Chapter 7

After dropping off the drinks at their table, I quickly excused myself to the bathroom. Tara looked like she wanted to say something, but then she closed her mouth. I cocked my head.

“We’ll talk when you get back.” She smiled.

I nodded. “The night is still young.”

Amelia looked between me and Tara, a strangely wooden expression on her face. As for the two knights, I wasn’t sure if they had any other look than smugness. I headed off to the area in the back of the club. There was a line of women waiting to use their restroom, but the men’s stalls were free. I immediately entered one. After looking around, I cautiously pulled out the grimoire, using my shirt to keep the light from being seen outside of my stall. I had to admit, I was eager to know what Amelia thought of me. I quickly flipped to the new page, and her information slowly began to fill out.

Name: Tara Brightchild

Age: 16

Height: 164 cm

Sizes: 85 cm, 52 cm, 83 cm

Occupation: Student (Mage)

Sex Level: Virgin (Inexperienced)

Sexual Kink: Romance, Kindness

Greatest Insecurity: Success

Relationship Level : 3 (Good Friend)

Bios: Tara Brightchild is a young prodigy of the Griffin Mage Academy. She’s intelligent and daring, with great magical potential inherited from a long line of powerful mages. She’s afraid of falling behind and not living up to her true potential. She considers you a good friend based on your childhood but had to leave you behind to chase her dreams of becoming a heroine who protects people.

That’s it? That’s all there was? Was Andromeda making fun of me? I couldn’t see how to use this in any way that I understood. I slammed the book shut. This was a complete waste of time. I thought about her profile a few dozen times, and ultimately nothing came to mind. What girl wasn’t swayed by romance? Who didn’t fear failure? This was the most generic thing I ever read! Feeling frustrated, I flushed the toilet and then left the bathroom after sending the grimoire back to where it came from.

When I returned to the noisy club, I stopped a good distance from the table. I saw Tara smiling as she was talking to Amelia and those two knights. They all seemed so relaxed. It felt like we were in two different worlds. It wasn’t just the separation between mage and knight, or the separation between top schools like Griffin and other schools like Azazel. I had signed a deal with a devil. I could never be a hero now, not really. The only thing I could become was a denison of a demoness. Any power I obtained, would also be through her. I could never be with Tara.

Maybe that wasn’t true. I could always corrupt her. Since I could never reach Tara’s level, I could bring her down to mine instead. She still considered me a good friend, even after so much time had passed. Maybe, I could use that to manipulate her. I shook my head. Even though I had made a contract with the devil didn’t mean that I would become a devil myself. Although there were people in this world who deserved their downfall, Tara wasn’t one of them.

“Max!” Tara waved as she saw me, thinking I was standing there because I had lost sight of her in the crowd.

I couldn’t help but feel guilty that I had considered hurting her. I headed back to the table as she smiled at me once again. I didn’t know what happened, but the music playing was something slow and somber, so it was easier to hear as well.

“How are you doing?” I asked, not knowing what else to say.

“I’m doing good.” She responded. “You can see, I’m already doing missions. I’m a C-rank mage working my way toward B rank. I specialize in fire spells.”

“A fire mage…” I responded almost to myself. “I thought you wanted to be a light mage. Wasn’t that the affinity of your favorite mage? What was her name… Madame-”

“Teagon…” Her smile grew. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“Well…” I blushed a bit, but when I saw the dark looks from the knights, I quickly schooled my expressions.

“After I started schooling, I learned it turns out you can’t choose what mage you become. We each have a different affinity. I was told I wasn’t suited for light magic, but I could do fire. I learned that some things are just fanciful dreams.” As she spoke, she looked off a bit distantly.

Light magic wasn’t the same thing as healing magic. Rather, it was the direct counter to demonic magic. It didn’t just light up the darkness. It could undo curses and cause extreme damage to demons and shadow creatures. The titular idea of a hero was a mage with light magic.

“Fire magic is still good though. Light magic may be more effective against the creatures of darkness, but it’s useless against traitors, minions, and cultists. Fire is still considered the most well-rounded offensive mage.” I stated, feeling only slightly strange when I realized I would be one of those so-called cultists.

She nodded. “I agree as well. At least, I’ve accepted that if I can’t be a light mage, I’ll be the best fire mage in the country.”

“Tara is amazing.” One of the knights spoke up. “I had my concerns since this was her first mission, but she cast her spells without interruption and her control was as good as any C rank.”

Tara blushed under his praise. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, I mean it! You looked beautiful wreathed in fire.”

“She wasn’t the only one who did anything,” Amelia spoke up,

“Haha… of course, Amelia. You were also impressive as well. Your enchantments allowed our blades to injure those elementals.” He declared, causing her to calm down, but only by a little bit.

