Chapter 314: Chapter 313: Cohabitation

After leaving the Chairman’s office, I immediately contacted Iris and instructed her to pack her belongings.

I also headed to Faye’s workshop to help her pack.

In a world where spatial magic was highly advanced, moving house was often as simple as putting items into a subspace pouch. However, Faye had a lot of large equipment.

To transfer those, we’d need pouches with entrances wide enough to fit the equipment, though for inventory storage, it was as easy as touching it.

Once everything was packed up, I headed to the house where Iris was staying.

“You’ve arrived, Master.”

“Yeah. Is everything ready?”

“Of course. But what do you plan to do about these folks? Their names aren’t widely known, but if word gets out that they’re your slaves, it might be dangerous.”

Iris gestured to the elf family—Pamela, Orlan, and Allen—who came along as part of Elisha and Iris’s entourage. Her expression was one of concern.

Did she really think I’d just leave those three behind?

Chuckling, I reached out and playfully stretched Iris’s cheeks.

“Don’t worry. I got permission from the Chairman to bring everyone along. She even lent us an entire old dormitory building.”

“Th-then!”

“Yeah. It’s just us there, no Academy staff. It’s perfect since we needed someone to manage that large building, and three skilled intermediate magicians should be more than enough.”

“Thank you, Master!”

Iris squirmed out of my grip and threw her arms around me. Then, turning to her former subordinates, she enthusiastically patted their shoulders.

The way she stood on tiptoes to reach them was adorable but also exuded the air of a reliable leader.

It made sense. These were the closest people to her, ones who had even attempted spirit summoning together. Naturally, she’d want to take care of them.

Likewise, they must have followed her despite knowing they’d be labeled as the continent’s public enemies because of their loyalty.

Seeing this mature side of Iris, I couldn’t help but find her endearing. Even though I knew she was much older than me, she looked so earnest that I couldn’t resist patting her on the head.

“Hmm? What’s this about, Master?”

Pat-pat.

“Well, it might not look great in front of your former subordinates, but…”

Pat-pat.

“But… if this is what my Master desires, then as a mere slave, I have no choice. Go ahead, pat away until you’re satisfied!”

Stop.

“…?”

I suddenly stopped, and Iris, who had been closing her eyes, flinched and paused mid-motion.

Tilting her head in confusion, she leaned toward my hand. When I hid it behind my back, her reaction was dramatic.

“…!”

She looked as if she’d witnessed the end of the world—or a chimera with a duck’s bill, a raccoon’s body, and a beaver’s tail—an abomination even gods would condemn.

Trembling, she approached and tugged at my arm.

Tug-tug.

“Master…?”

When I clasped my hands behind my back, determined not to yield, she began circling me, whining softly.

Her antics were so unexpectedly cute that I stared at her in a daze until she suddenly started rubbing her forehead against my chest, eyes brimming with tears.

“Uuh… Awu…”

Seeing her babble like a baby, I realized immediately—if I kept teasing her, she’d cry for real.

Quickly, I lifted her by the armpits and hugged her, gently patting her small back.

“Sorry. I took the joke too far.”

“Joke?”

“Yeah. You were just too cute today, so I couldn’t help myself.”

“Really? You’re not secretly thinking I’m a bothersome woman, are you?”

“Oh, come on. How could I think that? Here!”

Supporting Iris with one arm under her bottom, I resumed patting her head with the other.

“Ahh…”

Finally, she let out a contented sigh and melted into my embrace.

Phew. Crisis averted.

I breathed a silent sigh of relief—until I felt the piercing stares of the elf family nearby.

“……”

“……”

“……”

The entire elf family was staring at me.

“…Look, I didn’t do anything. Iris has always been like this.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Of course, no one believed me.

Honestly, this was too much. All I did was play along until Iris calmed down!

With Iris and Pamela’s family in tow, it wasn’t long before Iona arrived.

Even though she had her own professor’s quarters, she’d always complained about the hassle and opted to live in her lab. I guess that’s over now.

Officially, she’d be taking on the role of the dormitory supervisor for the old building, but let’s be real—it was just an excuse to live with the rest of us.

“Everyone’s here, and the packing’s done. Shall we go?”

I already knew the location of the old dormitory from Rebecca.

Since it was built before the Academy expanded, it was situated on the outskirts.

