Thanks to my Harem, I Rise as the Dragon King-Chapter 21: Why are those two always bickering...?

«So, to summarize, this... aaah... this is the principle behind Enhancement Magic...» Jasmine murmurs, moaning softly, panting, biting her lower lip as she tries to maintain a serious and rigorous demeanor, but with little success.

We sit at the desk in her room, absorbed in our studies for an important interdisciplinary exam scheduled for next week. One of the topics is Enhancement Magic, a Universal-class type of magic that allows one to greatly enhance physical strength, endurance, and speed.

Or rather, I am sitting on a chair, while she is on top of me, completely naked from the waist down, using my chest as a backrest, with my cock completely inside her. She doesn’t move up and down with force. Instead, she stays almost still, swaying her hips from time to time.

It’s a unique study method she devised. At first, whenever we tried to study together, we ended up spending the whole afternoon having sex rather than studying, and that didn’t help our academic performance. That’s why she suggested combining business with pleasure, doing both at the same time. «If you want to have sex with me, then we’ll do it while we study.» That’s how she ’blackmailed’ me, though she obviously did it for my own good. In my first year at Astralea, even though I won both semester tournaments early on, I wasn’t excelling in purely theoretical subjects. But thanks to Jasmine’s method, I became one of the best in the academy in those as well. Of course, it’s not that I couldn’t have done it alone, but when it comes to theoretical knowledge, Jasmine Ankarah is number one in all of Astralea. And to become the best, you have to learn from the best, right?

My gaze falls on her beloved blue notebook, lying closed on the nightstand next to the desk.

To think that when I gave it to her almost four years ago, she could barely read and write our language. Now she spends all day doing nothing but that, and in just four years she has reached a mastery of the written and spoken word that anyone here would envy. I’m truly proud of her.

I’m certain that those bastards who, four years ago, mocked her for the color of her skin, her strange accent, or her lack of fluency, must now be drowning in shame. They’ve been outclassed in every academic field by a girl they once insulted with disgraceful names I’m ashamed to even recall. And now she is the student with the highest grades and one of the five strongest in combat.

We are both deeply focused on studying when... SLAM! The door swings open, crashing against the wall.

«What are you two still doing studying here!» Arielle exclaims, dripping wet from head to toe. She wears a long pink bathrobe, with a swimsuit underneath that emphasizes her curves a little too well, and on her feet are matching pink slippers. Her long sapphire-colored hair drips down at the doorway.

She truly has a knack for barging in at the most inappropriate moments.

«There’s still plenty of time before the interdisciplinary exam. If you study this far in advance, by the day of the test you’ll have already forgotten everything!» Arielle continues, her tone almost scolding.

Jasmine glares at her. She loves two things most in life: studying and being with me. And Arielle had just interrupted her in the middle of both. She definitely didn’t take it well.

«Well, luckily you don’t have those problems, since there’s nothing in that empty head of yours you could possibly forget,» Jasmine retorts, her voice sharp, tinged with superiority. «Better focus on studying instead of wasting the day having fun at the pool! And anyway, do you think it’s okay to barge into my room soaking wet and dripping all over the floor?!»

«They say sex is supposed to improve your mood, but in your case it seems to work the other way around,» Arielle snickers, chuckling under her breath. Then she puffs out her chest, throws back her shoulders, and begins speaking in an exaggeratedly pompous and self-congratulatory tone. «I sense annoyance in your words. Don’t tell me you’re still mad about that poem incident? Or maybe it’s because, after the results of the last semester tournament, I officially became the third strongest in the group, second only to Jade and Viktoria, surpassing Selene, while you miserably slipped all the way to the bottom? Yeah, I get it, it must be tough doing worse than an airhead like me, even though you spend so much time studying that the chair cushion has molded to the shape of your ass.»

«Results? What results?!» Jasmine snaps in fury, springing to her feet. She must have completely forgotten that she’s still half-naked, with the door wide open, and that my cock was still inside her just a moment ago. But I’d better mind my own business—never step into a fight between women, especially when it’s Jasmine Ankarah and Arielle Azuralis.

«Sure, you made it to the semifinals, while I was knocked out in the round of sixteen...» Jasmine continues, getting right in Arielle’s face. «...but we were both eliminated by that brat with the Sacred Phoenix Crystal, so that doesn’t even count! If you had faced her in the round of sixteen, you would’ve been knocked out earlier than me and stayed behind me this year too! You’d better study instead—not for the interdisciplinary exam, I don’t care if you fail that, but for the Inter-academy Team Exam! It’s only a handful of days away now, and if Jade can’t secure first place in the kingdom’s rankings because of you... I swear you’ll pay for it!»

«Oh, what a scare you are, I’m trembling like a leaf...» Arielle mocks, feigning shivers. «Brave words coming from the weakest in the group!»

My mind screams: stay out, Jade. Stay out. Better yet, I should play dead—yes, that seems like the safest way to get out of this.

«JADE!» Jasmine and Arielle shout in unison.

Just great. So much for staying out of this...

«Since this airhead Arielle keeps bragging about being stronger than me and Selene based on reasoning that’s flawed from the start, you should put her back in her place!» Jasmine bursts out. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

«It’s not flawed reasoning, it’s an objective truth! I got further than you in the tournament, which makes me stronger! Strange that a bookworm like you can’t understand such simple logic! And I’m sure Jade will agree with me!» Arielle replies—now their eyes are locked on me, growling like wild beasts. Why do they always have to drag me into their petty squabbles?

«If knowing who’s stronger than whom is really that important to you... then settle it with a duel.»

«You’re right, absolutely right!» Arielle exclaims, smacking her fist into her palm.

Did it really have to be me to point out such an obvious solution?

Arielle points her finger straight at Jasmine. «Tomorrow after class, I’ll be waiting for you at the arena. Jasmine Ankarah, I hereby challenge you to a duel!»