What Do You Know About Me?

"I won."

"I know. The whole neighborhood probably knows by now."

"I've finished dismissing every last vermin who signed that petition. On my way back as we speak."

"Since you were coming anyway, why didn't you restore the training grounds while you were at it?"

"How could I possibly restore all of that by myself in the time I had?"

"..."

This guy... He wasn't even trying to hide his irritation anymore. I turned around, intending to scold him for his insolence, but the refreshed smile on Silvia's face made me swallow the words.

"It was two years ago. The last time I used mana."

"So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you got excited and went on a rampage."

"Correct."

"So. Did it feel good?"

"It felt refreshing."

Yeah. Then that was enough. The training grounds getting wrecked was no big deal. Smiling, I closed the ledger. After checking, the repair costs would come to roughly a hundred million.

"The restoration costs will come out of your salary. Additional fifty-percent pay cut."

"Yes!"

Creepy bastard... Even as I stared at her with open contempt, Silvia simply kept smiling brightly. That was all.

"Oh. And you've been given additional duties."

"Duties, sir?"

"I've dismissed a large number of knights and guards, so there are many open positions. We're recruiting as fast as we can, but until then you'll need to handle day and night guard duty along with the paperwork."

"...I can understand the guard duty, but why the paperwork?"

"You were good at it. Just do it. Let me rest."

"..."

Only then did the smile vanish from Silvia's lips. Her face seemed to ask if this was a joke. Does this look like a joke to you? When I grinned at her, her expression twisted in an instant before melting into pure despair.

I did say I'd wait until you showed your true colors.

If she wanted to cut my throat, she would have done it long ago. But Silvia hadn't. She had chosen to wait. Until the moment I revealed my true nature. Until I crossed the line, and only then would she execute me.

Of course, that moment would never come in her lifetime. In a way, it was a twisted declaration of a dark romance, vowing to remain at my side forever.

Thinking of it that way made it so absurd that a chuckle slipped out.

"What is so amusing, sir?"

"Look at yourself. It's been a long time since you handled mana, so your control has grown clumsy, hasn't it? Your clothes are all torn."

"...?"

Silvia tilted her head in confusion. Then she looked down at her own clothes. A beat later her face flushed crimson and she hurriedly covered the torn sections with her hands. Of course there was no way she could hide all those holes...

"I'll go change my clothes!"

In a flash, Silvia bolted out at the speed of light. She'd been standing so confidently that I'd thought she was a shameless tomboy, but... she simply hadn't noticed the state she was in.

Come to think of it, to raise favorability, couldn't I just seduce her?

It was a serious consideration. In my opinion, this Aslan fellow's natural appearance meant it would take decades to earn anyone's trust on a personal level. So what if it wasn't person-to-person, but man-to-woman...?

Looking for shortcuts has me thinking about such useless things...

Would it even work? Realistically, with this face and this atmosphere, would any woman be seduced? It would be a stretch even for a villainess, let alone one of the heroines.

Hmm. If not Silvia, then perhaps Julia or Charlotte...?

They're still children...

No. Absolutely not. Even if I tried, it couldn't be now. Let's stop looking for tricks and live properly.

I sighed, trying to steady my troubled mind, when—

"Young master. A letter has arrived."

"Where is it from?"

"It is from the Imperial Magic Academy."

"Leave it there."

A message from the dean? I hoped Yuri hadn't caused some kind of accident. Heart tight, I picked up the letter the maid had left.

What the hell was this? It must have been delivered to the wrong person. Not thinking much of it, I stuffed the letter into a drawer. If it was important, the postman would come looking for it later.

"...What are you doing right now?"

I'd tried to secretly swipe a book while she was concentrating, but Julia's sulky glare caught me immediately.

"Let's read it together."

"Isn't it bad manners to snatch it without a word? Shouldn't you ask to borrow it?"

"These books were all mine to begin with. Keep acting that rudely and I might confiscate them all."

"Ah, no!"

"..."

"You may take it. ...yo."

When I made to sweep all the books away, Julia hurriedly blocked me. So adding "yo" turned everything into polite speech? Still, at least she was making an effort. It was far better than her usual informal tone.

