Strange Smell...?
“Won’t you stay the night?”
Catherine, who had pulled me tightly into her embrace, whispered those words with a longing gaze. A mature woman’s sweet voice was a weapon in itself, one destined to seduce any man. In the end, unable to hold back my excitement, I let my member swell right there. No woman could fail to notice the sudden bulge pressing against her in that clingy position.
The principal, having successfully aroused a teenage boy, licked her lips and slid her hand toward my lower back.
“Ian—.”
“P-Principal. This is…….”
“Catherine.”
“Huh?”
“I told you to call me Catherine.”
“……Catherine noona, this is a bit much.”
I wrenched her arm away with a firm grip on her waist and somehow managed to sit up. Her alluring figure was now fully on display. What was the reason for her wearing that trashy dress, practically the same as being naked—something even a whore would refuse?
“I was looking forward to this.”
“What do you…….”
“I never dreamed a student would ask me, at my age, on a date… So I prepared as best I could. Does it suit me?”
As she said that, she stretched both arms out toward me as I sat up. The skin that had been hidden was now exposed—her nape, collarbone, armpits, sideboob, flanks, and the lewd, lascivious lines flowing down to her thighs.
I barely stopped my hand from reaching out instinctively and pulled completely away from her.
“I-I’m a student, and you’re the principal, right? So things like this…….”
“Things like this?”
“……I think naughty stuff like this is off-limits.”
I never imagined those corny lines would come out of my mouth. But Catherine didn’t give up easily. She sat up, leaning against the sofa, and began stroking my chest.
“Just close your eyes once, and no one will know.”
“Rumors have a way of spreading.”
“Pfft, I can squash that with my authority……”
“Anyway, I don’t want this.”
It was tough for me too. If she crossed the line any further, I wouldn’t be able to hold back and would cross it with her. But still.
A teacher and student in love. A fiery romance overcoming obstacles and adversity might sound great to an outsider. But I had no intention of being the protagonist.
More than that.
If I get expelled…… what then?
This world revolved around the academies. Getting expelled meant falling off the map of society. Sure, they probably wouldn’t kick out a 3-star summoner like me easily, but even if I avoided expulsion, disciplinary action was inevitable, and the principal would be fired for sure. I didn’t want someone I personally liked to vanish like that.
“You could get fired too if this gets out, Principal.”
“……Fired, huh. Yeah, that wouldn’t do.”
She carefully sat up and headed to the window. Throwing it wide open, a blast of frigid night air swept through the room. Naturally, in her half-naked outfit, the principal must have sobered up instantly from the chill.
Rubbing her face dry to clear her head, she leaned against the window frame, turned back, and said,
“You always…… see me as your teacher, don’t you.”
“……Yeah. Of course.”
She wasn’t just a teacher to me, but someone worthy of respect despite being mere data—someone who moved me. Not an object of lust.
“Then I suppose I should fulfill my role as one.”
She said with a bright smile, fully shaking off the alcohol and returning to the principal Catherine I knew.
And just then, a strong gust through the open window lifted her dress.
“Eek.”
Her mind might have sobered, but her body hadn’t caught up. She pressed down the dress belatedly, blushing as she looked at me.
“……Did you see?”
“……No.”
I forced myself to meet her eyes and answer. But seriously, black thong panties? Not cool, sis.
* * *
“Ugh…… the smell.”
I’d been so focused on airing out the room, opening the window wide to dispel the night-bloom scent leaking from the bathroom, that I wrinkled my nose and glared at the bathroom.
The principal had been too hot, and my body—too full of youthful vigor—had barely held out after seeing her like that.
If only I had some deodorizer.
Surprisingly, this magic-replaces-science isekai had deodorizers. Even more surprising? I didn’t have the cash to buy one.
Sure, I was set to get a million credits for investigating the Infinite Dungeon, but…….
“It’s the weekend, so no work? Isn’t the demon army invading? Aren’t we at war? What’s with weekends in wartime?”
These lazy fantasy folks didn’t work weekends. Bureaucrats were the problem everywhere.
Work on weekends, you damn rice-bowl lifers.
Thanks to that, I had to rely solely on natural ventilation, which—as you know—was terribly inefficient.
Stella should be coming soon.
Our bet of her bringing me snacks or a meal once a day was still on, so she was due today.
Knock knock.
Speak of the devil. I quickly straightened my clothes and opened the door.
