“What should I do first?”
I stood in the middle of the room and asked Presia. However, she walked toward me as if she hadn’t heard my question.
Up close, her cute appearance was even more noticeable. Even though it was the first time I saw her face, it felt extremely familiar.
Presia approached me and walked past, then turned around.
Smack!
“Hyah!?”
Her sudden slap on my butt startled me, causing me to scream. With my heightened senses, unexpected attacks naturally elicited a scream.
“Usually it’s two slaps, but I’ll let you off with one.”
“Yes… Yes?”
I didn’t understand what exactly she was letting me off with, but I replied regardless. Had I done something wrong to Presia?
But no matter how much I thought about it, there was no answer. After all, I had just met Presia.
While I was perplexed, Presia wore a satisfied smile.
Instead of answering my question, she went straight to the point.
“Hmm… Since lunchtime is only about ten minutes away… this magic would be best.”
Presia, whose voice made me sleepy just listening, stretched out her finger toward the air and began to draw.
The concentrated mana at her fingertip was drawing a magic circle.
As far as I knew, magic circles were usually drawn onto objects—be it the ground, paper, or items. But drawing one in mid-air like this was something I had never heard of or seen.
Presia finally stopped moving her finger, which had been swirling around questionably.
Whoom!
The magic circle drawn in the air shone brightly.
The circle didn’t just shine—it came toward me, shrank in size, and then settled on my chest.
When I unbuttoned a few buttons of my blouse to check, a small magic circle made of simple geometric shapes was engraved on my chest.
“Boss, what is this…?”
“I’m going to test you with the spells I’ve developed. This one is one of them. After your afternoon class, just let me know how you felt when you come back after school.”
“And what is the effect of this spell?”
To better focus on that aspect, I asked Presia what the spell did. But she returned to her expressionless state and spoke.
“That’s a secret. Knowing the spell’s effect might make you perceive things that way even if it’s not… So, figure it out on your own.”
After saying that, Presia went back to the couch.
“Alright, I need to take a nap now… Come back after school at a reasonable time—not too late.”
After saying that, Presia flicked her finger again, and the blind floating on the floor flew up and covered her eyes. The stuffed bear from the corner wobbled over and nestled into her arms.
Presia then slumped onto the couch.
Clearly, she was all set to take a long nap, even though there wasn’t much time left before the afternoon class began.
Though I wondered how much the Department of Magic would allow this behavior, it wasn’t my place to interfere. If I annoyed the boss and got fired, I’d be the one at a loss.
I carefully closed the door to avoid waking up Presia, who had already fallen into dreamland, and stepped outside.
“Today is free sparring. Pair up and spar freely. I’m watching everyone, so no slacking off!”
The first opponent I paired with was Selian. Of course, with plenty of class time left, I intended to spar not only with Selian but also with Anne, Yuli, and other classmates. However, sparring with Selian was always where I felt the most at ease.
Selian and I stood face-to-face. We both simultaneously rushed at each other. Normally, our blades should have met around the middle, but…
Clang!
After only two steps, I was already right in front of Selian. For some reason, today I had the urge to move a little more actively.
However, despite my unexpectedly fast attack, Selian easily blocked it.
Since moving more actively than usual didn’t work, I decided to press her harder with faster attacks.
Clash! Clash!
Even amidst this, Selian was handling my faster attacks smoothly.
Clatter! Clatter!
And then, our swords met for a grapple. I wasn’t sure what would happen if I pushed to full strength, but right now, the grapple was balanced equally between the two of us. Our wooden swords locked together, and my eyes met Selian’s.
In combat, reading your opponent’s gaze and using your own is important. So, I focused on Selian’s eyes to anticipate her next move.
Whoom!
In that instant, I felt a sudden heat rush to my face. What… what is this?
Surprised, I pushed her sword away as if brushing it off and stepped back to create some distance.
Thump-thump-thump-thump
I placed my hand over my chest and realized my heart was pounding. What is this? Why is this happening?
Selian also seemed to notice that something was different about me and lowered her sword, approaching me.
“El? Is something wrong?”
With a worried expression, Selian placed her hand on my forehead.
“Your temperature doesn’t seem high… Are you okay?”
My rapid heartbeat only increased, now even sounding like a roar. Worried that Selian could hear my heartbeat, I turned away from her gaze.
This… Though I hate to say it, I’m completely acting like a girl who’s fallen in love… Selian, being the candidate hero, can sometimes be scary, but she’s fundamentally kind-hearted, beautiful, talented, and comes from a good house. She’s genuinely an eight-directionally-gifted, perfect woman. Anybody would fall for her.
