“What’s this supposed to mean?” Shredica glared at me, eyes filled with coldness.
“What do you mean, what’s this supposed to mean? Can’t you see it for yourself?” I gestured towards Titania, currently placing an order at the cashier. “She’s going to help us.”
“That’s why I asked, what exactly is this supposed to mean? Why Titania?” she questioned, skepticism evident. It made sense; Titania didn’t exactly scream academic prowess.
But, desperate times called for desperate measures. We had no choice but to rely on her.
“Why her, you ask? Isn’t her rank the answer? She’s 70th in the gold class. She’s gotta have something useful, right? I mean, she wouldn’t be in the gold class if she wasn’t, well, academically gifted.”
“You do realize the school hasn’t evaluated us academically, right? How could you know?”
Well, that was a valid concern. Titania, a student from the gold class, excelled in combat, showcasing remarkable proficiency in both sorcery and arcane magic. However, her academic prowess remained a mystery to me. The school predominantly evaluated us based on our combat abilities, occasionally considering our etiquette and adaptability in various situations. Yet, the primary focus remained on our fighting skills and how adeptly we employed them.
In simpler terms, I had no clue if Titania was academically inclined.
If that’s the case, why not just approach someone I know excels in studying, like Raymond? Well, there’s a reason for that.
—
Name: Titania Bethlan
Race: Human
Requirements to dominate Titania:
1. Expand her circle to 5 people (0/5)
2. Unlock
3. Unlock
4. Unlock
….
—
I aimed to encourage Titania to broaden her social connections, and I contemplated making Shredica the first one on that list. I was well aware Shredica would never consider Titania a friend, nor would she view anyone around her as such. However, Shredica’s feelings were inconsequential in this matter; Titania’s feelings were what mattered. If Titania regarded Shredica as a friend, even if Shredica didn’t reciprocate, it would still count. The same applied in the reverse direction. It didn’t matter if you fulfilled a requirement; if the person you aimed to conquer didn’t feel that way, the condition would not be met.
Take Martha, for instance. Despite me showering her with money to settle her debts, her requirement remained unfulfilled. The reason? She felt guilty about using the money, earned from selling prostitutes in training, to pay off her debts. Well, of course, that kind of cash comes with its own moral baggage.
Another case in point was Ayane. Even after liberating her from the clutches of prostitution, her requirement still lingered unmet. Why? Because despite breaking her free from Martha’s brother, she harbored the belief that she’d inevitably end up as a prostitute under my control.
The same principle applied to Shredica. Despite reluctantly agreeing to assist her in climbing the ranks to gold, her requirement persisted unfulfilled. Why? Well, somewhere deep down, Shredica harbored doubts that I’d genuinely support her. Works for me, I suppose. It’s not like I’m itching to conquer her; I just want to unravel her capabilities and understand the driving force behind her relentless pursuit of becoming a Magic Knight.
While lost in my thoughts, Titania finally approached us. Her smile was so radiant it could practically blind you if you stared at it too long. However, the moment she saw Shredica at the table with me, her smile vanished instantly. She then turned to me, demanding, “What’s the meaning of this, Leon?!”
“Uh, well—”
Before I could utter another word, Shredica rose from her seat and declared, “I’m leaving.”
“Hey! Wait! Leaving? Why? Don’t you want to pass the exam? You do, right? So why leave now?”
“I’m not interested in being taught by someone who isn’t interested in teaching me.”
“She… She didn’t say anything like that.”
“I don’t need her talking, because I can see it already in her face.”
Well, yeah. I noticed it too. Titania wasn’t the type to willingly teach someone. In fact, she’d likely demand you teach her, throwing lines like ‘Be grateful for the privilege of teaching me’ or ‘Consider yourself blessed that I’m even listening to you.’ I couldn’t picture someone like Shredica patiently enduring Titania’s teaching style either. I knew this wasn’t going to work from the get-go. But already, in this early stage, they were at odds? I had to intervene.
“T-Titania, Miss Shredica is willing to be your follower if you teach her.”
