The Illusion Array (1)
Since I was already at the underwear store, I figured I might as well pick something out for Pinya. Hmm... lingerie would work, but what exactly? While I was mulling it over, one item grabbed my attention. A one-piece set complete with garter belts. It screamed "victory underwear" the moment I saw it. I paid on the spot, slipped out of the store, peeled off the illusion, and walked right back in.
Estelia was still completely absorbed, oblivious to the noise around her.
"Hmm... but this one... no, does this hide my good points too much...?"
She turned the red and white pieces over in her hands, muttering to herself.
"Ugh... it's not like anyone's going to see underneath anyway. What's the point of all this?"
With a sigh she set the underwear down, only to pick it up again and hang it back on the rack before turning around.
"Ta-da."
"*$(*&#$@#?!?!?"
"...Huh?"
Whatever she just said, I couldn't make it out. Her face flushed crimson as she dropped into a squat, burying her head in her arms.
"W-why... why are you in the women's underwear store...?"
"I saw you from outside and thought I'd come in."
"No... haa..."
She couldn't even meet my eyes, head still bowed. Cute. I reached out and ruffled her hair.
"I like the white one."
"!?!!?!"
Her face turned even redder. Ketchup had nothing on her. Finally making up her mind, she shot to her feet, snatched the white set, and marched straight to the counter.
"G-cup, please."
"Right away, miss!"
Once the pretty package was wrapped and tucked into a paper bag, then double-bagged in black, she came back to me.
"Let's go."
"Sure."
The way she tried to act calm while her face burned was... damn. Barkeep! Another shot! This was the best. Back in the north, the only dopamine rush I ever got was dodging boar horns. This kind of stimulation was downright refreshing. With only Luca around to tease, things had gotten boring fast. Getting to watch a real catfight and mess with Estelia? I owed her big time.
"W-well then... I'll head back to the dorm now!"
"You're leaving?"
"Hic... nooo..."
"Then let's grab something to eat."
I grabbed her before she could bolt and steered us toward a restaurant. Not the ultra-fancy place I'd eaten at with the others before—this one was perfect for a northerner. A pork gukbap shop. One of the many perks of the author being Korean: the academy area was full of Korean food, from gukbap to tteokbokki. I heard they even had fermented skate, but... yeah, hard pass.
"Miss! One special pork gukbap and one regular!"
"Got it!"
While the spoons were being set out, Estelia looked around the shop with wide eyes. Makes sense—she was a duke's daughter; places like this probably weren't on her usual itinerary.
"Mm?!"
Still, the gukbap seemed to suit her taste. Good. If you're going to run a restaurant in front of the academy, it had better be at least this good. It was easily one of the best bowls I'd had in either life, and I polished it off without breaking a sweat.
"I'm getting another. This place is legit. Estelia, you?"
"...I-I'll have the regular one too..."
"Alright! Miss!"
We only left after finishing our second bowls. Estelia's expression had brightened considerably. That's my future wife material right there—knows how to enjoy a good bowl of gukbap.
"Should we head back to the dorm now...?"
"Let's walk it off first."
"O-okay..."
Once again I led her along, this time toward the walking paths. Classic romance-fantasy trope: the moment you want a little private flirting, the place empties out completely. Not surprising—the academy grounds were ridiculously huge. There was even a lost-child center for adults who couldn't find their way around. We didn't run into a single soul the entire time.
"By the way, how did you get to know Eileen?"
"Ah, her. She likes Elesia. That's how we met."
"I see. She seemed really nice."
"Hmm... not exactly."
"??"
I wanted to correct her misunderstanding, but the look on her face—half realization, half disgust—was too delicious to ruin. I kept my mouth shut.
"Haa... One of the Twelve Demons, Belferno, is after Elesia. This is serious."
"Tell me about it. Any idea why?"
"No. Elesia says she doesn't know either. We'll just have to protect her!"
She clenched both fists with determination. Even she was doing the classic romance-fantasy heroine pose. It was a little cringey, but not bad.
"W-why are you staring at me like that...!"
"Just because you're cute."
"Kkh...! T-that kind of line is still too much for me..."
"Cute."
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
***
"Pinya~ I'm here."
"Finally...! What took you so long!!"
"Sorry, sorry."
It was already eleven o'clock. Teasing Estelia had eaten up way more time than I'd planned.
"Anyway, I found you, so it worked out. Here—your present."
"Thank you. Now I can finally live like a normal person... huh?"
Pinya froze the moment she saw what I'd handed her. For a second I wondered if I'd accidentally stopped time, but no. She just kept staring, not even blinking.
"W-what is this...?"
"By the way, you can only wear one thing over it. So... you'll have to go with just the robe, right?"
"T-that's... why must I endure such a trial... P-please, just give me the bunny suit! Quickly!"
