Chapter 38. Lucy Capture Route
"Liliana?"
Liliana was engulfed in smoke and fell silent. Fortunately, the smoke soon dissipated.
"What the—? Where did she go?"
Did she turn invisible?
Whoosh whoosh.
I waved my hand where Liliana had been, but there was nothing.
- I'm here! Here!
Liliana's voice came from below.
A silver chain necklace with a red gemstone embedded in it lay on the ground.
"Is that you?"
- Yeah! It's me, it's me!
"Oh. That's pretty cool."
Transforming into a necklace was impressive, but the design was sleek enough that I wouldn't mind wearing it.
"But you're a succubus—don't you have invisibility or ethereal form or something?"
- I do, but a stronger mage could easily see through it. This isn't magic; it's more like a racial trait, so it's harder to detect.
Hmm. I definitely wouldn't be able to copy this ability.
I couldn't sense any movement of mana.
- This way, it won't matter, right?
"Yeah, I guess not."
It shouldn't be a problem. It might actually be better to keep her in sight rather than risk something happening to her while she's alone.
"Alright. Stick with me from now on."
- Okay!
Poof!
Having achieved her goal, Liliana returned to her original form.
"Ugh, it's been a while since I did that. Feels exhausting."
Watching Liliana stretch and yawn, I suddenly got curious.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Huh? What, are you curious about my breast size too? I got that question like a hundred times during my stream earlier. I did answer it, though…"
"No, I don't need to know that. And stop answering those questions."
I can't tell if this succubus has common sense or not. She really needs to pick one.
"Then what is it? Ask away."
"This might sound weird since you just brought up boobs, but I swear I'm asking out of pure curiosity—don't succubi consume semen or something?"
"Contractor Lee Hoyeon. Are you out of your damn mind?"
"My bad. It was just pure curiosity."
Bad timing. Did she bring up breasts on purpose just to make me look bad?
"Well, actually, most succubi do enjoy it. My friends all say it tastes great, but personally, I've never found it appealing. Never even tried it. Why would I eat something dirty that comes out of the same place people pee from?"
"Uh…"
I mean, she's not wrong. She really isn't wrong. But saying that while having a heart-shaped tail kind of ruins the immersion.
"Anyway, I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed. See ya!"
Pitter-patter.
Liliana headed to the bathroom.
"I can't tell if I'm living with a succubus or a nun."
Honestly, I had some expectations when I summoned a succubus. Should I be disappointed or not?
"Guess I should just sleep."
Since I already showered at the training hall, I lay down on the living room sofa.
Now that I think about it, I should probably buy a bed.
At least I have a steady income now, so I feel secure.
I'll just think of her as a money-printing machine rather than a succubus.
*
- Wow, so this is the Academy? Why is it so big?
I was taking Liliana to the first-year classroom building.
Seeing her amazed at the Academy made me feel proud for no reason.
"This isn't even that impressive. This is actually the smallest school in the world."
- What? Seriously? Has human civilization advanced that much?
"I'm kidding."
- …? Are you serious right now? Hey, you little shit, how old even are you?
I was just messing with her, but she immediately responded with insults.
It would be funny to say, "So how old are you, ma'am?" but I exercised superhuman patience and held back.
"Sorry. We're about to be around a lot of people, so I can't answer anymore."
- Hoyeon. If you keep this up, I'll have no choice but to be uncooperative. You get that, right?
"Fine, fine. Just pay attention to Victoria Academy. Later, when you drop hints about it in your streams, it'll add credibility. Details like that add up to create the perfect cover."
For example, when exams are coming up, just saying, "I'm busy because it's test season~" makes it more convincing that Liliana is a student here.
Even mentioning things like, "The central fountain at my school is beautiful~" or "The flowers on the path I walked today bloomed so nicely~" would help.
- How is it that a kid your age only thinks about scams? Tsk tsk.
"…"
I had no comeback, so I quietly entered the classroom building.
Today's class was Mana Research Studies.
It was the same class where Im Sol's experiment caused an accident last time, now taught by an old professor named Han Jaeyoung.
By the time I arrived, all the students were already seated.
I glanced around and saw Lucy and Lumi sitting in the corner, while Kim Younghan sat with his friends.
