Cheater's Prosper 6 (Patreon)

Daniel was certainly happy for Gregory’s reputation for a lack of magical success. It meant that, even as his ‘amazing’ plan failed, Raum didn’t suspect him the slightest even as he was busy trying to explain the situation he found himself in.

It allowed ‘Gregory’ to fade into the background for a week as the school had dealt with the situation, which Daniel used to hole in the library, using it to expand their meager magical knowledge of Gregory.

He tried to use the enchanted statue, but it turned out that the knowledge from Earth didn’t trigger it. And, without the story to guide him, he didn’t have any other knowledge that would trigger the statue.

Still, it didn’t mean he couldn’t learn any. He stayed in the library, learning many spells, especially the ones that Gregory disdained for being weak or unimpressive. Daniel didn’t share that problem, aware that the world had too many enemies to care about his fighting style lacking the majesty and the grace of a noble.

Fighting was fighting, and that was all that mattered.

It was the main reason he stayed in the library, studying continuously … but not the only reason.

The other was Eleanor, who was in a depressive funk due to the sudden appearance of Vanya, taking her role as Henry’s best friend, and dealing with it via studying. Daniel remembered it being resolved somewhere near the middle of the book, and her joining the group without feeling inferior.

Daniel made sure that Eleanor ‘noticed’ him while he stayed hidden from everyone else, even going as far as muttering to himself about how Raum was forcing him to work for him by dangling promises he would never fulfill. Eleanor did her best to stay hidden, but the set of investigation spells he had learned through the statue also included tracking spells, which came in handy.

It meant, for a whole week, Eleanor listened to his annoyed mutterings about how he was a lost, tragic soul, forced to be mean due to Raum’s mercilessness. The best part, in general terms, it was true enough not to be invalidated by others. Gregory was more than happy to bully other people before Daniel took over, but unless someone read his mind, it would stay a secret.

A plan that was clearly working, as Eleanor was walking toward him with a shy, hesitant step, showing that his plan had succeeded. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Daniel raised his head, looking at her with a gruff expression, but not before flashing a vulnerable yet surprised expression. He thought about sending her away but decided that pushing his luck too much was a bad idea.

Instead, he nodded gruffly before he turned his attention back to his notebook. For half an hour, he said nothing, but a few wistful glances were enough to bait her to talk with him. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” she said. Daniel made a sound that could be roughly classified as positive. “I have trouble understanding the charm resonance.”

It was the book that was open in front of him. “Fine…” he said as he started explaining his understanding, not keeping anything back. She didn’t ask it to learn, as her reputation as a theory genius was established, so Daniel used a way to prove himself.

That earned him a study buddy that stuck around despite his best to act like a wounded porcupine, prickly yet surprisingly cute. Her enthusiasm to prove her worth through showing her magical knowledge helped him to understand several tricky points that made him struggle, expanding his magical capabilities even further.

It was a nice thing, almost enough to make Daniel feel guilty that he was about to manipulate her further.

Almost being the keyword.

“Do you mind me asking a personal question?” Daniel asked, turning into offensive after a week of constant studying in the depths of the library.

“Sure,” she said.

“Why are you always here, rather than with your friends?” he asked.

“Why aren’t you?” she countered, suddenly flustered.

Daniel knew exactly what to say. “Because I don’t have any,” he declared, watching the guilt dance on her face.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean —“ she started.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “Answer or not. No need to attack me,” he said, deliberately framing what she had said as much worse than the reality.

“Sorry, I feel self-conscious.”

“Alright, I understand. Your boyfriend dumped you for a new girl. That would do it,” he delivered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“What! No! Henry’s not my boyfriend!” she said, then froze. “Wait, he’s dating Vanya!”

Daniel shrugged. “They look too close for two people that are not dating,” he said. “But, that’s what experience brings you.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

Daniel gave a long, exasperated sigh, like he wasn’t manipulating everything for the last week just to have this discussion to take advantage of her desire to prove herself better than Vanya. “I meant nothing,” he said, doing his best to show he was trying to change the topic.

“No, please,” she whispered.

Another sigh. “Based on your shyness, I’m guessing you’re not very experienced with —“

“No!” she interrupted.

“Exactly,” he said. “That level of shyness is not very attractive, so Henry probably decided to move onto a more ‘experienced’ girl,” he said.

“N-no, Henry is not that shallow,” she answered rapidly, waving her hands.

“If you say so,” he said, making no attempt to prove his point further, letting her insecurities do the rest. In the book, he remembered that insecurity leading her to do a few stupid things before Henry realized and solved the problem.

He wanted to see if he could channel her insecurities in a different direction.

“He’s not,” she repeated due to his lack of answer.

“Perfect, then there’s nothing to worry about,” he replied. “And, as long as you trust Vanya to respect his boundaries, nothing will go wrong.”

“He would never do something like that!” she responded, but her attempts to convince him failed.

“If you’re absolutely sure,” he said with a shrug, and turned back to his book, surprised at just how easy was to tease her.

“I am,” she said as she pointedly turned to read, but tears were gathering on her face.

“I’ll help you practice if you want,” he said in exasperation.

“How?” she said. He looked at her, exasperated, her eyes widening. “No way!”

“Fine,” he said, doing his best to sound absolutely disinterested in the decision. She huffed even as she grabbed her books and walked away. Thanks to the tracking spell, Daniel knew that she was still watching her thinking herself hidden. He did his best to look focused on his studies, occasionally muttering about ungrateful people.

She returned. “I’m sorry—“

“No need to worry. I shouldn’t have offered,” Daniel responded. “Now, let’s study.”

“Well,” she muttered. “Actually, if the offer was still on the table…”

Daniel didn’t need to fake his surprise. The eventual decision didn’t surprise him too much, but the speed did. She must have been even more desperate than he had realized. “If you’re sure,” he said, then tapped to his table. “Come sit here.”

“Will you really help me?” she whispered.

“As long as you keep it a secret,” he said. “You know people around me wouldn’t appreciate.”

“I will,” she said, acting like she wasn’t even more concerned about keeping things hidden. He smiled softly, suppressing his desire to smirk widely.

“O-okay,” she said as she walked around the table, and sat on the table, tense. Daniel knew that trying to kiss her immediately would bounce back. “The first thing is seductive aura. Turn your shoulders a bit, lean forward…” he started, explaining to her several techniques to be more aggressive in getting male attention.

She didn’t need any help with that other than wearing a slightly more revealing dress, but he was happy to keep that a secret. She followed my directions for the next five minutes, shy yet obedient.

“How’s that,” she said as she walked back and forth.

“Better, but you still need practice,” he said. “Now, it’s time for kissing practice.”

“WHAT!” she shouted, shocked.

“Relax, you will use the back of your hand,” he said with a chuckle. She blushed but nodded, raising the back of her hand to her lips. “Was it your first kiss?” he asked.

“Is it that obvious?” she said, exhausted.

“If I were to be honest. Yes. You need more practice.”

“What do you —“ she started, which was all she was able to say as he took a step forward, grabbed her hips, and pulled her for a kiss. Her lips stayed still for a moment, but when his tongue probed her lips, they opened, his tongue dancing in her mouth.

She tried to mount a gentle defense, but it was swept in her passion, her lack of experience making her very easy to get swept up in excitement.

Too bad panic wasn’t too far away. After the long, erotic kiss, she pushed him back, her eyes wide in shock as she retreated.

Daniel chuckled as he sat back, knowing she would return soon enough … as she had forgotten her books.