Effortless Divine Power and a Promise of Dates
I attended class with dead eyes. After a few minutes of theory, we moved on to practical training.
“Alright. Everyone, try recreating exactly what’s on page 16. If you run into any difficulties, speak up right away.”
The class itself is the difficult part, Professor.
I sluggishly drew out my Divine Power, just as described in the textbook…
“……?”
I was taken aback.
What the hell? Why is this so easy?
Without even focusing, my Divine Power moved as smoothly as my own limbs.
“…….”
Slipping smoothly.
Done. What’s going on? Why is it moving so effortlessly?
I stared at my Divine Power with hollow eyes.
The power that had been untamable like a wild beast had suddenly become docile, leaving me more baffled than excited.
……This is ridiculous.
Is it because I met Lady Arcana last time?
I glanced sideways.
Jayyan, who had been circling the room checking on us, stopped beside me and peeked at my work.
She cast a barrier to prevent sound from leaking, glanced around, and whispered just loud enough for me to hear.
“……Um, Student Eugene?”
“……?”
“Do you need my guidance?”
“……?”
I gave her a puzzled look. What’s she talking about?
“After seeing your skills last time, it didn’t seem like something I could teach……”
……Oh, right.
She’s asking because she saw me fight before?
Of course, I still lack basics and proficiency. I need more teaching.
That didn’t change the fact that I hated attending class, though.
“Of course. I want to learn everything from you, Professor!”
I replied nonchalantly. The shadow on Jayyan’s face didn’t lift easily.
“I’ll say this upfront: I’m hopeless in combat.”
“That’s fine! You have your own charms as a professor!”
“……Alright.”
Jayyan, who had started to move on, slid back and asked quietly.
“You really need this, right?”
“Naturally. It’s an honor just to learn from you.”
“……Fine. Then make this.”
Jayyan flipped my textbook ahead about a hundred pages.
……Excuse me, Professor?
“You can make it this size, right? Fill the inside completely.”
A sphere large enough to fill half the classroom, packed solid with mana, flames writhing on its surface…
Facing her casually pointing to the highest difficulty problem, I seriously pondered.
……I’m screwed, aren’t I?
The professor’s wary of me, and she’s jacking up the expected difficulty way too high.
……Other professors wouldn’t do this, right?
Clinging to that hope, I dragged my exhausted body to the next class.
“……May I teach you the sword?”
“There’s… nothing… I can teach you… Thank you… for handling… my plants… so carefully……”
“…….”
“Ughhh…… Shit……”
“Good work~”
As always, Ashy was already in my room, waving cheerfully at me. Adria must’ve been tired, as she was asleep on the bed with Jenella.
“Why are they sleeping there?”
“What’s new about that? Jenella was gonna leave, but we held her back.”
“But seriously, why’s she acting like that? You know why?”
Ashy’s expression hardened at my words.
It was like she was asking if I was serious.
“……Are you asking for real, or joking?”
“Do I look like I’m joking right now? Hey, give me my chocolate milk. Why’d you drink it?”
-The master should drink some banana milk.
“Chocolate milk’s better. Hurry up and bring it.”
I snatched the chocolate milk Eodukshini had been sneaking sips from. Ashy stared at me like I was unbelievable.
“I thought handsome loners didn’t exist in reality.”
“Where’s that? No guy doesn’t know he’s handsome. That’s only in novels.”
“Oh, sure~”
Her Yeah, right face pissed me off.
What?
Duel?
Ashy stood, approached me, and pinched my cheeks.
“Eugene. You’ve never dated, right?”
“Nope.”
“Hmm, but with that face, you must’ve gotten confessions.”
“You know everything about me, don’t you?”
“Of course! I even know where your moles are!”
“But you don’t know my secrets?”
“……?”
Ashy tilted her head in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“In my past life, I was a school bully……”
Wait. I stopped mid-sentence, squinting. Something’s off. She knows me so well, even my swordsmanship, but not my past?
Did I never tell her?
“??”
“Never mind.”
“Oh, is that it?”
“……?”
“The doujin Eodukshini snuck last time that you……”
“Shut up.”
“Aw, don’t be embarrassed. Everyone does it at that age~ You haven’t even kissed yet, right?”
“Have you?”
Ashy stuck out her tongue playfully. I stared at her, dumbfounded but unable to look away.
……What the hell is she?
She knows stuff, but misses weird parts.
Ashy avoided my gaze, turning her head and cupping her cheeks with both hands.
“Staring like that makes me shy~”
“…….”
I gave up trying to understand and asked instead.
“How far have you unraveled the causality restriction? What can you say?”
“Hmm. Not sure. It’s not like a clear ‘Stage 1 unlocked!’ It unravels naturally… But if we go through it point by point, one of us’ll collapse from a headache.”
