Chapter 126

Chapter 126

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 126: The Sleeping Graduate Student.

“You mean this happened because he was writing a thesis?”

“It’s not surprising.”

Professor Stranov continued in a calm voice.

“He was running around all over the place trying to save you. He must have accumulated quite a bit of fatigue.”

She slowly recounted what Aidel had done over the past week.

“He wrote a thesis and got mobbed by people who were first in line for funding in resonator research when he invested in it. Since he couldn’t abandon them, he commissioned new research. He even went to external institutions to secure contracts.”

Just listening made her dizzy. It wasn’t the amount of work an ordinary person could handle in a week.

“While he was writing up all the discussions and revising the conclusion, he suddenly collapsed from hyperventilation.”

“I-Is he going to be okay?”

“The doctor says his life isn’t in danger, but they can’t guarantee when he’ll wake up.”

Stranov patted Ire’s shoulder and requested.

“So please keep an eye on Aidel, and let me know as soon as he wakes up.”

Stranov left first, saying he had a conference to attend.

Plop.

Her legs gave out.

“Why on earth…?”

Thinking deeply, nothing made sense.

Why would he extend such kindness to someone he barely knows?

No matter how noble his family is, how can an eighteen-year-old boy occupy such a prominent position in academia?

Moreover, how did he manage to fend off the Outer Gods?

It was literally incomprehensible. How much had she struggled until now, and he did it so easily—

“Why are you just sitting there staring into space?”

From a place where sunlight didn’t reach.

“Leaving a perfectly good chair unused and sitting in a place like that isn’t hygienic. Please get up quickly.”

A familiar voice came from the shadows.

An android in a maid outfit with bluish hair emerged from the shade. She held out a cup of coffee over Ire’s shoulder.

“You don’t need me to introduce myself, do you?”

Sonia.

She had been beaten up a lot by this android. Just recalling it brought back the humiliation of being hit on the head with a baguette in the Sanctuary.

“Whew, thanks.”

Ire accepted the coffee cup with a bitter smile.

Not forgetting kindness and grudges—that was the truth of life she learned from countless regressions.

Aidel was her savior. So was Sonia.

“Keeping up with the young master’s schedule has left me worn out as well.”

Sonia leaned against a chair and began to complain.

“If I don’t at least brew some coffee, I’ll really break down.”

“But you’re a robot…”

“We also want to secure our own rights. How about a 110-hour workweek? I’d like to oil myself during the remaining time.”

Sonia smirked. She downed the coffee in an instant and grabbed a broom to start sweeping the floor.

“Oh, my aching body.”

“Why are you using a broom when there’s a perfectly good vacuum cleaner…”

“Is there any polite lady who can help this poor maid?”

Ire, who had been watching, also stood up.

She owed her life to Aidel. She should at least help with such trivial cleaning.

So she swept the floor, wiped the window frames until they shone, adjusted the humidifier’s settings, and time passed quickly.

Aidel still had his eyes closed.

“Now it’s time to give the young master a light massage.”

“Huh?”

“A massage, a massage.”

Sonia narrowed her eyes and pressed Ire.

“Do you think I’d make you do something perverted?”

“It’s not that…!”

“Muscles start to atrophy even if they don’t move for a day. You were tied up in the Sanctuary for a long time, weren’t you? So I often massaged you.”

“I know that much! What I’m saying is!”

Ire, who was about to raise her voice, shrank back again. The next words she was about to say were embarrassing, shameful, and oddly infuriating.

“…I-I, I’ve never touched a man’s body before.”

“Wow, you really lack courage.”

“It’s not about that…”

“What, do you have androphobia?”

Ire reluctantly nodded.

“…A little.”

She didn’t mind brief encounters.

But if a man tried to get close to her, or if it seemed a relationship might form, she unconsciously avoided them.

Thanks to the Constellation of Patience, it ended at mere aversion; otherwise, she would have been unable to breathe just by being near Aidel.

“What on earth is the reason?”

“Don’t ask for no reason.”

“Usually, social phobias targeting a specific gender occur due to abuse, sexual assault, or bullying. So, perhaps…”

“Don’t try to dig it out!”

Strictly speaking, it was because of the Outer Gods.

The ‘Pheromone of Madness’ scattered by the Darwinian Outer Gods. Men addicted to this pheromone lose their reason and become beasts who unconditionally lust after Ire.

It was a cursed affliction.

She hadn’t been violated. Every time something happened, Ire immediately ran away, dealt with would-be attackers, or, in the worst case, took her own life to move on to the next timeline.

But she lost many good opportunities.

Ruining things at the last moment—that too was the Outer Gods’s trickery.

And now,

The God of ‘Patience and Perseverance’ hopes that you won’t avoid men.

The Constellation was trying to meddle.

Assist the android in giving a massage. Upon success, you will receive 1,000 coins.

Ire rubbed her eyes and did a dry wash of her face.

“Hey, you!”

Her face heated up. Sonia tilted her head.

“So, are you going to do it or not?”

Gulp.

Her throat moved involuntarily.

A full 1,000 coins.

With 1,000 coins, she could get twenty rounds of Divine Bullets capable of killing EX-class monsters in one shot. She could also roll the five times.

“What are you pondering for so long?”

“I-I’ll do it, okay! I’ll do it!”

