The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

Separate from Elena’s auction ending, Asel’s auction was not yet over.

The “Black Magic Grimoire” put up for auction after the Blood-Drinking Dagger. As soon as this item came up on stage, Asel immediately expressed his intention to purchase. Others who wanted to buy the grimoire also stood up. Asel bet 50 gold coins right from the start.

“We have 50 gold coins! Any higher! Anyone going higher!”
“I’ll raise it to 70.”

A kindly-looking old man said. Not to be outdone, a plump-looking woman also shouted while covering her mouth with a fan.

“80 coins.”
“80 coins! We have 80 coins! Any higher?”
“Ho ho, well. 85 coins.”
“90 coins.”
“93 coins.”
“95.”

After the woman’s words, the old man laughed and sat down. Asel met the woman’s glaring eyes directly and opened his mouth softly.

“100 coins.”
“100 coins! We have 100 coins.”

100 gold coins. This was within the expected range. But spending more than this would be a burden even for Asel. It’s not that he couldn’t spend it, but it would mean living frugally for a while. If possible, he wanted to end the auction here.

But the woman thought for a moment, then after talking with her companions sitting nearby, carefully opened her mouth.

“110 coins.”
“Damn it.”

110 coins. For a single grimoire. And for a grimoire of heretical magic at that, it was an amount that was not just overflowing but bursting. Asel gritted his teeth and glared at the woman who was smirking at him. Then he sighed deeply and narrowed his eyes.

‘Should I just pour it all in?’

It’s easy to win an auction if you throw in all the gold coins you have without consideration. But it’s clear that the future would be bleak if he did so. He’d have to endure eating only free school meals until the regular support from Weiheim arrived.

It’s not that he can’t eat it. It’s not that he can’t eat it, but… still, enduring a month eating only that was a bit much. He’s not picky about food, but he does enjoy the pleasure of eating.

But what can he do? To get the grimoire, he has to accept the loss.

‘Learning black magic might allow me to infiltrate demon worshippers or those groups, so it’s right to push a bit here.’

Information about black magic was thoroughly suppressed, so trying to imitate with half-baked knowledge would quickly be exposed to real black magicians. Therefore, knowledge of orthodox black magic was essential. He was basically interested in it too.

So, there was a need to push a bit here. Just as Asel was making up his mind with that thought, Elena tugged firmly on his sleeve.

“Ugh.”

Asel’s body swayed at the quite forceful pull. Elena leaned her body into his tilted upper body and whispered in his ear.

“Want to borrow money?”

It was like a devil’s whisper. Asel unconsciously replied formally.

“Pardon?”
“Yes, I have a bit more funds than I expected. I could lend you some…?”
“No, that would be too much.”
“I don’t mind though?”
“Still…”
“If you insist, I’ll lend it to you in exchange for granting three of my wishes later! How about it?”
“…Is that really okay with you?”
“Of course! No interest needed! Just grant me three wishes and I’ll lend you as much as you want!”

Elena said with somewhat excited breath and sparkling eyes. Asel thought for a moment, then smiled bitterly and nodded.

“I’ll take you up on that.”

At that time, Asel had no idea how this would come back to him. He was purely grateful for Elena’s kindness and only thought that he should treat her better. So he didn’t properly see.

“…Hee.”

Her glinting fangs.

Basic Black Magic Grimoire. Sold for 125 gold coins.

Of that, 100 coins were Asel’s and 25 were Elena’s. After both had purchased what they wanted, they moved to the back of the stage without looking back. The auction staff who had prepared the items in advance guided the two to their respective rooms.

“See you in a bit!”

Elena greeted Asel and slipped into her room. Asel waved to her and then entered his room.

“Ah, welcome.”

In the room, a scantily clad woman was sitting on a sofa. On the table in front of her lay a single black book. Asel looked down at the smooth book cover and sat opposite the woman. She smiled brightly and handed him a cup of tea she had prepared in advance.

“Congratulations on your successful bid. I thoroughly enjoyed watching that fierce battle.”
“Any precautions I should take?”

Asel asked with an expressionless face.

