NOVEL WEB Chapter 166
Chapter: 166
“Camelia…?”
“Yes, teacher. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Ashley, seemingly not fully aware of the situation.
She was looking at me with slightly unfocused eyes.
She must have at least known that the Academy break had begun.
But was she really surprised to this extent?
“Uh, um…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”
“…?”
Seeing Ashley’s reaction made me unconsciously go “Huh?” in my head.
It was a reaction that didn’t seem typical of Ashley.
Normally, conversations with Ashley were… rather slow-paced.
She always spoke as if she were tired, like she was perpetually sleepy, but for some reason, that was not the case today.
Instead of being sleepy, she seemed a bit more awake… though that was distinct from what I knew of Ashley’s usual responses.
“When… did you come?”
“I came yesterday. I meant to greet you yesterday, but somehow ended up doing it now?”
“…I see.”
Though it had been a while since I last saw Ashley, some things remained the same.
After all, the first semester was a bit too short a time for her to have changed drastically.
She still needed a lot of sleep, her appearance was pretty.
No matter when I saw her, her looks were certainly quite different from her usual mannerisms.
I couldn’t help but wonder how a person who seemingly just slept all day could have such a good figure.
Of course, I was… rather sedentary myself, and I still had a decent figure.
But no way it was comparable to Ashley, right?
“Hmm….”
“…What’s wrong?”
“Oh, I was just happy to see you again after a long time?”
“Ah… I see…”
That was actually true.
Ashley’s sky-blue hair, still a mess from sleeping, was pretty, and her figure was lovely.
It wasn’t quite my personal ideal figure, but it was undeniably pretty, decent enough to say I liked it.
If I had to nitpick, it was a little more alluring than just pretty…
“Uh…”
That felt like a rather bad thought.
“Have you been well, teacher?”
Curbing those bad thoughts, I continued the conversation while sitting on the bed.
Since Ashley was a bit less… sleepy than usual, it wasn’t hard to talk.
“No… I haven’t been well…”
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
You haven’t been well, huh.
I somewhat understood the reason behind her answer.
Well, unlike before, Ashley couldn’t slack off from work now, right?
In fact, it was more like she was hardly able to avoid the workload that Rosalyn had piled on her.
I held no resentment toward Rosalyn for giving Ashley a lot of work.
In fact, Rosalyn was just normalizing Ashley’s way of living, which had been way too easy, hadn’t she?
“Lady keeps making me work… and work… and work…”
“Oh dear.”
“…….”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
As she spoke, Ashley was staring at me with a glazed expression.
I wondered what was going on there.
It seemed like she wanted to say something.
“Nothing. It’s nothing…”
“You were clearly about to say something, weren’t you?”
“…No, not really.”
“Hmm….”
That felt like a response that hinted at something.
Hmmm…
I could have just let it go, but seeing Ashley after a long while felt like more than just normal.
Something about it… felt a bit cute to me.
Compared to before, it seemed almost ordinary.
That made me not want to let it slide.
“Teacher.”
I began to move a bit further into the bed where I had been casually perched.
Ashley was still lying on her bed, meaning our distance was inevitably getting closer.
Not that it was closer than when I woke her up, though.
“…Why?”
“What do you want to say? You’ve been avoiding eye contact since earlier.”
“That’s not it…”
“Really?”
“…Yeah.”
“Hmm….”
Ashley was around the same age as Rosalyn.
They were both in their early twenties… just a few years past their teenage years, yet the difference in atmosphere was stark.
It was like that even now.
“Do you not want to tell me?”
“That’s not it…”
“Then what?”
“I told you it’s nothing…?”
Getting closer, she seemed to almost shy away from me.
If I was this close to Rosalyn, she’d usually react positively.
Of course, there was a considerable difference in their relationships as mother and daughter compared to teacher and student, but still, the reactions were definitely different.
Ashley’s face turned slightly red, and she was avoiding eye contact…
“Hehe… you’re cute, you know?”
“D-don’t say that…”
For someone who usually kept a sleepy and dazed expression, Ashley seemed rather different today.
Indeed, she was definitely different than usual…
“Hehe… Teacher.”
Much like with Rize or Grace.
Watching Ashley’s cute reactions, a playful spirit arose in me.
I usually didn’t feel this way around people, but only around beautiful individuals?
Those who elicit such thoughts are mostly just beautiful women.
“Teacher…”
I gently pushed aside the hair that was partly hiding Ashley’s pretty face.
