My name is Margaret Odius, and I'm a fire mage who specializes in flame magic.
Today is my graduation day from the magic academy.
Because the Crest-bearing lords across the continent have signed a pact with the Magic Association to jointly stand against Chaos, every adult mage, upon completing their studies, must follow the ancient and sacred covenant and form a contract with a lord who bears a Crest.
My life was supposed to proceed step by step, smoothly and in order, and a fulfilling life was only a matter of time.
But the unexpected always comes so suddenly.
At the academy's graduation ball tonight, I met the retainer the lord had sent to escort me. But before I could even learn the finer details about him, this greasy fat pig slipped me a drug while my attention was fixed on the parchment!
Damn it. I'm the top graduate, the strongest fire mage of my generation, and yet...
"So hot..."
"My body's so hot..."
"D-damn it..."
"Body, I command you, move!"
"I'm about to lose consciousness..."
"N-no...!"
"Let go of me!"
...
In the little courtyard, the wine glass between Leon's fingers dropped with a sharp clink, the sound of it shattering crisp and abrupt.
He stared, jaw slack and eyes wide, at the spirited, flame-haired woman before him, who clung to his body with arms and legs both, wrapped around him like an octopus.
She tilted her face up, eyes hazy, lips parted, the warm, soft tip of her tongue grazing faintly along his neck.
"..."
He sucked in a breath through his teeth. What the hell is going on!?
"Wait, miss..."
Leon kept his composure on the surface, but his arms had already obeyed instinct and wrapped around that scorching, delicate body.
"Damn it, my own body, what are you doing!"
"Let go of this lady!"
His body said nothing, only pressed honestly against hers.
"Hm? Reeking of alcohol... still in an evening gown. Don't tell me she's another one who got teleported here straight after some over-the-top damsel-in-distress rescue went down with the invitation?"
"So if I had to take a wild guess, judging by the state she's in..."
Feeling the fiery, delicate body twined around him, his palm slid across her smooth back, and a thoughtful look crossed his face.
"Kiss me..."
The breath she exhaled carried a tipsy heat, brushing past his ear. At the same time, those long, beautiful legs that had wrapped around him lifted off the ground and locked at Leon's waist, as if terrified he might bolt.
"Tsk..."
Cradling her flawless thigh, Leon lowered his head to meet her wet, alluring gaze, caught the spark of longing in her eyes, and the corner of his mouth curled up.
"You're the one who started this, miss nameless mage."
Before the words had even finished, one hand steadied her shoulders and back while the other slipped under the bend of her knee, sheathed in a black thigh-high boot, and with a little force he scooped her up sideways, turned, and strode toward the bedroom.
The bang of the door...!
A flash of contract light flickered, and the bedroom door swung shut behind them.
Not long after, faint sounds drifted out from within the room, low and winding like a nocturne, lingering on and on.
...
...
Evening.
The labyrinth city. Babel.
Winter days are a good deal shorter than summer ones, and with the overcast skies and the light snow drifting down, it wasn't even five in the evening yet, but night had already blanketed the entire city early.
When Jeanne and the others walked out of Babel with relaxed expressions, the outside was already aglow with the lights of countless homes, chimney smoke curling up, a stark contrast to the gloomy, oppressive Dungeon below.
"Phew. Finally back."
They breathed in a few lungfuls of the fresh, cold snow-day air, and the serious looks on their faces gradually eased.
"Even after going deep into the Dungeon this many times, I still can't get used to the environment down there. That oppressive feeling everywhere you turn, it really makes my whole body uncomfortable."
Laurier stretched out her somewhat stiff body, then wrapped her thick cotton cloak tight around herself, shutting out the biting wind.
"Hehe, the surface really is the most comfortable place after all!"
As she said it, something seemed to occur to her. Her eyes flicked over to the tall woman in the hooded cloak beside her, and she leaned in curiously to ask:
"Oh right, Iri, Iri! Today was your first time exploring the Dungeon. How'd it feel? Did those monsters scare you? Back when Aura and I first fought the monsters born from the Dungeon, we got the fright of our lives! They looked exactly like the monsters that invaded our home forest, but they were way stronger than those ones!"
"Thinking back on it now, it still makes my heart race."
At her crisp words, everyone's eyes turned at once to Irisviel, just back from her first expedition.
Like the others, Irisviel wore the familia's standard black winter hooded cloak over her clothes, with matching gloves underneath and high-heeled thigh-high boots, bundled up tight from head to toe. Even so, her slender figure was still faintly visible beneath the heavy fabric.
At the question, she lifted her head slightly. A few playful strands of silver-white hair slipped from the edge of her cat-eared hood, revealing a pair of clear eyes like rubies. That gaze carried both an innate noble air and a touch of naive innocence about the world.
"The Dungeon environment, hmm... it really is a bit oppressive."
Just thinking about that labyrinth, which seemed almost alive as it endlessly birthed monsters, and the fact that she'd spent half a day walking through it, made Iri give a slight shiver. She drew in a deep breath, set aside the tangle of speculations in her mind for now, and tilted her face up slightly. In the shadow of her hood, those ruby-like eyes blinked with resolve:
"But if it's only this much, I'm sure I can adapt!"
At that, Rose spoke up with a smile:
"Girls, how about we save whatever we want to talk about for when we get home?"
She glanced around, her tone pointed:
"This entrance to Babel is a mixed crowd, not a good place for chatting. Hmm... you know how it is. Our Leon prefers to keep a low profile, and the way we're all gathered here at the entrance right now is already drawing plenty of attention. What do you all think?"
Hearing Rose's words, everyone looked around, and sure enough... a few stray adventurers had already taken notice of them.
Especially once they got a clear look at the women's faces, even the ones who'd had no interest in coming over to chat them up suddenly found new motivation.
"Oi, oi, oi..."
"The way these guys are looking at us is disgusting!"
Jeanne nodded to everyone, then took the lead and started walking home.
"Let's head back."
And at the very same moment the group set off for home.
Inside Leon's bedroom, two figures, one man and one woman, sat staring each other down. One was huddled in the corner wrapped in a blanket, her face flushed with shame and indignation; the other lay sprawled flat on his back on the floor, utterly dumbfounded. The two of them just gawked at each other, big eyes meeting small.
The atmosphere couldn't have been more awkward.