The other party was clearly a high-ranking official in the merchant group just by looking. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that she already knew about the various appearances he had shown outside. So Asel didn’t stop acting even though Elena wasn’t around. It was an excellent choice.

“…As I heard, you have a very cold personality except towards your woman.”
“…You were observing us?”
“Not particularly observing. Just our staff came like cuckoos to tell me.”

She put the coffee cup she was holding on the table, pushed the grimoire towards Asel, and continued speaking.

“As you know, it’s a black magic grimoire. If you’re thinking of learning the magic, I don’t really recommend it. Just keep it as a collection, just a collection.”
“I’ll do as I please.”
“Oh my, how cold. But since you’re someone who cherishes your woman terribly, I don’t think you’ll carelessly dabble in black magic.”

Ignoring her words, Asel placed his hand on the grimoire and secretly operated his magical power.

It was to check if it was a copy or replica, but fortunately, the grimoire was genuine. The gloomy and dogmatic magical power characteristic of black magicians could be felt from each engraved letter. This was satisfactory enough.

“How should I pay?”
“Leave the item here, and bring the bid amount within 24 hours. Then we’ll give you the item right away.”
“I’ll bring it right now.”
“My, you’re quite impatient. Of course, that’s fine with us-”

She covered her mouth and laughed like a fox. Asel stood up and left the room without looking back. Not long after, Elena also came out.

She approached Asel with quick steps and said:

“Asel! How did you decide to pay? Are you going to give it right away?”
“I said I would, but if you’re thinking of giving it tomorrow, I’ll come back tomorrow too.”
“No, let’s handle it quickly and go.”

Asel nodded at Elena’s words. The two left the auction hall, fetched money from their respective dormitories, visited the auction hall again, and immediately paid the amount.

“Confirmed. Now this is yours.”

Thus, the Blood-Drinking Dagger became Elena’s, and the grimoire became Asel’s. Asel quickly speed-read only the very beginning part of the grimoire while walking on the street with Elena after leaving the auction hall.

[Black magic is magic that establishes a rule that separates you from the world. You are free within that rule, and the world cannot bind you. While other magic follows the theories and laws of the world, we build our own precepts. Therefore, we have no concept of low-level, mid-level, or high-level magic. The power of magic varies depending on how strong the rule you build and create is.]

“Hmm.”

Asel quickly read the part included in the book’s preface and closed the book again.

Magic that establishes a rule between the world and oneself. He knew it was unique, but he never dreamed that the method would be to divide boundaries. If he had met a black magician in person, he might have been able to get a sense of it, but unfortunately, black magicians were rare. They couldn’t be easily met in such a public place.

‘To properly master it, I’ll need to set aside time and research.’

A unique magic system he had never seen before. To become proficient, it seemed he would need to gain some proficiency in ice formulas first, then try it right away.

It’s not such a distant future.

“Hey, Asel.”

While Asel was putting the book in his bosom, Elena, who had likewise fastened the Blood-Drinking Dagger to her waist, turned to him and opened her mouth.

“Do you have any plans after this?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Th-Then could you come somewhere with me for a bit?”

A question uttered with flushed cheeks and slightly averted gaze. Asel nodded nonchalantly.

“Sure.”
“…! Okay! Then follow me!”

Elena, having received Asel’s affirmative response, put on a lively expression and walked with quick steps. Asel watched her retreating figure for a moment, then smiled slightly and followed her. After walking like this for about 30 minutes, Elena stopped in front of a huge clock tower installed near the main building of the Academy.

It was a building that was like a landmark for Academy students. The clock hanging on the upper part of the tower was announcing to everyone that midnight was approaching.

Although Asel had observed it from afar before, it was his first time seeing the clock tower this close. He had to bend his neck back sharply to vaguely see the pointed part of the tower. The blue moon hanging at its tip sparkled particularly brightly today.

As Asel was staring at the tower and moon like this, Elena turned to him and shouted:

“Let’s go up!”

It was a somewhat abrupt exclamation.

“…Go up, you say?”
“Yeah! When you look down at the Academy from there, it’s really pretty! I wanted to show it to you too.”
“…Isn’t the clock tower off-limits to outsiders?”
“Don’t worry about such trivial things!”

