Academy (13)
Michael arrived home, yawning widely.
"Huaaam..."
He was unusually tired today.
'Strange. All I did was go to the auction house.'
Knock, knock.
As soon as he reached his room, someone knocked as if they had been waiting.
"Come in."
It was an employee dressed in a maid's uniform. A beauty with a face so pale it looked almost sickly.
"Who... were you again?"
Michael tilted his head, and the maid's lips curled down slightly.
"Oh my...? Honestly! Young master. You've forgotten again? How troublesome."
Michael was taken aback by her tone, which was hardly befitting a servant.
Suddenly, an ornate teapot appeared from within the maid's arms. Crimson red tea flowed from the vessel, decorated with dazzling jewels.
Glug, glug.
The liquid, red as blood, filled the cup.
'What...? Where did that suddenly come from—'
His train of thought was cut off. The crimson tea was pushed right in front of his face.
"Here you are. It's the black tea you like, young master. Please, drink up."
"Huh...?"
Urged on, he took a sip. In truth, the moment he saw it, the desire to drink had become so strong it was hard to resist.
"Mmm... It's, it's good, isn't it?"
"Right?"
This was definitely what he liked. Enjoying the fragrant black tea, he downed it in one go.
The sense of dissonance he had been feeling faded away, and he became comfortable. A memory from a corner of his brain surfaced. Her name was Marie. Probably.
"Hooah... Marie, this is amazing. Is there more?"
"This is already enough. What happened to the favor I asked of you?"
"Favor...? Favor... Favor... Ah! Right."
Michael, feeling a slight headache, lifted his head as if remembering something.
"That's right. You asked me for a favor. Here, take this."
He held out the Hwajo feather that had been clutched preciously in his arms until a moment ago.
"Oh my! Thank you!"
Marie's lips curled up in delight, and Michael grinned widely.
"Haha. I spent one point seven billion getting that, you know! So..."
"...Young master. Is this all? Wasn't there anything else?"
"Huh? S-something else...? No, there wasn't?"
Marie's brow furrowed, and Michael became flustered. She seemed displeased with something.
"This is completely empty... No, it's fine. May I accept this as a gift?"
"Uh, yeah. Of course. Thank you."
"Not at all. I'm the one who should be thankful. Well then, please get some rest..."
Michael stared blankly as the maid left. His eyes slowly began to close.
"Hmmnya... Hup?!"
Michael, who had been nodding off, jolted awake in surprise. He wiped the drool trailing down his chin and shook his head. It seemed he had dozed off for a moment.
'Ugh... I'm so tired. Huaaam.'
He felt like he had forgotten something. While pressing his temples and thinking, he suddenly remembered it.
'Ah, right. My feather... Yeah, I gave it to the spirit as a gift. That damn insolent Salle guy.'
He'd given a gift, so he hoped the thing would start listening a little better... But he was just too tired today. He figured he probably needed to sleep.
The maid who had been in Michael's room until moments ago clicked her tongue as she walked out the main gate as if it were her own house.
'How troublesome... Going through all this hardship to get something like this... I should have just stolen it from the start.'
No matter how much she was following orders, it was hard to accept. The reason she had vaguely overheard was also bizarre.
- Because those items were originally meant to be bought by him, it is only right. They must not be forced or twisted in any way.
'Haah... Annoying.'
Because of a seemingly pointless instruction, she had waited for six months. She had even consumed precious blood to avoid leaving too many traces. But there was no choice. For the sake of her father.
'Even though he's a mere human...'
She recalled the one who had given the order. Unlike her, he was a pure human. A contemptible being she normally saw as prey. Even though it was a temporary alliance, it felt unpleasant. Like a monster wearing human skin.
The maid with the pale face left the mansion. A man who had been eating a hamburger out in front moved only his eyes. He took a bite of his bread naturally while glancing at the departing maid. The target had moved. The woman had the item.
'...No matter how I look at it, she's just an ordinary maid.'
