A New Encounter (2)
"It's impossible to give every student perfectly tailored one-on-one career guidance—there are too many biases—so usually the popular kids each take on three or four underclassmen. Some have none at all. In my heart I'd love to keep them with us all day, but Marei needs to meet a lot of people. First you'll have to go speak with the student council president."
"You'll be shocked when you see her," Ilien said, flashing a wide grin.
"She's a child who likes me very much, and I like her too. You said you still don't know what you want to do, right? The mentor-mentee system isn't that rigid. People switch around with mutual consent all the time, so it's good to meet lots of different people. Valter is wonderful, but unlike ordinary human schools the class structure is rather loose. This is the best way to get close to those around you."
Marei had spent his life surrounded by women so beautiful that "perfect" felt like an understatement, yet he couldn't help being intrigued by Ilien's suggestion. It had been less than a month since he'd begun savoring a daily life drenched in carnal pleasure, and until recently his routine had been the ordinary one of laughing and joking with friends at a normal school.
The place Ilien led him to was remarkably quiet. The faint sound of hymns drifting through the air suggested a church was nearby. Ilien stopped before a door adorned with ornate carvings and knocked several times.
"Shasha, are you in?"
"Ah, Professor Ilien! You've come? We have a guest, so let's sit and talk."
The door opened at once. A woman a full head taller than Marei greeted them both with a smile. The sofa placed before a long table made the room feel more like a professor's laboratory than a student's office.
"Is this the new transfer student? Hello… mmm. I'm Sashabetti Marcre. As you can see, I'm from the celestial race. Thanks to your grandmother, I still haven't graduated—I've been stuck here for eight years."
"Hello. I'm Marei de Pawen."
Marcre gave a light nod at his greeting and smiled faintly. Waist-length fiery red hair and sparkling crimson eyes. Despite the flame-like coloring of her hair and eyes, she gave off a remarkably calm impression. A pair of wings the size of an adult man's added an air of mystery.
"You resemble Loren, yet… you're clearly different."
"Yes…"
Every time someone mentioned Labella's grandmother—someone he'd never once met—Marei couldn't hide the way he shrank inward. He hadn't heard the full story from his mother, but the curious gazes that followed the Pawen family name ever since he'd arrived at Valter still felt unfamiliar.
"I read the letter you sent, Ilien. You're looking for a mentor for this boy?"
"I'd like Shasha to take him on personally. Too much to ask?"
"Normally I'd want to grant any request from you, but I've been assigned to both the choir and the preliminary holy knights' divine magic courses this term. I can put his name forward, but I won't be able to look after him properly. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
Beyond the wide-open window, the hymn rose once more.
"Professor Marcre…"
"Call me Senior Shasha. A nun here said my name was too difficult, so the two of us agonized over a new one. And since Loren's the reason I can't graduate and am stuck here looking after the children, what kind of professor am I?"
"I-I'm sorry."
At the revelation that his unknown grandmother had prevented her graduation, Marei apologized as if the fault were his own. Shasha burst into a rather loud laugh.
"Hehehe… Why are you apologizing? You've taken on a very cute student, Professor Ilien."
"He's my little darling, after all~."
Behind a hand covering her mouth, Shasha let out a small giggle. Despite her cool exterior, she seemed surprisingly honest in expressing her emotions.
"The preliminary holy knights and the choir usually live together in dorms. When you consider what I manage and teach, I suppose I am a teacher, but most of the clergy who serve the human gods look at me with distaste. They call it deferred graduation, but you could say Loren is essentially protecting me. Fifteen years old, was it? Early admission to Valter Academy—you must be quite the scholar."
Shasha's eyes slid from the top of Marei's head to his toes. She fluttered her wings and spoke to him directly.
"I… I'm not sure."
"He's so outstanding that Professor Idrien, Professor Julia, and I all insisted on giving him personal lessons~."
Outside the building, where she almost never showed affection without an illusion spell, Ilien suddenly pulled Marei into a tight embrace.
"A lineup that could turn even an average talent into a genius… Did Loren ask you to do this?"
"No, we chose to do it because we wanted to. Well, when I said I'd give him personal lessons, Idrien's competitive spirit kicked in and she decided to join. After a few classes, she'll be completely smitten with him too, won't she~?"
Right, Marei? At Ilien's gentle question, Marei gave a careful nod. The plan was to thoroughly crush her during the national mock exams. Labella and Ilien had promised to prepare the method to break her spirit, so Marei himself had no particular thoughts beyond enjoying the body that stirred such intense lust.
"Hmm… It's been less than a week and his talent is already enough to make people fall head over heels? The way you brag makes me want to teach him myself."
"If Marei puts his mind to it, even Shasha would be head-over-heels in less than a week. But this term my schedule is completely full. Look forward to next semester. Hehe…"
The direction in which Ilien and Shasha spoke of "talent" carried completely different meanings, yet somehow the conversation flowed smoothly. Shasha gave her wings a large flap and rose from her seat first.
"It's about time. The child I'm going to introduce as a mentor is waiting for us. Will you come along, Ilien?"
Ilien answered with a nod. Shasha roughly tousled Marei's hair, then began walking. Marei followed behind the student council president, his hand stroking the swaying, seductive rear of the naughty bitch in heat.
Only when her face had flushed a faint pink and she kept stealing glances at him while bending over did Marei finally stop rewarding Ilien.
"Shasha can be quite oblivious… Just a little more… Okay? I'm checking the surroundings with magic to make sure no one's there…"
"I'll give you plenty at home later."
