Ch.295295. Cat

After reuniting, their reactions were as impressive as Erika’s.

The scent of the two girls embracing me from both sides enveloped me almost violently, and their still-growing, youthful bodies overflowed with vitality.

Aria’s grip was particularly strong, almost painful, but I didn’t mind much, thinking it just showed how happy she was to see me.

But the problem came afterward.

Watching them at the meal after I’d separated the two who had been nuzzling their faces against me.

Rather than eating, they seemed to be mulling over what they had been discussing before I arrived.

I was the one who finally broke the silence.

“Do you usually…”

“Elenoa started it first!”

“I only picked it up because of her!”

The two immediately pointed fingers at each other like gunslingers in the Wild West.

“Do you eat here often?”

“…”

“…”

Realizing that wasn’t what I was asking, they clamped their mouths shut and lowered their heads again.

“Y-yes. We eat here.”

“Some students get uncomfortable when I eat in the dining hall.”

They answered hesitantly.

I took another sip of coffee and asked, “How’s academy life going?”

Even as I said it, it sounded like something an awkward adult would ask kids.

I had made time to visit them briefly when I should be heading to Greyford, and I wondered if I’d made a mistake coming.

“Yes! Of course! Thanks to you, Professor, we’re having a wonderful time!”

“Deus! When will you teach again? Are you coming back next semester?”

They seemed delighted that I was interested in their daily lives and greeted me enthusiastically, tails practically wagging.

What followed was simple small talk.

Elenoa and Aria kept asking me questions without even touching their lunch boxes.

Where had I been, what had I done, if I had missed them, and so on.

Watching the two finally acting like typical high school girls, I went along with their flow, answering each question calmly.

“You went to the Han Empire? Wow, that’s far. I’ve never been there.”

“I want to go there someday too!”

Our conversation would have continued if the bell signaling the end of lunch hadn’t rung.

“Ah…”

“Oh no.”

Aria and Elenoa looked at me with disappointed eyes. They had been so focused on chatting that their lunch boxes were still mostly full.

“Students should act like students.”

But I didn’t relent.

Whether princess or hero.

As long as they were in the academy, they were students first. I finished my last sip of coffee without room for compromise.

Rather than being upset, they seemed pleased by my response, smiling as they packed up their lunch boxes and headed back to class.

“Professor! You’re not going away again, are you? I’ll visit your office after school!”

“Deus… I mean, Professor! Let’s go back to Greyford together after exam period!”

As the two girls departed noisily, I simply waved them off, telling them to study hard.

* * *

“Phew.”

A strange sense of comfort washed over me as I sat down at my desk in the research office.

Per, who had just finished greeting me, seemed pleased with my presence and added with a smile:

“That seat really suits you.”

I didn’t bother responding, though I agreed. Feeling that familiar satisfaction, I asked Per:

“I heard you made the gift for Erika.”

“…W-well, Professor Erika seemed so lonely at the time, I thought it might help.”

A genius with no social awareness.

The backlash of someone who had expanded their knowledge locked away in a laboratory rather than meeting and talking with people.

Knowing she was a good person, I didn’t criticize her.

After all, without her help, I wouldn’t be here now.

[She’s similar to my senior.]

Stella, standing beside me, muttered. Thinking about it, she was right.

Both focused so much on their research that they avoided meeting people, and both achieved great results in their respective fields.

[…Their bodies too.]

Stella added unnecessarily. The Dark Spiritmaster and Per Petra. Both did have what could be called somewhat voluptuous figures.

[I should have just locked myself away somewhere to study like them.]

Stella’s joke was half-serious. I didn’t mind that she could now make such jokes.

After Per returned to her seat, I opened my mouth again, whispering so she couldn’t hear.

“Where did the Dark Spiritmaster go?”

I hadn’t seen her since returning to the academy and felt like a parent waiting for a child left by the water.

The Dark Spiritmaster had been somewhat emotionally unstable since sending Soho away.

‘She’s exactly like a child crying over a runaway pet.’

Though I said she was similar to Per, if I had to choose, I’d side with Per.

At least she showed responsibility in her role as a professor and tried to maintain an adult demeanor for her students.

[I’m not sure. She said she was going to the mountain behind the academy.]

“The mountain?”

[Yes, she said she’d be back shortly and left.]

“…”

Robern Academy does have a mountain behind it. It’s a bit far, but it’s there, so people call it the back mountain.

Sometimes souls from there would come to the academy.

Speak of the devil.

The Dark Spiritmaster, who had just phased through the wall, was smiling brightly beneath her veil.

[Deus!]

“My head hurts already.”

