I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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“······?”

For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard.

Could it be that Isabella would hiccup?

“···Um. Suddenly wrapping my waist surprised me, I didn’t know— hiccup!”

Just as she tried to make excuses, Isabella began to hiccup again.

Since I was holding her from behind, I couldn’t see her face, but judging by how her ears had turned even redder, she seemed quite embarrassed.

Now that I think about it, I hadn’t considered how stimulating it would be for her to be embraced from behind.

‘Well, she’s never even touched a man…’

The Witch.

Although Isabella had the nickname of a witch, it was an exaggeration spun from rumors.

I knew well that, unlike other girls, she had the same kind of feelings inside her as any other girl.

“Hic! Ah… why, why is this happening? Haha… commoner, don’t worry about it. It will be fixed soon— hic!”

It seems that her hiccups were stuck.

It looked like it would last at least 30 minutes, and if that happened, putting her to sleep in under 15 minutes would be impossible.

“Just wait a moment. I’ll fix it soon.”

I pulled back the curtain surrounding us and went to the instructor.

To get some cold water and a cup.

“Cold water and a cup? That won’t help her sleep.”

“I’m trying to stop the hiccups.”

“····? Well, I get it for now. You must have a plan.”

The instructor spoke as if to say, ‘You must have a plan,’ while handing me the cup and water.

It seems the rumors about me had spread even to this instructor.

He handed over the cup and water without much thought.

Anyway, I returned with the cup and water to where Isabella was, and she was sitting on the bed, washing her face with a dry towel.

She seemed quite embarrassed.

“Uh, Isabella.”

“!”

Isabella jumped, her body twitching like a cat’s fur standing on end.

She shot me a glare with a flushed face.

Hic!

After a hiccup, she spoke in a voice that was barely audible.

“Did you come? But is that all? You said you would help me with my hiccups— hic!”

With a skeptical expression, Isabella looked at what I was holding.

I simply smiled and approached her.

I filled the paper cup with water, then stood in front of her and said.

“You can stop just by drinking water. Just follow what I do from now on.”

I said this and demonstrated.

First, I stood up straight,

then bent my waist 90 degrees.

Isabella’s expression twisted into a strange grimace.

But I ignored it and looked straight ahead.

Bending over at a 90-degree angle while facing forward.

It was a very ridiculous pose, but it was perfect for stopping hiccups.

While in that position, I took a bit of water from the paper cup and said.

“If you drink water in such a difficult position… you can stop the hiccups. You have to drink all the water in the cup.”

“······”

She looked at me as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.

Yeah, it is a bit eccentric.

But this is the way to stop the hiccups, and it’s Isabella’s turn to do it.

“Come on, now try it.”

So I filled the cup with water again and handed it to Isabella.

With a sulky expression, Isabella replied.

“Is this really effective— hic! …The position is too…”

“I guarantee it. If you just do as I say, it will definitely stop, so try it.”

The method of stopping hiccups.

I had found it by searching on YouTube a while back.

And this method had worked for every hiccup I had encountered so far.

Finally, with an unsatisfied expression, Isabella snatched the cup and said.

“Just try to not stop it.”

She stood up holding the cup.

As expected of a child of a high grand duke family, she seemed a bit conscious of me.

But as I urged her, ‘Hurry up,’ she eventually bent her waist 90 degrees.

And raised her head straight.

Her ears were completely red, as if they would burst.

-Glug… Glug… Glug…

However, while making a discontented face, she followed my instructions well.

The water in the paper cup, which had been wavering, began to disappear little by little.

Eventually, when all the water in the paper cup was gone, she quickly raised her upper body.

“······.”

And then, I waited.

To see if her hiccups would return.

“Wow…?”

They didn’t come back.

My method worked.

Isabella smiled brightly and said.

“Really… this works?”

“Told you, right? It works.”

A natural smile spread across Isabella’s face.

Not an artificial expression of looking down on others as usual, but an innocent smile like a child.

