I Became the Academy's Disabled Student-Chapter 354: Master’s Grace (1)

It was sudden, but not unexpected.

When I was complaining at the residence, my master was there too. I thought he might call me about that.

...It might not be good news. The possibility of that made my legs heavy.

However, I couldn’t dare ignore the call.

I suppressed my presence and hesitated by the door for a moment. Eventually, I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the magical device by the door.

The voice of my master echoed from the magical device. At first glance, there was no sign of anger, so my face brightened slightly.

But I knew better than to relax too soon. Reflecting on my master’s teachings, I carefully opened the door.

Instead of the usual creak, warm light seeped through the door.

The room was mostly dark. The room illuminated by the magical light on the bedside table hadn't changed much from when I first moved in.

There were only a few new pieces of furniture, and their placement was roughly the same.

This was the information I had observed.

The information that caught my eye was limited to my master.

A black nightgown... a negligée, my master sitting at the edge of the bed.

Her arms crossed, the prominent chest visible even from behind, and the thin waist that stood out in contrast to her full figure.

Even her large hips, pressing into the bed, were clearly visible.

"...Hmm, don’t just stand there."

"Ah, yes..."

My master, clearing her throat, turned her head to meet my gaze.

Her pale cheeks flushed, and golden eyes narrowed as she cast a small gesture toward me.

I walked around the bed and approached her, gently sitting beside her.

"Mm?"

My master looked at me in surprise.

Shuddering at her gaze, I rolled my eyes and, upon seeing her frown, I timidly reached out my hand. She grabbed it and pulled me closer.

"Why are you acting like this, unlike you?"

"Ah..."

Following her gentle pull, I was seated on her soft thigh.

As her embrace tightened around me, my tense body relaxed.

Sensing my change, my master asked, perhaps out of concern.

"Are you worried that I might scold you for what happened this morning?"

[Silence...]

"...Really..."

I exercised my right to remain silent, but it seemed ineffective.

My master, seemingly surprised, softened her gaze and gently patted my head.

"I didn’t call you here to scold you, so don’t worry..."

"Mm..."

"I’m sorry if I made you worry with my short words."

The tension melted as her touch relaxed me. The worries I had been carrying faded, feeling almost laughable.

As I naturally leaned into her, her chest brushed against my face.

Soft, plump skin. Her negligée left her chest exposed, and the sweet, nutty scent of milk wafted up.

"Hmm..."

[Milk]

[Skin Scent]

"Mm..."

As I buried my nose into the sweet smell, my master gently pulled me into her arms.

"My dear, did you feel jealous because I’ve been teaching Daera? I'm not questioning you, I just wanted to check, so there’s no need to tremble."

While I was smelling her, my body flinched from her unexpected question.

"...A little. Just a little... but it’s fine now. I apologized to Daera. She accepted it... [N O V E L I G H T] I won’t do it again."

I realized I had caused trouble. Especially since my master is strict when it comes to training, isn't she?

At first, she might let it slide gently, but if I keep complaining during training, I might really get scolded.

"You already apologized? Good. You did well... such a good child..."

"Hehehe..."

My cautious reply was met with praise. A smile escaped me, and my master, laughing softly, continued.

"I know my student is a good person. The jealousy you felt wasn’t something dark, and your small complaints will likely end as a harmless child’s tantrum."

Her words came as she stared into my eyes.

It was embarrassing to meet her assured gaze, but the affection dripping from it made me unable to look away.

"Still, I’m worried about pure feelings turning sour. While they might start with no malice, there are cases where negativity grows over time."

[Agreement]

[Downcast]

[Melancholy]

I instinctively lowered my head as the serious tone took over.

As my master said, this time, it ended as childish jealousy, but if it continues to fester, it could turn into malice.

Even if it’s not such a big issue, it might still lead to hurt feelings.

My master called me to caution me about this.

"I’m sorry..."

[Reflection]

In the end, my childish jealousy was wrong. My actions caused trouble for both Daera’s residence and my master.

"..."

As I admitted my mistake, my master rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.

"...Then, don’t hold it in and let it out."

[?]

Her following words were hard to understand. Let it out? What should I let out?

I raised my head, looking at her, and saw that her face had become even more flushed as she avoided my gaze.

"I told you, if you hold it in, it’ll fester. So, don’t cause yourself unnecessary worry and let it go."

"Yes? Uh... but..."

Only then did I start to understand her words. But the confusion remained.

"Don’t worry."

Her tone softened as she trailed off, and with a smile, she gently stroked my cheek.

"Wouldn’t a master accept a little spoiled behavior from her beloved student?"

"...Love?"

"Jealousy, tantrums... for now, feel free, let it all out."

My master, who had embraced me, smiled softly.

She’s not someone who speaks in vain. Since she said it’s fine, that she’ll accept it, I believed it.

My heart raced. The happiness and affection were emerging, but the childish feelings I had suppressed also began to slip out.

I bit my lip. How could I have locked these feelings away only for them to try to escape again? If they came out now, I might end up doing something embarrassing.

Thinking about it, I recalled patience.

"It’s okay."

The voice suddenly whispered in my ear, breaking my patience.

It was a gentle, reassuring tone.

My resolve crumbled, and the bashful feelings crept out.

"...Treat me better."

My feelings drove my actions.

I wrapped my arms around my master’s back, burying my face in the soft chest before me.

