The Prince's Shadow
The dense trees encircling the courtyard. The stone floor of the academy was neither overly balanced nor overly imbalanced, making it a pleasant sight to behold. Even just gazing out the window of the counseling room could lift one's spirits.
Right now, my mood was quite sharp. It was due to Ciara Rogent visible through the window and Vermouth approaching her.
If the man approaching Ciara had been some ordinary guy, it would have been a rather pitiful situation. But Vermouth was no ordinary male student. He was the First Prince of the Byront Empire and, among them, the top heir to the throne.
I was someone who handled tight matters for the empire and had deep ties with the emperor himself... but I didn't want to get entangled with a prince like this. After all, getting involved with the empire was already a rather tiring thing in itself. Moreover, if Vermouth and I ended up clashing over Ciara, the emperor would side with the promising heir, the prince. Blood is thicker than water.
If Vermouth learned of my contributions to the empire, there might be a chance the situation would change... but my identity was a secret matter, so even the prince, Vermouth, knew nothing of my past. I, too, wanted to quietly live off the land now, so I didn't want my past to be revealed. Thus, I had no choice but to dislike Vermouth's attempt to seduce Ciara.
He was approaching Ciara, about to speak to her. However, I could do nothing. The relationship between Ciara and me was kept secret within the academy. Especially since the other party was the First Prince, Vermouth. So, it was a situation where I had to grit my teeth and watch. What I could do was only enhance my senses to eavesdrop on their conversation.
I slightly opened the window, then strengthened my hearing. Vermouth's voice came through.
"Ciara. I've been waiting for your reply. It's rare to meet like this."
"Your Highness."
Ciara greeted the prince with a bow.
"No, Ciara. Call me Senior within the academy."
"B-but..."
"According to regulations, the academy doesn't distinguish between students based on their status."
"I understand. Senior."
"Haha. That's much better to hear."
"Yes..."
"Regarding titles, though. Junior. I said I'd invite you to my banquet, didn't I? What was your answer?"
I swallowed dryly. Recalling Ciara's cold expression as she had been dangling my netorase wall in front of me, saying she would make me happier in the future.
But Ciara... this isn't right... please...
Inside, I prayed for her to reject the prince's invitation. Soon, Ciara's lips moved.
"Senior, I'm sorry, but I must decline the banquet."
!!!
Ciara had rejected the prince's invitation!
A feeling of joy surged in my heart. She had been acting like she would accept the invitation to push me away, but in front of Vermouth, she rejected it. Ciara's unexpected action stirred both excitement and suspicion in me. I was overjoyed by her one word. On the other hand, Vermouth didn't even blink at her rejection.
"Hmm... I see. As expected of the top freshman. I heard your honest answer well."
"I'm sorry, Senior..."
"Since the junior answered honestly, I will ask honestly as well. Ciara. Do you have a lover?"
Ciara's pupils, which had maintained her usual composure even in front of the prince, trembled. Ciara answered Vermouth with a voice that didn't suit her, trembling.
"I-It's..."
"I must have asked an awkward question. If it was rude, please forgive me, Miss Ciara Rogent."
"Ah, no."
"Ciara. Then, let's meet again soon."
The conversation between Prince Vermouth and Ciara ended there.
**
Ciara entered the counseling room. With an expressionless face that one couldn't imagine had just rejected the prince's invitation because of me.
As usual, she leaned back in the armchair meant for the client and sat down. She often came to my counseling room like this to rest quietly.
If it had been a normal day, I would have let her rest, but today, I couldn't help but express my gratitude for her having rejected the prince's invitation.
"Ciara. Thank you."
"Teacher. Did you see everything?"
"Yeah..."
"Well then-"
Ciara dismissed it casually. Her attitude was mysterious, creating an atmosphere that was almost otherworldly. I could be lost in a dreamlike state just staring at her while under that spell...
Today, I wanted to talk to her a bit more.
"Ciara. Why did you reject it?"
"Because the teacher helped me."
"Me? What?"
Ciara paused for a moment, then met my eyes. Then her lips moved.
"Because the teacher came to save me before Chloe."
That's right. It was a fact I had forgotten, as it was too natural. During the academy entrance ceremony attack, I had gone to save Ciara instead of Chloe. Ciara, thanks to her excellent skills, hadn't been in danger, but she had been deeply moved by my actions. Ciara, outwardly so cold, yet overjoyed when I showed her my heart. She had no choice but to fall for me.
I stood up from my seat and approached her. And kissed her as I pleased.
Chuuuup!
She accepted my lips without resistance. So sweet it was maddening. I picked her up and carried her to the bed in the inner room of the counseling room.
**
What makes a counselor good is that they can have sex with the female students who visit the counseling room. Since it's a place where only I am, it's something that can be done as long as I want. Moreover, thanks to Bernard Walker's consideration, there was even a bed inside the counseling room. Thanks to that, I had fucked Ciara twice today, who had come to the counseling room.
While feeling refreshed after the deed, I was dozing off at the counseling room desk.
Knock! Knock!
Someone was knocking on the counseling room door. Annoying, but I had to answer. If it was a female student, that would be good. However, when I opened the door and confirmed who it was, I snapped to attention. A plain male student with brown hair. It was Kyle, the lowest rank. Why was he here?
