Ch.72Rael’s Plan (1)

The classroom after the second semester evaluations had definitely lost some of its tension. With vacation approaching and plenty of time before next semester’s evaluations, the students had become more relaxed.

Of course, the atmosphere might have changed, but a professor’s job remained the same.

Lectures, and more lectures.

Thud.

I placed the materials I was holding onto the desk.

“This concludes our morning lecture.”

At my announcement that it was lunchtime, most of the students rose from their seats. Though “most” only meant four out of six.

The remaining two were Lael and Frit.

Lael would come to my office to eat with me anyway.

Frit had his head down on the desk, looking like he was trying to sleep.

What did he do last night…?

For a moment, various thoughts crossed my mind, even some slightly inappropriate ones.

No way, that couldn’t be it, right?

Dismissing it as my imagination, I left the classroom and headed to my office.

The first thing I did upon arriving at my office was to brew two cups of tea.

One cup was for me to drink with my sandwich.

And the other cup was for…

Knock knock knock.

Hearing the knocking, it seemed the owner of the second cup had arrived.

Sure enough, the door opened and Lael entered, quickly closing it behind her.

“This is the time of day I look forward to the most.”

With those words and a happy smile, Lael took the seat next to me.

In truth, I felt the same way. Of all the time spent at the Academy, this lunch hour when we could be alone together was what I looked forward to most.

With that thought, I placed a teacup in front of her.

Lael picked up the cup, enjoyed the aroma for a moment, then took a small sip.

There was something about her actions that exuded the dignity of a duke’s daughter.

“It’s good today too, Professor.”

“Well, I’m just grateful you always enjoy it so much.”

She always drinks the tea I brew as if it’s delicious, just like today.

But objectively speaking, it’s merely drinkable, not particularly good or delicious.

So her words are clearly just polite flattery, but…

It still made me feel good.

Anyway, with the tea ready, we each took out our prepared lunches.

Mine was, of course, a sandwich that Riano had woken up early to make by hand.

After eating it for several consecutive days, I had started to get tired of it, but after eating it daily for even longer, I now felt something would be missing without it.

As for what Lael had prepared…

“Ta-da!”

Today she must have gotten up quite early to prepare, as the sandwich fillings were different.

From large pieces of meat stuffed whole, to vegetable salad fillings, to mashed egg—while they were all sandwiches, the flavors would surely be vastly different.

Not that I was envious or anything.

Half of those were mine anyway.

“Well then, let’s enjoy our meal!”

With those words, Lael took out a sandwich made by Riano from my lunch basket and bit into it.

It’s really amazing…

Lael loves Riano’s sandwiches. She even says they’re more delicious than the sandwiches she ate at the duke’s mansion.

When I told Riano about this, she happily made a little extra each time for us to share.

As a result, we hold what amounts to a sandwich exchange meeting every lunch hour, trading half of our sandwiches with each other.

I picked up the sandwich with the large piece of meat that Lael had brought. Taking a bite, the meat juices filled my mouth as the tender meat blended perfectly with the bread.

No matter how I think about it, this tastes better than what Riano makes, so what’s going on with Lael’s taste buds?

I took another bite while pondering this.

It’s incredibly delicious…

During our meal, we exchanged brief conversations.

About Black Magic, about the second semester evaluations.

In the midst of our conversation, we started talking about the spoils from the Great Red Bear we had hunted.

I was certain that Derin had taken all of it…

“When we handed it over to the Adventurer’s Guild, I was there as the party leader, and I think it was about 4,000 gold coins per bear…?”

4,000 coins…?

That’s enough for a commoner to live on for 400 years…?

As expected, hunting an S-Rank Monster brings in quite a substantial amount of money.

“So actually, we talked a lot among ourselves at that time. Honestly, it’s not a small amount. Everyone was shocked.”

They had reason to be shocked…

While it might not matter to her as a duke’s daughter, for others it’s an amount they might never have the chance to handle in their lifetime.

“So we concluded that we’d give you the 4,000 gold coins from one bear, and use the remaining 4,000 to buy a mansion in the Royal Capital.”

