Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Commendation Award Ceremony
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Ding!
I opened the door to the dorm and stepped inside.
Lumi had suddenly gotten so aggressive that it startled me.
Not that I had any room to talk, since I'd gotten even more worked up riding the mood...
But I was worried she might pull something like that again. If all the heroines started acting that way, I really wouldn't be able to handle it...
"Ah! Damn it! Kill it! Kill them! Aaaah!"
The moment I entered the living room, Liliana's cursing from inside her room greeted me.
It'd been a while since I'd seen her streaming. Nice to catch her at it.
The sound of money duplicating was playing again.
"Hold on a sec! Smells like delivery's here? Something tasty."
Sniff sniff.
Liliana opened her door and came out into the living room.
"Hey? I'm back."
I greeted her casually.
"Huh? What the— I thought it was delivery. Why're you here?"
"Who else am I supposed to ask? Didn't bring chicken today."
"Weird? I definitely smelled something good..."
Sniff sniff.
Are you a dog or what? Why do you keep sniffing around?
If you're not gonna pretend to ignore the succubus thing, at least act human, would you?
"Hang on."
Liliana, who'd been sniffing, started inching closer to me.
Then she grabbed my arm and pulled it to her nose.
"Hey, what're you doing?"
"Smells so good..."
Oh, right. My body gives off that sweet scent.
But you're a succubus, not a dog.
No one else has ever said they smelled anything from me.
And last time I was here, you didn't react at all.
"You were fine talking to me last time."
"Chicken smell covered it up back then. Sniff sniff."
"..."
A sweet scent that loses to chicken? Is this ability actually trash?
"It's from a skill that makes me smell nice. Cut it out."
"Fits you perfectly, you perv. Oh, right. Can I start tagging along with you again during the day starting tomorrow?"
"Why the sudden change?"
"I decided to live diligently now, but if I just sit around the house, I'll end up masturbating again."
Please watch your mouth.
"...You know you might see some sex if you follow me, right? Won't that just ramp up your lust?"
"I-it's fine! You think I'm some beast like you who gets horny just looking at girls?"
"..."
I couldn't argue with her today.
But I wanted to blame it on being the protagonist.
Otherwise, a loner like me getting swept up in the mood during sex with a girl? Doesn't make sense.
"Fine. Do what you want. Just don't cause a scene."
"Yeah, got it."
"I'm gonna shower and crash, so you do you and rest up."
I gave a vague reply and headed to the bathroom.
Liliana went back to her room, ended her stream, and came out to the living room.
"Mmm... At least tomorrow won't be so boring!"
Shwaaa—
With the sound of Lee Ho-yeon's shower as background noise, she slumped onto the sofa.
"Turns out there's not much to do here."
At first, everything had been fascinating. A world full of novelty and freshness...
But it captured the human world too accurately.
The media Liliana enjoyed in hell portrayed the human world so rosily.
Streets full of hot guys and pretty girls by the truckload, where even a weak demon could enslave a human the moment they grabbed one—a happy paradise.
But reality wasn't like that.
There were tons of ugly bastards, and security was insanely tight.
To top it off, Liliana's powers were weakened, leaving her unable to do much alone.
Thankfully, gaming in her room was fun, but that was it.
Dramas were full of ugly dudes too. In hell, they used magic to make super handsome, gorgeous humans for dramas.
Compared to those memories, most humans here were just good-looking goblins.
"No, except for one."
Liliana's contractor, Lee Ho-yeon.
A human handsomer than the ones made with magic in hell.
And from that quick peek earlier, his dick was huge too. She wondered if it could even fit all the way if it went inside her.
Liliana stretched her hand out flat against her stomach. Hmm, no way the sizes matched, no matter how she thought about it.
Creeeak—
Just then, Lee Ho-yeon emerged from the shower, towel-drying his hair as he approached.
"Whatcha doing? Stream over?"
Thump.
Liliana suddenly felt a strange emotion.
"Perv! Put some clothes on!"
"It's not like I'm fully naked, and this is my place. What's the big deal with no shirt?"
"I don't know! I'm going to my room!"
