The morning sunlight pierced my eyes sharply.
I squinted and shifted my body, and my arm bumped into something soft.
Freezing in place, I slowly opened my eyes.
Should I be happy that my guess was correct?
My arm had slipped into a soft valley.
‘How does something like this happen…?’
I marveled at the elasticity pressing against my arms on both sides as I slowly withdrew my arm.
Then I carefully examined Lily, who had her eyes closed.
Upon reflection, today was my turn to wake Lily.
As I moved to kiss her, I paused.
I hadn’t noticed when she was still, but now that I moved…
I definitely could feel this texture.
My gaze dropped lower.
‘Hmm… I distinctly remember her coming back too before we slept…’
I’ll have to wake the goddess a little later.
This issue needs to be resolved first.
Careful not to wake Lily, I gently slipped out of the bed.
I quietly grabbed some clothes from the wardrobe and headed for the restroom.
‘Yesterday was way too stimulating…’
—
After finishing my business, as I washed my face to wake up, my gaze turned to the mirror.
More precisely, my eyes landed on my moist lips in the mirror.
This brought fragmented memories of yesterday.
I slowly raised my hand and caressed my lips.
I worried about swelling, but thankfully, they were just fine.
The memory of yesterday’s intensity kept returning.
More than the scenes, I vividly remembered the emotions from the situation.
As I traced my memories, I realized why my lips were still okay.
How much time had passed? It’s hard to estimate time in a sweltering bed.
When my lips started to hurt, Lily noticed and paused.
For the first time since we began, our ragged breathing faced each other.
Lily seemed to consider for a moment.
Then she covered my lips with her hand.
In the next moment, light flowed out of her hand.
As the light subsided, my lips no longer hurt.
After that, things got confusing due to Lily clinging to me again.
I only realized now what the light was, and chuckled.
‘My goodness, Lily… to use healing magic for something like that…’
I probably used a significant amount of energy yesterday, though I didn’t realize it at the time.
After ‘feeding’ followed by healing magic…
But I didn’t feel dizzy or tired at all.
‘How much life force do I even have? Or is my recovery speed just that fast?’
Anyway, it’s fortunate.
At the very least, Lily won’t go hungry.
After leaving the restroom, I headed towards Lily, who was still lying down.
Crawling under the covers, I tightly hugged the sleeping Lily.
Lily’s warmth inside the blanket gave an exquisite sensation.
I felt so relaxed, I nearly dozed off. Shaking my head to wake up, I remembered the time constraints due to earlier delays.
I didn’t want to waste any more time.
I covered Lily’s lips with mine, with no time to waste.
I immediately began licking the roof of her mouth as her lips parted slightly, creating an embarrassing sound.
After a short while, Lily’s tongue stirred.
Lily’s eyelids slowly opened, revealing dark, pearl-like eyes that reflected my face.
Pucker.
Breaking the kiss, I whispered softly.
“Good morning, Lily.”
Lily’s eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“Good morning, Arthur.”
As she lazily opened her eyes and replied, I gave her a brief peck on the lips before teasing her gently.
“Are you satisfied?”
Though I didn’t specify what I meant, we both knew.
Lily smiled brightly and replied, “Uh-huh!”
The bright smile that had provoked the urge to scold vanished cleanly.
In the end, I burst into laughter.
After rolling around in bed for a while, we managed to get up at my request, mindful of the time.
Since we were short on time, breakfast was a simple sandwich.
Lily fed me a bite of her sandwich.
“Munch munch… Can you make me two more? Munch munch… I’ll eat them on the way.”
“Sure! Let’s go quickly.”
It turned out to be the right decision to eat while walking.
We entered the classroom just as the class bell rang.
—
I couldn’t concentrate on my lessons.
I was too busy pondering over the identity of that damn person who sent the letter.
‘When did they put it there?’
“It wasn’t there during lunch. Since the place where Lily and I had our ‘meal’ was the entrance, that’s certain.”
“Then it must have been placed sometime in the afternoon…”
“Probably between 1 PM and 4 PM?”
“The handwriting… was unfamiliar.”
“The tone in the letter was unremarkable too.”
“The paper and envelope were of the same material. So they’re a set. The smooth material wasn’t cheap.”
No matter how hard I thought throughout the morning classes, there were no further clues.
‘The clues are too few. I can’t pinpoint the perpetrator with just this.’
“…Should I do some inquiries?”
There may not be many people who’d remember yesterday’s events that vividly, but it’s still better than nothing, right?
I’ll have to ask the dormitories’ neighboring rooms after finishing ‘study’ today.
-Are you eating there again today?
-Huh? Do you have any packed lunch?
-Of course! Did you think I was just loafing around in class?
-You were sleeping, weren’t you? You had your eyes closed.
-…Well, I did sleep a little, but anyway! Cooking with telekinesis inside a pocket dimension is possible.
Whew, so that’s possible, huh?
I couldn’t gauge just how far Lily’s powers went.
‘Lily might even be capable of creating life…’
Anyhow, the fact that she had a packed lunch was good news.
Thinking back to yesterday’s lunch brightened my day immediately.
But…
‘…Huh?’
The park next to the dormitory where we ate lunch yesterday.
