Preparations

That godawful long weekend was finally over. The dorm had gotten a little cramped thanks to a certain unhinged succubus, but she was easy on the eyes, so as a decorative piece she wasn't half bad. Was this what it felt like to raise a bonsai? Or maybe not quite.

I'd set up the streaming equipment that had arrived this morning, so she could handle the broadcasts on her own from here. I'd even let her try a game last night — watching her adapt in under an hour and start cussing out the jungler, I figured I didn't have much to worry about.

"Ah, crap. Come to think of it, I never made it to the orphanage."

Well, skipping a week isn't the end of the world. Baek A-young said she was heading out as a dungeon helper this week anyway, so I could just say something had come up.

"Have a good weekend?"

"Yeah. Morning, man."

Kim Young-han had struck up a conversation in the lecture hall. Since I couldn't hang around with Lucy and Rumi, he was the only friend I had left.

"Still haven't made up with Lucy? I told you — she's the prideful type. You've gotta be the one to apologize first."

"..."

I know that, you bastard. Not like I could tell him I was deliberately tanking her affection to build momentum later. I sighed.

I glanced over at Lucy, parked off in the corner by herself.

It was dropping nicely, but still not enough. I needed to drive it all the way to the floor, then nudge it back up at the very end.

That was the state I wanted her in. The setup where Lucy — who had never trusted me — gets betrayed by someone she did trust, and then I swoop in to save her. Cliché as hell, but it wouldn't feel that way to the person living through it. I already had the whole thing mapped out.

Lucy wasn't even looking this way. Rumi, tidying her books, locked eyes with me and jumped.

I smiled a little at that cute reaction and checked her window. That was weird. Last time, her lust had sat a little below her affection — but now lust had overtaken it. Something actually going on with her? I'd have to poke around later.

I tossed a wink at Rumi, who was still blinking at me, then turned my head forward.

"Alright, I'll drop it. I'm sure you've got your reasons."

"Thanks."

He always considered my position and never quite crossed the line. He really was a good guy. So why the blond delinquent look? I still wondered what the developers had been thinking.

"Class is about to start. Let's sit."

"Okay."

The tedious morning theory lectures finally ended, and the afternoon brought the mage specialization class. The professor in charge of mages was Lim Sol. Our relationship had changed quite a bit since that first lesson, so seeing her at the front of a classroom felt strangely novel.

"Ah... come on in."

Lim Sol was sitting up front, halfheartedly accepting the cadets' greetings as they filed in. Unlike last time, today's session was being held in a lecture hall. Apparently the practical-class professors had caught complaints for doing nothing but run drills and hand out feedback on repeat, so the academy had changed the format.

Kids who have no idea how valuable a professor's feedback actually is. Tch.

Regardless, this was the situation Lim Sol would hate the most. She was a total my-way-or-the-highway type who looked like she despised anything even remotely annoying.

"Alright, good to see you. I don't need to introduce myself, right? You know who I am. The academy insisted I actually teach a theory class today, so I called you all in here. Mm. Today I'll be covering barriers."

Thin films of mana began stacking themselves in layers above her palm.

"A barrier has to be efficient, first and foremost. If you can't stop an attack using less mana than the other guy spent throwing it, the skill called 'Barrier' isn't actually useful."

Fair point. Otherwise there'd be no reason to bother with a barrier at all — you could just answer with an attack spell of your own.

"For reference, this is a little different from the magic shields you snap up to stop a sneak attack. Those yank out a huge burst of mana in an instant, so the cost is enormous."

The stacked films of mana on her hand folded together and resolved into a single, solid shield.

"This form is the easiest for beginners... but I've also put together a few of the other structural variants."

A teaching assistant started handing a sheet of paper to every student. Printed on it were magic circles for barriers of every kind, sorted by difficulty from beginner all the way to advanced. She'd even written out explanations of the circles and formulas in language a cadet could actually follow. Unexpectedly thorough.

Huh. I take it back. She actually prepped for this.

Then I spotted the dark circles spreading under the assistant's eyes as she made her rounds, and I revised that thought immediately. Right. No chance she'd done this herself.

"Looks like you've all had a look, so should we practice? Mm, no. That'd just make this the same as a practical. I'm not doing this twice."

I kept my eyes on the magic circles drawn across the handout. The beginner barrier Lim Sol had just demonstrated. I studied the circle and pictured it — mana films stacking, layer upon layer, until they became a barrier. I imagined the soft shhk-shhk-shhk of those films overlapping and locking into shape.

The high-level mana control that came with my Mana Sensitivity took that image and made it real. Mana spilled from my hand without any particular effort, thinned itself into film, stacked against my palm, and a moment later resolved into a barrier.

