Another Possessor
“Kuh… kuhk… Kuaaaaaaaaah!”
“Shit! Why the hell are you screaming again?!”
“It’s because of you, you bastard!!”
We were in one of the academy’s private study rooms. The kind you pay a ridiculous amount of money just to sit in and talk without getting glared at. Right now, Radien Draken was trying to tutor Luca.
“Haa… haa… Alright. Five goblins and four orcs. How many monsters is that?”
“Nine.”
“Then what’s five plus four?”
“…Fourteen?”
“Aaaaaargh! How the hell am I supposed to teach this?!”
Hmm. I always thought she wasn’t stupid, but how did she arrive at that conclusion? They’d been at this for twenty minutes. Basic addition under ten. Even a kindergartener could do it.
“Pfft…”
Estelia and Elesia were also here with us. Originally it was just Estelia, Luca, and me heading out, but we ran into Radien on the way and he joined. Then he spotted Elesia and dragged her along too. The way he kept shooting me grateful looks while doing it was a nice bonus.
“So? Did you two make up?”
“Yes. He suddenly came and apologized for everything. He also said the family accepted the request to break off the engagement, so we’ll be calling it off soon.”
“Really? And you?”
“Honestly, I hated him… but now I just think he’s kind of cute?”
Estelia said that while looking at Elesia. In truth, Elesia was the ultimate walking mess. Whenever Radien spoke to her she’d flinch like she’d been struck, and if Luca raised her voice she’d start trembling. Estelia watched the timid girl with a pitying expression.
“Elesia.”
“Hikkyu…! Y-yes…?”
“Stop lisping.”
“Hiiik… Y-yes! Yes!”
I shot her a sharp look. Radien glared at me, clearly annoyed, then pointed at Luca and held up three fingers. His face twisted in despair. I’d just added another thirty minutes to his original one-hour tutoring session. Still, he threw himself back into teaching with renewed vigor, probably because Elesia was sitting right there.
“Hmm… You. Do you know how to make the Elixir of Causality?”
“M-me…? I-I just have a little talent, that’s all…”
At this point in the story, Elesia’s talent hadn’t bloomed yet. It would only happen after a certain incident, when she truly wanted to help the male leads and refused to be a burden. Only then would she dive headfirst into alchemy and become known as a genius alchemist. Her current lack of confidence made sense.
“Then put in the effort. Make the Elixir of Causality.”
“W-why would I… Kyaah! I-I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”
When I casually pulled a baby Blue Ice Serpent from my sleeve, Elesia shrieked and started shaking. As expected, teasing her was incredibly fun.
Pinch.
A sharp pain flared at my side. I turned to find Estelia staring at me with a cold expression.
“How dare you lay hands on a lady!”
In the north, something like that was unimaginable. I grinned.
“Come here.”
“W-wait…! W-we’re not even alone…!”
She’d pissed me off, so I decided to be petty. One. I lifted Estelia up. Two. I sat her on my lap. The red-haired noblewoman immediately tried to escape, but my arms were already locked around her waist. In noble society, letting a man who wasn’t your fiancé hold your waist was considered deeply shameful. Eventually Estelia gave up and slammed her forehead against the desk.
“What are you looking at?”
“E-Eh… N-nothing…”
Elesia was staring at us, face bright red. She at least had the decency to cover her eyes with both hands, though her fingers were spread wide so she could still peek.
“Aah! That’s mine! Kahan’s lap is mine!”
Luca came barreling over. Estelia flinched, then immediately straightened her posture, determined to defend her seat.
“It’s mine! Mine! It’s always been mine since way back!”
“Then how about you share a little? You’ve had it for a long time already.”
“Hey!”
While the two of them bickered over my lap, Radien tapped Elesia’s shoulder.
“Elesia. Want to try too?”
“H-Hik… I-I’m fine! I’m fine!”
She waved her hands in panic, sending her massive plot-armor bust jiggling. Mmm. Quite the view. Radien clicked his tongue in disappointment at her fierce refusal.
“Well then. Let’s study like this.”
“Yeah. But the next lap is mine.”
“Huu… Try me.”
Estelia slid off my lap. Now she sat on my left, Luca on my right.
Thud.
“You… Youuuuu!”
Luca pointed at her, face flushed, but Estelia just tilted her head like she had no idea what the problem was. Classic villainess. She really knew how to get under people’s skin. The fight started all over again.
‘Weren’t they getting along just fine earlier…?’
***
“All departments are going out together for the practical exam, right?”
“I heard each department has to send at least one person.”
After finishing our study session, I walked with Estelia and Luca. The practical exam was in four days. We’d be heading to a dungeon that appeared in the Lucian Kingdom to subjugate it. This world consisted of one empire and six kingdoms: the Arcadium Empire, and the kingdoms of Adel, Valtelium, Ermadin, Lucian, and Carber. The academy sat right in the center of those six nations.
