Ch.200Chapter 200 – Side Story 1

The tiered desks all face a single point.

Everyone was busy taking notes or checking something as the Professor wrote letters and shapes on the board with chalk at lightning speed.

“Through this lecture, you’ll learn how important shapes and Runic Language are when drawing Magic Circles…”

Even though this was a Demon God research department, the lecture on magic composition was worth listening to. I had been interested in magic before and found it quite fun, and I still found it fascinating.

When the lecture ended and the Professor left, the students finally sighed and got up from their seats.

The noisy sound of chairs filled the lecture hall for a moment.

Ouro and I walked out and trudged down the corridor.

“Ugh, I think the only class we have left is Professor Ul’s lecture…?”

My body felt stiff after sitting for so long. I deliberately stretched my legs straight and pushed my waist slightly forward to relieve the stiffness.

Grrrr. After letting out a small groan and stretching in various directions, I felt a bit better.

Perhaps because I’m small and still have some flexibility left in my body, there were no cracking sounds.

Ouro watched me from the side and tilted her head in the same way. When there was a crack sound, I stared at her with wide eyes in surprise, but Ouro maintained an indifferent expression.

“I don’t understand why we’re learning this.”

For Ouro, the bone sound wasn’t the issue. She was unhappy about the basic magic composition class we had just attended.

“Why? I thought it was interesting.”

“…They said we’re learning this to use magic, right? But I can do that just fine without all this.”

“That’s just us, though. Well, and other Demon Gods too.”

I slightly lowered my head and looked up at Ouro. She had been walking mindlessly but stopped abruptly and stared at me.

“Why?”

“Ourr, do you enjoy listening to things you don’t need to know?”

“Hmm, but we have to do it anyway, so what choice do we have, right?”

“…I don’t like it.”

Ouro tilted her head haughtily. She continued on her way to the Professor’s research lab. We planned to eat and then attend another lecture later.

“Oh, you’re already here?”

The Professor arrived a little later than us. I wondered if she had some business on the way or if she had been lecturing somewhere farther away.

“You’re here?”

“Professor.”

I got up from my seat to greet the Professor. Ouro rose weakly, as if drained from the earlier class.

“Oh my, why is Ouro so listless? Was today difficult?”

“Yes.”

The Professor must be wondering what’s going on, seeing the usually energetic Ouro so deflated. Last week, after the entrance ceremony, we only had orientation and finished quickly, so Ouro didn’t have time to get tired.

The grown-up Ouro slightly leaned against the Professor. While accepting Ouro’s childish behavior, the Professor sent me a signal with her eyes, wondering what was going on.

Pong. Pong. I wrote letters in the air with hand gestures. The Professor saw the letters and immediately understood the situation.

The Professor closed her eyes gently and patted Ouro’s back, and Ouro let out a small whimpering sound. She’s really like a baby.

“Ouro, we need to go eat now. The Professor must be hungry.”

“Ah, yes.”

Realizing it was mealtime, Ouro stepped back from the Professor.

These days, we mostly order delivery food. Ouro is good at choosing menus, so I don’t think I’ll starve to death even if I just sit still.

We used to go to restaurants, but we decided to be careful because we might be seen by groups of students who were tired of cafeteria food. If I’m reluctant to eat cafeteria food with the Professor, I certainly can’t be seen dining out.

If I weren’t eating with the Professor, I wouldn’t mind going to the cafeteria with Ouro. Of course, I’m not sure if Ouro would like the cafeteria menu.

The cafeteria usually has a carefully planned nutritional menu, so there’s no guarantee it will be tasty.

Anyway, with food in front of us, we rattled our utensils.

“By the way, what was your previous lecture about?”

Perhaps wanting to confirm why Ouro was in such a bad mood, the Professor glanced at us without taking her first bite.

Ouro was already inhaling pasta like ramen beside me.

“It was Basic Magic Composition.”

“Really? I think that’s an interesting part… shape games are fun.”

“Ouro says she doesn’t understand why she has to do it. She can use magic without all that anyway, so why bother?”

“Ahaha, I can see why she’d think that. …But remembering something and being interested in it are two different issues.”

