Beware the Backdoor in a War of Attrition
Lilit suddenly announced that she had some business to attend to and would be back shortly.
She added that it might take a while, so there was no need for me to wait for her.
I wondered what it could be. The direction she had headed wasn't toward the Tistina estate.
It was toward a rather secluded area, near one of the academy's research halls, so I assumed it was related to her studies.
Well, the Gremlina family's villa was also nearby, but that probably didn't matter.
In any case, that was how I ended up sitting alone in a cafe, leisurely sipping my coffee.
Actually, calling it "leisurely" might be a stretch.
Even with this rare moment of free time, my mind was too busy wrestling with a mountain of worries to actually relax.
First and foremost was the matter of Elisio Gremlina.
I had harbored faint suspicions, but it turned out the girl I had long considered just a friend actually liked me.
Apparently, she had been harboring feelings for me in secret for quite some time.
Although Eli had initially fled the scene in embarrassment, she eventually gathered her courage, confessed to me properly, and was formally rejected.
To be honest, remembering what had happened with Seraphina, I had been deeply worried about how she would react.
Fortunately, Eli's case was different.
The expression on her face after I turned her down was lighter and more refreshed than I had ever seen it.
It didn't seem like she was harboring any resentment. Unlike with Seraphina, I had managed to resolve things with Eli amicably.
Though I couldn't predict the future, at least I didn't have to worry about her letting jealousy drive her to do something reckless regarding my relationship with Lilit.
The second issue was the aforementioned Seraphina Serion.
She, too, had harbored feelings for me. Unaware of this, I had told her that Lilit and I were dating and even considering marriage.
But she couldn't accept it. She confessed her feelings, and I, naturally, could not return them.
Even then, I could tell she was in agony, struggling to control her emotions. But I believed that someone as strong as her would pull through.
Her love for me, however, was far heavier and more suffocating than I could have ever imagined.
Seraphina had dragged me into her estate, taken my body by force, and was now using some mysterious magic tool to restrict my actions and blackmail me.
Whatever her intentions, she claimed she would keep it a secret from Lilit, but that did nothing to change the despair of my situation.
Finally, the third issue, which tied directly into the second, was the magic tool itself.
This involved my friend Isabella Kshatri, who held the grand titles of the Magic Department's genius troublemaker and the daughter of the Magic Tower Lord.
This necklace Seraphina had forced onto me—a bizarre accessory I couldn't remove myself, and which was somehow invisible to everyone else—was undoubtedly a magic tool.
And Isabella possessed vast knowledge of both magic and magic tools from every angle.
Even if the tool's restrictions prevented me from speaking about the necklace's effects or Seraphina herself, asking Isabella might at least yield a clue about what this device actually was.
The problem was that after parting with Lilit, I had searched the academy all day but couldn't find Isabella anywhere.
Just when I had dared to hope for a solution, it fell through. It was disappointing, yet... I also felt a strange sense of relief.
To be honest, while I wanted to find and meet her, I was also hesitating.
The reason was my track record with the original heroines.
Lilit Tistina, Seraphina Serion, and Elisio Gremlina.
To think that three out of the five main heroines—more than half—were in love with me.
Of course, we had become close at the academy and spent our youth together, but I never expected things to turn out like this.
Given the pattern established by those three, I couldn't help but worry that Isabella Kshatri, the last remaining heroine, might also be harboring feelings for me.
Well... I could at least reassure myself that such a thing was highly unlikely with her.
Our first meeting had been the absolute worst out of all the women I had ever met.
During the emergency mana measurement test conducted right after the entrance ceremony terror incident, not only was I compared to her in the most humiliating way, but she had also looked down on me with utter contempt and scorn.
Somehow, we ended up getting involved in various incidents and grew closer, but Isabella always maintained a haughty, high-handed attitude toward me.
Of course, she acknowledged me as a friend and looked out for me in her own way, but there were very few moments where either of us felt any romantic attraction.
Even when she let her guard down and treated me gently, it was only when I was helping her with her "treatment."
The gap between her usual self and her behavior during those "treatments" was astronomical. You see, that "treatment" was none other than—
Tap.
"Rofel..."
Two hands rested on my shoulders from behind, and a sweet voice whispered in my ear.
One of the very sources of my anxiety had just materialized.
