Chapter 39: Master’s Prank
I staggered back to my dorm, feeling as if my soul had been stolen from me since I met Aizel.
On my desk, an eyeball with a red pupil sat on a cloth. It was time for the long-awaited eyeball tasting.
‘How many more times do I have to eat something this grotesque?’
The eyeball was hard to get into my mouth so I kept picking it up and putting it down.
[I am frustrated…]
I’m about to eat the eyeball when Sierra sighs and stops me.
“…What’s wrong, Master?”
I ask her politely.
[Even though I say I’m upset…my apprentice is trying to eat an eyeball… and why do you keep trying to eat that damn eyeball?]
Sierra grumbles, glancing over at me.
I couldn’t wait to eat it so one the way back, I stopped at Herald, who was making a spicy curry, and asked him about the eyeballs…
[Heh, I don’t know. I don’t know about that. Why would you eat eyeballs in the first place?]
…and returned to my dorm without any results.
I was deep in thought.
Can I swallow an eyeball? If I can’t swallow it, I’ll have to chew it. Would it work?
Meanwhile, Sierra was acting like this.
When I don’t answer, she continues to talk to herself, like an unfortunate heroine in a play.
[I can’t get out of my head the way my apprentice grinned at the blonde, desirable woman…]
“When did I ever grin like that?”
My head was spinning at the time, and I couldn’t remember what I looked like but Sierra was visibly shocked by Aizel’s rather unassuming ‘prank’.
‘I don’t know.’
For a moment, I picked up the eyeball with my fingers and popped it into my mouth.
[There, look at that, even though I said I’m upset…! Did you really eat it, ah, go for it, ah.]
Sierra cupped my cheek, wanting me to open my mouth and I also realized at the same moment that Sierra was cupping my cheek.
‘This… I can’t swallow it. If I swallow it, it’ll get stuck in my throat.’
At one point, I opened my mouth to show Sierra, who was squeezing my face and urging me on.
It must have been a strange sight for anyone else to see so Sierra’s eyes widen when she sees my mouth.
[You actually put it in your mouth… Hah… I may regret having a disciple in the first place. I can’t believe you’re eating eyeballs at this point…]
I chewed on the eyeball, ignoring Sierra’s grumbling.
‘Ah.’
An unidentifiable liquid spreads in my mouth but I gritted my teeth, thinking only of the skill I would gain.
[You’re chewing like that…Why…?]
I swallowed hard to answer Sierra’s question.
“I was just wondering if my eyes might feel a little better… you never know, right?”
I blurted out since I couldn’t bring myself to say, “I ate an eyeball to get a skill.”
Sierra’s face shaded at my answer.
Others also did this often. They wear their emotions on their faces, assuming I can’t see past their expressions.
I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.
After a while, my darkened vision gradually brightens. I can see clearly into the unlit room.
[You have gained the skill Night Vision.]
The blindfold was covering my eyes, so I ate it half-heartedly, but I don’t know if I should call it compatible…
‘I would have felt bad if I ate the eyeball and the skill didn’t work.’
I rinsed my mouth with the water I’d kept on my desk beforehand and approached Sierra, who looked depressed.
“Of course, eating an eyeball isn’t going to make me see, and actually being able to touch and feel my Master like this is enough, just chalk it up to the foolishness of a stupid disciple.”
I grasped Sierra’s hand and smiled bitterly.
[ …Yes, I can understand how you feel. ]
Sierra glanced away from my grasp and nodded. Judging by her reaction, it seemed to go well but suddenly, Sierra’s violet eyes sparkled.
[But touching and feeling is enough…]
With those words, Sierra gradually approaches me.
Feeling somehow uncomfortable with her upturned lips, I couldn’t help but bite back my foot.
“…Master?”
I hesitate and stumble backwards, my foot hitting the bed behind me.
[Thud.]
My body naturally tumbled onto the bed but Sierra was still approaching.
“Master, what are you doing…?”
[You had just had a conversation with her about listening to the heart.]
Sierra, who had interrupted me, recounted my encounter with Aizel earlier.
“…I did.”
[So, you can hear my heartbeat as well.]
“Master’s heart beats…”
At that moment, Sierra cuts me off again and climbs on top of me.
She squeezes my hand and brings it to her chest. It was very similar to the antics of Aizel, whom I had just met.
Aizel was wearing an Academy uniform so I couldn’t even feel her flesh but Sierra’s clothes…were a revealing outfit that covered only the most important parts of her body.
So, in other words, I was touching bare breasts that I couldn’t even grasp with my hands.
