Chapter 53
Lying in a bed in the infirmary, I looked up at the ceiling I’d grown completely used to by now and thought.
‘I never thought I’d spend another night here.’
Professor Mella had insisted.
I seemed fine on the surface, but I’d fought a dangerous cultist.
—You might have been cursed or poisoned, or suffered internal injuries, so stay here tonight and let us monitor you.
‘Isn’t this over-treatment?’
It wasn’t like I had to pay for the treatment, anyway.
‘If this keeps up, will they make me live in the infirmary for a while if I really get hurt?’
If that happened, Maron, Elettra, and Lucy would surely say they wanted to nurse me and set up house here in the infirmary themselves.
The three of them naturally came to mind.
Maron and Elettra bickering, Elettra and Lucy bickering, and Lucy and Maron bickering.
‘…I miss them.’
Hm.
Given that I was thinking this way,
‘Do I have romantic feelings for them, too?’
I wasn’t sure.
How was I supposed to distinguish lust from romantic affection?
I wouldn’t know. I’d spent my whole life single because I was so oblivious.
—Hey, did you get home with Hyejin okay yesterday?
—I got her home safely.
—…What are you talking about? Didn’t you two start dating yesterday?
—?
—Ha… You really are something….
And my friend had rubbed his forehead for some reason.
—You idiot… You’ve missed at least a dozen chances to date someone by now.
—That makes no sense. Oh, I have plans to watch a movie with Sua at her apartment, just the two of us, so I should get going.
—You’re a great guy, but sometimes I want to kill you.
—What’s wrong with watching a movie? Want to come watch with us?
And my friend had hit me for some reason.
‘…Hmm.’
Strange.
Why did it feel like my relationships with the people around me were still the same even though the world had changed?
‘Maybe I should sort out my thoughts.’
First, Professor Kadisha’s authority to command me was honestly bewildering. I didn’t think she needed to go that far.
‘To begin with, how effective is this?’
Even if I could order someone to do anything, there had to be limits to what I could actually make them do.
‘Ah, this is Lucy’s area of expertise.’
I’d have to ask Lucy later.
What exactly it was, and why Professor Kadisha had given it to me.
‘If only I had a phone, I could call her right now.’
It was a little disappointing that this world had cameras but no phones.
These days, messaging girls was standard in subculture games.
‘Well, I can’t do anything about it if there aren’t any.’
Once I’d cleared the main scenario’s ending in this world and had time for some smaller personal projects, I’d just develop one myself.
‘And the next event after this is probably that transfer student….’
With midterms not far off,
it was time for an important character to show up at the academy.
‘How do I confirm her identity?’
Was there an item that could detect lies?
‘Maybe there is?’
This was a fantasy world.
And I could get anything in this world from the shop.
【Shop】
I flicked through the categories.
〈Weapons〉
〈Armor〉
〈Daily Living Aids〉
〈Consumables〉
(…)
‘Oh? Could it be this?’
〈Category: Alchemy〉
- Spirit Butterfly Wing Dust (10000 points)
I checked the details.
〈Spirit Butterfly Wing Dust〉
Description: A powder used as an ingredient in various alchemical processes. If it touches someone who is lying, it turns into black mist.
‘This should do it.’
Thank goodness.
‘But why is it so expensive?’
Was it because it could only be gathered in places where a certain kind of spirit lived?
The Syndras petals I’d given Elettra as a gift when we first met.
They’d been cheap in the region where they could be gathered, but the Empire was far away, so they’d cost a fortune.
If the same logic applied to this Spirit Butterfly Wing Dust…
‘If it costs this much even for me, who has the shop, then other people probably can’t get it no matter how much money they pile up, because there just isn’t any for sale.’
Anyway, that was my next purchase target.
‘Come to think of it, Elettra’s hobby was observing spirits, right? I should ask her about this in detail.’
I had things to discuss with both Elettra and Lucy.
‘Then I’ll check out the transfer student, and if nothing happens… the next event will be midterms.’
And after midterms came the seaside event.
In the original story, that was where Oro attacked.
‘But I already took Oro out.’
Maybe I’d be able to enjoy the seaside event normally.
Please let that be the case.
I was really looking forward to seeing the girls in swimsuits in a subculture game.
‘I’ll have to either kill off everyone in the <Cult of the Abyss> or turn them into allies, won’t I?’
The thirteen Guides.
I’d already defeated two of them.
The thirteenth-ranked one, whose name I couldn’t remember, had planned the dungeon ambush.
Oro, who I’d defeated just today, was tenth-ranked.
And third place was…
—Uwooong! I’m Hildet!
“….”
I’d put thoughts of the third-ranked one aside for now. It gave me a headache.
Anyway, aside from those three,
‘There are ten left.’
I suddenly sighed.
