Master, I Swear I Didn’t Mean To! - Chapter 10

“…For now, take the neutralizer.”

Cassius picked up the vial on the table with a weary gesture. This time, he didn’t use magic to float it in the air. He seemed conscious of what had happened earlier in the morning.

Eki flinched when their fingers brushed as she received the vial from him. Unlike her thin, slender fingers, Cassius’s were thick and rough.

He visibly startled and then pulled his hand back. Cassius wiped his fingers briskly on his robe as if displeased.

Eki shot him a sharp look with narrowed eyes.

“Then, I’ll drink it.”

Anyway, if she hadn’t spilled that ultra-strong luck potion, none of this would have happened.

Eki gulped down the bitter-tasting neutralizer without expression and set the bottle down.

“Hmm…”

The nausea that had been lingering had already eased while she was talking with Cassius. Still, since she had been drinking earlier, she was a little worried about her stomach.

“More importantly, where have you been until now?”

“I went to the capital.”

“The capital?”

Eki’s eyes darted around as she awkwardly confessed.

“I had plans with my friends.”

“So you spent all this time just guzzling alcohol?”

“Uh, um. Yes.”

“Are you out of your mind? There are still plenty of magic circles left to deliver to the Association. How do you plan on working tomorrow?”

If you hadn’t ordered me out of the tower, I would’ve been working diligently until now.

Eki swallowed that thought and instead bowed her head with a guilty ‘sorry’. With her embarrassing hobby already exposed, she felt she’d fallen out of favor. She had no intention of pushing her luck further here.

‘No, but is this man really unfazed that I ogled him so greedily?’

If it had been any ordinary person, they would have branded her a pervert and kept their distance. So why hadn’t he cut her off?

…Could it be that he plans to dismiss her once the Association’s order is complete?

A chill ran down her spine. Eki hastily knelt on the sofa. Cassius frowned at her sudden change in demeanor.

“What are you doing?”

“Master. If my hobby is terribly offensive, I will henceforth guard these eyes that keep wandering toward you, so I beg you, please spare me from a dismissal recommendation.”

“What nonsense. Why would I fire you?”

“But you said you knew I liked your face. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“……”

Cassius opened his mouth, then shut it again. He seemed flustered by her blunt question.

“No, I…”

He trailed off, clamped his pipe between his teeth, and quickly turned his head. That was Cassius’s habit whenever he was embarrassed.

‘What’s this. Was he just pretending not to notice?’

If so, that was actually quite a kind choice. If it had been her, she would’ve gouged out the offender’s eyes on the spot.

‘If a disciple, not only much younger but one I had painstakingly raised, stared at me with such a look?’

Hmm. Gouging out their eyes wouldn’t even be enough. Eki might have slit their throat immediately.

‘Thinking about it this way… I kind of feel bad!’

Her ‘admiring beauties’ hobby was only possible when the other party was unaware. Who in the world would enjoy being stared at so greedily? Cassius might be acting indifferent, but surely inside he was displeased.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Eki bowed her head sincerely. She had called him ‘that damn Cursius’ day in and day out, but annoyance was a kind of attachment too, and she no longer wanted to make him uncomfortable.

“…Enough. Sit properly.”

Perhaps her sincerity had gotten through, because Cassius gestured with a slightly softer voice. With a snap! of his fingers, Eki’s body floated up on its own. But the moment she settled onto the sofa, her dress flipped over.

“Ugh.”

The ivory hem of her skirt flew up to her face. A second magical mishap, in the blink of an eye.

“M-M-Master?!”

Blinded, Eki frantically pressed the skirt down. But the lifted dress refused to settle.

Cassius, flustered, snapped his fingers again. This time, the back of the dress flipped up with a whoosh!

“What are you doing?!”

Eki’s round bottom was laid bare. She suppressed a scream and covered her exposed skin.

Cassius was an archmage. Had an archmage ever failed at a mere levitation spell? Until now, never. Dropping a potion by accident because he was tired this morning, sure… But accidentally flipping up her skirt while setting her down? That had never once happened.

“Call off the spell!”

He took a deep breath and swept his hand. The magic surrounding Eki dissipated. At last, she collapsed onto the sofa and managed to fix her dress.

‘Insane.’

What underwear had she put on today again? No, more importantly, did he see? Of course he did. Her skirt had flown all the way up to her head right in front of his eyes. Missing that would mean he had a vision problem.

Eki trembled like a frightened animal, sneaking glances at Cassius. He had been frozen stiff this whole time.

“…Master?”

Only when she called did Cassius jolt, his shoulders twitching. He sprang to his feet like a coiled spring and strode off with long steps.

“That was a mistake. My apologies.”

“Wait, hold on!”

Did he think a single apology was enough?

“This feels strange. Could it be that something’s wrong with your mana…?”

Eki hastily grabbed his robe.

……Yes, she had grabbed his robe.

‘Ah!’

Riiip.

Cassius’s robe tore. From his back all the way down past his thighs. Completely.

“Uh, um, oh…”

Why the hell was this damn robe so weak? And why had she, of all things, grabbed her master’s clothes again?

Eki stumbled back, her pupils darting wildly, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the firm muscles of Cassius’s a*s. The black drawers that clung snugly to his hips made his b******s strikingly attractive.

“…Looks like the neutralizer didn’t work too well.”

Eki finally managed to mutter a single line.