The Second Failing Student (2)

It was a tense moment.

Selena and I stood side by side in front of the door to Lavi's room—right next door to Selena's.

With a racing heart I pressed the doorbell.

The dormitory was laid out like a corridor-style villa, so the chime seemed to ring far too loud.

What would happen if someone else saw a teacher casually walking into a student's room? Would I end up repeating the same mess all over again?

Cold sweat was beading on my skin from those thoughts when something soft and warm coiled around my left hand.

Ah. Of course it was Selena. Grabbing my hand just to ease my nerves.

Hand?

It felt a little too broad and large for a hand, so I flicked my gaze sideways. What I'd been expecting to hold was Selena's hand—what I actually had was one of her ass cheeks.

"Selena?"

"I wanted to ease Teacher Sion's tension."

"Just hold my hand normally."

"Is that all right?"

"Hmm. From a social standpoint I'm not sure, but it's better than groping my ass."

"Hehe. Understood, Teacher Sion♡"

The bright smile that had looked so lovely at first no longer sat well with me. Maybe it was because of Yuhwa noona's rampage and Lavi's blackmail.

I couldn't help worrying that Selena might be nursing some hidden agenda of her own.

"Come on in, Ssaem♡"

The door opened softly. I steadied my breathing and stepped inside.

Lavi was filming me entering her room on her phone. That sly little grin of hers snagged my attention, so I obediently crossed the threshold.

"Oh my? Selena came too?"

"Good day to you, Lavi unni."

"You didn't have to come, Selena."

"That is not true. I am the cause of this, so I came to explain and ensure that the innocent Teacher Sion does not have to take the blame."

"Heeeh~"

She lowered her phone a fraction and stared hard at Selena. She was trying to look composed, but the panic was written all over her face.

Had she never expected us to show up together?

Lavi sauntered over and settled herself lightly on the sofa. Then she pointed with her chin at the floor right in front of her.

"Ssaem♡ Forgot your place already?"

"Lavi unni. Surely you are not ordering Teacher Sion to kneel?"

"That's right~ He's the trash teacher who jumped you, isn't he??"

"Haa."

Selena looked at me—then without a shred of hesitation dropped to her knees. She even bowed her head all the way down.

The sight left Lavi thoroughly rattled. She even waved her hands frantically to stop her.

"W-what are you doing?! I just meant sit on a cushion!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

Bullshit. She must have never imagined Selena would go that submissive and got flustered. Originally she had probably wanted me to grovel the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way Selena just had.

"Lavi. I'll ask you straight. What do you want in exchange for deleting that photo?"

"How much is your salary, Ssaem?"

"What. You planning to squeeze blood from a flea!?"

"If not that, then you can wait on me hand and foot all day long♡"

She snickered and crossed her legs. Looking every bit the little tyrant, she rested a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finger against her lips and idly wiggled her foot.

"Fine. From your point of view, what we did is clearly a problem. Even if Selena wanted it, a teacher putting his hands on a student is still something to be condemned."

"Huh? Selena wanted it? What the hell does that mean??"

Lavi looked down at Selena, who was still face-down on the floor, as if demanding an explanation.

"From the very beginning Teacher Sion harbored no impure intentions. He offered counseling because he wished to help me, a failing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠student. I simply accepted."

"Counseling?"

"Yes. Teacher Sion is the advisor of the Life Guidance Department. Mental care for students is his primary duty."

"First I've heard of a department like that."

"And thanks to Teacher Sion, I have been able to sleep soundly. Shamefully, I ended up developing feelings for him."

"W-what did you say!?"

"So the one who crossed the line was me. Please, delete that photo. Lavi unni."

She bowed her head even lower. Lavi froze solid. The force of it felt like Selena might start slamming her forehead into the floor if the blackmail didn't stop.

I was just as frozen.

Selena had feelings for me? Well, her affection score had already hit 500, so it wasn't entirely unbelievable…

"Can I say something too?"

"What, Ssaem! You don't get to talk, so shut it!"

"No. This is important for you and for Selena."

I had no idea if saying it would actually fix anything, but—

"I want Selena to shine. That's why I offered counseling, and why I even trained her."

"And if you were just after her body?"

Lavi's sharp question made my breath catch for a second. It was true that I'd done all sorts of things with Selena for the sake of weekly quests.

But more than that.

"And the truth is, Teacher is an Ability User."

"Eh."

"Liar!"

Selena also whipped around to stare at me in shock. The angle somehow felt exactly like looking back over her shoulder while doing it doggy-style, so my eyes automatically slid away.

"It's embarrassing to say, but… by performing the act of intercourse… I possess the ability to level up Ability Users. In other words, to make them stronger."