Even if Selian is beautiful, doesn’t it feel odd for girls to fall for each other? Although that novel she lent me last time did say that women can fall in love too…
No, wait. Since I’m actually a guy, isn’t it rather natural to react this way? Barely safe, right?
But now that I think about it… Why didn’t I feel this way earlier, and why right now, in the middle of our sparring session? They say love comes unexpectedly…
“El? Selian?”
Sensing something strange about our situation, Anne and Yuli, who were sparring nearby, came over.
“What’s wrong? Is El feeling sick?”
Anne, realizing that the issue was on my side, stared at me just like Selian did earlier.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump
Meeting Anne’s gaze made my heart, which I thought had calmed, start racing again uncontrollably.
No, my heart! What exactly is happening? If you’re human and not some beast, shouldn’t you recall that I felt the same way a moment ago looking at Selian? Perhaps you should take a step back and reassess your moral compass.
Swish!
When I turned my head the other way, Yuli’s face came into view.
“El? Are you okay?”
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump
“Et…! Ah… Sorry, it’s nothing!”
I unintentionally used formal speech, but I didn’t have time to worry about small things like that.
Am I really so unsteady? I must be an animal, not a human!
I was just racing my heart over Selian, and now, after seeing Anne, I’m already doing the same with Yuli. Though all three of them are beauties, it’s shocking to have this reaction.
“I… I’m just tired. That’s all. I’ll go rest in the infirmary for a bit.”
I immediately headed toward Professor Ferent, rising from my spot.
“Since I’m really tired, could I go to the infirmary?”
The rapid heartbeat wouldn’t stop, and my face was probably still red.
“Hmm? If you’re saying this, you must be feeling really bad. Got it. I’ll let your next class professor know, so rest in the infirmary until you feel better.”
I barely managed to dissuade Selian, Anne, and Yuli, who wanted to accompany me, and escaped like I was fleeing.
Here I am now in front of Magic Building 707, having come to Presia’s lab instead of the infirmary to avoid being noticed by others.
Creak
I turned the door handle carefully, and it opened easily—apparently, it wasn’t locked.
“Um, Boss?”
Presia was still asleep, as there was no response. Hesitant to wake my employer, I sat on a nearby chair and began to think deeply.
I hadn’t had time to think earlier because I was too flustered, but now with the situation clearer, I had a pretty good idea what had happened. It must have been the effect of the spell Presia had cast.
Until now, I had spent considerable time with Selian, Anne, and Yuli. While there were occasional moments of excitement, I had never lost control of myself like this before.
“Phew. I’m not as unprincipled as I thought.”
I nearly thought I was trash.
“Hmm…? Is it already evening?”
Awoken seemingly by my muttering, Presia removed her blindfold, rubbed her eyes, and got up. Then, while hugging her stuffed bear with one arm, she stretched the other like a baby cat.
“No. Class is still going on.”
“Hmm? Then why are you here?”
“Because of the spell you cast earlier, Boss… My heart beat too fast, making it hard for me to concentrate on class, so I left.”
I reported everything that happened earlier to Presia.
“Hmm… The original intended effect was to accelerate actions, but it seems the heart accelerated instead… So, the third stroke of the magic circle needs some modification…”
Presia began muttering to herself at some point. Could she possibly diagnose the issue and fix it just from hearing my brief experience?
Isn’t magic usually not this easy to modify? Of course, I knew it wasn’t usually this simple, but since I didn’t know much about magic in detail, I couldn’t gauge exactly how remarkable Presia’s abilities were.
“Ah… I’ll lift the spell for now. That’s all for today’s experiment. I’ll call you again if I need you for the next one… And of course, if you need extra pay, feel free to come anytime.”
Presia drew a simpler magic circle on me than the one she used to cast the spell, and I could see the one etched on my chest disappear.
“Here… This is today’s payment.”
A small pouch landed in my hand. Glancing inside, I saw quite a number of silver coins—more than enough to deal with my current situation.
“Thank you, Boss! I’ll come anytime you call!”
With respect, I left the lab, leaving behind a deeply contemplative Presia, unlike how she had been when she fell asleep earlier. Fortunately, I managed to reach the infirmary and lie down before class ended.
However, when Selian, Anne, and Yuli visited me after class, my heart still beat faster, albeit not as intensely as before, suggesting that the spell’s residue might still linger. Consequently, I had no choice but to skip the rest of my classes and continue resting.
