Chapter 52: A Spirit’s Judgment and an Unexpected Rank

“An Unexpected Request and a Test of Spirit”

“Haaah… Thank you, S-Sion.”

“…Did you call me just for this?”

“Huh? Well, t-that too… but I really needed help! A-Anyway, come inside….”

“……”

The eternity that had been the back-scratching session was finally over.

Professor Runia led Sion deeper into the cabin to begin the actual practical lesson.

Unlike Runia, who seemed to evolve every week,

Her cabin was just as messy as before.

“Professor… do you ever clean?”

“I told you before… T-This is chaos theory…! Th-There is order in chaos—”

“So, what are you looking for?”

“…Oh, right! I just have to call her—S-Silphia!”

The moment she called the name,

A cat came leaping gracefully into the room.

…It wasn’t Sion’s first time seeing this cat.

A Persian cat with crimson eyes.

“Isn’t this… the same spirit I saw last week?”

[Oh-ho, the human male has a good memory.]

Hop!

The cat, now identified as Silphia, curled around Runia’s neck.

Like a luxurious fox fur scarf.

[My name is Silphia. I am a Wind-attribute Intermediate Spirit and, as you can see, I have contracted with this Elf female. She is lacking in many ways, but I expect you to treat her well, meow.]

“A-An Elf female…?”

[Would you prefer me to call her a male, meow?]

“Well, no, but… uuugh….”

Silphia licked her paw nonchalantly.

Just from that short exchange, Sion could already tell what kind of relationship they had.

“So, why do we need a spirit for today’s practical lesson?”

“Ah, that’s because… S-Silphia is more sensitive to spirit affinity than other spirits….”

“…Sensitive?”

[That’s correct, meow.]

Silphia held up her paw toward Sion.

Pink toe beans peeked out from beneath the fluffy fur.

…Was she asking him to pet her?

[If a human touches my paw, I can roughly determine their spirit affinity, meow.]

“…Ah, so that’s why you’re using Silphia for the test?”

[Address me properly! I am Lady Silphia!]

Whoosh!

A sudden gust of wind sent Sion’s hair flying.

Ah.

So this was what a Wind Spirit was capable of.

With just a flick of her paw, she created a strong breeze without incantations or a magic circle.

“…Apologies, Lady Silphia.”

[Hmph. I shall forgive you just this once because my contractor cherishes you, meow.]

“Ch-Cherishes…?!?”

[Don’t be coy, meow. Anyway! Stop wasting this noble spirit’s time and let’s get moving!]

“…Let’s go, Professor. The students are waiting.”

“Y-Yes….”

Runia carefully stepped over the clutter on the cabin floor.

Sion followed behind quietly.

Her tight blouse and skirt made her movements look tense, but thankfully, she didn’t trip.

“By the way, Professor… did you go to a salon or something?”

“Ah, y-yes… It was because of what you told me, Sion….”

“You also practiced your pronunciation?”

[Don’t even get me started, meow. She kept muttering all night long! I couldn’t sleep until she dismissed me!]

“Uuuugh… S-Sorry, but I worked really hard…!”

Runia looked up at Sion with expectant eyes.

“…D-Did I do well?”

“……”

Sion thought about everything she had done.

To improve her lectures, she had gone to a salon for the first time.

She had bought new clothes to look more professional.

She had prepared seats for her students instead of making them stand.

She had even practiced her speech to speak more clearly.

All of it was because of his advice.

She had listened to his words and acted on them.

There was no way he could feel anything but pride.

In fact, the urge to praise her was overwhelming.

So much so that—

His hand moved on its own.

Tap.

“S-Sion…?”

His hand had landed on Runia’s head.

And then—

He patted her.

Like he was petting a small animal.

“…You did great.”

Pat, pat.

His hand gently moved back and forth.

Runia’s pointed ears twitched sharply.

Her entire body stiffened as she trembled slightly.

As her ears slowly turned bright red,

Sion’s rationality finally caught up.

…Wait. What the hell am I doing?!?

SWOOSH!

He yanked his hand away.

What… what did I just do?

A student petting his professor’s head?

Even in a medieval fantasy world, that was crossing the line.

Sion turned toward Runia, who was now frozen in shock, and bowed repeatedly.

“I-I’m so sorry, Professor! I wasn’t thinking—!”

“Huh? O-Oh, n-no! I actually l-liked—wait, I mean, i-it’s fine!! Y-Yes!!”

