He undid the buckle with a smooth, practiced motion.
Mara froze. "Wait."
"What?" Alex asked, loosening his tie. "I thought you wanted the clothes. Come and get them."
He leaned in, his voice dropping to a husky whisper.
"Or..." Alex whispered, his hand leaving his belt to brush against Mara's waist. His fingers ghosted over the exposed skin of her midriff. "Did you just want to see what's underneath?"
Mara's brain short-circuited.
She was a delinquent. She was used to fear, insults, or fights. She was not used to a pretty-boy noble looking at her like he wanted to eat her for dinner.
Her grip on his collar loosened. Her heart hammered against her ribs—he could actually feel it through her unbuttoned shirt.
"Y-You..." she stammered, stepping back. "You sick pervert!"
"Guilty," Alex winked.
He didn't stop there. He reached out and caught a lock of her bleached, messy hair, twirling it around his finger.
"Nice tattoo," he murmured, his gaze tracing the ink line down her cleavage. "Does it have thorns down there? Or is it smooth?"
Mara squeaked. A literal, high-pitched squeak.
The tough delinquent facade shattered. She slapped his hand away, but there was no force behind it. It was flustered, panicked.
"L-Let's go!" Mara yelled to her confused minions, her face burning. "This guy is crazy! He's lost it!"
She turned and bolted, running out of the alley like the devil was chasing her.
The two lackeys hesitated.
The lollipop girl looked at Alex, then at his undone belt, then back at his face. She bit her lip, a distinct blush coloring her cheeks.
"Call me!" she whispered hurriedly, dropping a crumpled piece of paper with a magic frequency number on it.
Then she turned and ran after her leader. "Mara! Wait up!"
Alex stood alone in the dark alley, the sound of their footsteps fading away.
He looked down at his belt, then at the crumpled paper on the ground.
"Heh."
He chuckled, bending down to pick up the number.
System Notification: You have successfully confused a group of hostiles with pure horniness. +20 Lust Points.
"Easy," Alex muttered, re-buckling his belt. "Who needs magic when you have audacity?"
****
By the time Alex reached his dormitory, the sun had fully set. The villa was glowing with warm, magical light.
He was exhausted. His mana headache was throbbing again, and his legs felt like lead.
He pushed the front door open.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back, Master!"
Lily appeared instantly, as if she had been waiting by the door for hours. She took his bag, her green eyes scanning him for injuries.
"You're late," she touted, her voice soft but scolding. "And you look exhausted. Did the test go well?"
"I got an A," Alex said, kicking off his shoes. "And I got mugged. Sort of."
"Mugged?!" Lily gasped, dropping the bag. She was on him in a second, her hands patting down his chest, his arms, his hips. "Are you hurt? Did they take anything? Oh, I knew I should have walked you home!"
"I'm fine, Lily," Alex laughed, enjoying the frantic groping a little too much. "I didn't lose anything. In fact, I think I gained a fan club."
He caught her wrists, stopping her inspection before her hands could wander too low.
Lily let out a breath of relief, stepping back to smooth her apron. "Well, as long as you're safe. Should I prepare the dining table then? You must be starving."
"No," Alex said, loosening his tie. "I'm going to the training room."
Lily froze. She blinked once. Twice. Her face contorted into an expression of genuine, baffled shock.
"What?" Alex frowned. "What's with that face? You're looking at me like I just started speaking Goblin."
"Because you did," Lily said, deadpan. "Did you just say... training?"
"What do you mean by that?" Alex crossed his arms. "Isn't it normal for an Academy student to do some training after class?"
"For others? Yes," Lily replied without missing a beat. "For you? No. Master, you have the constitution of a wet paper towel. You can't even run for a mile without fainting from exhaustion. Last time you tried to lift a dumbbell, you pulled a muscle in your neck and cried for two days."
[Sigh, what a pathetic host.]
The monotone voice cut into his brain.
[What's the use of your large dick if you can't even last three minutes on a treadmill? Waste of equipment.]
"Shut up!" Alex barked at the air.
Lily jumped, clutching her chest. "M-Master?"
Alex realized his mistake instantly. To Lily, he was just yelling at a ghost.
"I am sorry, Master," Lily said, looking down, her ears drooping. "If I said something hurtful..."
"No, no!" Alex waved his hands hurriedly. "I wasn't talking to you!"
"Hm?" Lily looked around the empty foyer. "But... there's nobody here besides us."
[Good luck explaining that one. Ha ha.]
Damn it, Alex cursed internally.
"I was... talking to myself," Alex said, forcing a cough. "A pep talk. Anyway, I wasn't talking to you. And yes, I am going to the training room. And I will do it every day from now on."
He clenched his fist, looking determined.
"I have decided to change. I will no longer live like a useless pimp like earlier."
"So you do know you were living like a pimp," Lily mused, a smirk tugging at her lips. "I thought you were oblivious to that."
She took a step closer, her expression shifting from teasing to mischievous.
"But..."
She leaned down, her hand boldly cupping his crotch over his trousers. She rubbed him slowly, feeling the weight there.
"You don't have to do training for that, Master," she purred lewdly. "You proved you are man enough already this morning."
Alex swallowed hard, his resolve wavering for a split second. The heat of her hand was distracting, to say the least.
Focus, Alex. Focus.
He reached out and grabbed a handful of her skirt—and the flesh beneath it.
SMACK!
He spanked her bare ass cheek, hard enough to make a sound that echoed in the hallway. Her skirt jutted up, revealing the jiggle of pale, doughy flesh.
"Ahhhnn~"
Lily let out a moan that was definitely not appropriate for a hallway.
"How dare you tease your Master," Alex scolded, though he was grinning. "Get back to work."
With that, he turned and walked toward the training chamber, leaving a flushed and giggling Lily behind.