Ch.190Episode 38. Someone to Rely On (1)

“By the way, passing both the written and practical exams in one go. As expected, seniors are different.”

During the usual morning assembly, Gu Yeonhwa suddenly clapped her hands and spoke. Her sincere congratulatory attitude was nice, but did she really have to do that while I was making announcements?

“Or is it because the instructor taught you? Either way, I could pass with a higher score and faster than the seniors! I can do more diverse things than them!”

In the end, it was just praise setting up her own self-promotion.

“Yet you’re no match in close combat.”

“You’re too slow to react even when the distance closes.”

Naturally, these two weren’t the type to tolerate Gu Yeonhwa’s pathetic provocation.

“What?! That’s because you seniors are too fast!!”

It’s true that Gu Yeonhwa is weak in close combat as they said, but she’s not actually that weak. It just feels that way because she’s up against Yeon Muhui and Yu Ari.

When it comes to movement alone, those two would be competing for first and second place not just in the special class but among the entire third year.

“Yujin trains with you on close combat every time, and you’re still like that? Pathetic.”

“You panic when the distance closes and use your strength recklessly, that’s why you’re always criticized for being weak in close combat.”

“Instructor!! The seniors are making fun of me for being weak!!”

What is she, a child…?

This was Gu Yeonhwa’s fault for provoking the seniors first.

However, separately from that, I actually expect Gu Yeonhwa to score points faster than Yeon Muhui or Yu Ari.

With her telekinetic techniques using darkness and her various wide-range attacks, Gu Yeonhwa could take on a hundred opponents at once.

But for that, she would need a reliable shield to protect her.

I glanced at Jeong Iyeon. It seemed necessary to have Jeong Iyeon and Gu Yeonhwa practice working together later.

“Just take it as a joke. Anyway, congratulations on passing.”

“Hmph…”

“Listen well to today’s lecture, and let’s train in the afternoon. Good work.”

After roughly stopping the fight, I ended the morning assembly.

I immediately left the classroom and headed to the special class research lab. That was because Bin Yuni had been absent from the assembly.

I’d already received her text, but she was probably holed up in the lab again, neglecting her health while obsessively researching potions.

“Bin Yuni.”

As soon as I arrived at the research lab, I flung the door open. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked.

“Ah, Instructor… You’re here?”

Bin Yuni, with dark circles under her eyes, smiled weakly when she saw me.

“I heard you completed the potion?”

“Yes.”

Bin Yuni showed me a black liquid inside a tube. Is this the potion to counter the eX potion?

“I used up too many ingredients… but I managed to make it somehow. It’s not certain yet and will need clinical trials, but…”

Her voice lacked energy, probably from staying up for several nights. I approached Bin Yuni as she mumbled and patted her head.

“Good job.”

“Hehehe… Ah… but I couldn’t completely eliminate the side effects. Even if someone drinks this, their transformed body won’t return completely to normal. It might cause hallucinations or memory loss.”

“Is that so?”

“But… they won’t die from the eX potion.”

“That’s enough. This is sufficient.”

As long as they don’t die, we can think of other methods. There are doctors with healing techniques, and alchemists like Bin Yuni who develop potions.

“You really did well.”

Even though the novel barely mentioned this, and I couldn’t give her any advice, Bin Yuni still managed to create it. She deserved all the praise.

“I’ll submit it to the Association President. You get some rest.”

“Yes. Please do that for me.”

Without hesitation, she handed over the potion sample before I even finished speaking, as if trusting me completely.

She also handed me a paper with the ingredients and ratios. I nodded as I accepted it.

“Alright. Once again, good job. Get some rest.”

“Wait.”

Just as I was about to leave the lab for the Association, Bin Yuni grabbed my clothes.

“Yes?”

“…You haven’t forgotten our promise to go out again if I developed this, right?”

It seems she really enjoyed our time together, regardless of whether she’s completely opened up to me or not.

I grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

“Of course.”

It seemed I needed to think about a date course.

* * *

After entrusting the clinical trials to the Association, I returned to the lab.

The Association President said he would give Bin Yuni a great reward if it worked well.

Bin Yuni was already asleep on the sofa in the corner of the lab.

She should have gone back to the dormitory to sleep comfortably in bed.

The fact that she didn’t wake up when I entered the lab suggested she wouldn’t wake up even if I touched her.

