Playing with Dolls
Fortunately, no one died during this midterm practical exam.
There were plenty of injuries, but they were all fine after visiting the infirmary and receiving healing from the priests.
The Academy, having successfully resolved the request from the Lucian Kingdom, received a massive reward. As a result, the Academy's finances became incredibly flush.
"Whoa... lobster!"
"The quality of our meals has certainly gone up."
I heard familiar voices; I’d grown used to spending my lunch hours with them. I’d grown a bit tired of the routine—getting perfect scores even without attending class properly, or occasionally stealing Piña’s robes during her lectures, using a Hallucination Talisman to leave her in nothing but her underwear, and making her teach like that.
Of course, I was going to keep doing it.
"Haaaaah... there’s nothing fun to do."
"Something fun? It’s right there."
Following the tip of Estellia’s finger, I saw Radion and Dierban fighting each other. The sight of the two of them bickering over Elessia was, well... like two dogs with rabies.
"Oh, right. Why are you using formal language with me? You were speaking casually to Radion."
"Eh? Ah... that’s just..."
"No particular reason, right? Then speak casually. I like that better."
Since Estellia basically uses formal language with everyone, being spoken to formally just makes me feel like an ordinary person. She must have read my thoughts, as she nodded with a flushed face. After all, I had told her I wanted to be someone special to her.
Thump...
"You two are doing something weird again. Why do you always leave me out!"
"Ugh... here. Eat this!"
"Wow! Fried shrimp!"
Luka, happy as can be, took the food. Since we’d finished eating, I was about to go for a walk with them when I saw the others across the way. I had been thinking about who to give this Bond Talisman to, and there was Dierban, standing right there.
"Dierban! Here!"
"...This is?"
"Radion’s secret weapon. Hand over 100 gold coins. It’s a Bond Talisman."
"A Bond Talisman...? I see. To think you would support me... as expected of Kahan-nim. Here are 500 gold coins."
He seemed to have misunderstood something, but I didn’t bother correcting him. I took the 500 gold coins from him and hurried away. Radion had a look of despair on his face, but that talisman was only good for a month anyway. I could see his burning desire to make sure Luka scored over 70 points in the final exams.
"What are you going to do with that? Huh?"
"Hmm... maybe I’ll buy our Luka some clothes!"
"Really? Really?!"
After class, I took the excited Luka and hurried to a women’s clothing store. Estellia had left to look at her own clothes, saying it was time for her to go shopping, so picking out Luka’s clothes became my sole responsibility.
"Hmm... this one!"
"That is an excellent choice!"
"W-wait... this?"
Thumbs up.
I gave the clerk a thumbs up and signaled her to hurry up and change the clothes, and she took Luka away. Before long, Luka came out after changing.
"T-this is a wedding dress...!"
"Kya, you look beautiful. So beautiful!"
"Really?!"
"Yeah. It’s a private room anyway, so it’s fine."
As expected of an expensive shop, they didn't just have a changing area; they had private rooms. I booked one and had Luka try on all sorts of things.
"I’ll take that wedding dress, please wrap it up."
"Thank you, valued customer!!"
The clerks’ mouths stretched from ear to ear after selling such an expensive dress. Ignoring their lip service, I was thinking about what else would look good on Luka when I found the perfect outfit. A Cheongsam.
"Please have her try this on."
The clerk kidnapped Luka, who was looking at inappropriate women’s trousers, and took her inside. Hmm... I’ll have to ask Luka later and try it on her myself.
"Luka! Learn how to wear it properly!"
"Hek... how am I supposed to tie this!"
I thought it would be over quickly. But to my surprise, Luka suddenly got all passionate and started asking a ton of questions. In the end, it took 10 minutes just to put on one outfit. Naturally, sitting and waiting for 10 minutes is a waste of energy. I immediately asked the clerk to prepare a cushion so I could lie down and wait.
I rested my elbows on the floor, propped my chin up with my palms, and waited while scratching my stomach. Finally, Luka came out.
"W-what do you think! Behold this body’s charm!"
Whoa. It suited her much better than I expected.
"Oooooh, jackpot!"
"Hehe... how is it! How is it!"
Clap clap clap clap.
When I even started clapping, she started striking poses. This, this... bad thoughts were starting to creep in, but it wasn't time for that yet. In the end, I flexed my wealth and bought the Cheongsam right then and there, then went to meet Estellia. I also bought several long-sleeved shirts and long pants for Luka to wear outside. 500 gold coins have that kind of power...!
In the end, I blew through 500 gold coins playing with Luka like a doll. I’ll have to sell more talismans later.
"Oh, did you finish shopping too?"
"Yes... no, oh. Then... shall we go?"
At my hint, Estellia hurriedly corrected her formal tone. With a satisfied expression, we headed outside, and Estellia immediately clung tightly to my arm.
Soft.
I walked through the streets with an even more satisfied look on my face.
"Oh my... Lady Ortes is..."
"Then that must be Kahan-nim."
