Chapter 15 – It’s the Magic You Chose (3)

As the magical duel drew near, Adela’s days grew increasingly hectic.

After classes, she joined Carl and Jennifer, her fellow team members, in the training grounds to prepare for the competition.

Carl aimed to join the knights’ order. Having a mage who wielded a sword as their magical focus meant their frontline was formidable, giving their team a solid balance.

“Check this out, Adela. It’s the list of students from the second-year team,” Jennifer said, sharing intelligence with her teammates during a break.

Pointing to a strikingly beautiful woman with raven hair, Jennifer continued, “This is the second-year top student, Liv Labre. Word is she can use dozens of different spells.”

“That’s impressive. What about you, Adela?” Carl asked.

“Me? Um…” Adela hesitated, still not having received Louis’s permission to use any spells other than Thunderstrike.

“Maybe… one?”

“Did that really need such a long pause…?”

“Well, whatever. It’s good enough that you can use one at all. Anyway, we need to keep a close eye on Liv. For their frontliner, it looks like Hafen will be taking that role.”

The Cloud Viscounty was renowned, holding a fourth-class medal. Hafen’s swordsmanship would undoubtedly be exceptional.

In comparison, no matter how impressive the second-year top student or the Cloud Viscounty might be, they paled in comparison to the Rochear family—

“It’s going to be really tough to win.”

“Yeah, it does look that way.”

Carl and Jennifer, knowing Adela’s capabilities, couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“Um, I need to leave early today as well.”

“Another appointment?”

“Yeah.”

She often left practice sessions early, never explaining why.

“Sorry. I’ll come earlier tomorrow.”

“It’s fine. Go ahead.”

After seeking her friends’ understanding, Adela quickly walked away. She, too, longed for victory as much as anyone else.

But with the convenience store being open to everyone and the dormitory having a curfew, Adela had little time to meet Louis.

Their meetings took place around 9 PM, after her practice sessions, for barely an hour.

“I’m here~” Entering through the back door, Adela tried to hide her fatigue as she greeted Louis.

He was, as usual, sitting at the counter reading the newspaper—a magical publication providing real-time news from across the continent.

Adela approached quietly, sneaking a glance at him.

Am I bothering him?

Even someone as oblivious as Adela could sometimes make intelligent judgments. Today, it seemed Louis wasn’t in the best mood.

“Damn fools, the lot of them.”

She realized she didn’t know much about Louis.

He openly disliked nobles but occasionally looked at the academy students with envious eyes.

Given his hair color and sometimes incomprehensible remarks, he might not be from Pennheim.

And he was a highly skilled mage who had made a name for himself in the Great War.

Though the war had ended suddenly over a decade ago and he had seemed too young to participate, he insisted he had.

And also—

“The knights withdrew from the frontlines due to frostbite? Back in my day, we’d lose our damn toes to the cold and keep on fighting. Wiblet, you sanctimonious bastard.”

Louis ruffled his hair, cigarette dangling from his mouth.

His habit of showing irritation sometimes made Adela’s heart race.

“Oh, when did you get here?”

“Huh? Oh…”

“Come here. Let’s get your karma infused before it gets too late.”

If he cut his hair and groomed a bit, he could be as handsome as any noble’s son—

Mulling over this thought, Adela approached him, feigning reluctance.

***

Adela’s training plan was progressing smoothly.

Her initially minimal karma had now accumulated to the point where she could consecutively use three spells—Thunderstrike, Ignite, and Wind Shear.

I carefully regulated the amount of karma I infused, ensuring she could only use each spell once. This prevented her body from becoming too saturated with dark energy.

“Mm…! Hngh…”

Whether it was due to focusing on efficiency over emotion, or perhaps not setting the right mood, kissing Adela, who wasn’t my lover, always felt awkward.

For one, she never closed her eyes.

Throughout the kiss, her clear, blue eyes stared at me.

Sometimes, she would raise her hand to brush my hair or playfully click her teeth against mine.

“Huh? W-wait! Hngh…!”

When that happened, I would support her waist and continue feeding her saliva as if feeding a baby bird.

Pushed aggressively like this, she would eventually stop struggling, folding her hands meekly over her chest, and accept the saliva.

