Chapter 16

1.

“Kyahahahaha!”

Celia burst out laughing, pounding the table.

“That was really amazing, Leon! Did you see that guy’s face? By the end, he couldn’t even get a word out!”

After the blind date ended, we’d moved to a nearby tavern.

Celia said she’d treat, so I’d tagged along, but there was one thing I needed to settle before that.

“More importantly, let’s make sure you follow through on that bonus you promised earlier.”

“I told you, I’ll pay it! Do you think I’d weasel out of 30 gold coins?”

“Verbal contracts are the scariest kind, after all.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me?”

“A promise made with just words is the least trustworthy thing in the world. When it comes to money, things need to be certain.”

“Unbelievable, seriously.”

Celia giggled, then suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

“Heheh… where did a little goldmine like you come rolling in from!”

She pulled me into an embrace.

“Ugh…?!“

Thump.

My vision went dark in an instant.

Her chest is unreasonably big.

“I-I can’t breathe…!”

“Heheheh.”

“I’m serious, I’m dying!”

When I finally managed to pull free, Celia was already casually filling a glass of liquor.

“Here.”

A glass slid over to me.

“Cheers.”

“…Cheers.”

I took the glass with both hands, turned my body slightly to the side, and downed it in one go.

Celia blinked.

“That’s a drinking style I’ve never seen before. Where’s it from?”

“It’s a common custom in a country called South Korea.”

“Funny how you know that. You never even had the chance to study properly.”

“Just something I picked up somewhere.”

Celia nodded without much suspicion.

The liquor was stronger than I expected.

At first, the heat from my throat down to my stomach surprised me, but after a few sips, I managed to get used to it.

After that, we sipped our drinks and chatted about this and that.

Naturally, the conversation drifted to the Lich.

“—So you figured out that death mana was connected separately?”

“I noticed it after observing for a while.”

Technically, the AI found it for me.

“So you converted all that connected mana into fuel for the Fireball and burned it all up.”

“Easier said than done… You do realize that’s a discovery worthy of being in textbooks, right?”

“Honestly, I find it stranger that people didn’t know this until now. From my perspective, at least.”

“Ha, we’ve got a genius here. Really.”

Celia let out a wry laugh and took a sip of her drink.

“Speaking of which, after learning from Iris today, magic seems more interesting than I thought.”

“In what way?”

“The process of setting the element with the element formula and then attaching the rest with the magic formula.”

I picked up a piece of meat from the appetizer plate and ate it.

“It makes me wonder why you’d only use spells that already exist. If you mix and match new combinations, you could create entirely different spells, right?”

Celia swirled her glass.

“Other mages aren’t stupid either. Ideas like that have been around for as long as magic’s history itself.”

“I figured as much.”

“Most combinations have already been tried. Extending the propulsion formula, pushing output and compression to extremes. The problem is whether you can actually use them.”

“Because of the calculations?”

“That, and mana efficiency. The more complex a spell formula gets, the more a single slight deviation can ruin the whole thing.”

Celia glanced at me.

“But with you, it might be different.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a monster with the brainpower to apply a continuous trajectory formula to 30 homing bullets at once.”

“……”

I set down my glass.

“Hah. Maybe I should have asked for more money.”

“Heheheh.”

Celia laughed.

“Who’s going to pay you that~?”

“Let’s rewrite the contract.”

“No~! The stamp’s already on it~”

How sly.

After that, the conversation drifted to trivial matters.

About how the Magic Academy food was, how Herman was secretly a nag, and how Celia once blew off the roof of her mansion as a kid during a magic experiment.

I nodded along here and there, sprinkling in some flattery.

Why?

Because a bonus was on the line.

If I just talk smoothly enough, who knows.

Maybe she’ll throw in a little extra later.

“A beauty like our boss must have been exceptional at magic from a young age too.”

“Why’d you add beauty there?”

“It’s an important part.”

“You sure talk well.”

Still, it was more fun than I expected.

I can’t remember the last time I laughed while talking about meaningless things with someone.

For 20 years, I never had the money or the leisure to drink with anyone.

Just someone asking what I did today and laughing together over nothing—that alone was a rarity.

Celia spotted my empty glass and picked up the bottle.

