"Ha ha ha."

"Why are you laughing like a wicked mastermind plotting a sinister scheme?"

"Look at this. It's Charlotte's massage coupons. Fifteen in total! I bought ten and got five more as a bonus."

"Wow. Yes, that's impressive."

"And?"

"Umm, well, I’m a bit jealous."

"Of course. You must be."

As I received Sylvia's envious gaze, I held up the radiant massage coupons. When and how should I use these? Just imagining it makes me feel good. Even without having received a massage yet, I already feel all my fatigue melting away.

"It seems like Yulia is preparing something as well. Don't you have anything from Yulia?"

"Oh, that."

A small laugh escaped me. While Charlotte brought me these precious massage coupons, Yulia confidently presented something else entirely—a teaching coupon. She was offering to sell a coupon for her wonderful teaching sessions.

"She pouted and said she didn’t want to sell it."

"What did she say?"

"She mentioned that there wouldn’t be much demand."

"…"

[The Evil God, 'Carly', harshly criticizes you!]

I know. I get it. I was in the wrong. I was too honest. I should have at least given her some polite words in that situation.

"Wouldn't it be better to comfort her? I could try… Hmm. No, I wouldn’t be effective."

As I attempted to step forward, Sylvia cleared her throat and sneaked back into the shadows. While Charlotte follows Sylvia well, Yulia doesn't really do the same. Of course, it seems she relies on Sylvia as a strong ally, but that’s about it. She doesn’t see her as a mental support like in the original story.

'Do I really need to comfort her myself?'

Unlike Charlotte, Yulia is quite delicate and tends to feel uneasy in situations like this. But if I were to comfort her, what should I say? I wish I had experience with raising kids to know.

"I’ll deal with Yulia's feelings later. For now, I think I'll enjoy the massage first."

"By saying that, you sound like a trashy person leaving an angry lover to go to a night club."

"Hey, come on."

I almost shot back a retort but held back. When a person's body is tired and creaky, their mind doesn't function well either. First, getting refreshed is the priority.

"So, where is Charlotte now?"

"She’s likely preparing for the demonstration of the powerful sword at the training hall."

"Oh. Is today the day for the performance test of the powerful sword?"

I had completely forgotten. Up until now, I had been gauging the specs of the powerful sword haphazardly. I remember we talked about scheduling a proper quantitative test at some point. But is that day really today?

"Get ready to go out. Bring Yulia along."

I heard many residents from the Arient and Vermont territories were coming to watch the awe-inspiring magic sword. Should I go take a look too?

"Yulia is stubbornly refusing to go and is staying in the library."

"…Tch."

[The Evil God, 'Carly', is burning with anger at you!]

She’s genuinely upset. What should I do? After pondering for a moment, I pulled out the teaching coupon I had carefully set aside in my drawer. It was the coupon that Yulia had abandoned.

"Go ahead first and tell them I’ll be a bit late. Let the performance test proceed as planned."

"Yes. I will do that, Lord."

Sylvia smiled and bowed her head, her satisfaction evident in her expression.

Tick-tock.
The only sound in the library was the ticking of the clock, confirming that time had not stopped in this quiet space. I broke the peaceful silence and strode forward.

In one corner of the library, the sofa Yulia likes was already occupied as usual. The difference today was that Yulia was holding a book up high to cover her face. Is her arm not tired?

"Could you move over for a moment?"

"…"

In response, Yulia silently shifted aside, creating space. Her hands still held the book high, obscuring her face.

I plopped down next to her and opened the book. It was a collection of books borrowed from the Imperial Magic Academy's library. Yulia didn’t even glance at me or try to gauge my mood. She was merely pretending to do her own thing.

I wonder how long she’ll keep this silent pout going. Her arm must be getting tired. She probably wants to lower it.

"It's cramped…"

After a while, Yulia was the first to respond. Although no body parts were touching, she made an excuse about it being cramped and tried to escape from the sofa. Where does she think she's going? I sneakily pulled out the teaching coupon from my pocket and spoke up.

"Don’t go. I’m going to use the coupon now."

"What!? Why haven’t you thrown that away yet!?"

Yulia's face turned red as she shouted angrily. Finally, she’s looking at me. Watching her get annoyed somehow makes me feel good. It feels like I’ve returned to the mindset of a little boy who enjoys teasing his crush.

"I never sold that to you! So it has no effect!"

