A Night with Teacher Seine

“I still can’t quite grasp it. I’ve heard a lot about it, but it was just secondhand experiences, and this is the first time I’ve heard about it so explicitly. To think there are various acts besides the direct ones, it’s just not… not sinking in, I’d say…”

The Saint blushing while running her hand over her chest. Feeling uncomfortable seeing that sight, I unconsciously turned my gaze away.

“Yes. Well, there’s no need to know in a hurry.”

Damn, I feel guilty and can’t continue any further.

Just as the Saint is unable to emerge from the shock of encountering a new world, I judged it best to stop at this opportunity.

“Then let’s end the education here and move on to other parts…”

“W-Wait a moment!”

A shout rang out at that moment.

Uncharacteristically raising her voice, she began to lower her head as if trying to control her quickened breathing.

No, beyond that, she was even clenching her fists and trembling.

“If, if it’s alright.”

Then the Saint directed only her gaze towards me.

“I-If it’s alright, could Teacher Seine, directly…”

Her shy appearance made me feel an inexplicable sense of unease.

Surely not…

No, it can’t be.

Even though it’s a time when one is curious about many sexual things.

Surely she’s not going to request practical training here?

-Rumble!

A loud noise suddenly came from behind.

For a moment, I thought Dale might have broken a window again, but Dale had already gone home long ago.

“…It’s raining heavily.”

When I pulled back the curtain to check outside, I could see the rain pouring down heavily.

Come to think of it, it did feel a bit gloomy when I went to the city earlier.

Still, since sunlight was coming through, I thought even if it rained, it wouldn’t be too severe.

-Rumble, Crash! Boom!!

The noise of lightning striking from the sky was reaching a level far surpassing that of an ordinary bombing phenomenon.

I don’t think even the fireworks that went off at the academy recently were this intense.

It was so sudden and intense that I couldn’t help but wonder if Zeus had come looking for a nice woman.

In a world without a meteorological agency, it’s not strange to associate such things with gods.

-Kwing!!

And it wasn’t just me and the Saint who were startled by that loud noise.

Dogbage, who had been quiet all along, suddenly jumped onto the Saint and clung to her body.

“…It seems to be very frightened.”

The Saint lifted it up sympathetically and buried it in her chest.

After placing it on her lap and stroking its body with her hand imbued with holy power, Dogbage’s trembling seemed to subside as its fear lessened somewhat.

I briefly turned my gaze away from the Saint and looked around at the window.

The sky was dyed pitch black even though it was too early for the sun to set. There was no sign of the rain stopping anytime soon.

The sports clubs must be in a state of mourning right now.

But more worrying than that was whether it would interfere with commuting.

While those in dormitories might be fine, students with lodgings in Academic City would have to endure this downpour on their way back.

“With it pouring like this, it seems difficult to go home today… Are you alright, Saint?”

Yes, she too has her base in Academic City.

Although she’s a visiting student, she has to be faithful to her duties as a saint after returning, so being stuck here would cause great inconvenience for the sect as well.

It wouldn’t be strange if the knightly order came through this downpour at the slightest misstep.

“…Could you wait a moment?”

But rather than looking troubled, she just maintained her usual calm demeanor and clasped her hands together.

Then, as a faint aura began to emanate from her, a small voice started to leak from her mouth.

“Haide-nim, please…”

A prayer to the god she serves.

As that prayer flowed softly in the infirmary filled with the noise of the downpour, the light leaking from her body gradually became clearer.

The moment that unwavering light spread throughout the room.

The nobility felt from it was itself proof of the purity of her faith.

Yes, it’s not for nothing that she’s revered as a saint at such a young age.

As a believer who serves god myself, I often found myself in awe of her abilities.

“…According to what I directly asked Haide-nim, other believers at the sect have decided to cancel all scheduled events due to the sudden downpour. I’ve also informed them that I’m stuck here, so the news will soon reach them as well.”

“Ah, I see.”

She can relay messages to distant believers by praying directly to the god?

Well, the gods of this world can appear anywhere if the object of faith is common.

For a clergy member who can directly convey their voice to the god, it should be quite possible to indirectly convey their will to distant people through oracles or rituals.

It feels a bit odd to use such communication methods as if the god were the internet with self-awareness, but… It’s better not to worry about it now since it’s a good thing.

“Then it’s alright for you to stay here for today?”

“Yes, I’ll be imposing on you a bit longer unexpectedly… Is that alright with you, Teacher Seine?”

“It’s no problem for me. Originally, I’m based on night duty, so when nothing happens, I stay in this infirmary.”

As a faculty member, I do have a dormitory room, but it’s been almost a month since I last entered it.

From the start, I’ve become a fixture in the infirmary to the extent of having my own pantry.

In the midst of that, having a conversation partner even for just one day felt like a small joy.

“That means we’ll be spending the night here alone together, Teacher.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As I answered while wondering how our Saint would feel about this, I briefly stared at her face.

“A night with Teacher Seine…”

“…Sepin-san?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

The Saint trembled as soon as I voiced my question.

Looking out at the rainy window with a flushed face, she was the very picture of someone feeling tense to anyone who saw her.

Well, it’s understandable.

Spending the night with someone other than a sect member must be a first for her too.

-Gurgle.

At that moment, the sound of a rumbling stomach rang out.

Startled by that, the Saint hurriedly clutched her stomach with both hands.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“No, don’t worry about it. It’s just a natural bodily function.”

Using your brain consumes calories too, so it’s only natural to be hungry after studying so hard.

However, the school cafeteria only opens for dinner for dormitory residents.

It doesn’t apply to her, who stays only until after school even when staying for a long time.

Of course, if she revealed her identity, they would make an exception, but she’s in a position where she needs to hide her identity, so that can’t be considered.

