“I Like It When You Call Me That Name”

—

“Don’t cry, Teacher Leah~”

The moment his hand touched her cheek, Leah’s body trembled slightly. Will was a “well-behaved” good student—at least before—so even with a teacher as close as Leah, he rarely dared to be so bold with his hands. Especially… his fingers now wiping away her tears, with that light, gentle touch, felt nothing like a “student.” It was teasing, even with a hint of testing in its touch. More like the fingers of a “lover” who had always adored her.

—This is the touch, this is the feeling.
—More, more, more.
—Give me more, let me feel more.

“I… I won’t cry.”

“But your tears haven’t stopped.”

He reached out again to wipe away a few more tears for her. No matter how “stubborn” Leah was, tied up as she was, she couldn’t wipe away her ceaselessly falling tears. Only after feeling the touch of Will’s fingertips did Leah finally confirm this was not a “dream.” The Will whom she thought had died, whom she thought had willingly gone to his death, and for whom she had grieved for so long, was now truly alive here.

“I… I missed you.”

“You… you clearly heard it, heard what I just said… what I mumbled in my sleep.”

“So, I hope Teacher Leah will say it openly again, not in a dream, but right here, in reality, say it again~”

With a teasing tone, Will spoke to Leah in the slightly spoiled “younger junior” voice that Leah found most difficult to deal with in the past.

“I… I missed you.”

“Whether it was every night before sleeping, or every day while awake, especially… especially when I felt my blood slowly cooling, and… and when I was completing the quests you gave me… I… I… missed you so much…”

She didn’t evade anything. She even spoke everything out with excessive “frankness.”

“Mm… mm, I can see that.”

But, strangely, Will’s reaction to her frankness seemed overly “calm.” And… in this room filled with this strange liquid similar to Bloodmint Essence, his “calmness” was exceptionally abnormal.

Leah “observed” her current situation—she… was tied to a chair?

And… to bind her tighter, he had even taken off her long mage’s robe. Now, she was only in a thin white shirt. And the shirt was drenched in the viscous, eerie, blood-like liquid he had just poured. The clothes not only clung tightly to her skin, but even allowed the shape of her flat abdomen and navel to be seen through them. And it was unevenly covered in liquid flowing down her neck and chin. Her face was almost completely red, and she was constantly panting. If he touched her cheek now, he would feel that her face was even hotter than when she had a severe fever.

…Was Will a little… a little different… a little off?

“So, what exactly happened? Weren’t you… weren’t you already dead? And why are you alive here now?”

Leah had just started to follow this line of thought when her lowered head was drawn by the scraaaape of Will sliding a chair across the floor. She wondered what was happening. Could it be… could it be because of those strange red liquids?

Leah felt that every movement of Will’s was amplified tenfold in her eyes, in her ears, in her touch. The slightest action from him would immediately make Leah alert. And she would focus all her thoughts on Will… as if, only paying attention to him.

Leah looked up.

“Let me think, how should I explain this?”

Will pondered, placing the chair behind him. Leah sensed something different about him. When Will thought, he liked to “look around,” his gaze often unconsciously drifting through the space. After all, she had witnessed him thinking more times than anyone else. But… now, his heterochromatic eyes, a blend of deep blue and purple, were fixed on Leah, not even averting their gaze when he sat down. Those eyes seemed to be guiding her, guiding her to look at Will.

“If you’re asking about Will Hysterm, the person, you can consider him dead in Dustbone Corridor—dissipated into the story of the past, along with your subjugation of Dustbone Corridor.”

He slightly pushed up the monocle on his right eye, which tended to slip, and spoke. Just from his current movements and tone of voice, Leah could clearly feel an uncanny sense of “reincarnation.” The person before her was definitely the Will she loved.

—But something fundamental had definitely changed.

“Of course, you can still call me Will. I once thought about taking a new name to signify a new beginning. But, well~ I decided against it in the end. After all, I quite like the meaning of this name, and…”

He slightly extended his hand, his fingers gliding over Leah’s golden bangs, seemingly picking up some of the remaining red liquid.

“I like it when you call me that name.”

Leah felt his scorching gaze. Even his hand touching her cheek felt like searing hot iron, making Leah’s cheek burn fiercely.

