Chapter 1: The Pawn
1
Around the time when the morning sun began to spread dimly from afar, signaling the dawn,
Luke couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
Sadly, Mia had visited his room for no apparent reason, and the shock of witnessing a completely naked Alice caused her to faint, and now she was lying unconscious right in front of him.
It was a morning far from peaceful.
“So you’re going to use this girl as a pawn? Even though I’m here? No matter how vile and despicable the order is, I can carry it out perfectly. … Better than that Mia.”
“…………”
Alice spoke in a slightly louder voice than usual. It was a rare occurrence for her, and there was a hint of emotion in her voice. If someone didn’t know Alice well, they might not have noticed, but to Luke, her expression was quite complex.
— But he didn’t understand.
“What are you misunderstanding. You are not a [pawn], but my [fiancée].”
“–!”
He was being honest. For him, this was simply a fact. The positions of Alice and Mia were clearly different. That was all there was to it.
However, there was something Luke himself was unaware of. It was that he had unconsciously accepted Alice’s presence in his daily life as a matter of course. At first, he had only rejected her, but now he had recognized Alice as his own [fiancée].
This could be considered a clear change in him.
(Fiancée, fiancée, fiancée, fiancée, fiancée–)
— However, this was nothing more than the norm for Luke.
The fact that Luke, who rarely showed his emotions outwardly, regarded Alice as his equal or even more, was extremely stimulating and alluring to her. The word “fiancée” echoed repeatedly in Alice’s mind, slowly melting her heart and exciting her.
“…Haa, haa.”
And this excitement gradually transformed into lust.
She could feel her body heating up and her breath becoming ragged. Normally, she would have tried to conceal this clouding, but Alice had no such intention now.
“You really are a man who ruins women.”
Alice, completely naked, didn’t seem to care about it at all. On the contrary, she considered it convenient and wrapped her arms around Luke’s neck.
“…Hey. Mia is here.”
“Fufufu… It would be a problem if we were discovered, wouldn’t it?”
Alice stretched her body, and kissed him.
It was not a warm and gentle kiss. It was a kiss that greedily craved desire.
As Mia, who had been carried to the bed, remained unconscious, the two of them collapsed onto the floor next to her.
§
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“Hey, wake up already.”
“…Mmh.”
After finishing various things, their attire was also in order. But Mia still hadn’t woken up.
Was she delicate or tough? She was a woman whose nature was completely unclear. …Well, it might have been the result of mental strain.
“You’ve finally woken up, sleepyhead.”
“…Hm, Alice? –Wha?!”
Seeing Alice, Mia suddenly regained full consciousness. She immediately sat up and jumped away to the wall.
“Wh-Why are you here too?!”
“That’s my line. You, the thieving cat, barged into the room even though you know I’m engaged to Luke.”
“No, this is not-…that kind of thing…”
“Is that so? To me, you look like a woman.”
“I’m not! Don’t say weird things!”
“…………”
Well… I was the one who started all this.
I’m sure I explained the circumstances to Alice. The way she’s teasing her means their relationship isn’t that bad, after all.
“Mia, what are the classes today?”
“Ah, um… I have the third and fourth periods this afternoon, and that’s it.”
“I see. Then reserve the first or second magic training grounds.”
“Okay, got it.”
“And I’ll be in the library. Come get me when the training grounds are available.”
“Yeah… understood.”
Hmm, she’s obedient. She accepts my words without any hesitation.
However… this is a little too smooth. It exceeds my expectations. …There’s a faint sense of unease, but why?
“Openly making a secret date? How naughty of you.”
“…I thought I explained it to you already.”
“Yes, I understand. But that doesn’t mean I can accept it. …Haa, haa, I’m sure I’ll end up going to see it, and secretly witness you two doing all sorts of things. It should be such a painful thing, but for some reason my body feels hot–“
“Wh-What are you saying? I’m not going to do anything like that!”
“Oh? What were you imagining with your face all red? I only mentioned ‘all sorts of things’.”
“–No, it’s not-“
“…………”
No, if she’s going to come and see, she might as well just join us openly…
Why does she need to hide and watch? I can’t understand it at all. I don’t even want to understand.
“I’m going to the dining hall. You two, get out of my room quickly.”
“Yes, that’s right. I don’t want to talk to this thieving cat anymore.”
“I’m telling you it’s not like that!”
Locking the door, he headed to the dining hall.
There, the familiar sight greeted me again.
“…………”
It was the red-haired boy with the unpleasant gaze – Lloyd.
He’s always the first to start eating breakfast.
Our eyes met. He must have noticed Mia in my line of sight as well.
But he didn’t say anything. He quickly looked away and resumed his meal.
Moreover, he was sitting a little further away from where he usually sits to eat.
Is he following what Alice told him?
Heh, this guy is truly interesting.
“……!”
Just then, Mia suddenly started walking towards Lloyd.
“……I lost. There’s no room for excuses.”
“…………”
“But I will definitely have my revenge.”