Easy.

The vivid blue of the mana and the thickness of the films made the barrier's solidity obvious. I skipped right past the intermediate circles and looked at the advanced one.

Advanced wasn't simply stacking thin films. You drew the mana out in a double helix, then wove those strands together the way you'd weave cloth. More efficient than a piled-up wall of films, and tougher — the structure absorbed impact across itself and only grew more solid for it.

This one actually looks hard.

I could probably reproduce the structure itself with Mana Sensitivity. But even if I pulled the mana out in a double helix, I had a feeling it still wouldn't function as a proper barrier.

"Hmm. There's about one person here who looks decent. You there — what's your name again. Cadet Rumi? Come on up."

Professor Lim Sol's eyes met mine for a second, then slid away as she called Rumi's name. She'd seen my barrier and still reacted like that — which meant she wanted my talent kept under wraps.

"Y-yes! Mmph!"

Rumi had been so startled by the sudden call that she'd bitten her tongue; her face crumpled into a wince.

"I took a look around and you seemed to be doing the best, so show the others once."

"Ah — yes."

Rumi glanced around nervously, then drew a double helix of mana from her hands.

What? She plays the weakling and then just casually pulls an advanced barrier?

She managed to complete it, somehow, and Lim Sol evaluated the result as not bad.

Okay. Now I get it.

To use a barrier well, the will carried inside the mana was what mattered. You were building it to stop someone else's attack — so you had to draw the mana while holding the image of something fixed, solid, an iron wall. That was how you got the efficiency.

"Well done. Go sit down."

Rumi scurried back to her seat.

"Nice job, Rumi~! You're the best, the absolute best."

"Hehe. Thanks, Lucy."

Lucy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and Rumi's voices drifted up from the back. I glanced over. Lucy's face was bright. Though at this rate, it was about time she came looking for me.

After class, Lucy and Rumi were chatting with the other girls from their class.

"Ugh, I'm so done. Barriers just do not click with me~. I keep trying and they will not form."

"Right? Rumi's the weird one. Isn't she like, top of the year for barriers?"

Lee Ji-eun, the girl Lucy was closest with, chimed in on cue.

"Obviously. Do you even know how amazing our Rumi is? You saw her pull a double helix in the middle of class, right?"

"Th-that's enough, Lucy!"

Rumi's face went scarlet under the praise from Lucy and Ji-eun.

"Aww, why~? It's true."

"Hey, girls."

"Oh, Felix — you done with class too?"

"Yeah, I just finished."

Felix had gotten close enough over the weekend, texting back and forth with Lucy, that they were already on casual terms.

"Hi, Felix."

"Hey, Ji-eun."

"Perfect timing! We were about to hit a café — wanna come?! Rumi's coming too, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Let's all go."

Rumi still found Felix a little off-putting, but Lucy liked him, so she tended to get swept along in that current and hang out anyway.

"Wait, wait. Come to think of it, Felix — I heard Lee Ho-yeon dragged you off on Friday. You okay?"

Ji-eun, who lived for gossip, covered her mouth with one hand as she asked.

"Nah, it wasn't like that. Don't worry about it."

"Hold on. What? Why would Lee Ho-yeon drag you anywhere?"

The name Lee Ho-yeon made Lucy flinch like she'd been stung.

"I told you, it wasn't like that. Really, it's nothing, Lucy."

"Saying it's nothing means something happened, doesn't it?"

"Nnh."

Felix weighed how to play this. He'd already built up a fair amount of closeness with Lucy. Depending on what he said right here, he could steer Lee Ho-yeon's image however he wanted.

The deliberation was short. He'd agreed to a so-called partnership with Ho-yeon, but it was an arrangement he could throw away whenever he pleased. There was no reason to stand in front of Lucy and praise another man.

"Just be honest. What did he say to you?"

Felix let out a long, reluctant sigh, then started trembling like a terrified puppy.

"The truth is... he threatened to kill me if I ever went near you or Rumi."

"W-what?"

"H-Ho-yeon would never do that!"

Rumi cried out in protest, but Felix's acting was exceptional even among Demons.

"But it's true. The second class ended he showed up at Class B, dragged me off by force, and in a place with nobody around he threatened me not to go near either of you. He said you two were... his. Told me not to get any ideas."

"That son of a bitch. Has he lost his mind?!"

"Lucy, calm down. Don't get worked up! We don't even know if it's true yet!"

"How am I supposed to not get worked up right now?!"

There was a setting Lucy, as a heroine of the original Sex Academy, could never escape. She had a fierce pride, and she would never be the first to apologize to someone she'd fought with. She would find any flaw she could, tear the other person down further, and make herself the one in the right.