Strictly speaking it was only necessary when aiming for a rank-up, and it was just one facet of my status-manipulation power, but still.

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

Selena and Lavi both stared at me with blank faces. Facts were facts. All I could do now was wait for my students to believe me.

"To-tal trash. Ssaem, you're a real freak, huh??"

Lavi recoiled with pure contempt in her eyes.

"Ah… so that's why."

Selena, for some reason, looked disappointed.

Their reactions were even worse than I'd braced for. I nearly had a heart attack.

"Ssaem."

Lavi spoke in a rare, serious voice. Meeting those ice-cold eyes made both my legs start trembling.

What was even scarier was how close her thumb was to the phone screen. One wrong move and I could lose my teaching license—maybe even earn a brand-new set of handcuffs.

Cold sweat rolled down my back. Had I ever been this tense in my life?

I swallowed dryly and raised both hands above my head. Getting my salary cleaned out was still better than becoming Lavi's full-time servant.

I was just about to ask for her account number when—

Selena, still face-down on the floor, suddenly lunged and snatched the phone. Lavi, caught completely off-guard, reacted a beat too late.

"Uwaah!? Give it back!"

"I will not. I will stop any attempt to bargain with the good Teacher Sion, no matter what."

"Khhhg! You dick-addicted bitch!"

"Eut!?"

Lavi shot to her feet and charged. The two of them tumbled across the floor, wrestling and thrashing.

I stared blankly for a second—then spotted Selena's hand thrust high into the air.

One tap of the confirm button and a report post would go live on the academy's official site.

I snatched the phone and deleted the photo for good. Meanwhile Selena pinned Lavi down with pure strength.

Glass-cannon marksman versus balanced utility character—Lavi was getting completely wrecked.

If she used her ability she could crush Selena, but surely she wouldn't fire it off inside her own room…

"Fine then. If that's how it is!"

Crack. Lavi's body flared with light.

"You're seriously using your ability in here!?"

"I can just ask the Service Club to clean up afterward!"

The recoil sent Selena flying. Even the sofa and other furniture started sliding little by little.

A small mirror-like disc formed behind Lavi's back. She was actually going to fire.

Quick Red Bible trivia:

Lavi's ability was basically a railgun. DPS was absolute garbage, single-target only, and after one shot she flopped like a certain someone who loved big explosion magic.

But her burst damage was pretty solid for an R-rank, so she'd been surprisingly useful in early boss fights.

She didn't seem to care that everything around her might get vaporized. Just like always, she was slowly charging to maximum output.

"Teacher Sion!"

Selena charged back in and tackled Lavi. She was a hair's breadth from firing.

"Enyaat!?"

"Even if it is Lavi unni, I will not allow Teacher Sion to be hurt!"

"Snap out of it, Selena! He's tricking you!"

"No. I am not being tricked. Teacher Sion has treated me with sincerity from the very beginning."

"Eut."

Oh. The polar bear dies. The glacier melts.

No—this wasn't the time.

"I already deleted the photo. There's no reason left for me to play along with your deal, so stop this. I don't want to see either of you get hurt over something like this."

"All talk and no action, you piece of trash. You deleted the photo, you say?"

Lavi canceled her ability and giggled. She was completely pinned under Selena and couldn't even move, yet she still looked completely unfazed. Why?

"Did you really think this genius girl Lavi would let Ssaem into her room without any backup plans??"

She wasn't a little girl, but whatever. I belatedly scanned the room. It was just a messy, filthy shut-in's den.

"I'll tell you for the sake of my dumb, loser Ssaem♡"

Lavi snapped her fingers. Tiny sparks of static crackled outward—and pink lights twinkled all over the room.

"Don't tell me!"

"Yep, you're so slow to notice, Ssaem. Total slowpoke♡ Loser♡"

So that was it. She'd hidden cameras everywhere and recorded the entire situation so far.

I could hunt them down and wipe them one by one, but finding every single one would be tough. She might even have automatic backups.

Just the ones I could spot numbered a good ten. If there were even more hidden…

"Teacher Sion."

"Hm?"

While I was still calculating, Selena spoke in a calm, utterly serious voice.

"Please do that to Lavi unni as well."

"What?"

"Level her up. Once she feels it for herself, she will believe you."

"Hold on, Selena. That means—"

"Yes. I will hold her down, so please insert yourself into Lavi unni."

Selena pinned Lavi's head with one hand and with the other yanked down her sleep pants—little more than hot pants to begin with.

"What the hell are you doing, Selena!"

Lavi thrashed wildly. Her small, slender hips jerked upward and wriggled all over the place. Why the hell was my crotch reacting even at a moment like this?

Ding.