Festival (6)

The Red Wild Ginseng inside the box was practically pouring out mana.

"Huh... it does look like it has a strong effect."

Whatever it actually did was a separate question. Just looking at it, you could tell the thing was packed with high-grade mana.

"Eat it right now."

"Right now?"

"Yeah. I'm here, so it's fine."

Well... it wasn't like it mattered either way. Both Mun Su-rin and Lim Sol had told me to eat it on the spot, so maybe consuming an elixir in front of the person who gave it to you was considered good manners.

I lifted the Red Wild Ginseng out of the box.

"I heard you're supposed to eat ginseng all in one go."

"That's right. I'll support you. Swallow it immediately."

Lim Sol stood behind me, settled her hands on my shoulders, and began channeling mana into my body. I didn't actually need the support, but I wasn't about to tell her to let go.

I popped the whole ginseng into my mouth and started chewing.

"Nngh...!"

A scorching energy bloomed from the ginseng the moment it slid down my throat, flooding through every inch of me. It felt like I'd walked into a sauna — my whole body temperature started climbing at once. I seized control of my mana immediately, guiding it so that none of it leaked out into the air around me. Lim Sol's mana wrapped around my body and shepherded the process along.

After several minutes — long enough that my cadet uniform was soaked through with sweat — I succeeded in fully absorbing the Red Wild Ginseng.

"Haaah..."

"You did well."

Lim Sol flicked her fingers, and every last drop of moisture on my body vanished at once.

"Thank you."

"Incredible. Your elixir absorption rate is insane."

She looked genuinely stunned as she scanned me from head to toe. Fair enough. I'd drunk down that mana like a hippo at a watering hole.

"Well... a brilliant professor is bound to end up with a pretty impressive student, don't you think?"

"Pfft."

Lim Sol ruffled my hair into a complete mess, laughing.

"Are you going to do magic research until your dinner plans?"

"Yeah. Help me out a bit."

It had actually been a while since I'd last done any magic research with Professor Lim Sol. Between exams and everything else, I'd been plenty busy myself.

"How far along is the paper on core circuits?"

"It's almost finished. Just needs a final verification pass. Oh, and you're a co-author, by the way. You and me."

"Huh? Me?"

Sure, I'd provided the idea, but I'd barely helped write the thing. Why would she list me as a co-author? Or... was that actually the right call? I'd never written a paper in my life, so it wasn't like I would know.

"Do you have any idea how huge a contribution providing the idea is?"

"But if I'm listed as a co-author, where does the paper even get published?"

"If this paper gets recognized, it'll be registered with the World Mage Association. That's an enormous honor for a mage."

Lim Sol smiled, bright and unguarded, as if just thinking about it made her happy.

"Oh... that's pretty cool."

Honestly, I couldn't have cared less about honor. But I wasn't about to let that show in front of someone this excited.

"Right? Once this paper goes public, the entire magic world is going to be turned upside down."

Hmm.

Lim Sol wasn't a heroine in the original game, so I didn't have a proper read on what was going on with her. All I really knew was that she was a gorgeous professor who was completely unhinged about magic. Spending time with her, though, I'd started to notice something else: she had a real hunger for advancing the field, yes — but she also had a considerable hunger for her own recognition.

Something must have happened.

I'll figure it out slowly.

Everything had to be taken slow. There was clearly a story there, but if I rushed the approach I'd only end up breaking something.

"Alright then. Let's go over the paper together first."

We sat down and started reviewing Lim Sol's research.

After going through Lim Sol's paper with her, I ended up receiving a full magic lecture on top of it.

A whoosh of flame bloomed from my palm — and then, without breaking form, the fire transformed into a crystal of ice.

"If you do it like this, you can chain magics of different elements together completely naturally."

"Wow... I see."

These were the kinds of practical tips you could never pick up from Mana Sensitivity alone — the kind that only came from real experience — and they helped me more than I could say.

"What was the reaction like when you first revealed you could use multiple elements, Professor?"