Although surprised by the unexpected visit, I immediately enhanced all my senses to not miss Kyle's expression or physical reactions. Soon, the guy spoke to me.
"Counselor. Thank you for yesterday's incident!"
"Uh, yeah??"
"For yesterday, when you saved me and Chloe!"
That's right. The one who had suppressed the assailants yesterday to save Chloe had ended up saving Kyle as well. Kyle had come to the counseling room to express gratitude to me. Kyle, greeting me with a polite posture, handed me something with both hands. A cloak.
"Counselor. My cloak got ruined because you saved us..."
"Ah, no. This would be quite expensive for a student..."
The thing Kyle handed was the same cloak I had used when dealing with the assailant. This was quite an expensive item. Moreover, Kyle was a commoner, not a noble. He couldn't have had extra money in his pocket to begin with... Spending a fortune to buy a cloak to express gratitude to me... in the end, it meant that Kyle truly appreciated me. I was grateful in my heart, but since the situation was obvious, I hesitated to accept the cloak Kyle had given me. Then Kyle said to me.
"Since you saved my life, there's nothing more expensive than that."
"Y-yeah. Thanks. Kyle."
When I reluctantly accepted the cloak, Kyle sat down in the client chair.
"Counselor. May I ask for counseling as well for a short while?"
"Y-yeah. Sure..."
The guy who wanted counseling too. He had a talent for making people uncomfortable. I felt a bit disgusted even thinking about talking to the guy who Chloe had used to provoke me, let alone counseling him... my temples were throbbing.
"Counselor. I... how should I achieve my dreams?"
"First, you need to figure out what your dream is. What is your dream, Kyle?"
"My dream is... to become a counselor like you!"
I was going crazy. It seemed like the guy had been moved by me suppressing the assailant. This was quite troublesome.
"Haha. I'm grateful that you looked up to me, Kyle... why do you want to become a counselor like me, a promising guy like you?"
"When I saw you saving me and Chloe yesterday... I wanted to become someone like you too... a person who guides the students in the right direction at the academy and can save them in dangerous situations..."
It was understandable that Kyle looked up to me. The way I had suppressed the assailant must have had quite an impact. However, a bad premonition was rising. Thinking that Kyle, who wanted to become a counselor, might be the real protagonist of this world. If I wasn't the protagonist, but Kyle was, and I pursued the harem at the academy, then when Kyle became a counselor and started dating his lover, the conditions for the netorase event trigger would be met. Then, I would naturally have my Chloe stolen by Kyle, and I wouldn't even be able to do the netorase thing, right? When I thought that far, sweat formed on my forehead.
Snap out of it. If my worries were correct, even if I wasn't the protagonist, I had to protect this position. To do that, it would be advantageous to understand Kyle's abilities a bit more. I answered the guy with a probing question.
"Kyle. I respect your intentions. However, the position of academy counselor isn't as ideal as you think. The incident yesterday was just a coincidence where I got involved... If that's your intention, how about aiming for a professorship at the academy? By the way, Kyle, you seem to have talent in magic too. Honestly, I was surprised that you wanted to learn magic just by being exposed to it..."
"It seems I was lucky. However, I think the counselor is right that what I thought wasn't wrong. Counselor, thank you in so many ways! I'll take your advice to heart!"
I was going crazy. Rather, Kyle was looking at me with sparkling eyes, rating me highly. This was twisted, properly twisted. What I gained from this was that Kyle wasn't a twisted guy and that he couldn't see others' status windows. This was purely a personal guess based on his expression and voice, but I had quite a bit of trust in my intuition. My intuition, honed by long experience with the senses strengthened by mana, was quite accurate... Originally, if that guy had seen my status window, he couldn't have acted so innocently like that. I couldn't see my own status window, but my status window was probably far from standard. That's why I had been carefully observing Kyle's reaction when he opened the door to this place. Fortunately, it was a blessing in disguise.
Just as I was trying to breathe a sigh of relief. The guy spat out another worry.
"I... Counselor... how should I approach a girl I like?"
**
To the question from Kyle, who seemed to have Chloe in mind, all I could do was give the textbook answer to actively act. Counseling a guy who asked how to approach a girl while having my girlfriend in mind... It was dizzying. But because I felt that the guy wasn't that twisted, a thought crossed my mind that he might be an acceptable netorase target guy compared to the prince Vermouth. If he had sex with Chloe... a strangely uneasy feeling rose. But at the same time, my own dick twitched. I could fantasize about netorase right away by recalling Chloe's actions and Kyle's words and catch him... but I held back. Right now, I had come to the lecture as a counselor, after all.
The class being held in the lecture room where I was sitting now was the "Practical Swordsmanship" subject. The reason I came to audit this subject was because Ciara was a student in this class. Ciara sent me a glance from where she was sitting in the corner of the lecture room. I smiled lightly and replied. Soon, it seemed the lecture was about to start, and she turned her head away from me to prepare to focus on the class. However... From somewhere, I felt the presence of a strong aura entering the lecture room. It was a third-year student and the prince, Vermouth. Since it was a lecture that could be attended regardless of year, he could have come in, but that guy had come to this lecture with Ciara in mind. As expected, the guy sat in the back seat behind Ciara. Soon, the guy spoke to Ciara. I, who had eavesdropped on that conversation, sensed Vermouth's intention and bit my lip.