Only two days remained until the first class.

 

A day had passed since they had been holed up inside the building, avoiding the saint. Fortunately, there were no major movements, such as knights breaching the door or offering a bounty to capture illusion magicians.

 

They just needed to hold on for a few more days. Just a few more days.

 

In case the saintess happened to visit, the building where I stayed was covered in all sorts of fantastic magic. As long as Yuna doesn’t show up and unleash the Yuna Death Beam, I can definitely buy some time.

 

So now, there shouldn’t be any problems. That’s what I thought.

 

Suddenly, a serious issue arose from an unexpected place. It was from the pingballéz, whom I thought would be fine even if the sky were to fall.

 

From Noble mtl dot com

 

“Thirty-one, thirty-two…”

 

“……”

 

Two slimes were jumping and landing repeatedly. That wasn’t really a problem. Whether slimes were jumping or doing mid-air somersaults, as long as they did it at the right time and place, there was no issue.

 

But my chest was definitely an inappropriate place.

 

The crazy pingballéz was now blatantly pressing her chest against mine. Bluntly put, how am I supposed to handle someone openly pleading for attention?

 

A sticky sound echoed in our friendship that had somehow held up. How fragile friendships could be.

 

I wondered if it was a misunderstanding, but it wasn’t. It would be foolish to believe it was a delusion even after experiencing this. Something was wrong with the pingballéz’s head.

 

In retrospect, there were signs since she buried the magic sword in the ground. Despite casually discussing panty talk, didn’t she inflate her curiosity to the fullest?

 

I gave sincere advice.

 

“You’re brain-dead.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Don’t you find it strange? Is it really within your common sense to press your chest against a stranger’s chest, especially a man’s?”

 

As usual, pingballéz tilted her head expressionlessly. She genuinely seemed clueless. Then she spoke like this.

 

“Let me repeat, it’s an excess of self-awareness. Crazy magician. I’m just doing push-ups.”

 

“Why do you have to do them on top of me?”

 

“There’s no reason it shouldn’t be above a person, right?”

 

“That’s nonsense!”

 

The most frustrating thing is that Pinballes doesn’t accept the assumption that he’s under some kind of mental debuff. In a world so vast with countless possibilities of magic, where does this confidence come from?

 

Always bothering Matopju Yuna with nonsense, now that I’m in the same situation, I understood the feeling. I was too harsh. Next time I go back to the purple demon tower, I must definitely hug him.

 

I grabbed Pinballes’ cheek as he continued doing push-ups and stared into his eyes with determination. Even if it meant taking a punch, I couldn’t just let it go like this.

 

“Think about it seriously.”

 

“I’ve put quite a bit of effort into the mental barrier, crazy wizard.”

 

“So, you think you’re under some magic? Like turning a man into a woman, or maybe something like an increase in libido?”

 

“Ha, even if you beat me to death, it’s not just about libido.”

 

“Then, start by getting rid of those thoughts from your chest!”

 

“Please refrain from staring at it so intently. I understand the instincts of a male, but we should still observe courtesy toward each other, shouldn’t we?”

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”

 

I felt the back of my neck stiffening. Stay calm. Getting angry won’t benefit me. The other party is a pitiful patient under the influence of magic. I need to take care of and cherish them. I shouldn’t just leave them to their own devices.

 

But seriously.

 

If it wasn’t a libido suppression spell, there would have been trouble at least ten times over. Instead of praising my patience, is it right for them to be so shamelessly demanding, without even considering some compensation? No, no⋯⋯!!

 

I writhed in mental agony.

 

“Please, Pinballes⋯⋯ I’m really tired. I beg you. It’s my lifelong wish. Let’s just do a mental cleansing with magic.”

 

“⋯⋯Why are you so serious about it?”

 

As I pleaded desperately, even resorting to the highest-grade request, Granjel, Pinballes finally seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation. With a hesitant expression, he gathered magic on his fingertips.

 

It was like pouring cola and washing off the sticky thigh with water. The trick was to clean the mind with the flow of magic, but there was a side effect that it damaged the installed mental barrier.