“Haa….”
I felt like I’d already done a lot up to this point.
And there was still so much left to do.
‘Though it’s not like I’ve been working the whole time.’
Just as I was thinking it was about time to go to sleep, I sensed someone outside the curtain.
“Um… Mr. Everchess.”
It was a professor.
But not Professor Mella, the one in charge of the infirmary.
“Professor Sillon?”
“Y-yes… Is Professor Mella not here right now?”
Orange hair and eyes, and a petite frame.
A sweet, timid, adorable woman who had trouble voicing her opinions.
“She’s not here.”
“Th-then, may I come in for a moment?”
And when I saw Professor Sillon appear as she drew the curtain aside,
I couldn’t help but freeze.
“Professor…?”
A camisole nightdress, the kind women wore.
The fabric was so thin that if you looked closely, you could see the skin beneath it, and she seemed to be wearing nothing underneath, leaving her slender, pale thighs clearly visible.
She had a white coat draped over it, but she’d nearly taken that off, too, exposing her bare shoulders.
“A-ahaha… I just had something to talk to you about… May I sit here…?”
“O-of course.”
I was bewildered.
Why on earth had she come here dressed like that?
“Th-then… excuse me?”
Professor Sillon perched on the edge of the bed.
Since I was lying down, Professor Sillon’s butt touched the side of my thigh.
It was softer than I’d expected.
Her breasts and hips were both on the small side, but her waist was slender, giving her body a distinct feminine curve.
‘What on earth did she need to talk about?’
Professors were generally busy people.
If she’d come alone to see a cadet at this hour, there had to be something important she wanted.
“Mr. Everchess, so how are you feeling physically?”
Was she asking after me before getting down to business?
That was just like her.
“I think I’m fine, for now.”
“Did Professor Mella, by any chance… say or do anything strange?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“I see… Um, was there a lot of physical contact, perhaps?”
“Not particularly.”
“Phew….”
“It’s normal for her to touch me a little during an examination, after all.”
“….”
“Professor?”
“Ah, y-yes.”
Professor Sillon smiled awkwardly.
“Oh, right. What did you do with that thing you received from Professor Kadisha?”
“I’ve kept it safe.”
“…I see. Are you waiting for a good opportunity to use it?”
“Yes.”
It was an important matter.
“I intend to use it in a way that will satisfy both me and Professor Kadisha.”
“…You’re both pretty enthusiastic.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing, never mind.”
Professor Sillon smiled awkwardly again.
“Are you all right? You seem to be sweating.”
“I wonder why.”
“I couldn’t say. I don’t know.”
“….”
Professor Sillon leaned toward me.
“Mr. Everchess, do you know how old I am?”
“No.”
I didn’t even know my own age, let alone Professor Sillon’s.
“I’m four years older than you.”
“Oh…?”
“I’m generally considered to be at the usual age for marriage.”
‘Is that so?’
No, things were different from modern Korea.
Before I possessed this body, the average age of first marriage for women in Korea was thirty-one, and the average age of first childbirth was thirty-three.
In contrast, in this world people married and had children as early as their teens.
Professor Sillon was probably in her mid-twenties, so by this world’s standards, she was indeed of marriageable age.
“No, if anything, you’re a little late—”
Whoosh.
“?”
When I came to my senses, Professor Sillon was leaning over me.
“Mr. Everchess.”
Smile.
She was smiling, but her eyes weren’t.
“Don’t ever say something like that again. Understood?”
“…I was truly in the wrong.”
Truly.
“If you say another ‘bad thing’ like that, I’ll really get angry next time, okay?”
“I sincerely regret it. Please spare me just this once.”
Truly.
I’m so scared right now.
“…Sigh.”
Professor Sillon sighed.
“You should cut back on pretending to be so oblivious, Mr. Everchess.”
“I’m not pretending. I really am oblivious….”
“Yes, yes. Of course, of course.”
Professor Sillon sighed again.
“Um… aren’t you going to get off?”
“Why should I?”
“Well, it’s just….”
I turned my head to the side.
“I can see.”
Because she wasn’t wearing anything under her camisole.
And because she was straddling me, even the camisole had slipped down.
“See what?”
“…Pink.”
Raspberries on two little hills.
One on each side.
“….”
A moment later.
“!?!!?!?!?”
Startled, Professor Sillon sprang off me.
“Ugh!?”
As she suddenly dropped back down on me, I reflexively thrust my hips upward.
“Eek!?”
Professor Sillon fell forward again.
This time, her petite body fell on top of mine, our chests and stomachs pressed firmly together.
“…!”
“—!”
Professor Sillon’s face was less than five centimeters from mine.
A soft, fragrant scent like black tea tickled my nostrils.
“…Gulp.”
Professor Sillon swallowed.