The Gigolo System in the Academy of Magic-Chapter 22: Meeting Professor Helena

All the students were immediately infatuated by her enchanting figure, even the girls had strange looks in their eyes and a blush couldn't help but creep up on their faces.

The Vice-Principal looked at this scene with a deep frown, and then spoke again, "Professor Helena will also be leading a delegation of demon students, you will meet them tomorrow. Treat them with courtesy and respect, and demonstrate the honor of the Ainsworth Academy."

His voice seemed to contain some sort of magic power, as the previously infatuated students gradually began to calm down.

"Demon students?"

James caught onto the key piece of information. He thought of the sudden tournament they had just had yesterday and couldn't help but glance at the serious figure standing at the front of the podium.

It seems the vice principal also has his own thoughts about this matter. Could this also be why the training camp was moved up?

Helena's next words seemed to also confirm the underlying tension:

"My students are also looking forward to meeting the most talented mages in the human realm...I hope they won't be disappointed."

The assembly ended quickly and everyone went back to their lessons. But most of the students couldn't really focus, they were still buzzing about the news they had just received.

Potions class always carried a strong scent of herbs, oils, and sharp chemicals. The glass beakers on each desk shimmered slightly under the light and the soft bubbling of experimental mixtures filled the air.

James sat at the long table in the center of the room, somewhat awkwardly. He wasn't sure whether to consider himself lucky or cursed, he was actually in a group with Kira and Lydia. James felt the stares of his classmates, he knew some of them were jealous, but there were also curious looks mixed in. After all, his performance yesterday was very eye-catching.

But right now he didn't have time to worry about that as his attention was fixed on the table behind them. Ryan Everheart's group.

Ryan was surrounded by his usual cronies, minus Darien - it seems he was still recovering. They weren't even pretending to work on their potions. Instead, they leaned in, whispering in disdainful tones.

"That demon slut has got to be using some kind of magic," one of them muttered.

"Disgusting," another spat. "We've been fighting them for generations, and now the council wants us to cozy up to them?"

"Ryan, the vice principal said those demon students arrive tomorrow. What do we do?"

"We remind them whose territory this is!" The blond haired boy had an arrogant expression on his face as he spoke with a disdainful tone.

James was a little excited, it seems tomorrow will be very interesting. For him the more chaos there was the better, at that time no one would have time to pay attention to a level 1 commoner mage.

"Hey!"

Kira's voice sliced through his thoughts. She slapped her hand down next to the vial of bubbling liquid.

"You're going to ruin the mixture. What are you even doing? Sleeping with your eyes open?"

"I-" James blinked. "Sorry, I was-"

"You were distracted. Potion-making is meticulous. A wrong mix can cause an explosion - or worse."

Before James could apologize again, Lydia placed a gentle hand on Kira's arm.

"Let him be. Potions is a difficult subject so we should be patient."

Then, turning to James, her smile widened. "Don't worry, James. I'll help you finish this one."

"Thanks."

He gave her a sheepish look, but inwardly, he was frowning. Lydia was very kind to him, but when James glanced at his system, her favorability was [-10]. Meanwhile Kira, who had just berated him, showed [+15].

What kind of game are these two people playing?

Also...

Looking at Kira, he couldn't help but think this raven-haired girl was really hard to like.

After lessons were finished in the afternoon, James went to the library. Selena originally wanted to accompany him but she had to stay behind as the vice-principal had called another meeting for the first year professors.

As soon as James arrived at the library he headed toward the 'Dark Enchantments' section. The place was quite remote so he didn't meet any people along the way.

First, James found a table and then he immediately began looking for all the books he could find on curse magic.

Soon the table was filled with various large tomes. After James got everything he could find, he glanced at the system.

[Silver Level Reward: Perception Enhancing Potion]

[This special magic potion accelerates the user's brain function, making certain tasks easier. Who says I'm not a genius? Glug, glug, glug!]

[Time Limit: 1 hour]

"Only one hour..."

Looking at the small vial of red glowing liquid that appeared in his arms, he felt worried. James picked up a book, "Ancient Curses", and started flipping through it. He wanted to see how well he could do before taking the elixir.

"I don't understand anything!"

James shook his head. He looked around and after making sure there was no one nearby, he quickly downed the elixir in his hand.

James felt there was an explosion in his mind. His head buzzed and then suddenly everything became clear. It was like all the grime and dust that covered his brain had been wiped off.

"Is this what a genius feels like everyday?"

His thoughts were going a million miles per hour, so without waiting any longer he quickly opened up a book and began reading.

It was almost an hour later when he finally put down the last book.

James sighed in relief, he had read 10 huge tomes. He probably looked ridiculous to an outside observer, quickly flipping through the pages with a serious expression on his face.

Thankfully there was no one else here -

"Oh, are you finished? You know I've never seen someone read like that, it's quite interesting."

A languid voice that contained a hint of laughter sounded out in the quiet surroundings.

James quickly turned around to see that a beautiful woman was standing next to him curiously peeking at the books that were strewn on the table.

"Professor Helena!"