episode_0098

Lunchtime passed, and the class competition resumed.

[Next up, we have a performance by the Repentia cheerleading squad!]

Before that, there was an important event.

[Hello, everyone!]

─WAAAAAAAAAAH!

Earth-shattering cheers reverberated throughout the entire academy.

The one receiving all that adoration was none other than the Saintess, the idol and mascot of the Order.

Wearing a cheerleader uniform, she bounced around, responding to the cheers. Her pristine white, soft midriff and firm thighs were revealed, a delightful sight for the eyes.

But the true highlight was elsewhere.

Naturally, it was her ample bosom, which swayed violently with every movement.

Supported by powerful Cooper’s ligaments, her breasts would sag forcefully downwards, only to quickly regain their elasticity and stand pertly erect.

Following their movement, the eyes of every male student, regardless of grade, moved up and down.

Even most of the female students couldn’t take their eyes off her overwhelming figure.

‘Damn, she’s hot.’

When she offered her chest for me to touch before, I regretted belatedly that I should’ve just kneaded them haphazardly.

If I could go back to that time, I’d throw away any flimsy conscience and ravage her ample chest without mercy.

While I was inwardly spewing regrets, the cheerleading squad’s dance began.

Acrobatic and spirited dance moves, along with a beat that made bodies sway. Within it, the Saintess, frolicking freely, was like a fairy.

Moreover, not just her, but all the other priestesses also possessed outstanding figures and looks, to the point where exclamations of admiration would erupt no matter where you looked.

At this point, it was reasonable to assume that Repentia deliberately scouted based solely on appearance.

‘Surely not lesbians?’

If true, it’s dangerous.

Because there’s no knowing when Repentia might manifest in this world and harass the Saintess.

Amidst my worries, time continued to flow, and finally, the dance came to an end.

[L.O.V.E. Solias!]

The cheerleading squad, led by the Saintess, used their bodies to form letters and sent hearts.

Chaos, naturally, ensued.

─EEEEEEEEEEEEK!

─YOU’RE THE BESTTTTTT!

─Saintess-nim, have me!

─Why would she have *you*, you bastard!

The second-years, at least, managed to retain their sanity, having experienced this last year, but the first-years fell into a frenzy, each and every one of them crying out for the Saintess.

Some of them, seemingly completely smitten, were shooting hearts from their eyes in response.

One hundred percent, as soon as the class competition ends, they would immediately confess to the Saintess.

‘Absolutely not.’

If she’s the kind Saintess I know, she might reluctantly accept a confession out of fear of hurting them, so I need to meet her beforehand and warn her.

Of course, if that were the case, she would have already had a lover ages ago, but there’s no harm in being prepared, right?

Whether she knew my worries or not, the Saintess simply waved her hand brightly and exited with the cheerleading squad.

[We will now immediately resume the class competition. There will be a three-legged race, so participants please prepare beforehand!]

“Ruan, let’s go!”

“Alright.”

When I stood up at Deborah’s urging, the Class 3 students each said something.

“Good luck!”

“Show them the power of a couple!”

“If you get first place, Deborah says she’ll kiss you!”

“I, I never said that!”

By the way, the last line was Deborah’s.

She vehemently denied the preposterous statement, and ran off to the track with all her might.

Watching her, a mischievous impulse suddenly surged within me.

‘Suddenly, I want a kiss!’

Even though I knew there was no particular merit for me in having mere mucous membranes touch my cheek, I found it hard to resist the impulse.

I wanted to see Deborah hesitate, then finally kiss me, and squirm in shame.

Even though the academy was currently on the verge of being turned into a wasteland by bombs, since I couldn’t escape anyway, wouldn’t it be better to just enjoy it?

Pondering if there was any way to make it happen, I followed Deborah out to the track.

She was already chatting with Abel and Uni, who had also come out as participants in the three-legged race, just like us.

Abel, who spotted me, greeted me warmly.

“Oh, Ruan! Welcome!”

“So you two are participating?”

“Yeah! At first, Alisa and I were chosen, but Alisa absolutely refused to go out, so Uni decided to participate instead.”

I wondered why Uni was here, since the three-legged race was supposed to be Alisa’s event.

It seems Alisa, who developed a strong aversion to men after being raped by me, made a different choice than before.

I felt an unnecessary sense of guilt.

“Is that so. Let’s both do our best.”

“Yeah! By the way, we’re meeting up again after this race, right?”

“That’s right. None of us have any more events to participate in anyway. I already told our homeroom professor just now, so it’s fine.”

I remembered when I confessed the truth to Sara.

When I suggested we move somewhere private, saying I had something to tell her, she looked at me quite suspiciously. She probably knew I was up to something again.

