Is It Wrong for an Extra to Steal the Protagonist's Harem?-Chapter 56: Essence Spring

"You squeezed it," Alicia accused, pointing a trembling finger at me. "I saw you squeeze it!"

"Reflex action. To ensure a firm grip."

"You... you lecherous dog!" she stamped her foot, though her own face was still heavily flushed from our shared mana session and the lingering aphrodisiac vapor. "Is there any woman in this Academy you won’t touch?!"

I leaned over the cauldron, looking her dead in the eye.

"Are you jealous, Alicia?" I whispered. "If you wanted me to squeeze yours, all you had to do was ask."

Before her brain could process the sheer audacity of my statement, I reached out.

Squeeze.

I shamelessly grabbed her left breast right through her uniform. It was firm, perky, and fit perfectly in my palm—a solid B-cup, maybe a C on a good day.

Alicia froze, her crimson eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Her brain entirely flatlined.

I gave the soft mound a critical, assessing squeeze, then let go with a disappointed sigh.

"Well," I commented, wiping my hand on my trousers. "It’s not bad, but it definitely needs more work. You should eat more papaya, Princess."

The silence in our section of the lab was absolute.

A second passed. Then two.

Alicia looked down at her chest. Then she looked at my face.

The blush that exploded across her cheeks wasn’t just embarrassment; it was pure, unadulterated, volcanic rage. The ambient temperature in the room spiked by ten degrees.

"I WILL BURN YOU TO ASH!"

"Class is dismissed!" I yelled, vaulting over the workbench.

The class watched in awe as the Eldest Daughter of the Raven Count family chased the Heir of Edelhart around the alchemy lab, her hands blazing with literal hellfire, while he simply laughed, dodging her fiery wrath with infuriating ease.

****

I managed to escape the Alchemy building with all my hair intact, though my uniform jacket smelled faintly of smoke.

As I walked out into the courtyard, catching my breath, a familiar, annoying voice called out to me.

"Hey, Alex."

I turned to see Martin jogging up to me, looking out of breath.

"What is it, Martin? Did you melt another cauldron?"

"No," Martin panted, resting his hands on his knees. "Professor Cassandra called you to her office."

"Hm? Why?"

"How would I know?" Martin rolled his eyes, adjusting his bag. "My task was to inform you. She said to come immediately. So I did. Bye."

He turned and scurried off before I could ask any more questions.

I was left standing there, bewildered. What was this about? Had they found out about my little escapade in the Restricted Section with Elara? Or was this about the Demon’s Nail?

"Well, let’s find out."

I made my way to the Faculty Tower. Professor Cassandra’s office was located on the third floor, at the end of a long, dimly lit corridor.

I reached the heavy oak door. It was slightly ajar.

I knocked twice.

No answer.

"Professor?"

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The office smelled heavily of lavender pipe smoke and old parchment. Books were stacked haphazardly in towering, precarious columns.

But my eyes didn’t focus on the books. They zeroed in on the massive mahogany desk in the center of the room.

More specifically, on the woman sleeping on top of it.

I froze, completely bewildered by the scene.

Professor Cassandra was taking a nap in her chair, but her position was... incredibly slutty.

She was leaning far back in her plush leather chair. Both of her long, slender legs were propped up and crossed lazily on the top of her desk. Because of the angle, her tight black pencil skirt had slid dangerously high up her thighs, bunching around her hips. She wasn’t wearing tights, exposing miles of smooth, pale skin, and giving me a direct, unobstructed view of the sheer black lace panties clinging to her crotch.

But that wasn’t the most distracting part.

The top half of her outfit was in complete disarray. Several buttons of her blouse had been completely unbuttoned—likely because of the afternoon heat—exposing the deep, plunging neckline of a dark purple, silk bra. Her massive breasts, which were usually hidden beneath her conservative professor robes, were encased in the delicate lace, looking like they were ready to spill out at the slightest movement. The deep valley of her cleavage was glistening with a faint sheen of sweat.

An open grimoire was resting over her face, blocking the sunlight from the window. Her chest rose and fell in a slow, rhythmic slumber.

Twitch.

My dick, recovering from the morning’s activities, instantly sprang to attention, pressing hard against my zipper.