“Come to think of it, Haide doesn’t have any doctrinally forbidden foods, right?”

“Yes, anything that can be put in the mouth is fine.”

“Then, how about this…”

I guess there’s no choice. I’ll have to share what I have.

I immediately headed to the pantry, opened the shelf door, and took out the contents to place in front of me.

A handmade cup that can store contents in a vacuum-sealed state.

After opening the packaging, I put in the soup inside, then used mana to vibrate the water in the water bottle to make it boil.

-Bubble bubble.

After putting the boiling water into the packaging and covering it with a lid, I waited for a few minutes.

When the time was up, I opened the lid and placed the contents on the table, and a savory smell began to spread throughout the pantry.

“What is this?”

“It’s called ramen. It’s an instant food that’s complete just by pouring hot water.”

“Just by pouring water…?”

The Saint stared at the contents of the cup as if she couldn’t understand. It must seem quite surprising to her common sense.

Well, it’s understandable. Even though this world doesn’t consider the era when it comes to food culture, the preservation method of frying noodles in oil and then drying them thoroughly wasn’t very well known.

Moreover, in the case of ramen, its initial development place was none other than the medical powerhouse. To be frank, I had given hints to those involved there to induce them to make such a thing.

Thanks to that, they took the patent, but could I begrudge that after running away from home?

Now I should be satisfied with being able to taste the flavors of my old hometown through those connections.

“The recipe was made based on what nutritionists came up with, so you can eat it without hesitation. Of course, it might be a bit inappropriate to offer to the Saint…”

“Ah, no. It’s fine. As I said before, there’s no food I avoid.”

Saying that, the Saint took the chopsticks I offered and sat down.

Then, with her hands clasped together in prayer, she offered a short prayer of ‘Thank you for this meal’ before starting to stir the contents of the cup with the chopsticks.

The ramen twirling around following the rotation of the gathered sticks.

Although the way of using it was like how a child would do it, since chopsticks only exist in East Asian cultures originally, I didn’t particularly nitpick.

After all, in a fantasy world setting and with the Saint as the other party, it would be ridiculous to give table manners lessons about chopsticks.

-Slurp.

As time passed eating ramen alone with the Saint, I spent the time observing the Saint’s behavior throughout the meal.

The Saint who hadn’t opened her mouth once after the meal.

She even closed her eyes as if savoring the taste of the ramen, continuing to eat quietly.

Should I say it’s refined?

Even I, who initially intended to eat comfortably, naturally adopted a polite attitude in the face of such an atmosphere.

Really, the more I look at her, the more admirable she seems, beyond her age.

-Arf!

As I continued my meal while facing the Saint, it was only for a moment.

When I lowered my gaze at the sudden noise, I saw Dogbage looking up at me, having followed us into the pantry.

-Arf!!!

Dogbage barking energetically while wagging its tail.

It seemed to have come after smelling the food, but its gaze was directed at me rather than the cup noodles.

Is it asking to play together rather than being hungry?

As I stared blankly at Dogbage, I couldn’t help but start to salivate.

Ah, if I could wrap some kimchi with the ramen and take a bite, I could easily finish three bowls of rice.

If only it wasn’t imbued with a god, I would have made some quick kimchi right away. What a shame.

---

The heavy rain was still going strong even after the meal was finished.

The lightning striking the sky across from the academy was briefly illuminating the darkening sky.

“I should go wash up soon.”

Yes, it’s just the right time.

Just as I was taking out the prepared washing supplies one by one from the drawer, the Saint, who was in self-study, showed interest.

“When you say wash up, are you going to the bathhouse now?”

“Yes, this academy’s large bathhouse closes before night falls. So if I want to wash, now is the only time… You’ll wash too, right?”

“Pardon?”

The Saint momentarily voiced her confusion at my question.

After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth again.

“Ah, yes. I should wash.”

“Yes, then I’ll prepare a set for you too.”

As it’s an infirmary, I had several sets of towels and hygiene supplies prepared.

As I was preparing an additional set for one more person, I suddenly paused as a thought occurred to me.

Wait, does this mean the Saint and I will be entering the same bathhouse today?

“Um, Teacher.”

When I faced her again after finishing preparations, I could see that the Saint’s body was strangely very stiff for some reason.

Her hands shyly gathered near her navel, her chest slightly pressed together by her arms, and her face red.

“I-I’ll be in your care.”

“No, likewise…”

As I saw her looking up at me shyly with her head bowed, I unconsciously bowed my head towards her as well.

Isn’t it strange?

To feel this tense about going to the bathhouse together even though we’re both women.

---

Yes, as I’ve thought many times, I am a woman.

Even if I started as a male, that’s a thing of the past.

Moreover, since I still can’t forget my first love, I pride myself on being heterosexual.

Yes, so there should be no reason to be tense in the current situation, and yet.

“Ah, Teacher.”

When I actually set foot in the bathhouse, what I felt wasn’t impure sexual desire towards a younger woman, but an emotion that could be called even more obscene than that.

An emotion that one serving god should never have, and absolutely must not have towards a saint.

“I’ve heard about it, but Maris’ bathing facilities are truly amazing. It feels almost too empty with just the two of us here…”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. I’m glad you like it.”

Just the number of students staying in Maris alone amounts to tens of thousands.

As it needs to accommodate such a large number of people, the scale of the school’s public bathhouse surpasses that of ordinary facilities, and its basic policy is to fill the water in the morning and drain it just before night falls.

Yes, so it’s a positive thing to be able to enjoy such prosperity by aiming for that timing.

It’s not a bad thing to enjoy it together with an acquaintance and deepen our friendship.

But how should I put it?

I had some expectations, but it’s really incredible, that child’s thing.

Yes.

It’s truly impressive.