The Bunny Girl's Secret
"Big bro. How was the practical training?"
Serdian approached and asked as I sat down in the lecture hall.
"Ah... it was pretty fun."
"Is that so? I went with some upperclassmen this time and it was such a hassle. I'll have to form a different party next time."
Uh... sure. But why's your neck all red like that? Seeing him make full use of the romance-fantasy world's advantages, I was genuinely moved.
We chatted for a while before the lecture finally began.
'Hmm...'
The person droning on at the front was, of course, a graduate student. That made me wonder why Pinya was even a professor in the first place.
'The old hag as a professor? She isn't the type to get blackmailed.'
She barely met anyone even back in the north. Here, she lived alone on the mountain behind the academy. To meet her, you had to prove some ridiculous qualification or perform some strange ritual, yet she was still playing professor at the academy. For her own safety, I should skip class and go see her right now!
'Silver Brother.'
I quietly channeled my mana and activated the talisman attached to my body. As a talisman mage, I always carried the ones I made. Once activated, no one could recognize me. Even Serdian, who had been focused on the lecture, wouldn't notice when I disappeared.
I slipped out of the lecture hall without a sound.
"Hmm... is it around here?"
The problem was that I didn't know where the professors' offices were. Being the model student I was, I always left the magic building right after class. In the end, I had to search the entire massive structure—five floors underground and eight above ground.
The first floor was just a lounge, so I skipped it. I considered going upstairs, but given Pinya's gloomy personality, she had to be underground.
"Ahem. Yes, please go ahead~"
"Thank you~"
Since I needed permission, I played both roles and stepped inside. As expected, the air was gloomy and oppressive—the exact atmosphere Pinya loved.
I glanced around and spotted a graduate student.
"Huuu... how am I supposed to do thisssss?!"
"Haha... this is it! This is Pegasus!"
"You must respect me. As someone taking the doctoral course with the professor, I am truly magnificent..."
Yep. This place was hell. A woman tearing at her own hair, a man beside her passionately kissing the Pegasus he'd supposedly created with magic, and another graduate student muttering at the wall. I wanted out immediately.
Floors one through three were a prison for graduate students.
"Definitely the fourth or fifth floor."
My guess was right. The fourth floor was storage, and the fifth was the floor Pinya used alone. Naturally, I flung the door open to surprise her.
"Come here!"
"Hiiik...?!"
Pinya's so-called safety measures? They were so shoddy that they broke the moment my hand touched the door. When I entered, she had been standing right in front of it, completely relaxed—until she whipped around in shock.
"Oh? Pinya, this hobby? I like it too!"
"W-wait... let me explain... Kyaaak! Please, not that...!"
She tried to escape by deploying a spell, but I nullified it by turning her mana into my own. How was that possible? Because I'm just that good.
"I-I'm sorry... please... stop!"
Of course, I proceeded with my favorite activity—nadenade. Pinya sat on my lap, head bowed as I patted her. Her small frame made it especially nice. She fit perfectly in my arms.
"S-stop... pleeease..."
This reminded me of the first time I met Pinya. My father had told me about the great shaman on the mountain who rivaled him in barrier techniques. The moment I heard that, I went looking for her, but the barrier kept me out. I, the youngest grand shaman at fifteen, couldn't get through! My pride wounded, I charged at it for a whole year until I finally met her at sixteen.
"Hoh... a brat with some talent... Kyaak?!"
"Hehehe... come here!"
Pinya ended up captured by me and subjected to forty-eight hours of nadenade. My parents had rushed over with weapons, worried she might have done something terrible to me in anger—only to turn right back around after seeing her being patted. That was also the first time I heard her ask how many kids I wanted.
"But why are you wearing that?"
"A gift... it's a gift..."
"A gift? From who?"
"Iik... damn it! Damn it! Damnnn it! It's all because of you! This cursed professor job too!"
"Eh? Me?"
She suddenly exploded, eyes brimming with tears as she spun away. Mm, nice view. Pinya shouted in frustration.
"The Elixir of Causality! That thing! You told me to do the professor job for three years in exchange for it, didn't you?!"
"Ooh... so that's what it was. But what's that got to do with the bunny suit?"