"My, my, what a coincidence. To think I would find you here without Lilit by your side."
Seraphina Serion stepped out from behind me.
She massaged my shoulders, blew a soft breath against my ear, and then slid into the seat opposite me.
"Indeed. A most marvelous coincidence. Meeting you like this while that wench is away."
Come to think of it, Seraphina's oath was specifically not to interfere when I was with Lilit.
And right now, I was not with Lilit.
Which meant...
Beneath the table, a stimulating pressure accompanied by a strange pleasure began to stir in my lower half.
Seraphina, sitting right in front of me, had slipped off her shoe and was nudging my crotch with her bare foot.
Possessing the exceptional physical coordination of a master warrior, she manipulated her foot as deftly as a hand.
Her foot, pressing through my clothes, skillfully caressed my groin. It didn't take long before the heat pooled, swelling my member until my trousers grew tight.
"Se... Seraphina... you...!"
"Is something the matter? You do not look well. Bending forward like that... ♥"
"W-Wait... stop...!"
In an instant, Seraphina snatched my hand.
Before I knew it, she had leaned in close to whisper in my ear.
"I apologize for interrupting your solitude, but would you care to accompany me for a moment? As you once said, we are still out in the open. There are far too many watching eyes."
"...Though, if you prefer, I do not mind doing it right here."
It seemed I had no choice.
Chup... ♥ Slurp... ♥ Mph... chupa... ♥
Having followed her, my mouth was now being thoroughly plundered.
The moment she dragged me by the wrist into a dark, damp alleyway, she pulled me into a fierce embrace and claimed my lips.
With her monstrous strength wrapping around my waist, I had no chance to resist, let alone close my teeth to block her tongue from invading and ravaging my mouth.
"Mgh... ♥ Nnh... chup..."
Pah.
As we finally parted from the deep kiss, a silver thread of saliva stretched between us, glistening in the dim light.
"The coffee you were drinking just now... what was it called?"
"I have always preferred tea to coffee, but this... the flavor is quite stimulating and fragrant. I could drink it every single day..."
"Or perhaps... is it because it has been steeped in your own deep flavor? Fufu."
"Haa... haa... W-What are you doing all of a sudden...?"
"We're... we're still outside...!"
"Do not fret. I had my servants block the path beforehand, so no one will wander in here."
"More importantly..."
She reached up, gently tracing my lips with her fingers.
"Four minutes."
"...What?"
"That is the amount of time you spent exchanging tongues with that wench in the alleyway."
What?
Had she been watching Lilit and me?
Since when?
Contrary to her claims, this encounter was definitely no coincidence.
"I apologize. I did say I wished not to interfere with your relationship with that wench. And I meant those words sincerely."
"However... to my shame, I cannot help but feel jealous and impatient."
Licking the saliva from her own lips, she continued.
"Whenever I see you holding hands and embracing another woman, my chest aches."
"And when I witness you slipping into a dark alley to share a kiss so vulgar the sound echoes... even I cannot control myself."
"So, I must ask you to indulge me for at least twice the amount of time you spent kissing her... ♥"
The fingers tracing my lips pried my mouth open.
The arm wrapped around my waist pulled me in even tighter.
"Haa... haa... ♥ I am sorry... The more I recall that scene, the emptier my mouth feels, and the more desolate I become..."
"It aches so terribly... If I do not fill this void with you this very instant, I feel I might go mad..."
"Mmh... ♥"
Her lips, glistening wet with saliva, descended upon mine once more, swallowing my mouth whole.
Her tongue, slick with hot saliva heated by arousal, surged inside at a terrifying speed, filling my mouth.
The sweet, metallic scent and taste that flooded my senses made my head spin.
Chup... slurp... chup... ♥ Slurrrp... nnh... ♥
Pah.
Ugh...!
The hand gripping my jaw finally let go.
Only then was I able to turn my head away, breaking the kiss to catch my breath.
But just as I gasped for air, trying to calm my racing heart, her hand began to slide down toward my lower half—specifically, my trousers.
"...! Wait! We're... we're outside! Seraphina, even for you, this is too—!"
"...♥"
I cried out in sheer panic.
But Seraphina did not answer with words.
She only gave me a heavy-lidded gaze, her lips glistening with saliva, exhaling a hot, flushed breath.