 

That’s why Pinballes was hesitating. A few percent of the painstakingly constructed mental barrier would be blown away, so it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

 

Ping Ballez took a deep breath and shot a magic-infused punch to his forehead.

 

“You want a wish? Here it is. Look, there’s no way I’d be under hypnosis… Son of a b*tch!”

 

“…You’re back!”

 

I shouted with excitement. My male friend who had been corrupted finally returned as a man! It had been such a lonely and isolated time.

 

When I said that I wanted to eat a peach, he crossed his arms and said, “Don’t I have two ripe ones here?”

 

Late at night, when I got bored, I asked the martial artist magician what kind of stockings would suit him, and he replied, “Would you like me to choose one for you?”

 

Didn’t each movement emit a strong female scent?

 

But now, in the curse-laden insult that Ping Ballez spat out, there was the aura of a real man. It was the spirit that came from the training. It was good. Just to make sure, I asked.

 

“What do you think about your behavior until now…?”

 

“You must have enjoyed it quite a bit. Thank you is enough.”

 

Without changing his facial expression, he extended his hand and said, “Always be thankful.” It was the Ping Ballez that I remembered.

 

“…You really came back!!”

 

I hugged Ping Ballez and shouted “Hooray!” I finally got my friend back.

 

—–

 

We went into an emergency operation meeting. There were rumors that something strange and suspicious was happening at the academy.

 

The sniper attack wasn’t specifically targeting Ping Ballez. After experimenting with the magician at the martial artist’s tower and random passersby, we found that there was a common increase in anxiety and fear. Just a… slight increase.

 

If we were to quantify it, it would be around 1%.

 

We couldn’t figure out why Ping Ballez alone had an increase in s*xual desire while others had an increase in anxiety.

 

Anyway, even the genius sorcerer (scheduled), myself, couldn’t easily penetrate Ping Ballez’s mental barrier. If that happened to him, the entire academy would be affected. It was a weak but highly sophisticated magic.

 

Ping Ballez, unusually, frowned and muttered.

 

“It seems like quite a clever piece of work. I can’t detect it at all.”

 

“It seems impossible to catch with conventional methods.”

 

Because the effect was too weak, tracing became even more challenging. Magic that amplifies emotions by twofold makes detection and tracking easy, but a spell that raises it by just 1% is like chasing after the wind.

 

“⋯⋯Is there no solution?”

 

Thunk. Thunk.

 

A violent sound echoed from Pingbalet’s grip.

 

I expressed a look that said, “I understand it all.” If I were manipulated by someone’s scheme and ended up engaging in BDSM with a male friend, I might want to fold myself in half, regardless of who it was.

 

Before that anger could transfer to me, I turned my head.

 

“There’s always a way. I’m a genius magician, after all⋯⋯. ‘Status Window’!”

 

Ding.

 

A transparent rectangular hologram appeared before my eyes.

 

Of course, this wasn’t a status window received as a bonus from a past life. It was created manually with illusion magic. It didn’t have functions like raising stats or grasping the opponent’s entire situation just by looking.

 

However, it could display emotions in very detailed numerical values.

 

Curiosity: 50.3

 

With this state, I slightly opened the mental barrier.

 

Curiosity: 50.8 (+0.5)

 

Next to the emotions I originally felt, I displayed the amplified values.

 

“Since magic usually spreads radially, the closer you get to the center, the stronger the effect. If you track in the direction where the numbers increase, you should be able to identify the origin.”

 

“I’m curious, what does a curiosity level of 50 represent?”

 

“I checked the average in the violet tower, and it was around 20. The tower lord had a similar level, around 45, I think⋯⋯.”

 

“If the average score of that violet tower is 20, then the normal value would be around 5.”

 

“Interesting.”

 

What’s wrong with checking out someone’s tower? People, well, they might want to swap bodies with their younger siblings or something like that. That could be considered a healthy curiosity.

 

The preparation to trace the unidentified emotional amplification in the academy was complete.

