Chapter 254: A Surge of Motivation

"May the Paladin bless us!"

After I left the church and went to the Royal Academy, I felt like I heard an illusory voice in my ear. I couldn't help but wonder what I had heard earlier, but maybe that was just my imagination after having sex with Sophia.

But because the voice I heard mentioned Paladin, it might also be the citizens chanting my name, so I wasn't worried. I was just curious how Sophia dealt with the dressing room after I left.

'I will be able to see their reaction if I go there tomorrow to train them again.' I thought, smiling softly.

Whether the female knights would be disgusted or they would turn into wild beasts like her. I didn't know what to expect.

'At least I know that they don't mind and even want to get close to me. Maybe due to the Goddess' influence and teaching, the people from the church become lustful toward me, the Paladin, and her apostle.'

I might need to flip the holy book to understand their teaching better. I had time, so maybe I would get one for myself tonight.

It would be simpler to ask Garcia or Sana about it, but I couldn't do that. What kind of Paladin didn't understand his own Goddess' teaching? That would be embarrassing.

So I needed to learn it from the holy book myself.

'Let's say that I lost mine and ask for a replacement.'

That would be enough.

As for now, I stood near the gate of the Royal Academy, waiting for Eliza to meet me. It was time to train my childhood friend as Emilia, her private magic teacher, was currently busy.

Not long after I was waiting, the figure of a beautiful girl with long brown hair appeared from the main building. Accompanying her was a cheerful orange-haired girl, Karin, with her fiancé, the brown-haired boy who wanted to become a knight, Oliver.

They chatted like any other students. I was the strange one here, waiting like a boyfriend from the other academy while I also attended this academy. Well, I just didn't enter because I wanted to let Eliza speak with her friend too. If I were there, she would just focus on me.

When they got close to the gate entrance, Eliza noticed me first and waved her hand. She said something to Karin and Oliver in a low voice before blushing slightly as the orange-haired girl teased her.

Pouting, she turned around and ran toward me.

"Arthur!"

I smiled at her and extended my hand. She took it as if it was natural and smiled. Then she turned around toward her friend and her fiancé, sticking out her tongue before urging me to walk.

Curious, I decided to ask as we walked down the street, "What did Karin say that made you upset?"

"I am not upset," Eliza replied dryly.

"But you are pouting," I interjected. "If you are not upset, then mad?"

Hearing me, Eliza's body jolted a little. I smirked and continued.

"Heh, she probably told you about something. What is it? You can tell me."

"... She said that she had a date after that night, and Oliver bought her a 10 thousand Gold worth of necklace."

I immediately understood why she was pouting. 10 thousand Gold was a lot of money.

For example, the highest grade prostitute at the Border City and a suite room only cost 1000 Gold a night. The church only usually took 5 Gold for donation every month, and a few Gold was enough to prepare for an extravagant dinner.

So a 10 thousand Gold necklace was expensive.

'Well, for other people.' I added in my mind.

In my inventory, trillions of Gold were sitting. I doubted that it would ever decrease even if I spent a million a day.

"So you're jealous?" I teased my childhood friend with a smile, and she averted her gaze.

"I am not! I also got that dress, although it was dirty because you covered it with your s-semen that night."

'If she knew the price of that dress, she might scream loudly. I think it's better to keep it a secret, as her future dress might also be stained.' I replied secretly.

"You loved that. And you begged for more, even when it was Rania's turn." I grinned and added in a low voice. "You even asked me to treat you the same as how I treat her because you were jealous at that time. In the end, you moaned even louder than my sister. I thought you were a masochist."

"Uh..." Eliza's face turned red in embarrassment. "L-Let's forget about that, alright!" She raised her voice, and I chuckled in response.

We walked quietly after that, but it wasn't unpleasant. Rather, Eliza squeezed my left hand tightly as she blushed. For someone who experienced BDSM until morning, she was unexpectedly innocent in this part.

"So, if you're not jealous of her, what made you pout?"

