“…That was a close call.”

It was a truly dangerous moment.

I can’t believe I almost did something crazy, unable to control my emotions at the moment.

I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t come to my senses and instead let my pride take over.

As I was imagining the worst-case scenario, Amelia suddenly appeared out of nowhere to check on me.

“Arte! A-are you okay?! You said your head hurts!”

“…Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry. I feel better now.”

“R-really? That’s a relief.”

She’s so quick to believe my lie about having a headache.

Amelia can be quite naive at times.

Her identity as a rich young lady is easy to forget.

Judging from her actions, she seems more like a rowdy tomboy from a dangerous family than a prim and proper rich girl.

“Still, it’s a shame. I really wanted to win and advance.”

“…Was there a reason you wanted to win so badly?”

“Well, if I got good results today, I wouldn’t have to attend classes tomorrow since I would have gotten 1st place.”

“Ah.”

…Come to think of it, I wonder if there’s a loser’s bracket in this tournament we’re doing.

I heard that those who place high enough accumulate sufficient data and don’t need to do rematches in the loser’s bracket.

So that’s why everyone was so fired up. They didn’t want to go to class.

“Then, just in case, you should rest up.”

“Thank you, Amelia. Let’s do our best tomorrow.”

“Yeah!”

Amelia disappeared as quickly as she had come, like the wind.

I wonder where she’s off to.

I’m a bit curious, but I don’t feel like prying.

I’m exhausted today. I just want to rest.

“Author-nim, I’m sorry… I think I’ll just rest today…”

[O-of course. You must be mentally drained after that ordeal. …But I’m satisfied since we got a lot of good scenes!]

“Good for you.”

Thankfully, the Author was considerate of my feelings.

Perhaps it’s because she is also a woman, so she took into account how I nearly exposed myself naked in front of the whole school.

No, but then she shouldn’t have given me this ridiculous ability in the first place.

I wanted to take this chance to confront the Author about various things, but I gave up.

She probably just thoughtlessly decided it would be cool and created this ability.

And then she likely haphazardly patched things together when it was too overpowered. I’m certain of it.

“Since it’s a rare break, maybe I should eat something delicious…”

[Ooh, then please eat some meat! Meat! Something that looks tasty!]

“…Alright, sure. I like meat too. How about steak today?”

[Steak! That sounds delicious! Do you know how to cook?]

“Simple dishes, at least.”

Sometimes, the Author requests that I eat certain things.

I’ve never watched those, so I’m not sure, but it’s probably similar.

Anyway, it’s a long-awaited break. I’ll do my best to make the most delicious meal I can.

Savoring this leisurely moment, I headed to the supermarket.

***

“…What the. Siwoo, what are you doing there?”

“Dorothy collapsed from exhaustion, so I’m making a quick trip to the infirmary.”

“I see? …Congrats on your win, by the way. Guess you won’t have to come to the academy tomorrow.”

“You have a way with compliments…”

“Why? Isn’t it nice to skip academy for a day and rest up?”

It is nice, but still…

No matter what, isn’t it a bit much to openly express joy at the prospect of not attending the academy?

“By the way, you. You disappeared for a bit after our match ended. What were you doing?”

“Huh?! Oh, n-nothing! I wasn’t doing anything!”

“…? What’s with you? If it was nothing, then it was nothing. Why are you so flustered? Got something to hide?”

Ah.

Siwoo’s gaze suddenly fell on his uniform pocket.

“What’s that? Got something in your pocket?”

“Oh, n-no. It’s nothing…!”

Plop.

With disheartening ease, Amelia snatched the object from Siwoo’s pocket.

Unlike Amelia, who had plenty of time to rest, Siwoo had been in matches up until a moment ago.

So even though his Intuition alerted him to Amelia’s approach, he couldn’t evade her.

…That was the downside of Intuition. No matter how well you sense an incoming attack, it’s meaningless if you’re in a situation where you can’t dodge.

“…Thread? Isn’t this from earlier? The one from your fight with Arte. Why do you have it?”

“Uh, w-well. The teacher told me to clean it up…”

“Wasn’t this made with mana? Why is the thread still here?”

Siwoo realized it. There was no getting out of this situation.

If he tried to play dumb and say he missed his chance to throw it away, how would she react?

…He had no choice but to explain Arte’s ability.

So, trembling as he imagined her response, Siwoo had no choice but to recount what happened.

“About that, the thing is…”

“…What were you thinking?!”

“Ack, s-sorry…”

The moment Amelia heard the explanation, she started berating him.

As expected, even Amelia finds this hard to accept, huh?

It can’t be helped. I would feel the same if I were her…

“Why did you let Arte notice there?!”

“…Huh?”

“You should have stripped everything off! You clueless idiot!”

“…What?”

His head, which had been drooping with guilt, snapped up in an instant.

…What did Amelia just say?

He should have stripped everything without Arte noticing?

