The Tutor
"Haa... Move aside for now."
"Aah... Y-yes! I'm so sorry...!"
Elesia Valter scrambled to her feet, head bowed in shame. I hadn't done anything... Well, if I'd actually gotten a proper look at her chest it might've been different, but it was just a glimpse through the gaps between her buttons... Hmm?
"What the hell. Why aren't you wearing underwear?"
"Hic...!"
She hurriedly covered her chest with both hands, but that violent size wasn't something hands could hide. Tears welled up again, rolling down her cheeks. Just as I was wondering what to do about this, voices came from behind me.
"Hey, you cow!"
...Cow? I turned my head to see four girls with nasty faces walking toward us. They froze the moment they saw me. While I was wondering what they were up to, I noticed the girl in front was holding a large piece of underwear.
"That yours?"
Elesia couldn't even answer properly and just stammered. I asked again.
"I asked you a question. Ignoring me?"
"Hiiiik... Y-yes! It's mine... Hng...!"
Seeing Elesia swallowing her tears in fear made my mischievous side flare up, but I held it back. She's the heroine, after all. Touch her wrong and the protagonist's harem bomb might go off.
The noble girls looked flustered, probably because Elesia was trembling so badly. They must've been bullying her, calling her ugly while claiming to be pretty themselves.
"Hey. You lot, come here."
"B-backtalk...?!"
"Hey. I said come."
What could a bunch of support department girls possibly do? After hesitating, they rushed over the moment I started walking toward them. I held out my hand and Elesia's underwear was promptly surrendered to me.
"Hey. Wait here. If you run... you're all dead. Got it?"
"What are you even—Kyaaaaaaaah!"
Before they could finish, the baby bluebirds swarmed up between their clothes. They screamed, of course, but I'd already cast a sound-blocking talisman. Scream all you want until your throats go hoarse.
Leaving the girls trembling and screaming helplessly, I walked over to Elesia.
"M-my... u-underwear... Hng..."
"You want to piss me off? Put it on already."
"Y-yes...! I'll put it on... I'm scared..."
With that, Elesia started unbuttoning her shirt right there.
"What are you doing? Go into the bathroom and change. Not that I'd mind, but do you want me to help you put it on?"
"Hic... N-no! I'll do it myself!"
I even brought her all the way to the bathroom door and she's still this dense? Every single one of these girls seems like they'd give you cancer, yet the male leads think this is cute. Are they insane?
"I-I put it on... Hng..."
Elesia came out of the bathroom looking properly put together, even wiping her nose. Hmm. She does look pretty like this.
"W-why are you staring... Hic! L-look all you want...!"
"Haa..."
Watching her tremble in fear again made my sadistic side... No, I shouldn't do that.
"Alright. You can go now."
"Y-yes...?"
When I glared at her, she finally bolted away. I wondered if she'd trip.
Thud.
"Hiiiiing...!"
...Seriously? She looked around for a moment, then sprinted all the way back to the infirmary. I almost told her she didn't need to run there, but stopped myself.
Once she was gone, I stepped into the area where I'd placed the sound-blocking talisman. As expected, the screams had stopped.
"Quiet now."
They'd all passed out. They'd been so terrified they'd wet themselves together like old friends.
"Hmm. Consider this my gift. Go become famous."
With that, I left. There was still time before the next class, so I went back to the dorm for a nap. Then came the next lesson.
"Hyung-nim, did you hear? Apparently some crazy girls wet themselves and passed out on the first floor of the magic building earlier."
"Yeah? What are they doing now?"
"They dropped out, obviously! Finding a marriage partner is gonna be a nightmare for them now."
"Hmm... Is that so?"
Since no one was talking about me, it seemed they'd figured out my identity. If they'd blabbed, I would've cursed them on the spot. Plenty of people have died from my curses, after all. This kind of precedent keeps people from running their mouths.
"Ahem... Alright, everyone quiet down. What we'll be learning today is..."
The professor started explaining some theory... but I'd already learned this from my father when I was nine. So what did I have to do? Sleep, obviously. I needed to make up for all the sleep I used to get in the north—fourteen hours a day. Good thing I don't snore, or people would've noticed I was asleep.
So I dozed off without a care.
"...Professor, Kahan is sleeping."
"Sigh. Just leave him."
Of course no one was surprised that the massive Kahan had fallen asleep.
***
"Food! Food!"
"Shut up."
The incident of the female students who dropped out on the first day of class had the academy in an uproar. Apparently, they weren't found by professors or graduate students, but by a magic department student who was just trying to use the bathroom. The problem was that student had a very loose mouth. The moment he returned to class, he announced that some crazy girls had wet themselves and passed out on the first floor. As a result, everyone came to gawk.
"Honestly... What family did they say they were from? Can nobles really act like that?"
"How vulgar... Having to be in the same cohort as them is truly embarrassing."
Listening to the cadets chatter, I got food with Luca. As usual, Luca was wearing a shirt and long pants. Her appearance stood out, but since I was there, most eyes went to me first before shifting to her.
"Uurp... It's delicious..."
"Eat more cleanly."
