Chapter 7

The results of my “special training” with Silvia had paid off—my mana supply capacity had improved, and rumors of it had begun spreading throughout the Guild.

Once that happened, the other heroines weren’t about to stay quiet.

Lunaria and Fiona in particular had begun actively pursuing me whenever they could escape Silvia’s notice.

“Yuuto-san, I hear you’ve been supplying mana exclusively to Silvia-sama lately. That’s hardly balanced, and it must be taxing on your body. Allow me to ‘adjust’ that for you.”

“Yeah, yeah! Yuuto-kun’s mana is like a public resource, right? Silvia-senpai monopolizing it is totally unfair! Let me get some too!”

Lunaria and Fiona had apparently formed a united front and were now double-teaming me.

Lunaria approached with concern; Fiona pressed forward with cheerful force.

Overwhelmed by their momentum, I found myself giving in to their “requests” behind Silvia’s back.

Lunaria’s “mana adjustment kiss” in her treatment room, Fiona’s “information exchange kiss” in the archives.

Despite the guilt gnawing at me, I surrendered to their advances and kissed them as demanded.

(This is definitely cheating… or is it three-timing…?)

Of course, such days couldn’t continue indefinitely.

One afternoon, I was in the Guild’s break room, sandwiched between Lunaria and Fiona as they simultaneously pushed me toward kissing them—already routine—when it happened.

“What are you doing to my Yuuto?!?!?!”

The break room door flew open, and there stood Silvia with a face like a demon’s mask.

Her hands crackled with barely restrained magical power.

(It’s over… my life ends here…)

A hellscape, pure and simple.

Silvia erupted into rage, launching into a magical argument with Lunaria and Fiona—complete with actual deterrent spells crisscrossing the air.

“Lunaria! How dare you, a mere healer, try to seduce Yuuto! What were you thinking?!”

“Oh my, Silvia-sama, what an unfair accusation. I was simply looking after Yuuto-san’s health. Besides, Yuuto-san’s mana doesn’t belong exclusively to you, does it?”

“That’s right, Silvia-senpai! Yuuto-kun’s kisses are for everyone!”

The three female mages locked in a brutal argument over me.

I could only stand frozen in the center, panicking.

(Someone, anyone, help me!)

My silent prayer apparently reached someone’s ears, because Serena, the Guild Master, arrived to mediate.

Composed and beautiful, Serena had wavy chestnut hair pulled back neatly and wore intelligent spectacles. She carried herself with refined grace in her official mage’s robes—and she was Silvia’s superior.

“All of you, what is this commotion? Have some dignity.”

At Serena’s single word, Silvia and the others fell completely silent.

After quickly assessing the situation, Serena identified my unique magical power as a precious asset for the entire Guild and made a proposal.

“Regarding Yuuto-san’s mana supply, going forward, the Guild will manage it and establish certain rules. For instance, a rotation schedule, time limits, and guidelines for supply methods—including kissing.”

(Guidelines for supply methods?! Including kissing?!)

While the heroines wore displeased expressions at Serena’s proposal, they seemed unable to defy the Guild Master’s decision and grudgingly accepted.

It felt like I’d simply gained new chains, but perhaps this would bring some semblance of peace back to my days.

Yet I didn’t miss how Serena’s eyes gleamed sharply behind her glasses, as though plotting something.

(This woman has hidden depths too…)

Just as that commotion was settling down, a Mage Knight rushed into the Guild in a panic.

“Emergency! Eleanor Streifen, the Knight Commander, has encountered a powerful magical beast and is in critical condition! We need immediate reinforcements!”

An utterly unexpected emergency request from Eleanor.

Chapter 8

Word reached the Guild that Mage Knight Commander Eleanor Streifen was engaged in combat with a powerful magical beast and in dire straits.

For someone as proud as her to request aid meant this was serious indeed.

I found myself heading to the scene alongside Silvia. She muttered something about not wanting to help Eleanor but needing to prevent the beast from reaching the city, though her expression seemed genuinely worried.

The scene was deep within the forest—the earth torn open, trees flattened. It had become a brutal battlefield.

There, locked in combat with a colossal wyvern covered in obsidian scales, was Eleanor herself, covered in wounds.

Several of her knight subordinates lay injured. Eleanor’s own armor was shattered, her breathing shallow, and her violet eyes betrayed clear desperation.

“Eleanor!”

Silvia called out, and Eleanor spun toward us in surprise.

“Silvia… and Yuuto Minakata… why are you here…?”

“The Knight Corps requested reinforcements. How unlike you to struggle against a single beast like this.”

Even as Silvia quipped, she immediately moved into combat stance.

But the wyvern proved far stronger than anticipated. Even Silvia’s magic couldn’t land a decisive blow.

Eleanor was nearly depleted of mana and could barely fight.

“Damn it… if only I had more mana…!”

Eleanor bit her lip in frustration.

At that moment, standing beside Silvia, I steeled myself and approached Eleanor.

“Eleanor-san! Take my mana!”

Eleanor’s face registered hesitation.

The pride of a knight rebelled against receiving mana supply from a man, particularly through a kiss.

But her comrades’ lives and the city’s safety hung in the balance.

After a moment of internal struggle, she bowed deeply to me.

“…I ask this of you, Yuuto Minakata. Lend me your strength.”

Her voice trembled.

I nodded and positioned myself before her.

While Silvia drew the wyvern’s attention, I pressed my lips to Eleanor’s.

Her lips tasted of blood.

Even as the fierce battle raged around us, Eleanor—torn between knightly pride and shame—accepted my mana transfer.

My boundless magical power flowed into her depleted body.

Eleanor’s form began to glow faintly, and her violet eyes blazed back to life.

“Ah… strength flows through me…!”

Armed with recovered mana, Eleanor wielded her blade like a different person entirely.

Her swordcraft was sharp, powerful, overwhelming the wyvern.

I too felt the harshness of this true battlefield, the ferocity of stakes measured in lives.

(This is real combat…)

Silvia’s devastating magic and Eleanor’s revitalized swordwork.

The perfect coordination of an SSS-Rank mage and an A-Rank knight—or higher, after the mana transfer—combined with my unending supply finally brought down the mighty wyvern.

As the battle concluded, Eleanor stepped forward and bowed deeply to me once more.

“Yuuto Minakata… I owe this victory to you. My sincere gratitude.”

Then, stiffly but gently, she placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

It was a kiss of thanks and respect—a knight’s oath of honor.

Silvia, watching from nearby, wore a complex expression but said nothing.

(I think Eleanor and I finally understand each other a bit better…)

Alongside my relief, I felt a new bond forming between us.

But then Silvia, examining the defeated wyvern’s corpse, furrowed her brow.

“This beast… it bears traces of deliberate artificial enhancement…”

Her words suggested the existence of a new threat.

That very night, Silvia called me to her private quarters and began speaking with grave seriousness.

What she revealed concerned her past and the true meaning of the “contract” we’d made.