Chapter 32
“Where have you been? All night.”
A question that sent a chill down my spine.
Jaber was staring at me with her characteristic emotionless gaze.
“......”
Unable to answer hastily, I let out a brief breath.
The silence that followed was as precarious as stepping on a knife.
I quietly bit my lip.
‘No way... I actually ran into Jaber.’
Was it a coincidence?
What were the odds of running into her like this?
Had she known I wasn't in the dormitory?
Then did she also know I'd left the academy grounds?
‘......No.’
My worries swelled like bubbles, but I extinguished them in an instant.
There was no way my route had been discovered.
I had moved while avoiding the faculty members' eyes.
I had sought only routes that couldn't be accurately detected and methods that would prevent me from being followed.
‘So it was a coincidence.’
I coolly cleared my head.
Jaber had spoken as though she had been waiting for me, but that was a bluff.
She had merely spotted me while making her nighttime rounds.
That had to be the case; if she'd known where I was from the start, she would have followed me long ago.
‘I'm not falling for it.’
In a situation like this, I needed to respond even more nonchalantly.
I suppressed any sign of suspicion.
Instead, I reacted as though I'd been caught doing something wrong.
Like an ordinary student caught enjoying a little delinquency.
“Well... P-Professor Jaber. I never expected to run into you this late.”
“Yes, I likewise never expected to run into you at this hour, Student Victor.”
“I take it you were out on your rounds?”
“That is correct. More importantly, answer my question first.”
“Um, uh......”
Deliberately displaying clumsy foolishness.
A reaction as though I were gauging her mood.
Every bit of it was calculated.
I answered the woman with a timid stammer.
“Well, you see......”
“I smell blood. From you, Student Victor.”
“You're frighteningly perceptive. I was just out hunting for a bit......”
“Hunting?”
Jaber furrowed her brow at the unexpected answer.
I ostentatiously showed her the wriggling creature in my front pocket.
It was Carmilla in bat form.
“Would you take a look at this?”
“This is...... a spirit beast. The one you said you were in the process of taming, Student Victor.”
“You remembered! This little one has become my soul mate now.”
I proudly held Carmilla out.
Like a student desperate to show off his pet to his supervising professor.
Perhaps it was that innocent guilelessness.
The sharp tension in the air softened a little.
“It may not look it, but this little one eats quite a lot. On top of that, she's picky, so I have to feed her fresh blood all the time. For that reason, I usually keep plenty of blood packs on hand to use as feed. But......”
“But?”
“Yesterday, I forgot to replenish her food. Can you believe it?”
“So you went out in the middle of the night to obtain that fresh blood?”
“Normally, I would have waited until morning, but she was being especially fussy today. She was making a racket, too, and wouldn't even let me sleep. She seemed determined to keep interrupting my sleep until the problem was solved, so I decided to leave the dormitory just for a little while.”
“Where did you hunt?”
“Ah, it was the hunting ground near our main building. She likes the blood of rabbit monsters.”
“The student hunting ground. Students will be restricted from entering that facility after midnight. Did you sneak in?”
“I apologize for that as well......”
Thump-.
I lowered my head.
Then I followed up by emphasizing that my words were true.
“Ah...... If you wish, I can prove it.”
Rustle, rustle-.
I moved my hand as though pulling out the bag slung around my waist.
Along with the act, I took out a case stored inside my robe.
Inside, it was packed full of blood packs as fresh as if they'd just been filled.
“You can see it too, can't you, Professor? They couldn't possibly be this fresh unless the blood had been drawn just now.”
Evidence.
Evidence that seemed to say I had just come from the hunting grounds.
‘Of course...... I only happened to make it fit.’
Those were blood packs I'd prepared over a week ago.
After drawing the blood, I had stored it directly inside my robe.
Time was fixed for items in the inventory, so their freshness hadn't diminished.
I had carried a large stock at once because drawing blood every time was a hassle, but I never expected it to help me like this.
“Indeed...... It doesn't seem to have been more than an hour since the blood was drawn.”
Jaber examined the blood packs closely, then nodded.
The woman handed the case back, as if she had seen enough.
Even so, she asked one more question.
Her gaze was fixed on the hand holding the returned case.
“How did you injure your hand?”
“Ah......”
That's right.
A hand covered in minor wounds and noticeably swollen.
