Chapter 79

We were silent as we walked out of the headmistress's office, which lasted until we arrived at her room. If she had any problems with me following her, she didn't show it off. The walk barely allowed me to relax from the wild ride I experienced in the headmistress's office. She had surprised me with her abilities, and not in a good way. I felt truly vulnerable there.

Titania started speaking only after we arrived at her room, which was the safest place to talk tactics. "We will leave with the first lights of the day, so we can ambush them around the sunset, where they are at their weakest-" Titania started, trying to take control, but I cut her off.

"No," I simply said.

"What do you mean, no," she asked in her usual cold tone. "That's an order from the headmistress."

I shook my head, but let a smirk appear on my lips. "I didn't disagree with the attack itself," I said. "I disagree about attacking them during the day. We should attack them in the middle of the night."

"Nonsense, the sunlight-" she started, but I cut her off once again.

"Will actually hurt us, considering we're going to attack them in their underground base, where they are protected from the sun. If we attack in the night, at least most of their troops will be out, making our job even easier."

"Still, we can't wait until tomorrow night-" she tried to take control.

"I agree," I said. "That's why we should leave immediately. With magic, we can arrive there in less than an hour, and start our assault in immediately afterward. Since their spies probably reported that you're back in the school, we would catch them completely unprepared."

"Out of the question," she argued. "I'm still not recovered from my latest mission-" Titania tried to argue, but I cut her off again. However, this time, not with my words, applying my tongue and lips in a different way.

[-159 Mana]

[+100 Experience]

"Any other arguments," I said as I pulled back from the kiss, enjoying her dumbfounded expression. I had used some of the mana to help her recover her mana, but most went to hijacking her emotional-suppressor once more. "Take your gear, and we'll leave."

"But-" she tried to argue, once again stammering with a blush without the insulating effect of her magic. I interrupted her with a spank to her ass.

"Let's not waste any time. It's the order of the headmistress, after all," I said, using her earlier words against her. "Just take your gear and let's leave."

She looked dumbfounded, a thick blush covering her face. The confusion worked excellently, as she nodded obediently before walking to her bedroom. A moment later, she reappeared, this time wearing a new robe, and carrying a crystal staff, both radiating magic despite the restraining runes on them. They were clearly powerful, but it was also understandable that she didn't carry them around daily. Most magical swords and other items for warriors had short lives, but compared to magic amplifiers, they might as well be turtles.

"Do we need to stop in your room as well," she commented even as her grip tightened around her staff in an effort to suppress their magical presence.

"Nope," I said, which made her look curiously. "Unfortunately, I can't access my arsenal here," I said, which was a blatant misdirection from the fact that I was still extremely poor when it came to disposable items.

Luckily, not for long, thanks to my growing relationship with Oeyne.

"Let's go," she said calmly, making a bid to regain her calm, which would have worked better if it wasn't for her cute blush. She walked ahead of me, but this time, rather than going out, she brought me a random area in the depths of the library, and unlocked a secret passage.

"That's going to bring us out?" I asked as I followed her, my gaze locked on her hips. She might not be as voluptuous as the other girls, and her battle robe might be too thick to hide her meager curves, but she still noticed my gaze, making her blush even thicker.

"Yes," she simply answered before turning her attention back to us. After almost ten minutes of travel, the secret passage brought us to a warded cave, which also functioned as a stable for a Pegasi, one of the rare monsters that were tamed en masse to function as mounts. "It's going to be difficult for her to carry both of us," she said.

It was a critical decision point for me, which was in a case that looked deceptively simple. I could either use the mount together with her, or could summon the fake air elemental again. The existence of the fake elemental was not the issue, but the fact that I would be able to use such a magically-intensive method to travel, and still battle at the full performance was something different.

I wouldn't have considered it if it wasn't for the mysteries I had faced against the headmistress. Her ability to analyze soul spaces blindsided me, and when combined with her weird contrast between her aura and her mana, marked her as a much more unconventional character than I had expected.

Admittedly, it was my arrogance. I knew that she was able to keep her post for centuries despite many rival factions, therefore, she should be holding many cards. I just didn't expect one of those to invalidate my greatest advantages that easily. I was afraid that once the immediate threat of necromancers had passed, she would start searching for me, easily finding the girls as well, likely discovering the Companion Mechanic as a result. Other than taking the girls and running away, it was hard to prevent it.

