Chapter 6
After Belver forcibly pulled Bellatrix out of her very first lecture, he had nothing but free time.
Since she had no more lectures today, they decided to start learning the basics of magic right away.
No matter how good his control over magic was, without basic knowledge, he was only halfway there.
Using magic without basic knowledge made you a magic user, not a mage.
That was how Bellatrix explained the need for the basics before they returned to the dormitory and began their lesson in earnest.
“What do you think magic is?”
“A miracle that projects one’s own mental image into the world through the medium of mana.”
Belver recited the words exactly as they appeared in the setting book.
It was surely the best answer to the question of what magic was.
From the perspective of this world, the setting book was like a Book of Truth containing every truth.
Bellatrix’s expression, however, was odd.
He’d seen that expression once before.
It was the look she wore when she’d heard a half-right answer.
What kind of answer had she wanted?
“Where did you read that? As a definition, it’s correct. But I’m asking what you, Belver, think magic is.”
“Me? I’ve never really thought about it….”
“Think about it now.”
Tilt? Belver tilted his head at her cryptic words.
She’d asked what he thought of magic, and he’d told her what magic meant, but apparently that wasn’t it.
He didn’t know what he should say.
To begin with, he’d come from a world where magic didn’t exist, so he hadn’t given it much thought.
Even so, he tried hard to find the right answer.
There had to be some sort of correct answer.
What did Belver himself think magic was?
He was sure that when he’d first encountered magic in a novel, he’d thought something like this.
“It’s sparkly and mysterious?”
That was how Belver had felt when he’d first seen magic being used in a novel.
His heart had raced when he first learned magic existed.
He’d wondered if perhaps it could help him.
But soon he’d learned it didn’t exist in reality, and had been disappointed.
At the wistful memory, Belver shook his head.
He’d been so young then.
Even though only three years had passed, he’d grown a lot since then.
Bellatrix said nothing as she watched Belver.
His mood was different from usual.
How to put it? The air around him, usually so lively, had grown far too subdued.
She tossed an enormous strategic weapon into that slightly gloomy atmosphere.
“Come to think of it, I forgot to tell you, but it was really stiff.”
“Huh? What was?”
“What do you think?”
Belver’s face flushed in an instant as he understood.
He’d been lost in his own thoughts and completely unprepared, so the words hit him dead-on.
He barely managed to pull himself together after being struck by the strategic weapon, and made a firm resolution.
He couldn’t let things stay like this.
It couldn’t be helped that such vulgar words kept coming from a duke’s daughter.
It was his own fault for admiring and liking her without knowing what kind of person she was.
But now that he knew, he could make her change.
At least, that’s what he thought.
To enlighten Bellatrix, who kept saying such completely unladylike, vulgar things, Belver summoned the most solemn voice he knew.
Though his short stature, appearance, and naturally gentle tone left him with no intimidating presence whatsoever.
“A grown woman shouldn’t go around saying things like that. Especially in front of a man she barely knows. And the same goes for men!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know! You just harassed me!”
“I don’t know what you mean. Maybe if this commoner explained it again, I’d understand. Won’t you tell me?”
Bellatrix gave him a sly smile, and Belver felt his mind grow hazy once more.
He hadn’t expected her to do this.
She’d had far more experience talking to people than he had, so she was always a step ahead.
Worse, he never realized he was being toyed with.
“That’s….”
“Tell me what it was. I can’t quite remember.”
“Ugh….”
Belver felt his face heating up again.
He hadn’t expected to have to say such embarrassing words himself.
He was so ashamed that he wanted to dive under the covers and hide his entire body.
‘No. I’m only naming a body part. There’s nothing wrong with that.’
He tried to convince himself.
It was the only way he could do this.
Even after brainwashing himself into believing it wasn’t embarrassing, he still needed a great deal of courage.
“You mean… the genitals….”
“What’s a genital? Maybe you should be a little more specific. Surely you won’t leave me without properly explaining what I did wrong?”
Belver looked at Bellatrix with a sorrowful expression full of resentment.
