A New Encounter (3)
From Senior Celine came the crisp, clear scent unique to dawn at the lakeside. Each time that pure fragrance, free of any muddy undertone, tickled his nose, Marei closed the distance between them by the smallest of degrees.
“How long has it been since you arrived at the academy? A week? Two?”
“This week…”
“It really hasn’t been long at all.”
The senior assigned as his mentor was not particularly talkative, yet she still guided him through every corner of the school with meticulous care. Although he had received introductions from several people, the academy’s sheer scale left everything feeling unfamiliar. Of course, the names were beginning to sound familiar and he could recall their rough locations, but considering the campus rivaled the imperial university in size, he had only grasped the tiniest fraction.
After walking for nearly an hour without rest, the pair settled onto a circular bench as though by unspoken agreement. They exchanged light conversation before the topic drifted toward classes. When Celine saw Marei’s timetable, her face crumpled into a deep frown.
“What kind of schedule is this…?”
Her lower eyelids trembled as she stared at the mentee’s grid, packed solid from Monday through Friday. Marei’s innocent smile left her speechless. He genuinely seemed unaware of the problem.
She studied the black-haired junior looking up at her. He barely reached her lips in height. Fifteen, he had said. That placed him right at the average for boys his age. His face evoked a small, delicate animal, and the lingering baby fat in his cheeks made him appear even younger than he was.
“You mentioned you attended a different school before coming to Valter, correct?”
“Yes.”
His dark eyes sparkled as they fixed on her. Celine had no idea where to begin or how to explain. On reflection, she could understand how a student from an ordinary school, left to build his own timetable, might produce something like this. Simply looking at it made her head spin.
Every slot was filled except for lunch. The oppressive pressure of surviving even a single month under such a load radiated from the page. Forcing her blurring vision back into focus, she examined the arrangement more closely and noticed an incomprehensible scheduling conflict.
“Hm? The timetable uses morning and afternoon blocks instead of hourly units.”
“Pardon? Ah… yes.”
Celine placed her hand over Tuesday’s column. “One subject is usually assigned four to five hours per week. Four weekly hours means two two-hour sessions across two days. Five hours means one two-hour and one three-hour session. But here, five hours are crammed into a single day. You must have misread the times when you registered. It looks like you combined two separate time slots for the same subject and instructor… Each lecture has a fixed schedule. If you chose Lecture A, you must attend only the days assigned to A. It’s not about picking one day from A and one from B. You have to follow A’s schedule exclusively. We’ll need to rebuild your entire timetable…”
Celine let out a heavy sigh. It seemed she would have to help him from the very beginning. The mentor-mentee relationship might only last a few days, so she wondered if she truly needed to go this far. Still, while the duty was hers, she would fulfill it properly.
But Marei’s reply was entirely unexpected.
“Ah, these are classes the instructors personally offered to open for me.”
“What do you mean, ‘open new classes’?”
Marei hesitated, unsure how to explain. He could hardly tell her that teachers who wanted to savor sticky, leisurely mating had used the pretext of lessons to legally secure time with a young student.
Watching Celine wait patiently for his answer, Marei sorted through the tangled thoughts and found a clear response.
“I heard that lately the system has become largely nominal. Instructors can open additional classes beyond those designated by the academy…”
“Really? Teacher Idrien is personally opening lectures to teach you?”
If Julia and Ilien heard that, they would likely feel slighted. Marei nodded cautiously as he watched Celine’s unusually intense reaction. Her face, flushed with excitement, looked like it belonged to an entirely different person compared to her earlier quiet, precise manner of speech.
“That’s impressive.”
“Haha…”
When Celine’s expression returned to its usual blankness, Marei could only laugh awkwardly.
“Teacher Lee Ha-eun is a beastkin, so the children tend to avoid her. I also heard she torments attending students under the guise of sparring, so no one signs up. As for Teacher Icher de Valentine… well… I’ve only heard stories. She always wears a robe, her voice barely carries during lectures, she grades harshly, and gives far too many tests. No one takes her class. And… Asano Nagisa? This is the first I’ve heard of her.”
“Teacher Ilien recommended them.”
On the bed Marei was sovereign, but when it came to academic matters or knowledge in general, he had neither the desire nor intention to surpass them. He had simply accepted the timetable they arranged.
“Whether she trusts you or trusts them… aside from those three, every class on here is surrounded by grim rumors. Monday and Friday mornings are shaded—these are free periods, yes? Monday afternoons are when your class gathers for so-called interaction, which usually just means playing around, so we can leave that out.”
“Ah… I planned to decide on that around the week after next. I left it open so I could think it over during the public holiday.”
Labella had told him that his biological mother’s master was at the academy. He wanted to hear stories about his mother from that person, and to learn the sorcery she had studied. That was why his timetable remained unfinished.
“So you didn’t simply throw it together. In that case, there isn’t much more for me to say…”
“No, this was very helpful. I hadn’t heard anything about Teacher Nagisa or Teacher Valentine before.”
To be precise, he had never had the chance. The homeroom teacher who wanted another thorough romp had left on urgent business, and Ilien had only answered with things like “She’s a good person~” and “She’s capable~” while being too preoccupied with exploring each other’s bodies. Idrien, meanwhile, was in the middle of training an assistant and had no time for personal talk or school gossip. Since they were busy simply playing, the honest evaluation from a fellow student was deeply appreciated.
“If you develop interest in any field by next week, contact me. I’ll introduce you to some good kids around the week after next. They’re all kind, so they’ll make excellent mentors.”
“Huh? Aren’t you my mentor, Senior Celine?”