"Oh? So you're refusing to wear what I picked? Then I guess I'll have to keep the bunny suit safe myself."
She collapsed into an OTL pose, tears dripping down her face. She really hated this. I felt a tiny twinge of guilt... but not enough to stop. Sorry! Couldn't be helped!
The next day.
"Today's lesson is..."
Pinya was droning on at the front. Suddenly everyone stood up. I turned to Serdian beside me.
"What? What did she say?"
"Pardon...? The professor just said we're going to practice the barrier we learned last time."
"Oh? What did we learn before?"
"Barriers. They're essential for mages, shamans, and spirit users alike."
That meant we were heading outside to actually construct barriers. Sounded fun. I grinned and walked out, earning a weird look from Serdian. Ignoring it, I waited outside while Pinya chanted and deployed a barrier.
"There. Just like this. If anyone has questions, ask the teaching assistants."
Everyone clapped, genuinely impressed. She'd cast a high-level barrier in one go—impressive even for the students. The barrier she deployed was an Illusion Array, the most basic type used when setting up barriers. Not that it was simple. Depending on the caster's skill, an Illusion Array could vary wildly in effectiveness.
"Ugh... barriers are my worst subject."
"What does this look like to you?"
"Four."
"...You haven't even set the barrier yet?"
Plenty of students were failing, and no wonder. Barriers were usually the support department's job. Most people rarely needed to cast them, and even on dungeon expeditions they just used artifact-made barriers for rest areas. So a lot of students underestimated them. Support students generally had lower circles and no combat talent, while magic department students had both high circles and fighting ability, so they tended to look down on barrier work.
"No, you can't twist it like that here. It has to go like this."
"If I put it here..."
BOOOOOOM!
"Hey! You okay?!"
"Gurgle..."
Instead of creating an illusion, the student had summoned a real fireball that shot straight at the student across from them. A teaching assistant rushed over, hoisted the injured student onto their back, and sprinted for the infirmary.
The reason so many were struggling was simple: the previous professor had never made them practice. A few grumbled, but most stayed quiet. If you wanted to graduate safely, you followed instructions—and these students had been training since childhood, so they knew their own limits. If the professor was making them do it, it must be important.
"Whoa... as expected of Lord Pon! Incredible!"
"Wow... this is supposed to be an illusion? It doesn't feel hot at all!"
Once Serdian finished his barrier, the teaching assistant checked it and gave him a pass. Students immediately crowded inside to see. Curious, I followed. Hundreds of flame birds floated in the sky above us. If you walked into a dungeon and saw that on the ceiling, you'd probably run right back out screaming.
"Heh... keep working hard and you'll get there too."
"As expected of Lord Pon! Kyaaa! Please party with me next time!"
"Oh, fair lady. That is exactly what I hoped for. With your smile, how could I not feel motivated!"
Classic romance-fantasy nonsense. Serdian was laying it on thick, and the girls were eating it up while the male students looked like they'd bitten into something sour. Yeah, he was definitely one of the main characters. Heir to the Pon marquis house, masters of fire magic, already at the sixth circle, and handsome to boot.
I should ask Eileen about him later.
While I was thinking that, one of the teaching assistants approached me. She wanted to inspect my barrier. She probably assumed I'd already set one up. When she realized I hadn't, her face went blank. I snapped my fingers. Something approached her feet.
"Waaah...!"
"Yip yip!"
A beautiful blue-furred fox. She looked so enchanted she dropped her grading sheet and tried to hug it—only to pass right through. It was an illusion, after all.
That was the thing about Illusion Arrays. If you knew it was an illusion, you'd expect to see through everything. But the real trick was making people doubt even when they knew the truth. Even this fifth-circle mage was staring in confusion, only now realizing it wasn't real.
"P-pass. You pass."
She left looking slightly terrified.
"...Serdian got cheers for his scary fire birds, but I get nothing for a cute fox...?"
How sad. Looks-obsessed world. They hated my manly face and only liked pretty-boy types. Damn romance fantasy.
Just then I spotted Pinya trying to slip away while the teaching assistants handled the grading. When it came to barriers, our skills were roughly equal—honestly, she was probably a little better. Three hundred years of studying barriers would do that. But while she excelled at constructing them, I was better at breaking them.
"Ah... Lord Kahan. Why on earth...!!"
"Heh heh heh... do your best."
The place she was trying to escape to was the forest. And the Illusion Array I'd secretly set up there wasn't just any illusion—it stripped away your sense of direction.
"Kyaaaaah! W-wait... n-no, that's not...?"
I activated the binding function and stripped the robe right off her. Now she was down to just her underwear.
"Ah... seriously... seriously... uwaaaaaah!"
She tried to run, but someone who'd spent three centuries holed up in a perfectly safe workshop with no combat experience wasn't going to get far. She had zero practice destroying someone else's barrier.
"Alright, let's see what level you're really at."