[No Title Provided]
I'd honestly let my guard down. I figured if anyone would fall for it, it'd be Sea, who thought of me as cute.
But no.
"Ethan. I'm a professor at Rozril Academy. So I can't do that."
Sea cut me off firmly.
"No way at all?"
"Nope."
"Got it."
I hadn't ignored the possibility of failure. I just thought it was unlikely.
Guess I'll have to sell myself out.
I decided to execute the plan.
"Could you at least take a look at my magic instead?"
I shifted the topic as naturally as possible.
"Sure, sure! I can do that."
Sea beamed. As expected, magic was the way to lure her in.
"What're you curious about? Something in the materials I sent you that you didn't get? Or are you struggling with circulation? I can help! Come over here real quick and explain it to me, okay?"
Her eyes sparkling, Sea leaned in close. There was something twisted in her gaze.
Professors' obsessions are the worst in the world, huh. I'd only asked her to check my magic a bit, and she turned into this.
"Why won't you tell me? If you're embarrassed 'cause you don't know, no need—nobody starts out good at it anyway. So hurry up and..."
"Professor. You're making me uncomfortable."
I gently pushed her shoulders back. Only then did Sea calm down and clear her throat.
"Ahem. Anyway! What do you want me to look at?"
"As I was going through the materials you gave me, something felt off."
"What? What?"
I strung Sea along, swallowing hard to buy time.
"Tell me? Pleeease...?"
Just as her patience was about to snap, I spoke.
"It's too easy."
"Too easy?"
"Look here..."
I pulled out the booklet from my pocket and opened it, pointing to a section full of pretentious descriptions.
"It says that summarizing this, fast and precise circulation defines a mage's capability, right? That's how I understood it."
"Not entirely accurate, but from a broad perspective, yeah."
"But I don't have any blockages in my circulation."
"What does that mean?"
Actions speak louder than words.
I clenched my fist, squeezing tight as I drew up my mana.
Mana rose from my hand, flowing through my wrist and into my whole body. It crossed my pathways, and after passing through every mana circuit, it reversed the process, resonating with the mana in my core.
Whew.
I steadied my breath. To make it impressive, I'd skipped a bunch of steps.
Just show the essence—that'd hook her more.
"Wha, wha, what...?"
Sea staggered forward, eyes wide as saucers.
"H-How... is this...?"
She grabbed my hand with trembling fingers. Warmth seeped into my skin.
Feels weird.
"I-It’s okay, right?"
Letting go of my hand, Sea started groping my body.
"Circulating like that should wreck your body... How are you perfectly fine?"
She muttered to herself, face full of confusion.
"The resonance is perfect too..."
She went from groping to outright fondling. She looked half-delirious, but for me, it wasn't bad, so I let it slide.
"Wh-What! Such indecency! Perverted professor..."
Linea, off to the side, covered her face with both hands. But she peeked through her fingers.
"Professor."
I'd let it go on, but who knew how long it'd last.
"...Not a single impurity in the mana circuits."
"Professor?"
"Mana this pure..."
"Professor. Let go now."
I grabbed her slender wrist. It felt like it'd snap if I squeezed, so I pried it off carefully.
Still, Sea stared at me blankly with empty eyes. I needed to shift her focus.
I leaned in close, locking eyes with her.
"Eek!?"
Sea jolted back in shock, tripping over her heel. I caught her as she lost balance.
"Just look at my magic, Professor."
"Uh, uh-huh..."
She nodded slowly.
"C-Could you let go?"
I helped her stand straight. Sea placed a hand on her chest, panting.
Then, feigning composure, she spoke.
"Ethan. You're a genius."
"I know."
"No. Beyond that. You have to bury yourself in the magical world. If your talent goes to waste, I'd grieve so much I'd lose my mind."
"That serious?"
This was partly talent, but mostly thanks to my swordsmanship.