When she appears this cheerfully, the Dark Spiritmaster usually brings unnecessary or troublesome matters.

She clearly has no intention of acting her age.

[Would you like a massage?]

Seizing the opportunity, Stella began pressing my shoulders. The massage was unexpectedly refreshing, so I let her continue.

[I just realized I can touch you now, so this is possible. I’ll give you a massage in bed tonight.]

“I wasn’t asking for that much.”

[I’m good at it. All nuns learn this.]

“Why would nuns learn massage?”

[Sometimes we offer massages to relieve fatigue, not just counseling. It’s surprisingly popular.]

Stella brought her lips close to my shoulder and whispered softly:

[A massage from a Saintess—it’s heavenly.]

“…Don’t let Vellica influence you.”

Stella’s recent seductive behavior was both disconcerting and effective, making things somewhat difficult.

[Hehe, I’ll do it for you tonight.]

Having already decided, Stella resumed massaging my shoulders. As our conversation ended, my attention naturally returned to the Dark Spiritmaster standing before us.

[Why are you ignoring me?]

“Don’t sulk at your age. It’s unseemly.”

[I really hate this.]

Though she grumbled in annoyance, that was all the Dark Spiritmaster could do.

“D-Deus Professor! Suddenly a staff flew into the research room and is flying around!”

The Dark Spiritmaster’s entrance must have caused Heralhazad’s staff, which was attached to her, to fly into the research room.

“It’s nothing. Just ignore it.”

After calming the panicked Per, I looked at the Dark Spiritmaster.

“So what were you doing on the mountain?”

[…I don’t want to show you anymore.]

Still sulking, the Dark Spiritmaster glared at me primly before extending both hands forward.

Then, a black cat emerged from the floor and nestled against the Dark Spiritmaster’s chest.

[Meow!]

“…!”

[Oh my?]

Yes, it was a cat.

A dead cat, at that.

Throughout history, black cats and dead cats have often been considered symbols of bad luck, and this one was both.

As I mentioned before, animal souls are difficult to see. Their lower cognitive abilities make it hard for them to harbor the kind of resentment or obsession strong enough to awaken after death.

[Meow!]

But this one was awake.

Its eyes resembled full moons, and its sleek black fur looked freshly groomed.

As I frowned, trying to examine it more closely, the Dark Spiritmaster excitedly pushed the cat forward.

[Isn’t it cute! I picked it up! I even named it!]

“Naming things has become your hobby, hasn’t it?”

Completely ignoring my comment, the Dark Spiritmaster answered with a bright smile.

[After Bokshil, this one is… Bbokshil!]

“…”

[Bbokshil. That’s a cute name.]

My head was already starting to hurt. Where had the proud necromancer who taught me Black Magic and fought Heralhazad to the end disappeared to?

In her place was this simpleton cooing over a cat.

“You do realize that could be dangerous, right?”

Rubbing my eyes from the rapidly increasing fatigue, I asked, and the Dark Spiritmaster proudly answered:

[Do you know who I am? I’m the continent’s greatest necromancer, the Dark Spiritmaster. I won’t be overwhelmed by a soul like this.]

“It’s precisely because you don’t know that I’m concerned.”

Yes, she doesn’t understand at all.

Human souls and animal souls follow completely different paths.

Among awakened human souls, most have lingering attachments. But evil spirits are rare.

They are born from an obsession that prevents them from closing their eyes, mixed with a kind of madness.

“The same applies to animal souls.”

Animal souls awaken through the same mechanism, but the important difference is the ratio.

“Usually nine out of ten.”

[…]

“Awakened animal souls are evil spirits.”

And they harbor intense grudges, typically not formed through natural processes.

“Most hold hostility toward humans.”

[B-but.]

Though she seemed to understand what I was saying, the Dark Spiritmaster held out the cat.

The cat, aware we were discussing it, leisurely yawned and rubbed its face with its front paws.

[Bbokshil is gentle.]

“…”

[The animal souls you’re talking about wouldn’t even allow humans to approach them, but look at this.]

When the Dark Spiritmaster hugged it tightly, the cat purred contentedly.

[It really likes people!]

Pleased by this, the Dark Spiritmaster squeezed harder. The cat, buried in her ample bosom, struggled to escape, seemingly uncomfortable.

[Bbokshil!]

Then the cat:

[Meow!]

It settled on my desk and promptly began taking a nap.

[Oh my, how cute.]

Stella covered her mouth, charmed by the cat’s cuteness, and the Dark Spiritmaster also fussed excitedly.

“…”

But my eyes remained vigilant, never dropping their guard against the cat.