Chapter 12
The academy was peaceful at midday.
Birds chirped among the street trees, while buildings boasting centuries of history and tradition reflected the sunlight in dazzling white. It was a familiar sight by now.
The academy’s history stretched back nearly 1,000 years. It had been founded before the Empire itself was established.
The continent was in chaos at the time. The great empire that had unified the world collapsed, and countless nations sprang up to claim its place. Before long, the world became one enormous battlefield.
And as the wars continued, it was the common people who suffered, as they always did.
The terrifying quantities of supplies consumed by the wars, looting by enemy forces, and the breeding of magical beasts that inevitably went unchecked as troops were concentrated on the front lines.
Decades of war turned a prosperous continent into a groaning corpse. It was around then that the leaders of each nation began to sense the crisis.
No matter how much their territory expanded, it was meaningless without people to fill it. The wars that had continued for far too long had drastically reduced the continent’s population.
Moreover, humanity had a common enemy: monsters known as ‘magical beasts,’ possessing both savagery and tremendous strength.
After several years of summit meetings, the war finally ended, and this academy was built in a neutral zone as proof of the peace treaty.
It supposedly symbolized leaving the age of discord behind and advancing into an era of harmony and coexistence.
The academy maintained its neutral status for about 500 years before becoming the ‘Imperial Academy’ during the reign of the Empire’s conquering emperor.
It was said that even the emperor who had trampled half the continent beneath his horses’ hooves refrained from bringing his army onto the grounds out of respect for the academy. However, from that day onward, the title ‘Imperial’ was attached to its name.
By the present day, the academy had become a symbol proclaiming that the Empire stood at the center of the world. Talented people from every nation still yearned to enroll, only to find themselves confronted by the Imperial crest hanging throughout the academy.
Apparently, the Empire considered that alone worth bearing the academy’s astronomical operating costs. It was a decision made by the great and powerful, so it was not something a rural viscount’s second son like me needed to worry about.
Still, I was impressed. Despite possessing such a long history, the academy grounds had been preserved so remarkably well.
That was proof of how much passion and effort the Empire devoted to running the academy. As an enrolled student, it was something to be grateful for.
Unlike me, who was calmly looking around the academy grounds, Leto stared at me with his eyes wide open, as though he had heard something unbelievable.
The drink he had bought at the teahouse seemed ready to spill onto the ground at any moment. When I looked at him with slight concern, Leto shook his head violently and came to his senses.
Then he asked in a dazed voice. His expression suggested he thought he might have misheard me.
“……What did you say?”
“I asked how to pick up women.”
Leto’s mouth fell open. He looked genuinely flustered. He was dazed for a moment, then frowned and asked,
“Are you really Ian? You haven’t been hit by some strange curse again, have you?”
“No, is it really that surprising?”
Flustered by Leto’s extreme reaction, I could only ask that in return. Leto stared at me with an expression of disbelief.
“Of course it is! You’re suddenly asking that when you’ve never shown any interest before! You, the human block of wood…….”
As he spoke, Leto adjusted his grip on his drink and sucked at it through the straw. He must have been thirsty. Come to think of it, my question had been rather out of the blue.
Only yesterday, I had been worried because he had babbled nonsense and rushed into the dormitory, and now he had barely seen me again before asking a question he had never asked in his life.
If I were Leto, I would have been flustered too. I nodded repeatedly, as though I understood how he felt.
“I mean, I’m a man too, you know? Naturally, I’m interested in women. I just thought I should learn about it in advance since I’m already this age and still don’t know much about women.”
However, Leto did not stop looking suspicious despite my lengthy explanation. He scanned me for a moment with a thoughtful hum, then eventually leaned back against the bench as though it did not matter to him.
He tossed out a casual supposition.
“Could it be something like this? You were secretly in love with Emma, but now you want to fill the void she left with another woman…….”
“Absolutely not, so stop talking nonsense. That’s rude to Emma.”
“Figures.” At my firm denial, Leto chuckled as though he had expected that answer. He seemed to be growing rather interested now, judging by the unusual light in his emerald eyes.
“Then who’s the target?”
“……The target?”
My head tilted at the sudden question. But Leto continued in a forceful tone, as though he were explaining an obvious truth.