"Iik... Iik! That damn woman... it hides your aura. Wearing this makes it look like I've transformed into her..."
"Then where's the real professor?"
"She left for research! Aaaaargh! Why... why me!"
So the reason Pinya had been wrapped up so tightly was because she was wearing the bunny suit underneath. Ooh, valuable intel. Very valuable.
"Hmm... I could probably make one too."
"Oh... really?! Please... please! Anything but the bunny suit!"
"Yeah? Then I'll make you one."
"R-really...? Thank you... Sniff! I'm going to tear this bunny suit to pieces!"
"Ah... I need it for research. Hand it over."
I obtained the bunny suit Pinya had been wearing for nearly twenty-four hours! Whoa! The bunny suit was now in my hands.
"So, until when...?"
"Mm. I'll give it back by tonight. You're not leaving here anyway, right?"
"Yes! Until tonight... that's plenty!"
"Okay. Got it."
Just as I was about to leave, Pinya asked,
"But why did you come here...?"
"Ah. I was curious why you were teaching. Thought you might be getting blackmailed or something."
"Blackmail... or is it a deal...? Uuu..."
I patted her head vigorously to comfort the suffering Pinya. Incidentally, since she'd given me the bunny suit, she was now wearing the tank top and dolphin shorts she used as pajamas. And why was she still on my lap instead of changing? ...No comment.
"Huuuuuuum... so three years as a professor. You'll be graduating early with me."
"You're planning to graduate early?"
"Of course?"
"...It should be possible. But since you've entered fate's flow, it won't be easy. We'll have to graduate together, won't we?"
"Huh? We're graduating together."
Pinya stared at me like I'd said something ridiculous. She believed it was possible for me, but impossible for the others. There was a reason for that, though.
"A war's going to break out in a year anyway. We're all graduating early."
"What?! What do you—wait... really! What are you talking about?!"
I pulled her back onto my lap as she tried to slip away. She eventually gave up and went limp.
"Huh? Just like I said. When I'm a second-year, the war starts."
"War with which country?"
"Nah, not a country. Demons. War with the demons."
"...Demons?"
Incidentally, I could grasp the general flow thanks to the power of the stars. That was why Pinya had asked last time why I was jumping into this massive current flowing right now. But since I had no intention of following the original novel, it was actually a pretty good choice. I could marry all these charming women, after all.
"I've even got the silver thread... so I'm good with it?"
"Thread?! With who?!"
"Estelia, for starters. That makes two."
"Hiiik...!! Not just Luca?!"
"She's the reason I got dragged into this."
Incidentally, the red thread did indeed signify a fated encounter—like Elesia and the male leads swarming around her. The silver thread I mentioned meant something like a benefactor or mentor. I had become the one who could control their lives. Depending on my actions, a lot would change for them. One of those people was Luca. Thanks to me, she survived, became a fifth-rank powerhouse, came to the academy, and gained all sorts of valuable experiences. Calling me her benefactor was only natural.
"Huu... I'm sure you'll handle it well. You're the great grand shaman Kahan, after all!"
"Aww, getting mad again. Come on, let's cool off. Want me to tickle you so you'll smile?"
"Ah... w-wait. Not that... Kyaahaaak..! Kyahahak!"
Incidentally, Pinya was extremely ticklish. She even seriously listed tickling as one of her weaknesses. After subjecting her to a hell of tickling until she nearly passed out, I left—only to find all classes had ended. I hadn't taken attendance... but it'd work out somehow. Thinking that, I returned to the dorm and examined the bunny suit.
It was simpler than I thought. It was clearly designed to emit the original owner's mana signature. In that case, all I had to do was...
"Copy Talisman."
Just copy it and done? I couldn't believe she couldn't figure this out. I copied the mana signature and attached a talisman that stored the records from the outfit. Simple. Of course, only I could copy even the witch's aura.
"Alright. Time to go buy some clothes."
I attached an illusion talisman instead of the silver one and walked inside, looking like an ordinary person. The place I entered was a women's underwear specialty store. Yeah, yeah. She'd love it if I did it here. While I was looking around—
"Uuu... would this be good?"
"Hmm... there's Estelia."
Back on Earth, there was that ultimate game line I liked. Target acquired.