I looked around the lab and saw the trial and error process she had gone through. I quietly marveled at the hundreds of X marks crossed out on the paper with the potion synthesis formula.

“She did all this.”

Not only was the composition of ingredients an issue, but also their ratios and the order in which they were added.

The number of possibilities was far more vast than I had imagined.

When I thought about how she had tested all possibilities to find the answer, her stubbornness and determination were unmatched.

If Bin Yuni had been in combat rather than alchemy, she might have become stronger than anyone else.

I looked at Bin Yuni sleeping soundly on the sofa.

Seeing her sleeping defenseless with the door unlocked, I picked up her white coat that had fallen to the floor. I neatly folded it and covered her with it.

“Mmm… Instructor…?”

It seems my touch while covering her woke her from her light sleep.

“Ah… did I wake you?”

“Yaaawn…”

She yawns widely right in front of me, her mouth gaping open. Quite the casual personality.

After rubbing her eyes, she looked down at the white coat covering her body. She stared at it quietly before speaking in a husky voice.

“…Did you cover me with this, Instructor?”

“That’s right.”

“How kind of you. Is this the kind of consideration that made other students fall for you?”

“…Maybe?”

I answered with a relaxed smile.

Bin Yuni already knows that I’m openly involved with several women. In that case, it’s better to be completely shameless about it.

The more awkward I act, the more control of this relationship I give to those girls.

“Wow, that’s annoying…”

Bin Yuni criticized me. She seemed dumbfounded. I chuckled and sat down heavily on the edge of the sofa.

“By the way, where are you thinking of going next time?”

She tapped my thigh with her foot as she asked. Well, well, how cheeky?

“Already looking forward to it?”

“Yes, I am. Having fun is enjoyable. Being cooped up in a lab like this all the time isn’t good for your mental health.”

I had asked intending to tease her, but her calm response made me forget what to say next.

“Ah, but if you haven’t decided yet, there’s a place I’ve been wanting to go. Could we go there together?”

“Where?”

“The zoo.”

“…The zoo?”

That was unexpected. Did Bin Yuni like watching animals?

“Do you like watching animals?”

“Hmm… they’re cute, aren’t they? Cuteness is truth. Just looking at them is healing, right?”

“I see. Then…”

“I’ll book the tickets in advance.”

“Is there a specific zoo you want to go to?”

“Yes. There’s something I definitely want to do.”

Something she definitely wants to do?

Is she perhaps concerned about my previous comment that it would be better to be certain?

“Anyway, keep that in mind.”

“Alright, I will.”

I had no reason to refuse if she had a place she wanted to go. In fact, it was good because it relieved me of the burden of planning the date.

“By the way, could you carry me to the dormitory? I want to sleep comfortably in bed, but I’m too tired to walk.”

“Don’t be spoiled. Walk there yourself.”

“Come on. You’d like it too.”

Bin Yuni suddenly sat up and hit my arm with her palm, grinning mischievously. Looking at her, it seems like she’s provoking me to make the first move.

“Then don’t complain if I touch your butt?”

“W-what? No, you don’t need to touch my butt to carry me!”

“It’s hard to carry someone stably just by the knees.”

“To think you’d try to satisfy your desires like that…! You really are a pervert, Instructor!”

“Who was the one with that intention first?”

Bin Yuni pretended to cover her chest and moved away from me. Anyone watching would think I was about to pounce on her.

I already know that Bin Yuni has feelings for me. She’s just hesitating because I’m involved with other women; otherwise, she might have been more aggressive.

Moreover, I believe that if I pushed strongly, Bin Yuni would give herself to me.

But that would also increase her anxiety.

She would question our relationship and worry about how to deal with the others.

So I had no intention of being forceful right now.

“H-hmph. You’re still a pervert!”

“…So, do you want me to carry you?”

“…No. I think you’ll do something weird, Instructor.”

She covers her invisible butt with her hands as she speaks. Bin Yuni’s eyes were full of wariness, but I could sense a strange expectation lurking beneath.

“Fine. But I’ll still walk you to the dormitory. You might end up sleeping on a bench somewhere.”

“Hey! What do you take me for!”

And so Bin Yuni and I left the research lab and headed to the dormitory.

It was my little secret that she yawned several times on the way and bumped into a dormitory building pillar.