It wasn’t trivial at all. If they were caught climbing the clock tower, they could be disciplined.

But… in fact, Asel wasn’t that close with living righteously either. He thought for a moment, then grinned and nodded.

“Alright, let’s go up.”
“Ehehe!”

As soon as Elena received Asel’s affirmation, she ran to him, hugged his body, and spread her blood-red wings. Bat-like wings created through blood shaping. As they flapped once, Elena and Asel rose into the air.

They reached the upper part of the clock tower through careful control. The two landed in the space created between the tower and the roof for managers. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Elena folded her wings and looked down at the Academy with her hands on the railing. Asel roughly tidied his slightly disheveled hair and stood beside her.

“…Oh.”

A time close to midnight. The Academy grounds where darkness was more prevalent than light. Nevertheless, symbolizing the weekend, many people still walked the streets and various shops with colorful lights sparkled brilliantly. Above it all, the blue moon swam majestically.

It was a beautiful night view. Hair fluttered in the blowing wind, and the flower scent characteristic of spring wafted strongly.

Although it might not match the nights of Weiheim, there was no wavering in the appreciation of its beauty. Asel leaned on the railing with a warm smile and blankly watched the night streets. As he was doing so, Elena giggled and took a step closer to him.

“How is it? Pretty, right?”
“…Yeah. It’s pretty.”

Asel said with a faint smile, then jokingly added one more line.

“It might be more so because I’m with you.”
“…W-What are you saying.”
“Haha.”

As Asel laughed and indulged Elena’s whining as she poked his side with flushed cheeks, the moonlight began to shine gently on the two. As the blue light illuminated the upper part of the clock tower like stage lighting, Elena looked at the sky for a moment, then leaned her head on Asel’s shoulder and whispered softly.

“Asel, I want to use one of my wish tickets.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. I feel like I won’t be able to use it if not now.”
“…What is it?”

At Asel’s question, Elena raised only her eyes slightly to meet Asel’s gaze.

“I want to drink your blood.”
“…I can do that much without a wish. Wait a bit.”
“No, not blood from a wound. I want to sink my teeth in directly and suck it.”
“……”
“Is that not okay?”

Elena said with an expression mixed with shyness, desperation, and excitement. Asel pondered how to respond to this, then just accepted it readily.

“It’s okay to do it.”

Normally, he would have seriously considered it. Offering one’s nape to a vampire meant not just “I trust you” but also included the meaning “I cherish and love you”. Although he didn’t know the ecology of vampires in great detail, he could understand well enough through books what meaning they attach to the act of blood-sucking.

So if such a request had come out of the blue in a normal atmosphere, Asel would have seriously pondered, wishes or not, before giving an answer. Probably the conclusion that came out would have been a refusal.

But not now.

He had built sufficient trust with Elena.

He thought of her as a friend.

Above all, he was intoxicated by the moonlight.

Intoxicated by the atmosphere.

Her pitiful and anxious appearance stimulated his brain.

That’s why he allowed it.

No, these are all just excuses.

In fact, there was no grand reason.

He just wanted to do it.

“Here.”

Asel loosened his shirt slightly to reveal his nape. As soon as Elena saw his white skin, she swallowed hard and pounced on him as if to cover him. Asel, suddenly laid on the floor, smiled slightly while staring at the blood-red pupils looking down at him.

“Haa… Haa… Haa…!”

Unable to hold back any longer, Elena sank her fangs into Asel’s nape with a crunch. Simultaneously, a moan escaped Asel’s lips from the stinging pain, and Elena, seemingly more excited by this, pressed her body against his.

“Slurp, haa, hmmmm……”

Her lips parted from his skin, and Elena let out a pleasure-filled nasal sound as she licked the wound pierced by her fangs. Then she sank her teeth in anew and gulped down the blood flowing from the four holes.

“Drink slowly. You’ll get indigestion.”

Asel stroked her hair and smiled bitterly.

And so, for a while, only the vampire’s moans and the sound of hair being stroked echoed quietly in the clock tower.