So she doesn’t know right now.
“But I can say this.”
“……?”
Ashy stepped right up to me.
Her sky-blue hair contrasted with her deep navy eyes, which stared straight at me.
Goodwill, affection, tenderness… Her eyes brimmed with positive emotions as she pressed her cheek to my chest. Her arms wrapped around my waist.
“……That you and I are connected in a way words can’t describe.”
“Regressor? Possessor? Or both?”
“Can’t say. You know that.”
Doesn’t seem like reincarnation, or possession either…
What is she, really?
But her emotions toward me were genuine. I’m more sensitive to others’ feelings than most—I could tell.
I don’t know what the first emotion I felt was, though.
Still, the ones she’s showing now feel familiar.
……Though I still can’t read Jenella’s at all.
“……Got it, got it. Can you let go now?”
“Since we’re at it, how about a round—”
“Shut up.”
“I heard height-check kissing is trending these days.”
“Please, just shut up.”
Why’s she so aggressive? Was she always like this? And what’s height-check kissing?
Ashy grinned mischievously and tapped her abdomen with a pen she pulled from her pocket.
“Or wanna sign here?”
“Weren’t you forgetting about that?”
“No way. It just came back to me, but I never forgot!”
This is driving me nuts. I shook my head. Ashy slipped out of my arms and suddenly said, as if it just occurred to her.
“Oh! Wanna go out this weekend? With me?”
“Outside?”
“Yeah! A date! Date with me!”
The word “date” made me glance at Jenella involuntarily.
Jenella, who’d apparently woken to our conversation without fully opening her eyes, sat up and looked around groggily.
Hmm. I don’t know her feelings, but she seems to have done something wrong to me. Maybe if I go out and have fun, she’ll talk?
“With Jenella, though……”
Ashy punched my stomach. Ugh. I swallowed a groan.
Ashy looked up at me and whispered.
“Seriously, wanna just eat her up?”
“You a snake or something?”
“Anyway, no! Just the two of us! You never spend time alone with me!”
You approached me first as a crazy fan… But now we’re just friends.
Though the feelings she shows sometimes seem more than that.
I nodded.
“Fine, fine. Just us.”
“Yay!”
And just like that, the date was set.
“Heh, hehehe.”
Adria eyed Ashy with sleepy eyes. Ashy, sitting at the vanity for once in ages, was dabbing foundation on her cheeks.
“……What’re you doing?”
“Prepping for my date~”
“With who?”
“Obviously Eugene. Have you seen me hang out with other guys?”
True. No one stared at Eugene like Ashy did. Not even the craziest fans.
In class, breaks, lunch, daily life, even bedtime…
Wait. The last one’s kinda weird?
Thinking about it, Ashy always slept later than Eugene on purpose? To watch him sleep?
Adria absently stroked her own arm and looked at Ashy.
Ashy, who usually gripped only a sword, now held makeup, prettifying her face.
……She’s pretty.
Having seen plenty of beauties as an idol, Ashy ranked high among them.
Considering it was her bare face before, she could probably win a world beauty contest.
Most celebrities wouldn’t stand a chance.
Feeling oddly unsettled, Adria blurted out.
“He hangs out fine with other girls.”
Oh no. She wanted to slap herself. What did I just say? But Ashy didn’t mind, snapping her compact shut.
“With your sister?”
“……Probably?”
“Doesn’t matter. I don’t care who he hangs with. I’m way prettier than them. Even if his eyes are bad and he dates someone else, I’ll wait happily. If another girl likes him, I’ll cheer her on.”
Ashy beamed, spinning around. She usually wore comfy clothes, but today…
Sh, sheer??
Did she even own stuff like that?
Ashy stood and approached Adria.
Adria flinched instinctively. But Ashy just gave off a light perfume scent and patted her shoulder.
“Adria.”
“Y-yeah?”
“You’re stronger than your sister.”
“……Out of nowhere?”
“Yup. You seem too unmotivated.”
Ashy smiled magnanimously, fixing Adria’s messy hair.
“Don’t worry about what you said. I was just curious about your reaction anyway.”
“……Huh?”
“Anyway, comfort Jenella properly. You know what her feelings are, right?”
“……It’d be weirder if I didn’t.”
Adria sighed deeply.
Of all people, Eugene?
He’s not a bad guy. Not bad at all… But her best friend suddenly crushing on someone hurt.
“Got it. Have fun out there.”
“Thanks. See ya later?”
Adria waved.
Ashy left the dorm with a smile, hand on her chest.
Thump, thump, thump.
First date in years? How long since a proper one-on-one like this?
Her heart raced.
Like mad.
The heart revived solely for him cheered at the time with him.