Chapter 44

### Chapter 44: How to Steal a Wizard's Woman (1-28)

Sonia sat in a chair, crossed her arms, and glared at me as she shouted, "Raise it higher!"

"...Yes."

I stood next to the bed, my hands raised, being scolded.

I was standing in a position I hadn't been in since elementary school.

'No, I'm not a kid...'

[For now, it's best to go along with it.]

'Hmm...'

After a wild night, Sonia and I had a deep sleep and woke up to the morning sun.

The first thing I saw when I woke up was Sonia's bright smile.

She was stroking my cheek, smiling and looking at me.

There was no trace of anger or disgust on her face, only a happy smile.

We gazed at each other affectionately for 30 minutes without a word.

Suddenly, she pinched my cheek and dragged me out of bed.

"Do you know how much pain I was in yesterday?"

"...I'm sorry."

The pattern was to be scolded for what happened yesterday and then apologize repeatedly.

Sonia scolded me for several minutes, and when she calmed down, she sat me down and said, "You must never do that to Luna. Got it?"

"...Don't you like it? Ouch, ouch!"

Sonia pinched my cheek mercilessly again.

"Hmm... Yes, I like it. Such a good experience? I've never even thought about it in my life."

"Then..."

"But it wasn't a good feeling as a woman, it felt more like thrashing around like an animal."

Sonia said she was so happy to see me when she woke up this morning.

But that was because her rationality hadn't fully returned yet.

She said that after a few dozen minutes, a sense of self-loathing crept into her mind and gnawed at her.

"Hmm... I brought you here to stir up Luna's jealousy, but in the end, it looks like Luna took you away."

"...I'm sorry."

"Promise me."

"Huh?"

"You can do it with me, but you must never do it with Luna. If you do, don't do it until your relationship has progressed a lot."

"Is it that serious?"

"Not joking, if you do this to Luna, the self-loathing might make her leave you."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

'Really not joking, huh?'

[Didn't you do it with Viola too?]

'No, yesterday was a bit more genuine, but with Viola, it was just to make her feel good.'

Yesterday, I unknowingly let my destructive urges rise, and they were applied to Sonia.

Thanks to Sonia, I learned a good lesson.

I need to use my hand skills moderately.

I thought I could win someone's heart with this, but I was mistaken.

While it can temporarily double the affection of someone who already has feelings for me, the backlash is not to be underestimated.

After listening to Sonia's advice for a while, I cautiously headed back to my room.

***

After finishing breakfast at Sonia's house, I returned to the dormitory.

Sonia and Karl wanted to stay a bit longer, but I thought it would be impolite to stay too long at someone else's house.

During breakfast, I felt that Karl had a rough idea of what happened.

"If you made that much noise, it would be strange if he didn't notice."

[If it was the room next door, he couldn't help but hear it.]

"But will Luna like this?"

When we returned to the dormitory, Sonia handed me a wooden box with intricate patterns carved on it.

It wasn't for me.

(Give this to Luna.)

It was a makeup box.

I neatly organized the clothes I received as a gift yesterday and changed into my uniform.

As I left the room, I said, "Perfect."

Actually, there's a cool term for it, but I call it "Perfect."

To be honest, it's far from being a real railgun...

But at least it seems to live up to its name when I focus all my power on it like last time. Today, I want to try a more balanced practice.

"I'm thinking of using the practice room since I still have access to it as one of the top students."

[The top 10 students definitely have special privileges, so it should be possible.]

Strutha Magic School has a shop system, and the shop benefits are based on relative performance.

The top 50 students can freely go out on holidays, and the top 30 can stay out overnight.

The top 10 students have access to special facilities like the school's practice rooms and labs.

Since it's early in the semester, there aren't many students with shop points yet.

I haven't heard of anyone getting 10 points in one go like me.

When I visited the staff room, the teaching assistant of the Dark Circle was busy writing something.

When I inquired...

"It's possible!"

"Ah, can I use the lab I used during the brain attribute class?"

"Normally, that's for professors only, but it's fine now."

However, the teaching assistant suddenly had a puzzled look on his face.

"But that's strange. Did you make an appointment?"

"Huh? What appointment?"

"A student is already in that lab."

"Huh? In there?"

"Yes. I can't give you the name, but you'll probably meet them anyway."

It was such a storage-like place that no one had a reason to use it.

I immediately headed to the brain attribute lab.

There were sounds coming from inside the lab.

(Cough, cough, cough...)

Even from outside, I could hear a woman's coughing.

When I opened the lab door and went in...

"...What is this?"

The lab was so dusty that I couldn't see a thing.

***

Luna woke up, washed up, and changed into her uniform.

