Chapter 17

1.

“We’re screwed.”

This was really bad.

At this rate, I might become a father at this age.

I’d originally planned to travel the world once my three-year contract ended.

I’d been stuck in one place living like a beggar for twenty years, so now that I had money, the next goal was to travel everywhere I’d never been.

But now a kid?

‘There goes the traveling.’

I couldn’t just abandon a baby and leave on my own, and telling Celia to raise it herself would make me even more of a scumbag.

I really hated being tied down somewhere.

After mulling it over for a long time, I finally spoke.

“…I’ll take responsibility. If a baby really does happen.”

Celia blinked.

“You’ll take responsibility?”

“Yes. Well… it was my doing.”

A moment of silence passed.

Then the corners of Celia’s mouth slowly curled up.

“Heheh… We haven’t even taken a test yet~ So don’t take it too seriously.”

Something was making her so happy she was practically humming.

Celia got up from the bed, still wrapped in the blanket.

I blankly watched her back before deciding to shift my perspective a little.

‘…Alright. Let’s think positively.’

First of all, the boss was a beauty. An incredible one at that.

She had money, status, and even if her personality was a bit odd sometimes, she wasn’t a bad person.

Most of all, what was done was done.

I didn’t remember a thing, but judging from how she said last night was amazing and that I did well, I must have put in some effort.

Since things had already come to this.

“Ah, screw it. Since we’re already here, let’s do it one more time.”

Celia turned around.

“…What?”

“I’m saying let’s do it once more. I don’t remember a single thing, so it feels like a waste.”

Celia’s expression froze solid.

“W-Wait. Hold on. I’m a bit tired today…”

“We did it yesterday anyway. What’s a few more times when it’s already happened once?”

“St-Stop…! Stay right there!”

When I got up from the bed, Celia clutched the blanket tightly and took a step back.

Why was she acting like that?

It wasn’t like she’d suddenly started hating me.

She said I did well yesterday, so why was she avoiding me today?

I couldn’t figure her out.

Was this the fickleness of a noona twelve years older than me?

2.

Last night.

To be exact, it was after the fourth round.

To cut to the chase, nothing had happened.

“Ugh… my back…”

Celia slumped limp against Leon’s back, groaning.

“Heheh… You should’ve drunk in moderation. Given your age…”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m still spry…”

“You’re thirty, you know.”

“Put me down! Put me down!”

“Should I just leave you on the street?”

“…I don’t want that.”

Leon staggered forward, somehow managing to carry Celia on his back.

It was hard to say he was in good shape.

His steps swayed left and right, and his words slurred at every syllable, but he was still better off than the person on his back.

In the first place, Celia hadn’t planned on drinking this much.

She’d intended to have a few drinks while continuing their contract discussion.

Three years.

Honestly, the contract period with Leon was short.

Even just what he’d shown in the past few days had defied common sense multiple times over, and letting a mage like that go after just three years was too much of a loss from the Head of the Magic Academy’s perspective.

She’d planned to use the alcohol to test whether he’d be open to extending the contract.

That had been the original plan.

The problem was that her drinking partner was far stronger at holding his liquor than expected.

“I guess it’s because you’re such a beauty, boss… Even the way you drink is beautiful…”

Celia chuckled, resting her chin on Leon’s shoulder.

“How many times are you going to say that?”

“The truth stays the truth no matter how many times it’s said…”

“For a young guy, you sure know how to sweet-talk.”

“I’m just an honest person, you know?”

“Yeah, so honest it’s a problem.”

She couldn’t deny her own fault in it either—she’d gotten excited from a few compliments and kept dragging him to the next bar.

‘…He’s so young, too.’

The way he kept trying to act mature, the way he subtly looked after her.

‘He’s cute.’

Honestly, having a guy twelve years younger carrying her through the night streets wasn’t as bad as she’d thought.

He’d even pretended to be her boyfriend at the blind date earlier.

Maybe she should just go ahead and seduce him.

That thought briefly crossed her mind, but Celia immediately scolded herself.

“…What a sight. Going after a kid.”

“Huh? What…?”

“Nothing.”

No matter how she looked at it, there was a twelve-year gap.

When she’d just become an adult, Leon had only been six.

Thinking about it that way, her conscience suddenly started to ache.

“Boss.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t think we can make it back to the Magic Academy like this. Hic.”

Celia agreed with that.