So, I needed an alternative approach, I thought even as I let my gaze fall on Titania. She clearly knew at least some of the secrets of the headmistress, and I could use this trip to pry them out of her mouth. The Companion Mechanic would have worked wonders in this situation as well. Yes, there was a risk that Titania would go to the headmistress and explain, but maybe, progressing in her companion system, along with the possible rewards, might help me quite a bit.

After a while, I decided to go with the riskier option. "Don't worry, I have a better option in mind," I said, once again creating an elemental mount, pumping enough mana to stabilize it perfectly.

[-2306 Mana]

Converting her to my side completely was a long shot. Luckily, that was not necessarily my only option. I could use our growing closeness to interrogate her about the headmistress —along with many other important things. If I discover something that required running away, it was a perfect time.

If not, maybe it would act as a peace offering between me and the headmistress. After all, she ruled a neutral faction, and I was very effective in helping her faction.

"But... Wasting mana..." she gasped in shock as she felt the waves of magic.

I chuckled even as I mounted the elemental before riding it to her. I leaned down to pull her gently, letting her sit in front of me, hugging her gently. I whispered. "Did you forget my advantage when it comes to regeneration," I whispered into her ear. "Did you forget my specialty already?" I asked.

"Mana regeneration," she gasped.

I chuckled. "Yes," I said even as put my hand to her chin, gently pushing to position her lips for a perfect kiss, which I delivered even as I commanded the mount to move at the full speed. She gasped in shock, which was suppressed by our kiss. Despite the speed, however, our ride was comfortable, as I used another air spell to protect us from the winds.

[-103 Mana]

[+200 Experience]

"That, and mana transfer," I said in a low, throaty tone after I stopped the kiss, leaving her gasping in excitement.

"But..." she started, failing to continue her words under my gaze, which never stopped being funny considering the power she held in her fingertips and her lofty position. I was lucky that such a brunette beauty remained untouched, waiting for my eventual conquer.

"But, nothing," I said aggressively as I let my hands explore her body. "We're going to go into a very important battle, and you're not going to go in with a half-empty mana reserve." I waited for a moment for her argument, but it was not forthcoming.

I leaned in for another kiss, but this time, I pulled her onto my lap. Also, I had another surprise for her, as I ordered the elemental to turn the smooth ride into a bumpy ride, like a stage couch going through a poor country road. The effect, every tremble echoed in her core, arousing her even further, and she was already close to a surrender thanks to my kiss. The bumpy ride made things easier.

So easy that her hands barely found mine as they reached her robe, putting an ineffective display as I unbuttoned her battle robe. She barely resisted as her robe opened further and further, revealing a long modest skirt and a boring blouse underneath.

When I finally removed her battle robe and folded it before stuffing it in my bag, she barely let out a murmur of disagreement. When my hand slipped under her skirt and started climbing up her naked leg, however, she shivered before muttering, "Isn't it a bit ... much?"

"Is it?" I asked even as I ripped her panties with one pull, giving myself access to her wetness. "It's the best way to transfer mana, and we're short of time," I explained, even as I used my other hand to free my shaft. "I'm just doing the best for the mission."

Of course, it was a nonsense explanation, but her condition, she wasn't searching for a reasonable explanation. As her innocent body once again felt the stirrings of arousal, she just needed a flimsy reason to silence herself for a moment.

Under different circumstances, I would have taken a different route, softly teasing her until she started begging for more. Pity that we had limited time before the attack. So rather than teasing her, I decided to move to the main event. I dangled her panties in front of her for a moment before letting them go, and they disappeared in the winds immediately.

"Hey, I need that," she complained in a very out-of-character manner, highlighting her loss of control further as she wiggled on my lap, separated only by her skirt.

Our adventure was just getting started...

[-103 Mana]

[+600 Experience]

[Level: 28 Experience: 387600 / 406000

Strength: 33 Charisma: 48

Precision: 30 Perception: 32

Agility: 30 Manipulation: 35

Speed: 29 Intelligence: 39

Endurance: 27 Wisdom: 38

HP: 4172 / 4172 Mana: 5297 / 5326 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [95/100]

Master Arcana [86/100]

Expert Speech [57/75]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (1/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 17/25]

[Helga - Level 13/17]