Runia waved her hands wildly, flustered.

[You’re both pathetic, meow. Just mate already.]

“JO-JO-JO-JUST STOP TALKING! You can’t say that in front of students…!”

[I’m not a child. I know how mating works, meow. Now hurry up and do it already.]

“……”

Silphia snorted.

However—

The awkward atmosphere from before had slightly lightened.

…Maybe that was intentional?

“Alright, I’ll open the door now.”

“Y-Yes!”

Creeeeak.

As Sion stepped out of the cabin,

Every single student’s gaze immediately locked onto him and Runia.

Runia’s shoulders tensed.

Sion, on the other hand—

…I’m used to this.

A graduate student always has eyes on them.

Whether teaching a class as a substitute,

Or during exam season, when students stared at them like predators eyeing prey.

After all, professors never supervised exams themselves.

They always sent graduate students.

“Ahem… We will now begin the Spirit Affinity Examination.”

Swoosh!

Sion swung his wand and cast a small Earth spell.

A circular stone platform rose in front of the class.

Silphia landed gracefully atop it.

“This is Silphia, a Wind-attribute Intermediate Spirit. She will be assisting with today’s examination.”

[Hmph, nice to meet you all, meow. Let’s make this quick, I’m already bored.]

“Students, please step forward one at a time, starting from the left side of the front row.”

The Spirit Affinity Test proceeded smoothly.

“U-Um… What do I do?”

“…Just place your hand lightly on her paw.”

[Hmm… C-Rank. Not bad, meow.]

Each student approached, placed their hand on Silphia’s paw, and received their affinity ranking.

Silphia, despite her attitude, was remarkably accurate in her assessments.

However—

Sion soon realized something strange.

…Why am I suddenly acting as a teaching assistant again?

By the time he noticed, he was already organizing the students and leading the exam.

So, this is what they mean by habits being scary…

When he glanced over,

Professor Runia was watching him fondly from behind.

…Well, it’d be weird to suddenly step down now.

And so, Sion embraced his fate and continued playing the role of assistant.

The Spirit Affinity Test continued smoothly—

Bringing with it some entertaining moments.

“H-Huh? I got C-Rank?”

[Yes. You have potential, meow.]

“Th-Thank you…?”

Patrick, surprisingly, was C-Rank.

Though for some reason, he addressed Silphia formally.

And then—

“Hahaha! I got D-Rank! Looks like Spirit Magic is a lost cause for me!”

“An Unusual Spirit Test and an Unexpected Result”

[Ugh, stop being so noisy and just go back to your seat, meow.]

“Hahaha!”

Gáe Bolg let out a hearty laugh as he returned to his seat.

His result—D-Rank.

…It wasn’t something to laugh about, but Gáe Bolg always found a reason to smile.

[Oh-ho! B-Rank. With this level of spirit affinity, you could seriously study Spirit Magic, meow.]

“…Oh, thanks.”

Serene’s Spirit Affinity was B-Rank.

Up until now, no other student had achieved B-Rank, making her result quite noteworthy.

…She used informal speech. Is Silphia going to get mad?

Sion cautiously observed Silphia.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if she suddenly lashed out and shouted, “How dare you speak casually to me, meow?!”

However, Silphia just calmly groomed her fur.

[Make sure to contract with lots of spirits in the future, meow.]

“…Okay.”

Serene, her eyes still sleepy as ever, returned to her seat.

Before the next student stepped forward, Sion leaned toward Silphia and whispered.

“…You’re not offended by her speaking casually to you?”

[Huh? Of course I’m offended, meow. How dare a mere human speak informally to a noble spirit like me!]

“…Then why did you let her?”

Silphia glanced at Serene and spoke softly.

[Because she has a wounded heart, meow.]

“…A wounded heart?”

[She still carries the innocence of a child. Spirits are naturally drawn to such purity, meow.]

“……”

Sion found himself staring at Serene.

She was idly playing with her pen, her expression unchanging.

There was a certain purity to her, despite her usual sleepy demeanor.

[Call the next student already, meow.]

“…Ah, right.”

The Spirit Affinity Test continued.

[Ugh, disgusting, meow! It’s been a while since I’ve encountered someone this rotten inside. E-Rank!]

“…Huh?!”

[Are your ears clogged, meow? I said E-Rank!]

“Waaah!”

Swipe!