 

If there’s a problem, it’s a delicate situation for us to walk around freely. But there was a solution to that – disguise. A male wizard and a well-dressed female walking together wouldn’t attract attention.

 

“‘Overlay: Gender Reversal.'”

 

The hologram was flipped. Checking the mirror to see if the magic worked, it did. A dark-haired, long-haired girl inside the black robe was smiling happily. I didn’t forget to change my voice.

 

“Ah, mic test complete. Are you going to walk too… Don’t look at me like that.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Don’t look at me like that.”

 

For a moment, I thought a wild lion was right in front of me.

 

—–

 

While repelling the persistent pingballer who asked for permission to lift the skirt for the third time, I was able to reach a somewhat suspicious building. Due to the size of the academy, there were sparse places where people rarely set foot.

 

It’s a place naturally forgotten in people’s minds, whether an incident occurred or the building aged. The signal was detected in one of those abandoned buildings.

 

“…I don’t see anything particularly suspicious.”

 

“No, it’s all about appearances. Let’s start with the carpet.”

 

When Pingballer removed the dusty carpet, a door leading to the basement appeared. Of course, as well hidden as the basement door was, it also had a magical lock, and, of course, it was another illusion magic.

 

“Yoink.”

 

I lightly kicked the door into pieces.

 

“That determination, are you trying to seduce someone?”

 

“Ah, seriously…”

 

I muttered as I deactivated the TS hologram. Yet, despite that, a wild lion seemed to be roaring in Pingvalais’ eyes. It must have been greatly affected as I got closer to the center.

 

If I didn’t handle this quickly, something was bound to explode. So, I opened the door and hurriedly went down to the basement.

 

The corridor was quite deep. After descending the ladder for a while and feeling a tingling sensation in my arms and legs, I finally reached the floor. I tapped the walls of the corridor. They were sturdy.

 

It must have taken quite some time to create such a stable facility.

 

Pingvalais gripped his fist tightly and took the lead.

 

“Stay close behind me.”

 

“Your walking is strange. Walk straight.”

 

“…If it bothers you, then don’t look.”

 

“Even if you walk like that, how am I supposed to… Fine, I’ll close my eyes.”

 

I was startled when I turned around and saw Pingvalais’ eyes completely turned around.

 

As the influence of magic increased, Pingvalais’ anger level seemed to rise along with his increasing s*xual desire. Even while walking, he would sway his hips seductively and let out a frustrated sigh. It seemed like he couldn’t control his own body.

 

Was Pingvalais under some kind of curse?

 

After walking for dozens of minutes in silence, along with a large dome-shaped empty space, the magic circle drawn densely on the ground became visible. I was in awe of its scale and intricacy.

 

“This is… amazing. It’s not just a standalone magic circle. Is there a satellite magic circle?”

 

“In order to make it impossible to decipher without finding the central magic circle, a gigantic magic circle was meticulously designed. It’s like a blind person feeling an elephant’s leg and thinking it’s a wall or a tree.”

 

By observing calmly, I was able to grasp the function of the magic circle. This space’s magic circle was both the core axis and the command center.

 

There was something that caught my attention.

 

As I wandered around the academy, I often came across things that had a bit of magic power but didn’t seem to have any magical significance. Graffiti on the walls or decorations in the shape of magic circles on shop signs, for example.

 

After fragmenting and concealing them, they had secretly laid out magic circles throughout the entire academy. And they were exerting their effects through this core magic circle. So, what was the purpose of these effects…?

 

“…Amplify the subject’s most profound emotion by 1%.”

 

Those who harbor doubt intensify suspicion, those in love stoke affection, and those consumed by jealousy provoke envy. It’s incredibly discreet and subtly done.

 

Rather than adding a fixed value, it possesses an effect that increases by percentage. Therefore, the more intense the emotions the subject holds, the greater the effect of the magic circle.

 

“……?”

 

I turned my head to glance at Pinvales. While others may feel anxiety or pain when such emotions are amplified, for the already chaotic Pinvales, even a mere 1% increase seems to send her into a frenzy.

 

“……What is it?”

