Taking Responsibility

"I'm fucked."

I meant it. I was well and truly fucked.

A dad. At this age.

I'd originally planned to travel the world once my three-year contract was up. Eighteen years stuck in one place as a beggar — and now that I finally had money, my next goal had been to wander every place I'd never been able to go and live a little.

And now there might be a kid?

So much for traveling.

I couldn't just dump a baby and take off on my own. Telling Celia to raise it herself would make me even more of a scumbag. Being tied down somewhere was the last thing I wanted.

I wrestled with it for a long while before I finally opened my mouth.

"...I'll take responsibility. If there really is a baby."

Celia blinked.

"You'll take responsibility?"

"Yes. I mean... I was the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one who did it."

A brief silence settled between us. Then the corner of Celia's mouth slowly curled upward.

"Heh... we haven't even taken a test yeeet~ so don't take it too seriously."

Whatever had her so pleased, it even put a little purr in her voice. She stood up from the bed, still wrapped in the blanket.

I stared blankly at her back, then decided to try looking at this from a brighter angle.

...Alright. Let's think positive.

First off, the boss was a beauty. An extraordinary one. She had money, she had status, and even if her personality got a little weird sometimes, she wasn't a bad person. And more than anything, it had already happened once. I didn't remember a thing, but judging by all the "it was incredible" and "you were so good" talk, I'd apparently given it my all.

In for a penny...

"Ah, fuck it. Since it's already like this, let's do it one more time."

Celia turned around.

"...What?"

"I said let's do it again. I don't remember a single thing, and that's a real shame."

Celia's expression froze solid.

"Ah— wait. I'm a little worn out today, and..."

"We already did it yesterday. What's a few more times going to change?"

"W-wait...! Just stay right there!"

The moment I got up from the bed, Celia clutched the blanket tight and took a step back.

What was her problem? It wasn't like she'd suddenly decided she hated me. Yesterday she'd even said I was good, so why was she dodging me today? I just couldn't figure her out.

Was this just the whims of a woman twelve years my senior?

Last night.

To be precise, this was after the fourth round of drinks.

To cut to the chase: nothing happened.

"Aaagh... my baaack..."

Celia moaned, draped limp over Leon's back.

"Heh heh heh... you should've paced yourself. You're not exactly young anymooore..."

"What're you talking about. I'm still going strooong..."

"You're thirrrty."

"Put me down! Put me down!"

"Want me to dump you on the street?"

"...I don't want that."

Leon staggered, but somehow managed to keep walking forward with Celia on his back. He was hardly in great shape himself. His steps weaved left and right, and his tongue tripped over every other word, but he was still better off than the person on his back.

Celia hadn't planned on drinking this much in the first place. A few drinks, a little conversation about extending the contract — that had been the idea.

Three years.

The contract she'd signed with Leon was, frankly, too short. In just a handful of days, he'd overturned common sense more times than she could count. Letting a mage like that walk free after three years would be a criminal waste from a Tower Director's perspective. She'd figured she'd use the alcohol as cover to sound him out about stretching the contract a little longer.

That had been the original plan.

The problem was that her drinking partner was far stronger at the table than she'd expected.

"I guess it's because you're so beautiful, Boss... even the way you drink is gorgeoous..."

Celia rested her chin on Leon's shoulder and let out a small laugh.

"How many times have you said that tonight?"

"The truth is still the truth no matter how many times you say it..."

"Where does a kid like you even learn to run his mouth like that."

"I've always been an honest guy?"

"Right. So honest it's a real problem."

She couldn't entirely blame him. A few compliments had gone to her head, and she'd been the one dragging them to the next tavern.

...And he's so young, too.

The way he kept acting all grown-up. The way he quietly looked after people.

He's cute.

Honestly, having a boy twelve years younger carry her down a night street wasn't as bad as she'd expected. And just earlier, at the matchmaking meeting, he'd even pretended to be her boyfriend.

Should she just go ahead and seduce him?

The thought flickered through her mind, and Celia immediately scolded herself for it.

"...Look at me. Going after a kid."

"Huh? What was that...?"

"Nothing."

A twelve-year gap was a twelve-year gap, no matter how you sliced it. When she'd just come of age, Leon had been a mere six years old. Thinking about it that way, her conscience suddenly started to ache.