Even though it was a holiday, she got ready for school as usual and left the dormitory.

The school was bustling, unlike on weekdays.

Although students couldn't go outside, the campus was full of students chatting on benches and playing sports together.

Some students were enjoying drinks from the school cafeteria and having pleasant conversations.

Luna realized how much she had changed since coming here.

'That looks delicious. Maybe I'll ask to share it later.'

Luna looked at them from a distance and then turned her gaze back to her direction.

She was heading to the staff room.

As soon as she arrived, she asked the teaching assistant, who had dark circles under his eyes, about the shop points.

"Luna... Strutha... Felt... Ah! It's possible."

"Phew..."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Um, I don't know the exact place... Can I go to the lab where the brain attribute class was held?"

"Oh!"

The teaching assistant opened a large storage cabinet in the center of the staff room, found a key, and handed it to Luna.

"Make sure to return the key after you use it."

"Yes, thank you."

Luna took the key and headed to the lab the teaching assistant had told her about.

Click, creak.

When Luna opened the lab door and went in, she looked around in surprise.

"...This place is so dusty, it's not good for my health."

The lab was covered in dust, and the light coming in through the windows clearly showed how much dust was in the air.

It was a place where she didn't want to take a single step.

Luna covered her mouth with her hand and immediately went into the lab to carefully open all the windows.

Fortunately, the weather was nice, and a cool breeze began to fill the lab.

However, the breeze also started to stir up the accumulated dust.

"What do I do? I've never cleaned before..."

Luna had never done menial work in her life.

Although she was from a fallen noble family, the support of the Lewis family allowed her to live a noble life.

Thanks to her top-tier admission, she was given a room comparable to a suite, and the school took care of cleaning and laundry.

As a result, there was nothing for her to do here.

But Luna didn't want to leave just like that.

"Something... Ah!"

Luna had a sudden idea.

She picked up a stick from the corner and started drawing a magic circle on the lab floor.

Despite frowning at the dust sticking to the end of the stick, she didn't stop.

A blue light-emitting magic circle was completed on the floor.

She activated it.

Whoosh!

"Ah?! Cough, cough, cough..."

The strong winds from the magic circle spread the dust throughout the lab.

She had planned to blow the dust out with the wind, but due to a miscalculation, the wind only circulated inside.

Luna tried to find the exit with her eyes closed but ended up inhaling the dust.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and covered her face with something.

Luna struggled in surprise.

"Who, who is it?!"

"It's me, let's get out of here quickly."

"Huh?"

She recognized the voice immediately.

Luna finally saw the front when they got out of the lab.

Cheng Shuhuo, covered in dust, was there.

"Phew, that was intense."

"How did you...?"

"That's what I should be asking."

Cheng Shuhuo shook off the cloak he had used to cover Luna and asked.

Luna hesitated to answer.

'If I say I came to clean, he'll think I'm weird...'

Luna didn't particularly look down on servants, but she didn't want to be treated like one in front of Cheng Shuhuo.

"I came to practice magic circles."

"Huh? Here?"

"Um, yes."

She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want to reveal her true intentions.

"I'll be going now."

"Do you have time tonight?"

"...Huh? Yes, I do."

"Then let's meet at the terrace as usual."

"...Okay."

Luna smiled and left the spot.

On her way, she shook off the dust on her head and uniform and headed to the staff room.

Excited about meeting again in the evening, she visited the staff room to return the key, and the teaching assistant asked, "Hmm? Did someone else go to the lab?"

"Yes, they did."

"Oh, then they probably don't have the key right now..."

"Ah... I'll bring it back for them."

"I'm sorry, but I can't leave my post right now, hehe..."

Luna headed back to the lab.

Although it was a hassle, she felt a sense of joy.

She was happy to have another reason to meet him.

When she arrived at the lab, the door was slightly open.

'The dust must have cleared out.'

She quietly opened the door and saw Cheng Shuhuo making strange movements and muttering to himself.

'...I always feel this way, but it must be his personality.'

Luna was more curious than surprised by his actions.

He seemed to be talking to someone, looking at something in the air, as if he saw the world differently.

He extended one hand and placed something on his fingertips.

It was a metal ball.

'...? Did he come here to shoot it?'

Luna had many questions but thought it was a bad habit to eavesdrop and decided to quickly hand over the key and leave.

"Excuse me..."

At that moment.

Clang!!

"!"

Luna almost screamed in shock.

The metal ball in his hand had embedded itself in a metal plate with a loud noise.

Cheng Shuhuo, looking exhausted, bent forward and sighed, and his words reached Luna's ears clearly.

"Phew... It seems my mana has its limits."