I hadn’t sought permission to do this, but since she didn’t show any real signs of rejection or dislike…
“Heh….”
“Sensitive, are we?”
“W-what…?”
“Ah, maybe it’s more accurate to say your senses are sharp…? Both mean about the same, but…”
Just by watching Ashley’s reactions, I started thinking about it.
Sensitive.
I had only lightly touched her ear at first, but it had made her jump awake.
And now, a simple touch was prompting such cute responses…
It seemingly struck me that her senses were rather keen.
I had heard once in class that excellent magicians tend to be sensitive to mana.
I wondered if Ashley was similar in that regard.
“Even so, to say that…”
“But honestly, you are quite sensitive. Just fine-tuning like this… to your ear.”
“Heh….”
“You respond every time.”
Seriously.
I was just lightly touching her ear with my fingertips.
It was fascinating how even such a light touch could invoke a reaction from her.
I found myself finding her reactions immensely entertaining?
“J-Just a second… why do you keep… ugh, Camelie…”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Could you stop teasing my ears…”
…Something feels… naughty.
I was just playfully touching and tickling her ears, but I didn’t expect to get such an interesting response.
“Was that really so ticklish for you?”
“…Yeah.”
I withdrew my hand from Ashley’s face to check her expression.
Her face and ears were clearly much redder than before.
It wasn’t just because of the tickling; it was likely also because of the embarrassment.
“I’ve known you for quite a while now, but I didn’t expect this kind of characteristic from you.”
“…….”
The absence of any response seemed to indicate she was quite embarrassed about that.
Well, given that I had been quite forward with such a young girl… I could understand her reaction.
“Hehe… it looks like I’ve found a way to wake you up, when you’re sleeping!”
“Ah…”
“If I had known this would be the case, I would have done it sooner.”
“That’s…”
I knew very well that Ashley was attractive.
But I had never realized that she would also be so fun to mess with.
In magic classes, we usually never touched each other at all, and even if we did, tickling was out of the question.
“…I shouldn’t be doing this to you.”
“Hehe… really?”
“…Uhm.”
“Remember that time when you were sleeping, and I carried you to the bed?”
“That was with magic.”
“Then is it okay if I tickle you with magic?”
“…Don’t mess around.”
Ashley’s face was flickering between embarrassment and slightly displeased.
Honestly, I found those reactions quite delightful.
It seemed she didn’t realize that her current responses were fueling my curiosity even more.
“And… you don’t do this with anyone else, right…?”
“Why would you ask?”
I responded with a smile.
“…It’s nothing.”
“If we were to be precise, I did tickle you for the first time, didn’t I?”
“…Huh?”
“I’ve never done this to anyone else before. I promise.”
Hmm… I’ve tried quite a few other things, but I generally haven’t indulged in any tickling, have I?
Even though I had often hugged Rize like a pillow while we napped, and given Karen head pats while resting on her lap, and even shown Grace some skin…
But tickling was definitely a new thing for me.
“…….”
“Why are you quiet?”
“Even so… be careful.”
“Hehe, would I do that to just anyone?”
“Hah…”
Ashley showed a very frustrated reaction.
Yet, interestingly enough, that made me want to play a little more.
For now, I’d gotten my fair share of teasing done.
I spent time chatting with Ashley, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, in her room.
We shared stories about the various happenings at the Academy, our time spent in clubs, of course the stuffy lectures from the professors, and even some mistakes made by the first-years in magic class.
Thus, I truly spent some quality time with Ashley after quite a while.
Afterward, I enjoyed watching the servants clean the garden and managed the documents Rize and I had brought back from the dormitory.
Only after it was past six did the sun finally set, and it seemed Rosalyn’s work had taken longer than expected, as it was almost dark when she finally came to my room.
“Did you wait a long time? The garden cleaning took longer than I thought.”
It definitely was a bit later than either of us expected.
Still… I wasn’t overly concerned.
“No, not at all. I was busy with my own tasks. I sorted these documents today too.”
“Hehe, I’m glad to hear that. But I’m still sorry for making you wait.”
“No, I just wanted to spend some time with Mother, that’s all.”
Truly, I didn’t mind the timing; it wasn’t a big deal.
I simply wanted to spend one-on-one time with Rosalyn after so long. In fact, I preferred it after the sun had completely set anyway.
“Shall we go out now?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Thus, I followed Rosalyn out of the room and out of the mansion.
Our little outing after such a long time… it wasn’t too grand, just a meal with Rosalyn alone.
I couldn’t help but smile.