Ch.58Chapter 58

Friday afternoon, first week of April.

After finishing their week’s work, they gathered here to fulfill their duties as study group members instead of going home.

Unlike before, there was no commotion. The sound of turning pages and pens scratching filled the research lab.

I glanced at Sera, Aria, and Karen in turn, then after reading the atmosphere, continued studying. I was happy that I could now read most characters, perhaps due to my concentrated study efforts.

The Ourr who once struggled to understand what everyone was talking about in the chat room, not knowing what they were saying, could be considered gone now.

These days, they use voice messages to accommodate me. But I felt I could soon tell them they didn’t need to do that anymore.

Voice messages are convenient for me, but for those who can read quickly, having to press play and listen must be inconvenient. I resolved to study harder to cause them less trouble.

I buried my head and concentrated on studying. As I was scribbling diligently with my pen, the Professor approached from behind and gently grabbed my head.

“Ah!”

“You’ll end up inside the paper that way. Looking so closely will damage your eyes.”

The Professor held my head and lifted me up along with my upper body.

Back in a proper posture, I glanced up at the Professor. Then I looked over the paper I had been scribbling on.

The evidence of my hard work was clearly visible. I felt proud. As I turned to the Professor with a smile, she nodded with an approving smile.

I smiled back and nodded too.

As the Professor and I were grinning at each other, the others who had been absorbed in their studies turned their heads slightly to look at me. As I made eye contact with each person under their focused gazes, Sera spoke first.

“Should we all take a break? Aria, Karen?”

“Sounds good.”

“Mmm, yes, that’s fine.”

Aria nodded, and Karen beside her stretched while signaling her agreement.

It seemed impressive that they had maintained such concentration when dinner time was just an hour away.

I put down my pen as the others decided to take a break before the final hour. Karen, who was sitting across from me, stood up with a scraping sound.

“I need to use the bathroom…”

“I’ll go too.”

As Karen left her seat, Aria also stood up. Sera glanced at me as if wondering whether to go too, but I just stared back at her since I had no reason to go to the bathroom.

“Aren’t you going, Ourr?”

“I don’t need to.”

I shook my head.

“Ah, you all take a break. I need to go get an answer about something I asked earlier.”

The Professor checked the time and hurriedly began to straighten her clothes.

“Where are you going, Professor?”

“I asked about creating a separate space for the study group.”

When I looked up and asked, the Professor answered while patting my head.

Even though the study group only met once a week, not having a dedicated classroom seemed a bit problematic. Continuing to borrow the Professor’s research lab didn’t seem sustainable either.

Considering that the research lab would be locked when the Professor was away, we definitely needed a classroom where we could come and go freely.

It was reassuring that the Professor was personally taking care of this.

“Oh, are we getting our own classroom?”

“Yes. I’m checking if there’s a classroom we can use freely, but I’m trying to secure it for Friday afternoons at least.”

“Wow. Thank you. Is this troublesome for you?”

“Well, I’m doing it because you’re all working hard. Besides, I’m not really doing that much.”

The Professor shrugged at Sera’s thanks. After patting my shoulder and telling us to enjoy ourselves, she said she’d be back and went outside.

With everyone gone, I was left with Sera.

I quietly stared at the door the Professor had exited through. Sera, who was beside me, moved her chair slightly closer and spoke to me.

“Ourr. It’s been a while since we’ve been alone together, hasn’t it?”

“…Yes. When was the last time?”

“Well, this is the first time we’ve been completely alone, but the last time we talked just the two of us was during that third-year lecture. I was sitting in the corner, and you came to sit next to me.”

Was that the first and last time?

Since the Professor was always with us, it felt natural.

Sera remembered our first meeting in detail. Was it because the encounter was so unique?

I lowered my head slightly. The uniform that felt different from others. Perhaps it was natural since I had introduced myself as a Demon God from the beginning.

“Hmm, that’s right.”

As I tilted my head as if trying to remember, Sera smiled bitterly.

“What, don’t you remember?”

“I do remember, I just didn’t know Sera would remember it so clearly.”

