She's Already Mine
The first lesson on mana came to an end. The next class was in the Gymnasium, which meant changing into gym clothes.
"You brought your gym clothes, right?"
"O-of course I did."
The ones changing in the classroom were the girls, who made up most of the class. Guys like us usually changed in the locker room inside the academy. I picked up my gym clothes and stood, and in that same breath the girls peeled off their uniforms without sparing us a glance.
"What are you doing? Get out already."
He didn't follow, so I turned my head. Kyle couldn't tear his eyes off the girls. I stared at him like he was hopeless, and only then did he get up.
"What? We're fine with it."
"Don't be like that. Just change with us. Who bothers with a locker room?"
"Hehe. You're not actually looking at us as girls, are you?"
Their words turned Kyle's face red. He looked at me.
"The fuck? Change together?"
I ignored whatever stupid thought he was turning over and left the classroom first. Kyle followed, as if he had no choice.
Changed and on the way to the Gymnasium, I caught Arian from behind, her steps dragging heavy. That big ass swayed with every stride, long hair swinging with it — the view from the back was more than enough to know it was her.
Should be about now.
She must have bought her gym clothes a size too small on purpose; she could barely walk straight. On top of that her head was a mess, so she was supposed to fall, Kyle was supposed to catch her, and the two of them were supposed to connect. A light little event. Arian, too busy playing delinquent, would notice Kyle for the first time, and they'd link up as if it were only natural.
The problem was that Arian wasn't falling.
She ought to go down any second.
If this followed the original, she should have hit the ground already. The stretch where she was meant to fall was long behind us. We were already at the doors of the Gymnasium.
In the first loop it played out just like the original... so why?
I hadn't stepped in and told her to watch her step. Kyle didn't have the faintest dream that someone had already taken Arian's virginity. Which meant I hadn't touched the original's flow itself.
Don't tell me yesterday burned off her stress, so she isn't dragging herself along in pieces?
That actually made a fair amount of sense. Either way, we walked into the Gymnasium without incident, and class began.
"Warm up lightly. Then we go straight into the basic fitness test."
There had been a basic fitness test during the entrance exam as well, but three weeks had passed. Someone might have grown. Awakeners were different from one day to the next.
"Kyle and Croda, first. Come out and begin."
The two students with the lowest scores were called up first. If whoever went ahead put on too good a show, the one after might tense up or feel the weight of it — a consideration, of a sort.
"Yes."
Kyle strode out like he owned the floor. He clearly meant to score points with Arian and the other girls while he had the chance. It wasn't going to go the way he pictured.
"Leon, what are you doing all by yourself?"
"I saw you earlier. Didn't look like you warmed up properly. Want us to help you stretch?"
"Yeah, that's better. Muscle or not, you still have to warm up right."
Yesterday they'd invited me to eat with them. Now the same three girls were closing in, offering to loosen me up. I didn't mind the open come-ons, but I had no attention to spare. I turned them down as politely as I could — no point stacking up grudges or ill will for nothing — and went to Arian.
"Arian."
"W-what's up, Leon?"
She jumped, as if she hadn't expected me to come over.
"There's one favor I want to ask. Will you do it?"
"Y-yeah, of course!"
In a voice too small for anyone else to catch, I asked her for one thing. Arian looked ready to refuse, but when I kept at it she gave in, pretending she was only yielding because she had to. Then Kyle, wilted after the test, dragged himself over and collapsed.
"Hah... hah. I'm dying."
"You really need to work out, Kyle."
"Y-you think so?"
"With stamina like yours, the Hero is out of the question."
"What? I thought if you were a swordsman, you could definitely become the Hero."
He wasn't entirely wrong. Demand for swordsmen — male swordsmen especially — was enormous. If a man used a sword, graduating the academy alone was enough to become a Hero. But that was only half the truth. Only a swordsman had the makings of the Hero, and yet without a mage or a saintess in the party, it was over. You needed at least four people before a party could even be formed. Kyle was the protagonist, so the members would gather on their own — but because the Hero, the one who had to be strongest, was weak, the early stretch was rough.
If I hadn't been there, they wouldn't have reached Demon King Castle. The party would've fallen apart halfway.
Kyle put on a show of seriously weighing my advice, then quickly turned his eyes to Arian.
"Hey, Arian."
"Nice to meet you, Kyle. Your name's Kyle, right?"
"Y-yeah. Thanks for remembering my name and all."
He was so pleased it spilled across his whole face.
"Leon. Isolde. Come forward."
Even while I went out for the measurement, Arian and Kyle didn't stop talking. Look at him — doesn't know a damn thing, and he's fucking thrilled.
"Heh heh heh."
The laugh slipped out before I noticed. I don't usually laugh like that. I sound exactly like a villain.
"You there, Leon. What is so amusing that you laugh?"
"Sorry."
"Apologize properly."
Professor Gabriel, who handled exercise and fitness for the first years, said it with her eyes wide. A swordswoman through and through — a glare alone was enough to set a body trembling.
"I apologize."
For the record, I absolutely did not apologize because I was scared. From then until I finished the fitness check and came back, the two of them kept talking. More precisely, Kyle — nothing manly about it — was dragging most of the conversation along. He looked satisfied anyway.
