episode_0062

Chapter 62 – End of Term Ceremony

“Were you here?”

“Professor-nim? What brings you here?”

The owner of the hand was Sara.

She smiled, then frowned disapprovingly at my question.

“What? Can’t I come looking for you?”

“It’s not that, but you almost never come looking for me. Weren’t you busy dating Professor Verdan?”

When you were flirting, you neglected me, and now you’re blaming others! At my sharp retort, Sara immediately changed her stance.

The furrow in her brow smoothed out completely.

“Ah, hey! Why are you saying such things? It was just a joke!”

“Really? Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Oh ho! You shouldn’t be so suspicious! Anyway, it’s vacation now, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going back to my hometown.”

“Hometown? To the Friuli territory?”

“Yes. My father said he called me. What about you, Professor-nim? Since it’s vacation, are you going on lots of dates with Professor Verdan?”

The topic I had just managed to divert miraculously returned to its original place in an instant! Sara flinched for a moment, then awkwardly scratched her cheek as she replied.

“That probably won’t happen. Professor Verdan said he’s quite busy.”

“Oh really? How far have you gotten?”

“Why do you want to hear about that?”

Sara glared at me, narrowing her eyes.

It’s obvious she thinks: ‘This young one is perverted, only interested in lewd things!’

As expected, Sara is too conservative.

“Because I’m curious. Nowadays, people match their sexual compatibility and start dating within a week, so isn’t that too slow?”

“What? T-they even match sexual compatibility within a week? Aren’t you looking too much into that side of things?”

“Not at all? If you don’t believe me, ask other people. They’ll all say it’s too slow.”

At my completely truthful expression, Sara’s face hardened, as if finally trusting me.

“Then what should I do? Isn’t it already too late?”

“I don’t know. If you’re curious, try to find an opportunity and seduce him.”

“Seduce? How do I do that?”

“Well, just drink some alcohol and cling to him. Then he’ll either take you to a hotel or abandon you on the street. Or—”

As I playfully gave an extreme example, Sara, who had been listening quietly, protested.

“Stop adding weird unnecessary remarks!”

“So you’re not going to do it? If things stay like this, by the time you come to your senses, it might already be all over?”

“…That method really works, right?”

“I told you it does. She’s not a woman he’s seeing for the first time, and if a woman he’s dated a few times collapses drunk, he wouldn’t be a man if he just left her there.”

Unlike Earth, there are no one-sided, idiotic laws here.

Meaning, there’s no risk of being falsely accused.

At my extremely common-sense answer, Sara nodded as if she had made up her mind.

“…Then I should try it.”

“That’s a good idea. Work hard.”

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll get going first.”

As if unable to hesitate for a moment, Sara left her goodbyes and vanished like a flash.

She probably went to find Professor Verdan.

‘Then I should get going too.’

I casually looked around, then left the auditorium without hesitation and headed for the cafeteria.

“Cain. I’m here.”

As I opened the cafeteria door and stepped inside, I saw Cain sitting at the counter, as usual, engrossed in a magazine.

He didn’t even glance at me.

Cain’s attention only turned to me after I took a bite of potato chips, enacting the ‘just one bite’ move.

“What?”

“I came to say goodbye. It’s vacation now, right? I’ll go to my family home and bring the elixir, so when I get back, you’ll need to help me absorb it.”

The elixir in the snowy mountains isn’t something that can simply be consumed and digested; very specific conditions must be met.

At the words I had emphasized repeatedly, Cain waved his hand listlessly.

“Got it. I get it. I understand, so just go now.”

“Yes. See you in two weeks then.”

Leaving words as if to a couple divorcing, I left Cain behind and exited the cafeteria.

Though there seemed to be an excessive lack of affection between us for a master and disciple, this amount of distance was just right.

I’m not gay, so there’s no need to get unnecessarily close with someone of the same sex.

‘Then, I’ll grab some quick lunch and head to Isis.’

I had packed all my belongings into my spatial pouch the day before, so I didn’t need to stop by the dormitory.

I immediately hastened my steps towards the main gate.

*

Meanwhile, at that same time, Deborah, having finished her goodbyes with her friends and left the academy, was returning to the Magic Tower in a carriage with Roxana.

It was then that Roxana posed an awkward question.

“Deborah. Speaking of which, this master heard an interesting rumor.”

“A r-rumor?”

“Yes. They say you’re dating Ruan Friuli? Is it true?”

Roxana smiled playfully, gazing at her beloved disciple.

The problem was that Deborah interpreted her master’s gaze as a kind of warning.

Surely you wouldn’t dare lay a hand on my man, would you?

Before love, friendship and family all lose their value! Even if you are my disciple, you’re no exception!

Deborah clasped her trembling hands together in fear and shook her head.

“No! It’s a false rumor! It’s because all sorts of strange rumors are spreading throughout the academy right now!”

“Really? You were on the same team during the last practical, so nothing happened there?”

If Roxana had been a man instead of a woman, she might have already been arrested for stalking.

That’s how much interest she had in Deborah.

As she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes, Deborah’s face turned pale.

‘Could it be that she found out?’

Deborah’s eyes rolled around.

Glancing at Roxana from the corner of her eye, she soon concluded that wasn’t the case. If she had known, she would have torn at my hair long ago.

Calling me a sly vixen for daring to covet her master’s man.

“N-nothing happened!”

“Hmm… Suspicious. Should I go ask him directly?”

Roxana’s head turned towards the academy.

