As time passed, more and more cadets filled the empty seats.
Inside the classroom, large desks were spaced apart. There were more desks than cadets, so even sitting in pairs felt generous.
It was still early, plenty of time before the lecture began.
During this time, the cadets were either reviewing the previous lecture content or chatting among themselves at the same desk.
Some had already activated the magical devices built into their desks, projecting holograms and debating the spells of their workshop.
“……”
“……”
Meanwhile, many were stealing glances at the desk I was sitting at, whispering quietly among themselves.
They thought they were hiding their gazes and lowering their voices well. To anyone else, it might have seemed inconsequential, but I could feel it very clearly.
Probably due to my actions just earlier. I was a bit concerned, but it wasn’t serious enough to address, so I just ignored it.
– Gently…
But the gaze lingering right next to me was quite bothersome.
I swallowed a sigh and turned my head.
[Why are you looking at me…?]
“It’s nothing.”
The owner of the gaze that had been staring at me was Baek Ahrin.
Resting her chin on one hand, she shrugged nonchalantly at my question.
She said it was nothing, but her warm gaze and the smirk on her lips said otherwise. It seemed she had no intention of hiding it at all.
Truly, it was a face, a look, and a smile that were hard to ignore.
[But why are you looking at me like that…?]
“Oh, well, I just thought Lee Ha-yul was wanting to be near me~.”
Baek Ahrin’s gaze dropped down. Around her slim waist, unlike her chest and hips, a blue ribbon was tightly wrapped.
“You’re wearing it outside too? Is it some kind of territory marker? Like, ‘Don’t touch, it’s mine’?”
[Please, don’t poke…]
“Hmm?”
Baek Ahrin giggled as she poked at the ribbon around her waist. The faint connection made my shoulder twitch.
I clamped my mouth shut and guarded my necklace.
“Ugh.”
When I didn’t respond, the corners of Baek Ahrin’s eyes curled up beautifully.
It was a foreboding sign. But before I could stop her, Baek Ahrin’s lips parted first.
“Oh, today… would you come in with me, please…?”
[Ugh…]
A soft, whimpering voice mixed with a breathy plea flowed from between Baek Ahrin’s lips.
It was a tone I had just heard moments ago. She was so skilled that it felt like she had just repeated a memory.
With a hint of embarrassment, blood rushed to my face. I tried to control it, but it was difficult.
My face grew hotter by the moment. Eventually, the wings of the sky wrapped around my face, as if to hide it.
“Are you getting shy now? Over something like this? The last time, you were all—”
[Stop!]
“Okay, okay, I’ll be quiet.”
Baek Ahrin giggled. It was so embarrassing that I buried my face in the desk, and a hand brushed through my hair from above.
“Oh, you really didn’t want to fall away, did you?”
[Don’t tease me…]
“Hmm, it’s fine, I’ll stay right next to you. You can keep wearing the ribbon… got it?”
Baek Ahrin’s teasing and touch continued until the professor walked in.
…Since Baek Ahrin had given me permission, I wrapped the winged cloth even tighter.
.
.
.
“Today’s lecture will start from page 163.”
The professor, who arrived just in time, wasted no time starting the lecture.
The practical workshop creation lecture wasn’t something I had much experience with, but I knew how it went.
It starts with gathering in the classroom for theory, and some hands-on practice using the devices on the desks.
There’s a simple explanation of theory here, and then we usually head downstairs to the practice area to configure and experiment with the workshop directly.
There were some exceptions, but it seemed like this lecture was going by the book.
Standing at the podium, the professor was describing the spells of a dismantled workshop using a large hologram floating in the air.
‘The difficulty definitely went up quite a bit compared to the first lecture.’
I nodded while observing the spells projected in the hologram.
A lot of progress had been made during my absence from the lectures. The complexity had shot up, making the spells quite complicated.
“Although there are cadets who couldn’t attend the lecture due to various circumstances, if you stay focused, you should be able to catch up quickly.”
As the professor spoke, he made eye contact with the cadets, and I was included in that gaze.
I had definitely missed a lot during the lectures and had fallen behind.
‘But it’s not that difficult.’
The level had certainly risen, but it wasn’t hard.
In fact, it felt easier than the first day.
‘If I just modify that spell number three over there, the basic structure and spatial occupation will activate. The rest are all poorly constructed spells anyway.’
After all, my magical skills were on a whole different level back then.
I had received a solid month of one-on-one training from Ariel, the founder of the Magic Association and the head of the knowledge tower.
If someone like her had taught me with care, I’d be embarrassed if I couldn’t solve a problem like this.
“…Hmm?”
While I was lost in thought, the professor stared at me with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
His gaze gradually shifted. Following the winged cloth floating behind me, he noticed the ribbon wrapped tightly around Baek Ahrin’s waist.
– Swoosh…
“Hmm?”
As the professor’s gaze fell, the wings of the sky reflexively tightened around Baek Ahrin’s waist even more.
Suddenly restrained, Baek Ahrin rolled her eyes in my direction. Her bright blue eyes filled with confusion.
– What’s going on?
I subtly shook my head at Baek Ahrin, indicating that nothing was wrong.
“…Let’s continue. To neutralize this spell, we first need to…”
The professor paused, then as if it were nothing, he turned his attention back to the lecture.
– Paaan…
I felt Baek Ahrin’s gaze alternating between my face and the winged cloth around my waist, but I pretended not to see and fixed my gaze forward.
“Hmm…”
That’s when it happened.
Baek Ahrin nodded and let out a strange sound between her lips. A sense of unease poked at my brain.
