episode_0047

What kind of reaction would one typically have upon hearing that they have to perform the work of two people alone in a midterm evaluation?

It would be a very difficult task, so most would probably shake their heads in disbelief.

It’s a simple matter. All the other hundred-plus teams would be clearing out monsters together as a duo, so it’s almost impossible to defeat such two-person teams while carrying a dead weight.

Even if one had some confidence in their abilities, they’d probably give up quickly, saying they couldn’t do it.

However, even considering that difficulty, I am a genius mage, qualitatively different from those guys.

‘It’s more manageable than I thought.’

I was practically leading the team by myself, but I expected that by now, I’d be at a level to contend for the top 5. I had accumulated that many points on my own.

Well, there was nothing difficult about it. As soon as monsters appeared, I’d shoot ice spikes or blast them with a whip, advancing deeper into the mountains.

I didn’t have the ability to continuously unleash powerful single-shot firepower like fire mages or lightning mages.

The true value of ice magic, above all, lies in its utility.

Things like battlefield control, hindering enemy forces, blocking movement and attack actions, and persistent survival ability.

These universal advantages might seem somewhat bland at first glance, but…

[Team 37, Lee Hyunjin & Kanzaki Rie: 310(+20)]

If it was a task of subduing monsters inhabiting a mountain range like this, I could perform more spectacularly than any other mage.

Meaning, I was far more capable than lightning mages who could only burn things indiscriminately.

‘Not that I’m specifically referring to anyone in particular, of course…’

I’m definitely not talking about some Cheon family guy who’s probably wantonly destroying the natural environment of Gyeryongsan somewhere right now, no.

I merely wanted to highlight the competence of an ice mage. Really.

Whoosh! Bang!!

“Kee-eugh…”

After shattering a wolf’s internal organs by swinging a frozen vine once more, I shook my hand to deactivate my plant manipulation magic.

This gray-maned wolf, which is unusually common in Gyeryongsan, was merely a D-rank monster.

Even if I exerted myself to catch it, it was only worth 10 points anyway, so it wasn’t very satisfying. But, as they say, the more the merrier, so I was catching them as I saw them.

Today, I would become a wolf slaughterer.

Along with such useless thoughts, I stretched my slightly stiff shoulder once.

‘Did I swing the whip too hard?’

It seems I got a bit tired from doing physical work repeatedly, which isn’t like me.

Of course, even if my physical abilities aren’t as weak as other mages.

“Ahem, ahem.”

At that moment, a sudden clearing of the throat was heard.

As if overtly asking to be heard.

“…Why?”

I turned my head with an uncomfortable expression and looked at the owner of the cough.

To put it crudely, it was the dead weight, Kanzaki Rie, who was being carried by me.

“No, well…”

She uncharacteristically rolled her eyes, feigning indifference. Then, stealthily, she slowly began to approach me with short steps.

It was just as I was sitting on a rock, taking a short break.

“…”

What is it? Is an ambush her objective?

Even so, I was the one who knew best that Kanzaki couldn’t launch a threatening attack against me, no matter what she did.

So, I looked up at her askance, thinking I’d just watch and see…

“…Ahem, ahem.”

Kanzaki then sat behind me and began patting my shoulder with timid force.

“…?”

Flustered, I raised a question mark.

What is she doing now?

But Kanzaki, seemingly unaware of my suspicious gaze, just diligently continued patting my shoulder and back with a strained expression.

It felt quite trivial how she was acting so seriously by herself, unfitting for the situation.

‘Since she’s not really doing anything, perhaps she feels a bit guilty on her own behalf.’

It seemed my stretching my shoulder earlier had bothered her. Unable to help but let out a wry chuckle, I sent a steady gaze behind me for a moment, then…

I soon called out to her in a low voice.

“Hey.”

Tap tap.

There was no answer.

I tilted my head.

“Kanzaki?”

Tap tap tap, tap tap tap.

Again, she didn’t answer, enthusiastically swinging both arms.

Even though I spoke a bit softly, it shouldn’t have been to the extent of being inaudible.

“Rie.”

She was so engrossed that she didn’t even notice I was calling her name.

I was starting to feel so dumbfounded that I almost laughed.

I heard that in Japan, people are very sensitive to things like this.

Kanzaki’s uncharacteristic behavior of watching my reactions suddenly piqued my interest.

So, I just extended my arm backward, thinking, ‘whatever happens, happens.’

At that, Kanzaki paused briefly.

She looked at me cautiously.

I spoke with a languid tone.

“My arm feels a bit numb.”

“…”

“Perhaps it’s because I walked a lot; my legs hurt too…”

“…Uh.”

Kanzaki’s face flushed slightly.

It seemed she was feeling a bit of shame now, and perhaps my brazenly demanding something in return had freshly ignited her rebellious spirit.

