Chapter 3
“Shall we put that behind us and sort out our situation?”
“Please don't put your hand on my head…!”
Bellatrix's heartfelt teasing had left Belver sulking.
Even if he resolved to make her acknowledge that he was a man, it didn't undo the fact that she'd made fun of him.
She was shamelessly patting his head to cheer him up.
To her, he probably looked like a little brother.
Unlike when she'd teased him about being short, he didn't push her away very hard.
“Why not? It's my head, and I can pat it if I want.”
“Then I will too…!”
At Bellatrix's words, Belver moved his hand in a huff, only to meet her eyes, curved into a pleased crescent.
As his hand grew bolder, it slowed, and his outstretched palm curled inward.
As it slowed, his whole palm seemed to shrink until only a tiny pinky remained.
At last, the only finger he'd left extended lightly tapped her side, then pulled away.
Gulp. Belver swallowed dryly and stared at the pinky that had touched his original body.
No matter how he looked at it, it didn't feel like he'd touched his own body.
It only felt like he'd touched some strange man's side.
It had definitely been his body just a few hours ago.
He was so embarrassed his toes curled.
“Is that all? Once I get back to what's now my room, I'm going to take my time touching myself all over.”
“Huh…? No lewd stuff!! That's my body!”
“It's my body now, though?”
“Anyway, don't!”
“You're going to touch me all over once I leave, too. It's a noble young lady's soft, delicate skin, after all. It'll feel nice to touch, I promise.”
Bellatrix smiled mischievously and dangled the bait.
Her claim that she'd go back and touch him thoroughly was a lie.
In fact, she'd already looked and felt around before coming here.
Though of course, she would touch him again.
There were naturally plenty of things that were fascinating about having a man's body.
And plenty she wanted to try with it.
And Belver took the bait beautifully.
When he'd touched her in a fit of emotion, it hadn't felt like his body, but now that she was teasing him, it suddenly did.
He had no idea what determined whether he felt that way.
He didn't even have time to think about it.
He'd unconsciously lowered his gaze at Bellatrix's boast about her own body.
It was like the seductive whisper of a succubus.
There, barely covered by thin silk pajamas, her skin was on the verge of being exposed.
Belver gazed at the subtly visible, pale skin that looked soft to the touch and promptly burst with embarrassment.
“I'm not doing it!! No lewd stuff!!”
“You don't think my body is pretty? I doubt that.”
“I absolutely will not look!”
“You'll have to wash, won't you? Even if you have someone help you, you'll see it.”
“That's not lewd!”
“I see. So you're just using that as an excuse to subtly violate my delicate body? I didn't know you were such a pervert.”
“Grr…! I'm absolutely not!! Stop teasing me and let's get back to the topic!”
Only after his face burned did Belver realize he'd been teased.
Sometimes you only see things clearly after you've lost your head.
He'd been so flustered that he hadn't even realized she was making fun of him.
Bellatrix seemed satisfied now. She raised both hands in a gesture of surrender and sat down.
She'd already gained more than she'd expected when she came to reclaim her original body.
Namely, a body with overwhelming talent—and Belver himself inside her body.
The downside was that, since he aspired to be a knight, she'd have to move her body around more than she'd like. But she could simply double-major in magic.
If what he said was true, he was naturally gifted with weapons, too.
She might even have the chance to become a rare magic swordsman or magic lancer.
Just looking at Belver put her at ease.
Partly because he was so innocent, and partly because it was her body, which made it strangely easy to feel comfortable around him.
“From now on, I'll live as Lady Bellatrix.”
“And I'll live as Belver.”
“In that case, please check whether I'm doing a good job. I don't know anyone here anyway, so you can do whatever you like.”
“Sounds good. What should I check? You want to imitate me?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead.”
Ahem! Belver put a clenched fist in front of his mouth and cleared his throat.
He'd copied it from somewhere, so it had no effect whatsoever.
He probably didn't even know what it was supposed to do.
Anyway, after clearing his throat, Belver recalled the Bellatrix he remembered.
She was a fairly prominent character, so she had plenty of lines.
That meant her speech had been analyzed quite a bit, too.
It was the speech of a typical aristocrat, arrogant and full of elitism.
“Do you call this food? Take it away and bring me something else. Peasant.”
Ahem! Pleased with himself, he waited for Bellatrix's assessment.
Even he thought he'd done an excellent job.
It was the line he remembered best.
It was what she said when she first encountered the protagonist.
Thanks to that, you could tell what kind of person Bellatrix was from one sentence.
Bellatrix's expression, however, was hard to read.
It was the look someone gave a student who'd gotten one question wrong but was convinced they'd earned a perfect score.
After a brief moment of thought, she gave her verdict.
“You got my way of speaking right, at least.”
“Right? Don't worry! I'll do great!”
“But I don't make such a benevolent expression. And my tone isn't that gentle, either.”
“Huh? Did I?”
“Yeah. I thought a goddess had descended.”
“That can't be right….”
Belver looked dejected by her assessment.
He'd thought he'd done a pretty good job of acting like the vicious, arrogant, obnoxious Bellatrix.
He'd put in the best effort he could.
So he hadn't expected such a harsh review.