“You really know a lot. You even solved this.”

“Just a bit of trivia. Shall we try again? There’s less than 10 minutes left.”

“Oh right. We were in class.”

Isabella chuckled a little and climbed onto the bed.

Perhaps her embarrassment had faded a bit, as she waited for me with a relaxed expression.

“Ahem.”

However, her defenseless appearance was quite sensual. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

Then, I climbed onto the bed where she was, approached her from behind, and wrapped an arm around her waist.

She flinched! Her body trembled, but it was just for a moment.

“······.”

But this time, I was the one in trouble.

My mind went blank.

I had to do something, but how did I put her to sleep?

Indeed, games and reality were on a different level.

Holding such a beautiful girl from behind, there was no way I could maintain my composure.

“Puhuh…”

Just then, Isabella burst into laughter.

She suddenly took my hand and said.

“Your breathing is quite rough. I guess you get flustered sometimes.”

“······.”

“I’m relieved. Until a moment ago, I felt like a child, but now I feel a bit more equal.”

As she said that, Isabella playfully tugged at my arm toward herself.

However, judging by her ears turning bright red, it seemed she was trying her best to feign nonchalance.

Thanks to that, I was able to relax a bit.

“Ahem. Then, let’s get started. First, let’s do some image association.”

I said, closing my eyes.

And recalled the memory of when I had put her to sleep last time.

Before long, a snowy field stretched out.

However, there were body parts of monsters and demons scattered here and there.

The stench was so sharp it pierced my nose.

But there we were, Isabella and I.

Isabella was panting in my arms.

Every time she exhaled her rough breath, white vapors scattered into the air.

Eventually, she reached out her hand to my face and caressed my cheek.

-Lastly, put me to sleep. I want to fall asleep hearing your voice.

A large hole pierced through her abdomen.

My heart began to chill.

Why, of all things, is this memory surfacing now that I must let Isabella go?

But memories flowed against my will.

Like any other time, I held Isabella in my arms and softly began the ‘image association.’

-The whole world is a snow country.

“The whole world is a snow country.”

And I recited exactly following that memory.

The Isabella in my memories and the Isabella in the present began to overlap.

-No matter which way you turn, it’s a world full of snow. A pure white horizon stretches out before me.

“No matter which way you turn, it’s a world full of snow. A pure white horizon stretches out before you.”

The Isabella from my memory looked at me with a faint smile.

Blood dripped from her fingers, which were stroking my cheek.

-But suddenly, a snowstorm began to blow.

“But suddenly, a snowstorm begins to blow.”

Cough— The Isabella in my memory started to cough up blood.

When I hurriedly tried to stop the bleeding, she grabbed my arm and shook her head.

Feeling that the end was approaching, I began to tremble.

-Keep going.

But because she wished for it, I continued with the image association.

I spoke in a soft voice.

-The snowstorm grows stronger. The chilly wind tears at your skin and makes it dry and stuck. With the rapidly accumulating snow, your steps slow down.

The Isabella in the present began to shiver.

She tightly grasped my hand, pulling her legs inward and curling up.

But I continued reciting the image association from my memory.

-In the meantime, a cave appears in the distance. Warm light flows from the cave’s entrance.

The Isabella in my memory smiled faintly.

‘The cave I love…’ she murmured, gripping my hand.

I nodded and recited the next line.

-We walk straight to the cave. Even if the cold wind tries to stop us, even if our legs sink deeper into the accumulating snow, we never rest. And so, we finally reached the cave.

The Isabella in the present regained her composure.

Her trembling shoulders calmed down, and her heavy breathing began to stabilize.

I spoke the next line.

-We have entered the cave. Surprisingly, we don’t feel any fearsome blizzards from outside. What in the world is this mysterious cave? As we go further inside, the light grows brighter. Finally, at the end of the cave, there is a bonfire. A warm fire that melts your cold, frozen body.

Cough— Cough—.

Every time Isabella coughed, blood burst forth.