At this point, wouldn’t she just give up on this unfitting behavior?

I thought so.

“…Alright…”

I was mistaken.

“…Huh?”

Kanzaki, who had weakly nodded, then carefully grabbed my forearm and began massaging it, pressing firmly.

Instead, it was I who flinched and became flustered.

‘What’s wrong with her, seriously?’

Did I underestimate Kanzaki Rie’s inner resolve? Of course, it was true that she was freeloading off me in this midterm evaluation.

Even considering those circumstances, I wondered if this attitude wasn’t a bit excessive.

I judged that there was no reason for Kanzaki, of all people, to bow down to me to this extent.

My expression completely changed as I stared at her very coldly.

And then I asked sharply.

What is your objective, you wench!

…

…

…

Hmm.

But as I received it, my body started to feel somewhat languid.

It’s better than I thought.

The soft, gentle touch felt, well.

‘My head feels a bit, dazed, like…’

I blinked dazedly and looked down at Kanzaki. Just then, she subtly pushed up the hem of my pants and gently tickled my calf with her tail.

Her glossy navy hair brushed against my thigh.

Kanzaki, with a gentle eye-smile, looked up at me with a captivating tilt of her head.

It was a gentle gaze. Her magenta eyes seemed to pull me in.

I stared at her blankly, and just then, as if sensing something in my gaze, Kanzaki momentarily revealed a sharp, pointed demeanor.

Her pale red lips met for an instant. Up and down, as if mumbling.

Soon, Kanzaki’s mouth opened briefly.

“…Hyunjin-gun.”

“…”

A voice calling to me. I didn’t answer.

Kanzaki’s eyes took on an unusual gleam.

I blankly watched Kanzaki subtly lift my shirt and slip her hand in. As if gaining momentum, she leaned her upper body against me.

The smooth sensation of a female body pressed against me strongly.

Gulp-

Who was the owner of the sudden sound of dry swallowing?

It wasn’t me, at least, so perhaps it was Kanzaki?

“…Haa…”

As if to lend credence to that guess, Kanzaki suddenly let out an excited breath. It was a sigh that seemed a little tense, a little nervous.

Nevertheless, Kanzaki, soon folding her eyes into an elegant curve, moved her slender fingers to stroke my chest.

Her nails, despite her perfectly refined and innocent appearance, were very boldly teasing a sensitive spot.

She touched it with a rather suggestive ‘tap tap.’

“…Hyunjin-gun said, didn’t he?”

Eventually, she parted her lips. Her voice was calm and subdued, yet somehow, it had a distinctly alluring quality.

My gaze swayed slightly left and right.

“If you lack magic power or mana, acquire and absorb an elixir, he said…”

“…”

“I’ll do as Hyunjin-gun says. So.”

Kanzaki, adding an adverb in a voice mixed with complex emotions, soon looked up at me piteously with trembling eyes, as if embarrassed.

“Will you please help me just once…? You know very well that Hyunjin-gun is the only male student I could ask for such a favor…”

By that point, I had also somewhat come to my senses. The enchantment had slightly worn off.

To be precise, it should be said that I eventually succeeded in resisting it by taking my time…

Anyway.

‘But this bastard really, cast an enchantment without warning…?’

No matter how impatient she was.

This really crossed the line.

I glared at Kanzaki with wide, irritated eyes, and only then did she recoil with a flustered expression.

“…S-sorry.”

Did she realize her enchantment had halfway worn off? Kanzaki, clinging to my leg almost as if kneeling, choked out an entreaty.

“I didn’t want to do this either. But, but this vulgar ability is all I have! It’s my own way of survival, sob sob…”

…Her pitiful, teary eyes. The speed at which she changed her attitude was quite fierce.

Ah, it would have been truly great if that wasn’t the naive acting of a nine-tailed fox trying to charm and devour me.

Ah, I’ll correct myself. It also seemed like about 25% of it was genuine…

Though even then, it wasn’t a significant amount.

‘First, let’s shake this bastard off and then think.’

I made my final judgment, suppressing the deep irritation rising in my chest.

If I really lost control and pounced on her like this, my life force would be drained instead.

Firmly resolved, I grabbed Kanzaki’s shoulders and pushed her away from me.

“…Ah!”

Kanzaki let out a small, mournful gasp and looked up at me from a low angle, her shoulders slumped like a soaked dog.

Oh, I won’t fall for it. I won’t be swayed.

I sighed deeply and waved my hand at Kanzaki.

“Stop it. I’m getting really angry.”

“…”

Kanzaki drooped her head despondently, and seeing such an uncharacteristic display from her, I softened my tone slightly and continued.

“It’s true that I said you should try to find an elixir.”

“…”

“But even so, I absolutely didn’t intend for you to interpret my words in this way…”

“…It’s stiff, isn’t it?”

And Kanzaki abruptly cut me off.