He felt no magical power coming from the maid. Unless she was a trained agent like him, she was just a normal person. But the Lady wouldn't have given such an order for nothing. In the field, the first to die wasn't the weak, but the careless.
Even his breathing was consciously controlled. He signaled with his eyes. Another man who met his gaze left his seat.
Si-woo was in a state of pure bliss, hugging a warm Helena in the cool air conditioning.
Helena, who was in his arms, whispered.
"...You know, last time I said I was something like a prophet? That I knew an incomplete future."
"Yeah, you did."
Helena burrowed deeper into his arms, as if she didn't want to show her face.
"Actually... I'm a regressor."
She spoke in a whisper for a while. A story of ultimately failing and coming back. Si-woo listened and held her quietly.
"That must have been hard."
"...A little."
They held each other for about a minute, and her trembling gradually subsided. As he thought about how to help Helena, something suddenly came to mind.
"Hey, about that Michael guy?"
"Yes?"
Helena lifted her head from his arms. A slight moisture glistened in her eyes. When their eyes met, she seemed embarrassed and burrowed back into his chest. He pretended not to notice and spoke.
"...I was thinking it was weird. Wasn't he too obsessed with that feather?"
Helena, still hiding her face, murmured from within his arms.
"...Even with his eyes welling up like that, it was strange."
"He wasn't like that back on the snowy mountain, was he?"
As he said it, he realized what had been strange. On the snowy mountain, Michael had given up the feather without much complaint. Even in a much more urgent situation where he needed it more, he just handed it over when asked. He even left it behind when he was sent to keep watch.
"Ah... That's true."
"Shouldn't you look into it a bit more?"
"I already have people on it. But still... I should tell them to be more careful."
As they talked, Helena's demeanor gradually returned to normal. She fiddled with an earring, a communication artifact, and began giving instructions to Tasha.
Watching her, Si-woo's mind worked.
'She said she didn't know anything about the teleportation. She wasn't lying... So was it just a coincidence? Or was she being used without even knowing it herself?'
He now realized that even his Lie Detection had a flaw. If the person truly believed something, it wouldn't register as false regardless of the actual truth. He was pondering what else might be hidden when Helena suddenly kissed him.
Smack.
Her warm, soft lips touched his briefly and then parted.
"Don't worry about it too much. I'll handle all these trivial matters."
"Huh...?"
"It's a waste of time for someone as talented as you, Si-woo, to spend time on that. Just focus on getting stronger. The most important thing, after all, is martial power."
"Uh..."
She seemed to think of him as a heaven-sent genius. After all, reaching the Peak Realm at this age was extraordinary. But in a way, she wasn't wrong. If he stopped time, became stronger, and then returned, the result would be the same.
'I'll just do what I've been doing.'
He needed to become stronger more aggressively than now, but he didn't need to be consumed by it. Besides, having sex with women was also training.
'It's a good thing the Mixed Origin Qi Art is a sexual cultivation technique.'
If he had learned some Childlike Celibate Art instead, he'd be crying tears of blood right now.
He pulled Helena closer and stroked her back.
"Then for now... let's continue the energy training."
"Yes, ye-ess...? Haaht!"
The room was filled with hot air. A disheveled Helena panted raggedly.
"Haa... haa... P-please, wait a moment..."
"Hm?"
"T-Tasha will be here soon."
"Tasha...? Ah, the bodyguard?"
"Yes... So l-let's continue the t-training next time."
Holding back his regret, Si-woo released Helena. Her posture gradually became prim and proper. In less than a minute, her outward appearance had transformed back into the neat and tidy Grand Duchess. It was hard to believe she was the same woman whose womb was filled with his seed. Seeing her bend over to straighten even the wrinkles caught in her skirt made him want to mess her up again. He wanted to pound her from behind, but he held back.
Helena, having neatly arranged even her collar, spoke.
"The examination of the child left by the Phoenix... is complete."
"Oh."
They had commissioned tests to see what abilities it had and whether it had any dangerous toxins.