Just when I was about to intervene, Baek Ahrin’s hand suddenly reached out and squeezed my butt.
– Squeeze…!
– Eek…!
A jolt shot through my spine, causing me to jerk in surprise.
– Bang!
My knee knocked against the desk.
The sound wasn’t too loud, as it was during an explanation, and I didn’t feel much pain from it either.
“Hmm?”
– Gasp…!
The real issue was that the cadet in front turned their head, tilting it toward us.
I quickly slapped a hand over my trembling lips. Instinctively, I posed as if to support my head.
Luckily, from that cadet’s viewpoint, Baek Ahrin’s hand below the desk was hidden by the angle.
“What was that…?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought I heard a sound just now.”
The cadet cocked their head, then returned their gaze to the hologram in front of them.
I let out a sigh of relief. However, I urgently tapped Baek Ahrin’s hand, which was still gripping my butt.
But it wouldn’t budge.
I fluttered my eyelids, sending a magical signal to Baek Ahrin.
It was a technique I had naturally mastered called telepathy.
– Baek Ahrin, please let go…
Did my thoughts reach her? Baek Ahrin’s eyes widened, and she grinned, bringing her finger to her lips.
– Shh…
In response to holding someone’s butt and asking me to be quiet.
I blinked in disbelief, and Baek Ahrin whispered softly.
“But you were the one who grabbed me first.”
– What?
Tilting my head in confusion, she pointed to her waist.
There, the wings of the sky wrapped around her waist had snuck down below her hips.
‘Ah.’
– Squeeze…!
‘Gehk…’
With a mischievous grin, Baek Ahrin started squeezing my butt again before I could even react.
It wasn’t just a one-time thing like before.
With her wide-open hand enveloping my butt, she kneaded it like a massage.
The repetitive sensation scratching at my nerves made my body jerk involuntarily. I pressed my feet firmly against the floor, biting my lips in anticipation of slamming the desk again.
The seat Baek Ahrin and I were in was the last row and aimed at the podium.
Fortunately, there was no one behind us, so whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, no one could witness this ridiculous teasing.
“…The spell I just explained can be neutralized using method number 51. Um… Lee Ha-yul?”
[Yes, yes!]
“…? Can you explain it to us?”
Just then, while Baek Ahrin continued her playful teasing, the professor unexpectedly turned his question toward me.
Fortunately, it seemed that Baek Ahrin was done teasing, as she lightly removed her hand.
Only then did my frantic mind start to settle down. I exhaled deeply, releasing the air I had held in my mouth, and stood up with shaky legs.
I manipulated the hologram hovering above the desk to write my explanation and answer.
Even though I was being teased, I had been listening well. Plus, I had already solved the relevant problem, so I just needed to jot down the solution and the answer.
[The foundation of the established basic spell consists of 46 types. Among them, the central axis of spells serving as barriers is spell number three, and the modified spell is here…]
– Squeeze…!
[Repositioning…!]
.
.
.
[Hmph]
“Ahaha, I’m sorry. I got carried away with the prank, didn’t I?”
After the practical workshop creation lecture ended, Baek Ahrin led the pouty me to the personal training ground.
It had been part of our plan to visit from the start. The purpose was for Changhai’s private tutoring.
Usage of Changhai was already discovered, and since Baek Ahrin had said she would teach me separately, I didn’t decline and had been receiving lessons from her occasionally.
Besides that, I also melted Baek Ahrin’s ice from time to time.
But before starting, Baek Ahrin seemed to feel the need to soothe my sulk, so she started comforting me while making me sit on her thigh.
– Puu…
But I wasn’t going to let it go easily.
Not this time, during class; that would be incredibly problematic.
With my cheeks puffed out in determination, Baek Ahrin let her eyes droop apologetically.
Then she gently caressed my butt, which she had just been squeezing while feeling the cold from her own skin.
“Did it hurt a lot? I’m really sorry…”
[It’s… fine.]
[…It didn’t hurt.]
The warmth that had built up in my bottom began to dissipate under her gentle touch. My rigid body relaxed, and I let out the breath I had kept in my cheeks.
[It feels good.]
[Good…]
As the tension melted away, I leaned my head against Baek Ahrin’s chest.
Seeing my cheeks soften, Baek Ahrin adjusted her position to face me and started patting my butt again.
Once again, her touch was imbued with kindness.
The soft, rhythmic patting made the pout that had stuck out slowly retract.
…Thinking about it, there wasn’t much to complain about, actually.
I had wrapped around Baek Ahrin a lot too, and I also had my fair share of playful touching… Hm…
[Is it okay if I touch your chest?]
“Yes, go ahead.”
Despite my sudden request, Baek Ahrin shrugged and leaned forward, presenting her ample chest, wrapped tightly in a dress shirt, right to my face.
– Wooooosh!
I imbued my right hand with Gop-hwa.
This wasn’t the usual Gop-hwa; it was soft and highly manageable.
It had been adjusted to suit Baek Ahrin’s physique, allowing me to melt her more easily, safely, and quickly.
‘Someday…’
I hoped to not just melt the surface layer, but also to carefully and accurately melt what had just wormed its way into my own.
As I carefully observed Baek Ahrin, I started fine-tuning the Gop-hwa.
– Squeeze…!
“Ugh…”
…
[Soft.]
[Full.]
*
[Player Adjustment System: Favorability]
Lee Ha-yul → Baek Ahrin
●●●●●●●○○○(79/100)
“Frost,” “Coolness,” “Affection,” “Question,” “Is that milk?,” “Naughtiness,” “Water.”
*
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
