Ch.27Chapter 27

Throughout the lecture, I was half-embraced by Sera, but when I heard the Professor’s voice announcing the end of the class, I gently pushed Sera away.

“It’s getting hot now.”

At my words, Sera relaxed her arms and let herself be pushed away. Freed from the small pressure, I quietly looked at the paper in front of me.

Traces of interrupted letter practice. On the other hand, I thought it could serve as evidence that I had focused on the lecture, so I decided I should show it to the Professor.

As I gathered and neatly arranged all the papers, Sera, who had been quietly watching me, casually spoke up.

“What are you going to do now, Ourr?”

“Eat. With the Professor.”

“Eat? So Ourr eats food?”

“It’s delicious.”

After saying that, I hugged the papers to my chest. As I was struggling to put them away after getting down from the chair, Sera reached out her hand to help. I glanced at her while watching her actions.

I fidgeted with my mouth before putting them away again, and Sera chuckled.

“You could say thank you.”

“…Isn’t it optional?”

“No.”

I could have done it myself. But help is still help.

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it~”

Sera, who answered glibly, put the chair that had been moved several times back in its place and swept all her belongings into her bag at once. I watched carefully, wondering if that was okay, but realized there was surprisingly a technique that reflected her experience as a third-year student.

As I blankly watched the books being neatly organized into her bag, Sera tapped my shoulder and urged me to get going.

“We should go now.”

“Are you going home?”

“Home… home would be nice, but I’m planning to eat out today.”

It seemed she usually went home to eat. I wouldn’t ask for details though.

“What are you going to eat?”

“Since I’ll be eating with Ourr, Ourr can decide.”

Eating with Ourr. …That’s me?

Since I had never heard about eating with Sera before, I momentarily felt like my thoughts had frozen. Questions like “Why am I eating with Sera?” and “Why do I have to decide the menu?” mixed together as I looked at her.

“Me, me?”

In the end, my questions didn’t make it to my lips. I just made a silly sound while looking at where Sera was.

As I pointed at myself with my finger, Sera laughed, “Pfft.”

“Well, eating with the Professor might not be so bad?”

“…Is that true.”

While other students seemed terrified of the Professor, Sera seemed to think that eating with the Professor was okay in its own way.

As I looked up at Sera with a dumbfounded voice, she gently patted my head.

“Of course, bathing might be a bit too much.”

“…I guess so.”

Since the lecture had ended, some students were hurrying home, while others approached me saying they finally had time.

“Hello, Ourr?”

“It’s Ourr… she always sits next to Sera, before too.”

I waved back at the girls who were slightly waving at me. A student with dark circles under her eyes, despite the semester just starting, looked back and forth between me and Sera.

Sera smiled bitterly at that voice and lightly touched my cheek.

“Maybe it’s just because I sit in the corner, so it feels more familiar to her?”

“Then I’ll sit in the corner too… I want to sit there next time!”

“No way. It’s enough that I’m the only one who knows the feeling of hugging Ourr.”

The student who had urged Sera to give up her seat smiled bitterly as if she couldn’t help it.

Sera, who had tightly embraced me, seemed to be showing her possessiveness, but she stepped back again at my nod.

“I’m Panasia, nice to meet you?”

Panasia’s distinctive feature was her purple hair. The red eyes visible through it made me think it was a fascinating combination.

“I’m Davi.”

Davi had gray hair and blue eyes. Compared to the other tall, busty girls, she seemed more similar to me.

Seeing that there wasn’t much height difference, I thought we might get along easily.

Setting aside my personal impressions, I glanced at the podium. The Professor was standing still at the lectern, perhaps wanting to give me time to talk.

I noticed her also taking questions from students who had inquiries on their way out.

Thinking she might be waiting for me, I created an atmosphere to end this gathering.

“…Panasia, Davi. Yes, I remembered. I have to go with the Professor, so I’ll be off…!”

Honestly, I didn’t think I ended it naturally, but there’s no better excuse than saying the Professor is waiting.

Leaving Panasia and Davi behind, I hurried over to the Professor.

“Professor!”

“Oh my, Ourr, be careful not to fall.”

“Eh.”