“Yeah, idiot. The target! Women are all different, you know. It’s not as though everyone has the same tastes. Is she a commoner or a noble? Older or younger than you? You have to choose your approach based on her personality and relationships too. Otherwise, your chances of success are way too low.”
“That’s why it’s better if you know the other person well,” Leto added, but my mind had already grown complicated long ago.
I did have a target, but I did not know who she was.
Who on earth was ‘Sepia’? It sounded like a pseudonym taken from a flower, but there was no woman around me who could possibly be called ‘Sepia.’
The only thing I could be certain of for now was that she had something to do with the Hunting Festival.
However, that was not the kind of information Leto was asking for. I frowned uneasily as I sucked on my straw.
Seeing my reaction, Leto wore another look of utter disbelief. Then he shouted,
“You haven’t even decided who the target is yet?! So as long as she’s a woman, anyone will do?”
“No, it’s not exactly like that…….”
Was it really necessary to shout? I felt a little hurt, but decided to ignore it.
For Leto, it was proof that he was taking my consultation rather seriously.
Wizards were just like that by nature. They were stubborn, and once they began taking something seriously, they could become endlessly particular.
Leto claimed he would eventually get a job as an advisor mage in some quiet fief and spend the rest of his life idling away. But as long as he was a wizard, he could not help possessing that temperament.
That the issue in question happened to be women was, of course, very like Leto.
Whether or not he knew what I was thinking, Leto merely shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. At this rate, do you really think you can pick up even one woman properly? Listen carefully, Ian. Traditionally, a man needs three things to woo a woman.”
“Three things?”
“Honestly, having just one of the three can be enough, but the more, the merrier. It’s better to have all of them.”
As he spoke, Leto extended his index finger. He looked as though he was about to explain each one in turn.
“First, looks. You’re fairly handsome, so that’s fine.”
Was that really true? If so, I could not recall any woman ever showing interest in me.
That question briefly crossed my mind, but I soon set it aside. I was not the expert in this field. Leto was.
If he said it was fine, then it must be fine. Being told I was fairly handsome was also subtly pleasing.
“Second, ability. Hmm, honestly, simply being enrolled at the academy is enough to prove your ability, but…….”
After extending his index finger, Leto was about to raise his middle finger, but he trailed off and stroked his chin. I knew what he wanted to say.
Once someone was an academy student, their abilities would be acknowledged wherever they went. But that was only true outside the academy.
Inside the academy, there was no chance that being an enrolled student would earn anyone special treatment. Wasn’t the academy full of students like that?
It was ambiguous. To satisfy the second condition, I would have to possess outstanding skill even within the academy. Leto seemed to decide not to bring up that issue for the time being.
His ring finger unfolded as well. It meant he had reached the last point.
“And finally, determination. Honestly, this is the most important of the three. What good are good looks and ability? You need the desire to woo someone before you can actually do it… But I can’t feel any ‘determination’ from you right now!”
A faint groan escaped my mouth.
Even if I acted that way, the other person would not know what I meant, and I had begun this out of a sense of duty. There was no way any determination could be felt from me.
Only a vague sense of responsibility not to create any more victims weighed on my heart.
In the end, Leto seemed half ready to give up. He sighed deeply and sucked on his drink. His voice held the resignation of someone who could not help it.
“……Then, well. It can’t be helped. I’ll teach you the basics.”
“Oh, is knowing just that enough?”
I asked brightly, but all I received in return was Leto’s incredulous stare. My downcast mouth closed again.
“No, are you crazy? Of course that alone isn’t enough. But beyond that, it varies from person to person… Just remember two things: compliments and physical contact.”
“Compliments and physical contact?”
I would have to hear more to understand what ‘compliments’ and ‘physical contact’ meant, but for now, I decided to commit those two things to memory.
Perhaps he liked my reaction, because Leto wore a satisfied smile.
“Right. First, when you see a woman, slip in a subtle compliment. Even an obvious line like ‘You look pretty today’ is fine. You’re handsome enough, after all.”
“……What if you’re ugly?”
“If an ugly guy hits on someone, that’s a crime. There must be methods for people like that, but we don’t need to worry about them.”