"Boss."

"Mm?"

"I don't think we're making it all the way back to the Tower like this. Hic."

Celia had to agree with that. There was still a fair stretch of road left to the White Magic Tower.

"There's an inn nearby... let's go there."

Leon grinned goofily, his face flushed with drink.

"Heheh... this is just like a real couple."

"..."

Instead of answering, Celia looked at the back of his head. Her heart did skip a little.

Just a little.

The moment they reached the inn, Celia collapsed face-down onto the bed.

"Ugh... my back hurts."

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Someone kept swaying the whole way here."

"That's because you're heavy, Boss..."

"You wanna die?"

"I'm sorry."

Leon stood beside the bed for a moment, then looked down at Celia's back.

"Want me to give you a massage?"

Celia turned only her head.

"You know how to do that?"

"First time. But I'll give it my best."

"I have absolutely no faith in that..."

Her back hurt too much to turn him down. Celia buried her face in the pillow again.

"...Fine. Go ahead."

"Leave it to me."

Leon climbed onto the bed and started working his thumbs into her back. Press. Press.

"...Mm."

It was better than she'd expected. He didn't seem to know the proper technique, but asking where it hurt and working the area around it — that much, he handled reasonably well.

"Here?"

"A little higher. Yeah, there."

Press. Presss.

After working her back for a while, Leon's hands stopped.

"Wait, where are the shoulder blades... I can't see them through the cloothes..."

Leon pondered for a moment, then promptly pulled Celia's clothes off.

"Hey, wait. What are you—!"

"Just stay stiiill..."

Celia thrashed belatedly, but it was already too late. Once her clothes were off and her back was fully exposed, Leon finally nodded.

"Ah. Now I can see."

"...You little—"

Press.

"Nngh..."

Whether it was the alcohol or something else, she didn't even have the energy to lecture him. It was just a massage, after all. Celia buried her face in the pillow again.

"...Then work on my lower back too. That's been hurting the worst."

"Yes, ma'am. Just a second."

From her back to her shoulders, then down to her waist again. The massage that started that way went on longer than expected. After nearly an hour, the stiffness in her body had genuinely eased.

Celia murmured in a satisfied voice.

"You said this was your first time. You're better at this than I thought."

"Right? I didn't know I had it in me eitherrr..."

The moment the words left his mouth, Leon collapsed onto one side of the bed with a thud. Celia turned her head.

"Leon?"

"Khrrrr..."

"..."

He'd fallen asleep.

Celia watched him in silence for a while.

"So nothing happens after all."

A little disappointing...

"..."

No. Get a grip, Celia. What are you even thinking. Leon was still an eighteen-year-old kid.

Celia shook her head hard.

"...I should sleep too."

There was only one bed, but that wasn't a problem. What was a guy going to do when he was already snoring like that right next to her?

She closed her eyes just like that.

And now.

"...I'll take responsibility."

Celia turned her head slightly and bit her lip. She was about to burst out laughing.

Pffft. He's so cute.

They hadn't even done the real thing, and here he was looking like the world had ended — and now he was offering to take responsibility.

Ordinarily, this would have been the point where she told him the truth. But after hearing those words, she wasn't so sure she needed to.

Three years. The contract term she'd almost brought up last night, and never quite managed to.

...If I play this right?

The corner of Celia's mouth ticked upward.

Celia, Director of the White Magic Tower. And who was she, exactly? A born businesswoman who'd inherited the Director's seat at twenty-five and, in a mere five years, raised the White Magic Tower to its current standing. Had she been born in the modern world, her face would have been plastered across the cover of every financial magazine.

In short, she was not the type to let a golden opportunity roll right past her.

I was going to let it slide because he was cute. But look what just fell into my lap.

So she'd even thrown in that line about it being a risky day. Getting him to say he'd take responsibility — that was already a pretty decent haul.

The problem was what came next.

"Ah, fuck it. Since it's already like this, let's do it one more time."

"...What?"

This time, it was Celia who froze.

Why is he so aggressive?!

"Ah— no. I'm a little worn out today, and..."

"We already did it yesterday."

"W-wait...!"

She'd never expected him to come charging in from that direction. She wondered if she'd taken the joke a little too far — but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at this point, Leon's reactions were far too entertaining to come clean.