“What about you, Max?”

I coughed. “I’m at the level of Knight Initiate… pending a physical exam.”

“Pending… doesn’t that mean you’re a squire?” One of the knights declared.

“You can’t even go on missions, right?” The other one added.

The two of them looked at each other and then broke into laughter. I couldn’t help but cringe. I was supposed to be a knight initiate. I had passed the written portion, but I had failed the physical. I was currently on academic probation as a result. If I didn’t manage to get the physical portion passed at the makeup exam at the end of this semester, I would be kicked out of the program. As he stated, I wasn’t able to take on missions as a result. This was an unavoidable fact.

Knights had ranks just like mages, but we didn’t use a letter system. A Page was someone looking to enter the knight school. There were prerequisites to that as well as an entry exam. Once you got into school, you became a squire for your first two years of education. You then took a test between the Sophomore and Junior years called the Rite of Knighthood. It included both an academic and physical portion, but because I threw out my back helping a girl move a few weeks before the exam, I failed it. This was the only reason my Knight Initiate status was on probation. This also meant I fell behind in earning merit. Merit was earned doing missions, and you needed to gather enough merit before you were allowed to become a Knight Errant.

You were expected to become a Knight Errant by your senior year so you could take the Knight Valour exam. This was the exam that the knight I had originally driven here was celebrating passing. Upon passing this exam, one became a Chevalier, which meant they were eligible to bind a mage. Once bound, you were called mage-bound. Although there was no meritious difference between a chevalier and a mage-bound chevalier, the act of bonding increased a knight’s strength, stamina, resistance, and power by manyfold, and the two could be considered on two entirely different levels. This wasn’t the end of the leveling system but was as far as education took. Every other promotion occurred in service to the district as a knight.

The mage system was much easier to follow. You started as an initiate mage. You then went from D rank to B rank during school. At C you could do missions, but merit wasn’t a factor.  Instead, it was the ability to do spells. I didn’t know exactly the specifics on what increased your rank, but someone who reached B rank was considered done with school and could select a knight, and the ranks continued to increase up to SSS rank. There were only a handful of S-rank mages per district, and there was only one SSS rank in the entire country.

“When will you retake the exam?” Tara’s look was full of sympathy, but all I saw was pity.

“In a few weeks, at the end of the semester,” I told her bitterly.

“I’m sure you’ll pass!” She gave me such encouraging words.

“How far are you from B-rank?” I asked, not letting her sympathy affect me.

“Teacher says I might be able to reach B-rank by the end of next semester.”

“Wouldn’t that mean you’d graduate a junior?” I asked in shock. S

She beamed. “Teacher says that if I do graduate at the end of next semester, I’d be the youngest mage to ever graduate from Griffin!”

Although her words were casual, I felt it difficult to breathe. I knew the gap between us was large, but I had thought that I had made good progress in Azazel. I wanted to become a Chevalier around the same time she became B rank mage. That was the true reason I had gone to Azazel in the first place. I had countless fantasies of her choosing me as her knight, and then the pair of us beginning a sexual relationship together. Yet, despite all my best efforts, it felt like the gap between us was continuing to grow. When we were apart, I could at least ignore all of these unfortunate truths, but now that she was in front of me, I was only vividly reminded of my failures.

The pair of us continued to chat, but it was about random unimportant things. I had long grown adept at meaningless chitchat with women. How else could I be in the friend zone without being that friend who could listen? As Tara drank, she lowered her guard and unloaded a lot of worries and fears onto me. She even flat-out told me things I had read in Andromeda’s book. Tara was always upfront and honest. She was practically an open book, which was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I knew her well. On the other hand, I couldn’t lie to myself that maybe she had feelings for me. It was clear that she only saw me as her friend and nothing more.

I was pleased to see that the knights picked up the next round of drinks and I didn’t have to pay. The more they drank, the looser they became as well. At one point, Tara and Amelia left to use the restroom, and the pay made sure to warn me that they were aiming to become Tara’s knights. Yes, both of them. A mage could bond many knights if she so wanted, and they aimed to be that. They subtly warned me to back off and to understand my place. I told them I was only a friend, and seeing as it was true, they didn’t go too hard on me.

When the girls finally returned, we were just sitting at the table with a stony silence. Tara tried to pick up the conversation. Occasionally, her friend would cut in. I could swear she was giving me sharp looks, but I wasn’t quite sure if I had done anything to offend her.

“Tara, our flight leaves early tomorrow morning. We should get back to the hotel.” One of the knights told her.

