Punishment Instructor Lee Hyun
Julia buried her face in Helena's lap and bawled her eyes out. With her lower half completely bare, her bright red ass on full display as she threw a childish tantrum—damn, that was hot!
"Waaah! I'm really gonna kill you!"
Now she was growling that even with Helena protecting her, she'd kill me soon enough. It seemed even worse than before? But Julia was the type who could actually do it, no joke, so at some point, regret started gnawing at me.
I should've worried about the aftermath.
That cunning woman might torment me even harder now. If I'd really meant to train her, I should've gone all the way today.
If I was gonna finish it, I should've tormented her sexually, not just with punishment.
You know those adult comics where you tease them sexually and leave them hanging, and later they come crawling back like, "It's your fault my body's gone weird! Take responsibility!"? Comics are comics, but with enough training and time, it's possible.
"Did you really have to hit her that hard?"
Helena stroked Julia's head and smiled at me like a saint. Was she about to scold me? Yeah, I might've gone overboard. I scratched my head and admitted my honest feelings.
"I did hit her pretty hard in places. Julia and I had some bad blood anyway."
"Did you two fight? Come on, you're not kids—get along."
"What's there to get along with a magical byproduct like that scum?! Just watch, I'll turn her into ground meat for real."
Still spewing venom like that—maybe I should've hit her harder? Any guilt from earlier vanished!
You're really gonna get it later...
"You rascal."
Smack.
But then Helena leaned down and spanked Julia's ass.
"Eek!"
She clearly hadn't expected it from Helena. Julia jolted in shock and buried her head deeper in Helena's skirt.
"How can you talk like that? I've told you over and over—servants are living beings just like us."
"...I'm sorry."
"You two can make up later. For now, shall we get to our main business?"
Oh, right. Our real goal wasn't just punishment, after all.
Julia sniffled as she placed her hand on the magic measurement device. A moment later, the readings came in. While Sena had shown a 10 percent increase, Julia's was around 6 to 7 percent.
Sena responds really well to this.
Apparently, the growth varied by individual. Still, 7 percent wasn't low. It was a rare jump. Even Julia, mid-sob, stopped crying in surprise.
"Huh? It actually went up?"
Helena seemed shocked too. Abandoning her usual languid tone, she strode over to check the numbers closely, as if suspecting a malfunction or her own eyes. Tracing the display with her finger, she turned back with wide eyes.
"How long does it last?"
Her voice was tense with excitement. I hurried to answer.
"Uh... it varies by person... For Sena, it held for at least 40 minutes."
"Does repeating it make it permanent?"
"That's what we need to research now, right?"
We'd only discovered it yesterday, after all!
Helena watched intently, her expression grave, then suddenly inspected Julia's ass again. How the hell was it already deflating and fading? Like it was her own, she grabbed Julia's cheeks without hesitation.
"Eep!"
Even subway gropers aren't that blatant. As she kneaded away, Julia crossed her legs and panted.
"M-Miss? What are you...!"
"Keep measuring."
"Huh?"
"Ignore it and measure."
Julia, clueless, did as told, and Helena promptly spanked her mid-measurement.
Smack!
"Kyaa! Miss!"
"Keep going. Don't stop."
"I-I'm trying to focus... Ow!"
This time, a pinch. Julia's face crumpled again as she sobbed through the measurements, and Helena repeated the pinching and spanking with a serious look. No significant changes in the readings. If anything, they dipped.
She kept experimenting on her own, then said, "Don't stop—do it as hard as you can, Julia."
"Y-Yes... Miss! Where are you putting your hand—?!"
Helena's hand slipped inside Julia's top! Reaching her breasts, it started groping, and Julia twisted her body, ears red as a beet.
"Miss... you can't do this! People are watching... Eek! Don't flick there!"
What the hell was happening under those clothes? It was next-level sexual harassment compared to anything I could pull off. Then, for a brief moment, an astonishing reading flashed: around 9 percent increase. It dropped right away, of course.
Confirming it, Helena withdrew her hand, and Julia collapsed in a heap, clutching her chest like a deflowered maiden.
"Pain isn't the only answer, it seems."
Helena was back to her demure, mature self. Sipping her black tea with that slow, soft voice, as if nothing had happened.
"Sexual stimulation works the same as punishment."
"You figured that out just from groping Julia?"