From her perspective, Deborah’s overly exaggerated reaction only made her more suspicious.

Now that she thought about it, Deborah’s behavior seemed to have changed since the practical. Her aura had become a bit more mature, and her skin looked better. It was as if the saying ‘love makes you beautiful’ perfectly applied to her.

Roxana simply hoped that Deborah wouldn’t suffer by meeting a bad man.

Unfortunately, her true feelings weren’t properly conveyed.

“It’s true! Please believe me! Ruan and I just happened to be on the same team and survived, that’s all! I wouldn’t even care if Master-nim said she was marrying Ruan right now!”

Deborah had already come to a conclusion about Ruan.

That he was far more benevolent and trustworthy than she had thought. Therefore, unlike her initial worries, there would be no need for Roxana to suffer.

At the statement she uttered based on that judgment, Roxana’s eyes widened in surprise.

She let out a small laugh.

“Hmph! Deborah, you’re something else. Marriage, what marriage? Do you know how much older I am than that child?”

“What does age matter! It’s fine as long as you like each other!”

“Really? Thank you for saying that.”

Roxana brushed off Deborah’s words.

She no longer had any intention of marrying. She had given up on such things after being caught by her nasty Master-nim and wasting her youth entirely on magic research.

All that was left for her was for Deborah, who was like a daughter to her, to be happy.

That was certainly true, but…

‘I’m a little curious.’

What would marriage feel like?

A life spent eating and sleeping together in the same house with the man you love. She didn’t know for sure, but it seemed like it would be incredibly happy.

Could there truly be a happiness greater than what she experienced now, spending time with Deborah?

Roxana, imagining this, shook her head.

‘Stop it.’

There was no point in fantasizing when she had no intention of marrying whatsoever.

She had received countless proposals until now, but hadn’t she rejected them all? Nor did she actively try to meet anyone.

Ultimately, for her fantasy to become reality, it meant she had no choice but to wait for a prince on a white horse to fall from the sky.

And what’s more, that prince would have to be so splendid and wonderful that she would fall in love at first sight.

‘There’s no way such a person exists.’

Even she found herself absurd for thinking that.

Who would take a woman as bothersome and unnecessarily picky as her?

Roxana looked out the window.

*

The scenery swiftly passed by outside.

Currently, I was in a carriage with Isis, traveling to the Magic Tower.

We hadn’t exchanged any conversation beyond our initial greetings. Isis seemed quite conscious of the fact that I knew she had received orders from Father to monitor me.

‘It doesn’t bother me, though.’

I was curious why she monitored me so intensely, but that was a question for the person who gave the order, not Isis, so I had no intention of asking her.

After that awkward silence continued for a while, Isis cautiously broke it.

“Ruan, is there anything you want?”

“Anything? What are you suddenly talking about?”

“You did well on your end-of-term evaluations, didn’t you? It seems you put in a lot of effort, so I want to give you a reward. Is there anything you need?”

Isis sent me a warm smile.

Since what age was it? At some point, Isis started acting like a mother to me. The instances of her doing what my parents should have done gradually increased.

My younger self, perhaps knowing this, always indulged in her pampering.

As I remained silent, feeling complex emotions, Isis seemed to misunderstand my silence and waved her hand in surprise.

“Ah! Just so you know, I didn’t investigate you. I watched all of your matches, Ruan. That’s how I knew. I hope you don’t misunderstand.”

“…I don’t misunderstand. I knew from the start. Your presence always brings a commotion.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s a relief. So, is there anything you want? You can tell me anything.”

Anything is fine, she says. Does Isis realize how dangerous a statement that is?

She must have thought it wouldn’t be a problem since I’m her younger brother, but I wonder how she’d react if she knew I was actually a complete stranger inhabiting her brother’s shell.

I scanned Isis’s entire body.

Her ample bosom looked like it would burst the buttons of her shirt and blazer, and the curves of her slender waist and hips leading down were utterly captivating.

Furthermore, her thighs were firm, and her calves long, making her overall proportions impeccable.

Isis’s figure created an impulse to defy heavenly bonds and everything else.

‘If I had my way, I’d just grab her!’

I wanted to indulge as much as I desired, but I decided to hold back, knowing such a request would earn me contempt.

“Just give me anything.”

“Anything? There’s nothing you want?”

“No. I have everything I need.”

“Hmm… Alright. Then I’ll choose something appropriate for you.”

Isis fell into contemplation.

She repeatedly took out a notepad, wrote something, then erased it, so much so that an outsider would think she was burdened with some enormous problem.

‘I don’t get it.’

If it were me, I would have been annoyed and cursed at her for saying ‘anything,’ so how could she be so diligent?

There was something hidden in Isis’s devotion to Ruan Friuli that I didn’t know about.

Isis, deep in thought, and I, observing her.

In that situation, time flowed quickly, and the carriage arrived at the Magic Tower.

I opened the door and got out first, intending to escort Isis, when my gaze suddenly drifted into the distance.

‘It’s Deborah and Roxana.’

They must have arrived a step ahead of us, as they just disappeared inside the building.

“Ruan?”

Just then, Isis called my name, perhaps curious why I was staring elsewhere.

Coming back to my senses, I extended my hand to her.

“Take it.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Isis smiled sweetly and took my hand.

As she stepped onto the ground, we left the carriage behind and hurried towards the teleportation gate.

Since we had made a reservation in advance, there was no wait.

We immediately stepped onto the gate and teleported to a city in the north.