episode_0012

“Ugh, uhn…”

“Your body is too tense. Relax, release the tension.”

“Yes, yes… uhn…!”

Yuri’s skin is soft.

I carefully held her, being mindful not to grip too tightly and leave marks. I used as little force as possible.

“Ahhn…”

“Don’t make such strange sounds over this little thing, Yuri.”

Yuri’s back is small.

Even when hugging her from behind, my arms have room to spare.

“Now, I’m going to insert it.”

“P-please do…!”

I slowly pushed the hot feeling rising within me into Yuri’s body.

“Uh… uh, haak…!! Stop, Stop! Stoooop!!!”

Yuri quickly turned around and pushed me away.

Tch, another failure.

Yuri, kneeling and breathing heavily. We were practicing magic in the grassy garden filled with wildflowers.

“Whew… I can’t do this. It’s only hot, and I can’t feel any mana at all.”

“It seems like it would work if we just did it a little longer…”

“No, no, no, no!!”

In my case, because I have a constitution that absorbs mana well, I learned the sensation of mana by directly receiving the magic itself.

Furthermore, the trait I obtained last time, [Mana Lover].

When I spent my first night with Yuri, [Mana Researcher] evolved into this current trait.

[Mana Lover] – Increases understanding of mana. – Increases familiarity with mana. – When the player enters a state of ‘excitement,’ the effect is greatly amplified and magical power increases rapidly.

Just in case, I held Yuri and directly flowed my mana into her body, but it didn’t seem to work well.

“This is troublesome…”

According to the attribute test, Yuri possessed water mana.

And a considerable amount of it, at that. Considering she’s a commoner, she has magical talent.

But just because you have a large mana pool doesn’t mean you can use magic right away. Yuri is still at the stage where she can’t even feel mana.

Wait a second.

“Then, what did you learn from that magic teacher?”

“That’s…”

Her eyes darted around, uncertain of where to look. I glared at Yuri.

“Hiit… I’m sorry…”

“No, I’m not scolding you. The basis of magic is feeling mana, didn’t you learn that?”

“I, I did learn it…”

Gulp. Yuri swallowed.

“I don’t have any talent… so they just told me to use wands and spell scrolls…”

“What?”

Yuri hurriedly ran to get the bag next to her. From the square leather bag she carries to magic classes, she took out a wooden wand and an old parchment.

The wand didn’t look expensive; it was ordinary. The parchment was old, but it had a considerable number of magical characters written on it.

“If you hold the wand and read the characters there, magic will be cast automatically, even if you can’t feel mana.”

“Hoo… That’s fascinating.”

What’s the principle? I held the wand in one hand and the parchment in the other.

I extended my hand towards one side of the garden. Slowly, I read the characters.

“Water… Ball.”

Whoosh!

Suddenly, light emanated from the tip of the wand. Some of the mana from my body was drawn into the wand, and soon, water droplets bloomed from its end.

So, this method…

“W-wait. How big does this get—”

Bubble, bubble, bubble…!!

I felt that more mana than I expected was needed to cast even a small Water Ball, and the water droplet continued to grow without stopping.

Finally, a giant water droplet large enough for Yuri to fit in if she crouched down was created. According to the incantation, it would fly straight forward.

‘If I shot this in the garden…!’

All the bonsai trees that the gardener painstakingly cultivated would be crushed.

Instinctively, I raised the wand toward the sky. And…

WHOOSH!!!

The large water droplet soared high into the garden sky and exploded.

Pitter-patter… We moved to the terrace to avoid the falling raindrops.

“Whoa… How did you do that, Your Highness?!”

“I don’t know. I just read it as it was… Is this normally this big a spell?”

“No, when I did it, it was only about the size of my fist…”

Immediately, Yuri demonstrated, and a truly small water droplet came out. Just about the size of Yuri’s fist.

…Indeed. I handed Yuri the parchment.

“This wasn’t originally there, right? That teacher wrote it for you?”

“Yes.”

