Chapter 106: Encounters and Unexpected Revelations

“Hello, Ms. Sharon. I’ll be imposing on you again today.”

“Oh, no need to say that! The fact that a Hero like you remembers the name of a mere front desk employee like me and greets me every time is already more than enough for me to be grateful.”

It seemed our schedules hadn’t matched up, as this was the first time I had seen Sharon since our initial introduction.

“Come on, you’re a full-time staff member at the academy. I heard the salary is excellent, the benefits are great, and as long as you don’t cause any major incidents, you don’t have to worry about getting fired. Honestly, being a secure employee sounds way better than being a Hero.”

“Haha… Well, getting this front desk position wasn’t easy. Though, aside from a few special cases, most of my job just consists of greeting people like this.”

Since the academy was supported by the Empire and prided itself on being the best institution on the continent, it made sense that its employees had excellent benefits.

That’s why my words—saying being a desk employee was better than being a Hero—were more than half sincere.

If I stopped any academy staff member at random and asked about their job satisfaction, I bet every single one of them would say they were content.

What? What about the assistants working under professors?

I’m clearly talking about “employees” of the academy. Why are you bringing up graduate students?

“Oh, right!”

As if suddenly remembering something, Sharon extended her right hand toward me with a bright expression.

“Just like I told you before, I still haven’t washed the hand that shook hands with you, Hero!”

…

The moment her hand came closer, I instinctively took a step back.

“…You’re joking, right?”

It had been at least a week since we last met, so… ugh…

“Fufu. Of course, I’m joking. Though, in my heart, I did want to keep it unwashed forever.”

Sharon quickly admitted it was a joke.

“Besides, since you visit Professor Presia so often, I can just ask for a handshake anytime, right?”

“Well… I suppose so.”

“Then, would you shake my hand again before you head up? Just like last time!”

She extended her hand once more.

This time, I slowly reached out, hesitated a little, and then lightly grasped her hand for a handshake.

“I’m about to finish my shift, so when you come down, someone else will be here. See you next time!”

Leaving Sharon behind, I slowly made my way to Presia’s office.

Sniff, sniff…

Phew. As soon as I turned the corner, I brought the hand I shook to my nose and took a cautious sniff.

Fortunately, it only smelled like the hand cream she used—nothing strange at all.

Good. It really was just a joke.

“Ah, student!”

“Hyak!?”

Ow.

I had been sniffing my hand so intently that when someone suddenly called out to me, I flinched in surprise.

As a result, my palm, which had been pressed right against my nose, ended up smacking me in the face.

“Ugh… Who—? Oh! The front desk guy!”

Rubbing my sore nose, I turned toward the voice and was met with a familiar face I hadn’t seen in a while.

“Well, I’m not a desk employee anymore.”

“Oh, right… I was actually disappointed that I didn’t get to say goodbye. But we’re meeting again like this. The last time I saw you was… when I was called in by the investigator at the administrative building, right?”

I had figured that since he wasn’t fired but simply returned to his original position after his disciplinary period, I would run into him eventually.

Still, it was a surprise to meet him like this by pure coincidence.

“Ah, yes, that’s right. How did the investigation go? Those guys can be pretty strict.”

“Well, I just told them what happened. Rather than being pressured, I was actually treated quite well…”

“Hmm… Is that so? Well, they couldn’t afford to be rude to a Hero.”

The man stroked his chin and nodded in understanding.

“But what brings you here? Do you normally work in the Magic Department?”

“Ah, yes. Room 606 in the Magic Department is my office. I only recently took over.”

“W-Wait, you’re a professor?”

That was unexpected.

If he had been in the Knight Department, I might have guessed it.

But I didn’t know the faces of all the Magic Department professors, so I hadn’t recognized him.

“It’s not a big deal. My master retired, so I just inherited the position. You don’t have to think too much about it. I know you’re easygoing, Hero.”

So, he was a mage who had taken over his retired master’s position.

“Anyway, it was nice running into you. I should get going.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to hold you up. I’ll visit you properly next time to introduce myself.”

“There’s no need for that… but if you do come, I won’t turn you away. Feel free to drop by anytime.”

With a casual wave of his hand, he quickly disappeared down the hallway.

---

“The Emperor is attending the opening ceremony?”

After my unexpected meeting, I finally arrived at Presia’s office.

As usual, I sat at the table, enjoying cookies and tea served by the bear and rabbit familiars while chatting with Presia.

“Yeah. The Chief Court Mage mentioned it to me the other day.”

Of course, there was no reason the Emperor couldn’t attend the Heavenly Star Festival.

Since the academy is an institution supported by the Empire, it’s only natural for the Emperor to attend the ceremony and deliver a speech.

But then, why hadn’t I heard about such an important detail even once during the opening ceremony rehearsals?