Was the headmistress on another level? Grasping the principle from that alone?
"Not entirely. But I did figure out the principle behind 'emotional stimulation.'"
"As long as emotions react in some way, it works."
Sena caught on and chimed in with Helena's theory.
"Whether through pain or sexual arousal. As long as you stimulate 'emotions' somehow, the numbers go up."
"What's the mechanism behind that?"
"Lee Hyun. Do you know humans have a common ability?"
What ability? Not magic, obviously. Sena explained calmly as I drew a blank.
"Momentary superhuman feats. Like when you're about to get crushed by a carriage or falling off a cliff in a life-or-death crisis—humans unleash freakish strength."
Oh, I got it. Sometimes in danger or high-focus moments, people tap into hidden potential. Sudden bursts of insane strength, or time slowing down.
"We weren't in a crisis earlier, but it's a similar concept. We can boost magic power by triggering that 'moment' through stimulation."
"But that's just momentary power."
"That's the 'moment' we desperately need."
Her eyes weren't lying. Sena showing this much passion? Guess I'd be spanking her ass from now on.
"More importantly, didn't you two come to me for advice?"
Right. We'd come to the headmistress's office and put on this public punishment show for a specific reason.
"This is a groundbreaking discovery, no doubt. But it needs more precise research—it's not perfect yet."
Julia, done with her task, flopped beside Helena, draping herself sideways over her lap. Helena soothed her by stroking her ass.
"We need more data and results. Announcing this now would just make us a laughingstock."
"Then the two of us could take turns..."
"No, that's not it, Sena."
Julia perked up curiously. What was Helena thinking?
"There are plenty of magicians around us."
"...You mean the other students? I volunteered, and Julia's just helping this once—will others join?"
"Exactly. We can't even share these results with other magicians freely. Hardly anyone we can trust with it."
Julia backed me up. I agreed. The magicians downstairs wouldn't line up to bare their asses for our experiment, and they might steal the discovery. Like handing fish to a cat, as Julia said. The lower floors were full of competitive types—and who else? Outside scholars not affiliated with the academy, free to swipe and run. Or kingdom envoys, who could bolt with the info and spark who-knows-what schemes.
"Do we really have to reveal it?"
Helena had predicted all this from the start, it seemed. Smiling brightly without a care, she fixed her gaze on me.
What was that? That seductive smile like she wanted to devour me.
"I, Helena Michele, headmistress of Luna, hereby appoint Lee Hyun as honorary Punishment Instructor under special authority."
"Pardon?"
"Lee Hyun?"
Julia and Sena reacted sharply. I was lost—first time hearing the term.
Punishment Instructor? What?
Ah. 'Punishment' 'Instructor'.
"Eugh?! Me?!"
"Luna's policy is a free environment without oppression. But we gave too much freedom..."
Was that relaxed smile anger or not?
"...and students and professors alike started dabbling in forbidden magic."
Forbidden magic—simply put, 'illegal.' Even magic has lines you shouldn't cross. Forbidden magic covers anything with extreme 'danger' beyond those lines.
Why do magicians touch it? To get stronger, plain and simple. But even forbidden magic can't break their 'limits.' No one's ever reached that 'Realm of Magic' they rave about.
"We were too lenient, and now they don't even realize when they're in the wrong. So, to tighten 'discipline,' I'm introducing punishment rules."
"Then me?"
"You'll be the instructor who punishes all the students from now on."
So I'd be spanking every witch in the academy? Forget preferences—my body wouldn't hold up.
"But Helena, I get it for now. Keep it secret from others, punish them under the 'Punishment Instructor' pretext, and gather data. Fine. But..."
Using students as guinea pigs without telling them? Fair enough—they'd touched forbidden magic, so even conspiracy-level shit wouldn't faze them.
"Most won't accept me. They won't submit to punishment. Hell, they might distrust you..."
"That's possible. They'll doubt my judgment instead."
No one would accept this change. A lowly academy servant, seen as magical waste or byproduct, suddenly becoming their punisher? I wouldn't buy it either.
"The headmistress is washed up now. Like her predecessors, her time of weakness has come. ...What can you do? Better take the 'feeble mad witch' label than let the secret slip."
Even Helena couldn't convince them. So she'd take the blame, more than any of us.
"Congrats on the job, Lee Hyun."