Chapter 39: The Squirrel Professor’s Swordsmanship

Byzantium Academy’s Student ID and the Squirrel Professor’s Swordsmanship

Byzantium Academy’s student ID had a variety of functions.

Whoever the previous headmaster was, they had implemented a system similar to an academy homepage.

Thanks to that, finding Professor Hurryju’s contact information wasn’t difficult.

Sion immediately made a call.

“Hmm… Who’s this-squeak?”

The voice was thick with drowsiness, as if the person had just woken up.

For a moment, Sion wondered if he had dialed the wrong number.

But—

‘The only person I know who ends their sentences with “squeak” is her.’

Holding his student ID close to his ear with both hands, Sion bowed slightly out of habit.

“Hello, Professor Hurryju. I’m Sion, a first-year student in Byzantium Academy’s Magic Department.”

“Hmm… Sion? That name sounds familiar-squeak… My brain isn’t working yet-squeak…”

“I’m calling about the swordsmanship class, Essential Sword Techniques for Wizards. We had scheduled a session for Wednesday evening, but—”

Sion bowed even lower.

This wasn’t just any issue.

A student had completely forgotten about their appointment with a professor.

If she got angry, it would be completely justified.

‘I just hope she doesn’t beat me up like she did that noble last time…’

He had seen her fury firsthand during a previous lesson.

The image of her striking down a noble student who had been whispering behind her back was still burned into his memory.

Just as he was about to apologize—

“Oh, ah! I completely forgot-squeak!”

“…What?”

“Sorry-squeak. I tend to forget things a lot because I’m a rodent-squeak. Do you have time now-squeak?”

“Uh… Yes. I do.”

“Then I’ll send you my location-squeak! Come meet me there-squeak!”

Click.

The call ended, accompanied by the sound of blankets rustling.

Sion stared blankly at his student ID.

“…What just happened?”

‘Wait… Did she forget too?’

Just like how he had forgotten about their meeting.

It seemed like Professor Hurryju had also completely erased it from her mind.

Realizing the truth, Sion held his head in his hands.

‘If I had just stayed quiet… wouldn’t that have been the end of it?’

If he hadn’t gone out of his way to call her.

If he had just let it slide.

Would she have ever remembered?

Maybe not.

Maybe next class, she still wouldn’t recall their appointment.

Maybe the name Sion would have simply disappeared from her memory.

Sion sighed deeply.

“Do I still have my grad student instincts…?”

Even though he wasn’t in graduate school anymore, some habits were hard to break.

As a university student, it wasn’t necessary to maintain good relations with professors.

Especially since Hurryju wasn’t even a professor in the Magic Department—she was just a Combat Department instructor teaching a general education course.

“…Well, might as well go.”

If he had stayed silent, that would be one thing.

But since he had already woken her up with a call, there was no way out.

Meeting with Professor Hurryju was inevitable.

‘Let’s look at the bright side. At least I’m avoiding the club recruitment booths.’

The fair was still in full swing.

It was expected to continue well into the afternoon.

Not that it mattered—he wouldn’t be going.

Especially since he needed to avoid running into Misako.

‘…This should be fine, right?’

After casting a wary glance toward the crowded club fair, Sion turned and headed toward the meeting location.

The meeting place was the faculty research building.

“Nice to see you-squeak! Been a while-squeak.”

“It’s only been three days since Monday.”

“But it’s still nice to see you-squeak!”

Swish! Swish!

Hurryju waved her fluffy squirrel tail excitedly as she greeted him.

They had met in Byzantium Academy’s faculty research building.

To be specific, in the Combat Department’s faculty wing.

‘This place is huge.’

Sion stepped inside Professor Hurryju’s research space and was immediately greeted by a massive sparring hall.

It was enormous, almost the size of a large auditorium.

Considering the Magic Department’s designated training area was barely the size of a classroom, this was on a completely different scale.

“Do all professors get this much space?”

“Yep-squeak! Combat Department professors don’t really need research labs, so they just turned everything into sparring areas-squeak!”

“…I see.”

“That means no one can peek inside, so it’s perfect for practicing original techniques-squeak!”

It made sense.

If one trained in an open space, others might observe and copy techniques.