“Ah…”

As I was wondering about it, Presia let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with her tiny hands.

“This was… supposed to be a secret….”

A secret regarding the Emperor was an absolute top-level, classified matter.

Yet, Presia had casually let it slip as if it were nothing.

If the Emperor were to hear about this, Presia might end up in a difficult situation.

“Well… it’s fine, right? There’s no reason to keep this a secret from Elysia.”

Unlike me, who was now concerned, Presia seemed completely unbothered.

“Of course, I wouldn’t go around blabbering, but are you sure it’s okay to be this careless?”

“The Emperor isn’t the type to be petty about things like this.”

Just how fearless was Presia?

She spoke about the most powerful person on the continent as if he were just her next-door neighbor.

“Still, be careful. I won’t say anything, obviously, but if you were to slip up in front of someone else, it could turn into a serious problem.”

“Well… I only talk like this to you, Elysia. I don’t do this with anyone else.”

“Ah….”

Whoa. That almost got me.

For a second, it felt like she was confessing something to me, making my heart skip a beat.

Even though Presia was only sixteen and small for her age, she was still a beautiful girl.

When a girl my age treated me as someone special and said something like that… what kind of guy wouldn’t feel a little flustered?

But I quickly calmed myself down.

After all, I wasn’t a man anymore.

Presia had only said those words because she saw me as a trustworthy assistant, a colleague, and a friend.

If I took it the wrong way, I’d just be embarrassing myself and disrespecting her feelings.

Still… even if it was just for a moment, it was nice to imagine that a beautiful girl had confessed to me.

Considering I’d have to live in a woman’s body for the rest of my life, when would I ever get to hear something like that again?

Ugh. But when I imagine getting confessed to by a man instead… I feel like throwing up.

Even if I have to live alone forever, I’ll never date a guy. Never. Ugh.

---

“Rabbit, be good and listen to the boss until I see you again, okay? And our reliable Bear, take good care of the boss too.”

I hugged Rabbit and Bear one last time before saying goodbye to Presia.

“Then, call me again next time. Though, even if you don’t, I’ll probably show up anyway.”

“…Mm.”

Normally, Presia would say goodbye cheerfully.

But this time, she only mumbled a barely audible response.

Her face was obviously filled with dissatisfaction.

I’d spent enough time around her to recognize that expression right away.

If I wanted to call myself a top-tier assistant, I had to be able to read my boss’s mood.

Well… it wasn’t even a matter of reading her mood.

She was outright pouting, as if loudly declaring, ‘I’m upset!’

But why?

I had no idea why she was suddenly feeling sulky.

Did I eat too many of the cookies?

Come to think of it, I did help myself to quite a lot of those expensive cookies, and I even took a bunch with me when I left.

Even Presia might find that a bit annoying.

Or was it because I hadn’t been helping with magic experiments as much lately, yet I was still collecting my weekly pay?

If I had any shame, I should have offered to lower my wages myself.

After becoming a Hero, my financial burdens had significantly decreased anyway.

If not that… was she starting to worry about accidentally revealing the Emperor’s visit?

Now that I was leaving, was she feeling anxious that I might accidentally spill the secret?

But… I really hoped that wasn’t the reason.

If it was, it meant Presia didn’t trust me.

And given her words earlier—ones that almost sounded like a confession—the chances of that being the reason were pretty low.

As I was lost in thought, trying to figure out what had upset her, Presia suddenly spoke up.

“I…”

“Hm?”

“I…?”

What do you mean, ‘I’?

The only thing I had done before this was saying goodbye to Bear and Rabbit.

And I had said goodbye to Presia too.

“Why didn’t you hug me? You hugged Bear and Rabbit….”

“Ah….”

Honestly, my boss is way too adorable.

To think she was actually jealous of her own familiars.

“Come on. You’re way cuter than Bear and Rabbit, Boss. It would be my honor to hug you.”

I spread my arms wide, and Presia immediately ran toward me on her little feet and jumped into my embrace.

As I wrapped my arms around her, she snuggled even closer.

It was just like the time back at the old school building when she had clung to me after being locked in by the mischievous ghosts.

But this time, it felt a little different.

Maybe it was because I was still thinking about her earlier words that had made my heart race.

“…Alright, I’ll really get going now. See you next time.”

Before I started overthinking things and making a fool of myself, I gently let go of Presia.

“Mm… Be careful on your way back.”

Only now did she finally say goodbye properly.

As I turned to leave, I waved back at Presia, Bear, and Rabbit, who were all waving at me.

Thinking about Presia’s past—what little I had heard—it seemed likely that, just like me, she had grown up without much love from her family.

That was probably why she craved affection in small ways.

And if my hugs helped satisfy that longing, then maybe…

Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hug her like this every time we said goodbye.