The sensation of my nose touching her skin, the soft flesh pressing against my face from both sides.

"I don’t like it when you only pet Daera... pet me too..."

That was a wrong thing to say. My master had petted me more than Daera. Still, jealousy had risen from those few times.

"Why do you only teach Daera... I worked hard too, why does Daera get more lessons..."

That wasn’t right. Already, Daera’s skills had far surpassed the point where she could learn alone, so my master’s teachings had naturally decreased.

"My... my master..."

Embarrassing raw emotions spilled out. I was ashamed of these feelings, and my voice became moist.

"Right... I’m sorry for focusing only on Daera."

Even though my master knew it well, she didn’t complain.

"Good... Don’t hold back, let it all out."

She just kept smiling softly, accepting my unreasonable complaints and jealousy.

As I was wrapped in that endless soft embrace, my body and mind melted into my master’s arms.

At this moment, I felt certain she could accept any unreasonable demand or spoiled behavior from me.

With that certainty, I moved both of my hands.

I grabbed the softness, my fingers sinking into it, the elastic sensation spilling between my fingers.

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"Ahh... Hh..."

The gentle smile on my master’s face faded slightly.

Her eyes trembled, and her lips parted as she exhaled a heated breath.

But again, there was no stopping. The affection still flowed from her eyes as she looked down at me.

As I absorbed the affection from her eyes, I suddenly felt hunger.

The soft flesh in front of me, carrying the scent of milk, made it worse.

"...Master, I’m hungry."

"Ah, huh...? Hungry...?"

Master, sitting upright with her chest out, blinked her eyes in confusion.

She didn’t understand my words. I, however, lowered my hand to grab the soft flesh and squeezed it gently.

"Ah...! Ugh... Ahhh..."

Understanding finally dawned in her trembling eyes. My master blushed, swallowing.

‘Oh, this is embarrassing!’

Later in the evening, Daera, who had just finished her training, climbed up from the basement and frowned.

Her whole body felt numb. Especially her fingertips and the circuits where her magical power flowed tingled painfully.

‘It’s hard to control, I knew that, but precision manipulation is really maddening.’

Looking down at her trembling fingers, she couldn’t help but grumble.

The thunderstrike that had manifested, alongside the complete change in her magic’s attributes.

Although she had paid attention to her manipulation from behind the scenes, precision manipulation, which she had only begun to learn, was much more difficult.

Before starting her training, she had been warned, “Your unique ability is especially difficult to manipulate, so be prepared,” but she hadn’t expected it to be this difficult.

There had been no significant progress since then, and she began to feel impatient.

It’s been years since she had wasted time. Although there had been some growth, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had fallen behind and was out of touch with the world.

‘Come to think of it, the priest handles his magic excellently.’

Daera’s thoughts shifted back to Ihayul.

A few hours earlier...

She had been caught in an ambush by Daera and had stiffened, then scrambled about apologizing for nothing.

Her master, whose face had brightened immediately upon receiving her apology.

From the outside, Ihayul seemed like a suspiciously pretty and cute flower, but Daera knew how dangerous the thorns of that flower could be.

Hadn’t she experienced it herself when she had unknowingly stepped on the thorns?

She still vividly remembered the pain of being knocked out with a punch to the stomach.

Such Ihayul was especially good with magic.

During training, she had witnessed it firsthand—he manipulated his magic in a way that was bizarrely effective, almost defying common sense.

She had heard that it was a unique ability related to magical manipulation...

‘Should I ask for advice?’

Although it was a unique ability, the advice of a skilled person would not be meaningless.

And, after all, they had a master-student relationship.

She had just been accepted with an apology and had been told to ask if she needed anything else.

‘Oh, but it’s too late.’

Just as she was about to go ask, she stopped herself. Checking her smartwatch, she saw it was already late at night.

‘...I’ll ask tomorrow.’

Shaking her head, Daera turned away. She knew Ihayul tended to sleep early, like a child.

Thus, Daera had arrived at the upcoming visit to Artla, intending to say goodnight before bed.

She wiped her cheek with the towel hanging around her neck and reached for the door handle...

"?"

A sudden jolt of lightning went through her head. Immediately, she froze and tilted her head.

‘What is it?’

Thunderstrike.

Primarily used for scattering lightning in attacks, it occasionally sounded a sharp warning.

It was just a feeling, but it had never been wrong before.

Had it not been for that warning function, Daera would have been dead long ago after encountering a monster stronger than herself.

That warning, that instinct, was clear.

Don’t enter.

‘What’s going on?’

She tried to prepare her magic instinctively, but sensed there was no immediate danger.

‘Then why does it say not to go in?’

Suddenly, her unique ability triggered, leaving her head spinning. She pulled her hand away from the door handle and began to deliberate.

‘Sorry, but should I check outside...?’

Still, with that warning ringing, she felt uneasy about just leaving. At the very least, she needed to confirm there was no issue before turning back.

Daera closed her eyes and amplified her ability.

Zzzt! The brainwave spread through her body. The tingling sensation intensified, but her senses became sharper.

Gradually, her senses seeped into the room.

The mansion's defense magic tried to activate, but it recognized Daera as a registered user and stopped.

And so, without obstruction, her enhanced senses began to pick up sounds.

They were faint, too weak to recognize clearly yet. Furrowing her brow, Daera focused more intensely.

And then.

"...!?"

The crude sound of a beast’s roar hit her eardrums, making her jump in surprise.