“Want another one?”

“If it’s from a beautiful boss, I’ll take as many as you give.”

“Heheh. Looks like you really want that bonus, huh?”

“I like people who catch on quickly.”

One glass.

Two glasses.

Three glasses.

Around that point, my tongue started to get a little loose.

“Heheh…”

Celia rested her chin on the table and laughed.

“Leon… should we… go somewhere… else…?”

“Let’s… go…!!!!”

And so, round two.

“This… is supposed to be really expensive liquor…?!”

Celia proudly shook the bottle.

“One bottle costs… uh… anyway, it’s expensive!”

“I’ll enjoy it gratefully…!!”

Round three.

“This place… has really good skewers… you know…?”

“Let’s… go…!!!!”

“Kyahahaha! Let’s goooo!”

And then round four.

“Uhiihihihi…”

Celia grabbed my face with both hands.

“Leon’s face is two~!”

“Ugh… I’m dizzy…”

“Which one’s the real Leon…?”

“Don’t… know…”

I drank so much I can’t even remember how much we poured down.

2.

The next morning.

Iris stood in front of Leon’s door, the day’s textbook tucked under one arm.

In her other hand was a small paper bag.

Cookies she’d baked herself the night before.

“…He’ll like them.”

Maybe she’d baked a bit too many.

Still, judging by how he ate yesterday, she didn’t need to worry about leftovers.

Iris adjusted her clothes needlessly before knocking.

Knock, knock.

“Leon? I’m here.”

No answer.

She waited a moment and knocked again, but it was still quiet.

Thinking he might still be asleep, she tried the doorknob—strangely, it wasn’t locked.

“Coming in?”

She carefully opened the door.

“…?”

No one was there.

The bed was exactly as it had been left.

The books on the desk were in the same spot as yesterday, and there wasn’t even a trace of anyone having returned during the night.

Iris’s gaze paused.

“…Leon?”

No answer.

She gripped the paper bag in her hand a little tighter.

“Where did he go…?”

The cookies.

She’d worked hard to bake them.

***

“Ugh…“

I’m dying.

Before I even opened my eyes, my head was throbbing.

“Good grief… my head…”

Maybe it’s because this is the first time I actually drank properly since being reincarnated.

The hangover is no joke.

Times like this, nothing beats a steaming hot bowl of soup with a generous sprinkle of chili powder.

I clutched my head before finally forcing my eyes open.

“Anyway… where is this place.”

The ceiling was unfamiliar.

The walls, the curtains, the bed I was lying in—all strange.

Definitely not my dormitory room.

I tried to recall last night’s memories, but everything after round four was a blank.

“…The tape’s completely blank.”

My mouth was bone dry too.

“Water…”

I reached out, hoping there might be a water bottle on the nightstand.

Groping around.

Soft and squishy.

“……”

My hand stopped.

That’s not a table.

Figuring it might be a pillow, I pressed down once more.

Squish.

“…Squishy?”

Just then, I heard a small breathing sound right next to me.

“Sleep… sleep…”

I slowly turned my head.

Silver hair splayed across the pillow.

And beneath it, a familiar face sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.

“Huuuuh—phew…”

It was Celia.

Wearing nothing but underwear.

“……”

Let me just organize the situation for a moment.

Last night’s drinking.

Round four.

No memory after that.

A room I’ve never seen.

The same bed.

Celia in her underwear.

‘No way…’

It can’t be.

Just because we drank a bit doesn’t mean I’d turn into that much of an animal.

I subtly lifted the blanket to check my own body first.

I was still wearing my pants.

“…Phew.”

What a relief.

…Wait, no.

Just because I’m wearing pants doesn’t guarantee nothing happened.

‘AI.’

[Standing by.]

‘Is there any record from last night?’

[The user’s audiovisual records are not stored separately.]

Useless thing.

This is exactly when you’d want a black box feature built in.

I tried to slip out of bed as quietly as possible.

Let’s just get out of here.

I’ll think about what happened later.

Just as I was about to swing one leg off the bed.

“Mmm…“

“……”

I heard the rustling of someone shifting behind me.

“Ugh… my head…”

Celia slowly opened her eyes.

