Bet (7)
We contacted the Magic Minister and told him we'd accept the wager. The deadline was until summer. Whichever side produced superior results on the designated topic would win. There was no need to worry about the fairness of the judging. The minister harbored more goodwill toward the Blue Tower than toward Lucas anyway, and he'd said the pressure had come from the imperial family rather than a personal request.
One lingering question, though: why had Lucas accepted the bet so readily? Did he genuinely believe he could beat me? That bastard had to know his magic skills fell far short of mine. He wasn't some irredeemable trash who lacked that much self-awareness. Maybe he had some ace up his sleeve. An accomplice, perhaps, or he'd thrown money at some other mage tower to outsource the research—something underhanded like that was right up his alley. But the stakes for him were his tower's budget; blowing it on that would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? Or maybe it meant he wanted me that badly...
Either way, all I had to do was win. Since alchemy was his main field too, the topic would surely be alchemy-related, and I was confident I could beat him no matter what it was.
A few days later, the minister sent over the research topic. But it was utterly baffling.
"What the hell is this? What kind of topic is that...?"
As I stared at the document for a good while, Terria wandered over and asked,
"What's up? The topic is... lust suppression magic?"
"Yeah."
In other words, develop lust suppression magic or a related potion to curb the beastkin population. Lower economic classes tended to have higher birth rates, and apparently, the empire's outcasts—the beastkin—were the problem. But since it wasn't a profitable subject, no mage tower wanted to touch it.
Terria furrowed his brow.
"It's a bit uncomfortable for me."
"...Really?"
I glanced at him with mild surprise.
"Didn't you abandon your old body?"
"Well... it feels a little different from that."
Even though he'd said as much at the conference, did Terria still have some lingering attachment? Cautiously, I probed,
"How is it different...?"
"Whether I'm no longer a beastkin is separate from how we treat beastkin."
With that vague remark, he patted my shoulder and told me to do my best before walking off. He clearly had no intention of helping with the research. Was it because he didn't like the topic, or because even if I won the bet, it wouldn't benefit him? I couldn't tell.
In the end, I was the one most desperate, so I'd have to figure it out myself. I watched him leave the lab, then got to work.
But contrary to my bold resolve, the research was brutally difficult. The field was too unfamiliar, and there was hardly any prior research. Sure, I'd heard of aphrodisiac magic or potions, but lust suppression? I'd never seen or heard of such a thing. Even if it existed, I wouldn't have studied it.
I rifled through my biological magic tomes, then pulled out a mental magic one. Pointless, of course. No matter how much I flipped through, I had no clue where to start. It was like tackling a brand-new type of math problem that didn't exist in this world. I knew plenty of formulas, but none applied.
If only I could grasp a basic direction for approaching it. Instead, I was sighing heavily in frustration.
"What am I supposed to do...?"
Gripping my pen, I just scribbled meaningless lines across a blank page in my notebook. I could relate to kids doodling in the margins during class to avoid paying attention. The paper gradually turned black with ink.
Staring at it made my mind even more restless, so I spun the pen between my fingers. How many days had passed with zero progress? The deadline was summer, so plenty of time left, but I was anxious. My plan to wrap it up quickly and crush him with overwhelming results had gone up in smoke.
I was getting impatient. I knew rushing made ideas even harder to come by, but I couldn't help it. Thoughts of losing the bet—and what would follow—kept circling my mind. The more they did, the harder it was to focus. And as days without progress piled up, those imaginings grew, trapping me in a vicious cycle.
No wonder I was having nightmares about it.
"Haa... I give up."
I muttered to myself while twirling the pen, then fumbled and dropped it on the floor. Too lazy to pick it up, I started jiggling my leg instead. The chair was sized for Ariel's body—Terria's now—so my feet didn't touch the ground. Surprisingly handy for swinging my legs back and forth.
God, I really had no idea.
"...Does he know?"
The thought popped up. How would Terria approach this topic? The tower mages wouldn't know; no point asking them. But Terria... maybe.
He'd grasped the body-swap potion at a glance, which meant serious skill. Even if he'd studied for three years, hiding it from me would leave no spare time. That level was pure talent.
But one issue: he didn't seem thrilled about the topic. What if I asked and he got annoyed or snapped? Yelled at me for bothering him? I...
No choice. I was grasping at straws. Losing the bet would be worse, so I had to avoid it at all costs.
I grabbed my magic tome and notebook and slipped out to the living room. Terria was sprawled contentedly on the sofa, reading a book. He didn't notice me at first, lips curved in a slight smile—he must've been enjoying it. The thick volume didn't look like a magic text; peeking at the cover, it was all pink and frilly.
"Hey, Terria?"
He glanced up, slipped in a bookmark, and closed the book.
Had I interrupted something fun? Like a novel?
"Whatcha reading?"
"Oh, this? Just a romance novel. I used to read them when I was younger. It's fun—wanna try?"
Definitely one of those noble ladies' romances. Terria's taste ran to women's romance novels? It clashed so hard with his current build that I awkwardly smiled and passed.
"So, what's up?"
"Uh, I have something to ask..."
I held out the notebook I'd hidden behind my back and flipped to the page with my scraped-together ideas, pointing at it.
"Could you... help me out with this, just once...?"
Terria grinned. That smile—the satisfied, sly one he flashed when things went his way.
Better than refusal or annoyance, though, so I stammered on,
"I've racked my brain and still got nothing, so if you just point me in a direction, I think I can handle it, but I can't get a feel for how to approach it... I was curious what you'd think! Uh, could you take a look, just once?"
Asking someone for help on magic research? It had been ages. Maybe back when I was a kid with Cain, but lately? Never. And to Terria, of all people—it flustered me so much I rambled incoherently.
He sat up on the sofa and took the notebook, reading it carefully. I stood beside him, fidgeting with my fingers.
"Get anything...?"
"Hm, so like you said, no prior research at all, right? That's why you don't know how to approach it?"
"Yeah."
"I think there's already tons of existing research."
Terria said it with a bright smile.
"Tons...? Why don't I know any...? Can't you tell me?"
"I can tell you, but not just with words, right?"
"Uh..."
Was he bluffing, or did he really have an idea? He might just be bullshitting. How could inspiration strike that fast?
Reading my doubt, he added,
"How about this? I'll help, and if you're satisfied, you grant me one favor. Deal?"
"A favor? What is it?"
"No fun if I tell you now. It's something you can totally handle."
I hesitated. Had he ever asked me for anything before? No. Come to think of it, Terria had never demanded anything from me. I couldn't even guess what his wish might be. If it was something I could do, why hadn't he asked sooner? He knew I couldn't refuse if he forced it.
As I wavered, he pressed,
"You're the one in a hurry, not me. You win the bet, you benefit—and I get something out of it too."
"You're so damn bold... Aren't you overconfident? You really know something, right?"
"I do."
His brazen certainty only made me more suspicious. If he seemed half-doubtful about his own idea, I'd trust it more. No room to negotiate, though.
"...Fine. I'll do your favor. So tell me."
But Terria just grinned again, like I'd made a huge mistake. After a moment's thought, I tried again. My tone had come off too cocky.
"Please... tell me."
"Alright, let's go to the lab."
Damn it, if he was just screwing with me...