"Arian, what's your hobby?"
"Nothing in particular."
"No hobby? That's a shame. What are you thinking of doing after you graduate the academy?"
"Haven't thought about it."
"You never know how things'll turn out later, so there's no need to think about it already."
"Yeah."
Watching from the side, it was almost pitiful. Kyle, though, was content with the mere fact that they were talking.
"You two look close."
"Oh. Leon, you're back?"
Disappointment that I'd shown up was written all over his face.
How does someone fail that completely at controlling his expression?
In the story he was a commoner. There should have been no shortage of times he needed to watch his face, and seeing him like this was honestly strange. After I got back, Arian's turn came and she went forward, which left just me and Kyle.
"So, what were you two talking about?"
"Just this and that. We click better than I expected. Feels pretty good."
It had looked like a one-sided conversation to me, but that was how he took it. Nothing else happened after that. The moment her test ended, Arian dropped into her seat, and Kyle did nothing but stare at her in the open.
"Class ends here. All of you, return to the classroom so the next lesson is not delayed. Dismissed."
"Thank you for the class."
When the last class ended, Kyle was walking the corridor with Leon. Arian, a step ahead of them, suddenly lost her balance and lurched. Kyle, who had been watching her closely, caught her just like that.
Squish.
"Wh-whoa—?"
A woman's chest feels way better than I thought.
The instant he collided with Arian's breasts, his lower half sprang up — and because it was so miserably small, nobody noticed.
"You okay?"
"Sorry. I lost my balance before I knew it."
"It's fine. It happens. Just be careful next time."
Arian apologized once more and left, as if she were embarrassed.
Cute, though.
Kyle came straight back and explained what he'd just gone through to Leon, his only friend.
"Did you see? Did you see?"
"See what?"
"When I caught Arian just now, her tits hit my arm. Felt so fucking good."
"Good for you."
Leon answered as if it were nothing.
Little shit. If you're jealous, just say you're jealous.
His face barely moved, but he was probably jealous. Thinking it over again, that had been insane. How good would it feel to grab them properly, a real handful in his hands? He'd only imagined it, and already he felt his pants stir.
Lunchtime.
He ate with Arian in the cafeteria. His clueless friend Leon had tagged along, but other girls had latched onto Leon, and he couldn't get a word into the conversation. Thanks to that, Kyle and Arian were practically talking alone. Favorite books, travel, food — they went back and forth, and a decent mood settled in.
Thought he'd get in the way, but he helped. Leon — if other girls had been bothering me, this would've been rough.
In truth, nobody was paying Kyle any attention. He believed it with all his heart anyway. Grateful he'd gotten a little closer to Arian, he savored the moment as it was. Lunch was worse than he'd expected, but he didn't particularly care. It was free. What was there to complain about?
After that he sat through two classes back to back. None of it actually went into his head.
No matter what happens today, I'm fucking Arian.
Nothing was left in Kyle's head but the thought of joining bodies with her. He'd take those soft tits however he pleased, and creampie her pussy on top of it.
And she's definitely a virgin, right? One look and you can tell she's never been with a guy.
He was dead.
"I'm going to confess to Arian today."
The moment class ended, he laid the thought out to Leon. He trusted his friend — and still, on the off chance Leon might get in his way.
"That so?"
"You'll root for me, right?"
Kyle was expecting it, in his own way. This was the first friend he'd made at the academy, after all. Their first meeting hadn't gone well, but that had only come from a misunderstanding. Kyle could let it go with a generous heart, and he hoped Leon would do the same.
"Root for you..."
But Leon couldn't settle on an answer. The silence stretched long. With every slow second that passed, he couldn't hide how thrown he was.
What the hell is the problem? It's a friend's happiness. Of course you can root for him. Why? All you have to do is say you'll root for him!
"Yeah. Can't do it. Arian."
"Huh?"
When he suddenly called her name, Kyle stared at Leon in confusion. Arian, who had been asleep with her breasts for a cushion, came trotting over and planted herself boldly in front of Leon. The moment she arrived, he seized those huge breasts and squeezed.
"Aahn♡ Leon, even so, kneading me here is a little..."
Huh?
For an instant, Kyle felt the world stop. What was this? For several seconds, not a single thought came. The girl he liked was being toyed with by the friend he had trusted. It was something that could not possibly be happening. And it was real.
"Th-that's..."
Before Kyle could even get his mouth open, Leon slammed a kiss onto Arian's lips. Those lips, sweet and soft as cherries, were turned toward someone else. Not him.
Smooch. Smooch.
How was he supposed to react to something like this? Unable to laugh, unable to cry, Kyle stared blankly at what unfolded in front of him.
"Oh, and talking to my woman seems pretty rude. I'd like you to stop. We're friends, so you'll understand, right?"
His hands trembled. He understood there was nothing he could do.
"Of course. I almost made a huge mistake with a friend."
In the end, Kyle decided to keep what pride he had — about as much as a weed. He stood as if nothing were wrong.
"I'll head out first."
The door shut behind him.
Kyle falls into an overwhelming sense of loss.
You have acquired 2 Stat Points.
The effect was tremendous.