Even as Ilien gazed at him with moist, longing eyes while holding his hand, Marei firmly shook his head. The scene was absurd, yet Shasha truly seemed unaware of anything. She walked ahead, wings fluttering gently.
"J-just a little more…"
"Ren, endure it."
"Mm? Mm… just a little more…"
Though he had started it, Marei was equally flustered by how stickily Ilien clung to him. She subtly rolled her hips and lifted the hem of her skirt; he bit his lip hard. Ilien was confident no one would notice, but since Marei still didn't fully understand the extent of her abilities, he could only clench his jaw and suppress his lust.
"Just from Master's touch I'm soaked again… We could do it right now… Right? How is it?"
At the sweet voice whispering in his ear, Marei swallowed hard. No matter how faithful he was to his instincts, the fear and reluctance of possibly being seen forced him to speak to her the way he would to Idrien.
"Endure it. That's an order."
"Yes…"
At Marei's truly pet-like attitude, Ilien felt a shiver of obscene pleasure. She forced strength into her trembling legs that threatened to give out and kept walking. For a long while she quivered from an unknown ecstasy, but fortunately she managed to calm her body by the time they reached their destination.
"Celine, Celine~ Are you there~?"
Should it be called a garden? Tall grass blocked the view, with tables and chairs placed here and there. Shasha called the other's name several times as she moved, then suddenly stopped. Before her, a girl sat on a swing chair, staring blankly at the table.
"Writing letters again. What a burden… Another one from your fiancé, I suppose. Have you eaten?"
"Senior Shasha…"
The moment Shasha appeared in eyes the exact color of a cloudless afternoon sky, a faint smile formed on the girl's lips.
"I've brought the mentee I mentioned yesterday. If it doesn't feel right again, tell me immediately. I'll introduce you to someone else."
"It's not that it doesn't feel right… No, never mind. Yes, I understand."
Her wavy blue hair rippled like ocean waves. She looked almost like a doll. Her expressionless face rarely revealed emotion. Marei glanced at Ilien, but she merely shrugged as if she didn't know the girl well either.
"She's still a candidate, but let me introduce her. This is Celine Ferdinand. She's aiming to become a spiritist, but she has wide interests and deep knowledge in many areas, so she'll be a great help… Marei, introduce yourself."
Shasha let out a mischievous laugh, moved to Ilien's side, linked arms with her, and carefully led her out of the garden. Ilien wanted to stay closer to Marei, but the order to endure made her obediently follow Shasha and disappear.
"Um, I'm Marei de Pawen… I'm fifteen… and I still haven't decided on a career path."
"Celine Ferdinand. I'm accurately eighteen, but under imperial law I'm considered seventeen."
Celine was looking at Marei. The two people left awkwardly alone simply stared at each other in silence. Realizing how strange their current appearance must look, Celine spoke first.
"Don't just stand there blankly. Sit down for now."
"Y-yes…!"
"Have you had lunch?"
Marei nodded. Celine rummaged through her basket, took out a prettily wrapped box, and set it on the table.
"My fiancé sent it, so eat as much as you like."
"Pardon?"
The thought crossed his mind—was it all right to eat something her fiancé sent?—but Celine remained completely expressionless as she silently unwrapped the package and munched on the cookies.
"If anyone approaches and tells you to end your mentorship with me, tell me honestly. I'll introduce you to other friends."
"What? What do you…"
At Marei's question, Celine pretended not to hear and continued nibbling the cookies bit by bit. She didn't seem to care that cookie crumbs were falling onto the letter.
"There's not much you need to know… and knowing isn't necessarily good."
"I see…"
At Celine's decisive attitude, Marei couldn't find anything else to say. Seeing him completely deflated, she let out a large sigh and continued.
"Even if the mentor-mentee relationship will probably end quickly, it's still right for me to teach you the basics. How much do you know? I heard from Senior Shasha that you're a transfer student. I also heard that the transfer is supposed to be kept secret."
"Not at all…"
Celine nodded several times, took a cup from the basket, and set it before Marei. She filled his cup with tea that carried a pleasant, nameless fragrance, then went on.
"It's usually like a study group. During exam periods some do it together, others separately. Since the entire school is occupied on Friday afternoons, some groups say they're doing outside activities and head home. There are kids who actually wander around Valter, and others who go on two-night, three-day trips to nearby cities for sightseeing. Those truly interested in further education or careers share information or visit people in related fields to talk about various things. And I…"
Celine paused mid-sentence, crumpled the letter densely covered in writing, threw it into the trash, and snapped the expensive quill pen in half before continuing.
"I want to try many different things. I want to go eat delicious food, perform together in the public square, and study together. Well… that's all. Just wishes."
Though she spoke as if letting the words slip out, the sticky, earnest emotion mixed into her breathing left Marei at a loss for what to say. The atmosphere was so heavy he couldn't even casually suggest doing those things together; he could only nod.
"Since you've transferred… you probably aren't familiar with the school buildings yet. I'll show you around."
Celine stood and brushed off her clothes. She began walking with brisk steps.
"Um… Senior Celine. Your things…?"
"Don't worry about them. I was going to throw them away anyway."
She looked refreshed. Feeling as though her previously rigid face had softened a little, Marei followed behind Celine.
"Ah, that's right…"
Celine suddenly stopped as if something had occurred to her and looked at Marei.
"Welcome to Valter Academy."
At her small smile, Marei simply stared at her in a daze.