Lim Sol's Laboratory (2)

"How are you supposed to grade all this by yourself?"

"You just work at it."

Lim Sol answered without looking up from the answer sheets. No matter how many we scored, the pile never seemed to end. She taught every year at the academy, which meant she was grading every last mage's exam across all grade levels.

Why hadn't Victoria Academy automated any of this? They had MMR cards. That was a perfectly good system.

"Come to think of it, why doesn't the academy use automated grading?"

"People are more accurate than machines."

"Sorry?"

What kind of answer was that? She sounded like some old department head who refused to trust computers and made everyone do the books by hand.

"Machines can be tampered with. Either by the person running them, or by the person who wrote the exam."

"...If that's the logic, then having a professor grade them is even riskier. Whether it's a mistake or deliberate tampering, the odds are higher on that side."

"We take a Mana Oath. A vow that we'll never tamper with the results."

"..."

Of course. The Mana Oath was invincible no matter where you went. But there was a more accurate method than that.

"Then why not just put a Mana Oath on the cadets? That'd eliminate any chance of cheating entirely."

"Do you even know what a Mana Oath is? Do you have any idea how complicated the procedure is?"

Ah. So it wasn't like in a novel, where you just declared I shall swear a Mana Oath...! and it happened.

Wait a second. If the professors already took a Mana Oath, then I really shouldn't be grading these at all.

"The more I think about it, the more I feel like me grading these is a dangerous idea."

"You're not going to inflate anyone's scores. And if you mess up by accident, that's fine. We publish the answer sheets anyway, and if any cadet loses even a single point, they come storming in with fire in their eyes."

"You really half-ass this job, don't you."

"Thanks."

Lim Sol didn't seem to register the sarcasm. She just kept grading.

"We've made a decent dent, though, Professor."

Looking at the remaining pile still made me want to sigh, but it had shrunk noticeably since we started.

"You're right. It goes a lot faster with two people. Thank you. That means more time for research."

"...Yeah. Being an academy professor is rough. The workload is insane."

The two of us had been grading for hours straight, and we'd only gotten through about a quarter of it. My scoring speed was about the same as Lim Sol's, so how long would this take her alone?

"They pay enough to more than make up for the labor."

"Ah..."

Money really did solve everything.

"But it's not just the work. The cadets trash-talk the professors constantly."

Everyday was flooded daily with gossip about the faculty. The lectures are boring. They're not helpful. The professor is ugly. Baseless hate comments poured in behind the shield of anonymity. Of course, Everyday didn't particularly try to crack down on it. The posts doubled as a metric for choosing professors, and slinging appearance-based insults just got you flamed anyway — nobody complimented you for it. Most of the comments were about lecture quality.

"They don't really talk trash ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about me, though? My professor evaluations have always been at the top."

"Well, that's because you're a talent monster, Professor."

She could come up with in five minutes what other people spent hours preparing. Why bother prepping at all? Plus she was gorgeous, so just sitting in her class was entertaining. What more could you want?

"Hmm. Well. I've been hearing that kind of thing for a long time. It never really felt good, though."

Lim Sol's face hardened, just slightly. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mood seemed to dip.

"...?"

Why would a compliment put her in a bad mood?

Ah...

So that was it. Well, who didn't have a hard past? I'd brought up something I shouldn't have, and the atmosphere had gone sour. What now?

"But you're in the middle of midterms. Are you sure you should be helping this much?"

Thankfully, Lim Sol tossed out a different topic, as if trying to shake off the bad memory herself. Fair enough. We'd already been grading for over three hours.

"It's not like I have anything to study. What's the difference?"

"You're awfully confident. I'm genuinely curious about your exam results."

Lim Sol looked at me with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something like wonder — a student spending hours helping her during exam week.

"People who are good at this stuff prepare in advance. Practicals start tomorrow. What's the point of cramming now? You've got to manage your condition."

"You say you're managing your condition, but this looks a lot like overwork."

"Being with you is the best condition management there is, Professor."

"Sure, sure. Do well on your exams."

That had been my best line, and she didn't even blink. A little sad, honestly.

"Want to make a bet on the actual results? I told you I'm confident."

"I already said I don't like bets."

"I'll put a perfect written score on the line. How about it?"

"...A perfect score?"

The words seemed to pique even Professor Lim Sol's interest.

"Yes. Perfect scores in every subject. That's doable, right?"

"I don't know where all this confidence is coming from, but... a perfect score would be worth it."

Big fish, hooked.

"I'm confident too, you know. What do you want if you win?"

"You decide. Just don't go overboard. Keep it reasonable."

"Then if I win... uh."

What should I even ask for? I'd been so focused on making the bet that I hadn't thought of a prize. I wanted something that would move things forward with Lim Sol... something she'd actually be interested in.

Then I remembered the flyer posted in the Magic Hall lobby, the one I'd seen on my way to her lab.

The Magical Research Exposition. That might spark a little interest, right?

"If I win, we go to the Magical Research Exposition together."

"The Magical Research Exposition...? Fine by me, but... it's nothing but old men and people who've lost their minds over magic. You'd be bored out of your skull."

"Going with you is the whole point, Professor. That okay?"

"Alright. Then if I win, you come help with my research for two hours every single day, no exceptions."

"...That seems a little steep. I'm just asking for one day out together..."

"Then how about once every two days?"

"That I can live with..."

I was going to win anyway, so it didn't matter — but I had to sound like I wasn't a hundred percent sure. That way Lim Sol would feel a little more at ease.

"Okay. Shall we grade yours first, then?"

