The Disciple's Talent

I cast Flash Step again and again.

Until the exhaustion finally hit me.

To be honest, I was pretty pumped up the whole time.

“Whew. I can’t do any more.”

“Wow! Agent, you really do seem talented at magic!”

“You think so?”

It was probably just flattery, but it still felt good. No, it felt more than good. It felt overwhelming.

Living with Siren had made me forget, but I really had been at rock bottom before. The only ability I had was a low-grade inventory. My personality wasn’t exactly sunny either, and with no real friends, I had spiraled deeper and deeper into myself.

And now that same person was using magic….

It hit me all over again just how much I had changed thanks to Siren.

Come to think of it, there had never been a time when she wasn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my strength. When I was younger, her unique cuteness had been my driving force. Now, simply having her by my side made every day enjoyable.

Thump. Thump. As if agreeing with that thought, my heart beat unusually loud.

…Maybe I had used too much mana. Or maybe it was the backlash from overdoing the spells. For some reason, Siren looked especially beautiful today.

“I’m not just saying it. Most people get exhausted after two or three casts, but you, Agent… you really, really seem to have talent!”

“Thanks.”

Even her words were pretty.

I smiled warmly as I looked at Siren, but she suddenly went quiet.

Uh… did I do something wrong?

“Agent.”

“Yeah?”

Had I been staring too hard? Or was it because I had stayed completely silent during the broadcast?

Siren narrowed her eyes in a cute pout and continued.

“You’re using casual speech.”

“Huh? Oh?”

“I am your direct superior. The dispatched agent is my subordinate.”

…Right. That was the setting.

Siren planted both hands on her hips and glared at me.

“Call me Master.”

“Master….”

“Hehe.”

And with that, the first broadcast of Raising a Mage came to an end.

Siren’s declaration (or rather, her bold claim) that she would usher in the era of grand magic was no exaggeration.

The community was flooded with verification posts.

The magic circle Siren had revealed like she was handing out flyers opened up a whole new horizon for the commercialization of magic.

And neither the Magic Tower nor the guilds were going to sit still while a crazy magic circle that let even basement-dwelling hikikomori feel mana with a single click existed.

“How long until we figure out the mechanism?”

“I don’t know yet….”

“We have to be faster than the Magic Tower. No matter what.”

They weren’t the only ones. Any mage who had taken even a glance at Siren’s magic would have done so. The level of interest and academic fervor was enough to temporarily halt even the analysis of the Bukhan Mountain gate.

Of course, not everyone was singing praises.

Severe magic premature ejaculation.

After casting magic only a few times, your mana would run completely dry.

However, it couldn’t simply be called a downside.

Mages possessed circles that compressed, stored, and efficiently released mana, as well as mana circuits that allowed them to operate that stored mana quickly and without loss.

Siren’s magic circle only replaced mana sensitivity. It did not provide circles or mana circuits.

Without circles, mana could not be used efficiently. Without circuits, mana traveled through the entire body.

It was only natural for the body to take a toll. This was not a flaw in the magic circle, but the limit of ordinary people becoming mages.

Unless someone artificially implanted circles and circuits through surgery, the premature mana depletion could not be fixed.

Yet perhaps because they had already witnessed one miracle, people began dreaming of another.

The mages simply scoffed.

The spiritual medicine they had consumed just to create a single circle, the nights spent crying from the pain of carving circuits—how many had there been?

They could concede that raising mana sensitivity was possible, but circles and circuits were absolutely impossible. Unless someone tattooed mana arrays across their entire body, but that was hardly a good solution.

Every time they used magic, the recoil from the mana array would strike their body directly. They would undoubtedly die from mana poisoning in less than a year.

And so time passed, and the second broadcast of Raising a Mage began.

“Today, as promised, we’ll be taking the opinions of our Space Defense Force friends into account while raising the agent!”

“Ah, that’s why I prepared something! The agent has more talent than I expected, so I considered just continuing as normal, but it looks like all of you are really serious about Raising a Mage!”

Siren stepped out of frame for a moment and came back carrying two objects, one in each hand.

One was a round object that looked like an apple, and the other was a white voodoo doll.

“So first, I’ll explain outsourcing circles and mana circuits using artificial hearts and mana dolls!”

-?

-??

“I’ll upload the creation method to the bulletin board later. Huh? Did the server crash again? Hmm, guess not?”

The chat window froze solid—something that now felt like an event in itself.

And then—

The donations that followed became their own template.

The scale had grown a bit larger, that was all.

I watched the exploding donations with a slightly sour expression.

Don’t release it for now. Let’s talk first.

Who are you to stop us?

Let’s all share the good stuff.

I’ll pay you this much, so ignore what she says.

I’ll add this much on top of that amount, so do what I say, okay?

And so on.

No actual opinions about the direction of growth appeared. The donations ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were only being used to cancel out the opposing side’s opinions.

The more heated the donations became, the higher the amounts climbed. Siren herself had not expressed a clear opinion.

“What should I do~?”

Watching her clearly intentional hesitation, I let out a small snort of laughter.

Our Siren really has become a proper streamer now.

“Okay~ everyone, please calm down. We’ll set up a separate session later to discuss outsourcing circles and mana circuits.”

Her judgment to stop right when the moment felt right,

“Ah, and if any of you would like your donations refunded, just say so. I’ll process them right away~”

Even the lip service, thrown out with the intuition that no one would actually ask for it.

It was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

At that moment, Siren looked at me and spoke.

