Kkiiiik.
As I stepped out of the dean’s office, I felt my heavy heart lighten a bit. The conversation with the dean wasn’t too difficult.
He asked if I could participate in this competition, and I told him I didn’t want to steal the fun from other students by joining. The dean, having previously enjoyed my presence, seemed disappointed but respected my decision to bow out of the participant list.
Since I had decided not to go to Bairn where the competition would be held at all, I was given a brief moment to rest.
What I was keenly aware of wasn’t the conversation with the dean, but rather May who stood behind him, arms crossed, glaring daggers at me with a palpable annoyance.
That piercing gaze felt like it was stabbing right through my spine, so I stepped out hurriedly.
Kkiik!
Just as I stepped out, the door of the dean’s office swung open again, and May walked out, stomping on the floor with a serious expression.
“Got something to say?”
May, still crossing her arms and sulking, threw those words at me. I could have protested because I was being unfairly judged, but remembering the scene she had witnessed, I held my tongue.
After all, I was in a situation where my girlfriend had three other girls flanking her.
“Just so you know, this wasn’t a situation I wanted.”
As I tried to calm May down, she let out a sigh and then shot back.
“When are we going on a date?”
The sudden shift in topic caught me off guard, but recalling our promise to go on a date made me nod eagerly.
“How about this weekend? But we might get spotted by other students in the city, is that okay?”
“What does that even matter? It’d be a warning for those girls slobbering over you.”
It was clear things weren’t entirely resolved yet.
“Still, since you’re the dean’s secretary, you should be careful.”
May frowned at that remark and approached me closely to warn.
“Just so you know in advance, if there’s anything more, it’ll really be over.”
“I know.”
“I could kick those girls to the curb right now if I wanted to, but I’m holding back. If it were Rin or Eris, they’d be in pieces by now.”
“……”
There was no refuting that; their affection overflowed a little too much.
“Phew.”
May brushed her bangs aside and nodded, signaling that she understood.
“I’ll be disguising myself. It might be nice for rumors to spread that you have a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Just as May was about to step back into the dean’s office, she paused for a moment, reached out, grabbed my collar, and pressed her lips against mine.
I guess all the practice with Sen made this somewhat familiar, and while my lips swelled and ached, I naturally moved in sync with her.
As May pulled away with a somewhat dissatisfied expression, I finally asked, “Why the hell have you gotten so good at this?”
“……”
“Bastard, why have you become so skilled? How much have you been making out with Sen?”
“Well, um, quite a bit.”
It was undeniably true. After doing this all day, my tongue had started to move on its own.
“Ugh. Come to my room after dinner. Got it?”
“……”
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“Sure.”
Then, with a satisfied huff, May breezed back into the dean’s office. Truly, being the original delinquent gave her an air of intimidation that dwarfed the little brats I had just dealt with.
Back in the gym, for some reason, there was quite a disturbance. Since the professor had vanished and the students were instructed to take a break and have fun, they were busy bickering amongst themselves.
And they’d split into two factions: the female students and the male students.
“No! I’m telling you! We didn’t do it!”
“Then why are you so clingy?”
Two people were shouting at each other, their veins standing out and faces flushed, with Rades—the male student who warned me earlier—on one side and the trio of female students who had been hanging off me.
“Why would you say that when you’re spreading your legs for anyone?”
“What? Did you just say what I think you did?”
“Am I wrong?”
I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really what student arguments sounded like.
It seemed that Rades was feeling bitter about those other girls being clingy with me, which made him confront them.
“At least Ares didn’t flaunt his possessiveness like this…”
Unlike those women who just enjoyed having followers, he was acting like they were his possessions.
Just then, a girl named Betty, with a bronze skin tone, pointed me out as I entered the gym.
“Then ask him! Whether we did it or not!”
“……”
I immediately turned to leave, but was caught. With a sigh, I walked over between them as Rades gnashed his teeth, glaring at me.
“Is it fun stealing from others?”
Seriously, what the hell?
“Why are we yours? Just because we slept together once doesn’t mean you get to flaunt your possessiveness!”
“This is just ridiculous.”
“Totally absurd.”
I facedpalmed.
I raised my hands to make my stance clear.
“I don’t want to be part of your conversation. And I have no relationship with these girls. Today is the first time I’ve spoken to them, so stop making a scene.”
