I Became A Slave To The Mastermind

"Isn't this seriously strange?!"

Sephir vented her frustration, practically fuming.

What she was staring at in disbelief was a crow perched on my hand.

It was originally one of the familiars she had been raising—her own contracted magical creature.

"How can you even charm my familiar?! That doesn't make any sense!!"

"…Uh, I don't know either…"

I answered her in a small voice, taken aback by her fiery outburst.

But honestly, I had no clue either.

I was just practicing Sephir's techniques—this particular session was meant to focus on learning the skill of charm under her guidance. For some inexplicable reason, all of her familiars and magical creatures began to show an unnatural affinity toward me.

In other words, the charm had worked.

"…Maybe charm isn't as difficult as it seems?"

I carefully offered my thoughts to Sephir.

It's not like I have exceptional talent in this field, but given how effortlessly it worked for me…

Maybe charm is just an inherently easy and overpowered ability?

"Easy?! Eeeaaasy?!"

Sephir's face turned an even deeper shade of red, and she erupted with fervent indignation.

"Do you have any idea how many succubi can't even use charm?! And even if they can, it takes an insane amount of effort and devotion to tame even one familiar! There's no way it's supposed to work this easily!!"

Her shrill outburst made my ears ache, and I instinctively clamped my hands over them.

"But it just… happens?"

"That's exactly it!!! Why does it happen?!"

"Um…"

"Honestly, Hera, were you some kind of nine-tailed fox in your past life?"

"Eh…"

A nine-tailed fox.

A mythical creature from legends, not even seen in stories, only whispered about in ancient folklore.

They said any creature that locked eyes with a nine-tailed fox would fall completely under its spell, disappearing without a trace, leaving no tale behind.

It was the kind of story that people treated as mere fantasy, something out of a fairy tale.

And now she was comparing me to that?

Me, who had never bewitched anyone nor even known how to, found the comparison absurd.

"Do you have any idea how much time and effort I poured into perfecting this magic?!"

"…."

Sephir let out another high-pitched screech.

Her incessantly loud voice was starting to irritate me as my ears throbbed.

"This is so unfair! For you to do it so easily—"

"…Could you quiet down a bit, Sephir?"

"….."

At my slightly emotional request, Sephir instantly fell silent, her gaze turning blank as she stared off into space.

While I was still puzzled by her sudden reaction, her senses returned, and she recoiled in shock, backing away from me.

"Eeek?! Wh-what was that?! Mind control?! Dark magic?!"

"…Huh?"

While I stood there, bewildered by her reaction, Mari, who had been quietly observing, suddenly dashed over to me.

"Mom, how did you just do that?"

"Uh…? Do what?"

I tilted my head and asked Mari, confused. Her bright eyes sparkled as she looked up at me.

"Mom, you just spoke in Dragon Tongue."

"W-what?"

"It wasn't a full Covenant, but… I could feel the power of a dragon in your voice just now."

Dragon Tongue.

The legendary language said to defy natural laws and causality, making whatever was spoken into an absolute reality.

"Dr-Dragon Tongue?"

Sephir listened to Mari's words, his expression briefly frozen in surprise.

"Th-That's cheating!!!!!"

He began shouting as if the world had wronged him.

***

To get straight to the point:

I can't use dragon language.

That much should be obvious.

I'm not a dragon, and just because Mari's mana resides in my body doesn't mean I can speak their language.

However, I did gain a skill that's somewhat similar to dragon language.

Without even realizing it, my enchantment merged with a half-formed version of dragon language, creating a technique unique to me.

It's actually more like magic from the same category as enchantment, but a little different.

If enchantment is a technique to allure someone, this is more of a skill to control them.

You could call it a form of mental domination—magic that beguiles others.

Of course, it's not something I can use often.

At best, I can issue a single command to one person.

And it doesn't work on beings as powerful as Mari.

If Robin had been imbued with the power of the goddess, it wouldn't have worked on him either.

But right now, Robin was merely a student.

So there was no reason it wouldn't work.

The reactions from the students watching Robin were varied.

"Ha! Did that guy just fall over by himself?"

"I thought he was supposed to have a unique ability. How boring."

Male students mocking him.

"No! Robin!"

"Oh no… I have to help him up…"

Female students looking at him with concern.

…Could he have charmed all those girls already?

How typical of the protagonist.

It made him seem even more infuriating to me.

Still, it did lighten my mood a bit.

Seeing him sprawled on the ground seemed to ease some of the frustration I'd been holding onto.

'…It's punishment for failing to become a hero.'

Feeling a slight sense of satisfaction, I nonchalantly returned to my seat.

Waiting for me were Iris and Ariel, who greeted me warmly.

"Ugh, that guy. He's all bluster but utterly lame."

"As long as he's not hurt, that's what matters. You did great, Sera."

"Thanks, both of you."

I let out a small laugh and was about to sit between them.

But then—

"Huh?"

Someone pulled me, seating me on their lap.