I was still only known as a dual-element mage, but Lim Sol was a mage who could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠use every element there was. I asked now so I'd have some idea how to handle the day my own full affinity became public knowledge.

"There was nothing to 'reveal,' really. From the moment I started learning magic, I just assumed it was normal. So I started blasting away on day one."

"Ah... I see."

So much for learning from a genius. It was like listening to a top exam student insist they'd just studied from the textbook.

"Looks like we're about done. Go ahead and take them off."

"..."

I quietly dropped my pants. The moment I'd sensed we were wrapping up, my cock had already picked up on the blowjob energy and risen to attention, with or without my consent.

Lim Sol stretched, then dropped to her knees in front of the sofa and started stroking me with slow, idle passes of her hand.

"Is the ginseng doing something? You're reacting faster than usual today."

"...Haha."

The more often we did this, the faster my instincts got. The second I thought oh, it's that kind of mood, I got hard whether I wanted to or not.

Heat gathered in Lim Sol's eyes as she looked at my cock. Every time her hand dragged slowly up the shaft, my body twitched, and she watched me with a faintly curious expression, as if the reaction itself interested her.

Sometimes I missed the professor who'd been embarrassed at the start. The woman who used to jump just from having her chest touched had, before I knew it, grown completely used to this. All I could do was wait for the first time we actually went all the way. I'd get to see that cute side of her again then.

A moment later Lim Sol opened her mouth with a soft ahh and closed her lips around the head of my cock. She tucked her silver hair behind her ear, and every time those faintly pink lips swallowed down my shaft, a ticklish, velvety sensation rolled through me. Wet sucking sounds filled the lab, and a dizzying rush raced up my spine.

"Nnh..."

"Mmph. Suck... slurp."

If Liliana's fellatio felt like she was toying with my entire cock, Lim Sol's was a researcher's blowjob. She rolled her tongue, hunted down the spots that made me weak, and then worked those spots with relentless focus. Since the places that felt good changed from day to day, getting head from Lim Sol always pushed me toward the edge that much faster.

She dragged her tongue up the shaft, teased the underside of the head, even slipped her tongue against the slit, all while watching my reactions — and under that methodical attention, the urge to come surged up all at once.

"I'm going to come...!"

"Mmph. Nnh. Suck."

For that last stretch of stimulation I grabbed Lim Sol's head and thrust into her mouth. The head of my cock bumped the back of her throat, her tongue coiled around my shaft, and I couldn't hold it — I came in her mouth. While my body shuddered through it, she licked the underside of the head and wrung every last pulse out of me.

"Hah. Hah..."

An absurd situation, really — I was the one who'd been on the receiving end, and I was the one worn out. Fresh off the Red Wild Ginseng and running hot with yang energy, I finished that first orgasm, hooked a hand over the armrest, and let every muscle in my body go slack.

Lim Sol rolled the cum around in her mouth, tasting it, then swallowed with a quiet gulp.

"It didn't get any better. Just a little thicker."

"...So you did have an ulterior motive."

She snorted a laugh at that, pushed up off her knees, and stood.

Still not enough.

Lim Sol's fellatio was genuinely incredible. But without the real thing, there was always something left wanting.

"That's a disappointed face."

"Sorry?"

"It's nothing."

Damn. Had I let it show? Post-nut clarity must have wrecked my poker face.

Then again... maybe that's actually useful?

Things between Lim Sol and me weren't bad. If I played this right, maybe I could push for the real thing.

"..."

Professor. So the blowjobs are fine, then?

Professor Lim Sol, oblivious to the look I was giving her, started pulling her coat back on.

"Heading to your dinner plans now?"

"Yeah. Oh — want to come with? You've worked hard. Least I can do as your professor is buy you a meal."

"Oh... really? But shouldn't you check with the person you're meeting first?"

It was the first time Lim Sol had ever suggested we go out somewhere, and I was glad — but this was a commitment she'd made with someone else. I wasn't sure it was okay to just tag along.

"Well, yes, but... I don't think she'll say no."

Tap, tap, tap. Professor Lim Sol worked her smartwatch and placed a call.

