"You're using her as a pawn, you say? You have me. I am perfectly capable of handling any order, no matter how vile and degrading it may be. I can surely do it better than Mia."
"…"
Luke carried Mia to the bed.
Then Alice said so, just a little bit louder than usual.
If you don't know her well, you won't be able to tell, but from Luke's perspective, her expression was incredibly complex.
But he didn't understand.
"You are misunderstood. You are not a 'pawn' but my 'fiancée'."
"───"
It was Luke's real intention.
A mere fact.
Alice and Mia clearly had different positions.
That was all there is to it.
But there was something that Luke himself was not aware of.
It means that he has somehow accepted the fact that Alice has to be with him as a matter of course.
At first, he would only have rejected her, but now he has voluntarily acknowledged Alice as his "fiancée".
This was a clear change for him.
(He said, Fiancee, me…? His fiancee, fiancee, fiancee, fiancee!?)
But this was only because it was already the norm for Luke.
The words ruminating in Alice's brain over and over again lifted her heart tremendously.
"… hah-hah."
And that exaltation was transformed into lust.
She felt her body getting hot all over and her breath becoming ragged.
Normally, Alice would have concealed this murkiness to avoid being noticed, but she had no intention of doing so right now.
"You really… are a man who ruins women."
Alice was completely naked, but she didn't seem to mind at all and even thought it was convenient. She wrapped her hand around Luke's neck.
"… Hey. Mia's here."
"Fufu… would be a disaster if she found out."
Alice quickly stood up tall and kissed him on the mouth.
It was not a warm, tender kiss.
It was a kiss that solely devoured desire.
While Mia was passed out in bed, the two fell to the floor next to her───.
＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋
*LUKES POV*
"Hey, come on, wake up."
"… hn."
After we finished, we took turns taking a bath and getting dressed.
However, Mia still did not wake up.
She was a woman who was either delicate or robust, it was impossible to tell.
Well, maybe she was exhausted from all the emotional stress.
"Finally, you're awake, sleepyhead."
"…hn, Alice…? ───What?"
Mia awakened her consciousness at once by seeing Alice.
"W-w-why are you here?"
"I'm the one who should be asking that. You are a thieving cat who knows that Luke and I are engaged, and yet you barge into our room."
"No…this, this is not like that…"
"Really? To me, it looks like a lady's face."
"No, no, no, I can't be making such a face…!"
"…"
No, I'm the one who started the whole thing.
I'm sure I explained this to Alice already.
"Mia, what's your schedule today?"
"Well, um… I'm taking one class in the morning today, and then I'm taking the third and fourth periods in the afternoon, and then I'm done…"
"I see. Then make a reservation for the first or second magic training hall."
"O-okay."
"And I'll be in the library. Come get me after class."
"Yeah… got it."
Hmm, she's honest.
She accepted my words without any hesitation.
But this is going too well, isn't it?
It's scary.
"A secret meeting? You're a sinner."
"… I thought we talked about this earlier."
"Yes, we did. but whether I can accept it is another matter…Hah-hah, I'll probably be curious and go see for myself. And I'll secretly observe you, doing things like this and that───"
"No, no, no, I won't do something like that!"
"Ara? What did you imagine with your face all red? I only said such-and-such."
"───Uu."
"…"
No, you can just join us normally if you'd rather come and watch.
Why is there a need for youtube hide?
I don't understand any of this.
I don't even want to.
"I'm going to the cafeteria. Get out of my room quickly."
"Yeah, right. I don't want to talk any more with this thieving cat."
"That's not what I said!"
I locked my room and headed for the cafeteria.
Then a familiar sight was there.
"…"
It was Lloyd.
This guy always starts breakfast before anyone else.
He looked at us, so of course Mia must have been in his line of vision.
But they said nothing.
He immediately averted his eyes and resumed breakfast.
Moreover,
He was eating a short distance away.
Does that mean he was following what Alice told him to do?
Kuku, this guy is really funny.
"…"
Then Mia started walking.
To Lloyd's.
"… I lost. I have no room for excuses."
"…"
"But I will get my revenge."
"I see that… Whenever you're ready. I'm not running and hiding. ───But I'll be moving on, too."
Lloyd then looked at us.
Not exactly at me but at Alice.
He got up and walked over slowly.
"───I'd like to request a battle of the ranks."
"Yeah, fine with me."
Alice readily agreed.
"… I don't think I can win. But from the time I entered, I needed to make the distance between you and me clear. Sorry, but I'm counting on you."
"I don't care. Don't blabber about things I didn't ask."
"…"
Lloyd didn't say anything more.
He just went back to his seat.
"───Kuku."
But I couldn't suppress my laughter.
Lloyd,
He's interesting.
"Lloyd, can't it be me? Not this woman."
"This woman you say… hah-hah."."
Alice was breathing hard.
She was noisy, but I forgave her.
Because I was in a good mood.