I turned my head in surprise, only to find Lily staring at me with an unmistakable expression.

And before long—

Lily pressed her face against the nape of my neck, taking in my scent.

"L-Lily?"

"Oh my…"

"H-Hey! What are you doing?!"

Iris's cheeks turned slightly red.

Ariel, on the other hand, looked startled and tried to pull me out of Lily's grasp.

"Hng… ugh!"

But no matter how hard Ariel tried to pull me away, Lily held me tightly by the waist, leaving me completely immobile.

Snnff—Snnff—

Lily continued to bury her nose in the nape of my neck, inhaling deeply.

The ticklish sensation on my neck, caused by her breathing, sent a jolt through me.

"Ah… Lily… that… tickles, please stop…"

But Lily didn't seem to hear me.

It was only after some time had passed that she finally released me from her embrace and asked,

"Sera, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Huh? This… weekend?"

The weekend…?

I wasn't sure why she was suddenly asking about the weekend.

But this weekend, I had plans to meet Iris in Hera's form to help manage her mental state.

"I… I'm meeting a friend."

"A friend?"

For a moment, Lily's expression seemed to darken.

"Then, how about today?"

"Today? Well, today…"

Before I could finish my sentence, Ariel stepped between us and hurriedly interjected.

"Sera doesn't have time today! She has plans with me!"

Lily blinked at Ariel's interruption and then fixed her with a sharp gaze.

"…Plans? What plans?"

Ariel, puffing up with confidence, shrugged and replied boldly.

"Humph. Sera and I planned to go to the bathhouse together today!"

"…What?"

Lily's eyes trembled slightly.

Oh…

Was that today?

I couldn't quite remember.

But since it didn't really matter, I decided to stay silent.

Seeing Lily's flustered reaction, Ariel smirked triumphantly and continued,

"And we promised to wash each other's backs too."

"…What?"

Iris, startled by Ariel's sudden declaration, looked visibly shocked. Her eyes darted back and forth between Ariel and me before she began mumbling to herself,

"W-washing each other's backs… bathing together…"

She stared at the floor, muttering incomprehensible words.

Next to her, Lily silently observed me with a calm yet piercing gaze.

"Sera, is that true?"

"Huh?"

"Is it true that you promised to wash each other's backs?"

"Uh… yeah… I don't see a problem with it, though…"

At my response, Lily appeared briefly stunned.

I couldn't understand why she was making such a big deal out of this.

Bathing and washing each other's backs didn't seem like a big deal, did it?

After staying silent for a while, Lily's eyes burned with determination as she declared,

"…I'll come too."

"What?! No way!"

Ariel immediately cut in before I could say anything.

Lily glared at her and asked,

"Why not?"

"B-because it's a promise between me and Sera! Just the two of us! That's how it should be!"

Ignoring Ariel's protests, Lily turned to me and asked,

"…Sera, can't I come along too?"

"Huh?"

"I want to go with you."

"Uh.. uh.."

Lily looked at me with a desperate expression and pleaded.

Hmm…

Honestly, I didn't mind.

Isn't there a saying?

The more, the merrier.

If Lily came along, it would probably be fun.

Besides, for someone like me, who needed to get closer to Lily, this was actually a good opportunity.

But Ariel seemed to think differently.

She clung to my hand like a dejected puppy, her face crumpled with a sad expression.

"Sara… I wanted it to be just the two of us… You said you'd teach me directly…"

It seemed Ariel wanted to go alone with me.

I could understand her point of view.

The biggest reason Ariel suggested going to the bathhouse was to learn things she lacked knowledge about.

She probably didn't want to show her shortcomings to someone else, hence her words.

Caught between conflicting opinions, I agonized for a moment before making my decision.

"…Sorry, Lily. It'll just be the two of us today."

In the end, I chose to side with Ariel.

I had made a prior promise with her, so it was only right to respect her wishes.

Then, for just a fleeting moment—

Crack–

Lily's expression flickered.

But she quickly closed her eyes, and a faint smile spread across her face.

"I guess it can't be helped. Let's go together next time."

Something about her sudden change in demeanor left me with an uneasy feeling.

…Was it just my imagination?

For a brief moment, her sunken face had given off an inexplicable sense of eeriness.

It must have been… a trick of my mind, right?

Convincing myself it was nothing, I decided not to dwell on it.

"Good work, everyone!! Let's all return to our respective groups!"

With Professor Calvin's closing words, the sparring session ended.

Each group returned to their classrooms to resume their remaining lessons.

Time flew by after that.

Perhaps due to the physical activity, I noticed quite a few students dozing off during class.

"Hehe, I wish class would end already!"

But Ariel, perhaps excited to learn something new, giggled quietly throughout the lesson.

That afternoon, however, an incident occurred.

In the academy bathhouse, a malfunction of an overheating magic device caused an explosion, forcing the bathhouse to close temporarily.

That day, Ariel was left in deep despair.