“Y-you, what are you…”

“Aaah, I knew it! The thread didn’t disappear! It wasn’t made with mana! …What were you doing, not stripping it all off?!”

“Are you crazy?”

He blurted out something harsh without thinking, but he didn’t care at all.

Amelia didn’t seem to mind either. No, far from minding, she was denouncing his actions back then.

“Completely stripping would have made achieving the goal so much easier…!”

“So I was supposed to stand there and watch as her clothes got torn off in front of all those people?!”

I underestimated you, Amelia.

He had a feeling.

He did consider the possibility that she might suggest stripping without hesitation.

…But to think she would actually say it.

He felt like he would lose his mind.

“Stripping it all off was the key to raising her affection…!”

“…How in the world?”

Siwoo couldn’t understand at all.

Having your clothes torn off in front of others raises affection?

Just what kind of mindset does Amelia have?

It made no sense based on his common sense.

“Sigh. To think you didn’t even know that. …Think about it, Siwoo.”

“Why am I being treated like an ignorant person…?”

“If Arte’s clothes had been completely stripped off, how would she have reacted?”

She’s not even pretending to listen.

There’s no stopping Amelia once she gets like this.

All he can do is obediently go along with it.

“… Wouldn’t she be embarrassed, even if it’s Arte?”

“That’s right… Imagine Arte’s reaction, her leotard half torn off, exposing her bare skin underneath…”

Following Amelia’s words, he tried to imagine it.

Arte with a flushed face as her leotard gets ripped, revealing the flesh underneath…

“What are you making me imagine?!”

“Just her naked appearance? Anyway. It would be hard for her to walk around in that embarrassing state.”

“Obviously…”

“And that’s when you gallantly remove and drape your coat over her!”

“…?”

“Imagine how embarrassed she would be. Then, you coolly offer your coat! Arte, grateful, would have developed at least some affection for you! But you ruined it!”

…Is that right?

Siwoo pondered deeply.

If her bare skin were exposed, Arte would be embarrassed… It makes sense.

And if he draped his jacket over her, she would be grateful… Probably, right?

And that gratitude would turn into affection, creating a nice mood…?

Strange.
He definitely wanted to refute it, but he couldn’t seem to.

It feels like there’s nothing logically wrong with it…?

“And she should have been attracted to your manly scent on the coat, thinking ‘So masculine…’! What a waste…”

“Wh-what…! Don’t spout nonsense!”

“…? What’s with you? Why are you suddenly worked up?”

“S-s-scent?! People don’t get attracted to the opposite sex because of something like that!”

“No, but there are plenty of cases where people are drawn to the scent of the opposite sex.”

“No! It’s not like that, period!”

Until the sun disappeared, Amelia chattered on and on.

After returning home and lying on his bed, Siwoo finally noticed the sensation in his pocket.

He had forgotten to throw away the thread.

“…”

What should he do with this?

***

“Let’s see, the temperature is… perfect!”

[Woooow… It looks delicious… Aren’t you going to eat it right away?]

“It needs to rest first. Have to wait a bit.”

[Heeeh… I thought it would be fine to eat it as is. It looks tasty.]

“It’s not cooked through yet. The inside is still raw and bloody.”

[I see.]

I spent the resting time leisurely chatting with the Author.

… It’s a bit boring. Maybe I should turn on the news.

– There is growing concern among citizens as news about the villain Arachne, a hot topic on the internet recently, has become scarce. Let’s discuss why people are worried about villains…

Click.

I turned off the TV. Ugh, what boring stuff.

I clapped my hand twice.

“Did you call?”

“D-did you call for me, Master?!”

“…What, were you guys that close?”

“Y-yes. Well, we found we have quite a bit in common.”

Things in common?

…Ah, that’s right. Those two are from the same organization. Lyla is a newbie, while Spira is an executive.

“You haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Take this. It’s steak.”

“I-is this my final meal?! Did I fail in my duties? Sh-should I lick your feet?!”

“…?”

Spira’s outburst left Lyla and me staring at her in confusion.

What’s going on?

“Wait a moment. To make it easier to eat… There, done.”

“Eek…”

… What’s with her?

I cut the rested steak into neat cubes with thread to make it easier to eat, but she looked terrified.

Is she concerned about hygiene? …I coated it with mana, so there are no bacteria or anything.

But I guess she’s the type to be particular about that. My bad, I did something thoughtless.

“You can put it over rice in a bowl or make a salad to eat with it. Here, take it.”

“…Okay. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Now that the subordinates have been given attention, I’ll have a relaxing meal, too.

I cut the grilled steak into small cubes and took my plate to my room upstairs.

“Mmm, delicious.”

[I’m jealous…]

Perhaps because it’s a long-awaited break.

I was in a great mood.

__________________________

Author’s Notes

The artist for the cover has been decided.

I’m looking forward to it!