kept showing embarrassing sides.

But seeing Lena’s beautiful face always made his heart race uncontrollably.

“You’re too intense. I told you to rest sometimes.”

Suddenly remembering something, Lena asked:

“Can you show me what you’ve practiced?”

“My swordsmanship? Why…”

“I’ll help. You want to grow stronger, right? I’m still lacking too, but…”

Jade perked up at this.

Lena occasionally helped with sword training, and he always felt it helped him improve more than the academy’s instructors.

“Okay.”

Jade drew his sword again and swung as instructed.

-Whoosh, swish!

Though not flashy, his swordsmanship reflected his character-straightforward and stubborn.

No wavering, showing how hard he’d worked to overcome his limits.

“Jade, you’re putting too much strength into each swing. Try relaxing, like this.”

Lena drew her own sword and mimicked Jade’s movements.

Swish! Whirl-

But her blade flowed smoother and more fluidly.

“See?”

“Let me try.”

‘Relax…’

Jade realized his recent desperation to grow stronger had affected his technique.

He discarded his impatience.

Jade began swinging with newfound composure.

Whoosh-, whirl!

“Not bad! But…”

-Grab.

Lena suddenly seized Jade’s arm.

“Le, Lena?”

“Your arm posture’s slightly off. Try like this.”

Following her guidance, he adjusted his stance-the blade’s path visibly improved.

“Amazing! It feels much smoother.”

“Hehe, doubting my skills? Now here…”

Lena’s hand moved toward Jade’s thigh.

“W-wait!”

-Slap.

Jade instinctively slapped her hand away.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Th-that area…”

Jade felt his lower body reacting-an unavoidable male instinct.

Glancing at Lena’s blue eyes, he saw only pure transparency-proof her actions held no ulterior motives.

‘She’s genuinely trying to help, yet here I am…’

Ashamed of his arousal toward her innocent intentions.

“Ah, sorry! My legs are cramped-it hurts when touched…”

“You should’ve said so.”

Jade thought this excuse would make her stop.

Instead, Lena supported his back with her arm and gently laid him down.

“Wha…?”

She began massaging his legs where they touched the ground.

-Knead.

“Let me loosen them up. You’ll suffer tomorrow otherwise.”

Jade again felt his body reacting to her touch.

‘Jade, control yourself! Please!’

If his lower body reacted… he’d never face her again.

He shook his head at the terrifying thought.

Jade desperately tried ignoring the sensations. Then he met Lena’s eyes as she massaged him.

Her ocean-blue eyes and flowing golden hair.

Delicate features and red lips.

Snow-white neck and ample chest below.

Under moonlight, she looked dazzlingly beautiful and captivating.

-Thump, thump, thump

Jade’s heart began racing wildly.

Lena looked at him quizzically when he fell silent.

“Jade? Why’d you stop…”

“You’re pretty…”

“Wh-what! Why suddenly…?”

Lena flushed at his unintended words.

‘What did I just say?!’

Jade immediately apologized upon regaining his senses.

“S-sorry… Lena, you’re just so beautiful…”

“Th-thank you…?”

Under the moon, they stared blankly at each other.

A tense silence filled with awkward tension followed.

“”….””

As they leaned closer-

-Crash!

“”!!””

A noise from the trees startled them apart.

Flustered, Lena turned away, smoothing her hair.

“…Sh-shall we continue training?”

“Y-yeah… Sorry Lena, see you tomorrow!”

Belatedly regaining composure, Jade fled the clearing in embarrassment.

-Pat pat pat!

Lena watched his retreating back.

‘Hehe, cute.’

Though she felt slightly guilty about toying with his feelings…

You grow stronger while I find happiness-isn’t this mutual benefit?