As I responded, clearly annoyed, Rades scowled and asked.
“Then who’s there? Besides these girls, who would spread their legs for you after being at the academy for only a month?”
“Hey, settle down…”
It was probably because they were so young, but when I heard them cross the line like that, my fists instinctively clenched.
Just a hint of my killing intent made the surrounding students flinch and step back.
But as I felt a familiar breeze brush my nose, it calmed my mind.
“I’m here.”
The scent of the tranquil forest, gently embracing my mind, was unmistakably from someone beautiful.
I reflexively turned my head, and there stood Eris, not in elven garb but in human clothes, smiling at me.
“Eris?”
I inadvertently called her name, and she strode over, making a clack-clack sound with her heels and wrapping her arms around mine.
“I’m Daniel’s girlfriend.”
This was a situation I had encountered before.
Back when I was in the academy, whenever Eris showed up, all the students’ gazes would turn to her, speechless and their mouths dropping open.
There were those who felt the gap between themselves and her, and guys who looked on with jealousy and envy.
In any case, Eris stood out far too much, whether for good or ill.
“What are you doing here?”
Taken aback by her sudden appearance, I inquired, and Eris puffed her cheeks out slightly, poking me in the side.
“I heard that Eve came, and Sen is here too. And May even resumed her position as secretary alongside them? That made me a bit irritated, so I came.”
“Well, even still…”
“Is it that you don’t want me here?”
“No, that’s not it.”
With that unique scent of Eris wafting over me, my mind felt hazy, and I could barely think straight.
But the moment didn’t last; there were still Rades and those three girls, Betty, Maira, and Nora, who had been confronting me before, standing silent.
Taking this opportunity, I cleared my throat and warned both sides.
“Rades, you need to stop. If you want to date someone, just go for it, but stop behaving possessively like they’re some kind of object.”
“Uh… yes.”
“And you all too. If you treat your bodies so carelessly, strange people are going to latch onto you. You’re young, so act your age.”
“Yes…”
Nodding thoughtfully, I turned to lead Eris outside. I hadn’t expected her presence would diffuse the situation so easily.
Yet as Eris walked with her arms crossed beside me, she whispered something strange.
“By the way, isn’t Sherpa still a student now?”
“……”
“Doesn’t that give her the right to tell those kids not to mishandle their bodies?”
“That’s a rather deep conversation we should have.”
After all, I was mentally older, right? Having lived for nearly eternity, it felt a bit unfair to still be considered a student.
Plus, the raucous lifestyle I led wasn’t entirely by my own choice. Sure, I went with the flow occasionally, but that didn’t mean I intentionally created such situations.
“There’s definitely room for my defense.”
Upon my words, Eris made a huh sound and came to a stop. As we stepped outside, the disturbance inside the gym began to grow larger.
Eris’ influence truly was significant.
She was certainly among the most beautiful elves, no question about it.
Ignoring the expected reactions from others, I asked Eris.
“So you really came just because you heard the kids were around?”
“Yes, since I’ve stepped down from the guardian position, I don’t have much to do in Yggdrasil.”
Indeed.
Eris was currently jobless.
“So where have you been all this time?”
“I was in the Forest of the Demon Realm.”
“Hmm?”
That was quite an unexpected location, but Eris smiled proudly as she answered.
“We built a house where we used to live. Kurika helped a lot.”
“Ah…”
Since Eris had memories from the time as Sherpa, it seemed she decided on a spot that reminded her of those days. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, bringing a strong emotional pull.
“Let’s go together sometime!”
“Yeah, let’s.”
Thinking about returning after so long didn’t seem bad at all. Others might find it strange that I talked about the Forest of the Demon Realm like it was my hometown.
“And tonight, we’re having a wild night, right?”
Eris whispered, pressing her body against mine and lightly poking my chest with her finger.
Suddenly, a memory popped up in my mind of Hatsim Velok, the dwarf, saying elves are in heat all year round.
Truly, that was a fitting description.
Eris had been voracious, consuming me to satisfy her long-suppressed desires.
“Ah.”
I wanted to nod along, but…
“I have a prior appointment.”
Gwaak.
Eris suddenly grabbed my side, squeezing and pinching with a ferocity that made me wince.