Erde's sword techniques were mana-based from the start. Hard not to handle mana well.
I explained this to Sea.
"Circulation's a whole different thing. Your sword focuses on ‘containing’ mana. Containing and circulating are different realms."
"I see."
"Don't be so casual about it!"
Why was she more excited than me? I showed it on purpose, sure...
"I see."
"You...! You're teasing me, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"Students can't tease professors like that!"
Sea smacked my head with her tiny hand.
"Can a professor assault a student?"
"This is discipline. It's fine."
She grinned mischievously. Wonder if she'd stay this relaxed with my real proposal.
"Straight up: Professor, you want this body, don't you?"
"Wh-What kind of talk is that?"
"Not the words— you showed interest in my body."
"...True."
"Then I'll offer it."
Sea's eyebrow twitched.
"I'll become your disciple, Professor Sea."
"For real?"
She smiled brightly, no hiding it, and tried to hug me. But I wasn't done.
"In exchange, tutor Linea too."
"...Huh?"
Sea froze mid-lunge, staring at me with shaken pupils.
"Never thought you'd copy her even in this."
She muttered in defeat.
"Fine. I accept, Ethan."
"Great for me, but you okay with it?"
"What choice? Rules are rules, but you're off-spec."
Her self-justification was top-tier. Looked like she'd done it before.
"So, now that I'm your disciple, what do I do?"
Special lessons with hands-on? Saw something like that in an old story.
"Need time to prepare overall. Come back tomorrow?"
"Sure."
Her words felt oddly ominous. Probably prepping a class for me and Linea.
Not something weird, right? Unfounded anxiety made my body shiver.
"See you tomorrow!"
We parted with Sea waving cheerfully. Linea and I headed back to the dorm.
"Master."
As I prepared for bed, Linea called out suddenly.
"Something up?"
"Why did you make me your slave?"
"You resent it?"
"Yes. But I'm more curious."
Linea rose from bed with a creak and sat lightly beside me.
"We had zero connection, right?"
It stung a bit. I'd enslaved her knowing her future as a villainess.
From her view, some random guy wiped out her family overnight.
"At first, I thought you made me a slave to... do all sorts of things. But no."
Linea placed her hand on my thigh. Unexpected.
"You haven't laid a hand on me once like that. It's not long since I became a slave, but you don't even seem interested."
"I did collar you."
"That's not nearly enough."
Clearing her throat, Linea continued.
"At the academy, you subtly look out for me. Even arranged with Professor Sea so I could skip classes."
"That was thinking ahead to your future usefulness..."
"No excuses, Ethan."
She dropped the formal tone harshly.
"I hate you. I really hate the guy who ruined my life. So why this ambiguous attitude?"
"This talk came out of nowhere. How long have we even known each other?"
"True. We've barely spent time together. But even in that short time, you don't treat me like a slave. So why make me one? You didn't have to."
I got her feelings. Even after possessing this body for a while, my modern self lingered.
Enslaving her was just insurance—I lacked confidence in reforming her otherwise. Not some twisted fetish.
So I hadn't acted high-handed. My modern ego recoiled at it.
But Linea, a native here, wouldn't see it that way.
How to explain?
That I foresaw her villainess future? She'd probably call me crazy—if I was lucky.
Right then, I sensed movement in the room.
"Answer later."
I bolted up, grabbing my sword from the desk.
"Who's there?"
"How did you know?"
A figure emerged from the shadows. Brushing back her purple hair, she sat naturally on the sofa.
"Felt your presence."
"Impressive."
"Skip the admiration. Why sneak in?"
"To correct your etiquette."
Ray's eyes gleamed as she appeared before me in an instant.
"With manners like that, you have no right to stand by Her Highness."
Oh shit.
Katrina's hidden aide. I'd seen her once or twice in the novel.
Her coming as my etiquette teacher meant one thing.
She's dead set on claiming me.
The princess had her eye on me.
Big time.