Silphia suddenly lashed out at Clive Devrong, scratching his face.

…Wasn’t this the noble brat who had caused trouble in Professor Heriju’s class?

Now, with clear claw marks on his face, he looked truly pitiful.

Though, there was someone even more pitiful in this moment.

“Hello, Spirit. Please take care of me.”

“……”

Estroza Farewell stepped forward.

She lifted the corners of her mouth into a polite smile as she gracefully placed her hand on Silphia’s paw.

And immediately—

[HISSSS!!]

Silphia fluffed up like a balloon, hissing violently.

“…W-What’s wrong—?”

[WHAT IS THIS FEMALE?! She is FILTHY, meow! I haven’t encountered a heart this rotten in decades! I need to WASH my PAW! LET ME WASH IT, MEOW!]

Silphia frantically rubbed her paw against the stone pillar, as if trying to scrub away contamination.

Estroza stumbled backward in shock.

Sion, caught off guard by the sudden reaction, hesitated before speaking.

“…F-Rank. Please return to your seat.”

“…F-F-Rank? Surely I can retake the test—”

“I’m sorry. Please return to your seat.”

“……”

Crack.

A crack appeared in Estroza’s carefully maintained mask of confidence.

She wordlessly turned and returned to her seat.

Meanwhile, Sion cast a Water spell to wash Silphia’s paw.

Only then did she calm down—though she continued scrubbing her paws together meticulously.

Wait… don’t cats hate water?

Silphia did dislike water,

But she despised touching someone with F-Rank spirit affinity even more.

[Haaah… Is there anyone left, meow?]

“…No, I believe that was the last student.”

After an hour, the test was finally nearing its end.

Silphia let out a big yawn, stretching lazily.

It seemed the lesson was about to wrap up—

Until.

“…Sion hasn’t been tested yet.”

[Huh? Oh, that’s right, meow. The male human hasn’t gone yet. Hurry up and get it over with, meow.]

“……”

Among all the students, Sion was the only one who hadn’t taken the test.

…I’ll be lucky if I even get C-Rank.

With low expectations, he placed his hand on Silphia’s paw.

And then—

[…Nyaaa~?]

“…?”

Silphia’s voice suddenly turned sweet, like a cat purring affectionately.

It was a reaction she hadn’t shown to anyone else.

Both Sion and Professor Runia widened their eyes in surprise.

[Ah! …Ahem. Forget what just happened, meow.]

“Uh… okay. So, what’s my rank?”

[Hmm…]

“…?”

[Keep touching my paw, meow. I need to examine more closely.]

“…My paw?”

[JUST DO IT, MEOW!]

“……”

Feeling something was off, Sion complied.

He gently squeezed the soft pink paw pads between his fingers.

They were surprisingly firm, yet pleasantly soft to the touch.

[Ooooh… Y-Yes, keep touching right there, meow.]

“…? So, what’s my rank?”

[HOLD ON, MEOW! These things take time!]

“…You determined everyone else’s rank instantly, though.”

At Sion’s pointed remark, Silphia’s whiskers twitched.

[Sh-Shut up, meow! Just… just hold me, meow.]

“…Excuse me?”

[STOP TALKING AND HOLD ME, MEOW!]

“Uh—wah?!”

Hop!

Silphia leaped into Sion’s arms.

He instinctively caught her, and she squirmed in his hold.

[Support my lower body better, meow.]

“…L-Like this?”

[Nyaaah~! That’s much better, meow. Now, use one hand to pet me… yes, just like that, meow.]

“……?”

Purr, purr—

A deep vibration rumbled from Silphia’s chest.

Sion could feel the soft tremors against his hands.

…Was this a purring cat?!

“Silphia… P-Please stop and just give Sion’s result already…!”

[Huh? Oh, I have no idea, meow.]

“…Excuse me?”

The response that followed was shocking.

[I can’t measure his level, meow. I can only accurately gauge up to B-Rank. But this warmth… this scent… this comfort…]

“……”

[Minimum A-Rank. Maybe even higher. Now shut up and keep petting me, meow!]

Pat, pat.

Silphia closed her eyes, contently nuzzling into Sion’s embrace.

Meanwhile, Professor Runia and the entire class were staring right at him.

…Especially Runia, whose gaze was dangerously intense.

Like a predator that had just spotted its next meal.

“Sion…!”

“…Yes?”

Professor… why are you looking at me like that…?