Chapter 40: I Can’t Do This Anymore…

“I Can’t Do This Anymore…”

“Haa… I… can’t… do this… anymore…”

“You can do it-squeak! If it’s you, Sion, you can do it-squeak!”

“Please… have mercy…”

Thud.

Sion collapsed onto the training hall floor.

His entire body was drenched in sweat.

Professor Hurryju twitched her ears as she examined his condition.

“…But it’s only been 30 minutes-squeak?”

“I don’t usually… exercise this much…”

“What a waste of talent-squeak! Still, you should swing the sword a bit more-squeak!”

“……”

Lying flat against the floor, Sion looked up at Hurryju.

She was bouncing around excitedly, like a child.

Sion let out a silent sigh.

‘Why did I show her that skill…?’

Hurryju’s Yulseo Swordsmanship, the style that had won first place in the World Swordsmanship Tournament.

Many people had sought to learn her techniques over the years.

However, since only Yulseo tribe members could properly execute its movements, she had yet to find a true disciple.

And today—after hearing her story—Sion had used his Combat Archive to demonstrate Yulseo Step in front of her.

As a result…

She was now training him relentlessly.

In short—

He had done this to himself.

“Are you really that tired-squeak?”

“…Yes.”

Hurryju crouched down and tilted her head.

Her expression said, Why are you exhausted after only 30 minutes?

For someone like Sion, who rarely exercised, 30 minutes of intense sword training was way too much.

“Well, since it’s about time, let’s have breakfast—no, lunch-squeak!”

“…Come to think of it, it is lunchtime already.”

“To celebrate my new disciple, I, your master, will treat you to a meal-squeak! Be grateful-squeak, hmph!”

“…Ugh!”

Whoosh!

Hurryju suddenly hoisted Sion onto her back.

“I know a great restaurant-squeak! Let’s go there!”

“That’s fine and all, but I can walk—”

“I won’t make my disciple suffer-squeak! And carrying you is faster anyway-squeak!”

“Wha—Whoa!”

Whoooosh!

Wind rushed past him as Hurryju sprinted out of the training hall at full speed.

To avoid falling, Sion instinctively wrapped his arms around her neck.

Hurryju didn’t seem to mind at all—if anything, she was enjoying the ride.

“You’re too fast, Professor!”

“Hahaha!! I finally have a disciple-squeak! Sion is my disciple-squeak!!”

She shouted loudly as she dashed through the academy.

She was genuinely overjoyed—so much so that she didn’t care about the students staring at them in confusion.

Sion understood her feelings, but—

‘Why do I have to be the one embarrassed here…?’

Not wanting to show his red face, he buried it into the back of Hurryju’s neck.

“Hahaha! That tickles-squeak!”

“…Then please run more quietly. Okay?”

“A master should be able to boast about her disciple-squeak!”

“I mean… that’s not wrong, but…”

“And we’re here-squeak! Hup!”

“…Huh?”

Sion lifted his head and looked around.

They had really arrived at the academy’s shopping district.

He was sure that the faculty research building was quite far from here.

But Hurryju had carried him—someone taller and heavier than herself—and dashed all the way here at that insane speed?

Once again, Sion found himself impressed by her inhuman athleticism.

“Don’t just stand there-squeak! Come inside!”

“…Excuse me.”

Creak.

The restaurant they entered was slightly off the main road of the shopping district.

‘This feels just like university towns in my past life.’

The main streets were always packed with bars and restaurants.

But if you walked just a few hundred meters away, you’d find a quiet residential area with old restaurants.

This place had that exact nostalgic, old-school feel.

“Long time no see-squeak!”

“Professor Hurryju! Here for your usual?”

“Yes-squeak! Oh, and this is my disciple—Sion from the human race-squeak!”

“…Hello.”

Sion politely bowed.

And then he froze.

Because the restaurant owner…

Was a tiger beastkin.

Her fur-patterned hair, ears sticking out from the top of her head, and long tail made it unmistakable.

Not only that—

“Auntie, can I get more greens?”

“Jeez, you eat a lot for an elephant.”

“That’s species discrimination!”

“I’m a beastkin too, you brat. Here.”

“Thank you~.”

Elephant beastkin.

Leopard beastkin.

Seal beastkin.

Cheetah beastkin.

Everywhere he looked, beastkin of all kinds were enjoying their meals.

For someone from modern Earth, this was an entirely surreal sight.

“Stop staring and sit down-squeak!”

“Ah, sorry.”

Hurryju nudged him with her elbow.

It was true that staring could cause misunderstandings.

Sion quickly took his seat and set up the tableware for both of them.

“Hmm? I don’t need those-squeak.”

“…Huh? You don’t need a spoon or chopsticks?”

“You’ll see-squeak.”

“Here’s the menu~.”

Thud.

A massive book, almost encyclopedic in size, landed on the table.

While Sion sat there in shock, Hurryju flipped through the pages.

And at the very last page—

The word “Human” was written.

“Not many humans come here-squeak. But don’t worry-squeak! This place, Totemism, can cook nearly anything-squeak!”

“…Then, I’ll have the tenderloin steak.”

“Got it-squeak! Order in!”

Hurryju placed their order with the tiger beastkin owner.

After that, she took a sip of the water Sion had poured for her.

As she tilted her head back, her bangs swayed slightly.

“…Professor.”

“Hm? You have a question-squeak?”

“This might be a rude question, but… why do you cover one of your eyes?”

“Ah… You mean this-squeak?”