"Fortunately, there's no poison. And we've found out what the Phoenix meant by compensation."
"Hm?"
He had said that raising it itself would be the reward.
"It consumes magical power as food. After that, it expelled the energy in a purified form. It will dramatically speed up training."
"Oh? That's amazing?"
At first glance, it sounded similar to the Mixed Energy sex. He himself exchanged energy with various women and had energy almost as pure as natural energy. If it was effective for him too, it could drastically reduce the time needed for training.
The yellow chick came running over, flapping its wings like a puppy that had found its owner.
"Piiit!"
When he pressed and rubbed its plump belly, it beeped happily as if it felt good.
'It's pretty cute.'
The little thing rubbed its beak against his finger as if acting cute. Watching this, Helena spoke in a flat tone.
"...The gender is female, apparently."
"Oh, really?"
If it couldn't take human form, the fact was practically meaningless. He nodded nonchalantly.
"If it's female, what should we name it? Ah... before that, are we going to raise it?"
"Honestly, just looking at its abilities, there's no reason not to. But who knows what'll happen later."
Certainly, something that boosts training speed would be useful for anyone.
"Then what should we name it?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. Would you like to name it, Si-woo?"
Si-woo examined the chick. It was covered in soft yellow down. It chirped and tilted its head. Overall yellow and fluffy. Its plump belly was springy and squishy.
'Squishy and yellow...'
"Alright. Your name is Pudding."
At first glance, the red feather on its head looked like strawberry syrup.
"Pudding...?"
"What, is it weird? Doesn't it look a bit like one?"
"It... does, I suppose. Well, thinking about it again, it's not bad."
He had been told it eats magical power as food. He gathered some Mixed Energy at his fingertip and held it out. Pudding stared at it intently, then touched its beak to it and absorbed the Mixed Energy.
"Piiit!?"
Pudding flapped its wings and shook its entire body.
"...It really seems to like it."
"Pit pit pit!"
Pudding flapped its wings and spun around for a while before stopping. It began to expel the purified Mixed Energy.
'Oh... It's quite pure.'
It had become just as pure as if he had exchanged energy with a woman. This little guy was definitely helpful for training. If it was this effective for him, it would be even more useful for others.
'It'd be helpful for Amelia too.'
Pudding suddenly seemed even more endearing. As he was observing it, a tail feather suddenly dropped off. It looked like a miniature version of the Hwajo's feather. A flame the size of a candle flickered on it.
"Piiiit!"
Pudding shook its body, and a new tail feather grew back. It was minutely larger than the previous one. Si-woo watched Pudding peck at the fallen tail feather with its beak, then picked up the feather.
"Piiit!! Pit!"
As if asking for it back, Pudding fixed its gaze on the feather and trotted after him. Si-woo said to the chick,
"Wait a moment."
He'd said it without much thought, but Pudding stopped as if it understood him.
"You... can you understand what I'm saying?"
Nod.
'Come to think of it, it was said to be the child and the avatar.'
True to being the Phoenix's offspring, it had many wondrous aspects.
He lightly shook the feather, and Pudding's black eyes followed its movement. He examined the feather and then held it out to Helena.
"This seems to have spatial power too, right?"
"Let me see... Yes, it does. In terms of spatial power alone, it's even better than the Hwajo's feather."
"Is a portable teleport possible?"
"Yes. More than enough."
"Piiiik. Pik!"
As if displeased with the conversation, Pudding started flapping its wings again.
"Pudding. Can you give this to me?"
Pudding shook its head side to side. Si-woo spoke to it again.
"I'll give you more Mixed Energy. No, that magical power from before. Even then, no?"
"Piiit...Pit!"
Pudding tilted its head, thought for a moment, and then nodded. As if giving its permission.
Looking at the feather, smaller than a fingernail, a thought suddenly struck him.
'...I should have named it Ten-Billion.'
Just selling this one feather would probably net him around one billion. Feathers are produced for just a little bit of Mixed Energy. It seemed like he wouldn't have to worry about money in the future.