“She had at least a sliver of conscience. To write a custom spell just for you.”

The incantation was written to cast magic at a size appropriate to the user’s mana level. It was set so that Yuri could use a small Water Ball.

I returned the wand and the scroll to Yuri.

“While I feel a little distrustful sometimes, she seemed like an expert on magic.”

“… Don’t be ridiculous.”

Even if she’s a magic expert, she’s utterly disqualified as a teacher.

I didn’t send her for lessons to turn her into a magic weapon armed with various magical tools. I wanted Yuri to slowly feel mana under the tutelage of a good teacher, use that to see the world with open eyes, and learn magic through that gradual process.

But she just handed her a few tools and taught her how to use magic? I trusted her because of her reputation, but she was a complete disappointment.

“Let’s go, Yuri. Pack your things.”

“Yes…?! ”

If the teacher is a terrible instructor, the guardian has to step in and complain.

I headed towards the Royal Magic Corps’ base.

. . .

“What is this?”

“…I told you, you would be surprised when you first saw it.”

“This is the Royal Kingdom’s First Royal Magic Corps Captain? She’s just a little kid.”

I pointed. Before my eyes stood a magical girl cosplaying a mage, holding a staff taller than herself and wearing an oversized robe.

“A little kid? That’s rude to a lady!! Despite my appearance, I will soon be thirty—”

Hmph!

The loli mage quickly covered her mouth.

“No, I’m an adult! A grown-up!”

“Fine, let’s say that. So… where’s the commander, little one?”

“This damn—”

WHOOSH!!!

Strong flames erupted from around the loli mage, and a ring of fire instantly enveloped me. The ring didn’t seem to be made of fire but mana; it wasn’t hot but tightly constricted my neck and limbs.

“Kuuugh…!”

“Got you, got you~ I didn’t expect you to be unable to evade even this level of magic!”

“Teacher!!”

Yuri cried out, completely at a loss.

“What are you doing? Untie me quickly!!”

“You mocked her for being young, and now you’ve been defeated by that little one?”

Damn it, my breath is being cut off and my mana flow is distorted. Even using magic properly is impossible.

The little girl looked down at me with her eyes wide open.

Because of the hood, her face isn’t clearly visible… but this… this scene feels familiar.

“Useless♡ Idiot♡ Trash that gets subdued by just a high-level spell~♡”

Ah… to actually hear this line… I didn’t know at first, but I figured it out now.

“Do you know who I am, and still dare to act up? I am the Commander of the First Royal Magic Corps—”

Outwardly, she’s an archmage who wields fire mana. But an adult dressed as a loli, an evil woman wearing a mesuga-ki skin.

“Lulu Valentine-sama~?”

Lifting her robe and resting her chin on her hand. The little girl looked down with a seductive expression.

I’m getting used to this pressure.

“Teacher, do you know who this person is and yet you dare to do this?!”

“Even if I don’t know the name of a nobody—”

Yuri struggled to pull the ring of fire from my neck. Thanks, Yuri.

“—Ugh, as of today, the Magic Corps’ budget is cut in half.”

“Eh?”

With my breathing easing, I can speak, and mana starts flowing again. I can’t cause a large explosion, so focusing on the object… like when I broke the handcuffs.

“My name is Narita Floraine Naifrantz…”

“…Eh?”

I release the mana I’ve drawn in.

“[Mana Explosion]! ”

WHOOSH!!!!

. . .

“Sniff, sniff… I’m sorry… Sob…”

“Put your hands down. Hold them straight.”

Even as I say this, I pressed down on Lulu’s raised hands from above. Are her arms numb? She couldn’t lift them properly, and they trembled.

“You call yourself a great magician, don’t you?”

“Sniff… Yes…”

“Do you usually teach children this superficially?”

I scolded Lulu, who was kneeling on the table, in a sharp tone.

Her tear-filled eyes stared at me, as if she didn’t know what I was talking about.