“Why give me as much as 4,000? You could just divide it equally into four and give me 2,000.”

“Because you worked the hardest, Professor. Honestly, if it weren’t for you, we all would have died. And the three of us, excluding you, agreed to it. So please just accept it.”

If she puts it that way, I have no choice but to accept, but…

There’s just one thing I need to correct.

This much at least doesn’t seem right.

“In the past, it’s true that I saved all of you. But this time, it was truly the result of everyone working together. I’ll accept the money, but please don’t say things like you would have died without me.”

Lael, who stood at the front taking the monster’s attacks.

Derin, who became covered in wounds while drawing the monster’s attention.

Elin, who appeared in our moment of crisis and saved us.

If any one of them had been missing, we wouldn’t have won.

“Ah, really…”

Saying that, Lael shook her head from side to side, as if to say “what can I do?”

Then she raised herself slightly. Her face came close to mine, and she stuck out her tongue to lightly lick the side of my lips.

The feeling of something warm, sticky yet soft touching my skin sent a shiver down my spine.

At her sudden action, I stared at her blankly, and she looked back at me with a mischievous smile.

“This is why I can’t help but like you.”

“What does that have to do with your tongue…”

“There was a bread crumb on the side of your lips. I thought I’d help remove it.”

“For that, you could have used your hand…”

I started to speak but stopped midway.

The action was so sudden that I was flustered, but thinking about it, it seemed to be her own way of expressing affection.

Of course, it would be a bit troublesome if she did it often…

But occasionally might be okay.

“Ah! I almost forgot!”

Suddenly, Lael began rummaging through her magic pouch.

Does she have something to give me?

While I was thinking that, she handed me a piece of paper.

“I’ve written it all down.”

“Written what down…?”

I quickly read through the paper she handed me, and soon understood what she meant.

A secret meeting plan.

She had made a plan for us to enjoy time together, just the two of us, while hiding our identities as professor and student of the Academy.

“I guarantee it’s perfect.”

“Well, I’ll have to read it carefully to know that.”

“Read it quickly. It’s really amazing, I tell you!”

At her urging, I began to read the contents of the paper carefully.

Plan 1.

Go to a beach villa with the professor for 3 days and 4 nights.

Huh…?

“What’s this about 3 days and 4 nights? And what beach?”

“It’s vacation, right? And there’s a villa by the beach, and I asked my parents and they gave permission to use it.”

“I see. Well… I’ll continue reading.”

Plan 2.

The professor and I leave first and spend a day together.

Then on the second day, Riano, Derin, and Elin arrive.

The more I read, the more questions I had rather than understanding.

“I understand spending a day with you first. But what’s this about Riano, Derin, and Elin arriving?”

“I thought you might worry about Riano. And I’d feel bad hogging you for all 3 days and 4 nights, plus I thought it would be fun for all of us to play together. Don’t you think so?”

Indeed, as she said, as soon as I read “3 days and 4 nights,” my first thought was of Riano.

After all, she would have to stay alone during that time.

Living together naturally makes me concerned about her.

And of course it goes without saying that it’s nice for everyone to have fun together.

The rest of the contents were detailed plans.

From how to travel, what activities to do, how to spend time, to how to return.

After reading slowly and carefully to the last line, I placed the paper on the table.

It passes for now.

“So how do you plan to tell Riano, Derin, and Elin?”

“I’ll have to meet them directly, speak honestly, and persuade them. Honestly, I’m scared of Riano, so I’d appreciate if you could handle her.”

“Let’s do that. I’ll take care of Riano.”

“Huh? Really?!”

Elin asked, as if surprised.

But I had told her from the beginning that I would help, so she should have just brought a rough plan…

“Yes, I’ll try to persuade her.”

“Wow… Professor, you’re the best!”

Lael said that as she wrapped her arms around my neck and repeatedly kissed my cheek.

Multiple short suction sounds echoed throughout the office.

Then suddenly she released her arms, and thinking she was done with the kisses, I turned my head toward her.

As if she had been waiting for this, she tilted her head slightly and pressed her lips against mine.

I wonder if our lips will wear out at this rate…