Though the building looked old from the outside, it was surprisingly well-maintained. True to Rebecca’s word, it was quite clean inside.

“This should be good to use right away, Master!”

“Yeah. We just need to pick our rooms and unpack.”

“…Pick our rooms? Are we already sleeping separately?!”

“‘Separate rooms’ makes it sound strange. It’s just more convenient to have a personal space. You can use it like a storage room or for privacy. Of course, if you want, you can stick to me like glue.”

“N-no… Just stay a little farther away…”

I had picked her up to calm her down, and she seemed to have settled now. However, every time I tried to put her down, she clung to me like a koala, so I gave up and let her stay.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

I didn’t expect her to cling to me all the way until we reached the old dormitory, though.

Ah, just to clarify—when I say “clingy,” I’m not referring to Iris’s chest. It’s definitely bigger than gum, maybe much bigger.

Elisha gently poked Iris’s back with her finger and asked teasingly.

“I agree that having individual rooms makes sense. Do you have a specific layout in mind?”

“Not really. This is my first time here, so I don’t even know the layout. Let’s explore and figure it out.”

After nodding, we briefly surveyed the first floor. Then Faye raised her hand slightly to ask a question.

“Uh, junior? Can I have two rooms?”

“There are plenty of rooms, so I don’t mind. Why?”

“I want to use one as my workshop.”

“I didn’t think of that. Then let’s all take two rooms each—one for living and one for personal use. If we need more later, we can decide then.”

“Okay!”

The old dormitory wasn’t a massive building, likely because it had been built when the Academy was smaller.

Or maybe I was just too used to the grand scale of the current Academy.

After a quick tour, I had a rough plan in mind:

The fourth floor would be for me and the other women’s personal rooms.

The third floor would be designated as workshops.

The second floor would house Pamela’s family, who would also oversee building maintenance.

The first floor…

“Hey, how about we rig the first floor with traps?”

“Ooh, good idea. We can set up barriers outside to block anyone from approaching. We’ll start with an illusion to obscure the building from view, then add detection and warning systems. If someone gets too close, auto-defense mechanisms can activate.”

“I’ll handle the defenses. I’ll construct barriers stronger than Solaris’s walls.”

“I’ll leave that to Helena. Please thank the God of Righteous Radiance for me.”

“It’s nothing. We are like siblings, after all.”

Helena smiled warmly, her serene expression typical of a priestess. After sharing a friendly grin, we got to work fortifying the dormitory.

With two high-ranking magicians and me, brimming with mana, the magical aspects were completed quickly.

Helena, experienced in this type of work, efficiently invoked her divine powers and finalized the barriers with Clara’s advice.

Faye, eager to help, insisted on contributing, but I gently redirected her to focus on researching her giant golems instead.

Considering Rebecca was also keeping an eye on us, this should be sufficient to fend off assassins from the Boiling Silence cult.

We worked tirelessly, running back and forth for what felt like ages.

To my surprise, what I thought would take much longer was finished within the day.

By the time we were done, night had fallen. Still, finishing the task was satisfying.

Minor adjustments, like blocking spatial interference or preventing clairvoyance, were left for later since they weren’t urgent.

For now, it was time to rest.

“Ugh.”

We brought some unused beds from other rooms, pushed them together, and modified them slightly to create a much larger one.

I flopped onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling… until Helena approached and sat beside me.

She placed her glowing, divinely imbued hand on my forehead.

Whoosh.

In an instant, my fatigue vanished, replaced by a surge of vitality. Feeling much lighter, I relaxed under Helena’s touch as her gentle voice reached my ears.

“Brother, are you very tired?”

“Not really. It’s more like I was mentally drained. Thanks to your healing, I feel much better now.”

“I’m glad. You still have much to do, don’t you?”

“…Huh?”

I raised my head, puzzled, and glanced around to find several women looking at me expectantly.

Pamela’s family had long since retired to the second floor.

Click.

The sound of Iris locking the door drew my attention. I swallowed hard.

So this is it. Tonight’s the night.

My head filled with a mix of anticipation and excitement as Helena’s hand slowly slid down.

From my forehead to my collarbone. From my collarbone to my abdomen. And finally, from my abdomen to my groin.

Helena’s glowing, divine hand slipped into my pants as she whispered into my ear.

“I’ll make sure you recover your energy.”

Ah.

It’s up.

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