Celine neatly folded the timetable and returned it. She gave a small snort—not mocking him, but carrying a distinctly self-deprecating tone that left Marei at a loss for words.
“For now, yes, I am your mentor. That’s right… though by next month, I suspect your thoughts on the matter will have changed.”
“What do you mean by that…”
“It’s too embarrassing to explain. You’ll understand when the time comes.”
When Marei pressed for clarification, Celine simply shook her head and offered no further answer. Personal matters ended there. The rest of their time was spent walking through the remaining areas of the academy as she introduced each one.
“Tell me by next week, even if it’s the smallest interest. Anything at all.”
She handed him a slip of paper with her number, smiling bitterly. Marei nodded quietly. It seemed she carried some burden, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He knew it would be rude to pry into the personal affairs of a senior he had only just met.
With awkwardness lingering between them and nothing left to say, Celine offered a careful farewell once the tour concluded. She climbed into the carriage parked along the roadside.
Marei stood staring after her when his vision suddenly went dark. He flailed in surprise.
“Who could it be~?”
A gentle voice. The soft, insistent press of breasts against his back. The faint clink of metal. At the familiar scent, Marei calmed his racing heart and drew a deep breath.
“Lady Labella…?”
The moment he spoke, the hands covering his eyes withdrew. He turned to find Labella in her Audit Bureau uniform, smiling with evident delight.
“Call me Mom even outside. Are you ashamed that I’m your mother, Marei?”
“No, that’s not it… but calling you that so openly in public…”
“Come on. Mom~ Mom~”
The numerous medals pinned to her uniform drew the eye to her enormous breasts, which looked as though they had simply been placed atop the fabric rather than properly secured. Labella cupped his cheeks with both hands and smiled tenderly. Marei spoke with careful hesitation.
“Mom…”
“Yes~?”
“How long were you waiting?”
Labella covered her mouth and laughed softly. “About thirty minutes, I suppose. It’s Friday with the public holiday mixed in, so everyone was eager to leave. I let them go early, finished my work, and came straight here. I received word from Ilien. Was that young lady the mentee you mentioned?”
“Yes. She’s Senior Celine Ferdinand.”
Ferdinand, Ferdinand. Labella murmured the name several times as if it were unfamiliar, then shrugged.
“Since I don’t recognize it, she must not be from one of the empire’s prominent families… yet she rides quite the extravagant carriage.”
“The carriage?”
Labella nodded. Whether due to her Audit Bureau uniform or her striking beauty, Marei could feel curious glances from passersby.
“You didn’t see many where you used to live, did you?”
“I saw plenty of automobiles, but carriages…”
Labella took his hand and laced their fingers together. When her long finger lightly scratched his wrist, a strange shiver ran through him.
“The purchase price is comparable, but the maintenance costs are absurd. The creatures pulling them may look like horses, but they’re actually chimeras created through magical engineering and several complex disciplines. Depending on what spells are cast on the carriage itself, the upkeep rises again. Just the visible magic circles would cost… It isn’t something a family I can’t recall would casually operate.”
He had dismissed the carriages as nothing more than a noble’s eccentric hobby. He had never imagined they were such exorbitant possessions. In Valter, automobiles were actually the rarer sight. He had lightly assumed it was simply a local trend, but now a faint sense of unease prickled at him.
“The carriage we took last time…?”
“When we first met, I wanted to make a good impression. On weekends, I wanted to look even better for you. It was bestowed by His Majesty, and the maintenance is covered by public funds, but I rarely use it personally. Would you like to ride in it again? I can summon it immediately if you wish.”
“No, no… I’d rather just walk with you, Mom.”
To tempt him so openly—he wanted to drag her into the nearest alley and ravish her that instant. Labella suppressed the desire surging within her and pressed a brief kiss to Marei’s forehead.
“Ilien says she’ll be a little late. Would you do me the honor of a date?”
“Ah… yes…”
Seeing Labella whisper with a face flushed crimson, unable to hide her shyness, Marei answered before he could think. She beamed in response and quickly led him by the hand toward the plaza.
“We’ll visit the bookstore… chat over coffee at a café… and have dinner at a wonderful restaurant.”
“That sounds lovely… but if it’s just the two of us, what about Ilien…?”
“Hmm… Taking proper care of one’s pet is indeed a master’s virtue… Well, let’s dine together, the three of us. We can reserve a private room.”
Labella’s smile turned sultry. The bookstore was surprisingly quiet. He had heard it was packed at the start of the term, which meant it was peaceful once the initial rush passed. Labella followed close behind him, smiling as though everything pleased her immensely.
“Hm? This…”
On the front page of a thick stack of newspapers, a familiar face was printed. At first he didn’t recognize the expressionless figure standing at the podium, but closer inspection revealed the identity at once.
“The Great Forest announced it would participate in this year’s founding festival of the principality—the public holiday, that is. Since I have a personal connection with the princess of the Great Forest, His Majesty ordered me to join the delegation. There was considerable criticism about why an Audit Bureau official was included. Now that we live in peaceful times, such matters even reach the front page.”
A quick glance at the article revealed complicated lines such as The empire that recognized the principality’s autonomy sending a director-level official from the Audit Bureau is…
“That’s impressive…”
“Hehe. Then will you praise me?”
She stood so close their breaths mingled. Her violet eyes filled his entire vision. The faint flush on her pink cheeks, the red of her lips, and the glimpse of pure white teeth between them. Marei instinctively leaned in to kiss her, then caught himself. He took a hurried step back, shaking his head roughly. Realizing they were in public, he covered his mouth with one hand and retreated another step.