I paused and looked down at her.

“…”

“…”

Kanzaki, who had been intently staring at my lower body with meaningful eyes, then slowly raised her head as if sensing my gaze…

“…Guh.”

The moment our eyes met, I felt a slight dizziness rise within me.

With a spinning sensation, I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned back slightly, but—.

“Hyunjin-gun.”

Kanzaki didn’t let me calm down quietly like that.

At her highly excited voice, my shoulders trembled slightly.

Kanzaki gave a mischievous eye-smile.

“Your body is honest, isn’t it?”

The trivial conversation ended there. She immediately pressed down on my thigh and pulled her body even closer.

Her small face slipped precisely ‘snugly’ between my legs.

She chuckled awkwardly, ‘Heh,’ then gently pushed my knees apart.

‘Ah.’

…And then I instinctively realized.

This girl, her eyes have gone wild.

“Haa, haa.”

Kanzaki Rie, panting roughly, looked up at me with glittering eyes.

Next, she grabbed my belt and lunged to unfasten it.

“…Hey, Kanzaki. Calm down. Your expression is really dangerous right now.”

I tried to stop her, sweating cold, but it was useless. A succubus who had already lost her reason was not something that could be controlled.

Kanzaki began staring at my underwear with oddly flickering pupils.

“N-nothing much. I’ll just touch you for a moment, so you can just close your eyes and… finish. Then I’ll take care of the rest…”

Then she met my gaze for a moment, and soon, as if realizing something, her mouth opened wide in a ‘bleh’ shape.

She gave a meaningless laugh and lightly poked the top of her tongue with her index finger, pressing it down slightly.

And then she spoke with broken, halting pronunciation.

“If you, huff, release it, over here…”

“…”

Even though the enchantment using her ability was almost 90% gone, she uttered a suggestive line that momentarily tested my sanity.

‘…I don’t know anymore.’

I closed my eyes tightly once and pondered for a moment, then decided to cast aside my shallow reason that tried to suppress my desires.

I grabbed Kanzaki’s head and pulled her deeper between my legs.

“…! Ugh, mmph.”

Kanzaki, who seemed momentarily flustered, soon held my uniform pants and pulled them down, her eyes now openly lustful.

Her hot breath, released as if teasing, touched my lower body.

Even though we knew that the middle of the mountains was not a good place for such an act, Kanzaki and I gave in to our desires.

Thus, Kanzaki tightly gripped the top of my underwear, licking her lips.

Rumble!

And from the sky, Kim Yijun fell.

“?”

“?”

My and Kanzaki’s silence didn’t last long.

Both of our eyes widened simultaneously.

“…Huh?”

“Eh?”

My reaction was about a beat faster. I instinctively hugged Kanzaki like a dead weight, no, like a sack of rice, and flung my body sideways.

Craaash!

“Cough…”

The Sword Saint’s disciple, Kim Yijun, fell, practically splitting the rock where Kanzaki and I had been staying, into pathetic pieces.

He, who had briefly trembled his hand with a death rattle, soon dropped his sword with a thud.

‘What was that?’

Is he dead?

It was when I instinctively tried to check if he was breathing.

Crack!

A chilling sensation, and.

A chilling, sharp spark that sent shivers down my spine brushed past my cheek in an instant.

“…Gasp.”

Kanzaki, too, seemed to have sensed a similar presence. Regaining her composure in an instant, she hiccuped with a terrified expression.

The next moment.

“Now…”

A fiery voice, echoing like a whisper from purgatory… approached with horrifying clarity and pierced our ears.

Kanzaki and I turned our heads towards the source of the voice with a spinal reflex.

A place slightly higher than the trees in the mountains.

In other words, above the sky, obstructing the sunlight.

Just then, the academy’s top student, Cheon Soyul, who had just struck Kim Yijun with a lightning bolt and sent him flying, floated there quietly with flight magic.

But most of all, with a trembling smile that seemed to hold a great blaze within.

Cheon Soyul looked down at Kanzaki’s and my appearance, her lips twisting.

“While everyone else is focused on the exam, what exactly are you two doing here…?”

“…”

“May I get an answer? Lee Hyunjin?”

A sweet smile!

A beautiful smile appeared on her lips.

A smile filled with fatal charm…

No.

Just fatal.

That kind of smile it was.

Flick!

“Eh?”

My judgment was swift. I immediately flung the Kanzaki I was holding onto the ground.

And then I pointed a finger at her.

“Kanzaki pounced on me.”

“…Hyunjin-gun?!”

She gaped at me, looking back with disbelieving eyes.

I decided to pretend not to see that gaze.

No.

Well.

It’d be one thing if I had said something particularly wrong, but right now, wasn’t I just an innocent victim enchanted by a succubus?

‘Hmm.’

Anyway, something like that.

I’m not at fault.