Reaching there, I felt my head grow foggy.
The reason was clear—there was an entirely unexpected scene before my eyes.
The park, which was quiet until yesterday, was now packed with people.
Why…?
As I thought about the cause, I soon noticed something odd about the park’s appearance.
I thought it was just more people, but it wasn’t.
‘Could it be…?’
I blinked a few times, confirming the scene before me, and was certain.
The sudden increase in people, the bustle—it was incorrect.
The sudden increase in ‘men,’ the bustle of ‘men’—that was more accurate.
Yes.
Most of the people filling the park were men.
There were a few women, but they were in an extreme minority.
The park boasted an overwhelming male-to-female ratio.
The reason for this situation needed no deep thought.
Unless treasure was found in this park yesterday, there was only one possible cause.
‘These bastards…’
-Should we just eat inside the dormitory today?
-Hmm… Sure! It’s too crowded here.
-I’m sorry for all the trouble of making the packed lunch.
-It’s fine! And eating inside, we don’t have to worry about others’ eyes, right?
A hand that sprang out from my coat covered my lips.
-No need to worry about others watching, is there?
Although I know I’m looking at a cat, why does Lily’s seductive smile appear in my mind?
-Now do you want to do something we did yesterday again?
-With all my heart, I want to do it forever…
-…Please let me know.
-Hehe, I’m sure we’ll see later today.
Ultimately, we returned to the room to finish lunch.
Of course, as Lily put it, since there was no need to worry about others’ eyes outside, we indulged in some skinship without hesitation.
How dizzy I felt when Lily touched her lips to mine while savoring honey…
The same as the morning, the afternoon classes passed similarly.
Was there any clue that I had overlooked?
Replaying yesterday’s events dozens of times, I pieced them back together.
The more I remembered, the more my chest tightened.
Finally, the lessons ended and, heading to the library, I stopped my footsteps at the entrance.
“Can you cast invisibility magic on us, please?”
Saying that, I quickly added:
“Both of us should be invisible.”
“What?”
“Please.”
“…Alright.”
Lily’s and my surroundings wavered momentarily.
“Also, please block out sound.”
“Why the sudden request?”
The air wavered again.
“There. Outside won’t be able to hear our sounds now.”
“Please return to your human form.”
“…Alright.”
Lily immediately returned to her original form.
“Now, tell me. Why the sudden—”
Lily couldn’t continue because…
…I had pressed my lips to hers.
I could see students bustling in and out of the library at the edge of my vision.
But even with the invisible barrier separating us, I had no time to think about being discovered.
I explored Lily’s lips with mine in a long kiss.
When the kiss ended, catching my breath, I whispered to Lily.
“I love you.”
“Why the sudden—?”
“Just… I didn’t want to part like this. And also to find the strength to study for two hours.”
“Hehe, now that you mention it, we were in such a hurry this morning that I forgot to give you a kiss at the door to encourage you!”
Lily let out a sweet sigh and whispered:
“Stay strong, you can do it… Chuu…”
Our lips met again, and my whole body tingled.
For a while, we tightly held each other. At some point, almost by mutual consent, we let go at the same time.
“I’m heading out.”
“Study hard, Arthur.”
“Thank you.”
“Sure, I’ll wait for you.”
With a reluctant heart, I moved toward the library but stopped as I remembered something.
“Lily.”
“Hmm?”
“Just in case, please don’t follow me invisibly.”
…
“Oh… I see.”
If I had just gone, it would have turned into a big deal.
“Promise me, Lily. You’ll wait in the dormitory.”
“Ugh…”
“I mean it, pinky swear.”
As I extended my pinky, Lily hesitated.
Then after sighing, Lily hooked her pinky with mine.
“I promise. But you, don’t take off that badge, okay?”
“Of course. I promise.”
“…Seal.”
Giving Lily’s lips a quick kiss, I smiled and walked towards the library.
“I’m really leaving.”
“Good luck~”
“Got it!”
Waving to Lily, I entered the library.
After greeting the librarian, as I entered the stacks and got out of sight of others,
“Hoo…”
I stumbled and managed to lean against the bookshelf due to wobbly legs.
The heart-wrenching feeling of futility and guilt made my eyes feel like crying.
“I’m sorry, Lily.”
This was the first time I lied outright to Lily.
I was startled by how well I could maintain my composure, even alarming myself.
Shaking my trembling legs, I stood up.
“I have to stay resolute. To hold the culprit accountable…”
I took out a bulky book from the shelves and found a secluded corner to sit down.
Placing the book on the table, I carefully reached into my pocket.
After rummaging a few times, I grabbed my target and slowly pulled it out.
The inauspicious book that emerged had a black cover.
Flipping to the first page revealed sharp handwriting.
“Necronomicon”
I secretly kept it after Lily carelessly threw it aside last time.
Part of what I told Lily was true.
It was true that I wanted to improve myself and tried to study on my own.
It was true that I chose studying as a means.
But decisively different was that this “study” was not ordinary study.
After hesitating for a moment, I quickly flipped through the book.
I soon found the section heading I aimed for.
5. Black Magic
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the page and began reading the contents slowly.
—
