Pleasure
Blackout.
People often call it drawing a blank.
Whether I lost consciousness or simply lost my memory of what happened afterward, I didn't know.
Moving on autopilot and wandering around without even realizing it is, without a doubt, not a pleasant experience.
'Of all things, it had to overlap with the instructors' after-work dinner...'
Reina's personality was just as reckless as her combat style.
And on top of that, she had been drinking... It wasn't a tantrum that a mere cadet could hope to stop.
Ignoring Eisel and Sierra, who were both staring intently at me, I began fastening the buttons of my shirt one by one.
Just as I finished buttoning up my shirt...
I heard someone's footsteps approaching the room.
She stepped through the open door and spoke.
"You're awake?"
The owner of the voice was Priscilla.
'So this is... Priscilla's house.'
The overall neatness and the complete absence of any flashy, colorful furniture made the interior design feel very much like her.
Perhaps she was in the middle of getting ready for work, as she was only in her underwear, with her shirt half-buttoned.
Believing that I couldn't see, she showed absolutely no embarrassment about her state of undress.
Just like when she used to teach me acupuncture.
Priscilla, with her voluptuous figure fully on display, was more than enough to reawaken the memories of the sensations from those acupuncture lessons.
'...Even looking back now, it's a relief that there are no acupoints on the private parts.'
The memory of Priscilla teaching me acupuncture sent a sudden rush of heat to my face.
This was because my sensory memory had become incredibly vivid ever since the level of my heightened senses increased.
As I sat on the bed, Priscilla approached me with a seductive stride.
Priscilla stood by the bedside, quietly assessing my condition.
Then, she reached out and placed her hand on my forehead.
"...Your face is flushed, so I thought you might have a fever. Well, fortunately, you don't."
It seemed Priscilla had mistaken my flushed face for a sign of illness.
"I don't have any memory of last night, so could you tell me what happened? My shirt was unbuttoned, and Lady Eisel was sleeping right next to me..."
I spoke to her, trying to clear my head of the throbbing headache from the hangover and the lingering sensations of brushing against Priscilla's skin.
"You passed out, and then Eisel passed out right after... I couldn't just leave you two there, even if Kaliman and Reina were fine. So, I brought you to my place. Since I live alone, I only have one bed... Thanks to that, I had to sleep on the sofa, and now my neck is stiff."
Priscilla massaged her neck, rolled her head, and opened the wardrobe next to the bed to grab her clothes as she spoke.
"..."
Eisel, still in bed beside me, watched Priscilla silently and wrapped herself tighter in the blanket.
"Usually, in a situation like this, wouldn't it have been better to have me, a man, sleep on the sofa instead? Haha..."
"You're a guest I haven't seen in a while, so of course I should give you the bed. Otherwise, I'd feel uncomfortable. Besides, both of you were so wasted you could barely move."
"Thank you for taking care of us. ...By the way, did anything else happen during the night?"
I offered Priscilla a smile to express my gratitude, then asked the most crucial question.
Just in case my drunken self had muttered something I shouldn't have, or if I had crossed a line in our relationship... Whatever the case, I hoped nothing of the sort had occurred.
My drunken muttering, in particular, was so critical that I would need to ask Sierra later to double-check and make absolutely sure.
"...Anything else? Well, Eisel kept clinging to you all night. But I can assure you, whatever you're worried about didn't happen. As for your shirt, I have no idea."
Priscilla replied, casting a sidelong glance at my shirt.
I had been worried because I was entangled with two people who harbored many secrets, so this was a relief.
Unless Priscilla was acting right now, it seemed nothing out of the ordinary had actually happened.
"What were you so worried about?"
Eisel, who had been listening to Priscilla, asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
I deliberately ignored Eisel's question.
This confirmed that what had just happened was indeed her playing a prank on me.
But...
"...What do you mean, clinging?"
I asked, turning my head toward where Eisel was.
"Lately, I've developed a habit of needing to hug something to sleep..."
At my questioning tone, Eisel, who was peeking out from under the blanket with only her face showing, lowered her head and mumbled in a tiny voice.
...Her reason was cute enough, so I decided to let it slide.