"Mouth. Wipe my mouth. Hurry!"
I wiped her mouth and she went right back to devouring her spaghetti. I ended up having to keep wiping.
"U-um..."
"Yeah?"
Luca shot the girl who approached us a menacing look, probably because she was interrupting our meal. But with that pretty, cute face, it wasn't threatening at all. The female cadet seemed to think the same, smiling fondly before quickly putting on a slightly scared expression. Once Luca looked satisfied, the girl spoke up.
"Are you two... dating...?"
...
"Whaaaaaaaaaat?!"
Bang! Luca slammed the table and shot to her feet. Good thing I'd prepared a sound-blocking talisman in advance. Her sudden rise naturally drew everyone's attention.
"Ugh..."
I infused the concealment talisman with mana so no one could properly perceive us, and the gazes disappeared. The concealment talisman didn't make us invisible—it just made people think "Was there something there?" It was made with a spirit from the talismans, and the effect was pretty decent. Being pointed at was a huge insult in noble society, but Luca didn't know that. As expected, she didn't think about it at all and just blushed while pointing her finger.
"Y-you! What are you looking at?!"
"I-I'm sorry! You just looked like a couple...!"
"Huh...? Really? We look like a couple? I see... Alright, sit down! What makes us look like a couple?"
"E-eh...?"
The female cadet was flustered by Luca's sudden change in attitude. In the end, she got dragged off by Luca and was held hostage for the entire lunch break. Naturally, I finished my food quickly and escaped. Once I'd eaten, what else was there to do? Nap, of course. I'd already slept earlier, but I could sleep again. That's what being from the north was all about.
When I asked Luca what classes she'd taken, she said she'd slept through all of them.
"Will the midterms be okay?"
Shamans needed to know all this theory to function, so I was confident I'd get perfect scores. Estelia wasn't a concern, but the problem was Luca. No matter how good she was at practicals, bad written scores would be disastrous. Luca wasn't stupid, so if I gave her targeted tutoring she might do fine. The issue was that I didn't know the vanguard department's written material.
"Hmm..."
While I was thinking about what to do, someone appeared in front of me. He flinched when he saw me and tried to turn back, but I called out to him.
"Hey, you b—"
Radien Draken rushed over and clamped his hand over my mouth. He looked terrified, so he must've heard about this morning's events.
"Ahem. Why did you call me?"
"...Call me?"
He flinched.
"Why did you call me?"
Radien Draken knew. He knew that if I felt like it, I could wipe out the Draken ducal house in an instant. He answered quietly, and I grinned. A vein popped on his forehead in frustration. Well, I had no interest in teasing men, so that was enough.
"You. You're good at written exams, right? Ah, no need to answer. Second place after Luca. You'll have to tutor her."
"...Haa."
He agreed, but with a sigh? That meant he'd probably half-ass it. That wouldn't do. I waved a talisman in front of his face. Radien Draken knew I was a talisman mage. He looked at me with an uneasy expression.
"Here. This is a memory visualization talisman. It can materialize scenes from your memories. Even that moment when you were trembling and wetting yourself."
"What... Is this black magic...?!"
"Hey, quiet. People will hear."
A secret conversation between Radien Draken and Kahan. With everyone already staring holes into us, he wouldn't want to make more noise and draw attention. Especially while being threatened. I drove the point home while he hesitated.
"How about this one?"
"...?"
I waved a new piece of paper in front of him.
"It's called a fate talisman. It draws your destined connections closer. Whether it's a woman or a benefactor, no one knows."
Gulp. His eyes followed the talisman as I moved it.
"However, if you want things to work out with that Elesia girl, this will be a big help. What do you say?"
Radien Draken wavered. He might be the heir to the Draken ducal house now, but that could change at any time. And there were countless wolves aiming for the Elesia he loved. A fate talisman made by the grand sorcerer who could even find the emperor, in exchange for just tutoring Luca, plus covering up yesterday's mess.
"...I'll do it."
"Good! But if Luca's score drops below seventy... I'll sell this to others too."
"What are you...!"
"By the way, this talisman lasts a month. If you want it regularly, do a good job. The difference between those who have it and those who don't... you'll feel it yourself."
Radien Draken had probably seen many grand sorcerers as the ducal heir. And now, sharing a fate talisman made by me—the one called the pinnacle among grand sorcerers—with others? With his competitors? His eyes burned with motivation!
Radien Draken snatched the talisman in an instant.
"Ahem... I'll do my best. Then, if you'll excuse me."
With those words, he hurried away, his back looking lighter than before. Well, since they were fated to marry anyway, the talisman's effect would be tremendous. Thanks to that effect...
"Aah...! Huh... Radien?"
"Where did you come from... Gasp! This is... Don't tell me?"
Radien, who had been running away from me, bumped into Elesia. He caught her waist stylishly. Then, after staring at Elesia for a moment, he looked at the talisman and shot me a shocked expression. I gave him a thumbs-up. He didn't understand the meaning, but seemed to think it was a good thing and gave me a thumbs-up back.
"Haha! Was lunch good, Elesia?"
Hmm. The tutor was secured. And very reliably, at that.