Well, from her perspective, it was certainly justified.

“Anyway, we’re going now. We need to start preparing.”

“Okay! See you soon!”

Leaving Abel behind, I returned to our spot with Deborah and listened to the referee’s instructions.

As we were tying our legs together, Deborah clenched both fists and shouted.

“Let’s get first place!”

“What? First place? Are you serious?”

“Of course! Since we’re already participating, we should aim for first place. Our classmates will be rooting for us.”

This good-hearted girl seemed unable to easily betray her friends’ expectations.

Actually, what they were hoping for was less about us achieving a good score in the race and more about us displaying an affectionate demeanor.

‘Still, not bad.’

If that’s the case, it seems I won’t have to suppress the impulse I had to force myself to restrain earlier.

I shrugged indifferently.

“Why bother? Just do it casually. Our friends will understand. They know we’re at a disadvantage.”

The three-legged race generally favors martial arts users. Although there are sections that can only be easily passed by using magic, that doesn’t mean martial arts users absolutely cannot pass them.

As it requires coordinating with each other, martial artists, specialized in body control, had the highest probability of winning.

Moreover, since Deborah is an illusionist, her offensive power is relatively low, so it would take her longer to destroy magical obstacles.

At best, she could only dismantle traps made of illusions.

Despite my negative reaction, Deborah’s resolve didn’t falter.

“Even so, we can’t just give up beforehand! We have to try until the end!”

“It’s annoying. There’s no benefit to getting first place anyway.”

“Hmph… That’s mean! I really want to get first place with Ruan.”

Deborah pouted dejectedly.

I pushed away the thought of pulling her lips, and subtly threw out a bait.

“Then what will you do if we get first place?”

“Huh?”

“I said, what will you do if we get first place? If you promise to grant me one wish, I’ll try my best.”

“A wish?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, it’s nothing weird. It’s something we can certainly do between us.”

Having already gone as far as ejaculating inside her, a kiss on the cheek is practically child’s play.

At my suggestion, Deborah seemed to ponder for a moment, then readily accepted.

“Okay! I’ll grant you one wish! But it can’t be anything too unreasonable, alright?”

“I know. Now, let’s stand up. Let’s do a quick check.”

“Yes!”

After confirming our legs were properly tied, we stood up, embraced each other, and began to move slowly.

We had practiced coordinating our movements sporadically over the past week, so we were somewhat accustomed to it.

Of course, in a real competition, anything could happen, so we couldn’t let our guard down.

As we were coordinating our movements, the time for the race to begin finally arrived.

[Everyone, take your positions. Ready─ Go!]

Bang!

Magical fireworks burst brilliantly, and we quickly sprang forward.

But as expected, Deborah, being a mage, didn’t have exceptional physical abilities, so we were quickly overtaken by other teams.

“Ohohoho! Victory is ours!”

Felicia, the class president of Class 4, surged forward with her partner, her ample chest bouncing wildly.

─OOOOOOOH!

─That’s Felicia for you!

All the male students watching gazed at her imposing chest and let out exclamations of praise.

Truly, she was worthy of being called a breast-owner on par with the Saintess.

The person in question, however, seemed to think they were admiring her swift movements.

Next to pass us was Ethan.

He moved quite nimbly, accompanied by a young lady who was armed with a fake smile and shooting hearts from her eyes.

Despite being a mage, it was proof that he hadn’t neglected his physical training.

After a few more couples passed, only we and the Abel and Uni couple remained.

“Ahaha! Ruan, we meet again.”

“Indeed. You’re quite fast?”

“I didn’t expect this either!”

“Looks like one of us will come in last, then?”

“We can’t have that! Sorry, but you guys can take last place, Ruan! We’ll go on ahead!”

Abel, seemingly spurred by his competitive spirit, comforted Uni and gradually picked up speed, pulling away.

Deborah’s face fell.

“Ruan, I’m sorry. Because of me.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I’m so slow, you can’t move properly because you’re matching my pace.”

“It’s fine. We’ll stop because of the traps soon enough anyway. Keep moving.”

“…Yes. I understand.”

Having encouraged Deborah, I calmly surveyed the track.

‘The later it gets, the more favorable the structure is for mages.’

In the early stages, most of the traps could be overcome purely by physical ability, but from the mid-point onwards, the proportion of magical traps rapidly increased.

In particular, the illusion magic spread across the very last course would slightly increase our chances of winning.

Deborah and I calmly moved forward, bypassing the traps appropriately.

“Hold on tight!”

“Yes!”

Leap!

Supporting Deborah, I, with a powerful leap, jumped over the 3-meter high wall.

The following sections were roughly similar.

“Hup!”

CRASH!