He wanted nothing more than to punch that shamelessly smiling face.
The only reason he couldn’t was that it was his own body.
Belver squeezed his eyes shut and clenched both fists.
He was preparing himself to muster the last of his strength and say the indecent word.
He’d resolved to enlighten Bellatrix, so he had to try somehow.
By his standards, he looked fully determined.
From Bellatrix’s perspective, though, he was simply adorable.
“You mean… my dick…!”
“Ah. Your dick.”
“Yes! That!”
Phew. Belver let out a deep sigh of relief.
Saying the indecent word had taken far too much mental energy.
He was so embarrassed he could die.
Bellatrix laughed as she watched Belver pant over the mere act of saying “dick.”
She’d thought of a very amusing prank.
He would definitely sulk if she carried it out, but she couldn’t resist.
Just as Belver was about to lecture her after all that effort, Bellatrix suddenly leaned in toward him.
Her face came closer without hesitation, until it was right in front of Belver’s.
Her bold action left him unable to say a thing.
“By the way, who’s the woman and who’s the man right now?”
“Obviously I’m the man, and Lady Bellatrix is the woman…?”
“Not from where I’m standing. Who’s this delicate woman in front of me, trembling and sweating profusely?”
Belver’s eyes spun.
He couldn’t think of a single thing to say in response to Bellatrix.
Just as she said, Belver was in a woman’s body, and Bellatrix was in a man’s.
Belver thought of himself as a man, even though he’d ended up in a woman’s body.
The problem was that he knew that idea wouldn’t work on the person in front of him.
If he tried to argue based on their current situation, there wasn’t a single opening he could use to refute her.
He knew his whole argument was sophistry from the start, but he’d already gone too far to back down.
Bellatrix didn’t let this opening pass.
She pressed into the gap while his confusion had left his defenses seriously weakened.
“So a grown woman just said something that indecent? And in front of a man, too?”
Hic! The merciless finishing blow brought him crashing down, accompanied by a pitiful hiccup.
He’d fallen right into the trap he’d set himself.
He looked at Bellatrix with spinning eyes, hiccupping quietly.
Bellatrix looked at Belver with great satisfaction.
She knew she’d been a little mean, but how could she pass up such a good opportunity?
If she let it go now, who knew when another chance would come?
‘Is this okay? I’ve already done a lot, but maybe one more thing won’t hurt?’
Belver looked so dazed that even Bellatrix hesitated a little.
But it was only a moment’s hesitation.
Feeling an immense sense of comfort and satisfaction, she decided to keep going.
“So, commoner, how was it? You must’ve rubbed and touched every inch of my body while washing this morning. Tell me what you thought.”
Bellatrix finished speaking and smiled sweetly.
She was looking forward to seeing how he’d react.
As expected, Belver reacted.
However, it wasn’t the reaction Bellatrix had been hoping for.
He suddenly stood up and picked up the thick spellbook he’d brought to use as a textbook, but had ignored while they were fooling around.
As he did, his mouth kept moving as if he were muttering something.
Bellatrix involuntarily shuddered at Belver’s unsettling appearance.
What on earth was he planning to do?
The instincts she’d honed for twenty years were screaming at her to get down.
“Commoner…? I’ll apologize, so could you let me off…?”
“Th-this is…! A death sentence!!!”
-Whack!!
The spellbook landed squarely on the crown of her head with a clean hit, and Bellatrix felt her vision grow hazy.
Belver was frail, and she was somewhat trained, so it wasn’t enough to seriously injure her, but it seemed to have shaken her all the same.
As Bellatrix toppled forward, her eyes, which had rolled back, returned to normal, and she saw Belver hurrying toward her in alarm.
At the same time, she made a resolution in her heart.
Once she got up, she’d tease him even harder as punishment.
She’d already forgotten that she was the one who started it.
“Hiccup. What do I do…?”
After Bellatrix hit the floor with a thud, the only sound left in the room was Belver’s hiccupping.
Belver looked back and forth between Bellatrix lying on the floor and the spellbook in his hand.
And then he realized—
That he was in very big trouble.