It was the fist I'd cracked while beating up the ranch manager.
I casually wiped at the wound and gave an embarrassed smile.
“Haha...... This is embarrassing. Actually, while I was out hunting, one of them suddenly leaped at me. It was pitch-black around me, so my field of vision was narrow. I threw a punch first to see what would happen, but I slipped up once and ended up like this.”
“You mean your hand swelled up that badly from hitting some lowly monster?”
“You know my overall stats are around E rank, don't you?”
“Hmm......”
“I have an inherently weak body.”
“......”
Jaber showed no particular reaction.
It was understandable that she found it absurd.
Someone who had toyed with even the top student of Class C had apparently been injured by a mere E-rank monster......
‘But what can I do when it's the truth?’
My physical body really was that frail.
I was a man whose overall stats were unprecedentedly terrible.
As my homeroom professor, Jaber would also be well aware of my miserable profile.
““......””
In the end, there was no opening for her to seize.
After a tense silence, the woman suddenly let out a deep sigh.
“Haa...... In accordance with the following two violations—leaving without permission after curfew and entering the student hunting grounds during restricted hours—I am imposing 20 demerit points.”
“Oh no......”
Nice.
It seemed she was going to withdraw her suspicions and leave.
I almost let my joy show, but swallowed it down with all my might.
I was currently acting like an ordinary student caught breaking the rules.
I asked, with a hint of unfairness in my voice.
“Could you let it go just this once?”
“No. Rules exist to be followed.”
“You can't be serious. It's only been two weeks since I enrolled, and I already have 20 demerit points......”
“You brought this upon yourself. If your demerit points accumulate to 50 or more, they may negatively affect your grades. Please be careful.”
“Ugh...... Professor, you really are strict.”
“I am merely handling this according to the established principles and regulations.”
Of course. Absolutely.
Professor, you are right.
While savoring my inward cheer, Jaber approached and spoke.
“Give me your hand.”
“Pardon?”
“Your hand. I said I wanted to see the injury.”
“Ah......? Yes, here it is.”
Clasp-.
The moment I offered my hand, her fingers interlaced with mine.
Though calloused, her warm skin wrapped around the back of my hand.
Before I had time to be flustered, light bloomed from the woman's fingertips.
Fwoooosh-!
“Urk......”
My vision suddenly brightened.
Soon, a faint warmth seeped in, and the small wounds healed.
The throbbing pain faded. In its place remained only a soft glow.
Holding that light in her hand, Jaber spoke without even looking at me.
“It's a simple measure.”
“Divine power......?”
“I will let it go for tonight since it is already late, but you must visit the infirmary by tomorrow. You must go even if you do not feel any pain.”
“You mean the infirmary? It seems the divine power has already healed me completely......”
“It is a rule. If we find no record of your visit to the infirmary later, additional demerit points will be imposed.”
“That's so harsh......!”
Cold green eyes.
And yet the woman's warmth was gentle, and so was her touch.
She finished the treatment with meticulous care, then stepped back.
Was she about to return to her patrol duties?
“That concludes your reprimand.”
“I'm sorry. I seem to have caused you unnecessary concern.”
“It's all right. More importantly, you do know that year-level practical training begins next week, correct?”
“Of course.”
“Team matching will begin in earnest the day after tomorrow. Take care of yourself. This practical training is directly tied to your grades. The other students will not want to accept someone covered in various injuries as a teammate, either.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
“Then I will see you in the next lecture.”
After that, Jaber turned away and left without hesitation.
The warmth she had left behind faintly lingered in my hand.
As I toyed with it for a moment, Carmilla bit my finger as if displeased.
[......Victor.]
“Ah, Your Highness.”
[I am not a glutton.]
“Ah...... I'm sorry. I had no other way to explain it, so I went with that.”
[To sell out your master because you had nothing else to sell—such disloyalty reaches the heavens.]
I soothed the slightly sulking princess.
Though my eyes continued to watch Jaber's retreating back.
‘Did I...... get away with it?’
Of course, it didn't seem as though I'd completely escaped her suspicions.
Her gaze still held a wary glint.
Of course, that was better for me.
The suspicions she'd formed would soon come in handy.
I took a deep breath of the night air and set off toward my room.
“Haa...... What a grueling night.”