There was still quite a distance to the Magic Academy.

“There’s a lodging place nearby… Let’s go there.”

Leon grinned with his drunken face.

“Heheh… This really feels like we’re lovers.”

“….”

Instead of answering, Celia stared at the back of his head.

Her heart was beating a little faster.

Just a little.

***

Arriving at the lodging, Celia flopped straight onto the bed.

“Ugh… My back hurts.”

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s because someone kept swaying while walking.”

“That’s because you’re heavy, boss…”

“Want to die?”

“I’m sorry.”

Leon stood by the bed for a moment, then looked down at Celia’s back.

“Should I give you a massage?”

Celia turned her head only.

“You know how to do that too?”

“It’s my first time. But I’ll try my best.”

“I don’t trust that at all…”

But her back really did hurt too much to refuse.

Celia buried her face in the pillow again.

“…Please.”

“Leave it to me.”

Leon climbed onto the bed.

Press. Press.

“…Mm.”

It was better than expected.

He didn’t seem to know any precise technique, but asking where it hurt and pressing around that area was fairly skillful.

“Here?”

“A bit higher. Yeah, right there.”

Press. Press.

After pressing her back for a while, Leon’s hands stopped.

“But where are your shoulder blades… I can’t see them because of the clothes…”

Leon thought for a moment, then promptly removed Celia’s clothes.

“Hey, wait. What are you doing…!”

“Just stay still…”

Celia struggled belatedly, but it was already too late.

As her clothes came off and her back was fully exposed, Leon finally nodded.

“Ah. I can see a bit better now.”

“…You really.”

Press.

“Mm…”

Maybe it was the alcohol, but she didn’t have the energy to argue.

It was just a massage, after all.

Celia buried her face in the pillow again.

“…Then press my lower back too. That’s been hurting the most.”

“Okay. One moment.”

From her back to her shoulders, then down to her lower back.

The massage that started like that lasted longer than expected.

After nearly an hour, her body, which had genuinely been stiff, felt much more relaxed.

Celia muttered in a satisfied voice.

“You said this was your first time. You’re pretty good?”

“I guess so. I didn’t know I’d be this good either…”

Thud.

The moment he answered, Leon collapsed onto one side of the bed.

Celia turned her head.

“Leon?”

“Zzz…”

“….”

He was asleep.

Celia stared at him in silence for a while.

“In the end, nothing happened.”

A little disappointed…

“….”

No.

Get a grip, Celia.

What are you thinking?

Leon is still just a twenty-year-old kid.

Celia shook her head firmly.

“…I should sleep too.”

There was only one bed, but it wasn’t a problem.

What could a guy sleeping right next to her, snoring away, possibly do?

She closed her eyes.

***

And now.

“…I’ll take responsibility.”

Celia turned her head slightly and bit her lip.

She felt like she was going to burst out laughing.

‘Pfft. He’s so cute.’

He hadn’t even done anything, yet he’d made a face like the world was ending, and now he was even talking about taking responsibility.

Normally, she would have told him the truth at this point.

But hearing him say that, she wondered if she really needed to.

Three years.

It was the contract period she’d tried to bring up last night but ultimately couldn’t.

‘…Could I use this?’

The corner of Celia’s mouth crept upward.

Celia, Head of the White Magic Academy.

Who was she?

A born businesswoman who had inherited the Head position at twenty-five and elevated the White Magic Academy to its current standing in just five years.

If she’d been born in the modern era, her face would have been splashed across the front pages of economic magazines at least once.

In short, she wasn’t the type to let a golden opportunity slip by.

‘I was going to let it go since he was cute. But what a gift from heaven.’

So she’d even thrown out the line about it being a dangerous day.

She’d gotten him to say he’d take responsibility—that was a pretty decent harvest.

The problem was what came next.

“Ah, screw it. Since we’re already here, let’s do it one more time.”

“…What?”

This time, it was Celia’s turn to freeze.

‘Why is he being so aggressive?!’

“W-Wait. I’m a bit tired today…”

“We did it yesterday anyway.”

“St-Stop…!”

She hadn’t expected him to actually come at her.

She wondered if she’d taken the joke too far, but Leon’s reactions were too entertaining to reveal the truth now.

‘…Let’s tease him a little more.’

Celia barely suppressed the laughter threatening to escape.

Of course, to Celia at this moment, it was all just a joke.