The Professor laughed lightly and then seriously rubbed her chin. I found myself joining in her concern about how Ouro would continue her Academy life.

Pok. I stabbed the cube steak in front of me. My mouth naturally became happy as I took a bite with broccoli.

After chewing and swallowing, I felt satisfied. But now wasn’t the time to indulge in such satisfaction. I shook my head and rolled my eyes toward Ouro.

“But I think it can’t be helped. Earning credits is mandatory. Not everyone gets to take only the classes they want.”

“That’s true. But if Ouro doesn’t plan to graduate, wouldn’t that be okay?”

“…That would only be bad for Ouro. If you keep making exceptions for her, she’ll just keep looking for them in the future…?”

“……”

At those words, the Professor fell silent.

If she doesn’t like it, is there any reason to force her? We don’t need a degree; we’re just being allowed to attend the Academy.

In this place, you can live well enough after graduating from high school.

I don’t think she needs to be forced, but in the long run, I firmly believe it would be beneficial for Ouro to do it anyway.

The Professor seemed to agree, finally nodding her head with difficulty.

“Yes, Ouro didn’t even graduate from high school, so gaining experience is important… It would be good for Ouro to try different things and learn to endure.”

Ouro, with her cheeks puffed out, opened her eyes wide as if she hadn’t expected such words to come her way.

Usually, we accommodate what Ouro wants to do, so this time the decision was that we couldn’t.

Actually, Ouro hadn’t asked for anything specific; it was just the Professor suddenly feeling soft-hearted and wanting to do something for her. Still, Ouro must have been secretly hoping for something, as she pouted with a disappointed expression.

“I don’t understand why everyone sits quietly listening to something that’s not even fun. Studying has never been fun, but if we can choose lectures, why can’t I just take the ones I want?”

“Hmm, but they set required courses because they think there are certain things everyone should know at a basic level. Too much study alone can also be problematic.”

That wasn’t a satisfactory answer, as Ouro expressed her disappointment with a “tch.”

The conversation seemed to end there, but the Professor brought it up again.

“But Ouro, no, both you and Ourr can use magic without Magic Circles, so why did you choose that class?”

“I didn’t choose it.”

“Ah, that’s… because I found it interesting. Ahaha.”

I’m the one who arranged Ouro’s schedule. I tried my best to create a good schedule for her, but it seems Ouro wasn’t entirely happy with it.

Feeling awkward that it might be my fault, I laughed sheepishly, and Ouro poked my cheek.

“Ourr.”

“Eek! But you said you didn’t know what classes to take, so I offered to help. I, I couldn’t even make my own schedule the way I wanted because I was helping you…!”

I closed my eyes tightly. But Ouro’s hand didn’t come flying.

Though I was needlessly scared, I couldn’t help but pout, feeling wronged. Come to think of it, it’s largely because Ouro often grabs my head and groans. This is definitely Ouro’s fault.

Hmph, I help and all I get is complaints.

I crossed my arms and glared at Ouro, who glanced back at me.

“You tiny acorn.”

“What? Professor! Did you hear her? She called me an acorn!”

“Still, you should thank Ourr for working hard on your schedule.”

The Professor addressed Ouro directly, ignoring my distress at being called an acorn. Ouro blinked her eyes and finally nodded.

“Thanks. For making me take boring classes.”

“…You’re feeding me this, right?”

“But I don’t like this.”

It seemed there were things even Ouro couldn’t tolerate.

“They say I don’t have much time as a human, and to spend that short life on such boring things. It’s such a waste.”

“But we can’t just do fun things all the time. In the end, you need money, right? People probably study to earn more money.”

After my explanation-not-explanation to Ouro, she tilted her head.

“Working constantly just to play for a moment, studying to earn more… Ugh. Was it better when I was a Demon God?”

Ouro groaned, holding her throbbing head. This time, I offered her comfort-not-comfort.

“Anyway, Ouro was destined to become human with a new body, so you had no choice.”

“Ourr.”

“Ack, gyaaak! Professor!”

“…You brought this on yourself.”