Chapter 42: Could It Be…?

…

“Hmm?”

After leaving the training grounds, Ewan suddenly halted his steps on the path strewn with plane tree leaves.

His gaze, laced with a hint of bewilderment, swept across his surroundings.

It was class time, so no other students were on the path.

The surroundings were utterly quiet, save for the rustling of leaves as the wind whispered through them.

Outwardly, there appeared to be nothing amiss.

‘But why do I feel like someone is watching me?’

Ewan couldn’t help but frown.

The subtle, almost imperceptible sensation of being watched was like a venomous serpent lurking in the shadows, its forked tongue flicking subtly in his direction.

‘Could some pervert be following me?’

Ewan shivered involuntarily.

‘But wasn’t Kellen that guy caught already?’

With that thought, Ewan dared not linger. He shook his head and swiftly departed the area.

****

During class hours, the library was sparsely populated.

“Oh? Junior?”

Senior Anna, dressed in a black librarian’s uniform and long skirt, her soft, long hair woven into a braid and draped over her shoulder, looked like a gentle elder sister from next door.

However, it was only when she saw Ewan that her eyes, curving slightly into crescent moons, revealed a hint of her impish nature.

“What brings you here, at this hour? Don’t you have class?

Could it be…”

Anna leaned halfway across the desk, supporting herself with both hands. A delicate fragrance wafted from her as she smiled sweetly, “Did you even skip class just to come see me?”

“I…”

Ewan, pressured by Anna’s ‘aura,’ instinctively leaned back slightly, yet his gaze couldn’t help but drift downwards.

So big.

So high.

So magnificently imposing.

This downward perspective not only allowed him to fully appreciate the grand splendor of those two peaks, but he also seemed to faintly glimpse the bottomless chasm through the taut gaps in her shirt.

“Junior.”

Noticing Ewan’s gaze, Anna’s tone carried a hint of playful reproach.

She extended a finger and lightly nudged Ewan’s head upward, forcing his eyes to avert.

“Being lecherous is a no-no.”

“Nonsense, I wasn’t.”

Ewan’s cheeks flushed slightly as he loudly retorted.

“Honestly.”

Anna straightened up, sighing softly as she crossed her arms. “This librarian’s uniform is practically the most conservative one in the academy. If you can still stare with such lecherous eyes, just how incorrigible are you, Junior?”

“Who can blame Senior? You’re beautiful and have a perfect figure!” Ewan chuckled sheepishly.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, then.”

Anna flashed a captivating smile, then lowered her head, resuming the task of organizing the books in front of her, a task she had been engaged in before Ewan’s arrival.

“So, then?”

“Hmm?”

“My question from earlier.”

“Oh.”

Ewan registered her words, then immediately struck a handsome pose, leaning against the nearby wall and flamboyantly sweeping his bangs. “Just as Senior said, I came specifically to see you.”

“Is that so?”

Anna raised her eyes, giving Ewan’s other hand a meaningful glance.

“You came to see me, and you brought a gift? Hmm, let me see what you brought. *Introduction to Basic Magic Theory*? Oh, Ewan, you’re so clever. How did you know this is my favorite book? So much so that I, who doesn’t even need to study this subject, have flipped through it dozens of times recently.”

“Uh…”

Ewan awkwardly hid the textbook behind his back, forcing a laugh. “Senior, you must be mistaken. How could I be so shameless as to disturb you during your working hours?”

“Oh, is that right?”

Senior Anna arched a delicate brow. “Since I was mistaken, then Ewan, please make yourself at home. It’s class time, so there aren’t many people in the library. You can do whatever you like.

In any case, don’t disturb my work, okay?”

Senior Anna patted the neatly arranged books in front of her, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “After all, it is working hours.”

“I was wrong, Lady Anna.”

Ewan immediately clasped his hands together in supplication. “I am a shameless scoundrel. Please, you must forget what I just said and thoroughly educate me!”

“That’s more like it, my adorable scoundrel junior.”

Anna chuckled softly, her lithe body trembling slightly with her laughter, causing Ewan’s heart to sway in unison.

“Well then, let’s go.”

Anna tidied the books and pushed open the small gate of the counter.

“Huh?”

Seeing Senior Anna simply walk out, Ewan was momentarily stunned. He blinked and asked, “Is it really alright to just leave your post like that?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m leaving the library entirely. We just need to find a spot where I can still see the counter, and besides…”

Anna gazed at Ewan with a sweet smile. “During class time like this, apart from a naughty student like you who’s probably skipping, who else would come to the library?”

“…That’s true.”

Ewan’s gaze swept across the library. Aside from a few upper-year students quietly researching, there was no one else.

****

After finding a spot near the counter with Senior Anna, Ewan’s bittersweet learning journey began anew.

Complex knowledge, skillfully broken down by Anna into easily digestible fragments, was continuously poured into Ewan’s mind.

Ewan could clearly feel his own progress.

But for him, the pleasure wasn’t limited to that alone.

Whenever he looked up and saw Senior Anna’s every gesture and smile, seemingly engrossed in teaching, Ewan couldn’t help but wish for time to slow down, even more so.

If only such moments could last forever…

“Junior, you smell of a woman.”

After finishing a small section of knowledge, Anna idly remarked, flipping through the book in her hands.

“Uh…”

Ewan, who had been lost in delightful reverie, instantly stiffened.

“I… I do?”

“I’ve smelled this scent before, you know?”

Anna put down her book, her expression deeply meaningful.

“It’s the same as when I visited you in the infirmary. It’s the student council president, isn’t it?”

He was startled. After that, he had been in ‘intimate’ contact with over thirty men. She could still smell it?

“My sense of smell has always been very keen,” Anna said with a smile, as if she could read Ewan’s thoughts. “So, is it true?”

“It is…”

“So, before coming here, you met with the student council president?”

“Ah… yes.”

Ewan answered stiffly.

Strange, what was this guilty feeling, like a scoundrel caught in the act?

He hadn’t done anything wrong!

No, I must…

Just as he was about to say something to diffuse the awkward atmosphere, Anna leaned closer, cupping her cheek.

A sweet scent enveloped Ewan’s nose.

“Speaking of which, Junior, you’re quite the notorious playboy in the academy.”

“Didn’t I say? That’s just a rumor,” Ewan said with a wry smile.

“That may be true, but Ewan, you always seem to be close with the famous girls in the academy.”

“Do I?”

Ewan scratched his cheek.

He hadn’t noticed anything with girls, but he always felt like some boys coveted his body.

But Senior suddenly brought this up…

“So, I wanted to ask…”

Anna suddenly brushed a strand of hair back, her eyes, seemingly brimming with spring water, curved slightly as she softly asked, “Junior, do you have someone you like?”

“Huh?”

Anna’s words were so clear, and so sudden.

It was like a professional boxer had suddenly delivered a heavy blow to Ewan’s heart, leaving it intensely stirred.

Ewan’s eyes widened, and he subconsciously looked left and right.

At some point, everyone else in the library had left, leaving only the two of them.

And so, it was utterly silent.

Wait, wait, wait.

This setting.

This atmosphere.

Senior suddenly asking such a question.

Could it be that she was going to…

…