Right now, she desperately needed every coin.

Moreover, Aidel was her savior. If she didn’t do even such things, there was no way to fully repay his immense kindness.

“I’ll take the left side; you take the right.”

Following the instructions, Ire went inside and glanced at Aidel’s face.

More handsome than she thought.

To be specific, he looked like a sincere person.

She recalled a distant memory, back when she didn’t have to look at men’s faces with distrust. At that time, Aidel had a somewhat sly impression.

Ire bit her lower lip and pulled back the blanket.

“…”

He was holding something in his left hand.

“What’s this?”

“Can’t you see? It’s paper.”

“That’s what I’m saying; why is he holding something like this while unconscious?”

Sonia peeked over from the opposite side and checked the writing on the paper. She sighed.

“It’s a thesis. If he keeps holding it, his hand will cramp.”

Then she glanced at Ire, a subtle mischievousness showing on her face.

“I can’t reach it, so I can’t do it.”

“Fine, I’ll do it!”

Carefully, as if disarming a time bomb, she gently pulled the paper without touching Aidel’s hand.

“…?”

Tug, tug.

There was quite a bit of resistance.

“Touch his hand directly to pull it out. That’s the sure way.”

“I get it, so please!”

Cold sweat flowed, and her heart pounded. It was worse because she was sober. Ire Hazlen faced the greatest crisis in her life since gaining independence from the Outer Gods.

With a soft touch, she made contact.

“Ugh…!”

She got goosebumps all over—an instinctive aversion. She quickly took a deep breath.

She had to repay his kindness, even like this. At the very least, she had to get used to the existence of Aidel von Reinhardt.

“W-Why won’t this come out!”

“Can’t you even do that properly? Wait, I’ll come over there. Darn it, why won’t this come out?”

The more they tried to pry it open, the tighter his grip became.

“Is it a Venus flytrap or what…”

“It’s a thesis trap.”

At that moment, Aidel gained another nickname.

“Isn’t he actually awake?”

“The young master hates wasting time like this. If he were conscious, he would’ve gone out to research already.”

In the end, they gave up and decided to just proceed with the massage.

At first, she felt intense aversion, but by using the skill and convincing herself that she was volunteering, she gradually got used to it.

— You have received 1,000 coins as a quest reward!

It was a tough battle.

“Aidel! Aidel!”

A girl with a blonde ponytail burst into the hospital room like a bullet.

“Lady Rustila, you’ve arrived.”

“Aidel, are you okay?!”

It was Rustila, who had come running as soon as she finished her daily training with Nair. She dove into Aidel’s arms as if diving into water.

Rustila clung to Aidel and began to sob.

She asked why he didn’t call her when writing the thesis. She told him to call her whenever he needed help, so why did he try to shoulder it alone?

“Please, wake up soon…”

No answer came. Rustila shed even more tears.

Ire was flustered. Rustila was her only haven. Cold to others but warm to her own people—that was Rustila. She had received so much help from her in previous timelines.

But now, Rustila was snuggling up to a man. At the same time, she occasionally sent cold glances toward Ire.

“Sis, I told you it’s just overwork.”

A silver-haired, golden-eyed girl entered next.

Ceti von Adelwein Reinhardt. She sipped tapioca pearls as she patted the whimpering Rustila.

“You over there.”

Ceti spoke, pointing at Ire.

“You made our brother go through a lot, so make sure you pay him back properly later.”

Ire nodded. Of course, she intended to.

But wait, brother? Brother!?

Even Ceti, whose personality usually soured when it came to Aidel, was using such an affectionate term. How good were Aidel’s relationships in this timeline?

She thought anew that it was fortunate.

That the world line she arrived at in the end was here.

“Student! Student! Aidel!”

A man’s voice was heard. Ire stiffened.

A tall, middle-aged man entered. Judging by his attire, he wasn’t a doctor but seemed to be someone connected to Aidel.

He pushed away Rustila, who was stroking Aidel’s face with just a glance and thrust a paper filled with calculations at Aidel.

“You can hear me, right, Aidel? You’ve slept enough for two days! Get up and look at this! I’ve developed an amazing theory that will change the world immediately!”

“Um, I don’t know who you are, but…”

“I request a discussion on this! There’s no one but you to discuss this topic! Time is of the essence right now!”

“Even if you do that, he won’t wake up…”

“You promised we’d write papers together for life!!”

Swish.

Aidel opened his eyes.

“Professor, Professor Feynman! I thought I wouldn’t see you again after that. Wow, really, this is definitely Arkia Prize material. Thinking that way suddenly makes it hard to breathe…!”

“As long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters! Thinking I could lose a student, I worked so hard to find made everything go dark. It’s fortunate it’s just overwork; if it had been a stroke, I, sniff, really…!”

“Professor!”

“Student!”

“Professor!”

“Student!”

“Professor!!”

“Student!!”

The two men shared a passionate hug. Their embrace was so intense that Ire momentarily froze.

Rustila and Sonia’s reactions were similar.

Especially Rustila, who looked deeply saddened. Muttering, ‘He didn’t wake up when I tried…’ Her dejected appearance was like a puppy abandoned by its owner.

“This guy is at it again.”

Only Ceti assessed the situation correctly and escaped from the hospital room.