“You made her skip the basics and start with the wand, because she’s slow at learning magic. Is it you?”

“Yes, yes it is…”

“Then…cough up the tuition fees you already received, you damn hag!!”

Clank. I pressed my finger on Lulu’s thigh. The stimulation would be quite painful in her numb state.

“Aaaaaah!! I’m sorry, please stop!!”

…I might be discovering a new fetish. Seeing a grown woman crying like a child…it brings a strange sense of conquest.

“Bu-but…!! If it’s hard even to feel mana… sob, trying magic to feel it, sniff… is effective…!! Waaaaah…”

Hmm… was that her intention? Then, if she keeps practicing, she might be able to grasp the basics?

What? She was teaching it well.

This time, I pinched Lulu’s thigh.

“Ugyaaggh!!”

“It’s fine that you taught it well, but this is for choking me. Be grateful that you’re not going to the executioner.”

If she were a proper teacher, death would be too good for her. Yuri needs to learn magic so she can go to the academy with me.

So, let me personally execute the punishment for her impudence. Pinch, Pinch.

“Hguuung…!! Khuh…kh…”

“Okay… Your Highness, please stop now too.”

“Should I?”

I was getting… well, kind of tired of looking at her tear-stained face.

I let go of Lulu’s thigh and patted Yuri’s head.

“Heehee… then I know how now, so I’m going to go to the training ground and practice magic!”

“Okay. Be back by evening. I want to eat meat tonight.”

“Okay, I’ll be back.”

Peck. As usual, Yuri kissed me and left the room. She’s so cute, my girl.

Let me see, then…

How am I going to deal with her?

I looked back at Lulu, still sobbing.

‘She looks exactly like the one I saw in Acastro.’

A set of long, crimson hair and crimson eyes. Her childish face was still flushed red.

She doesn’t look thirty at all—small stature, thin limbs, a pitifully flat chest and hips, almost without any flesh. And then, that foul mouth.

Lulu was a character that had become explosively popular because of the then-trendy mesuga-ki trait. Her real age was just adding fuel to an already burning fire.

Right after the launch of the main server, people went crazy saying that the developers had lost their minds. Within just three hours, NSFW fanart of her was spreading.

And I was the one who spread it virally.

“The rumor was true… the maid Yuri is very close with Princess Narita…”

“What? Did that sort of rumor get out?”

“The maids are going crazy! They say that the sounds of you two at night carry all the way to the building opposite yours, and they can’t stop using it as an audio accompaniment!!”

Ah. I was only focused on hearing the approaching footsteps… I didn’t block our own sounds from going outside.

Oh well. I don’t need to hide it anymore.

“So.”

“…What?”

“So the rumor, what can you do about it?”

Grit. Lulu’s temples throbbed.

“What do you mean, what can I do?! Right now I’ll rush to His Majesty the King and report the Fifth Princess’s lewd behavior…”

“Don’t you think I can stop you?”

Chuckle. Lulu laughed nonchalantly.

“Do you think a mere snot-nosed princess can stop me? You seem to know a bit of magic… but if I scream loudly enough to call nearby soldiers—”

Click. I snapped my fingers.

“[Mana Barrier]! ”

The function… isn’t detection, but soundproofing. The mana emanating from me filled the room. I devised a new type of barrier using the failures I’d just learned from.

“What’s this… that’s a spell I’ve never seen before…”

“It’s a soundproof barrier. Screaming won’t help.”

“Th-then, a direct confrontation—”

Grin. You better not.

“Again… ‘again,’ you’re going to attack the princess?”

“Tch… then are you going to kill me?!”

“Why would I kill you? You’re too valuable.”

I laughed lightly once, relaxing my body. Lightly loosening my wrists and ankles.

And I untied the knot of my skirt.

“W-wait… what are you… what are you doing…”

“Just wait, I have something I want to try.”

Thump, Thump. I walked straight towards Lulu.

Lulu Valentine-noona… no, my ‘unni’, my favorite character from my previous life.