Chapter 53: A Sudden Escape and a Dangerous Question

[More petting, meow! Put more sincerity into it, meow!]

“…”

[Yes, that’s it… Hnyaaa~…]

Silphia melted completely in Sion’s arms.

To satisfy her, he had no choice but to keep stroking her fur.

…Though, to be fair, getting to touch soft, fluffy fur was quite nice.

However, Professor Runia didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm.

“W-What is this…?! S-Sion, stop tormenting her and come over here right now…!”

[I refuse, meow. This is my reward for working so hard, meow!]

“…It can’t be helped, then….”

Bzzz!

Runia activated her mana.

“S-Summon dismissal…!”

“…!”

[You coward! A forceful dismissal—?! Nooo, meoooow—!]

Poof!

Sion’s arms suddenly felt light.

Silphia vanished in an instant, as if she had teleported away.

Runia immediately bowed her head in apology.

“I-I’m so sorry…! My s-spirit caused you so much trouble…!”

“Huh? No, it’s fine. It wasn’t a problem at all. And…”

Sion glanced around the lecture hall.

The other students were all staring at him like, “What the hell did we just witness?”

If he didn’t handle this quickly, their curious gazes would only get worse.

Lowering his voice, he leaned in close to Runia’s pointed ears and whispered.

“There are too many people watching right now… Let’s just wrap up the class smoothly.”

“Hyaaat…!”

“???”

“A-Ah… my ears are… s-sensitive…”

Twitch!

Her long elf ears vibrated up and down rapidly.

…Huh. He hadn’t known they were that sensitive.

Mental note—avoid whispering near her ears in the future.

“…Ahem, I’ll return to my seat now, Professor.”

“A-Ah, yes…! E-Everyone, let’s give S-Sion a round of applause for helping with the class…!”

Sion left it to Runia to wrap up the situation and quickly returned to his seat.

Clap. Clap-clap. Clap, clap…

The applause was half-hearted and awkward.

Even after sitting down, he could feel the piercing stares on the back of his head.

“A-Anyway, t-that concludes today’s lesson…! If your spirit affinity was low, p-please don’t be too discouraged! There are ways to improve it over time! C-Class dismissed!”

As soon as Runia finished her closing remarks,

Students gathered their belongings and started leaving.

Sion also stood up to pack his things when—

“Hey! What the hell, man? Is there anything you can’t do?”

“…Huh? Where’s this coming from?”

“Your spirit affinity! A-Rank?! S-Rank?! I’ve never even heard of those before!”

Patrick stared at him, completely bewildered.

Just how high is an S-Rank Spirit Affinity…?

Sion tilted his head in confusion.

He had only learned about spirit affinity today.

Before he could respond, Gáe Bolg suddenly stepped forward with his signature dramatic pose.

“Hahaha! Spirit Affinity measures a person’s potential to bond with spirits! The higher the rank, the stronger and more numerous the spirits they can contract with!”

“…Then what does S-Rank mean?”

“Hmm, well… All royal spirit summoners in Rodenburg have at least B-Rank Spirit Affinity. Even A-Ranks are rare!”

“…B-Rank?”

So, the spirit summoners hired by the kingdom were mostly B-Rank?

Then, if Sion’s potential was A-Rank or higher…

…Okay. Now I see why Patrick freaked out.

Just from his spirit affinity alone, he was already at the same level as royal summoners.

“But more importantly! There’s something I’m dying to ask you, Sion!”

“…Huh? What is it?”

“Back in the cabin, there was this… strange moaning sound. What was that all about?”

Gáe Bolg dropped a bombshell question.

It was so out of nowhere that Sion almost choked.

“…Cough, cough! Cough!!”

“Oh? Are you okay, Sion?”

Even as Gáe Bolg looked concerned, Sion’s mind was in chaos.

Wait… Someone heard moaning from the cabin?!

His face paled.