Swoosh.

“The Squirrel Professor’s Hidden Past”

Hurryju lifted the strands of hair covering her right eye.

Beneath them was a black eyepatch.

Without hesitation, she removed it, revealing what lay underneath.

The moment Sion saw her right eye, he was at a loss for words.

A deep diagonal scar ran across it, as if it had been slashed by a blade.

Her pupil was completely unfocused.

Seeing his reaction, Hurryju quickly put the eyepatch back on.

“…Sorry-squeak. It’s not something pleasant to look at before a meal-squeak.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have asked…”

“It’s fine. I figured I’d tell you someday anyway-squeak. About how this happened.”

Hurryju gazed into the distance as if recalling the past.

Slowly, she began to speak.

“I used to think I was unbeatable-squeak. After creating Yulseo Swordsmanship, I never lost a single fight-squeak. I was arrogant. I looked down on humans. I thought no one could defeat me-squeak.”

She had developed her own swordsmanship, one so powerful that she had continued to win without fail.

For someone to create an entirely new style and remain undefeated—her talent was undeniable.

But the world was vast.

And there were many talented people in it.

“I got into a petty argument at a bar-squeak. I was drunk and angry, so I drew my sword. My opponent said, If you want to fight, let’s take it outside-squeak.”

“…Professor, you started a fight while drunk?”

“I-I don’t do that anymore-squeak! But back then… I might have-squeak…”

She averted her gaze awkwardly.

So even Hurryju, the ever-playful and carefree professor, had a reckless past.

That was unexpected.

“Anyway, I was overconfident because I had never lost before-squeak.”

“Did your opponent also use a sword?”

“Yes-squeak. …And I was utterly defeated-squeak.”

She smiled bitterly as she recalled the memory.

“That person was an absolute master-squeak. Every move I made was blocked. Even though I was faster, even though I was more agile, they countered everything. It was like fighting a brick wall-squeak.”

“…And they’re the one who injured your eye?”

“That’s right-squeak. Their last words still stick with me-squeak.”

— Don’t be arrogant. Keep honing your skills. If you reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship, I will return.

And with that, the swordsman vanished like a mirage.

Like a fleeting dream on a summer night.

But the loss of her eye was all too real.

“So from then on, I dedicated myself to training-squeak. Losing my right eye affected my depth perception… but I trained to compensate for it.”

“…Then, when you won first place in the World Swordsmanship Tournament, was that after you lost your eye?”

“Huh?! Where did you hear about that-squeak?! But… yes, that’s correct-squeak.”

“That’s incredible. I’m honored to have such an amazing teacher.”

“Dahahaha! Thanks for saying that-squeak!”

Losing one eye and still becoming the strongest swordsman in the world.

Sion’s respect for her only grew stronger.

“Here’s your order!”

“Perfect timing-squeak! Let’s eat and talk more-squeak!”

“Thank you.”

Before Sion was a mouthwatering steak.

And in front of Hurryju was…

“…What is that?”

“This is a Giant Almond from the Great Forest-squeak!”

“…A giant almond?”

Her meal was an almond bigger than her own face.

She took a huge bite with her front teeth, stuffing her cheeks until they puffed up.

Watching her nibble away—

Sion couldn’t help but think:

‘She really is a squirrel beastkin, huh?’

‘Still… this restaurant has a great atmosphere.’

Compared to the couple-themed restaurant he had visited with Serenne, this place felt much more comfortable.

Maybe to beastkin, it was like a foreigner finding an authentic restaurant from their homeland.

The steak was delicious.

The ambiance was warm and lively.

And Hurryju’s cheeks kept puffing up as she chewed.

It was a fun meal.

“Professor, let me pay for this one.”

“What nonsense-squeak! It’s only right for a master to treat her disciple-squeak!”

“Still…”

“Enough-squeak! Just accept it and be grateful-squeak. Hey, we’re ready to pay-squeak~!”

Hurryju pulled out a jingling pouch of silver coins and settled the bill.

It felt… strange to have a professor pay for his meal.

‘In my past life, professors would only pay for food like once or twice a year—if ever.’

‘If this is what being a graduate student is like… maybe it’s not so bad?’

Hurryju didn’t seem to be struggling financially.

After all, she was the world’s strongest swordsman—she had to be well-off.

She paid for meals.

She was fun to be around.

She was actually kind of cute when you looked closely.

And since she was in the Combat Department, she wouldn’t force him to deal with annoying paperwork.

Maybe… being her disciple wasn’t the worst fate.

Just as he had that thought—

Hurryju stretched and smiled brightly.

“Alright! Time to go-squeak!”

“…Go where?”

“We just ate, so now we need to work off the food-squeak! Back to training-squeak!”

Sion’s hopeful thoughts shattered instantly.

Wait.

Had he really just thought, Being a grad student isn’t so bad?

If there was no paperwork, that meant—

He had to train nonstop instead.

“Thank you for the meal. I’ll be going now.”

“…Ah—wait! Where are you going-squeak?!”

Thud! Thud!

Sion spun around and ran for his life.

That was his only escape route.

“Aha! So we’re doing sprint training right after lunch-squeak? Sounds fun! I’ll join you-squeak!”

“That’s NOT what’s happening! Aaaahhh!!!”

DASH—!!!

Hurryju chased after him at full speed.

Sion tried to run as far as possible, but he barely made it 100 meters before she caught him.

And after that…

She absolutely destroyed him with more training.

To be continued.