“If I listen to one side here, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings, so today we’ll follow the agent’s opinion for the direction of growth.”

I answered without much hesitation.

“Defense magic.”

“Is there a reason?”

“Just… I feel like ensuring my own safety should come first?”

Maybe it was because I had almost died surrounded by goblins, but defense magic came to mind before offensive spells.

“Then I’ll teach you a simple barrier! A barrier is a little harder than Flash Step. First….”

A short while later, a translucent membrane of pale yellow light wrapped around me.

“That’s all for today!”

The broadcast ended while everyone was sending suspicious glances.

As I tested the barrier again, Siren walked over and tapped it lightly.

“Hyun. You really do seem talented.”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

Seeing how much of a fuss other people were making, it seemed I wasn’t completely without talent for magic.

Though without Siren’s mana sensitivity magic circle, I still wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“Thank you.”

“Ehem!”

Siren puffed out her chest and raised her nose proudly.

“Ahem. My disciple. Have you finally realized how excellent your master is?”

“Why yes, of course I have.”

“If you’re grateful, give your master’s shoulders a good rub.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Siren plopped down on the chair, and I grabbed her shoulders.

Squeeze, squeeze. Squeeze, squeeze.

Beneath the thin magical girl outfit, I could feel Siren’s soft skin.

Even the bra straps resting on her collarbones and shoulders.

“….”

…Why was I so conscious of it today?

“Ahem. Your hands feel excellent. My dear disciple. Press my back firmly too.”

At that moment, Siren lay face-down on the sofa.

When I stared at her blankly, she patted the sofa impatiently.

“…Alright.”

I climbed onto her back.

Putting my weight into it, I pressed down firmly.

Ribs.

Erector spinae.

And then down to her waist. Press, press.

“A little more to the side.”

Press, press.

“Mmm. Lower….”

Press, press.

“…My thighs feel stiff too.”

Siren rolled over onto her back.

Her top rode up slightly.

Her navel was visible.

I turned my gaze away.

She lifted her legs and placed them on my thighs.

Press, press again.

Press, press.

“….”

At some point, the conversation had stopped.

-Haa, ngh.

Someone’s breathing had taken its place.

Our breathing grew rough.

Whose breathing it was didn’t matter.

My fingers gained more strength.

The area I gripped grew larger.

Both of her thighs were now resting on my lap.

“It’s so stiff….”

Not knowing where exactly was uncomfortable, Siren twisted her body. The more she moved, the more surface area touched me.

Siren’s skirt rode up. Her firm thighs came into view.

I deliberately looked away.

My mind had gone blank at some point and my hands had stopped.

She spoke.

“Just keep rubbing.”

I grabbed her thighs.

My gaze trembled.

It kept trying to drift somewhere it shouldn’t.

I forced it to stay on her legs.

My head wasn’t working properly.

“Deeper inside.”

I obeyed.

“Deeper.”

My hands moved mechanically.

“A little more.”

Only my hands, only my hands, just like that….

“More.”

Her voice was warm.

I turned my head.

Siren was right in front of my eyes. When had she sat up?

She said,

“Don’t hold back.”

Don’t hold back?

What?

But before I could answer, she pushed me down.

Now I was the one lying down, and she was on top of me.

She placed her hand on my chest.

It felt stickier than usual.

“Do you think I’m different from usual?”

Could she read my mind?

“Does it seem like I’m using telepathy?”

“Siren.”

“No. I’ve always been like this.”

Her face drew closer.

Her golden hair fell around us like a curtain.

Her lips slowly approached mine….

Then—

Riiiiing—!!

The phone rang.

My mind snapped back to reality.

“Iren, wait a second.”

“Just let me lead—”

“Move.”

“Lead—”

“I said move.”

I pushed her off and sat up.

“Ack. Ah, no! I was so close…!”

“Get off.”

“Ugh, seriously. Ack. This can’t be happening…!”

What do you mean this can’t be happening?

I barely pried Siren off—she was clinging to my pants—and answered the call.

“Hello. This is Lee Hyun.”

-This is Yu Gang-hyeok. Are you by any chance next to Lady Siren?

“Siren?”

-Yes. She isn’t answering my calls, and it’s rather urgent. Could you pass the phone to her?

I glanced at Iren.

Her cheeks were puffed out like she had stuffed bread in them. She whipped her head to the side.

“Iren. Someone’s looking for you.”

“Tell them I’m not here.”

Hmm.

I relayed it to the Association President exactly as she said.

“Did you do something wrong? Siren seems upset?”

-What!? Me? There’s no way!

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but good luck. Well then….”

-Sir Lee Hyun? Sir Lee Hyun! Please don’t hang up. I beg you. The matter is urgent.

Yu Gang-hyeok continued speaking, and I passed the message to Siren.

-If you could just persuade her…!

I glanced at Siren.

When our eyes met, she glared at me like a tiger.

I could feel her firm resolve that she would absolutely not listen.

“Well, I’m not sure if she’ll be persuaded, but I’ll pass it along.”

I ended the call and sat down in front of her.

To Siren, who was deliberately turning her head away, I said,

“Someone’s looking for you.”

“I don’t know them. Not interested. I’m completely, totally sulking right now, okay? Hyun, don’t talk to me either.”

“A bad guy is holding hostages and says if you don’t come out, he’ll kill them all.”

“Don’t care.”

“And that bad guy is the same nasty bastard who used to bully me back in the day.”

“Who is it?”

Persuasion complete.