“The Lucian Kingdom must be nice. They have so much money.”
The Lucian Kingdom had little military power, but its economic value was enormous, and only they possessed the technology to fully utilize that value. Because of that, an unspoken rule existed: no one touched the Lucian Kingdom. If it ever faltered, the entire world would fall into crisis. It would basically trigger a world war. In any case, the Lucian Kingdom was filthy rich. Instead of borrowing strength from other nations, they simply paid the academy a massive sum to handle the dungeon subjugation. From the academy’s perspective, it was perfect—they got both practical training and money.
“Hm? Estelia. Luca. I’ve got something to take care of. You two go ahead.”
“Okay! See you tomorrow!”
Since the dorms for men and women were somewhat far apart, I sent them off first. The real reason was because I’d spotted Elesia earlier.
“Hmmmm…”
The problem wasn’t Elesia. It was the black-haired, black-eyed girl following behind her. She looked exactly like a Korean beauty. She was tailing Elesia while trying to stay hidden, but it didn’t work on me. I quietly followed and caught her muttering.
“Hehe… That plot-armor bust is really something. Hehe… I just want to squeeze it once…”
“?”
That didn’t sound good. She looked like a woman, but… was this a TS situation? I was starting to panic at the thought of my least favorite trope appearing when she spoke again.
“Even as a fellow woman, that body is too much… Hehe… That seductive bitch.”
“Phew…”
Thank god. She was just a regular lesbian. The real issue was that this girl was definitely a possessor. Since I didn’t know the original novel well, I had to secure the cooperation of every possessor I could find.
Tap.
“Hikya!”
Puhak!
“Eek…”
I only meant to startle her, but her reaction was way too perfect. The moment my hand touched her shoulder, she bit her own tongue so hard blood sprayed out.
“Hwaaaaang…”
She cried while blood dripped down her chin. She reminded me of Elesia. I slapped a healing talisman on her and the bleeding slowly stopped. Once it was completely healed, she stared at her tongue in amazement.
“Ooh? Ooh…?”
Then she looked up and jolted in shock.
“H-how did you… Huh? Kahan? It’s Kahan! That massive thing!”
“…Massive thing?”
“Aah… Sorry. It’s just a rumor…”
According to her, when I first descended from the northern mountains, a certain rumor had spread through the academy. Of course, no one dared say it to my face for fear of being cursed to a gruesome death, but among the noble ladies it was apparently a huge topic of discussion.
“Why would there even be a rumor like that…”
“W-well… They concluded that to satisfy a northern barbarian woman, you’d need that much… power…”
Hmm. She had a point. Still, that wasn’t important right now. She probably already knew. Kahan, a character who never appeared in the original novel. That I was a possessor.
“Hmm. So, how much of the original story do you know?”
Blink. Blink.
“…You’re a possessor?”
“Then what did you think I was?”
“A regressor. There’s no way someone would suddenly gain that kind of talent just from possessing a body… Who would’ve thought a possessor could produce someone as monstrously talented as you? Even I’ve been training since I was five and I only made it this far!!!”
She looked genuinely indignant. Fifteen years of effort and she was only at the peak of User rank… Well. The ranks went User, Expert, Master, Grand Master. Most knights ended their lives at the lower Expert ranks, so her talent was honestly average. Starting at five years old meant she’d begun earlier than most nobles, yet this was all she had to show for it.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Ah! Eileen! I’m Eileen!”
“Right, right. You’re not a TS, are you?”
“Absolutely not!”
She looked horrified. When I was about to ask why she reacted so strongly, her earlier words came back to her and her face turned red.
“…Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”
“Nope. Not happening. Hup!”
Flutter.
“Hehe… That plot-armor bust is really something. Hehe… I just want to squeeze it once…”
“Kyaaaaaaaah! What the hell—erase it! Erase it right now!”
“Oh? Ordering me around now? Come on, admit defeat.”
“Uuu…”
Eileen hesitated for a moment, then squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
“I… Eileen admits defeat to Lord Kahan! Uuu… Lord Kahan, please erase it! Please!”
“Mmm. Perfect. But I’m not erasing it.”
“Ah…”
Despair washed over her face. Heh… Delicious. This was what made life worth living. The look of pure disgust on her face told me exactly what she thought of me. Working in the special forces department and still wearing your thoughts on your sleeve like that was dangerous.
“Haa… If you’re a possessor, then you already know about the practical exam, right?”
“Huh? Practical exam?”
“Eh? You don’t know? That’s when Elesia gets kidnapped. By the demon cultists.”
So that was going to happen. I hadn’t known at all.