Chapter 7
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Classmate with a Suspiciously Good Figure (3)
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"I'm gonna die..."
I'm seriously on the verge of death.
Just climbing a single flight of stairs has my legs shaking like crazy.
"Loreos... that fucking bastard."
I had to run three extra laps, so of course I was late. Isn't that obvious?
But Loreos dragged me to the training room for being late and made me do even more training.
Why?
Why the hell!
What did I do to deserve this!
Why is he singling me out like this from day one!
The only reason I could think of was that the Calliope family had put in a request to harass me...
'...No way that's it.'
Loreos is the type who'd die before bending to money or power.
I can't understand it, but he just hates my guts.
It's even more certain when I recall what he said as I collapsed in exhaustion at the end.
'You really collapsed from this level of training? Looks like you'll need extra sessions for a while.'
"Fuck..."
I might need to change the game title. Not Academy's Tamer.
More like Marked by the Professor on My First Day at the Academy.
Carnea Academy is dead silent.
Of course it is. By the time I was getting my extra training in the gym, classes had ended long ago.
As I headed into the classroom, questioning Loreos's humanity for calling this "just a little" after making me train this late, I found a water bottle and towel on my desk.
Who left them? Obvious.
No one else in class would look after me, so it had to be Lucia Ursula.
She couldn't show herself since I told her to act like her pre-taming self around the academy, so she just prepared these instead.
I'm grateful, but I hope no one saw her...
"Ugh."
I wiped the sweat with the towel and gulped down the ice-cold water that was probably just poured. I feel alive again.
'Should say thanks.'
For someone with a normal mindset like me, I'd return the favor with gratitude. But not to Lucia.
I guarantee she'd doubt my qualifications as her Master the second I thanked her.
She'd prefer I call her a filthy sow and tell her not to act on her own, maybe spit on her or slap her instead.
Expressing thanks with slaps and spit... my future looks bleak.
I stuffed the bottle and towel in my bag and headed for the dorm through the main gate when I spotted fluttering silver hair in the distance.
...Like this morning, just how long is she waiting for me?
I let out a sigh.
I straightened my slouched back, forced strength into my trembling legs, and slipped into my first-run protagonist act.
"..."
I tensed a bit, expecting her to rush me the moment I stepped out the gate, but Lucia didn't budge.
Something felt off, but it wouldn't do for me to speak first, so I kept walking.
One step, two steps, three steps.
The moment I took the third, Lucia started trailing after me like a shadow.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I did order her to keep her distance in the morning, but I didn't expect her to follow it this faithfully.
"..."
I turned to look at Lucia's face.
Her expression was as coldly perfect as pre-taming Lucia, but her lips were twitching ever so slightly.
She had something to say but lacked the guts to speak casually to me, so she held back.
I glanced around. Like I said, classes ended ages ago. No one nearby.
I stopped. Lucia halted too.
"...No one's around, so speak like the slave you are."
"Eh...? Ah! Hehe, thank you, Master!"
As Lucia beamed and stepped closer, I backed away and said,
"Stupid bitch. I said speak, not approach without permission."
"Hah... S-sorry! I was just so happy to be your slave again. N-not that I hate you taming me again or anything..."
Lucia stammered as she retreated again.
Yeah, at least this distance lets us make excuses if anyone sees.
I resumed walking toward the dorm and said,
"So you were waiting here the whole time? Didn't I tell you to act like pre-taming you?"
Lucia's looks draw too much attention. Waiting this long would've raised eyebrows.
Lucia flinched and shook her head frantically.
"N-no! I hid so no one would see. But you didn't come out forever, so I thought something happened..."
"...Something? Loreos Professor gave me special training. You knew that and left the water bottle, right?"
"Water bottle...?"
Lucia blinked at me like I'd spoken nonsense.
"...I-I acted like the clueless, ungrateful Lucia you told me to, Master..."
Her voice trailed off smaller and smaller.
"...?"
Now I'm confused.
If not Lucia, then who left the bottle?
"You didn't put this on my desk?"
I pulled the bottle from my bag and handed it to her.
"...It's cold. Like it was just poured..."
She fiddled with it a while, muttering softly, then glanced toward Class 5's building.
"...So someone else put a water bottle on my desk?"
"Unless you forgot, yeah."
"Hmm..."
Something felt off about how intently Lucia examined the bottle.
'What?'
In most eroge, this vibe means jealousy. But not with Lucia.
Lucia doesn't get jealous.
She can't.
'...Because I made her that way.'
In my first run, taming her, my top priority was stripping out jealousy.
Academy's Tamer had tons of girls besides the main heroine, and I'd conquer others when bored.
But I didn't want a jealous Lucia stabbing me, so I trained it out of her.
She ended up thrilled even when I tamed other bitches.
She'd lure them to me herself without orders.
So no jealousy from her.
"That's great! Someone finally noticed Master's charm!"
Proving my suspicion wrong, Lucia grinned brightly.
"Perfect! When you bless that bitch, let me help too, Master!"
"...Shut up."
No one's around, but yelling "bitch" this loud is bad.
"Eek... Sorry... Got too excited."
Lucia hung her head, shoulders hunched. I sighed inwardly and told her,
"...You have a job. Do it well, and I'll reward you."
"R-reward...?"
Her face flushed as she swallowed hard, imagining who knows what.
"First, the old bookshop..."
I ignored her and whispered the prep needed for Vivian's brainwashing taming route.
Back in my room, I checked my status window. The special training wasn't useless.
...Yeah, right. How nice that would be.
The damn thing hadn't changed at all.
Figures. If one day of stamina training bumped stats, they wouldn't call combat difficulty brutal.
I'd be lucky to hit 15 stamina after a full year of this.
"Ughhh..."
If I even survive that long.
Muscle pain everywhere is no joke. Even slight movement feels like a beating. Can't even get out of bed, so I reach out and wait.
[Telekinesis (Rank E)]
The water bottle on the desk lifts like wrapped in my power and floats right to my hand.
I was iffy at first, but picking my unique ability was the right call.
I can use it naturally even in agony. Magic would've taken forever to calculate.
'And the utility's way beyond the game.'
In-game, telekinesis just lifted and hurled stuff or crushed foes.
Here, I can do this.
I hold my palms facing each other and form a telekinetic orb between them.
Whumm-
Hurl it to smack someone—that's standard.
But now for something I invented here, not in the game.
I compress the orb from both sides.
Head throbs, sweat beads, but I focus harder.
Suddenly, the orb elongates into an ellipse, then thins to a blade.
Shhink-
I fire the compressed telekinesis forward. The fruit on the table splits clean in half.
"Hoo..."
Takes too long now, and power's just for close-range fruit slicing, but practice will make it useful.
Suddenly, exhaustion hits like a switch flipped off.
Penalty for overusing telekinesis beyond my level.
"Time for bed..."
Need to wake early for Vivian's route, but training wrecked body and mind.
As consciousness faded, I prayed tomorrow would bring something good.