“Teacher Leah, so, call my name again, okay?”

Like an enticement, Will, his hand coated with the liquid, spoke in an imperative tone, yet with a hint of command.

“Wi… Wi…”

—I want to call his name.
—I want him to keep looking at me.
—I want to possess him again, like before.
—I want, I want, I want, after seeing him again, to possess him again…
—I want to shout his name, keep saying his name like before, confess my love for him openly, word for word!

Leah felt her mind enveloped by her blood and magic circuits, an intense, fiery surge of emotions welling up. It was… something she hadn’t felt in the three months she had thought Will was dead.

“Will…” Leah finished, taking a deep breath, panting slightly. She noticed her heart racing as she spoke. The crazy thoughts that had gradually faded from her mind during Will’s absence now began to surface, one by one.

“Will.”
—I want to tie him up again, so he can’t move.

“Will… Will… Will…”
—I want to infuse my blood into his entire body. To make him unable to leave me.

“Will… hah… hah… Will…”
—I want him to look at me like that forever, forever, filled with love, filled with emotion, filled with an undying, deep affection.

Her magic circuits now were like a colossal wave accumulating in the deep sea after an earthquake, drawing energy from the depths of the ocean floor, then gently rippling to the surface. She seemed to realize that since entering this place, she had fallen into a “trap” designed to lure her love. Not just the red liquid that made her entire being more sensitive and mad… but also the seductive “language” of Will before her.

Will sat up straight, his fingers, which seemed more slender and delicate than before, moved away from her cheek.

“Mm, that’s it, Teacher Leah.”

She heard a sigh from Will.

“But, you, in your current state, are not enough. Don’t you love me very much? Show me your old affections—”

He suddenly stood up. There were only two steps between the chairs they were sitting on. But the sound of Will’s boots taking those two steps was so clear, so full of oppressive force. It was as if he were stepping on her head.

Looking up, she saw Will raise the “beaker” in his hand. Inside the transparent beaker was a striking, bright red liquid.

Splash—

From above her head, Will poured the liquid from the beaker over her.

“Ha… ha…”

Unable to stop herself, Leah gasped for air. Blood circulated wildly within her body. Her heart began to pump frantically, each heartbeat shorter than the last. Her body grew hotter and hotter. Her fingertips, without any conscious thought, seemed to ignite with fire magic… Her thighs began to tremble slightly. Despite the still somewhat cold early spring, Leah’s body was sweating uncontrollably.

So strange.

Why? Will now was completely like an “arsonist,” constantly provoking her nerves with the liquid in his hand, his words, and his actions. He was guiding Leah towards a path she once thought irreversible. Towards what she considered “wrong,” what she had never truly understood, the path that had driven Will to despair.

“Will…”

She looked at Will’s red eyes, now filled again with pink hearts, wanting to encompass him entirely. She had never used her fire magic so “clearly” before. No chanting was needed. All her power concentrated into a single point, melting the ropes that bound her, ropes made of tough material.

Because… because now, more than anything, she wanted to push Will down directly. She couldn’t stand this “bondage” that restrained her “love.” She wanted, wanted, wanted to prove her affection, to leave her mark on him, to make his eyes stay fixed on her.

“Do you know why I like hearing you call me that name?”

One bottle of liquid was emptied. Will seemed to think it still wasn’t enough. He clapped his hands, leaned closer to Leah, lowered his voice, and brought his face near hers.

Pop.

Leah burned through the ropes binding her.

She also burned through… the last shred of sanity that kept her from becoming a completely mad witch before love.

“Because, when you say that name, you first have to purse your lips slightly, then relax them to the sides, and your tongue even needs to make a slight turn in your mouth.”

“It’s like you’re asking for a kiss. Very cute.”

But Will wasn’t satisfied with just that. Like delicious food brought to his doorstep, he leaned towards Leah’s lips and kissed her.

Leah’s burning fingertips clasped tightly around his neck. The thin ropes for binding people, hidden in her ring, instantly shot out. At the same time, the “love” in her eyes ignited.

Only… Will seemed even more satisfied with all of this, a smile of a plan achieved curling on his lips.