Witch Taming System

Lancel didn’t even have to do much. For some reason, these girls seemed to naturally bond with each other, if only in directing their glares at him.

Wasn’t Fiore supposed to be a recluse?

Was she actually good at socializing this whole time?

Now that he thought about it, Fiore had easily socialized with him as well. Putting two and two together, it wasn’t hard to reach a conclusion.

Fiore wasn’t shy, nor was she a nervous wreck. If anything, she was rather bubbly and had no trouble mingling with others.

She was just... lazy.

But then, at that moment, the atmosphere shifted once again. While Ishtar and Fiore were casually talking with each other, Mei appeared right beside him.

"I’m really disappointed, Assistant Lancel."

"...Huh?"

"I should’ve expected as much when you put your hands on Ishtar. Though I found out later that she had put her hands on you first before even I did. But still, to think you wouldn’t hesitate to put your hands on another woman... I don’t like it."

Mei looked away, her aloof expression softening into a blush.

"Ah, don’t take this the wrong way... It’s not like I like you or anything, okay? It’s just... you know, your special constitution..."

"Ah."

She was referring to the properties of his semen. Specifically, what it meant for witches. Lancel understood immediately what she was trying to say.

She wanted to keep him to gatekeep him.

"So... are you just going to go around getting involved with every witch who comes onto you?"

"...."

Mei hesitated for a brief moment before speaking again.

"Can’t I... be a little special to you?"

"Miss Mei—"

"Drop it," she cut in. "I realized something. Honorifics create distance between people. I don’t want that. From now on, call me Mei... and I’ll call you Lancel."

"...Alright."

Lancel reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"But this is disappointing for me too, you know," he said. "Do you really think I’m that kind of person?"

"...Huh?"

"Fiore is a friend. Just like you and Ishtar," Lancel continued. "And not once, never once, have I made the first move with any of you."

"Ah."

Mei’s eyes widened. In that moment, something clicked. Just like with her and Ishtar, Fiore must have been the one who approached him first as well.

"...Have you done anything with Miss Faust, too?"

"Never."

There had been that one incident, sure, but it didn’t really count for anything. If anything, it had been more of an experiment that helped him understand the nature of his condition rather than anything meaningful.

"Okay," Mei said with a small nod, a smile forming on her lips. "But Lancel, don’t misunderstand. This isn’t a group effort. Ishtar and I have decided to compete for you."

"...? For my love?"

"Huh? No. Ew." Mei shot him a look of clear disgust. "I meant competing for the right to sleep with you."

"Oh."

In the end, it still came back to that.

Though, in a way, Lancel understood. His body wasn’t normal. What he provided wasn’t something trivial, either. His constitution directly affected a witch’s circuits, something they would normally struggle to improve after reaching a certain stage.

That limitation was exactly why witches took in apprentices in the first place to pass down knowledge and push past those barriers indirectly.

But Lancel... He might very well be the key to breaking through that wall entirely.

"Huh? Compete?"

At that moment, Fiore, who had been secretly listening in while pretending to talk to Ishtar, finally spoke up.

"That’s right," Ishtar said, giving a small nod. "You’re not the only special one, Fiore. Taking advantage of Lancel like this isn’t fair. We need to set some rules to balance things out."

"...Don’t I get a say in this?"

"Shh." Mei pressed a hand over Lancel’s lips, silencing him as Ishtar continued.

"But we should add another condition," Ishtar went on. "Someone needs to keep an eye on Lancel at all times, so he doesn’t go around getting involved with more witches."

"...?"

Seriously, what did they take him for?

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

The other two witches nodded in complete agreement, however, as if this was the most reasonable conclusion possible.

* * *

After that brief but fruitful visitation, Fiore had stopped pulling all punches. The moment Mei and Ishtar left, Fiore had already dragged Lancel toward the bedroom.

"Haaangh...! Lancel! ♡"

According to her logic, she had to take advantage of the fact that he was still here. She hadn’t expected there to be others, and quite frankly, she didn’t like it either. But there was nothing she could do about it.

They had come before her and not the other way around. She was already grateful they hadn’t made an issue out of it.

Even so...

Fiore found herself fully agreeing with their idea of a "competition."

It was simple, wasn’t it?

Whoever Lancel fell in love with first would be the winner.

And how else could a woman make a man fall for her, if not through sex?

After they were finished, Lancel returned to his studies. This time, Fiore was far more attentive in helping him without putting her hands on him as much.

"There’s a shortcut to elemental resonance," Fiore said. "Do you know the periodic table?"

"Yes. I know of it, but I haven’t memorized it."

"That’s fine. You don’t need to memorize everything. Just understand the concept."

She pulled a sheet closer and began sketching a simplified version of the periodic table.

"Witches don’t treat the periodic table as just a scientific classification. Forus, it’s a map of reality."

Lancel nodded at her explanation.

"Every element represents a stable state of matter," Fiore continued. "Not just physically, but magically. When we perform elemental resonance, we’re not just imagining fire or water. We’re reconstructing the properties that make those things exist."

She tapped lightly on a group.

"Take this. Alkali metals. They are highly reactive and easy to trigger. Witches who resonate with this category tend to produce volatile mana."

Her finger moved.

"Now transition metals. These are used for reinforcement, like weapon shaping, or controlled output. It’s much harder to master, but far more stable."

Then she pointed to another section.

"Now for nonmetals? These are the foundations of organic systems. Such as healing, toxins, even air manipulation... anything that deals with life processes usually traces back here."

Lancel watched carefully.

"So... magic isn’t just willfully converting mana into an elemental structure..."

"It never was," Fiore said. "Fire isn’t just ’fire.’ It’s rapid oxidation. Wind isn’t just ’air.’ It’s pressure differences and molecular movement. Water isn’t just liquid. It’s hydrogen bonding, cohesion, and flow dynamics."

She leaned in slightly.

"When witches learn elemental resonance, we’re not really learning spells. We’re learning which parts of reality our mana can replicate most easily."

"Hm. So that’s where the natural affinity attunement comes in."

"Exactly."

She tapped the table again.

"Your affinity isn’t ’fire’ or ’lightning.’ That’s just the surface result. Your real affinity might be energy transfer, electron flow, molecular vibration, or structural reinforcement. The periodic table helps you identify that."

Lancel slowly clenched his hand.

"...So if I know where I fall on this..."

"You don’t waste time forcing mana into something unnatural," Fiore said. "You refine what you’re already good at, then expand outward from there."

"I see."