 

“Oh, no. It’s nothing…”

 

Pinvales maintained her expressionless demeanor, but the tips of her ears turned crimson. She must be feeling embarrassed too.

 

After hesitating for a moment, she sighed and spoke.

 

“It’s because I’m a succubus. Succubi have a robust libido from birth.”

 

“……A succubus?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“A seductress who seduces men and sucks their life force… Hey, Pinvales, watch your back!”

 

Krrr!

 

From Noble mtl dot com

 

A colossal shadow, about 3 meters behind Pinvales, rose. In a facility meticulously designed like this, it was inconceivable not to have a defense system. Caught red-handed. I attempted to intercept with magic──

 

“aaahh!”

 

──Terror overwhelmed me, and I screamed. It was a golem, the natural enemy of illusion magicians.

 

Even as the golem rose from behind her, lifting its massive arm to strike down, Pinvales continued nonchalantly.

 

“It can’t be helped that I was born with it, but living like that was unbearable. Sharing love with many people through deceit… exchanging partners and continuing life like that.”

 

“I get it, so let’s run for now…!”

 

“So, I decided to live in my own way. So, you don’t have to worry. Crazy magician. I won’t sneak into your bed at night to drain your life force.”

 

“Avoid it!”

 

If I run over there and catch Ping Balles, can I avoid the golem’s attack? No, I need to act before calculating. When I try to put some magic power into my whole body and take a step forward.

 

Charr-.

 

I heard the sound of chains being pulled.

 

“Uhwah – 『Bonmang Gusok』.”

 

Dozens of chains appeared in the air, forming a large circle as they tightened.

 

Charr-! Kagaang!

 

The golem’s arms were bound. Ping Balles’ arms were bound. The golem’s legs were bound. Ping Balles’ legs were bound. The chains restrained Ping Balles and also the golem at the same time.

 

Ping Balles, tightly bound by the chains, said with a faint voice.

 

“I like pure love, you know.”

 

Ujijik. The chains dug in fiercely, and after the cold metallic sound passed, the golem shattered into dozens of pieces and returned to a pile of rubble.

 

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

 

It was pretty cool.

 

If Ping Balles hadn’t stumbled while being tied up by the chains, that is. I approached her cautiously and looked down at her as I spoke.

 

“The chains that shattered the golem disappeared, but why are the ones that tied you still here…?”

 

“Because it’s my power. Originally, it only has the function of restraining myself. I just applied it a little creatively for battle.”

 

I asked while looking at Ping Balles, tightly bound by her own power.

 

“When will it be released, then?”

 

“The duration of restraint varies depending on the power, but this time it’s about an hour.”

 

“…Your eyes are sparkling so much that it’s making me feel uncomfortable.”

 

“While activating the illusion, I am free from all worries.”

 

Ping Ballez smiled warmly. It was a laughter that seemed to bring brightness to the surroundings, the laughter of someone who had gained something. She became a sage while activating the illusion.

 

“Then, aren’t you also a Lez…?”

 

“I am closer to not caring about either side, but it seems that contact with reason amplifies worries. I try to avoid it as much as possible.”

 

“……”

 

It’s amazing how she can answer without hesitation. Liberated from all emotions, it seemed that there was no hesitation or embarrassment. It’s as if she is in a state where she can honestly answer anything.

 

If it’s now, Ping Ballez will answer anything.

 

I hesitated for a moment… and cautiously asked.

 

“…Are we friends?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Satisfied, I didn’t ask any further.

 

—–

 

I decided to take over the emotion amplification magic circle at the Academy. Playing with people’s emotions isn’t a bad thing, is it? Whether it was created by the Academy, or a wicked sorcerer’s scheme, or the achievement of crazy students, I don’t know.

 

Now it’s mine. I spent an hour modifying the magic circle.

 

“Well, how do you plan to use it?”

 

“As a power boost.”

 

I had said that it would be impossible to cast illusion magic on all Academy students. Not anymore. By modifying this magic circle, it was a piece of cake to show a fiery performance to everyone attending my class.

 

The first class is approaching. It’s time for the viral illusion magic.