Bam!
After slamming the door, Liliana clutched her chest.
'What's wrong with me? Am I crazy?'
Lee Ho-yeon's handsome face after his shower, and the sweet scent wafting at the same time.
In that moment, Liliana felt her heart pounding.
"Fuck! Crazy bitch! That perv must've done something weird to me again! Argh!"
Thud thud! She punched the wall next to her for no reason.
"Shut up! I'm trying to sleep, you crazy succubus!"
"You shut up, perv!"
Liliana figured she wouldn't get any sleep tonight either.
*
Today was Professor Im Sol's magic-specialized class.
Probably practical training with feedback again, since we'd filled our theory quota.
- Wow, it's been forever since I was outside!
"Congrats. Breathe some fresh air and calm yourself."
- Got it. But why's your speech so weird? Super cringy.
"Yeah. Yours is way cringier."
I'd brought Liliana out after ages, hanging her around my neck as I walked across campus.
Going to class as usual meant too many people to chat with her.
So I arrived early, and the lecture hall in the academic building was nearly empty.
I sat in my usual spot and examined Liliana.
A silver chain necklace with a red gem embedded.
It was really pretty. Was it because Liliana was pretty that it looked so good?
I fiddled with the necklace, turning it this way and that.
- Hey, quit it! You're making me dizzy!
"Does it make you dizzy if I move it?"
- No, but my vision's spinning, idiot!
"Ah."
I gently hung Liliana back around my neck.
Now what? Maybe check Everyday.
"L-Lee Ho-yeon!"
"Yeah?"
Right on cue, Lucy approached me—she must've just arrived at school. Lumi stood behind her.
"Here! Eat this!"
Something sat on Lucy's outstretched palm.
A cute pink glass jar full of cookies.
"Cookies out of nowhere?"
"I-I always make them as a hobby! Made a bunch yesterday and brought some to share!"
What kinda bullshit is this?
Lucy was the type to run around outside instead of baking at home.
"No special meaning, so just try 'em!"
She shot me sparkling eyes as she said it.
- Those cookies look super cute! Save some for me!
As Liliana said, they did look pretty on the outside.
I opened the jar, took out a cookie, and popped it in my mouth.
'Fuck.'
How the hell does a cookie taste bitter? Did she cast some spell on it?
Lucy watched eagerly for my reaction.
I mustered superhuman patience to keep a straight face.
"T-tasty? Whoa, didn't expect that from you, Lucy."
"Hmph! As if there's anything I can't do!"
Lucy was beaming, not even hiding it.
I thought maybe she'd brought bad ones as a prank, but nah, that wasn't it.
'How little cooking has she done that she didn't even taste-test before bringing them...'
Lucy rubbed her hands together happily.
She's cute, so I'll let it slide.
Looking closer, she had several bandages on her hands.
No idea what she did to hurt herself baking cookies, but she clearly tried hard.
Her eyes brimmed with goodwill toward me. Sure, it made me happy when she showed affection so openly, but...
Watching her made my conscience twinge.
Because behind the joyful Lucy, Lumi was sticking out her tongue, licking her lips, and winking at me.
We'll get busted if she sees this, right?
*
We gathered at the training grounds for magic-specialized class.
"Hey. Everyone here? Let's start practicals."
Im Sol began class with her usual annoyed look.
Apparently, I'd given her more research material—which she liked—but also more hassle.
I'd planned to visit her today anyway, so maybe I'd share some good ideas to cheer her up.
"Grab a dummy each and practice. I'll go around one by one."
Im Sol started feedback from the front row.
I took a spot at the very back row.
Easiest to chat with Professor Im Sol from the last spot.
"Hmm, manifestation's too slow. At that speed drawing the magic circle, you'd already have a hole in your gut."
"S-sorry!"
The male student chewed out by Im Sol flushed red, looking thrilled.
So many weird tastes around here. Getting scolded by a woman turns them on?
I turned back to my dummy. That's when a voice came from my necklace.
- My take? That big-titted girl’s trying to assassinate you. Tasted like poison in those cookies.
"It's not."