"You… not yet. It doesn't make sense to do it now."
"Ahahahaha. Well, then, anytime. If it's you, then I don't mind even if it's not a rank battle ."
"Eh, seriously?"
"Yeah, I'm serious."
I'm willing to give this guy my valuable time.
I'm interested in him to that extent.
"If so… I might ask for it."
"Yeah, don't hold back. You're good."
Lloyd's eyes widened slightly, then quickly returned to their usual expression.
Kuku, you're still the same guy with a bad eye.
And that was the end of the conversation.
Both parties returned to their meals.
"Yaa, good morning───"
"…"
"R-right. I think I'll eat over there… hahaha…"
Leonardo took a turn when Alice glared at him.
Then he started eating by Lloyd's side.
It was no longer a common sight.
"Oh, um… can I sit next to you, if you don't mind."
"…"
As I was proceeding with my meal, there was a guy who suddenly called out to me.
I turned my eyes and there he was, Abel.
And that noisy woman.
As I recalled, her name was Lily.
"… Do what you want."
"Thank you."
Abel sat down next to me.
Somehow, for some strange reason, I feel like this guy likes me.
I don't understand.
"Uh, um… sorry about yesterday. I misunderstood…"
"Doesn't matter."
" … Ngh! You there───"
"Oh, calm down Lily… sorry, Luke."
"Why is Abel apologizing!"
"Hey, you're making too much noise. Can you be quiet?"
"What was that!?"
"… Just be quiet."
Since when?
Why did my surroundings become so noisy?
"I knew it."
In the midst of all this, Abel started talking to me.
"She's got her smile back."
Abel looked at Mia and said.
"… You are absolutely mistaken about something big."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
It seems that this guy thinks that I consoled Mia yesterday.
"I… sometimes see you. When you swing your sword."
"And what about it?"
"Even when I was fighting, I thought about it before, but truly… your sword is so beautiful that it can't be expressed. I don't understand magic very well yet, but I understand sword a little bit."
"…"
"My teacher used to say. That the heart is important in swordsmanship. So I understand, Luke-kun is not a bad person."
"...…"
I see.
I now know why this guy looks at me so smilingly.
It's his teacher's fault.
Because I'm good with swords, my heart is pure?
The world isn't that simple.
＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋
"When I booked this place, Freya-Sensei told me… 'Despite exposing such an ugly appearance to the people, you seem quite lively. I'm relieved.'"
"It doesn't matter. Let's start soon."
"A, al, alright then…!"
In the afternoon, the first magic training ground.
I came here to teach Mia a magic spell.
"Then give me your magic."
"…"
Hmm, I like this magic.
"Watch."
───"Healing Thunder Armour".
This was the first time I've put it into practice.
But it worked.
Just needed some fine tuning.
"… Eh."
This magic was a compound magic of "thunder" and "healing", and its effect is "to dwell on lightning speed".
The human body cannot withstand such things.
So of course it will break, but what if we can heal it as soon as it breaks.
This is what the "Thunder Healing Armor" is all about.
Let's try to move.
It's fast.
Should I also use magic to boost my senses?
That's going to take some time getting used to.
The amount of magic power consumed is also tremendous.
It can't be used for very long periods of time, huh?
But it's a great magic that more than makes up for it.
"How's it?"
"Wonderful…"
I canceled out the magic.
"This is a combination of "Thunder" and "Healing" magic. I want you to learn this magic. You will learn this magic and try to master it. Also, you are a little slow in activating magic. Do something about that, too. ─── That's it. I'm leaving now."
"… Eh"
Well, let's go to the dorm.
No, I should go to the library.
There are still some things I want to look into.
"Wait, wait!"
"What is it?"
"Are you leaving already… ? I don't know if I can do it alone. I would like it if you were here… or rather…"
"… Ha?"
What the h**l is she getting wrong?
"If it's… magic, I just showed you."
"I saw it. But───"
"Mia, you disappoint me."
"…"
I looked into Mia's eyes.
"Compared to wandering aimlessly in a barren wasteland, how easy it is to walk a path that already exists. Is that not something you should understand? To not even understand that much… have my expectations been misguided to you?"
"… Ah."
I'm not in the hobby of feeding mere livestock.
This girl is spoiled.
Learning magic is largely a sensory experience, and the only way to learn it is to keep in constant dialogue with oneself.
One who abandoned thinking for themselves and put their trust in others.
I don't need someone like that.
No matter how good you are, you're no different from the rest.
So it was better to say this much.
I told her everything that needed to be said.
And then I started walking toward the exit again.
"I-I'm sorry…"
I was grabbed by the sleeve.
It goes without saying that by whom.
"What are you───"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… Please don't abandon me, I beg of you… don't abandon me."
"…"
Mia's eyes were black and stagnant.
At that moment, I thought, "Aren't there a lot of scary people around me…?"
Why is that?
How did it come to this?
Could it be… is this also the result of my "efforts"?