…Of course, no one could learn skills instantly just by watching.

Except for Sion.

“The reason I called you here today is to teach you my personal sword technique—Yulseo Swordsmanship-squeak!”

“Yulseo Swordsmanship?”

“That’s right-squeak! It’s an original sword style I created myself-squeak!”

Hurryju puffed out her cheeks and exhaled sharply.

Not just any sword style.

An original sword style.

Even before beginning, Sion could already feel the weight of responsibility.

“Are you sure it’s okay to teach me such a valuable technique?”

“It is valuable-squeak. But that’s fine. You’ll understand why once you see it-squeak.”

“See it…? What do you mean—?”

“I’ll show you right now-squeak!”

She grabbed a wooden sword and took her stance.

The atmosphere shifted in an instant.

The air grew heavier.

Sion instinctively held his breath and focused on her movements.

…!

“7.”

She stepped forward.

Professor Hurryju moved with rhythmic footwork.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Like a video buffering and skipping frames.

Her steps were bizarrely erratic.

Sion had seen something like this before.

‘This… looks just like a squirrel’s movements.’

He vaguely remembered watching a video about squirrels.

The way they gnawed on almonds.

Chewing absentmindedly, pausing, then suddenly resuming at lightning speed.

It was just like that.

“Huaaah! This is the fundamental footwork of Yulseo Swordsmanship-squeak! What do you think-squeak?”

“…You want my honest opinion?”

“Of course-squeak! Tell me what you really think!”

Honest opinion?

Sion didn’t hesitate.

“…It just looks like a squirrel. It’s cute.”

“C-Cute-squeak!?”

Her tail immediately fluffed up.

“Y-You can’t make fun of your professor-squeak!”

“I wasn’t making fun of you—wait! I’m sorry!”

Swish! Swish!

Hurryju waved her wooden sword around in frustration.

But hadn’t she just asked for honesty?

At that moment, something appeared before Sion’s eyes.

A translucent system window.

[Skill Identified: Yulseo Step]
[Sword Style: Yulseo Swordsmanship]
[Circle Level: 2]

Sion blinked.

He had already learned her footwork.

The Squirrel Swordsmanship and an Unintended Disciple

[Skill Acquired: Yulseo Step]
[Description: The fundamental movement technique of Yulseo Swordsmanship. A swift and unpredictable footwork style mimicking the movements of a squirrel.]
[You have discovered a combat skill of the same Circle level as your own!]
[A new skill has been added to your Combat Archive.]
[You can now use Yulseo Step.]

‘…That was an actual skill?’

A footwork technique, and it was even 2nd Circle.

Did that mean its difficulty was just that high?

As Sion stood there dumbfounded, Professor Hurryju’s tail drooped.

“As you can see, using Yulseo Swordsmanship without being a Yulseo tribe member is extremely difficult-squeak.”

“…I can see why. That movement seems nearly impossible to replicate.”

“Exactly-squeak! But I believed I would find at least one person who could do it. That’s why I’ve been testing talented swordsmen with my footwork-squeak! If someone can’t use Yulseo Step, they won’t be able to learn Yulseo Swordsmanship-squeak!”

To execute it properly, each joint needed to move independently.

Unless someone was a rodent-type beastkin, mimicking that movement was essentially impossible.

…Unless they were someone like Sion—who could instantly learn any skill just by witnessing it.

“Now, try to follow my movements-squeak! I’ll guide you!”

“You mean that cute— ahem, that impressive movement?”

“I’ll be watching and correcting you-squeak! Of course, I don’t expect you to master it right away.”

‘For now… I should hide what I can do.’

If he blatantly demonstrated Yulseo Step perfectly right off the bat, it might become a problem.

Professor Hurryju was already searching for disciples.

If he executed it flawlessly in front of her—

“That’s not how you move-squeak! You need to control your joints better! Completely stop between movements-squeak!”

“Hmm… This is hard.”

“…It’s difficult, but that’s why you should take it slow-squeak.”

Instead of using the Combat Archive, Sion intentionally performed Yulseo Step incorrectly.

Of course, the result was a clumsy, wobbly mess rather than anything resembling proper footwork.