Although they both had been drinking as much as the girls, a knight’s constitution couldn’t be questioned. They could still keep a semblance of their mind even while completely drunk. Comparatively, the two girls had flush cheeks and were leaning against each other with half-closed eyes.

“Do we have to take another taxi?” Amelia said in a slurred voice. “The last one smelled!”

“I’m afraid the hotel is to reasonably walk.” The knight shrugged.

“I could give you a ride.” I declared.

I had only drunk water the entire night. The knights had offered to buy me a drink after they ascertained I had no chance of stealing their Tara, but I had refused. I wasn’t avoiding drinking because I was poor. At least, that wasn’t the only reason. I was the designated driver! How could I drink? Well, that was the excuse I gave myself, at least. As soon as I asked, there was a mixed reaction at the table. The two knights looked irritated, but Tara broke into a smile. As for her friend, Amelia just gave me a side look without saying anything.

“You will? Really?” Tara asked drunkenly. “That’s not a problem?”

Although the knights were glaring, I still shook my head. “No problem at all. What hotel is it?”

I got the hotel number and it was only a short time later that Tara was in my passenger seat. Amelia and the two knights had to sit in the back, which was a tight squeeze, but Amelia seemed too inebriated to notice, leaning her head against the window with her eyes closed. The Knights, on the other hand, were shooting daggers at me with their eyes. Tara had been the one to decide to sit up front, and I was only being friendly. It wasn’t my fault that she wanted to be close to me, and I had to admit I liked it. She was close enough to feel the warmth of her arm. I could even smell her fragrance. I wished she saw me as more than a friend.

I took the fastest route, and the car was quiet on the way to their hotel. Tara was less talkative now, and the car ride continued in silence. The hotel came into view, and I pulled into the drop-off point and turned off the engine. The two knights got out immediately, and I got out as well. Tara reached back and shook Amelia before to two girls stumbled out of the car. I realized at that point that they could barely walk. A small part of me grew excited. Would I finally get a chance while Tara was drunk?

I moved to help Tara, but a knight moved quickly. She ended up with a knight on each side helping her. Was that needed? This night could have been perfect if it wasn’t for those two protectors. They both gave me dark looks like they knew what I was thinking. However, before I could take another step, I was shocked when two arms wrapped around me, and a soft chest pressed against my back. I went rigid for a second as I looked back to see the drunken Amelia now clinging to me to stand, her eyes still closed like she was sleepwalking. I glanced at the two knights, but they didn’t seem to care much about Amelia at all. Their focus was completely on Tara.

“W-wait…” I called out as the two began to escort her toward the elevator.

“They do not share a room.” One of the knights declared. “Her room is 314. Bring her there and leave.”

They didn’t turn back again as they left me with the nearly unconscious woman. It seemed downright irresponsible, but they knew I was a knight, and she also had a virgin spell on her. If I attempted to violate her, I’d be the one who suffered. Unless… I could somehow convince her to deactivate the spell!

I glanced back at Amelia with a considering look. She wasn’t an unattractive girl. Her boobs were a bit smaller than I liked, but she was still a sexy animalia. Biting my lip, I practically had to carry her to her room. When we reached it, I realized I didn’t have the key. I looked down at her body, noticing a pocket in her back pocket. I slowly reached in. As I did so, I could feel the curvature of her butt. Since I had my hand there already, I took a few extra moments to give her butt a rub. My pants were beginning to bulge as I felt the softness of her cheeks. They were soft yet firm. I found her room key though, so I didn’t need to continue to grope her in the hallway.

I opened her door and carried her inside. I was feeling increasingly excited. I put her on the bed. She let out a little moan, shifting in her sleep. Should I take things further? What should I do? Although I couldn’t rape her, I could strip her naked and take pictures of her. Then, I could use those pictures of blackmail. That was similar to what Sophie tried to do to me. Could I act so detestable? What if she told Tara? I felt a moment of panic, and then ran into the bathroom and threw up.

“You are a coward,” I said to myself, spitting into the toilet before flushing.

I had a drunk girl spread out on a bed, a pussy buffet, and I still was too scared to take it. I shook my head in shame, and then went to the sink and washed my face. Taking a deep breath I stepped out into the hotel room again, only to be shocked as Amelia was sitting on the bed. In her hands was a book. She immediately began to speak an incantation, and my vision became filled with her image. I was completely lost in her golden eyes.

She finished the incantation and then glared at me. “Now, slap yourself.”

I reached up and slapped my face.

“Now, punch your groin.”

I hit my groin, and then with a grunt, I collapsed to the floor in extreme pain. She let out a laugh.

“That will teach you to grope my ass!” She hissed before laughing. “Now that that’s settled, just what else should I do to you?”