“Come……in?”
“U-uh, yeah! ‘Scuse me……”
But it wasn’t Stella waiting behind the door.
A gloomy-looking shaggy mop of hair, unkempt black strands hanging long to cover her face, and a green ribbon around her neck.
“Dinua sunbae?”
“Ehehe, hi, Ian.”
It was Dinua, the second-year. Since I hadn’t made any plans with her, I racked my brain wondering if I’d forgotten something as I looked at her.
As I stared, she flinched alone and started shrinking back like she’d done something wrong.
“D-did I…… bother you?”
“Huh?”
“L-like, do you have plans or……? I can just go……”
“No, no plans.”
I shook my head with a smile. Stella was coming, but she hadn’t specified an exact time.
Finally getting permission, Dinua’s eyes sparkled as she toddled into the room.
Once inside, she tilted her head at the wide-open bathroom and window.
“It’s still cold out… Why’s the window open?”
“Oh, it was hot……”
“Hmmm…… sniff sniff, smells kinda weird too……”
“……Must be sewer gas coming up.”
I desperately made excuses to fool her. Falling for something like that showed just how pure she was.
Does this world even have sex ed……?
She was that innocent—great for me. I could fool her without a second thought.
“So, sunbae. What brings you here?”
“……Can’t I come without a reason?”
“Not that you can’t……”
Her logical point left me speechless. I’d called her a friend, so what was wrong with a friend dropping by?
Changing the subject, I glanced at the basket in her hands.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, this… I brought some books I recommend, stuff to read here, and, um, nothing special, but snacks I made to eat together……”
“……You’re gonna read books here?”
“C-can’t I……?”
“Why not the library……”
“I just…… thought it’d be nice here.”
She said that and started pulling bread from the basket. Steam rose gently—who knew when she’d baked it—and the crust looked perfectly crisp.
She smiled and offered me some.
“Here!”
“……Thanks.”
I took a bite, and the sweet aroma of butter and milk filled my mouth.
Looking at Dinua in slight surprise, she gazed back with pounding eyes.
“H-how’s it taste……?”
“It’s good, sunbae. You could be a patissier.”
“Ehehe, not that good.”
“Where’d you learn to cook?”
“From books……”
“Just from books?”
Talent freak. You don’t level up just from reading books—how was that possible?
But whether I was amazed or not, she casually took a bite of her own bread, set the basket down, and slowly spoke.
“Um, Ian.”
“Yes, sunbae?”
“I said I just came by…… but that was a lie.”
“Yeah?”
“Actually…… I came because of you.”
“Because of me?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
Slurp. She licked the butter off her finger and met my eyes.
A favor from me. Had she heard the rumors and come seeking my summoning help? Or realized Noah and Sheera’s summons had evolved thanks to House Erebos’s power and wanted a level-up too?
Wondering what it could be, I watched her seriously. She spoke casually, like it was no big deal.
“Um, for the school trip coming up…… wanna go together?”
“……School trip?”
“You didn’t know……?”
“There’s something like that?”
“Yeah.”
A school trip? In an academy that teaches fighting demons? But her next words cleared it up.
“They send students in groups to different regions…… for real combat practice against demons……”
“Ah.”
That made sense. Real battle was as crucial as training.
But could a first-year like me go with a second-year like her? She solved that easily.
“It’s fine! For the trip, you can team up with whoever you want! Last year no one wanted to, so I went alone…… but anyway, we can go together!”
“……By the way, what’s your summon, sunbae?”
“Oh? This kid.”
She summoned it. A pitch-black cat popped out from her hand with a meow.
Summoning on school grounds broke the rules, but if no one saw, it wasn’t a crime. Especially since her summon wasn’t huge like Noah’s—just a small cat.
“……Cute.”
“Right? It’s Darkshiny.”
“Debuff specialist, right?”
“H-how’d you know?”
Obviously, no one knew more about summons than me in this world.
I realized teaming with her wasn’t bad. Debuffs and tanks had always been a dream combo.
“Sure, let’s team up then, sunbae.”
“R-really!?”
She lit up noticeably at the news. Seeing her so happy lifted my mood too.
With business done, she didn’t leave—instead, she started reading the book she’d brought. I spent time beside her, reading one too.
* * *
“So.”
I’d totally forgotten.
“You knew I was coming, but you were flirting with sunbae and eating snacks?”
Stella Iritz. Her presence.