There was no way he could satisfy Professor Hurryju like this.

Especially given his pathetic stamina.

“S-Slow down… Huff… Let’s take a break.”

“…It’s only been five minutes-squeak?”

“…Five minutes?! Huff… Only five minutes?”

Sion collapsed onto the floor.

His bangs were drenched in sweat.

Had five minutes always felt this long?

As he wiped his forehead, he noticed Professor Hurryju’s ears drooping.

“…I guess it’s impossible for you too-squeak. I shouldn’t have forced a Magic Department student to learn swordsmanship… Sorry-squeak.”

“No, I’m fine. But… Didn’t you say Yulseo Swordsmanship is optimized for Yulseo tribe members?”

“That’s right-squeak.”

“Then… why not just teach it to your own people?”

“……”

Yulseo Swordsmanship was a style created by and for the Yulseo tribe—squirrel beastkin like Professor Hurryju.

That meant her own people should be able to learn it naturally.

Even the difficult Yulseo Step would be easier for them to master.

“…I was exiled from the Great Forest-squeak. So I can’t go back-squeak.”

“…Exiled?”

The unexpected revelation shook Sion out of his fatigue.

He lifted his head to look at her.

Her ears drooped even further, almost pressed against her head.

With her gaze fixed on a distant point, she continued her story.

“I heard it so many times, it was drilled into my head—‘How can a squirrel, a mere herbivore, pick up a sword and fight?’ That’s why I left-squeak. If I wanted to prove my swordsmanship, I had to step into the world, not stay trapped in the forest.”

She looked down at her sword.

The countless calluses on her hands.

Proof of the relentless effort she had poured into her craft.

“Before I die, I want to find a disciple and pass on my swordsmanship-squeak. But Yulseo tribe members… are all cowards. Even in this vast empire, finding one willing to learn isn’t easy-squeak.”

“……”

“If you don’t want to learn anymore, that’s fine-squeak. I don’t want to force you. Keeping you here against your will would be selfish of me-squeak.”

She gave a small smile.

But her lips trembled slightly.

A forced smile.

Seeing that, Sion couldn’t just stay seated.

“S-Sion?”

“Give me a moment.”

Sion stood up.

And without hesitation—

He picked up a wooden sword and took a stance.

Professor Hurryju blinked in surprise.

For a brief second, he wondered if he was making the right choice.

But—

‘Screw it. I’ll learn it. Yulseo Swordsmanship.’

This was a swordsmanship style that had won an international championship.

There was no downside to learning it.

Especially in a dangerous fantasy world like this.

If he wanted to survive—

Having a sword skill could only help.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

“…!!!”

A human executed Yulseo Step.

His joints cracked slightly as he perfectly replicated the technique.

It was identical to what Professor Hurryju had shown.

A flawless display.

After finishing a short sequence, Sion wiped the sweat from his forehead.

In just ten seconds, his mana and muscles felt strained.

As he caught his breath, he noticed Professor Hurryju’s reaction.

“Uwaaah…”

“…Professor Hurryju?”

“You really did it… Yulseo Step… Finally… My sword style…! H-Hooooh!!!”

Her ears twitched excitedly.

Her tail fluffed up like a balloon.

Her eyes sparkled as she took everything in.

And then—

Out of nowhere—

She leaped at him.

“I knew it! I knew you could do it, Sion-squeak!!”

“P-Professor? W-Wait, ack—!”

Thud!

Sion fell backward.

‘…But wait, why is it soft?’

He had expected to hit the hard ground.

But instead, he landed on something shockingly soft.

Looking down, he realized—

Professor Hurryju’s tail had wrapped around his waist and back, cushioning his fall.

Before he could process that—

She beamed at him.

“Amazing-squeak! You’re incredible, Sion-squeak! I wasn’t wrong about you-squeak!!!”

“…P-Professor?”

“Sion is my official disciple now-squeak! You’re no longer my student—you must call me Master-squeak! Finally, I have someone to inherit my sword style! My first official successor!”

“…Huh?”

The wild excitement in her eyes made Sion flinch.

Maybe…

Maybe he shouldn’t have revealed his skills after all.

Regret hit him immediately.