"The effectiveness of a coupon is established at the time of issuance. So this is a valid coupon. Trying to invalidate this coupon would drastically diminish your credit as Yulia. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"It’s… It’s fine, just give it to me…"

"I’m not okay with that. I must use it."

"What do you intend to use it for…? You didn’t even listen to my lessons… All your compliments were just empty words…"

Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill over. She turned away, her shoulders shaking, yet she didn’t fully escape, as if she wanted me to catch her or tell her it was okay.

When I praised her a little, she swelled with pride. But now, she’s digging her own pit and going deeper into despair. What a troublesome girl.

"I'll be honest. I wasn’t really interested in the basic magic lessons back then."

"I knew it!"

[The Evil God, 'Carly', is glaring at you with wide-open eyes!]

Come on, listen to me till the end, you two. They both clearly lack patience.

"You also knew the basics of magic back then and just wanted to tease me!"

"It wasn't the content I was uninterested in."

"…!"

"What’s important isn’t the content, but the process. Anyone can memorize the content and recite it verbatim. But it’s in the process of explaining that individual comprehension and thought levels are revealed."

"Was that your way of evaluating my tutoring abilities?"

"That too. But the main intention was my lack of knowledge about basic magic, and I genuinely wanted to learn from you."

"That’s a lie! Who would fall for such a thing? I learned this level of basic magic when I was seven!"

"…"

Shivering. Is she still thinking I’m teasing her? I feel so wronged. It's true! I really wanted to burn with the passion of learning basic magic!

Is it because of my appearance? Or my tone? Whichever it is, it’s clear that my honest feelings aren’t resonating with Yulia at all.

I slowly gained Sylvia's trust and met Charlotte, who is free from prejudice, allowing me to forget about this terrible appearance of mine for a while. But it seems Yulia still sees right through me.

I feel a bit powerless, but nonetheless, I want to take a step forward.

If I want Yulia to believe in my sincerity, there’s really no other way.

"If you think I’m lying, then you won’t get any food today."

"Huh!?"

[The Evil God, 'Carly', sneers at you disdainfully, calling you childish.]

What’s childish? I have feelings too. No matter how much Yulia is a contemptuous character, if I keep getting whipped without any carrots, my heart will break too.

What’s so tsundere about that? Is it just being tsun? Ah, so I’m not a tsundere? Well, then it can’t be helped.

"How petty! Is that how you’re going to play it!?"

"What are you going to do? Starve yourself for a meaningless battle of wills? You know well enough that I’m not the type to bend easily. If I declare I won't feed you just once, you won’t be able to drink a drop of water until you give in."

"Ugh…"

Waving the teaching coupon, I smiled with ease. A hunger strike? Let’s see how that works. I’m someone who can squeeze blood from Count Arient like a rag; do you really think that will work on me?

Yulia clearly knows I’m not an easy opponent. She doesn’t easily voice her intention to starve herself.

"Sit down. Let’s continue with the second volume of basic magic we left off last time."

"This is really poor taste. Is this something you enjoy? Laughing secretly while watching me feel proud?"

"Think whatever you want. But let me say one thing: even if I’m laughing and enjoying it, that kind of joy is temporary. After you notice it, what joy will remain?"

"That’s…"

"And I intend to collect until the tenth volume. So remember that."

"…"

Yulia’s previously protruding lips became a bit more subdued. Her previously raised shoulders, signaling her agitation, drooped down, and her gaze gradually fell to the floor.

"…It’ll be boring. It’s really long."

"I don’t care."

"Tch. You’re a weirdo. The book is…"

"It’s right here."

"Hehe. You’re quite the prepared student. If you’re going to demand so insistently, I guess I have no choice! Hmm!"

Thud.
Yulia sat next to me and opened the book. Her expression still showed irritation, but it was different from a moment ago.

It was a passive annoyance. Not genuine irritation, but a type of irritation that Yulia carelessly wraps herself in.

"But what’s with that book?"

"This is a book about dark magic."

"Ugh. Is that okay? It hasn’t been long since the Emperor visited."

"It’s purely for research purposes. If it’s for academic reasons, what’s there to be worried about? Oh, but the content is quite complicated. How about we study it together? I need your help."

"I don’t know anything about dark magic…"

"I don’t either. That’s why I want to study it together. I need not just your knowledge but your brain."

"Hmph. Well, if you insist…!"

Yulia seemed to perk up immediately, snorting with excitement. Has she finally accepted my sincerity?

Before I knew it, Yulia had leaned a lot closer to me while opening the book. She smelled nice.