Lim Sol rummaged through the first-year answer sheets and pulled one out.

"Sorry, but nobody gets question thirty right."

With a triumphant little smile, she flipped the sheet over — and her eyes went wide, her mouth falling open.

"Wh-what...?"

"Question thirty. That was a high-level trap, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no question. Like you said, I might be the only one who got it."

It was a problem about calculating the interactions between the magic circles provided in the question. Most students would have calculated the interaction between the two circles presented. But hidden inside the spell created by the first circle was another magic circle entirely. You had to include that hidden circle in the interaction calculation, so most cadets would have gotten it wrong. Nobody actually activated the circles during the exam, after all. Not unless you were someone like me, who could look at a magic circle and see exactly what spell it produced.

"H-how did you get this right?! I designed that question so that nobody would pass my exam!"

Lim Sol clenched her fists, genuinely indignant.

"Ah..."

Come to think of it, I was pretty sure there had been a setting like that. Professor Lim Sol's class was so advanced that nobody ever scored a perfect mark. One of those pointless bits of lore. So that was what she'd been going for.

"Starting to feel it now? I told you I'm confident about a perfect written score. You're not backing out of the bet at this point, are you?"

"...No. You'll miss something somewhere else."

Judging by her face, she was sulking. Kind of cute.

"But you could really tell how much work you put into it. It was way too hard. I spent more time on question thirty than on all the other problems combined."

In truth, I'd finished the whole exam in under ten minutes, so the difference wasn't that big. But still.

"...Yeah."

"Man, I'm exhausted! Grading for three hours straight is brutal. What kind of cadet works three unpaid hours for their professor, huh? Right?"

I'd tried sympathy and it hadn't landed, so I went for making my hard work obvious.

"I do appreciate that."

Thankfully, that one worked.

"Shouldn't I get a little cut of your salary? I feel like I did more than a tenth of this."

"I do other things for you."

"Other things?"

Lim Sol stuck her tongue out past her lips and made an O-ring with her fingers, pumping it back and forth in front of her mouth.

"Ah..."

"Want me to do it now?"

"...Please."

Lim Sol set the exam papers aside, walked over to the front of my sofa, and sank to her knees. The shift in mood was abrupt, but things had always been like this between us.

She tucked the strands of hair brushing her pink t-shirt behind her ears, then pulled down my pants and drew out my cock.

Sniff, sniff.

"...Professor. The sniffing is a little embarrassing."

It wasn't like we were both naked in bed for sex. I was the only one on the receiving end, so it was a bit mortifying.

"I was just wondering how an excretory organ can smell like this. Is there anyone else who's learned that skill? I want to learn it too."

"W-well. Probably not? I just happened to pick it up at the Black Market..."

"Is that so? Shame. Hahh."

She hadn't been entirely serious, apparently, because she immediately turned her attention to my cock. Her soft lips sucked in the head. The sensation of her moist tongue wrapping around the shaft sent blood rushing downward.

Wet, hungry sounds filled the quiet lab as she worked — a slow, deliberate suck, a soft gasp through her nose, the faint pop of her lips.

How was she better at this than Liliana? Did she study porn or something? I was coming to the realization that a magic genius was a sex genius too.

Lim Sol started working me in earnest. She took me deep into her mouth while her tongue licked along the shaft, delivering a pleasure that was hard to endure. On top of that, those catlike eyes of hers would occasionally flick up to check my reaction. Every time our gazes met, a rush of conquest and the thrill of having a beauty like this serving me surged through my chest.

The urge to come rose fast.

"Professor... I'm gonna come."

She answered with a muffled hum and a wet kiss against the head. Then she positioned my cock — which had been buried deep — inside her mouth and rapidly bobbed her head back and forth, stimulating the tip. Faced with her determination to taste my cum on her tongue, I didn't hold back. My body shuddered as I came.

But the timing was off. My cock slipped out of her mouth as it erupted, and Lim Sol's face was plastered with sticky semen.

"Tch. Ugh, it's so sticky. And what a waste."

She exhaled a hot breath, wiped the cum from her face with her hand, and licked her fingers clean.

"Professor. A-are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

After she'd gotten every edible drop into her mouth, Lim Sol used a Clean spell to tidy her face and clothes.

"Delicious as always. Come again next time."

"Yes, ma'am... I'll be going."

Lim Sol's blowjobs were like a goodbye. A thank-you for helping with the work today. Except for that first day, when she'd said my cock was sweet, she only ever did it once — which was a shame.

I left Lim Sol's laboratory and headed back to the dorm. I'd spent more time than I'd expected. I should rest a bit and then sleep. I'd messaged Liliana that I'd be late, so she'd have eaten on her own, right?

Ding—

The moment I walked in, Liliana came pattering over to greet me.

"You're back?"

"Yeah. You ate dinner, right?"

"Nope. I was waiting so I could eat with you!"

Her eyes were shining. Liliana had been getting brighter and brighter lately. The two turning points had been when she contacted her mom in Hell, and when she saw the video of me getting famous. I still didn't know why.

"Lucky for you I haven't eaten either, but what were you going to do if I had?"

"Then I'd just have to eat your cum. What else?"

"...How about as an appetizer before dinner?"

I took her sex joke completely seriously. Lim Sol had only done it once, leaving me wanting more, so this worked out perfectly.

"Huh? Right now? Without even eating dinner?"

"We can do it while we wait for delivery, eat, then do it again."

"I-I mean, I'm fine with that... mmm... Master."

I pulled Liliana into my arms, kissed her, and led her to the bed.

Lim Sol's blowjob versus a succubus's. Time to find out which one was better.