Ch.63Chapter 63

Boom-chit, boom-boom-chit. I walked with a bounce in my shoulders and a wiggle in my hips.

I was in such a good mood that rhythm seemed to flow through my body.

I might be naturally uncoordinated, and my movements felt a bit stiff, but who cares? It’s not like I was trying to show off to anyone—I just wanted to bounce around because I felt good.

After finishing my conversation with the kids, I found myself humming a tune as I wondered what to do next. The Professor, watching from beside me, tilted her head and asked:

“Ourr, did something good happen? You’re wiggling all over the place.”

My excitement must have been obvious enough for the Professor to notice immediately.

Since there was no reason to keep it secret from her, I nodded my head side to side and told her about the conversation I’d just had.

Our study group’s first after-party. The exams were over, and with the festival coming up in May, we’d made plans to have some proper fun in between. When I explained this, the Professor stared at me blankly.

“…So you’re planning to party in the club room?”

“Yes. What do you think?”

When I asked for her opinion with a smirk, the Professor placed her hand on her forehead and sighed.

“That’s something only graduating students might get away with. Do you really think drinking alcohol inside the Academy makes any sense?”

“……”

I pouted and hung my head.

Well, she had a point. Come to think of it, even though we called it a club room, it was still just a classroom inside the Academy.

Sera and Aria might have been able to get away with it. Actually, they probably couldn’t, but since they were graduating soon, they might not care about the consequences. But doing that would only cause trouble for Karen.

“…Of course, it’s not your fault, Ourr. It’s not like you suggested it.”

“Yeaah.”

As I drooped my head in disappointment, the Professor seemed to feel awkward and cautiously approached me. She carefully embraced me and stroked my head.

“I guess the others suggested it because you don’t like going out alone beyond the Academy. But drinking inside, except during special events like the festival when it’s temporarily allowed, might cause problems…”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

I had no intention of throwing a tantrum and demanding “Do it! Do it!”

It would be nice if it worked out, and a bit sad if it didn’t—that was all. I had just been so excited that I was dancing around, but now that the Professor had shut it down, I could feel my smile fading.

Nngh, I hung my head low to suppress my emotions. I buried my face in the Professor’s embrace and stayed still. The Professor quietly held me for a moment before patting my shoulder.

“…How about inviting them to my home instead? Though my place might be a bit uncomfortable.”

“Your home…”

Would students ever have reason to visit a professor’s home?

I looked up at the Professor carefully. I tilted my head, thinking that telling the others might create an awkward atmosphere.

Sera might be fine with it since she was planning to attend graduate school and wanted to maintain a good relationship with the Professor. But I worried that Aria and Karen, who had just joined as a new student, might feel uncomfortable.

Of course, it would be better to ask them first, but I was hesitant even about asking.

“Is there anywhere better than your home, Professor?”

When I gently shook the Professor while holding onto her, she furrowed her brow. She closed her eyes as if seriously contemplating, but didn’t seem to come up with a clear answer.

“I’m not sure yet. When are you planning to hang out?”

“This coming weekend. Today is Tuesday, so… Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday? Saturday?”

I counted on my fingers as I answered, and the Professor nodded while looking at the calendar.

“Then can you give me some time to think about it?”

“Oh, okay. I’ll tell the others this for now.”

I casually took out my phone. The Professor smiled as if to say that was fine.

I pulled out a chair and sat down. I leaned my upper body on the desk and stretched out my arms. The keys I pressed firmly soon formed two or three lines of text.

After sending my diligently typed message, my report appeared in the chat room.

[Me: The Professor says no drinking in the Academy. She asked about her place, but I thought that might be uncomfortable so I asked if there’s anywhere else. She said she’ll answer before the weekend.]

A flurry of replies followed my brief message.

[Karen: The Professor’s home? Wouldn’t that be a bit… awkward? I think we’d feel too self-conscious.]

[Sera: If we’re at the Professor’s place, we’d have to be mindful of her and couldn’t be loud. And it feels like we’d have to drink wine instead of soju or beer. Professor Yuria has that sophisticated vibe.]

Sophisticated? Wine instead of soju and beer?