I broke the silence with a question. Eliza stopped in her tracks for a second before continuing, not saying anything.

Observing her gesture, I quickly notice something amiss. Her lips pursed slightly, and she refused to look at me but still glanced every now and then.

'She's hiding something from me.'

"Eliza, if you don't answer my question, I won't allow you to see Astro for a few days until he forgets about you and will tell Madam Vivian about what we did that night."

'Though Madam already knows about it, this will serve as a harmless threat.'

"D-Don't tell Mama about that! I will tell you. I will tell you why I am pouting so... Let's stop talking about that, okay? I was drunk!"

I smiled wryly at her excuse.

'Drunk?'

Before we returned home, I had already cured her tipsiness, expelling the alcohol in her body with <Cure>. There was no way she was drunk. She was just horny!

No one was drunk enough to request being spanked. They also wouldn't request being tied with spread legs and getting fucked while they couldn't move.

While some people, like Rania, had such a fetish, people usually got infected by it when they were too horny. It was just temporary, and the result after they calmed down was like this; they wanted to forget it because it was embarrassing.

'It's her own fault and not alcohol.'

Coughing, Eliza calmed herself and said, "Actually, the headmistress called me earlier before lunch. She wanted to ask something from me because the Princess was missing."

"Headmistress did?" I raised my eyebrows curiously.

Eliza nodded, "Yes. I was worried that you did something in the academy... I mean... I was worried I got into trouble, so I met her in her office to hear her out."

"..." I didn't say anything about her mentioning she thought that I did something in the academy. That matter was settled way before today.

"When I got there, the headmistress told me about the content of the tournament and said you were aware of it. Then she asked me to win the annual tournament's magic and general study division between 6 Academies this year. Karin teased me by saying I should ask for your 'guidance' at night, so I felt a little... embarrassed.

"A-Also, I am not confident of winning in those two! What should I do, Arthur? Headmistress personally requested me to win, not students from Class 1 or Class 2! Why?"

Eliza was confused, that was all.

'I worried about nothing.'

Smiling softly, I stopped and held Eliza's hand tightly. She looked at me, still confused.

"Don't worry about it, alright? You learned a lot from Emilia. So be confident and win those tournaments."

"Yes, but still..."

"Let's do it like this."

If a person wasn't confident in something and was under pressure, all they needed was a simple thing, motivation.

I released Eliza's hand for a second and took out a pen and paper from my inventory, scribbling a few words on it before folding it twice. What I wrote inside couldn't be read, and I gave it to Eliza.

"Here, I wrote a promise that I would keep that you can read if you win. And I will also give one to Madam Vivian for her to open if you lose. Hahaha, are you motivated now?"

"Huh?"

"For the record, you will gain something you desire if you manage to win. But for the note I will give Madam Vivian, I will write our journey from the Bluerose Duchy to the Rose Barony. Oh, I also have a recording gem of your lesson with Emilia. I recorded all of them in case you need it."

'Madam will be thrilled to see them. Maybe she will even use them like a porn video and masturbate to it, as I was also clearly recorded in it. But I won't do that, as I only use this to get Eliza motivated to train. It was just a baseless threat and a bluff!'

"T-that's!" Eliza's jaw dropped in shock.

"Don't worry. I will seal it so she won't be able to open it. Also, I will give you a private lesson about magic so you won't lose in the future, so... You have the motivation to win now?"

"Arthur..." Her tone was lowered until it sounded cold, really different from the usual. "You're a devil."

"Too bad for you, but I am a Paladin. So, I guess you're motivated now." I nodded, satisfied. Then I smiled widely as I extended my hand toward her again. "Shall we go outside the city to start your training?"

'Sorry, Eliza. But you won't have the motivation to train without me doing this. I know you will be able to win easily, even without any motivation, but I want you to get stronger.'

This time, Eliza didn't take my hand. Instead, she tried to run away from me.

Unfortunately, I was way faster than her and managed to catch her. Thus, much to her refusal, I forced her to train herself to win the annual tournament easier.