Chapter 235. Magic with Professor Im Sol! (2)
Monday morning.
I was getting ready to leave the dorm.
It's back to academy life now.
'Or is it?'
If I want to meet the centaur, I'll have to go to France myself.
Not sure if I'll have time.
"I'm heading out."
"Take care, Lady Liliana."
"Unnie, watch the house!"
"Bye bye~ I'm gonna play with Scout."
After saying goodbye to Liliana, I left the dorm with the Nam Daeun sisters.
If I find a new place, I won't have to go to school at the same time every day.
I really need to find a new place soon.
'Or not?'
If I'm going to the academy anyway, might as well walk with a pretty girl.
No, wait.
That's actually too risky.
I've been lucky so far, but right now, even a tiny mistake could blow things up.
"Unnie! Oppa! See you later!"
"No fighting at school, study hard, and if someone bullies you, make sure to tell oppa. Got it?"
Before Nam Dahee went into the affiliated school, Nam Daeun straightened out her uniform again.
Why do I need to be the one she tells if she's bullied?
"Yep! Got it! I'm going!"
"Hey, why am I the one she's telling?"
"You wouldn't help Dahee if she got bullied?"
"Of course I would."
No one gets away with bullying our Dahee.
"Right? Hehe."
Nam Daeun giggled at my answer and walked ahead of me.
- I hate Mondays~
- At least we have Professor Im Sol's class today.
- Oh, really?
Class A was still buzzing with energy.
Nam Daeun had parted from me before entering the building and went into Class A ahead of me, and I followed a bit later.
"Hi, Lee Hoyeon."
"Oh. Hey."
Every now and then, a student I don't know says hi like that. I just respond casually.
I don't want to get involved with guys, and if I get close to a girl, it could be disastrous.
Just handling the heroines is hard enough.
"Hello, Hoyeon."
"Good morning, Lumi."
"..."
Lumi greeted me with a soft smile, as usual.
But Lucy was oddly avoiding eye contact.
"Lucy. Are you sick or something?"
"Ah, no. Just…"
What's up with her now?
★ Heroine Status Window
[Lucy]
- [ Affection: 99 ] (+0.1)
- [ Lust: 85 ]
- [ Appetite: 35 ]
- [ Fatigue: 35 ]
Current Status: Are we really, really going to do it? No way. No way.
"..."
I frowned slightly at Lucy's status.
Then Lumi tugged at my sleeve.
"Hoyeon."
"Yeah?"
"After class today, let's stop by the club. It's been a while."
"Oh, the club?"
Not a bad idea.
We made it early on, but barely used it.
There's not much to do there, but… if she wants to, sure.
"Alright. Let's hang out later."
"You promised. You heard him, right, Lucy?"
"... Yeah."
Lucy still wasn't meeting my eyes, and her cheeks were a bit flushed.
*
- Fireball...!
The morning class was taught by Professor Im Sol.
It was a practical class, and as usual, she walked around critiquing the students' spellcasting.
Getting tips from a high-level mage like her isn't common, so everyone loved this class.
I was standing in the back of the shooting range with the rest of the students lined up.
Everyone wanted feedback first, so the back was empty.
Which was perfect for using alone.
"Why are you here, anyway?"
I looked over at Lucy standing next to me. She pouted slightly and looked up at me.
"... I wanted to be with you. Is that bad?"
"Sorry. Just teasing."
Lucy was also a mage, so she was taking this class with me.
I smiled and continued.
"You usually hang out over there."
The students lining up to get feedback.
Lucy was usually one of them.
"It's not like it makes a big difference… I just wanted to talk to you."
"So you chose me over magic, huh?"
"Stop saying weird stuff!"
Whap whap!
Lucy slapped my arm repeatedly, her face red.
It actually felt kind of good.
"Alright, alright. My bad."
"Hmph. Say that again and I'm leaving."
Her shy reaction after coming over herself was cute.
I glanced to see how far along Im Sol was. Still a while until our turn.
"She's still far off. I'll watch for you. Try casting a spell."
"... You will?"
"I'm Lee Hoyeon. Don't you know I'm a genius mage?"
"Hmm. That's true. Alright, watch!"
Fwoosh—
Lucy drew a magic circle, and her specialty—sharp fire arrows—rose into the air by the dozens.
Swoosh—Crack!
I carefully observed as the spells hit the targets.
I think I got the gist of the problem.
"How was it?"
"Pretty good, but the finish is a bit off. When you draw the circle..."
With my skill level, I could spot flaws just by watching.
I might even be better than most professors.
They can't usually pinpoint issues just from watching once.
Lucy listened to my advice and drew another magic circle.
As expected, the new fire arrows were hotter and more intense.