- You'd know if you tried one! After you saved her from those thugs, and she repays you by trying to kill you!
"You should be grateful yourself. Please."
She'd already forgotten I'd saved her from those punks.
Im Sol was still up front. My turn was far off. I needed to practice something in the meantime.
- So what're you practicing on a dummy? Aren't you a battle magician?
"Battle magician? What's that?"
- You know, the crazy mages who buff their bodies to fight.
"Calling me crazy?"
Her misunderstanding made sense, though.
I'd picked mage for safe ranged fights, but lately it felt like all melee.
With [Combat Sense] active, I instinctively took the most efficient path, leading to close-range scraps.
Felix was the only real life-or-death fight so far, but as the story progresses, way tougher assholes show up.
Diving in headfirst then would get me skewered.
'Raising my magic level more might fix it?'
My magic's strength was fast casting. Low mana pool meant speed-blitzing with quick shots.
So I needed skills that fit perfectly...
"Liliana. Know any hell magic that's efficient in combat?"
- Succubi aren't high-combat types, so nah. Why?
She's useless outside duplicating money.
"Just wanna switch up my fighting style. Can't think of an efficient safe ranged way."
- How 'bout this? You picked up charm magic fast before. Just learn tons of spells to cover more options.
"Not bad, but... skill slot limits. Proficiency issues too."
No hard cap on skills, but more skills make gaining new ones harder.
Skills gain proficiency with repetition.
Invisible, but it builds, strengthening the magic.
Best efficiency? Specialize in one field.
Why I don't learn skills willy-nilly.
Never know when I'll need a slot.
- Then what? Stick to battle magic you're good at instead of messing with spells.
"I'm not a battle magician."
- Then magic battle warrior? Ones who do battle magic and cast spells at the same time.
"Magic battle warrior? Wait—huh?"
'Hold up. Can't I just cast multiple magics at once?'
My casting process is simple.
Visualize the magic circle to activate, extract it with mana in one go, infuse, and manifest.
Doesn't take much focus—like breathing.
So dual circles at once should work?
"Gonna try."
I went straight to action.
Fireball on the right.
Fire spear on the left.
Fwoosh!
But the spear fizzled and collapsed.
"Doesn't work?"
What went wrong? Circle formed fine.
"What, I said practice and you're slacking off? Huh?"
Im Sol's voice came from behind.
She was smiling today—good mood?
"Oh, Professor. Tried dual-casting two magics at once, but it failed."
"Double-casting? That's not easy."
Im Sol manifested a tiny vortex and water orb on her hand simultaneously.
"Whoa! That's how! Didn't know it was a separate skill."
"Tip: Precisely siphon just the mana needed for each from your flow. Otherwise, mana drifts to one side, and the circle collapses."
Yeah, that's the crumbling sensation I felt. Makes sense.
Then I caught a resentful glare from a male student behind Im Sol.
'I got brushed off quick, why's he getting all the good advice?!'
Sorry, buddy. Feel the world's unfairness early.
"Got it? I'll teach double-casting properly later. Tough skill."
Im Sol ignored him completely and kept talking to me.
"Thanks. Mind if I try once more?"
Now I knew the trick—should work.
"Double-casting's versatile but hard. Even I took a while to..."
Fwoosh!
Fireball and fire spear formed in both hands.
Im Sol froze mid-sentence, staring.
"Professor's the top magic instructor, as expected. I'll visit more often."
One tip from her fixed what wouldn't budge. Couldn't be more grateful.
Bonus sex ed when visiting for magic lessons.
True educator of this era.
"Huh? Wha— you did it?"
"Thanks to you. Appreciate it."
"Uh... yeah. Gotta be this good. So you don't demand that stuff from me."
Good thing Im Sol snapped out of it quick.
But her saying stuff like that lately was kinda scary.
"Can I drop by after class? Got a good research topic."
"Sure. Oh, right. You know tomorrow's the commendation ceremony, yeah?"
"Commendation ceremony?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow morning, Victoria Academy grand hall. You and Lucy."
Tomorrow's the ceremony, and she's telling me now?!