Ch.203Chapter 203 – Side Story 4

Everyone is working hard to become a doctor. The usual relaxed atmosphere was gone, replaced by scenes of people rushing around busily. Watching them running through the corridors, moving between research labs with nowhere to settle, made me feel like I should be running too.

I thought researching Demon Gods would just involve sitting quietly, thinking, researching, and verifying—nothing more. But it seems there’s more to do than I expected.

Perhaps that’s why the research lab, with computers on every desk, felt somewhat empty.

The busy people had gone to other labs, leaving only relatively free master’s students behind.

Karen was among them.

“Oh! Ah! Hello…! Oh?”

Karen jumped up in surprise when the door opened. When she realized it was us and not a senior, her tensed shoulders relaxed slightly.

She stared at us with wide eyes, suggesting that being the youngest master’s student didn’t make her position comfortable. I wondered why she looked slightly tired.

“Hi! I came to say hello with Ouro. The Professor gave us permission, so it should be fine.”

I waved from below. It was a bit annoying that Karen looked up expecting a senior or professor without even glancing down, but I understood since we don’t usually come here.

“Oh, really…? Ouro has grown a lot since I last saw her.”

Her glancing back and forth was the same reaction as before.

She looked between me and Ouro, and perhaps realizing how obvious her stare was, she smiled awkwardly and came outside. Her pushing us out seemed to say we shouldn’t enter.

“Can’t we go inside?”

“Well… outside visitors aren’t allowed. Aren’t you and Ourr Academy students now? I’ll let you in when you become interns later. …Actually, I’m not sure myself. I’d need to check everything first, so I can’t really make that decision.”

Ouro looked like she wanted to sit down and rest.

I understood Karen’s position. What power would the youngest have to voluntarily let others into a research lab meant only for staff?

Even if we stay with the Professor, boundaries must be respected.

I nodded, acknowledging the situation.

“I just wanted to see what everyone’s doing after so long. Just talking on the phone feels like only sharing updates.”

“Right, right, that’s true. It was nice when we all went out together before. It would be great to do that again, but…”

“But?”

“Well, if we did that now, our work would pile up…”

A terribly realistic problem lay before us. Unlike us with vacation seasons, I felt sorry for graduate students who had to continue their research even during our breaks.

“How are things going for you, Karen?”

“Me? I’m just… I did want to study more when I came here, but… it’s not just studying. There are a lot of miscellaneous tasks too…”

I wondered how many tasks were hidden in this academy. Tasks that take days to solve, and how many of them are there? It didn’t make sense otherwise.

So many people, yet still so many miscellaneous duties.

On the other hand, it was good information that satisfied some of my curiosity.

“No wonder the Professor researches at home.”

“Right. Professor does a lot of computer work at home.”

Ouro nodded in agreement.

At home, I often see the Professor writing something on the computer. I dare to guess it’s because at the Academy, time is consumed by lectures and student consultations.

Maybe the Professor is used to living like this and doesn’t mind.

From my perspective, it was a somewhat frightening lifestyle. Fortunately, things have improved since Ouro started doing her part.

If Ouro still needed to study society more, would the Professor have collapsed from overwork by now? It was a situation that prompted many thoughts.

“By the way, I heard Iris got a job, did you hear?”

“Ah, yes. On the phone.”

I fumbled and pulled out my phone from my pocket.

Everyone keeps in touch to some extent, so I knew about their recent situations. Iris was one of the people I couldn’t meet at the Academy.

I thought I’d like to see her after so long, but there was nothing to regret. I should congratulate her for going where she wanted.

“I heard she got into a good place since even bachelor’s degrees are valued. Most people get jobs right after high school, so she has a competitive edge… When I heard about her high salary, I felt envious.”

“Aren’t you going to get a job, Karen?”

“Oh, I like studying. To be precise, I enjoy researching like this. It’s fun, you know.”

“…Really?”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was fun.

I thought it might differ from person to person, but looking around, I couldn’t find even a fragment of what could be called “fun.”

“Karen is weird.”

“What, no. Ouro, you might have a revelation someday as you study more! Even if it’s all boring now, you might discover something that gets more interesting the more you learn about it!”

“Ourr, Karen is weird.”

While she seemed to be trying to share her enjoyment, from another perspective, her face was no different from one filled with madness. Ouro, disgusted by Karen’s expression, slightly clung behind me.

Even though she’s grown bigger than me, what difference does hiding behind me make? She’s probably not really scared, but… even if she were, hiding behind me doesn’t seem right.

I removed Ouro’s hand that was slightly grabbing my body.

“Karen just wants you to study hard, Ouro. By the time we graduate, Karen will be in her doctoral program… Oh, are you going for a doctorate, Karen?”

“Ah, since I’m doing it anyway, I’m in the integrated master’s and doctoral program. Iris was thinking about stopping at master’s, but she gave up because bachelor’s and master’s theses are different. It’s a shame. I think it’s pretty good here.”

“You think it’s good?”

“I’m not sure if I can compare it with other places, but I think there’s no place quite like this. You can do exactly what you want and achieve results accordingly. Plus, the professors help us choose appropriate topics that don’t overlap, so it’s comfortable.”

Even though she looked tired, I wanted to support her since she said she liked it.

Sera, Aria, and Lenya too. Seeing the three of them working hard in their doctoral programs, I guess Karen could do the same.

If Iris had stayed, they could have continued researching together happily with senior-junior relationships intact. But unfortunately, without Iris, Karen now has to research with other peers who came here.

Making new connections is also good, so all I could do was hope for the best either way.

Karen, as if understanding my feelings, clapped her hands strongly. The sharp sound startled Ouro, who opened her eyes wide.

“So will you two join the Academy later?”

“…Well, I’m thinking about it.”

If it means researching with the Professor, it might not be bad. I haven’t decided how to live in the future, so nothing’s certain.

While the Magic Composition department might be interesting, it had no practical use for me. I could simply use the magic I wanted to write, then copy the magic circle that appeared in the process. Since this method could lead to the department’s closure if it became known, staying quiet was best.

Setting that issue aside, the conclusion leads to researching Demon Gods being a good option.

After briefly pondering with my hand on my chin, I glanced toward Ouro. Turning my head, I saw Ouro’s sullen expression.

The question of whether someone who avoided assignments could handle Academy tasks and miscellaneous duties wouldn’t leave my mind.

“Isn’t there a lot to do at the Academy?”

“That’s true, right? There’s individual research, corporate projects, research for presentations, assisting professors…”

As her fingers folded one by one, exceeding both hands, I reached my limit before Ouro did.

“This won’t work.”

“Huh? You’re not going to do it?”

“No, I’m fine, but I don’t think Ouro will be. Other students probably won’t like Ouro since she doesn’t do her assignments even now.”

When I poked her firmly with my finger, Ouro frowned and moved away.

“I can start doing them from now on. I’ll use the computer too.”

Though Ouro was the one at fault, she snorted, seemingly disliking being called out. Even if she does well from now on, I’m not sure if she’ll be familiar with it since she hasn’t been consistent.

Even I wouldn’t want to be in the same group as her. If you care about grades and are paired with Ouro, you might end up doing everything yourself.

“Well, whatever.”

“…Ouro definitely won’t work out.”

As I shrugged, Karen shook her head before Ouro could.

Ouro puffed her cheeks, rejected before she could even accept or decline. I hoped she realized this was her own doing.

While it might be comfortable at the moment, she should remember that it could push her into uncomfortable situations later. Isn’t this also part of learning about society?

“You should have worked hard.”

I chuckled and nudged Ouro’s waist with my elbow. She groaned and hung her head low.