"Alice is angry—what a rare sight."
Aoko emerged from the tea room, holding a cup of black tea.
"It's just basic manners."
She emphasized this point before handing another cup to Eiji.
I get it.
What you mean is, Alice has no manners.
"If I can't learn it, there's nothing I can do."
Eiji took the teacup and sipped casually.
"Such a waste of good tea... This is practically a luxury item..."
Aoko clicked her tongue at his careless drinking posture. "But Alice probably isn't mad because you couldn't learn it. She's mad because you gave up so quickly."
She let out a light snort, looking at Eiji with the triumphant gaze of a winner eyeing a loser, her eyes brimming with smug satisfaction.
"Who knew your perseverance was so lacking?"
"This is just wisdom."
Eiji curled his lip, his expression dripping with disdain. "If a thousand times the effort can't even bring one percent of results, what's the point of persistence? I'd only admire someone who could keep going under those conditions."
Effort only makes sense when there's hope for returns.
Since it was impossible no matter what, there was no point in stubbornly banging his head against a wall.
"Can't argue with that logic, but is it really that bad?"
"It's worse."
Eiji waved a hand dismissively.
Recalling his past experiences, his face twisted into a pained grimace.
Damn, even his brooding face is unfairly handsome. That face really doesn't waste a single feature.
If only his mouth could say something human once in a while, I might've actually fallen for him.
Aoko grumbled internally.
"Earlier, Alice said, 'He's your problem now.' What did she mean by that?"
Eiji turned to Aoko for clarification.
He couldn't care less about Alice's mood. After this whole ordeal, he probably wouldn't have any further contact with her anyway. Flat chests were a dealbreaker.
Aoko, on the other hand, was quite promising—not just "potential" anymore, but already "fully realized." The future looked even brighter for her.
Come to think of it, the Fruit Lady was also impressively stacked. This family's genes were truly something else.
"She meant for me to teach you the basics of magecraft."
Aoko's lips curled into a mischievous grin as she stared at Eiji with a distinctly mean-spirited glint in her eyes.
"Alice has lost interest in you. Now it's my turn—so prepare yourself!"
"You're interested in me now?"
"...?! Absolutely not!"
***
Three days passed in this manner.
Every day after school, Eiji would head to the Kuonji residence for half an hour of magecraft lessons.
Though "lessons" was a generous term—he was essentially just leeching off their knowledge.
He had tried countless times by now. While he could shape magical energy freely, the moment he attempted to inscribe a magic circle, it would instantly fail. No spell formula worked.
Aoko was left utterly dumbfounded, finally understanding just how severe his "It's worse" claim had been.
"This isn't just a learning disability—it's practically a curse at this point. Did you piss someone off? Or did your teacher seal your abilities?"
They were currently in Aoko's room.
Alice had eventually grown fed up with Aoko's constant yelling and banished them here for their "lessons." Incidentally, Aoko's outbursts were entirely due to Eiji's "unfathomable stupidity."
Aoko muttered to herself in disbelief.
After days of zero progress—not even managing a basic circle, something even a pig could do—the only explanation was a curse, and a powerful one at that.
"Happy now?"
Eiji scowled, his tone sour.
Aoko's stubborn refusal to believe him had only led to further emotional damage.
"It's so bizarre that I can't even mock you anymore..."
Any sense of schadenfreude had long vanished from Aoko's heart, replaced entirely by pity—which she made no effort to hide.
Eiji's eye twitched. In one swift motion, he yanked Aoko over and delivered a solid smack to her buttocks.
"Stop that!"
Aoko yelped in alarm, her face burning crimson as she desperately covered her rear.
"Help!"
"...?"
"See? I even called for help on your behalf, and no one came!"
"..."
Another round of lively antics ensued.
Aoko sat back down, still clutching her bottom, her cheeks flushed.
Getting spanked in her own room was a completely different experience from being manhandled at the amusement park. It wasn't just anger she felt now—there was embarrassment, too.
And a sudden urge to use the bathroom.
"So, when's my Magic Crest gonna be ready?"
Eiji straightened his posture, adopting a dignified sitting position.
He absentmindedly rubbed his fingertips together, reminiscing about the sensation.
A couple of days ago, Eiji had asked Aoko and Alice to create a Magic Crest for him.
Though he couldn't learn magecraft, crests were plug-and-play—essentially like electrical appliances. However, there was a limit to how many "appliances" a person could carry, so crests typically stored only the most crucial spells.
Most magus families would pass down their most important magecraft through crests, hoping their descendants could accumulate enough mystery over centuries to reach the Root.
Eiji had convinced Alice to help by promising, "Once the crest's done, I won't bother you anymore."
But crafting a new crest was apparently quite time-consuming, hence his question.
"Not happening!"
Aoko glared at him fiercely.
Eiji raised his hand threateningly.
"Two more days! And don't you still need to add spells to it?!"
Aoko immediately shielded her backside again.
Damn it.
She was completely at his mercy, her weakness thoroughly exploited.
"What about the Fruit Lady's side?"
"...Fruit Lady?"
"Your sister."
"Fruit Lady... Lady... Pfft—HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Aoko mumbled the words to herself.
Then, as if something had clicked, her expression twisted, her lips curling uncontrollably as she collapsed onto the floor, clutching her stomach in uproarious laughter.
"I—I can't—HAHAHA! My stomach hurts—AHAHAHA!"
The joke had struck a chord. She couldn't stop laughing.
"Ahhh, that's comedy gold!"
It took a full two minutes for her to finally calm down, wiping tears from her eyes as she picked herself up off the floor.
"I should really let you talk to my sister more. Maybe your silver tongue could piss her to death! HAHA!"
Aoko was practically giddy with amusement.
"She's your sister."
"And that stops me from laughing at her... how?"
"You'll turn into her eventually."
"???"
"Into a 'lady.'"
Aoko paused to consider this.
"#$%&@*!!"
Her chest heaved violently—the "promising future" beneath her green sweater bouncing wildly—as she unleashed a torrent of expletives at Eiji.
"Keep it down!"
A rare, sharp reprimand came from the direction of the west wing.
The quiet-loving girl had finally reached her limit with Aoko's constant noise.
"She's talking about you."
"..."
Don't get mad, don't get mad. If I lose my temper, this bastard will just get smug about it!
Aoko repeated this mantra internally, struggling to rein in her emotions.
Right, change the subject—quick! What were we talking about again? The Fruit Lady... no, wait—how's the investigation on that side going?
"Only two anchor points left now."
***
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