Part of why she'd gotten close to Felix so fast was his magic, yes — but it was also Lucy's unconscious defense mechanism. To reject Lee Ho-yeon, she doubled down on affirming the Felix that Lee Ho-yeon had rejected.

Of course, after the Felix incident, that temperament would take a hit and she'd grow from it... but that wasn't now.

"It's fine. I don't care about stuff like that. As long as I have you two, I'm okay."

"No. It is not fine. I'm going to find him myself and warn him."

"H-huh? No, you really don't have to..."

"No. I'm going."

Lucy threw out the café plans, grabbed her bag, and took off running.

"..."

Felix wondered for a second if he'd said too much — but Lucy was already disappearing into the distance.

"Hmmm."

I wondered how our Liliana was doing. I figured I'd swing by the dorm to check on her, then head over to the training hall. I had a feeling I could push the barrier I'd just learned a little further. Mix a bit of my own original work into the advanced barrier magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and it might turn into a proper skill before long.

"Ah~ subscribe and like. Don't forget the notification bell~."

"Hey! Lee Ho-yeon!"

I'd been in a good enough mood to walk along doing streamer bits under my breath when someone shouted my name. I turned around. Lucy was standing there, fuming, glaring daggers at me.

There she is.

I'd called Felix out that openly on purpose — I'd expected Lucy to come find me. Figured it'd be the weekend at the earliest, Monday at the latest. She must have only just heard.

...She didn't catch the subscribe-and-like bit, right?

"You. What did you say to Felix when you called him over on Friday?"

Fortunately, everything was flowing the way I'd intended. Now I just had to set the board.

"Why do you want to know? I didn't say much."

"This is your last chance. Be honest."

She was genuinely furious.

Affection had dropped into the single digits. She must have gotten an earful of some truly spectacular slander from Felix. I let a little manufactured anger into my voice and went on.

"I told him not to go near you or Rumi. Happy?"

"Why the hell would you do that? What right do you even have?"

Because that bastard is a Demon — not that I could actually say that. The frustration of it sat heavy in my throat.

"Everything I did was for your—"

"If it was for me, you never should have gone after Felix in the first place!"

Lucy was one spark away from completely losing it. Push any further and words wouldn't reach her, so I eased off a little.

"...Lucy. Do you trust Felix?"

"Yeah. Of course I do. Felix and I are friends."

I asked it carefully. She answered without a shred of doubt.

"I don't know what rumors you've heard. But do you actually have any proof?"

"Proof... I don't have any! But you definitely dragged Felix off!"

"You'll believe every word out of Felix's mouth, but you won't believe me. You don't think that's a little strange?"

"That's because Felix is... nngh."

Lucy's fierce pride had tangled with Felix's suggestion and produced something that was no longer a normal state of mind. The truth was, one well-placed nudge would have been enough for her to realize something was wrong with her — but I had no intention of leaving it at that.

Lucy had a setting: when she got angry, she lost all sense of proportion and her eyes went dark. An innate setting she could never escape so long as she was a heroine. And based on that setting, her resistance to magic plummeted the moment she lost her temper.

Mana spread from beneath my feet, shaped itself into a spell, and slipped in through the tips of Lucy's toes. Gaze of Hatred. A magic that made the target despise the first person of the opposite sex they laid eyes on.

"Lucy. Everything I did was for you. Just think about it one more—"

I spoke to the Lucy now under the spell and slowly reached out a hand.

"Get away from me!"

She slapped my hand aside and fixed me with a look sharp enough to cut.

"I know everything. That you're after my body and Rumi's. That you threatened Felix and tried to get him killed. I know all of it! I'm not falling for a guy ever again. I'm not going to be used!"

"...Lucy."

The spell had taken hold cleanly. Unless she took a severe psychological shock, or I released it myself, it would keep running.

"I'm glad I cut ties with trash like you, even if it's late. Don't you ever show your face in front of me again."

Lucy spat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the words like venom, shoved me back, and started walking away.

"Lucy! Just know this. I've always thought of you two as good friends, and that hasn't changed!"

"...Get lost."

She clenched her teeth, snarled the curse, and vanished.

Once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lucy was completely out of sight, the tension drained out of me and I let out a long breath.

"Whew. What kind of spell hits that hard? Scary as hell."

Gaze of Hatred, they called it. Should've named it Gaze of Murderous Intent.

"Well. Still went pretty much perfectly."

When Felix betrayed her, I would be the first person Lucy thought of. I'd even played the part of offering her genuine goodwill at the very end. Now all that was left was to wait for the harvest.

I couldn't wait for the day I'd reap the salvation of Lee Ho-yeon, the bad boy.