At least, up until then.

3.

I parted ways with Celia near the Magic Academy.

If anyone saw the two of us crawling out of the same place in the morning, it would only spark annoying rumors.

I didn’t have much of a reputation to lose anyway, but Celia was the Head of the White Magic Academy, after all.

Besides, last night she’d outright pretended to be my girlfriend in front of her blind date prospect, so even more so.

“…You’re back?”

When I returned to my room, Iris was already waiting with a book open.

But today, besides the book, there was a paper bag I’d never seen before sitting on the table.

“What’s that?”

“Cookies. I made some yesterday… Do you want to try one?”

“You made them?”

That was unexpected.

I took one out of the bag and put it in my mouth.

“Oh, these are good. You really made these yourself?”

“Yeah.”

Her answer was short, but the corner of Iris’s mouth lifted just a little.

“I made a lot, so you can eat as many as you want.”

Even her voice, which had been indifferent until a moment ago, was oddly softer.

“Thanks, I’ll enjoy them.”

My stomach was a bit sour from the hangover, but I could never turn down free food.

I grabbed another cookie and thought back to the question that had been circling my mind all morning.

“Iris, can I ask you something?”

“If it’s about magic.”

“It’s not.”

“…Then what?”

I couldn’t directly bring up Celia.

But I also had zero knowledge about marriage customs in this other world to figure it out on my own.

“Do people here think it’s weird if two people with a big age gap get married?”

Iris’s hand, reaching for a cookie, stopped.

“Why are you suddenly asking about marriage?”

“Just curious. It’s good to know.”

“Among nobles, political marriages are common, so large age gaps happen sometimes. Commoners don’t really care either if both parties love each other.”

I see. So at least I wouldn’t be socially ostracized.

“Usually the man is older, right? What about when the woman is older?”

This time, Iris openly looked at me like I was strange.

“Leon. Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Someone like you suddenly brings up marriage?”

Was I being too obvious?

I chewed on a cookie and purposely avoided her gaze.

“…Just curious, that’s all. Let’s move on.”

Iris still looked suspicious, but she didn’t pry further.

Instead, she flipped open the textbook and, after a moment, asked in a casual voice.

“…Does Leon prefer older women?”

“Me?”

I’d never thought about it.

If anything, what did age really matter?

“I don’t really care. If she’s pretty and has a good personality, isn’t that enough?”

“…Is that so?”

Iris looked at me for a moment, then a faint smile spread across her lips.

“I see…”

I had no idea what she found so satisfying.

After that, the lesson proceeded normally.

Today’s topic was the layering of compression formulas and output formulas.

Iris explained each magic formula drawn in the textbook one by one, and thanks to learning the basic structure yesterday, I could now roughly see which part did what.

“That should be enough explanation. Seeing it in person will be faster anyway.”

Iris closed the textbook.

We moved to the training grounds behind the main building.

It happened to be a time when almost no one was around, so we easily secured an empty target.

Iris raised her staff, and blue mana gathered in the air.

“My ice spear uses two compression formulas. It increases piercing power, but the overall structure becomes unstable, so it’s hard to add more propulsion formulas.”

Magic formulas spread out around the ice spear.

‘AI. Can I add one more propulsion formula?’

[Analyzing structure.]

[If the compression formula placement is adjusted, one propulsion formula can be added.]

Checking the positions shown on the screen, I could now understand a bit better why they needed to be moved.

“Iris. Move this compression formula back and add a propulsion formula here.”

“There? Then the balance would…”

Iris stopped mid-sentence and stared at the spell formula.

After a moment, she modified several parts herself and raised her staff.

Whoosh!

The ice spear flew at a much faster speed than before and pierced the center of the target.

“…It worked.”

Iris stared at the target for a while, then immediately turned toward me.

“Leon, take a look at this one too. There’s another spell formula I’ve been stuck on for a while!”

She grabbed my hand.

“…Ah.”

Iris’s gaze belatedly dropped to our clasped hands.

Her face gradually flushed red, and she quickly let go, averting her eyes.

“Sorry…”

Why was she acting like this today?

I looked down at the hand she’d just held, then glanced at her face.

Her ears were bright red.

“….”

Wait, something was weird here.

Fine, the boss was one thing.

But was she too?

I looked at Iris once more.

She still couldn’t properly meet my gaze.

…So this was that harem thing or whatever?