Of course—there was one obvious culprit.

The one who had been moaning…

Was none other than Professor Runia.

He mentally replayed what had happened inside the cabin.

-Aaaaaahhh!!!

…P-Professor?!

-A-Ah, s-sorry…! I-It just felt too good…!

-P-Please, more…! I-It’s still itchy… Ahhh…!

…Yeah. That definitely sounded bad out of context.

To an outside listener, it probably seemed like…

Something that should never happen between a student and a professor.

But all Sion had done was scratch her back.

Nothing inappropriate had happened.

If he just explained it truthfully, the misunderstanding would be resolved.

…But is that really the best idea?

Sion already knew the answer.

If he told the truth, Gáe Bolg’s curiosity would be satisfied.

But Runia’s reputation as a professor would take a severe hit.

That wasn’t an option.

So—

He had to lie.

“Oh, that? Professor Runia almost tripped over something when she walked in. That’s why she screamed.”

“Hmm? But thinking back, it didn’t sound like a normal scream… It was more like… a woman’s sensual gasp—”

“HEY! GÁE BOLG!”

Patrick quickly covered Gáe Bolg’s mouth.

“Seriously, man?! The professor nearly fell! Show some respect! Right, Sion?”

“Y-Yeah! Exactly!”

Thankfully, Patrick intervened in time.

“Hahaha! My apologies if I offended you!”

“It’s fine. It’s easy to misinterpret things.”

“S-Sion…?”

“…Professor?”

Fidget, fidget…

With the class over, Professor Runia had returned to her usual self.

She approached Sion hesitantly.

“A-Ah… h-have you eaten? No, wait—w-what were you talking about just now…?”

“……?”

“I-I was just… c-curious…!”

Runia was acting unusually fidgety as she questioned him.

She had never asked about his conversations before.

Why was she suddenly…?

“Hahaha! It’s nothing serious. We were just wondering about the… strange moaning sounds coming from the cabin.”

“S-S-S-STRANGE MOANING SOUNDS?!?!”

TWITCH, TWITCH!

Her long ears flapped wildly.

Runia’s eyes darted frantically, and she started stammering.

“Th-That was… Th-The c-cat spirit! Y-Yes! Silphia scratched me! That’s why I—I made that sound!”

“…Huh? But Sion said the professor almost tripped—”

“W-WHAT?! I-I mean… Y-Yes! That too!”

“……”

Gáe Bolg rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Professor Runia and Sion had given different answers.

He had noticed the inconsistency.

…This is bad.

“A-Ah… uh… uuuuh…”

“Professor, please tell the truth.”

“Hm! Yes, I’m also quite curious! What exactly happened between you two in that cabin?”

“A Sudden Escape and an Unwanted Invitation”

“Uuuuuh… T-The truth is… I-I asked Sion to… scratch my ba—”

Just as Professor Runia was about to confess everything in a panic,

Sion shouted over her voice.

“YOU NEED MY HELP AFTER CLASS?!”

“…Huh? S-Sion…?”

“Let’s go right away! To the cabin, right?!”

“W-Wait, huh?”

Grab!

Sion took Runia’s hand and bolted toward the cabin.

Rather than letting the truth come out,

He chose to run.

He could hear shouts behind him, but he ignored them.

Bang!

Inside the cabin, Sion finally caught his breath.

“…Phew. Sorry, Professor. But if you had said that out loud, your reputation would have taken a huge hit….”

“Uuuuuh…”

“If rumors spread through Visaniti or anywhere else, it would be a disaster, right? So I figured—ah.”

“S-Sion… t-this….”

Swoosh.

Runia shyly raised her arm.

Her delicate hand was resting—

Under Sion’s own hand.

“Ah! Sorry!”

“…Ah.”

Sion immediately pulled his hand away.

I was in such a rush, I didn’t even notice…!

In this world, grabbing someone’s hand without permission was considered rude.