It wasn't like a scruffy, bearded Kaliman had snuggled up to me; there was no reason to complain about Eisel clinging to me in her sleep.
However, Sierra, standing behind Eisel, seemed to have a different opinion.
Sierra spoke to me in a tone that made it impossible to tell whether she was smiling or angry.
An inexplicable chill lingered beneath her characteristically languid voice.
With those final words, Sierra slipped right back into the Demonic Sword.
Sierra had even taught me a 'trick' to avoid losing consciousness, so had I disappointed her?
Watching this unfold, I swept my hair back, pondering how to handle the aftermath.
"By the way, aren't you two going to school?"
Priscilla, who had gathered her clothes and was about to leave the room, addressed us as we lingered on the bed.
Come to think of it, if Priscilla, the academy's medical officer, was getting ready for work, there was a very high probability that we, the cadets, were already late.
For now, getting to school was the priority.
Sierra had retreated into the Demonic Sword and still showed no signs of coming out.
Ever since she transferred her soul to the Demonic Sword, she had rarely stayed inside it for long.
'She seems to be throwing a major sulk...'
It seemed I would only be able to talk to her properly once I returned to the dormitory.
In the end, I only managed to receive my reward money just as we were leaving Priscilla's house.
I put aside the pleasant dilemma of how to spend the money for now.
...And as expected, Eisel and I were late.
Upon seeing Eisel and me arriving late together, Edward let out an intrigued, "Oho?" before quickly telling us to get to our seats.
We quickly retreated to our seats to avoid the stares of the Class A cadets, but waiting for me there was Yuri, her face practically plastered with question marks.
After hesitating for a long while, Yuri finally whispered to me in a low voice during the lecture.
"Hmm, so you two ended up being late together?"
"Ah, well, about that..."
I was just about to explain to clear up Yuri's doubts.
"Because we drank together, and slept together."
Eisel, sitting on the other side of Yuri, cut me off and interjected with a statement loaded with potential misunderstanding.
Eisel tilted her head as she looked at Yuri.
"Huh...? Slept... together...?"
Yuri muttered those words blankly upon hearing Eisel, then whipped her head around to face me.
"If that isn't a lie, I'm very curious to hear what happened."
Yuri spoke to me in a chilling voice, her eyes completely devoid of light.
While it wasn't technically a lie, Eisel's highly misleading phrasing meant I had to give a very long, detailed explanation.
Fortunately, once the topic of the instructors' dinner came up—especially involving Priscilla, the medical officer—Yuri's misunderstanding was cleared, and her expression returned to normal.
"Hmm... So you're weak to alcohol, Zeto. You should have drank in moderation. Still, Eisel certainly has a talent for making people misunderstand."
Having heard my full explanation, Yuri pointed out the logical conclusion, then tilted her head to look past me at Eisel.
"..."
Eisel met Yuri's words with silence.
Feeling awkward caught between the two of them, I quickly replied to Yuri's comment to change the subject.
"Given Instructor Reina's personality, it was difficult to refuse. On top of that, she was already drunk..."
"...True, that sounds exactly like Instructor Reina."
Yuri nodded, likely recalling the few times she had run into Reina around campus.
Shortly after, Yuri, still harboring some curiosity, kept a close eye on Edward as he lectured before whispering to me again under his radar.
"...By the way, Zeto, is it true that you're going to duel a Class C cadet?"
"A duel?"
"Yeah, was her name Kaen...? I recall she also uses a sword."
"How do you know about that, Lady Yuri?"
"Rumors have been circulating among the cadets since this morning. I think it's drawing more attention because it's a match between a Class A cadet and a Class C cadet."
Yuri's next words made me realize instantly that my plans had gone awry.
'I have to assume Kaen spread this rumor on purpose...'
Since only Kaen, Sierra, and I knew about the duel... Kaen was the only possible source of the rumor.
Normally, a simple duel between cadets wouldn't garner such a passionate response.
It seemed the fame I had gained from the recent Lycanthrope incident was playing a major role.
'I guess her love for attention hasn't changed...'
It appeared she had spread the rumors first without even explaining anything to me, the other party involved.
Considering Kaen's personality and goals, the moment it became clear she had spread the rumors intentionally, it meant this was no longer a simple duel.