No one to sit with.
I didn't realize my social circle was this small.
I took a seat somewhere open.
A spot at least one seat away from everyone else.
- Why are you sitting alone? Are you a loner?
"…"
I pulled out my notebook and scribbled in the corner, "Shut up, you crazy succubus."
- Heh heh. What's the point of having a handsome face if you don't use it?
"Sigh…"
Bringing her here was a mistake. I already regret it.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Professor Han Jaeyoung, and I'll be teaching Mana Research Studies."
An elderly professor in a white suit stood at the podium.
"Today's lecture is on magic circles."
A holographic presentation appeared.
"Magic circles are fundamental tools for casting spells. I assume I don't need to explain basic concepts like 'Mana must be converted into a magic circle to be cast as a spell'?"
Click click click.
The slides changed one by one.
The trendy design suggested a teaching assistant had put a lot of effort into them. If they were going to make them anyway, why not just let the assistant teach?
"The process of transforming mana into a visible magic circle is a fundamental yet difficult part of magic. Simple spells don't display circles, but the more advanced the spell, the more visible the circle becomes due to its complexity."
Everyone was listening intently, but I already knew all of this.
So, I passed the time chatting with the succubus hanging around my neck.
- Why is that guy so skinny? His clothes don't make him look poor.
[Not all rich people here are fat. Some even pay money to lose weight.]
- Huh? Why waste resources like that? What if a war breaks out and they lose everything?
[Humans aren't so aggressive that they bet everything they have on war.]
They have games in hell, so why doesn't she understand this?
Maybe demons just have a different set of values. I don't really know.
"Fortunately, there is a standardized and simple method for drawing magic circles. It has been studied consistently by previous generations of mages."
Finally, the tedious introduction ended, and the professor began his demonstration.
At his fingertips, manifested mana transformed into fine threads, forming a magic circle.
"Extracting mana into thread-like strands and drawing one line at a time—this is the standard method. Advanced mages can draw two lines at once, but increasing speed rather than complexity is more efficient."
- Honestly, the human world's schools aren't bad. The lessons seem decent.
[This is the top educational institution in the human world.]
- Ah, but I've been sensing some killing intent from that corner for a while. What's your relationship with that big-breasted girl?
If we're talking about a girl sending me killing intent, there's only one person that comes to mind.
[She's my friend. And she's not a kid; we're the same age.]
- That's not the look of a friend. She looks like she wants to kill you.
[…I tried that skill you told me about—'Gaze of Hatred'—and now she's like this.]
- Ohh. Yeah, that skill's pretty effective. It's caused a lot of murders, you know~.
Couldn't she have warned me beforehand? If this escalated into an irreversible fight with Lucy, what would I have done? This dumb succubus.
Calm down. I can't mess with my cash flow. Just think of her as a golden goose.
[…Next time, explain the full effects. Actually, help me go over all the spells I've learned.]
- Ugh, that's annoying, but fine. Just this once.
Haah. She claims she's 50 years old, but she acts like a kid.
Still, Lucy's killing intent… should I be happy or worried about that?
I sneaked a glance at her but quickly looked away, afraid of making eye contact.
"…This is how you construct magic circles. The more skilled a mage is, the faster they can draw them. For reference, Professor Im Sol, who teaches at Victoria Academy, is one of the best in the world. It's said that she can draw two lines at once at an incredible speed. But attempting that without proper training can cause brain overload, so don't try it."
- Hey, aren't you going to pay attention? Not that you look like a scholar or anything.
[I already know all this.]
Hmm, but something about this lesson makes me wonder.
Is it really necessary to draw mana into threads like this? Why not stamp the whole magic circle at once?
[Liliana, do you guys use magic like this too?]
- Well, the details are different, but the general approach is the same.
[Do you think it's impossible to manifest a magic circle instantly?]
- What kind of nonsense is that?
[I mean, instead of drawing it with mana threads, what if you just memorized the magic circle's structure and manifested it all at once?]
- Ah, um… You really think that's possible, you dumbass? You clearly don't know magic.
"…"
Liliana doesn't know my abilities.
She has no idea that in terms of mana control, no one can surpass me.
'Isn't it worth trying?'
