Talentless Mage's Desperate Week-Long Bet
Born in a rural orphanage on the outskirts as a mage without any talent, it only took twenty years to become a court mage. From my perspective, having suddenly possessed this body midway through, it was a mere three years.
"I sense a gift for magic in you!"
Right after my coming-of-age ceremony, I was on the verge of being kicked out of the orphanage with no way to survive. That's when a court mage happened to visit the village, verified my supposed excellence, and took me as his disciple.
Magical talent—that's exactly what my master, the court mage Barhen, had said.
Looking back now, it was utter bullshit not even worth a chuckle. Fooled by his sugar-coated words, I'd grabbed his hand like an innocent child and left the village behind.
The moment we arrived at the kingdom, my status changed—but in reality, I became the plaything of an old perverted mage. If this were the real world, he'd have been thrown in chains for the perverted crap he pulled on me constantly.
Pretending it was an accident, he'd burst into the bathroom while I was bathing, or when drunk, he'd grope my ass and poke my breasts with his forearm. Still, I endured it with a smile, over and over. This was a world with a rigid class system, and if a mere court mage like me committed lèse-majesté, I'd be executed without mercy.
So I lived a wretched life, telling myself that someday I'd get revenge.
"Huuu..."
Waking from sleep, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and yawned. Bright sunlight filtered through the low-ceilinged attic room's window. I could see people bustling about early in the morning.
"Everyone's working so hard... Yawwn~"
Stretching languidly, I flopped back onto the bed with a yawn that felt like it would split my jaw. On days without assignments, I could laze around under the guise of "self-improvement." Sure, surviving as a court mage meant pulling all-nighters with endless effort, but with no competitive drive, I savored the leisure.
Knock knock—just as I was about to drift off again, someone knocked on the attic door. Only one person would come looking for me at dawn: my benefactor and perverted mage master, Barhen.
"Airi, it's well past time to get up. Hurry and wash, then come down."
"Uuuuum... five more minutes..."
"Hah, trying to earn yourself a painful punishment again?"
Startled by Barhen's terrifying threat, I bolted upright. His "painful punishment" was a humiliatingly old-fashioned spanking with a sturdy wooden paddle on the ass. I'd have to stick out my butt in just my panties, and the intense shame always made me want to cry. His lecherous old man's grinning face was repulsive too. That's why I hated it.
"I'll come down right away."
"Of course you will."
Verifying my obedience, Barhen stroked his long chin beard and closed the door. That final lecherous glint in his eye brushed past my chest.
That perverted bastard...
Would a man lust after a woman thirty years younger than him? Feeling a surge of misanthropy, I changed clothes.
Descending from the attic to the first floor, I found Barhen eating breakfast in the kitchen. Hard rye bread and a glass of milk—a meager meal for a Senior Court Mage.
"Good morning, Uncle."
"Skip the pleasantries. Sit and eat."
"Yes."
I called my master "Uncle" since he'd taken me in as both disciple and adopted daughter. Kingdom law barred lower-class women from society, so adoption was necessary to make me a court mage. I should have been grateful for life, but of course, there was no such thing as selfless kindness.
"Airi, you're twenty this year, right?"
"No, you brought me here right after my coming-of-age last year. I'm twenty-one now."
"I see. Heh heh, time flies."
Finishing his meal, Barhen looked at me with his signature sleazy smile—like a farmer eyeing a ripe apple, waiting for harvest time.
"In a remote village, you'd already be married by now."
"Probably."
On the day of my coming-of-age, friends without prospects were sold to brothels or forced into marriages with village men. Boys weren't spared either—conscripted into the army or sold as slaves.
"In a way, I saved you, Airi."
"Yes, I'm grateful, Uncle."
"Heh heh."
I wanted to deny it, but it was true. Still, rubbing it in now wouldn't change anything.
Barhen drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully before speaking.
"Airi, to be frank: you have no talent for magic."
"Yes, I know."
"You're not surprised?"
"Why would I be? I already knew."
Thanks to Barhen's authority, I'd become a court mage, but even after a year, I couldn't cast the simplest spell. Kids half my age were firing off fireballs wildly, while I couldn't even muster a spark like a lighter. No mana whatsoever—I'd given up long ago and lived lazily.
"Hmm... unexpected. I thought you'd be shocked."
"I'm not a child."
"Oh? Haha! True, you're not."
Barhen's gaze deliberately swept over my breasts and hips. I wanted to rip out those sleazy eyes.
"Then this'll be quick. Airi, I'll tell you honestly why I brought you here."
"Yes, what is it?"
I perked up my ears curiously, though I had guesses: pity, needing a caretaker in his old age, or just company for his empty house.
"Airi."
"Yes, Uncle."
"Be my personal sex slave."
"Pardon...? Pardon?!"
Personal secretary? No, sex slave? What the hell was this crazy old coot babbling?
"You're old enough to know what that means. From the moment I saw you, you reminded me of my first love—my heart raced, and I couldn't stop. I brought you here on impulse, but..."
I didn't need to hear more.
"I've held back out of propriety so far, but I've reached my limit. Seeing you grow more like her every day, I can't bear it..."
"I-I get it. Yes, stop."
Even hearing it made me sick; I rudely cut off Barhen.
"Give me time to think..."
"Airi, what time do you need? I saved your life—you have to earn your keep."
"Uncle, even so, this is..."
I glanced at Barhen, who was pressuring me. He'd crossed into "old man" territory—wrinkled face, white hair.
Becoming that geezer's sex slave? Better to roll in a brothel.
"Airi, let me warn you: you have no choice. There's already an order from above to dismiss you..."
"Ah..."
A court mage guarding the kingdom couldn't be useless at magic. I'd expected expulsion eventually, but not so soon.
"If you become my personal sex slave, I can cover for you."
If I were expelled, Barhen—who recommended me—would face punishment too. His fix: punish me himself.
"I didn't know~ I was fooled~" he'd claim to dodge blame. And as part of that "punishment," make me his lifelong sex slave to torment.
"Really... this is for my sake?"
"Of course. Nothing else."
The timing was too perfect, like puzzle pieces clicking. No point suspecting.
"It's all for you, Airi."
Unlike his words, a sleazy smile spread across Barhen's lips. As my legal sex slave, he could touch me freely.
I wasn't dumb enough to fall for that obvious lie.
"Uncle, thanks for the offer, but... I won't be your sex slave."
"Then you want to be chased back to your village? You know what'll happen there."
"Yes, I know. That's why I won't go home."
"What...?"
Barhen side-eyed me suspiciously.
"Don't tell me you're planning to run from the kingdom..."
"No, why would I do something stupid? I'll just use magic."
"What...?"
"I'll use magic. If I become a mage far surpassing you, Uncle, no one can complain, right?"
"Hmm, true, but..."
It was bravado—an impossibility. Barhen eyed me suspiciously still.
"Sigh... Sorry for lying before, Airi, but you have zero mana. You can't use magic at all."
"I can still try, can't I?"
"Some things can't be overcome by effort alone."
Creating something from nothing. Effort would be wasted time. But I had no choice.
"Uncle, give me one week. Exactly one week. If I can't use magic by then, I'll live as you say forever."
"Hm... if you put it that way, I have to trust you."
It was a bet he couldn't lose. Barhen rose with a sleazy smile.
"One week. Exactly from today, Airi. If you break it or run..."
"That won't happen, so don't worry."
"Good."
I shrugged confidently. Pride kept me from backing down, but regret already gnawed at me...