I didn't know if this had been her intention from the very beginning.
After all, she had requested the duel before I even gained my current fame.
But what mattered was that Kaen's objective was now clear as day.
She intended to defeat me—whose reputation was currently soaring—and instantly capture everyone's attention.
I had planned to call off the duel as Sierra requested, but given the circumstances, backing out wouldn't be easy.
Whether it was because of one thing happening after another or simply the hangover, my head throbbed.
It seemed I would have to meet with Kaen directly and have a private talk.
"Is it really okay if I eat this all by myself?!"
The pink-haired girl with twin tails sitting across from me stared at the slice of cake on the table with a bright, beaming face.
"Of course."
"I couldn't afford this because it was too expensive, so thank you so much! Ehehe..."
Kaen let out a silly giggle, her eyes glued to the slice of cake.
'Come to think of it, Kaen used to work part-time jobs in the city occasionally...'
If one wondered why the disciple of the legendary Sword Saint was short on cash, it was because the Sword Saint himself didn't have much money to begin with.
Still, considering the Sword Saint's status, it wasn't so much that he lacked money, but rather that he simply didn't care for material wealth.
He lived a highly frugal life.
As soon as classes ended, I brought Kaen from Class C to a cafe.
I already knew from the game that Kaen would love the desserts at this cafe.
Full of anticipation, Kaen put a neatly cut piece of cake into her mouth.
Instantly, her face melted into pure bliss.
'She really eats well...'
If nothing else, this reaction of hers definitely wasn't an act.
"...Lady Kaen, I've been hearing some rumors about our duel."
As I watched her and got straight to the point, Kaen, who had been happily chewing her cake, froze for a moment before wiping her mouth.
"I was actually planning to tell you, hehe... A friend I hang out with brought up Cadet Zeto, and while we were talking about you..."
"Thanks to that, it seems there are a lot more eyes looking forward to watching our duel."
"I know, right? It's just a normal duel... But it seems Cadet Zeto is much more famous than I thought. Oh, and I thought what you did in the Labyrinth was really cool too!"
Watching Kaen put on her clumsy, overly bright act—which was actually incredibly calculating underneath—I barely managed to suppress a sigh that threatened to escape.
'By now, Kaen should be around level 30.'
Since Kaen was a special character, her level was incredibly high from the start.
Since my level was only 25, she was five levels higher than me by simple math.
Kaen was well aware of her own strength.
Naturally, she would be looking down on me to that extent.
However, since I had Reverse Heaven, I had a solid chance of winning as long as she didn't employ the Sword Saint's swordsmanship.
For my part, I had no intention of hiding Reverse Heaven, nor did I have any reason to.
In fact, considering the fundamental reason Sierra created Reverse Heaven, I might even be able to win even if Kaen did use the Sword Saint's techniques.
Still, to keep things as simple as possible, the best scenario would be to defeat her before she could even resort to the Sword Saint's style.
Conveniently, the First Form of Reverse Heaven was perfectly suited for delivering a decisive blow to an off-guard opponent.
Observing Kaen's clumsy acting, I felt certain that her objective aligned with what I had suspected.
In that case, what I needed to do was simple.
"...So, the duel is tomorrow?"
I tapped the table lightly and spoke to Kaen.
"Is that okay?! If the timing doesn't work for you..."
"No, let's do it tomorrow. Since the other cadets are already expecting it then, having a large audience should make the duel quite enjoyable."
I cut off Kaen's excited voice and stated firmly.
"Oh..."
Kaen looked momentarily flustered, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily.
"...Alright!"
Within a few seconds, having finished her mental calculations, Kaen replied.
I looked at Kaen with a faint, gentle smile.
I didn't know when or why my relationship with Kaen had started off so twisted, but since she had acted entirely on her own whims, I fully intended to throw a massive wrench into her plans.
Kaen was merely treating me as a tool to obtain the pleasure she desired.
And I had absolutely no intention of quietly letting myself be used as her plaything.
With our conversation finished, Kaen went back to eating her cake.
Meanwhile, I naturally caressed the hilt of the Demonic Sword at my waist, worrying about Sierra, who showed no intention of emerging from her blade.
'How on earth should I cheer Sierra up...'