“Hmm, well, they say first impressions are the most important, right? A good first impression helps people get along well afterward.”

“What about when a bad first impression gets better later?”

“That can happen too, I suppose, but I haven’t experienced it so far. People’s intuition is pretty good, so sometimes if it’s a no at first, it stays a no until the end.”

Sera put her index fingers on her head, sticking them up. They looked like horns, or maybe antennas. Given the context, they were probably meant to be antennas?

I put my hand on my chin and thought seriously with an “Hmm.”

“Come to think of it, Ourr, do you still not have any sexual desire? Talking about that time reminds me.”

Sera asked playfully.

“You were so disgusted back then, weren’t you? I should have stopped if you really disliked it, but your reaction was just too cute.”

Looking at her chattering away, Sera was definitely being Sera.

I quietly observed her, with her high concentration and equally high mischievousness. Then I slightly averted my gaze. I slumped my shoulders and laughed dryly, “Haha,” which made Sera slowly stop laughing.

“…Huh? What’s with that reaction?”

“No, what, what do you mean?”

“Have you developed an interest in sexual desire? You look like you’re slightly embarrassed.”

Sera leaned her face in slightly. Feeling caught by Sera’s grinning smile, I pressed my lips tightly together.

My expression management had failed. Am I bad at hiding things? I closed my eyes tightly, let out a small groan, and pouted. Opening my eyes wide as if resigned to the fact that I could no longer hide it, I said:

“That’s not it…”

If asked whether I was interested or not, I could answer no.

But for me, it was something I’d never felt before, a strange feeling, a new world. So whenever my attention was drawn to it, I couldn’t help but focus on it as if I couldn’t resist my instincts.

“Do you know about the three basic human desires?”

“…Three basic desires?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t know. I just tilted my head at the sudden term, and Sera held up three fingers as if to properly explain it to me.

“People have hunger, sleep, and sexual desire.”

Her outstretched fingers wiggled, folding and unfolding repeatedly. Seeing me listening intently, Sera raised the corners of her mouth.

“Even though they’re called the three basic desires, hunger and sleep are related to survival. Since they can’t be separated from humans, sexual desire is considered somewhat supplementary, to the point where if one had to remove one desire, it would be sexual desire. It’s like pleasure, you know?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“So for a Demon God who doesn’t need to eat or sleep, hunger and sleep might not be relevant, but what about sexual desire, which belongs to the realm of pleasure? That’s what I was wondering.”

“…Well.”

I turned my head slightly.

“Is it just that you’re not curious because you haven’t tried it?”

As I pouted and averted my gaze, Sera smiled bitterly and leaned back.

It seemed she just wanted to ask something she was curious about.

“Does Sera have a lot of sexual desire?”

“It’s just at a level where I enjoy it if I like it, and don’t if I don’t. I don’t have any compulsion or addiction-like feeling that I absolutely must do it.”

“I don’t know. It’s just… it’s not that I haven’t done it…”

I fidgeted with my hands and mumbled. Blushing and trailing off, wondering if it was right to talk about such things with a friend, I made Sera gasp.

“I was like that too when I first did it. I was like, ‘What’s so good about this?'”

“Is, is this normally something people talk about…? Is it because I’m a Demon God?”

When I tilted my head, Sera shook hers as if to say it wasn’t strange.

“No! Friends normally talk about these things. Usually, girls talk about this kind of stuff at pajama parties, but since we can’t have pajama parties with you…”

Sera seemed somewhat regretful.

Then her eyes suddenly sparkled.

“So how did it feel? Would it be too much if I said I was writing a graduation thesis on this?”

“…Sera.”

“Sorry.”

Sera put her hands together and apologized profusely.

I sighed, thinking researchers really do research all sorts of things. My shoulders slumped.

I don’t know. I just felt a spark because the Professor did it for me. I wanted to say just that, but I couldn’t, so I kept my mouth shut.

But my reason held me back, thinking this wasn’t right.

“Can we talk about something else?”

“…Hmm, no?”

When I tried to change the subject, Sera shook her head with a bright expression.

It seemed Sera was very interested in my sex life.