’What the fuck is this situation?’ I thought, swallowing dry saliva. ’Is this a trap? A test?’

As if sensing the sudden spike in ambient testosterone in the room, the breathing beneath the book hitched.

A slender hand reached up and lazily pulled the grimoire off her face.

Cassandra blinked her sharp, cat-like eyes, adjusting to the light. She saw me standing in the doorway, staring intently at her exposed cleavage and the sliver of black lace between her thighs.

She didn’t scream. She didn’t blush. She didn’t even bother to pull her skirt down or button her top.

She calmly straightened up, leaving her legs crossed on the desk, entirely unbothered by her state of undress.

"So, you are here," she said, her voice husky with sleep.

I didn’t answer. My eyes were still glued to her chest.

Cassandra let out a low, amused hum. She crossed her arms under her breasts, a deliberate movement that pushed the massive, soft mounds even higher, making them pop out over the edge of her purple bra. The lace strained visibly.

"Have you had enough staring?" she purred, a wicked smirk playing on her lips. "Or do you want to come closer and take a feel of it? I know you have a habit of grabbing faculty members when they aren’t looking."

She knew about the Sylvia incident. The woman had eyes everywhere.

I snapped out of my daze, feeling the heat rise to my neck, and coughed into my fist.

"Sorry, Professor. You’re just... very distracting today. You were saying something?"

Cassandra didn’t scold me. She simply uncrossed her legs, letting them drop to the floor with a soft thud, though she still didn’t bother to button her shirt.

She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a small object.

Without a word of warning, she tossed it at my head.

I hastily raised my hands and caught it.

It was an artifact. It looked like a smooth, teardrop-shaped crystal, completely transparent but cold to the touch. Faint, silver runes were etched into its core.

"It’s called the Essence Spring," Cassandra said, leaning her elbows on the desk, giving me another generous view of her cleavage. "It’s not a legendary artifact by any means, but it will still help you with your pathetic mana reserves."

I examined the crystal from all angles.

[System Item Analysis]

[Item: Essence Spring (Mana Reservoir)]

[Grade: B]

[Description: An artifact capable of storing raw mana for later use. Can be injected or extracted seamlessly during combat.]

It was a mana battery.

I could pour my mana into it when my pool was full, store it, and then draw from it when I emptied my internal reserves. For someone like me, whose base MP was only 18 but whose stamina allowed for rapid recovery, this was a godsend. I could grind mana into this thing all night and double my casting output the next day.

As Cassandra said, the amount it could store likely varied depending on the grade, and a B-Grade was standard for high-level knights. But still, it was an incredibly expensive, highly regulated item.

I looked up at her, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Why did you give this to me?"

Cassandra waved a dismissive hand, picking up her pipe and lighting it with a snap of her fingers.

"I’m done with my business, so I’ll ask you to leave. I’m busy dealing with academic stuff."

She turned her chair around, facing the window, blowing a ring of lavender smoke.

"Professor—"

"However," she suddenly spoke, interrupting me without turning back around.

The playful, seductive tone was gone from her voice. It was replaced by dead-serious authority.

"Listen to me carefully, Alex. Don’t be careless. For the time being don’t wander out of the dormitory, I have received some info that, the cultist’s are looking for the person who has foiled their plans. You better be careful. Do not wander the city at night. Eat the school meals provided in the secure cafeteria. Do not accept food from strangers."

’What is this woman suddenly saying?’ I stared at the back of her chair.

She was giving me a mana battery to defend myself, and telling me to stay in the safe zones.

Before I could ask any further questions or confirm my theories, she waved her hand over her shoulder.

"Get out. My nap was interrupted, and I have a headache."

I looked at the Essence Spring in my hand, then at the Professor.

"Thank you, Cassandra," I said quietly.

I turned and walked out, closing the heavy oak door behind me.

As I walked down the hallway, I tossed the crystal in the air and caught it.

Well, I hadn’t lost anything, and I’d gained a massive tactical advantage. It was a good item. I could just fill it with my mana using my Defective Circuit’s recoil loop whenever I was free. It would come in handy when I inevitably ran out of internal mana fighting.

And, as a bonus, I had gotten a spectacular view of my homeroom teacher.