Pfft, I couldn’t help but laugh. The corners of my mouth turned up.

Our Professor just opens a beer can at home with a “pssh” sound, but people really do tend to overestimate the parts of others they can’t see.

Though to be fair, the Professor does give off that impression.

I was someone who knew a side of the Professor that the others didn’t. While there was no reason to feel superior about it, I chuckled as I held my phone.

[Me: The Professor likes beer.]

[Sera: Oh, really?]

[Karen: Wine seems too expensive. Even beer is a bit much.]

[Aria: I thought fruit wine might suit the Professor’s taste, so I brought a picture.]

[Aria: <Photo attached>]

Tick, a photo appeared.

It looked like a liquor bottle made of porcelain. It looked so luxurious that I couldn’t even guess how much it might cost.

Since I didn’t know alcohol prices, it was hard to say how much it was, but it certainly looked expensive.

[Sera: Whoa, how much is that? Are we really allowed to drink that?]

Maybe because she came from the Garden, Aria seemed to often have these unusual things. But using something without knowing its value seemed like something that should be discouraged, so I found myself nodding in agreement.

Karen, perhaps afraid of the unknown price, didn’t type anything.

After a moment of silence in the chat room, Aria attached another photo.

Comparing it to the size of Aria’s hand, I could see how it contrasted with the previous photo. Earlier, without anything for scale, it just looked like a simple liquor bottle, but now comparing it to Aria’s hand, I realized it wasn’t an ordinary size.

It’s about the size of my head…?

I was so shocked that I couldn’t even type, just opening and closing my mouth. While Karen and I were frozen and unable to respond, Sera continued with an incredulous tone.

[Sera: We’re just having a study group after-party, why bring something like that? What’s next, gold-plated insides?]

[Aria: If you think Ourr’s stomach would get gold-plated, I might consider it.]

[Sera: Now I’m curious about that.]

I’m not curious at all!

[Me: *&~]!)#@^]

I randomly mashed the keyboard. It was to break this atmosphere.

[Aria: Anyway, this is worth what you pay for it. The fermentation is already complete, and the advantage of this large-capacity alcohol is that you can take as much as you want…]

[Sera: You’re going to let us have a sip each?]

[Aria: I thought we should bring something if we go to the Professor’s home.]

[Sera: Let me try some too.]

[Aria: I’ll bring it when we all go on a trip together.]

[Sera: What about this study group? Karen, what do you think?]

[Karen: I’m fine! Something too expensive would be a waste to drink…]

Even through the screen, I could almost see Karen squirming uncomfortably. She gave off the same middle-class vibe as me, which made me feel a connection.

Sera seemed to have normal financial sense but still appeared wealthy, while Aria just seemed rich with a dull sense of money—like someone born with a silver spoon.

[Me: I just want something simple.]

[Karen: Does Ourr like convenience store stuff?]

[Me: Yeah, I have 50 Riel so I’ll buy something from the convenience store. Let’s eat something delicious together.]

Despite being a group chat, the conversation seemed to be splitting into factions.

It couldn’t be helped. Though Sera gave Aria a hard time, they were both wealthy people, and Aria gave off the impression that she might slap someone with a wad of cash.

Karen and I, not being extremely rich, could only have our own conversation about being on a budget.

When you don’t have money, you can’t go out for steak. So we had no choice but to talk about convenience stores among ourselves.

Then Aria, perhaps wanting to join in, added her thoughts.

[Aria: Junior, if there’s anything you want to eat, just say so. I’ve always wanted to try everything from here to there at a convenience store.]

[Sera: ???]

I couldn’t understand what she meant. As I tilted my head in confusion, Aria immediately shot back at Sera.

[Aria: Are you cursing in front of Ourr? You shouldn’t do that.]

That was a curse? No wonder it was hard to read.

Since I’d learned to read through normal books and observing my surroundings, it was difficult for me to understand slang like that.

If the kids started using trendy abbreviated speech, I was confident I wouldn’t understand half—no, any of it.

Sweating nervously, I tapped my fingers on the keyboard.

[Me: Everyone, shh. We still haven’t decided where to go.]

Having calmed the heating atmosphere, I felt proud, as if I’d accomplished something important today.