“You'll be with me most of the time anyway, so just don't say anything if you can help it. I'll speak for you. Just keep a blank expression.”
“Like this?”
“You're good at that, at least. Just keep doing that. The moment you open your mouth, you become someone else.”
“Yes….”
Belver visibly wilted and lowered his head.
He really thought he'd done well.
He'd even aced the theory.
The practical was where he'd flunked.
Who knew his naturally innocent temperament and gentle tone would trip him up like this?
Bellatrix stood and flicked Belver on the forehead.
Being gloomy wouldn't change anything, and it wasn't a big problem.
She could simply say everything that needed to be said in his place.
“Ow! Why did you do that?”
“Why are you so gloomy? There's no problem.”
“But what if…?”
“If you're that worried, want to touch my chest? I hear touching a woman's breasts calms men down.”
“That's my chest right now?! And no dirty talk!”
“We're both adults, you know?”
“Still, it's forbidden!”
Swish. Belver hurriedly covered his chest with both arms.
Then he declared it off-limits, anyway.
He had absolutely no resistance to dirty jokes or suggestive talk.
Whatever he heard, he felt embarrassed and mortified.
And now there were two bodies that could set him off, doubling his embarrassment.
Naturally, Bellatrix had no intention of listening.
She just occasionally tossed another piece of kindling onto the fire and watched him, because he was cute and fascinating.
How could someone who'd been a man just a few hours ago be so girlish?
She even wondered if they'd somehow switched bodies at birth and then switched back.
“How does it feel? It's touching your arm right now.”
“I've moved it away, haven't I?!”
“Oh. What an attentive young lady.”
“Young man!”
“Yes, yes. Let's get back to the topic. Now, magic is the problem. I'll teach you properly.”
Belver tilted his head.
What was the problem with magic?
Bellatrix would be able to use magic before long.
He didn't understand.
“You'll be able to use it soon. You can feel mana, after all.”
“Not me, you. Even if you can't tell by looking at me, I'm second in the magic department and second overall at the academy. Of course, I should be able to use powerful magic. But you can't use magic.”
“I can use it.”
“You can't. You're a commoner aspiring to be a knight.”
“I can! Look. Light!”
Flash! Mana moved according to Belver's will and took the shape of the orb of light he'd seen before.
He set the orb on his hand and showed it to Bellatrix.
It was proof that he could use magic.
Bellatrix was once again taken aback by the unbelievable sight.
She had no idea how many times she'd been surprised today.
By all her common sense, Belver shouldn't be able to use magic.
If he could, his channels wouldn't be this completely undeveloped.
But what she saw right before her eyes was unquestionably magic.
And remarkably sophisticated magic, at that.
That a mere basic spell like Light could create an orb of light with such a distinct shape…
Even she couldn't do that without intense concentration.
As she watched, the orb began to grow brighter.
Bellatrix wondered what on earth was happening now.
At least, until Belver cried out in alarm.
“Close your eyes! It's going to explode!”
“What?!”
The instant they closed their eyes, the orb of light burst with a flash.
They'd nearly been blinded.
Bellatrix silently sighed with relief and figured out why this had happened.
Belver's magic had burst because he couldn't control it.
That was different from maintaining the orb's shape.
He'd controlled the spell, but not the mana.
“You can't control your magic. You don't know how to disperse it or cancel it, either.”
“Hehe. You'll teach me, right…?”
“First, I'll explain what's happening. You have perfect control over the spell itself, but you can't control your mana. You put in too much mana, so it exploded.”
“What does that mean?”
Belver didn't understand.
After all, his magic teachers were novels, setting books, and games.
In other words, he knew nothing beyond turning mana into magic.
Even the setting book never said mana had to be handled this way.
“Hmm. To use a food analogy, all you've done is arrange the plate neatly. The ingredients are a complete mess. It might look pretty, but it'll taste awful. With magic, it's important to create the form you want, but it's just as important to control the mana.”
“Aha! That makes perfect sense!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
Belver really did understand.
If she explained it that simply, he'd be an idiot not to.
Besides, he was incredibly smart.
He'd memorized hundreds of novels, setting books, and games, after all.
Bellatrix, however, could only sigh inwardly as she watched Belver smile with confidence.
She was almost worried he'd get caught within a day.
What could she do?
She had to trust him.
“I'll teach you to control your mana tomorrow. It's getting late, so I'll head out.”
“Okay!”
“Oh, and don't go touching yourself all over just because I'm not here, all right?”
“I'm not!!”
Bellatrix teased Belver one last time before leaving the room.
How could she resist when he reacted like such a little girl?
She was starting to look forward to what came next.
“The semester starts tomorrow. I wonder if I'll manage.”
Alone in the room Bellatrix had left, Belver murmured to himself.
Just as she'd said, the semester would begin tomorrow.
The curriculum was more relaxed than a university's, so there wouldn't be any problems attending lectures.
You didn't have to attend a single day as long as you passed the practical and written exams.
Belver wasn't worried about the exams.
He was sure everything would somehow work out.
What worried him was whether he could manage to live as Bellatrix.
That included being teased by her, who was now Belver.
“I'm a man.”
Belver clenched both fists and reminded himself once more.
If Bellatrix had seen him, she would have thought the pose suited him perfectly.
Belver was the only one who didn't know.