The magically created shield was shaken from within by my infiltration spear.

Not missing that opportunity, Deborah’s incoming flame spear pierced through, focused on a single point, and completely destroyed it.

Before long, the race was halfway through.

Felicia, who had shot out like an overwhelming frontrunner, was now running neck-and-neck with Ethan.

The third place was a couple from Class 1, fourth was Abel, and we were in fifth place.

In other words, we had completely overtaken one team.

Narrowing the gap little by little in that manner, and finally settling into fourth place, Felicia and Ethan’s couples reached the illusion magic first.

They disappeared beyond the thick fog, and 10 seconds later, Abel arrived, and after another 10 seconds, we arrived.

“Deborah. It’s your turn from here.”

“Yes! Leave it to me! I’ve already figured out the solution!”

As if to prove she wasn’t just dead weight clinging on until now, Deborah immediately activated her magic, scattering a violet glow around us.

Centered on a certain area, violet magic repeatedly spread outwards.

“Let’s go in! With this, the illusions won’t be able to penetrate!”

“Well done!”

After praising her, I jumped into the fog with Deborah.

Inside, there was nothing special.

Just a thick, hazy, fog-like magical energy covering the entire ordinary track.

Occasionally, the fog-like magical energy tried to approach us, but upon touching the spreading violet magic, it would quickly flee as if it had met its natural predator.

Continuing forward in that state for a bit, we saw the Abel couple.

“Uni? Where are you, Uni!”

“Abel! I’m here! Abel!”

The two of them, with their legs tied together and stuck close, were desperately searching for each other.

From a third-person perspective, it was quite amusing.

After passing them, and walking for about another minute, the Felicia couple appeared.

“Come here! I’ll split you in two and kill you!”

“Ack! Stop it!”

Felicia, wielding a wooden stick she’d somehow obtained, was wildly swinging it at her partner. Her partner was weakly getting hit, cowering.

“…Poor thing.”

“Let’s go.”

Suppressing my pity, and passing them as well, a moment later, we encountered the Ethan couple.

Ethan was slowly moving, using spatial magic to prevent the fog from penetrating.

He turned his head at our appearance.

“……”

“……”

Ethan and I didn’t exchange a single word.

Deborah and his partner also simply maintained silence in the strange atmosphere.

As if devoid of any emotion, I simply nodded and overtook him.

Once a certain distance was created, Deborah let out a sigh.

“Phew… that was incredibly awkward. By the way, do you know that person just now?”

“No? Why?”

“You both only looked at each other. Do you know how strange that was?”

“Was it? More importantly, let’s hurry. It seems the fog is ending now.”

“Ah, yes! Let’s go quickly!”

From last place to first.

Deborah, on the verge of truly writing a comeback drama, was utterly thrilled.

As soon as I followed her out of the fog, cheers pierced my ears.

─WAAAAAAAAH!

─Deborah! Ruan!

─They were in last place, but now they’re first?!

Exclamations poured in from all directions.

Deborah, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion, looked around then slowly crossed the finish line.

The host immediately approached.

“How do you feel about coming in first place?”

“I, I’m really happy! I never expected to win!”

“Really? Well, you were in last place at first, weren’t you? What about you, young man?”

“I’m good too. My hard work has paid off. Actually, Deborah promised to grant me one wish if we got first place.”

“Oho… A wish?”

The host, perhaps smelling something incredibly entertaining in my words, wore an intrigued expression.

I looked at Deborah and made my demand.

“Kiss me.”

“H-huh?”

“I said, kiss me. You said you’d grant my wish.”

“Are, are you crazy?”

“Yeah. I am. So keep your promise.”

I tapped my cheek.

Deborah, with flustered eyes, glanced at her face, which was zoomed in on the scoreboard, then blurted out something out of the blue.

“W-what if Teacher-nim finds out?”

“Ah, I don’t care. Just do it.”

“Are you serious?”

“One hundred percent serious. Hurry up.”

“Ughhhhh… He’s completely crazy.”

Faced with my unyielding and unwavering attitude, Deborah’s face fell into a frown, and she slowly approached.

She placed her hands on my shoulders and stood on her tiptoes.

Mwah!

She briefly pressed her lips to my cheek, then immediately pulled away.

Her cheeks were flushed crimson.

─KYAAAAAAAAAAH!

─I’M SO JEALOUS!!

─I should’ve participated too!

Immediately after, the cheers of the entire school echoed, and Deborah, unable to bear the shame, covered her face with both hands and crouched down.

Not only her face, but her ears and the back of her neck were also completely dyed crimson.

I stroked my cheek and smiled with satisfaction.

‘Very good.’

Aside from the fact that I’d have to deal with the aftermath, it was a very satisfying demand.