"Did she say the one who isn't Lady Ortes is Luka...-nim? The second-ranked student of the Vanguard Department?"
"The second-ranked student of the Assault Department and the second-ranked student of the Vanguard Department... then are the Support and Special Operations Departments left?"
Kya, now everyone passing by is calling Estellia and Luka my women. This is what a proper society should look like, right? Naturally, Estellia’s face turned red upon hearing this.
"What is it? Are you shy too?"
"W-what! Shut up! Aren't you bothered by it at all?"
Smirk.
"I like it. Do you hate it?"
"U-ugh... I don't know! I don't know!"
Squeeze.
Saying that, Luka clung to me even tighter. Kya... this is what a harem is. A harem!
For the record, I like pure love, too. "Purely" wanting to have children—how romantic is that!
"Um, Kahan? Then, when will the wedding..."
"Ah... that’s right. If we get married, you’ll be mine completely, so maybe that would be good?"
"I-if so...! I’d like it as soon as possible!!"
"Then shall we do it right after graduating from the Academy?"
You’re a fourth-year when you graduate from the Academy. Usually, people graduate at 24.
"If we graduate early, we can do it even sooner. How about that?"
Estellia showed incredible enthusiasm at those words. It seems that since she cares so much about her image and reputation, she really doesn't want to be called an old maid.
In the end, we parted ways only after having a delicious dinner with them. Now that it was night, I was about to head to the dormitory when I ran into Radion, who was heading the same way. The dormitories are divided into male and female, and within those, they are further split into Vanguard, Assault, and Magic dorms. So, we usually wouldn't run into each other, but since the path to the dorms was the same, we crossed paths.
"I want to buy a Bond Talisman."
"Hmm... well, since your score was a slightly disappointing 68 instead of 70... fine. I’ll give you one for free."
"T-thank you!"
Radion hurried away with it as if it were some kind of treasure. I watched him quietly before speaking.
"They came again. Belferno’s underlings."
Stumble.
The excitement in his demeanor vanished at my words. I continued without caring.
"They ran away after seeing my power. It looked like a Great Demon, not a common one. They probably intended to take her for sure this time."
Grind...
Radion was furious at my words. 'It’s not anger toward the demon.' What he was angry about wasn't the demon. While there was some anger toward the demon, the main part was that he hadn't even realized that a Great Demon existed. He was furious at his own weakness.
"Compared to that, Dierban seemed to know to some extent. He was on guard the whole time, after all."
Dierban drawing his bow wasn't because of the demon that had devoured the shaman. It was because of an evil energy so vast it couldn't be compared to that demon. Having reached the level of a Master, he had instinctively moved and drawn his bow.
"Radion. You need to try harder. How can you protect Elessia being that weak?"
"I... know."
"Remember why you want to become strong. Is it to beat Dierban? For the glory of your family? That can't be it... wasn't the reason you wanted to become strong because you wanted to protect someone?"
Startle.
Radion, who had been hanging his head, looked up at me. His eyes were full of fear, as if asking how I knew. Eileen had told me, but... well, it doesn't matter.
"The reason you became strong must surely be for Elessia. Think it over carefully and compose your heart."
Pat.
I patted his shoulder to encourage him.
Bow.
He bowed as if to say thank you and headed toward the Vanguard dormitory. Why did I say such things to him? Because the other side’s movements are faster than I thought. When I told Eileen about this fact...
"What?! A Great Demon? That’s something that only appears during wars... what is this!!"
"Is that so? Well, I half-killed that Great Demon. It’ll probably die soon. Maybe it’s already dead."
"Eh...? Well, I suppose. To think it could survive an attack of that level..."
Eileen, convinced, calmed down. But what Eileen was worried about wasn't Elessia, but Radion. That’s because Radion is a character who awakens to protect Elessia. And the setting is that the stronger his resolve to protect Elessia becomes, the stronger his martial prowess becomes.
"Try your best. I’m just a helper, after all. If you die, well, it can’t be helped."
Since he has a destiny where he doesn't die, wouldn't dying mean he went against the heavens? I think about that sometimes. There’s no reason to save her. If Estellia or Luka had been the sacrifice, I would have dealt with it immediately, but Elessia is outside my area of interest. Actually, I like Eileen more than Elessia.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen our teacher Piña. Shall I go see her for a change?"
"Hiiiiiik!"
Piña, who I visited suddenly, was tickled by me. Seeing Piña so terrified after watching someone like Radion seething with anger like a character in a boy’s comic is truly great. Isn't this true healing? Luka keeps throwing herself at me, but I like it when they tremble like this.
"Hmm... what does Luka have to do to be afraid?"
She’s afraid of showing her skin to any man other than me. Isn't there anything else besides that?
"Teacher Piña. What do you think?"
"W-what... Kyaaaaaaah!"
"Hey! Where did you learn to talk back!"
In the end, Piña, sentenced to one hour of tickling, burst into tears and fell asleep.
"Ah. She fell asleep."
In the end, I woke up in Piña’s office that day, not the dormitory.