Ch.117Chapter 117

We talked about our summer vacation plans. Even though they were making plans to hang out together that I couldn’t join, I still found myself humming along and sharing opinions just because the conversation was enjoyable.

At the beach, there’s the sandy shore and the sea. On the sand, you can do hot sand therapy, build sandcastles, play beach volleyball, and all sorts of things.

I thought the sea would be nothing special since it’s just water, but apparently that wasn’t quite right. At first, I figured we’d just play in the water with inner tubes, but Sera and Aria, probably because they were rich, had a completely different scale in mind.

They mentioned things like jet skis, water skiing, or surfing—none of which I had ever tried before.

It wasn’t just about the sea. There were valleys too. They enthusiastically explained how nothing beats having a vacation home near a valley where you can play.

You might not be able to do the large-scale activities mentioned earlier there, but you could do things that aren’t possible at the sea. Like cooling watermelons in the water before eating them.

What would happen if you put a watermelon in seawater?

While I was thinking about summer activities and having silly thoughts, the Professor returned from the research lab.

“Everyone’s here. How were your exams?”

“Hello, Professor. They went well.”

“I tried my best, but I’m a little worried.”

“Hello.”

Sera, Karen, and Aria greeted the Professor in turn.

Everyone stood up at once and then sat down again, creating a brief commotion.

“What were you all talking about?”

“We were sharing what each of us does for fun in summer and where we go.”

I perked up at the Professor’s question.

Even though I couldn’t go on trips far away with the others, just hearing about potentially fun experiences was interesting and exciting.

I couldn’t help wanting to go too, and if I couldn’t go alone, I wanted to go with the Professor—those feelings were unavoidable.

The Professor seemed to understand this and gave me a gentle smile.

“Is that so? Sounds fun. Come to think of it, now that your exams are over, you’ll be going home to rest, right?”

“Ah, yes. I’m planning to go home and rest.”

Karen, who caught the Professor’s gaze, straightened her back and nodded. Unlike Sera and Aria, she still seemed intimidated by the Professor.

Maybe that’s normal for a freshman.

For me, the Professor was just called “Professor” but felt more like a mother figure, so I didn’t really feel that kind of pressure.

After chatting for a while, they started showing signs of leaving. As they began to move around and pick up their bags, the Professor glanced at them.

“Heading out now? Want to eat something before you go?”

“Oh, no! That’s okay. Since we’re done now, I’ll eat at home.”

As Sera waved her hands, Karen seemed to share the same thought and kept nodding along with Sera’s words.

They might not find the Professor intimidating, but they had family matters to attend to, so it couldn’t be helped. Spending time with family is a good thing, and it didn’t seem right for me to throw a tantrum asking them to stay just because I was bored.

With Aria giving a final bow, the three of them rushed out.

The lively atmosphere settled down. I was left alone with the Professor. I stared at her intently.

“Is it vacation time now?”

“Yes, that’s right. Though we’ll still have to come in.”

“…I see.”

Since I’d heard this before, it wasn’t particularly surprising. Anyway, there wasn’t much to do at home except watch TV or use my phone, so it was better to come out like this.

It was great that I never got tired no matter how much I moved, but the downside was that I needed to do something to avoid boredom, except when deliberately closing my eyes.

Do Demon Gods live like this for 1 year, 10 years, or even 100 years? Forget entertainment—I didn’t think I could pass time like that without anything meaningful to do.

Slouching slightly, I glanced at the Professor, who had just lifted her head. She checked the wall clock, scanning the time, and then nodded.

“Let’s get going then.”

“Where to?”

“We need to check.”

I made a confused expression since I had no idea what she needed to check.

And that expression remained as I was dragged to the research lab.

I followed the Professor wearing a buttoned dress rather than a uniform.

It was a different space from the extremely spacious research lab I had seen before. There were all sorts of devices, and with no windows for outsiders to look in, it felt rather enclosed.

“Sit here.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t like the chair. It looked soft but reminded me of a dentist’s chair, which made me psychologically uncomfortable. It could be reclined, and the leg rest could be raised, which made it worse.

The Professor, paying no attention to my discomfort, fiddled with some machine and then took out something like a magnifying glass. She tapped it twice and checked if it was working properly.

I had no idea what that object was used for.

Since this was a world where magic coexisted, even things whose functions should be obvious at first glance had completely different principles and appearances, making them unfamiliar.

This seemed to be one of those things, so I narrowed my eyes and stared at it intently.

“Now, let’s unbutton this.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m checking if it’s forming properly in your belly. If a Demon God can be born this way, I could write a paper about it… And also, if it forms abnormally, there could be problems when Ouroboros’s consciousness transfers, so we need to check carefully.”

There were multiple overlapping reasons.

Since there was a mountain of things I didn’t know, I decided to just pretend I understood rather than questioning everything, as that wouldn’t lead to any progress.

Following the Professor’s words, I fumbled with the buttons. It seemed like I needed to open the belly area, so I did.

My belly looked perfectly normal. The Professor held the magnifying glass-like object and activated the machine. The whirring sound of the machine naturally drew my attention.

I swallowed nervously while watching.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing scary. I’m just going to place it on your belly.”

“Really?”

Her reassuring words immediately calmed me down. I relaxed my tensed shoulders and frowned. I rolled my eyes following the Professor’s gaze.

The Professor placed the magnifying glass on my belly. The moment it touched my belly, something else began to appear in what had just looked like ordinary glass. It felt like it had transformed into a screen.

From my angle, I couldn’t see well due to the slope, but I could tell it was in black and white. The Professor held it and examined my belly for quite some time, moving it around as if rubbing.

Then she nodded.

“I guess since the uterus isn’t normally that large, it takes time to condense. Hmm, thinking about this, it’s clear that ordinary Demon Gods can consume enormous amounts of mana.”

“So is it far off? Do I really have to wait 10 months?”

“No, not that long. There’s not much time needed for cell division and such, so by my calculations, it’ll be 1 month at the earliest, 2 months at the latest.”

That seemed too fast and was a bit scary.

“According to the hypothesis, a Demon God’s birth happens in an instant, and it doesn’t take that long to concentrate mana either. Considering the size of the uterus, it will take a bit longer than that.”

“I see…”

Even with the Professor’s supplementary explanation, it was hard to adapt.

I understood, but it would be troublesome if my belly suddenly swelled up. Of course, it was much better than having to wait a long time, but it meant I wouldn’t be able to do much properly during the vacation, which wasn’t good news for me.

I pouted while looking at the Professor.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Does that mean I can’t go outside?”

“Well, probably not when your belly is swollen.”

It seemed the Professor couldn’t deny it either.

Having received a definitive answer, I wondered how I would spend this vacation. Of course, I had agreed to do this for the Professor and Ouroboros with my eyes wide open, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.

What am I going to do with my first summer vacation? Who’s going to take responsibility? Sob, I wanted to go to the sea and valleys too.

There were many things I wanted to do. Since I could always lounge around at home with the air conditioner on, it was only natural to want special experiences like the ones my friends mentioned.

Everyday routines are nice, but I knew that new stimuli in between bring vitality to life.

“Then can’t we go somewhere before that happens?”

“Yes, we should go somewhere together before then.”

“Yay!”

If nothing else, I wanted to go to an amusement park. The sea and valleys would be nice too, but the Professor didn’t seem like she’d join in water activities, so I wanted to do something we could enjoy together.

I’d see various animals and feed them. The thought of riding attractions at the amusement park, taking pictures, and eating delicious food made me a little excited.

Let’s think positively. In summer, it’s better to stay indoors than go outside anyway.