Professor Han Jaeyoung had just told us to try drawing magic circles at our own pace, so this was the perfect chance.
I slowly gathered my mana.
Grasping the energy flowing through my body, I concentrated it into my hand.
Normally, mana is extracted in a thread-like form to construct a magic circle.
But I intended to form the entire magic circle all at once.
- Contractor Hoyeon, stop doing weird things. If this was possible, every mage would be doing it already. Living beings don't have that level of mana control.
Liliana kept complaining, but I ignored her.
My mana gathered in my hand, condensing more and more.
Before releasing it, I needed to store as much as possible. That was the key to instant manifestation.
- Ahh, this is frustrating. You really are… huh?
'It's ready.'
I could feel it—enough mana had gathered to construct a magic circle.
The energy in my hand burst forth, finding its correct positions in the air.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Like a shattered puzzle reversing its destruction, the mana arranged itself into place.
In an instant, the magic circle was complete, transforming into a fireball.
Fwoosh—
- What the…? No freaking way…
[Who said it was impossible, you dumbass? This is me.]
Liliana stood there in shock, mumbling to herself.
Considering all the insults she's thrown at me, I figured I was entitled to at least one comeback.
*
On Tuesday afternoon, Lucy, Lumi, and Felix were chatting in the [Let's Play Club] room.
"Ooooh! Lumi! We're getting more and more new club members!"
"That's great! I was a little worried since we weren't getting any for a while…"
"It's all because that bastard Lee Hoyeon disappeared! I feel so relieved!"
"That's good news, Lucy. Congrats."
"Thanks, Felix!"
Lucy grinned as she looked at the new membership applications on her smartwatch.
She had started the club to meet more people, but the lack of members had been troubling. Now, they were flooding in like a dam had burst.
Naturally, she couldn't help but connect this to Lee Hoyeon's absence.
"Seriously, it was because of that guy. What kind of rumors were going around that kept everyone away?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure… I never really heard any rumors about him."
"Well, I never heard anything directly, but I remember some guys talking behind his back. If people gossip, there must be a reason."
On the table between them was a pretty vase, which Felix was absentmindedly toying with throughout their conversation.
"Felix, why do you keep touching that vase?"
"Huh? I just think the flowers are pretty. It's nothing."
Felix smiled faintly and casually moved the vase to the center of the table.
"By the way, guys, midterms are coming up soon. Have you studied much?"
"Ugh, don't bring that up. Studying is my weakness…"
"I'm not that great at it either…"
"Then why don't we meet here tomorrow and study together? My schedule is free."
Felix's voice carried a reassuring tone. Lucy always felt at ease when she heard it.
"That sounds good! I'm in!"
"Me too."
"Alright, let's meet here at this time tomorrow."
Felix sent them a confident smile.
*
That night, after returning to the dormitory.
"Hehehe. Our club is finally thriving."
Lucy hummed to herself, drying her hair after a refreshing shower.
"But… why do I feel like I forgot something?"
Since leaving the clubroom, an uneasy feeling had been nagging at her.
As Lucy pondered the source of this discomfort—
Ding.
Her smartwatch chimed with an incoming message.
Felix: Lucy, sorry for the late message. Lumi just remembered she has a supplementary class tomorrow, so she won't be able to study with us. Would you be okay with just the two of us?
"Oh, that's right… Lumi did say she had an extra class tomorrow."
They had all been together when Lumi mentioned it, yet none of them remembered.
Lucy could forget her own schedule, but she never forgot anything about Lumi.
There had even been times when she scheduled overlapping plans but only remembered Lumi's.
Yet now, she had forgotten Lumi's schedule? That unsettled her.
"Well, it happens. You can't always remember everything."
Shaking off the odd feeling, Lucy typed a reply.
Me: Of course! Just the two of us is fine~! See you tomorrow!
As she was about to send the message, Lee Hoyeon's face suddenly surfaced in her mind.
[Just know this—I've always considered you guys good friends, and that hasn't changed.]
"Tch."
What nonsense. Ever since Lee Hoyeon disappeared, the club had grown, and she had gained a great friend in Felix.
"Getting rid of people like him is for the best."
He was nothing but dead weight.
Lucy shook her head, brushing off her irritation, and sent the message to Felix.