Pushing Boundaries with Veronica
The next day after preparing for the inter-year competition. As usual, Aren had skipped most of his lectures and was waiting for Veronica in the private training grounds.
What should I do for her today?
For now, her mana circuit expansion and sensory enhancement were both complete. So the next thing he could teach her was more detailed skills on handling mana... something like that.
A bit disappointing.
It wasn't that he had nothing left to teach her and felt regretful about it. On the contrary, there was a ton he could share when it came to skills. After all, this was the realm of techniques. People at a high level naturally saw far more. So it was safe to say their training wouldn't end anytime soon. He had more than enough to teach her.
However.
It's not skinship... I mean, physical contact that's lacking.
Unlike when he'd expanded her mana circuits before, there wasn't much pretext for skinship this time. The best he could manage was holding hands or placing a hand on her back.
...Hmm.
Maybe he should just brazenly push forward. Thinking about it, Veronica might put on a cold face and snap at him, but she'd never outright refused. Sure, if he went too far, his cat-like Veronica might run away... but didn't that just mean he needed to control the pace?
Alright. Then today, I'll make some progress with Veronica.
Mm-hm. As Aren nodded to himself, Veronica approached from the side, having finished her classes.
"What are you doing? Why are you nodding to yourself...?"
"Ah, nothing much. I was just pondering what to teach you today."
"...I see."
She gave him a suspicious look, but that was it. It would've been too weird to press further.
"...Whatever. Let's just start training already."
"Sure thing."
And then—
Whoosh—
"?! You...?"
Aren suddenly hugged Veronica from behind. Stunned by the abrupt back hug for a moment, she struggled with all her might to escape his arms, but he didn't budge an inch.
"Stay still, Veronica."
"...Let go."
"If you promise not to try escaping, I'll loosen up."
"...So you're saying you'll keep hugging me no matter what?"
"Pretty much."
His shameless words. Veronica muttered inwardly.
...Why is he so strong?
Was it because he was a guy? She couldn't break free from his embrace with raw strength. And... somehow, being held like this felt secure—
—No. That's not it.
She shoved away the fleeting weak thought. Then, in a cold voice, she muttered,
"...Fine. Tell me why you suddenly hugged me."
"Because today's training requires holding hands."
...Hands.
"...Then you don't need to hug me from behind like this."
"Who knows. Maybe I do."
Veronica let out a small sigh at his voice, laced with amusement.
"...So shameless. Why not just admit outright that hugging random women is your hobby?"
"I don't have that hobby. I don't hug just any woman."
"Really?"
She sneered. But.
"I've probably said this several times before... but I only do this with women who match my tastes. And Veronica, you're my top ideal type."
His characteristically blunt words came back at her.
"......"
Her face flushed as she instinctively sensed his sincerity.
...Fortunately, they weren't facing each other, so he probably hadn't noticed. For once, she was grateful for the back hug.
"...Enough nonsense. Let's start training."
Cute.
***
The training with Veronica began.
Like last time, it started with mana injection through physical contact. The goal was, naturally, sensory synchronization with Aren. He planned to hammer advanced techniques directly into her body.
But there was a problem...
"Th-this... feels weird. It's hotter than last time... Ah... and ticklish... Eut!"
This sensation never got easier, no matter how many times she'd experienced it, and this time Aren was pushing his mana in even more aggressively, amplifying the backlash.
Pain, and an indescribable pleasure crashed over her. Veronica's legs began to tremble and twist together.
He'd orchestrated all of it. Holding her from behind, he whispered in her ear,
"You have to endure it, Veronica."
"Endure... it?"
"Yes."
Only by enduring could she fully absorb what he was about to teach with her own senses.
"Didn't you want to screw over your damn family? To mock their shocked faces with confidence? You have to tough this out for that."
...She froze.
"......Is that... so?"
"Yes. Endure this, and—"
—you'll truly grow stronger.
Veronica bit her lip hard. After a brief moment of hesitation, she nodded.
"...Got it."
Screwing over her damn family and achieving independence—that was something she desperately wanted.
Soon, she began quietly accepting his mana. During the process, his hand sometimes groped her lower abdomen or slyly brushed the underside of her breasts, but...
"Stay still. Don't lose focus."
"......"
It was blatantly shameless, clearly driven by lust rather than training necessity, yet she endured it silently.
...So soft.
Her skin felt incredibly smooth after so long. If he slipped his hand under her bare chest like last time, how would she react? Would she squirm? Or rationalize it as necessary and stay put?
Either way, doesn't matter.
What mattered was that she was entrusting her body to his touch right now.
Finally, from a distance close enough for their lips to brush, Aren whispered softly,
"...Sensory synchronization complete, Veronica. Now, just mimic how I operate my mana exactly and etch it into your body."
"......"
She nodded, focusing her mind completely, sensing the real lesson was about to begin.
And then.
"......!?"
She panicked at the hand lifting her skirt and kneading her butt.
***
What... what is this...
Why put his hand there...
"You... take your hand... Ah... out right now..."
"Endure it, Veronica. It's absolutely necessary."
"Liar."
He'd said they needed to hold hands earlier, so why was he groping her ass now? Anyone could see it was a lie. He was kneading her butt like dough, savoring the soft flesh.
It was purely to satisfy his lust—nothing more, nothing less.
But.
"Not a lie. We did this last time too, and the results were good, right?"
"......"
"Just trust me one more time."
...As infuriating as it was, he was right. She couldn't understand why grabbing her ass helped, but...
...This can't be real.
...It actually worked. She could tell that applying his mana operation right now would let her cast spells faster and more precisely than before.
...Ah.
...Just a simple change in mana handling yielded this much efficiency.
What about next? What lay ahead in training?
...How much further could she go?
So distracted, she only belatedly noticed his hand slipping under her butt to rub an even more intimate spot.
But.
"...Veronica."
"...Yes."
She stayed still. Her legs felt weak, so she leaned into him. And... she didn't want to admit how shamefully wet she'd gotten.
...Infuriatingly, his teaching was effective.
Smooth—
"If you get the results you want in the inter-year competition, will you give me a reward?"
"A... reward...?"
She played innocent. Even as his touch grew more lewd and overt.
She just stayed still.
...As if it were nothing.
Realizing that, Aren smirked faintly and rubbed her soaked folds more blatantly.
"...Just give me the one thing I want most."
"What... Ah... is that?"
"Who knows. We'll see."
The same shameless reply as before.
She knew exactly what he wanted.
Obviously... me.
Her heart, or her body. He was already groping her freely.
Normally, she'd deny it or snap at his audacity—but
"......"
...For some reason, no words came out. A faint thread of reason rang alarms, urging her to respond quickly, but in the end, the victor was some instinct buried deep in her heart that even she didn't recognize.
"...Will you grant my wish?"
......
"If... what I want comes true..."
Maybe she'd consider it then.
And to Aren, that was as good as a yes.