Her clumsy tongue movements and the way she rubbed her legs afterward showed she wasn’t accustomed to kissing.

“Phew! Um, teacher…”

“What?”

“Have you done this with anyone else?”

Such questions were problematic. Depending on my answer, it could lead to terrible misunderstandings in the future.

I feared the day when Adela would grow smart enough to inherit the Rochear’s unique magic.

She had only seen the “Bonfire Offering to the Black Sun” but had experienced “Evil Transfer” firsthand.

The moment she realized this was Terra’s unique magic, and that I was the person who had been with other comrades in Heljeb, she would recall everything.

Had she been with Wiblet, the Margrave, too? Had she been with Wiblet, the Margrave, too? Had she been with Wiblet, the Margrave, too? Had she been with Wiblet, the Margrave, too? Had she been with Wiblet, the Margrave, too? Had she been with Wiblet, the Margrave, too?

Damn. Damn it all to hell.

To tell the truth, absolutely not.

Just as Earth had the innovative technology of wireless charging, “Evil Transfer” didn’t necessarily require saliva to avoid accumulating karma. It was less efficient, but staying close was enough.

Wired charging was… oh, shit. Just thinking about it was horrific.

If rumors started from Adela’s mouth and spread to the capital, I’d become the continent’s second Demon King and wipe out humanity.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just… curious…”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Okay…”

Refusing to answer with a sharp tone, Adela showed a complex, subtle expression.

Well, her developing such perceptiveness was less likely than my returning to Earth, so I didn’t worry too much.

Late at night, her steps back to the dormitory seemed slightly heavier.

***

“Hey, Liv. Want to go to the store?”

“This late at night?”

Liv, dressed lightly as she organized her notes from the day’s lessons in her dorm, rotated her stiff shoulders and responded to Karen’s question as she entered.

“Yeah. Aren’t you hungry? You’re going to stay up late again, right?”

“I might stay up, but I’m not really hungry…”

“Oh, come on…”

Karen suddenly snatched Liv’s notebook.

Instead of taking it back, Karen pressed it against Liv’s stomach, yelling loudly enough to echo through the dormitory.

“You see this? Our Baroness Liv eats nothing but grass like some herbivore.”

“K-Karen!?”

“Wow, look at this. How is your waist thinner than this notebook? How do you lose weight like this…”

“I’ll go! I’ll go, so…!”

She never tried to lose weight intentionally; she just naturally ate less due to financial constraints.

Liv felt wronged but resigned, following Karen outside.

“Don’t worry. If you see something you want, I’ll buy it for you.”

“Still…”

“Think there’ll be any bread left at this hour? Ugh, why does this academy have only one store open at night?”

“There’s only one store, period.”

And there wasn’t a set business hour, so it wasn’t certain if Louis had the store open.

Walking along the brick path illuminated by gas lamps, they finally saw the store in the distance.

“Oh, it’s open!”

Karen quickened her pace, but Liv slowed down slightly.

Since her conversation with Louis, she found it hard to approach him.

She couldn’t remember why she had reacted so emotionally to seeing the Lit-Vice test paper.

What remained was the memory of Louis mentioning he knew her father.

Liv realized she knew nothing about him.

“Oh? The door’s locked.”

Karen touched the store’s glass door, puzzled to find it locked.

“Did he step out?”

Liv noticed someone emerging from behind the store.

A girl with blue hair, looking somewhat dejected, saw them and mumbled quietly.

“…The store is closed for today.”

“Who are you? A first-year?”

“The teacher seems to be in a bad mood. Please come back tomorrow.”

With those words, the unknown first-year disappeared into the darkness.

She looked more troubled than anything else.

Liv stared at the direction from which the girl had come. If she came from there, it meant she had just been in the store.

“What’s with her… Liv?”

“Huh?”

“What should we do? Wait here, or go back?”

Liv hesitated momentarily. Hearing a small noise from the second floor as the first floor lights went out, she shook her head.

“Let’s go back. I think we’re too late.”

“Ah, sorry. I wasted your time when the competition’s so close.”

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

As Karen said, the magic duel was just around the corner.

Regardless of anything else, Liv had to win, if only to secure the prize money… or rather, the living expenses.