“……Is that so. Anytime is fine. I won’t run or hide. ──But I’ll keep moving forward too. I can’t wait forever.”
Then, Lloyd looked this way. But his gaze wasn’t on me, it was on Alice.
He abruptly stood up and slowly walked over.
“I challenge you to a ranking battle.”
“Very well, then.”
Alice agreed readily.
“……I don’t expect to win. But with me just having joined, I want to make our standings clear. Sorry, but I’m asking you to do this.”
“I don’t care about the reason. Don’t just blabber on about things I didn’t ask for.”
“…………”
Lloyd didn’t say anything more and simply returned to his seat.
“──Heh.”
But I couldn’t hold back the laughter welling up inside me.
Lloyd, what an interesting guy. I’ve taken a liking to him.
“Would I be acceptable, Lloyd? Rather than a woman like her.”
“Like her… Haah…”
For some reason, Alice’s breathing became ragged. How bothersome… but I’ll let it slide.
I’m in a good mood right now.
“You… not yet. It wouldn’t mean anything now.”
“Hahaha, okay, anytime then. With you, it doesn’t have to be a ranking battle.”
“Eh…? For real?”
“Yeah, for real.”
I think I can afford to spend some of my precious time on this guy.
That’s how much I’ve taken a liking to him.
“I see… then I may take you up on that.”
“Ah, don’t hesitate. You’ll do just fine.”
Lloyd’s eyes widened a little, but he quickly reverted to his usual expression.
Heh, what an unpleasant-looking guy as always.
And the conversation ended there, as we both turned our attention back to our meals.
At that moment, Leonardo arrived at the cafeteria.
“Hey, morn– “
“…………”
“Uh, um… I’ll just eat over there… haha…”
Leonardo quietly retreated, intimidated by Alice’s glare.
And he started eating next to Lloyd. This is also a common sight.
“Ah, um… can I sit here?”
“…………”
As I continued my meal, someone spoke to me.
Looking up, I saw it was Abel. And the noisy girl who’s always with him, Lilly, I think.
If I refuse Abel’s request, that girl will start yelling and making a fuss, which is as clear as day.
“…Do as you please.”
“Oh, thank you!”
Abel sat down in front of me, smiling brightly and happily. …It’s creepy.
Somehow, it feels like this guy has taken a liking to me, for some reason.
I don’t understand it at all.
“Ah, um… I’m sorry about yesterday. I misunderstood, you see…”
“I don’t care.”
“…What? You’re so–“
“Calm down, Lilly. …Sorry about that, Luke.”
“Why is Abel apologizing?!”
“Keep it down, you’re being noisy.”
“What did you say?!”
“…Shut up.”
When did my surroundings become so noisy?
“That’s what I thought.”
Amid the commotion, Abel spoke to me.
“Her smile has returned.”
He said that with an air of satisfaction, looking at Mia.
“…You’re absolutely misunderstanding something big.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. “
Yeah, I’m sure.
“Huh? But she’s smiling now. That’s an undeniable fact.”
“…………”
It seems this guy genuinely believes that I comforted Mia.
“Sometimes I see you… swinging your sword.”
“And what of it?”
“Even in battle, I thought your sword was incredibly… beautiful. I don’t understand much about magic yet, but I know a bit about swords.”
“…………”
“My teacher said that the [heart] is important for swords. That’s why I can tell, Luke isn’t a bad person.”
“…………”
Seeing Abel’s unburdened smile, I understand.
I see. The reason this guy has such a foolish way of thinking is because of that teacher of his.
Thinking that someone’s heart is pure just because they’re skilled with a sword?
The world isn’t that simple, but–
2
–In the afternoon, at the first magic training ground.
I came here to teach Mia a certain magic.
“When I made the reservation, I was told by sensei Freyja, ‘You’ve put on quite a disgraceful display in front of the people, yet you seem quite lively.
I’m relieved.’ … It doesn’t matter. Let’s just get started.”
“Ah, y-yes, thank you very much!”
“First, I’ll borrow some magic power.”
“…Ugh.”
The dark magic drew Mia’s magical power into me.
Hmm, it’s indeed a potent magical power.
“Watch this. — [Lightning Armor]”
In an instant, my body was enveloped in purple lightning.
This was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. It’s my first time putting it into practice.
But it’s bound to work. See?
Well, some fine-tuning may be necessary.
“…Huh?”
I kicked the ground with a thunderous roar.
This magic is a composite of [Lightning] and [Healing], with the effect of [Imbuing Lightning Speed].
The human body can’t withstand such a thing. It will naturally break, but I can heal it right away.
This is the essence of the [Lightning Armor].
Indeed… it’s too fast. Slightly delayed in my reactions. I might need to combine it with a magic to boost my sensory perception.
It’ll take some time to get accustomed to it. The magic consumption is also tremendous.
I can’t use it for too long, huh. But it’s a marvelous magic that more than makes up for that.
After some time, I deactivated the magic.
“How was it? Did you like it?”
“A-amazing…”
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