Ch.31Summer Break (1)

I’m feeling restless.

My body, now accustomed to professorial work, was demanding movement, unable to adapt to the sudden vacation.

So I chose to visit the Adventurer’s Guild.

As I opened the door, the receptionist greeted me with a bright smile.

“Crow, isn’t the Academy on break?”

She seemed to remember my name, probably because of that incident that happened recently.

“Yes, the Academy is on break. But I’m getting restless, so I came to take on a request. Do you have any recommendations?”

“A recommendation…”

The receptionist pondered, touching her chin before standing up and heading to the bulletin board.

“Since you’re B-Rank… something you can do alone…”

She pulled a sheet of paper from the board.

“How about this C-Rank herb gathering mission? It’s been a while since you’ve worked as an adventurer, so it should be perfect for warming up.”

“Yes, I’ll take that one.”

As expected of the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters receptionist.

In that brief moment, she considered multiple factors to select the perfect request.

“Then please give me your ID card and wait a moment.”

I rummaged through my pocket, took out my ID card, and handed it to her.

After a short while, she returned my ID and said:

“By the way, aren’t you curious about what happened to that unexplored labyrinth you discovered last time?”

I wasn’t particularly curious, but she seemed eager to tell me, so I played along.

“I am a bit curious. What happened with it?”

“Well, it turns out there was another labyrinth right next to the original one. It wasn’t a new core that formed.”

It’s probably because the core of the Guster Labyrinth disappeared long ago.

While a labyrinth core remains, no other labyrinth can form nearby.

“So the Adventurer’s Guild decided to treat them as two separate labyrinths.”

“Which means…?”

“Of course, that labyrinth will now be named Crow Labyrinth! How about that?! Aren’t you excited?!”

I don’t feel particularly excited.

If anything, I’m slightly annoyed that a labyrinth full of snakes now bears my name.

But I can’t spit in the face of someone who’s smiling.

“Yes, that’s nice. Crow Labyrinth.”

Adult relationships are full of lies.

* * * * *

I’m pushing through dense undergrowth, heading toward a colony of Minajico, my quest objective.

My heart was racing at this adventure—a real adventure after such a long time.

Seems like being an adventurer really suits me.

It would be nice if some warm-up monsters appeared right about now.

Just as I was thinking that, two goblins appeared before me.

Goblins are among the more troublesome D-Rank monsters.

They use weapons and are intelligent enough to live in groups.

Considering that goblin group leaders can be C-Rank goblin mages or B-Rank goblin kings…

Novice adventurers shouldn’t charge in just because they’re D-Rank.

But I’m no novice adventurer.

Two fist-sized stones shot from my hand, shattering the goblins’ heads.

Actually, if you can kill two simultaneously like this, there’s no problem.

Even if they wanted to call for companions, the dead can’t speak.

Humming a tune, I resumed my journey toward the Minajico colony marked on the map.

When I arrived, the Minajico colony was truly beautiful.

Pure white flowers filling the wide field, swaying in the wind—an absolute masterpiece.

Seeing this, I lay down in the flower bed, forgetting about the request for a moment.

If this isn’t true relaxation, what is?

Come to think of it, someone once told me that Minajico is most beautiful and effective around this time.

Its main benefits are fever reduction and stomach pain relief.

The information about various herbs naturally flowing through my mind…

At the end of those memories was Elin.

During our adventures, Elin taught me many things.

Herb knowledge was one of them.

Actually, now that I know why Lael couldn’t let me go, I wonder if Elin might have had her own reasons too.

She followed me the most loyally and always talked about repaying her debt to me.

Of course, if she comes up with some ridiculous reason like Lael did, I won’t forgive her.

Not that I’m planning to seek her out anyway.

After enjoying my rest, I got up and started gathering Minajico.

Just one more than the requested amount.

I could have taken them all to sell, but I didn’t want to ruin such a beautiful scenery.

Having completed the request, I returned to the Adventurer’s Guild where I met an unexpected person.

“Professor, why are you here…?”

Lael trailed off, looking me up and down. Then she pouted.

What’s she dissatisfied with?

“Why did you go alone?”

“What do you mean? Who should I have gone with?”

At my question, Lael pointed at herself incredulously.

“Me, of course!”

What is she talking about?

“Why would I go with you, student Lael?”

“W-well…”

She seemed unable to answer promptly, as if she couldn’t think of a reason.

We’re not even in the same party anymore, so there’s no reason for me to go with her.

Lael probably knows that too.

Finding the atmosphere awkward, I tried to change the subject.

“So why are you here?”

“Oh, me? Um… it’s a secret.”

“Is that so? Well, alright.”

“What? Aren’t you curious?”

“Why should I be curious? You didn’t come here to play around, so you must be here to do something.”

If that’s how it was going to be, she shouldn’t have called it a secret in the first place.

I should have just left her crying.

Leaving her behind, I approached the receptionist, handed over the Minajico and my ID card, and received confirmation of the completed request.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you.”

After giving the receptionist a slight nod, I left the guild building, with Lael following closely behind.

I’ve become so accustomed to this behavior that I don’t even get annoyed anymore—a fact that made me sigh.

Will there ever be a day when sighs don’t escape my lips?

“Um, Professor.”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s fine. I understand what you’re thinking.”

Lael walked beside me with a smile.

I don’t know what makes her so happy.

After walking for quite some time, we parted ways at a fork in the road with a wave, and I returned to the workshop.

Master wasn’t visible, so she must be in the workroom.

When I carefully opened the workroom door, Master stopped what she was doing and approached me.

“Did I disturb you?”

“No. I’m sorry I didn’t notice you come in.”

“It’s fine. I should be the one apologizing. By the way, this is for you.”

I took out the Minajico from my magic pouch and offered it to her.

Master hesitantly reached out, carefully took the flower, and held it to her chest with a bright smile.

“To think I’d live to receive flowers from my disciple.”

“I’ll give you more often from now on.”

“No need. If I receive them too often, I won’t feel this special. Ah, wait a moment.”

Master trotted to her workbench and brought back an empty potion bottle.

“Water!”

I knew this would happen.

After I filled the potion bottle with water, Master placed the Minajico in it and set it on the workbench. Then she frowned at it.

Something didn’t seem right to her.

After moving the potion bottle around for a while, she finally placed it by the window.

When sunlight hit it, the pure white Minajico flower looked even more beautiful.

Master seemed pleased with this arrangement and finally nodded.

“Disciple, is there anything I can do for you?”

Something she could do for me?

No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.

I didn’t give her the flower expecting anything in return.

I’m already grateful enough to Master.

“Not really.”

“Don’t say that. Think about it. Something you’ve wanted to do. Or something you wanted to do when you were young.”

Something I wanted to do when I was young?

Was there anything I wanted to do with Master when I was young?

Nothing except wishing she wouldn’t hit me.

At that moment, something suddenly came to mind.

Water play.

When I was young, I envied children playing by the river with their families. But when I mentioned it to Master, she refused.

She said it wasn’t possible because the tattoo behind my ear might be exposed.

But wouldn’t it be fine now?

There are already many warlocks who openly display their tattoos.

“Let’s go play in the water. We can catch fish by the river and eat delicious food.”

Master’s answer was firm.

“I don’t want to.”

Huh?

“Why?! You told me to tell you what I wanted to do!”

“Well…”

“Back then, you refused because the tattoo behind my ear couldn’t be exposed. But that’s not an issue now, right?”

“I’ve gained weight.”

“What…?”

Master pressed down on her clothes bashfully and said:

“When you go in the water, clothes stick to you. I’ve gained weight and my belly sticks out.”

The deceiver was right here.