"Wow, wow. You really are a genius."
"Of course."
Having a pretty girl praise me makes me feel even better.
"I think you teach better than Professor Im Sol...."
"Hey, don't say that...!"
I was startled by her comment.
"Then you won't need my class anymore, Lucy."
"Huh? What? Oh no. Professor Im Sol...."
She had been standing behind Lucy, listening to my feedback the whole time.
Lucy had been too focused on her spell to notice.
Im Sol had been watching me with warm eyes like, "My student really can do anything," but her face stiffened at Lucy's words.
"I didn't mean it like that! I wasn't trying to belittle you, I was praising Lee Hoyeon...."
Lucy's voice got quieter and quieter.
Because Im Sol's expression didn't soften.
"Sigh, Lucy. Go practice on your own over there."
"Yes! Understood!"
Finally, Im Sol sighed and shook her head. Lucy bolted at that moment.
Girl's running like a track star.
Im Sol watched her escape and then turned to me with a faint smile.
"Trying to steal my students now too?"
"She's just really talented. I didn't mean to. Sorry."
"Sigh, now you're rivaling the professor, huh?"
Im Sol approached and gave me a light flick on the head.
But she was smiling warmly.
Monday morning, start of the week.
Baek A-Young had said her farewells to the Iron-Blood Hospital staff on Sunday.
And returned to the infirmary after a long break.
After the noisy hospital, coming back to a quiet workspace felt odd.
But just being in the same place as her honey made her hum.
Helping people at the hospital was nice, but Lee Hoyeon was more important.
"Hmm hmm. Guess I'll stop by the medical team."
To let them know she's back and say hi.
And she had something to ask.
After unpacking, Baek A-Young went straight to the medical team.
It was in the building next door, just a short walk away.
Inside, she found the medical team working like zombies with hollow eyes.
"... What are you all doing?"
It was Monday morning. Did they pull an all-nighter?
Just as she wondered that—
One of the staff closest to the entrance slowly turned toward her.
Then his eyes widened as he mumbled.
"S-Saint... You're finally back...."
"What? Saint?"
The team leader inside heard that and shot up.
Baek A-Young flinched at the bloodshot eyes.
He rushed over and bowed deeply.
"Thank you. Thank you so much for returning, Saint—no, Nurse Baek...!"
"... Huh?"
What's with this guy?
As she blinked in confusion, the team leader explained.
"That damned director—or I mean, upper management—said you'd be helping the medical team again, so they dumped more work on us. But even after you went on assignment, they didn't reduce it... sniff."
"..."
Whether it's the Association or the Academy, the medical team has it rough.
But Baek A-Young had promised not to use her image and was still satisfied with the academy.
Because she could be close to Lee Hoyeon.
"It's okay. I'm here now."
Still, she did feel bad for the overworked team.
Time to get to work starting today.
"Thank you. Thank you..."
Smiling at the grateful team leader, Baek A-Young asked what she came for.
"The first-year mages have a practical class now, right? Did the medical team go to support them?"
She already knew Lee Hoyeon's schedule by heart.
She planned to go to the field, using the medical team's fatigue as an excuse.
It'd been a while since she saw honey in uniform.
"Huh? Ah, no. No one went today."
"... That's odd. Isn't medical support required for practical classes?"
From what she found, there was always medical support for those classes.
So she had been expecting it today too…
"Well, technically it's not required. It's just a tradition that professors follow. But weirdly, no one was assigned today. If something happens, the responsibility's all theirs."
"It's Professor Im Sol, right?"
"Let me check… Yes, it is. Since it's her, it probably wasn't a mistake. Maybe she's confident nothing will happen. Or maybe she doesn't want to reveal the lesson contents."
That's not likely.
Im Sol's class is just students casting spells and her evaluating. Super basic.
Nothing that would be a problem if leaked.
"... Got it. I have to get back to work."
"Yes, please."
Baek A-Young left the medical team.
She heard someone shout "Finally free—!" inside, but ignored it and returned to the infirmary.
Sitting at her quiet desk, she tilted her head.
'Sol? That girl who finds anything but magic a pain took on the risk herself?'
That doesn't sound right.
There must be another reason.
The likeliest one is a mistake… but Baek A-Young had a different thought.
'Maybe she knew I'd be back today and wanted to keep me away.'
Im Sol was a strong rival candidate, after all.
"Nah, no way."
Baek A-Young slapped her cheeks and shook her head.
She must've sharpened up from working in the field again.
No way her friend Im Sol would do that.
Either way, being in the academy means plenty of chances to see honey.
"He'll probably come find me later. If not, I'll call him."
Pushing aside her disappointment, Baek A-Young got to work in the infirmary.
To help ease the burden on the struggling medical team.