...Maybe I'll tease him just a little more.

Celia fought back the laugh that was trying to escape.

Of course, as far as Celia was concerned right now, it was all just a joke.

At least, it was. For now.

Celia and I split up near the White Magic Tower. If anyone caught the two of us crawling out of the same place first thing in the morning, the rumors would be a pain in the ass. I didn't have any reputation left to lose, but Celia was the Director of the White Magic Tower. On top of that, I'd openly played boyfriend in front of her matchmaking partner last night, which made it even worse.

"...You're back?"

When I got back to my room, Iris was already waiting with a book open. Today, though, there was also an unfamiliar paper bag sitting on the table.

"What's that?"

"Cookies. I tried making some yesterday... want one?"

"You made them?"

That was unexpected. I pulled one from the bag and popped it in my mouth.

"Oh, these are good. You made these yourself?"

"Yeah."

The answer was short, but the corner of Iris's mouth lifted just a little.

"I made a lot, so you can eat them all."

Even her voice, which had been so indifferent until a moment ago, had gone strangely soft.

"Don't mind if I do."

My stomach was still a little sour from the hangover, but free food was free food. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I grabbed another cookie and brought up the question that had been circling my head all morning.

"Iris. Can I ask you something?"

"If it's about magic."

"It's not."

"...What is it, then?"

I couldn't bring up Celia directly. But I couldn't just sit on this either — I knew absolutely nothing about this world's marriage customs.

"Around here, do people look at you weird if you marry someone with a big age gap?"

Iris's hand, reaching for a cookie, stopped.

"Why the sudden talk about marriage?"

"Just curious. Good to know, right?"

"Nobles do a lot of political marriages, so big age gaps aren't that unusual. Commoners don't really care either, as long as both people want it."

Alright. So I wouldn't get socially buried, at least.

"Usually the guy's the older one, though. What about when the woman's older?"

This time Iris looked at me with an openly suspicious expression.

"Leon. Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened."

"And a guy like you just happens to start talking about marriage?"

Had I been that obvious? I chewed my cookie and looked away for no good reason.

"...I'm just curious. Forget it."

Iris still looked suspicious, but she didn't press further. Instead, she opened the textbook, then after a moment asked in a completely casual voice.

"...Leon, do you like older women?"

"Me?"

I'd never thought about it. If I had to say, I didn't see why age mattered.

"Doesn't really matter to me. Pretty and a decent personality should be enough, right?"

"...Is that so?"

Iris looked at me for a moment, then a faint smile touched her lips.

"I see..."

I had no idea what about that had pleased her so much.

After that, the lesson went on as usual. Today's topic was overlaying the compression formula with the output formula. Iris walked me through the Magic Formulas drawn in the textbook one by one, and thanks to learning the basic structure yesterday, I could roughly tell what each part was doing now.

"That's enough explanation. It'll be faster if you just see it."

Iris closed the textbook. We headed straight to the training grounds behind the main building. It happened to be a quiet hour, so grabbing an empty target was easy.

Iris raised her staff, and blue mana gathered in the air.

"My Ice Lance uses two compression formulas. It boosts penetration, but the overall structure gets unstable, so adding another propulsion formula is difficult."

Magic Formulas unfolded around the ice spear.

AI. Can we add one more propulsion formula?

Checking the position displayed on the screen, I could even roughly tell why it needed to be moved that way this time.

"Iris. Move this compression formula back and slot a propulsion formula in here."

"There? Then the balance..."

Iris stopped mid-sentence and studied the formula. A moment later, after adjusting a few spots herself, she raised her staff.

Fwoosh!

The ice lance shot forward far faster than before and punched straight through the center of the target.

"...It worked."

Iris stared at the target for a while, then immediately spun toward me.

"Leon, look at this one too. There's another formula I've been stuck on for a while!"

And then she grabbed my hand.

"...Ah."

Iris's gaze dropped belatedly to our joined hands. Her face slowly turned red. She yanked her hand back and looked away.

"Sorry..."

What was with her today? I looked down at the hand she'd just been holding, then glanced at her face. She was red all the way to her ears.

"..."

Wait a second. Something was off here.

The boss was one thing.

Don't tell me she was too?

I looked at Iris again. She still couldn't quite look me in the eye.

...Is this that harem thing people talk about?