Blood flowed heavily from her lips.

However, she said with a faint smile.

-Indeed… your method of sleep… always works… now that we’ve arrived at the cave, I feel sleepy…

The light in Isabella’s eyes began to fade.

When I held her hand, she silently nodded.

It was a sign for me to continue.

-To my surprise, there are people we love sitting around the bonfire. Our precious friends, colleagues, professors, and even your sister. All of them are smiling at you. And you, in turn, smile back at them. This cave is a place where your powers do not work.

…Dumpling— Dumpling—.

Isabella’s eyes began to close.

Yet she said that even though she hadn’t fully closed her eyes, she could see the cave clearly.

She said she could see the faces of our precious friends sitting around the bonfire, smiling vaguely.

-You’re sitting there, too.

And she said I was sitting there too.

Right next to her, she rested her head on my shoulder.

I said while giving her one shoulder to lean on, holding her hand.

-In that place, we are completely connected.

And it was there that we finally connected.

We, who could never be bound by any other means, were connected in the face of death.

-I love you.

And that was all.

Isabella, nestled in my arms, smiled brightly, tears pooling in her eyes.

Then her hand, which had been caressing my cheek, fell limply like a doll that had lost its string, and from her lips that had been breathing white mist, not a single sound was heard.

At last, she was liberated from her long suffering.

“Cough… cough…”

Eventually, I broke away from my thoughts.

Isabella was still in my arms.

Quietly asleep.

***

“Eh…?”

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open.

When did I fall asleep?

I quickly got up and looked around, but Edgar was nowhere to be found.

I hurriedly stepped out of bed and drew back the curtains that surrounded the room, but there was no one in the practice room.

The class had ended.

“Uh…?”

Have I really slept for this long?

Isabella held her head in both hands.

Showing such defenselessness, this humiliation was the first of its kind in my life.

How could I show such a pathetic side!

“Wait…”

Suddenly feeling a chill, Isabella touched the corners of her mouth.

Saliva was on her fingers.

I had fallen asleep with an ugly face.

Isabella hurriedly went to where she had been sleeping and checked the pillow.

There were wet stains from the saliva that had soaked it.

“······.”

Cold sweat broke out.

Why had I fallen asleep in such a defenseless state?

What if I lose control of my emotions?

“·····Ha, but it was refreshing.”

Still, it was a good sleep.

I’d finally experienced a real deep sleep.

My mind, which had always felt foggy, felt clear.

“Edgar Fix······.”

Isabella murmured the name of Edgar, who had done such a wonderful thing.

A smile unconsciously spread across her face when she remembered him.

The cave he spoke of when he lulled her to sleep.

That cave was so warm.

A cozy, happy cave where she could cast away all her worries.

-Then kill that puppy.

However, Isabella’s ability to smile was fleeting.

Suddenly, the memory of the saddest day flashed through her mind, and the smile that had spread across her face vanished without a trace.

The fluttering emotions in her eyes began to fade at a rapid pace.

Soon, she stared into the void with eyes devoid of any light, just like usual.

Then she twisted her lips into a smirk and murmured.

“…Good. The deeper my relationship with him grows…”

Black haze began to rise.

Isabella’s lips twisted grotesquely.

“Then I can become stronger.”

A crackle began to swell within her.

In her imagination, Edgar was screaming, scolding himself.

Once again, he called himself a trashy witch, weeping as he cursed himself.

“Ha ha… ha ha ha…”

The black haze expanded in all directions.

It was the strongest negativity she had absorbed recently.

Isabella flicked her tongue, murmuring.

“Delicious. So flavorful.”

Isabella gazed at the bed where she and Edgar had lain.

Her eyes twisted with malice.

“I wonder how long you can endure.”

After leaving that final remark, Isabella turned her head away.

She exited the practice room and walked down the empty corridor alone.

The black haze that spread from her body writhed around.

And the negativity overflowing from her body showed no signs of abating.