Even more so between a student and a professor.

“I-I sincerely apologize!”

“…Uuuuuh….”

Sion had braced himself, expecting her to scold him.

But—

Runia’s expression was… strange.

It wasn’t angry at all.

If anything—

She looked flustered in a way that seemed… almost excited.

It was as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“I-It’s fine… uuuuh.”

“…Huh?”

“I-I mean… I-It’s… okay… if you… h-hold my h-hand… S-Sion….”

She fidgeted as she spoke, twisting her fingers together.

She had just told him—it was fine to hold her hand.

Sion’s thoughts raced.

…Professor Runia really is a kind person.

Even after grabbing her hand so suddenly,

She forgave him instead of getting upset.

Unlike the professors from his past life, she was…

Kind-hearted.

A warm smile naturally formed on Sion’s face.

“Thank you. Since I made an excuse for coming here, I’ll leave after a bit.”

“H-Huh…? N-No, i-it’s okay! You c-can stay a little longer! C-Come in…?”

Tug, tug.

Runia gently pulled on his sleeve.

Well… he had been rude to her earlier.

Leaving immediately after she invited him in would be impolite.

“…Then, excuse me.”

Sion stepped further into the cabin,

Which was still a chaotic mess of random objects.

Runia disappeared into the kitchen, saying she would bring snacks.

Sion sat on a chair that looked like her usual seat.

Not long after—

“Here you go! E-Eat up!”

Runia returned, carrying a plate of cookies.

“…This isn’t the same mud cookie from last time, is it?”

Just looking at them triggered his PTSD.

Last week, when Runia had proudly offered him her homemade cookies,

They had tasted and felt like actual dirt.

“M-Mud cookie?! T-Technically, yes… b-but! I-I improved it a lot!”

“…You improved it?”

“Yes! Based on your feedback, I remade it! It’s now Energy Cookie Mk.2!”

She spoke proudly and took a bite herself.

Crunch.

The sound was crisp.

She chewed happily, looking completely satisfied.

…So it’s actually edible now?

Sion looked at the cookies skeptically.

Unlike last week’s disaster,

These actually looked like real cookies.

They had the right texture,

And when he tapped one, it made a firm, crispy sound.

Cautiously, he took a small bite.

“…!”

The crunch was perfect.

Inside, he could taste raisins, chocolate, and grains.

It reminded him of the protein bars and energy bars from his past life.

…She made this in just a week?

Sion was genuinely impressed.

It had a 90% similarity to energy bars from his previous world.

If she sold this, it could change the food industry in this world.

“D-Delicious, right?”

“…Honestly, it is. Who made this?”

“Yay! I-It was… the Alchemy Magic Professor.”

“…A professor made this?”

Something felt off.

“You didn’t make this yourself…?”

“N-No, I-I can’t make things like this… M-My friend, the professor, made them….”

“…!”

Sion suddenly remembered last week’s conversation.

“-Ah, t-this? My close friend, a professor, gave me this… Energy Cookie!”

“…Energy Cookie?”

“-Yes! With just one of these, you can get more than a full meal’s worth of energy…! A-Amazing, right…?”

Runia had bragged about the mud cookie.

She had said her friend, another professor, made it.

…Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

As an uneasy chill ran down his spine,

Runia clapped her hands and beamed.

“Oh! A-Actually, Sion! M-My friend told me t-to give you a message…!”

“…W-What message?”

Runia smiled brightly and said—

“B-Because of your feedback, they finally solved a research problem they had been struggling with for over a year! T-They asked me to tell you to c-come visit their lab sometime!”

“……”

“S-Sion? Y-Your face looks pale. A-Are you okay…?”

Thud.

The cookie slipped from Sion’s fingers.

“A First-Year Student’s Nightmare”

Sion, a mere first-year student,

Had not only gained the favor of his own professors…

But now, he was personally invited by a professor he had never even met.

…He wanted to cry.