Leto said that in a casual voice, then put the straw back in his mouth.
Hearing that from a handsome guy made me want to punch him, but since I was handsome enough too, I decided to let it go this once.
For the first time in a long while, heartfelt gratitude toward my parents welled up inside me. Come to think of it, my younger sister was pretty and lovable too, at least in terms of appearance.
It was fortunate. Just as I was sighing inwardly in relief, Leto continued.
“And with physical contact, it’s important to gauge the distance between you. Once you think you’ve become suitably close, subtly increase the points of contact between your bodies. The closer your bodies become, the closer your hearts become. That’s the truth.”
“How do you gauge that distance?”
“Well, that’s…….”
That was just before Leto’s long-winded lecture continued.
From far away, we heard someone calling out to the two of us. Leto and I turned our gazes toward the source at the same time.
A lively-looking girl was waving her hand. She even wore a brown cloak over her back.
It was Selin. Leto smiled as though things had worked out perfectly.
“Perfect. Try it out.”
This happened before I could even ask what he meant.
Selin came scampering over and came to a stop in front of me. Her petite body settled without making a sound, like a butterfly alighting.
She tilted her head, apparently having noticed my bewildered expression.
“……? What’s wrong, Ian oppa?”
“Uh, yeah? It’s nothing. It’s just…….”
My gaze slid toward Leto. He was speaking to me with fierce determination in his eyes.
‘Do it already.’
I sighed inwardly, then reluctantly stared at Selin. First, I was supposed to compliment her.
Selin merely watched me blankly. I offered her a surprise compliment.
“I just thought you looked pretty today.”
“……U-uh, what?!”
The instant she heard my words, Selin flinched and trembled as though she had been electrocuted, then looked up at my face. She was so startled that she even clasped both hands over her chest.
Was it working? I still could not be sure. I decided to compliment Selin a little more.
“And you smell nice too… Did you change your perfume?”
“U-uh, yeah… Hehehe… It’s not perfume. There’s a facial cleanser that’s popular among girls these days, so I tried changing to it. D-Does it show that much?”
As she said that, Selin squirmed. Then she subtly swept her side hair back, exposing her fragrant nape.
A faint flush had risen across her face, so she seemed to be in a better mood. I thought it was probably time for the ‘physical contact.’
But how was I supposed to initiate physical contact?
As I pondered that, my gaze caught sight of her exposed nape.
I approached Selin and brushed back the hair covering her nape with the back of my hand.
“H-Hee, hiyah?!”
At the sensation of my skin brushing against hers, Selin went rigid and made a strange sound, but I was already committed.
I leaned my face slightly toward her nape and inhaled her scent. It lasted no more than an instant.
But the effect seemed to be far greater than I had imagined, because Selin froze with her face bright red.
Only broken sounds like ‘Ah, ah’ escaped her lips. Her quivering lips could not form a single word.
“……Mm, I see. It smells nice.”
And when I nodded and voiced my impression,
“U, ah, u, u, ah, uuuuuugh!”
Selin shuddered all over as those sounds spilled from her mouth, then turned around and began running as though she could no longer bear it.
“I-I have something urgent to take care of, so I’ll be going!”
Leaving behind that absurd excuse, I stared at Leto in bewilderment.
Leto had apparently been barely holding back his laughter. He made a strangled sound, then burst into uproarious laughter. The laughter erupting from deep within his lungs rang loudly in my ears.
“Heh heh heh… Puhahahahaha! Did you see that, Ian? That stuck-up Selin ran away with her face bright red! It was a little too blatant, but well done. Well done. Heh heh heh…….”
“Was it effective?”
When I asked in a voice that still held no certainty, Leto nodded as though telling me to wait and see.
“Of course it was! Heh heh… Just wait and see. I bet she’s going back to order a huge supply of that facial cleanser or whatever it was right now. I’d even bet she uses nothing else for a while! You should check later.”
Though I thought there was no way that could be true, Leto was so confident that I decided to remain silent. I would have to see whether he was right.
And the next day, Selin appeared wearing an even stronger fragrance than before.
Seria came to me once again.
“A-a modest… ngh… a modest payment for you!”
While holding a pouch stuffed with gold coins.