Her hands trembled slightly from the nervousness but Sierra’s chest was warmer than her hands.
[If I do this… can you feel my heart beating?]
Sierra’s languid voice echoed in my head as she leaned close to my ear. But contrary to her wishes, I felt no heartbeat in her chest.
Wondering what was going on, I answered her honestly.
“…No, I can’t feel it, it’s just that Master’s flesh feels too soft…”
[It can’t be, then listen to the sound.]
Sierra whined like a child, then grabbed me from the bed and pulled me halfway up then pressed my face to her chest and held me tightly so I couldn’t get away.
For some reason, I seem to end up on Sierra’s chest a lot.
Her soft breasts roll against my face but she’s a spirit, so I can’t hear her heart beating.
“…Uh, I can’t hear it.”
[Then… I guess I’ll have to stay like this until you can hear the sound of my heart…]
Sierra, apparently embarrassed, hangs her head low over my head, her shy voice echoing in my head.
I wonder how much time passed but Sierra seems intent on staying like this until she hears an answer she likes.
Her breasts were so cozy, I could almost sleep on them but I couldn’t move at all.
My whole body was tingling, and I finally spoke up.
“……I think I heard something.”
[Are you sure?]
“Yep. Thump, thump, thump…”
And then Sierra lets go of me.
I exhale heavily, flopping back onto the bed.
[ Phew…The sound of a heartbeat rises up from the dead woman, and it’s not as silly as it seems, my apprentice… it was just a ‘prank’ of mine.]
Sierra, with her eyes narrowed, covers her mouth and laughs.
I don’t know if I can call what Aizel and Sierra did a prank.
‘Well, at least it was embarrassing.’
Before I can say anything else, Sierra’s voice rings out.
[ Hmph, your ears are bright red… ]
But Sierra, who was smiling as she said it, was also blushing.
I touched my ear at her words and I realized that my ears might have been red because they were a little hot.
My eyes were used to seeing her breasts after being with her all day, but being squeezed by them was another story.
Sierra glares at me and continues.
[So…did you like my prank more, or the prank of the girl named Aizel?]
“Do I have to like the prank…?”
Sierra smiles, unperturbed by my ambiguous answer, she seems to be saying a lot of strange things today.
I turned my head and tried to go straight to sleep but my body felt heavy.
It wasn’t from the Labyrinth, but from the two women’s antics.
[Huh? Are you sleeping? Disciple, give me an answer and go to sleep…]
Sierra’s voice rang in my ears, but I thought it was a lullaby and decided to go back to sleep.
Soon, Sierra was leaning over my body, urging me to answer and her voice was soothing and pleasant to listen to so I dozed off.
***
‘Labyrinth… It’s a pain in the ass.’
It was doubly frustrating to have to fake it all the time, in addition to dealing with the party members.
“Uh, Zetto.”
One of the party members beside me on the way out of the Labyrinth mentions his name.
‘Zetto?’
My eyes darted around, catching sight of him. The cadets’ attention is drawn to him, but he continues on his way, seemingly unperturbed.
“I heard he took down a Lycanthrope on the fifth floor by himself
“What? Amon Caligus was with him, but he really did it alone?”
“…I’m having a bit of a headache, so why don’t I ask him to use some acupuncture?”
“Are you crazy?”
He could hear the female cadets watching him.
In the past few days, Zetto has become a celebrity at the academy.
‘This is the attention I deserve…’
I took a deep breath and tried to keep my composure.
“What’s wrong, Kaen?”
The party member who had been watching me from the side asks. Her eyes narrow, and she nudges me with his elbow.
“No way… You’ve become interested in Zetto too?”
“…Ahaha, if it’s an interest, it’s always been there, he’s cool, hehe…”
I replied to my party member with a silly look on my face. It was for a completely different reason than the one she was talking about, but I wasn’t lying.
Zetto’s fame was extremely annoying, but it didn’t disrupt my plans. If anything, his fame would make it easier for me to gather people for our duel.
If I could then reveal my hidden power and defeat him…
“Hah… Ha ha…”
…I couldn’t help but get excited just thinking about it.
‘However, Cadet Aizel’s work, the Herong Mushroom…He’s still dangerous.’
I didn’t think I’d lose, but if I did… something terrible might happen afterward. Still, I had no intention of letting him take my virginity without a fight.
‘I’ll use my grandfather’s swordsmanship if I have to.’
I will not let that happen.
***
Kaen had no idea that Sierra, who was supposed to be at Zetto’s side, was in front of her, head tilted, watching it all.