I selected one of the basic magic textbooks and settled down far away from Julia. It wouldn't do to disturb ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her spirit arts awakening...

As soon as I opened the book, the translucent window scrolled past. The synchronization rate was a mere two percent... It wasn't a system error. It simply meant Aslan's understanding of this book was only at about two percent.

This is hopeless.

Even so, black magic was still a form of magic. The fundamentals should be solid, shouldn't they? This pathetic man knew as little about magic as I did. It looked like I'd have to learn everything from scratch.

No. Usually when someone possesses another body, don't they get insane magical aptitude? A genius intellect? Something like that? Instead I was stuck with a bunch of useless traits...

No way out.

Even the talented Julia was struggling like this. If I tried to muddle through alone, I probably wouldn't make any progress even after ten years. Maybe I should use a chance here.

"Julia."

"What. ...yo."

"Could I ask you to teach me?"

"Haa? I don't need any tutoring. I've already understood all the fundamentals, and besides the books you picked I've thoroughly studied the specialized texts as well. I'm not curious about how well you teach, so if you want to show off your knowledge, go find someone else. ...yo."

"..."

Julia snorted arrogantly. Not that she wasn't justified. But this girl wasn't even listening properly and was acting all high and mighty.

"I'm not saying I'll teach you. I'm asking you for a favor."

"...What?"

"You heard correctly, so there's no need to ask again. Teach me the basics of magic."

"...?"

Julia stared at me with an expression of pure incomprehension. The sudden request seemed to have delayed her processing. After staying frozen in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shock for a long moment, her lips finally parted.

"...Why should I?"

"Because I lack basic knowledge of magic. I'd like to borrow your outstanding knowledge and genius intellect. Can't you do that for me?"

"What, if that's what this is about, then of course I can! Hehe, you lack basic knowledge? Then where should I start..."

Got her. She took the bait. What an easy mark. A little praise and she immediately puffed up and switched into full instructor mode.

"The mana summation formula works like this..."

"No. Start even earlier. Pretend you're teaching someone who knows absolutely nothing."

"What? There's no way you know nothing. Are you testing me?"

"They say smart people make good teachers."

"Hehe! I'm so proficient in the magic basics that I can make even a blank slate understand perfectly!"

Flattery could make even a whale dance. Whenever she showed the slightest suspicion, I showered her with mindless praise and adoration. Then Julia would get excited and begin pouring out everything she knew.

"Mana is essentially like fuel! And magic is the result of burning that mana fuel! The type of magic changes depending on how you burn it. For example, fire-type magic is..."

In truth, the claim that smart people made good teachers was a lie. I'd been worried that Julia being too much of a genius would make teaching difficult, but that concern was unfounded. When I told her to imagine teaching a child with no common sense ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about mana at all, she really explained everything in a way that was easy to understand.

"This covers the contents of the first basic volume. How was it? Was it a good lecture?"

"It was excellent. Then I'd like you to continue with the next part."

"What? Weren't you just checking my skills? Why go through the entire basics... Ah!!! You! You're making fun of me!"

"...?"

"That disgusting smirking smile! You were laughing at me! Inside you were thinking how can someone who knows the basics so well still not be able to handle mana!"

This was driving me crazy. Just how unpleasant was my smile that it made her think such things? I caught my reflection in the mirror and silently turned away. It really was a nasty face...

"I never thought that."

"Liar!"

"Believe what you want. But let me give you one piece of advice. When handling mana, try using only a portion of the mana inside your body."

"What? For the first mana manipulation you must draw out all the mana in your body to do it smoothly..."

"That's what the books say. I'm talking about your case."

As I absorbed the basic knowledge, Julia's problem became clear. The introductory texts demanded gathering all mana into a single point for the first manipulation. Using only a portion was considered an advanced technique. But for Julia, with her overwhelmingly vast mana reserves, drawing it all out would inevitably cause a rampage. So she needed to jump straight to the advanced method.

"What do you know about me..."

With reddened eyes, Julia suddenly stood up. She strode away from the bookshelf. She opened the door to leave, then paused, glanced back, and shouted.

"Bathroom! It's not because I'm angry or anything! ...yo."

Who asked?