"Yeah. A-young? Mind if I bring Ho-yeon along to our dinner?"

"What, is there another Ho-yeon?"

Ah. I knew that voice. Warm, and just hearing it put you at ease — the voice of a saint, in the most literal sense.

"We had some research to discuss. Anyway, we'll head over together."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Click.

Lim Sol said only what she needed to say and hung up.

"She says it's fine. Let's go."

"You two got pretty close while I was taking the survival exam, huh?"

"We actually get along pretty well. Having you as a common topic helps. Anyway — dinner with A-young is okay with you, right?"

I never would have guessed. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lim Sol's dinner plans were with Baek A-young. So the two of them were close, apparently. That was a relief.

"Yes. I'd like that."

I'd been looking for the right moment to see Baek A-young anyway, so the timing was perfect. We tidied up the lab and headed out together. I was starting to get hungry myself. Seeing Baek A-young and getting a meal out of it — two birds, one stone.

"Anything you want to eat?"

"I'll eat just about anything. Where were you meeting her?"

"A place called Pungmidang. Korean food. If you don't like it, we can change."

"Pungmidang... ah. That's fine. I like it there too."

The Korean restaurant I'd gone to every time I had a meeting with Mun Su-rin was called Pungmidang. A place without even a sign, and yet it was clearly well-known, if even Professor Lim Sol knew about it.

"You know it? Then let's go there. A-young will already be waiting."

The streets, still in the full swing of the Celestial Festival, were bursting with energy. Watching stall after stall sell every kind of street food imaginable, I found myself wanting to grab something too.

"Professor. Want one of those?"

"I don't eat things sold on the street. The hygiene worries me."

"It's a chocolate banana. You're really not going to have one?"

"...Where?"

A short ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while later, Lim Sol was walking along with a chocolate banana in each hand. I'd been watching the stalls myself and they'd looked good, so I bought one too.

"Oh, that's actually good. Must be an expensive mana banana. No wonder I was cursing about how ridiculously overpriced it was at five thousand won a piece."

"Nnh... slurp."

I turned my head. Lim Sol had the banana in her mouth and was sucking on it, a faint smile on her face — clearly trying to mess with me.

"Yours tastes better."

"...That's embarrassing."

I knew she was teasing me, but that smile still made me feel weirdly self-conscious. Lim Sol looked even more pleased that she'd gotten to me, and took a proper bite of the banana.

We arrived at Pungmidang not long after. A server led us up to the second floor, and we stepped into the private room.

"You're here?!"

Baek A-young, who'd been sitting at the table, shot to her feet and greeted us like we'd been gone for years.

"What's with you? Are you that happy to see Ho-yeon?"

"Hello, Nurse."

"I heard that when I'm not around, you call A-young 'Ms. A-young.' She told me everything."

"Ah... so you know about that."

They really had gotten close. Close enough to be swapping stories like that.

"Hi, Ho-yeon. And Sol — you, come sit down."

Baek A-young smiled and said hello to me, then took Lim Sol by the hand and sat her down. And then, out of nowhere, she launched into a lecture.

"You. You're a professor. You can't stay late in a lab alone with a cadet. You're the professor, and Ho-yeon is the student."

"So what? We're both adults."

Lim Sol sounded thoroughly uninterested, and took a sip of the water sitting in front of her.

"What do you mean, so what...! Y-you two didn't do anything weird, did you?"

"We worked hard on magic research. Right?"

"Yes. It was exhausting."

"R-right, of course. I know that."

Know? She didn't know a damn thing. She was wearing the title of school nurse herself and only giving Lim Sol a hard time about it, which was, in its own way, a little cute. Territorial, maybe?

"Ms. A-young. Let's eat first. I'm hungry."

"Ah— o-okay."

Still, Baek A-young seemed to relax at the assurance that nothing strange had happened between the two of us.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with our dear A-young. Meanwhile, my body had already been wrung out for all it was worth.

"Shall we talk while we eat, then?"

Lim Sol picked up her chopsticks first, and Baek A-young and I started in on the meal as well.