Her hazy eyes blinked a few times before landing on me, frozen at the edge of the bed.

“Oh, Leon…”

“Shit.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing.”

Celia rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“……”

I quickly turned my head away.

A moment later, Celia seemed to realize her own state, grabbing the blanket and pulling it up to her chest.

“…This is a bit embarrassing.”

“……”

A bit?

Why is that the only reaction?

If she’d gotten angry, at least I could figure out the situation more easily.

I desperately tried to dredge up last night’s memories.

Liquor.

Skewers.

Two of my faces.

End.

Damn it.

I can’t remember a single thing!

“…Hey, boss.”

“Hm?”

“What did I do last night?”

Celia blinked.

“You don’t remember?”

“No.”

“Not at all?”

“Everything after round four is completely gone.”

“…Heheh.”

What’s that “heheh” supposed to mean?

The corner of Celia’s mouth curled up.

“Hehe. You were amazing last night.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You were really good.”

My mind went completely blank.

What.

Good at what?

“I… was?”

“Yeah. Honestly, you said it was your first time, so I wasn’t expecting much.”

“……”

First time. Not expecting much. But good.

The words were assembling in a very bad direction.

“B-Boss.”

“What?”

“Specifically, what was I good at…”

Celia let out a small snicker.

“You really don’t remember?”

“……”

“After working so hard at it last night?”

“…I’m screwed.”

Celia didn’t stop there.

She lowered the blanket slightly and slowly stroked her own belly.

“Ah~ what should I do.”

“…What?”

“Of all days, yesterday happened to be a dangerous day…”

“…?”

Celia looked up at me and beamed.

“A baby… might have been made?”

“……”

2,000 gold coins for a 3-year contract.

I thought it was a pretty good deal.

“I’m seriously screwed.”

Looks like my 3-year contract is about to turn into a lifelong one.

3.

“…Losing is humiliating.”

The blonde man set down his wine glass.

“But I have no choice but to admit it. That boy was truly remarkable.”

At his words, all eyes around the table gathered on him.

He had just finished explaining everything he’d experienced during last night’s blind date with the head of the White Magic Academy.

Those who had initially thought it was a joke were no longer laughing.

“Hold on.”

Someone asked in disbelief.

“You’re saying that boy has only been learning magic for five days?”

“That’s what he said himself.”

“And you believe that?”

“It’s not a matter of belief.”

The blonde man smiled bitterly.

“The fact that I lost to a mere 20-year-old boy doesn’t change.”

The very sight of him admitting defeat so readily was a rare occurrence.

Which only went to show how shocking last night’s events had been.

A woman who had been listening silently slowly spoke up.

“But there was one interesting bit mixed in there.”

The gazes turned to her.

Long, flowing light blonde hair.

Even the way she swirled her wine glass with her fingertips carried no trace of disorder.

“The head of the White Magic Academy’s lover?”

The blonde man’s expression subtly stiffened.

“…So it seems.”

“Celia?”

“She said so herself.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed.

“A 20-year-old boy?”

“I found it hard to believe as well.”

A brief silence fell.

Then the woman let out a small laugh.

“…How interesting.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything.”

Only five days of learning magic.

An unidentified boy who dominated an archmage candidate in a formula reading contest and was introduced by Celia, the head of the White Magic Academy, as her lover.

Too conspicuous.

The woman set down her glass.

“I suppose it’s time I paid a visit.”

The blonde man furrowed his brow.

“To the White Magic Academy?”

“Yes.”

“What do you plan to do there? Surely you’re not thinking of challenging that boy to a formula reading contest.”

The woman smiled as if she’d just remembered something.

“Ah, did I never mention it?”

She slowly rose from her seat.

“My younger sister is there.”

“…Younger sister?”

“Iris Meirude.”

The blonde man’s eyes widened slightly.

The woman casually tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, as if it were nothing.

Her name was Jenice Meirude.

The official heir of House Meirude—and the half-sister Iris Meirude had spent her entire life looking up to as the obstacle she had to overcome.

Jenice curled the corners of her mouth faintly.

“Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her face.”

Above all.

She was a little curious about the boy who had defeated an archmage candidate just five days after learning magic.

“I should also see who my little sister has been hanging around with these days.”