Just as the Professor said that, I felt my belt suddenly slip down. With my eyes wide open, I hesitated momentarily about what to do.

If I grabbed my skirt, the papers I was hugging might scatter unstably. If I kept hugging the papers, my skirt might fall down.

Many thoughts crossed my mind, but unable to match the speed of those thoughts, I tripped over my skirt and fell forward.

Thud.

The Professor caught me from the front. Thanks to the short distance, I was able to avoid the misfortune of rolling on the floor.

“…You should be more careful. Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay…”

A skirt was originally a loose garment for the lower body. So its disadvantage was that you could only tell by the feeling around your waist. Even if the skirt was folded, the wearer wouldn’t know.

But it wasn’t good news that the wearer knew there was a problem. It meant the skirt was in a mess, and now with my skirt caught around my ankles, I felt like dying of embarrassment.

Why, why does this only happen in the third-year classroom?

It was really strange. Of course, if we talk about probability, I have nothing to say, but it was so embarrassing that I just wanted to bury my head somewhere and blame someone else.

As I buried my face in the Professor’s chest and held my breath, Sera, who had been following, grabbed my shoulder.

“O-Ourr! You need to put it on first…!”

Sera said that and grabbed my skirt. The small weight I had felt on my feet suddenly disappeared. Thanks to Sera’s touch, my skirt returned to my waist, but I was so embarrassed that I wanted to hide like this.

The Professor stroked my back a few times.

“It’s okay. Shall we go like this?”

“……”

I shook my head. I refused because I thought the embarrassment would double if we went to the research lab stuck together like this. Behind the Professor’s bitter smile, Sera’s voice pierced my ears from behind.

“Come to think of it, are pink stripes your style, Ourr?”

“!”

It was a small voice, but the problem was that I heard it.

What if someone else hears! Of course, some people might have already seen, but those who didn’t should just pretend they didn’t…!

Although embarrassed, I intended to express this indignation toward Sera who was maximizing my embarrassment. I raised my head and turned sharply toward Sera, only to headbutt her chest.

Thud.

It was the same feeling as before. I didn’t mean to bump into her that hard, but I also didn’t intend to bump into something so soft, creating an awkward atmosphere.

I narrowed my brow for a moment and tried to move away from Sera, but she grabbed my head slightly, preventing me from escaping.

“If you like me that much, just say so.”

“T-that’s not it.”

Having barely detached my face, I pouted and turned my head sharply. When I reached out to the Professor asking to be saved from Sera, the Professor slightly extended her hand to me.

Moving to the Professor’s side, I buried my head there and looked up slightly.

Can’t you hear this voice in my heart screaming that I want to escape from this classroom, from these gazes?

Meanwhile, the Professor was answering Sera’s comment on my behalf.

“Rather than a preference, it’s just what fit her size…”

That’s something you don’t need to explain in detail.

Apparently she couldn’t hear me, so I barely extended two fingers to pull at the Professor’s sleeve. Then the Professor said, “Okay, okay,” and after a brief greeting to Sera, we left.

Although we had left the classroom, I could still feel the gazes of the third-year students who hadn’t yet left the vicinity. So I walked down the corridor, sticking close to the Professor’s side.

Just as I thought we were getting away, Sera followed behind with quick steps.

“Professor!”

“Yes? What is it? Do you have something to ask? Then come to the research lab first. Ourr seems to want to go quickly.”

“Ah, about that…”

Sera scratched her cheek.

As soon as we arrived at the research lab, Sera stated her business, and the Professor tilted her head.

“You want to eat together? You want to eat with Ourr, but not just the two of you, is that it?”

“…Y-yes, something like that?”

Sera was truly remarkable. She seemed extraordinary, willing to endure the awkwardness of dining with the Professor just to eat with me. She’s quite stubborn.

“Well, it’s partly because of Ourr, but I also want to get closer to you, Professor… Ahaha.”

The dry laughter proved Sera’s unnaturalness. The Professor already knew this and brushed it off as a joke.

“I don’t mind. It’s good for Ourr to have many friends who get along well with her.”

“Oh, really? Then can you also talk to me about my academic path?”

Sera continued the conversation, clapping her hands together with a sound.