“What?!” Shredica shot me a look as if I’d lost my mind. “When did I say—”
Before she could protest further, I covered her mouth with my hand. Shredica bit down hard, but I steeled myself to endure it. It was painful, honestly. In fact, it felt like she’d bitten a chunk of flesh out. But I gritted my teeth. If I wanted to make her stay, I had to do this.
Upon hearing that Shredica would become her follower if she taught her, Titania looked at me in shock. “Eh? Seriously?”
“Y-Yes! Seriously!” I exclaimed, causing Shredica to intensify her bite. Now I understood the origin of her name—Shredica, the type who’d literally shred you to pieces. Enough puns for now. Leaning closer to Shredica’s ear, I whispered, “I’m tossing you a lifeline here, Miss Shredica. If you want to avoid repeating a year, grab that lifeline and be quiet. And could you please stop biting my hand? You’re on the verge of gnawing off some flesh.”
Despite my words, Shredica continued to bite, though not as forcefully as before. I believed I’d managed to get through to her.
Turning to Titania, I continued, “However, Miss Shredica… is a bit of a meathead, you could say, who only thinks of brawls. She’s struggling with the exams and needs some help.” As I mentioned her being a bit of a meathead, Shredica bit my hand with renewed vigor. “S-She’s an excellent fighter and, despite lacking skill, has managed to stay at the top of the bronze class! She excels in swordsmanship and magic! She’s a top performer in those areas!” I added. Shredica’s bite lessened a bit at my praise. Goodness. Any more, and she might chew through to the bone.
“I-I see…” said Titania, blushing. “Uhm, what could be the areas that she’s lacking?” she said.
I locked eyes with Shredica, silently conveying that unnecessary comments were off the table once I released her mouth. She shot me a glare, leaving me unsure if she agreed or not. Regardless, I pleaded with my eyes, and she responded with an eye roll, a gesture that seemed exasperated. Taking that as a reluctant agreement, I let go of her mouth.
“I’m not going to—”
I covered her mouth once again. This time, she bit down as if it were the norm. Suppressing the urge to scream in pain, I soldiered on.
“Let me excuse us for a second,” I said to Titania.
“Oh… Okay.”
With that, I stepped outside, still covering Shredica’s mouth while her teeth gnawed at my hand. Once we were outside, I finally released her mouth.
“Can you please cooperate?” I sighed, frustration evident in my tone.
“I’m cooperating as best as I can,” she retorted, her eyes narrowing.
“That’s not how it seems to me, though.”
“Do you really expect me to admit I’m not good at anything? Do you not know how embarrassing that is?”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Huh? Embarrassed? That’s a word I never thought would come out of your mouth. I always figured you were incapable of such emotions.”
She raised her brows, a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “What do you think of me, some kind of robot?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, you even asked me out on a date with a composed face, after all…”
“I was embarrassed,” she confessed. “Of course, I would be embarrassed. Even though I might look like this, I am still a woman. A woman asking a man out to go somewhere is a pretty embarrassing thing.”
I never imagined she’d be so flustered about the situation, even though it wasn’t an actual date. It seemed, as she herself had pointed out before, she’s only human.
“…Look, this is the only option we have. Just bear with it and swallow your pride; otherwise, you’re genuinely risking failing a year. I’m sure that’s something you wouldn’t want to happen, no matter what.”
Shredica’s gaze bore into me for a moment before she sighed, “Fine. But I’m not going to tell her that I’m not proficient in every subject. You tell her yourself that you’re not up to par.”
“I suppose that’s fine…”
Shredica seemed to waver, having second thoughts about the whole arrangement. However, there was nothing she could do but endure it. With only a few hours left before the midterm week, she needed to put aside her pride to at least pass the exams. After that conversation, we returned inside. I informed Titania that I wasn’t quite adept at everything and that I’d be relying on her for assistance. Titania assured us she’d do her best. We proceeded with her guiding us, and to my surprise, Titania turned out to be an excellent teacher.
