Chapter 93

“Hey, work hard like Franz’s Imps! You’re making Aliénor look bad for summoning you!”

Aliénor was desperately trying to make her Imps work, but they just scoffed at her.

“The amount of mana we’re getting is completely different,” one muttered. “If you want to summon Imps like those ones over there, use a proper spell.”

They were certainly outspoken.

“Curse it… I still can’t use the formal ‘Summon Imp’…”

This might be a bit of an ordeal.

The work itself seemed like it would proceed without issue using the Imps I had summoned, so I decided to give Aliénor some support.

“Hey, want to practice the decent version of ‘Summon Imp’?”

“Urgh… You’ve already seen my embarrassing side… and now I have to show you an even more embarrassing side…?”

In an environment where no other Dark Mages were around, she probably could have bluffed her way through with her current spell. She had likely been using a simplified version she learned as a child for years.

That sort of thing happens. If you teach yourself how to hold a fork and knife in your own peculiar way as a child, it’s hard to correct as an adult. At the very least, you can’t do it unconsciously. And since it’s not as if she can’t use the spell at all, it takes an even stronger act of will to fix it.

“But if you don’t study it properly somewhere, you’ll never be able to use it for the rest of your life.”

“…Fine. Teach me.”

I began to teach her the pronunciation of the incantation and how to draw the magic circle as slowly as possible. I’m not exactly used to teaching, so I was figuring it out as I went.

“L-like this…?”

“The circular part is too jagged. That’ll turn it into a different magic circle. Try to draw the curves more gently.”

“Right. I’ll make it work this time!”

Aliénor wasn’t exactly a quick study, but she was diligent. She moved her staff repeatedly with such devotion that she even started to sweat. September is still quite hot.

How should I put it… teaching once in a while isn’t so bad.

Since I was the only new hire and obviously didn’t have any juniors, I never had anyone to teach. But once I actually tried to teach, I found there were many things I noticed for the first time.

Even with a single incantation, I usually pronounce it without thinking much about the meaning, but teaching her made me realize how much the predecessors prioritized efficiency when they created it.

There’s a chance President Kelkel assigned Aliénor to shadow me because she foresaw my own growth as well… Knowing the President, she’s likely considered that much.

After two hours, Aliénor’s “Summon Imp” was almost entirely successful. At the very least, it had become a different spell from the “Useless Imp” one.

The properly summoned Imp even bowed to Aliénor.

“Oh! I think that worked!? I did it! I actually did it!”

“Well done, Aliénor. That’s a success!”

“Yeah, thank you!”

Aliénor broke into a sudden, radiant smile. To be honest, with that hint of innocence still lingering, she looked incredibly cute. If a junior at the magic academy had smiled at me like that, I definitely would have confessed my feelings and asked her out on the spot…

“O-oh… You’re welcome…”

Aliénor looked at my face and, seemingly realizing she had been a bit too genuine, looked down sheepishly.

“Darn it, I thanked you without thinking… That’s not like me at all…”

Since our dynamic is supposed to be one of rivals, she was probably regretting reacting in a way that established a senior-junior hierarchy.

“I… I must offer a dark-magical repayment. L-look up, Franz!”

I looked up as told. If I refused, she’d probably just find something else to complain about.

Then, Aliénor’s face suddenly closed in on mine, and she stole a kiss.

But our lips parted almost immediately.

“Th-this is a proper dark-magical repayment. If reciprocity isn’t carried out accurately, the… the scales will be tipped. As a Dark Mage, that is unacceptable…”

Blushing furiously, Aliénor crossed her arms and offered her excuse.

“I… I see…”

Wait, was Aliénor always this cute…?

Later, during a break, Celuria whispered to me.

“Master, that Miss Aliénor… her ‘Dark-Magical Seduction’ techniques alone are incredibly high-level…”

“What kind of lopsided ability is that…?”

“The difficult thing about Dark-Magical Seduction is that even a carefully calculated character persona causes the level to drop. The highest tier is performing the seduction from a state of total defensiveness, without even the person themselves realizing it. She is pulling that off flawlessly…”

“I can sort of understand that…”

When she acts like that, it’s impossible not to notice her, but she’s genuinely just trying to act tough, so there’s no lie in it.

“Um, I say this with a fair amount of seriousness, but it might be a good idea to get engaged to Miss Aliénor, don’t you think?”

She really hit me with something huge out of left field.

“Hearing that from you, Celuria… it’s complicated.”

I definitely love Cerulia, and she should know that. Of course, I also understand why she would say such a thing.

“For a Succubus, a ‘mistress’ position makes me feel like I’m doing my job more, and in a way, it makes me feel even more fired up. Besides, I have more than enough confidence to love you to the end, Master.”

That’s true… In a way, the Succubus concept of love is broader, or perhaps more liberal, than the human sense of marriage.

“I’m still in my first year at the company, so I think I’ll wait until things settle down a bit before I think about that…”

This is all moving way too fast, so I’ll dodge the question for now!

“Yes. To tell you the truth, seeing Master say things like that… it makes me very happy in its own way.”

Cerulia then showed me an angelic smile. She is just too cute herself.

Since I’m a Dark Mage, I wonder if I can just marry five people or something…