“Huff huff…”
‘What am I gonna do with this…’
Looking at the kid sprawled out on the floor, eyes rolled back, tongue lolling out…
Regret for my actions a few minutes ago finally started sinking in.
I should’ve held back a little… shouldn’t have petted so much… should’ve finished faster—
But, as much as I regret it now, there’s no changing what’s already done.
I’m worried—what if this becomes a trauma and she doesn’t want to come near me anymore?
‘Wait a second…’
As much as I don’t want to, I started considering using memory-erasing magic—but then an idea struck me.
—If she really hated it, wouldn’t she have resisted?
And just like that, the flower of self-justification began to bloom.
‘Now that I think about it… I never felt her trying to escape my embrace, did I?’
Even though she was half-out-of-it, I don’t think I would’ve missed her struggling if she really didn’t want it.
That’s why I remember the feel and scent of her fur so vividly.
Which means…
‘Did she actually enjoy it?’
Thinking that, I looked at her again—and sure enough, there was no sign of distress from the wolf.
“Huff huff”
She seemed a bit startled by the sudden event and was panting a little, but there was no anger directed at me in her expression.
‘Thank goodness…’
Letting out a sigh of relief, I gave the fallen one a final pat before adjusting her into a more comfortable position and leaving the cell.
I could keep petting her all day, but I figured giving her some alone time to process everything was better right now.
“Ah, that’s right.”
I didn’t forget to pick up the leftover meat she hadn’t finished eating.
This isn’t cheap, after all—I’ll reheat it tomorrow.
…Though I could eat it myself too.
‘Now that I think about it, if I’d known she’d enjoy it this much, I would’ve started petting her sooner.’
Deciding to give her regular pets whenever I have free time from now on, I opened the door and left the bedroom.
A mountain of paperwork greeted me when I returned to the office.
‘Eugh… So boring.’
These need to be dealt with eventually, but not right now.
“More importantly, the kitchen needs immediate cleaning. Haah… Too much to do—”
Hold on.
Did I just use honorifics even though I’m alone? Weird…
“Miss Aisha? Are you there by any chance?”
“Pro-professor! Please help…”
Since not many people visit the professor’s office at this hour, I called out the name of the person I suspected it might be.
When I heard a voice coming from within the pile of papers.
“Miss Aisha, would you mind saying anything? I can’t pinpoint your location.”
“I’m here…”
“The voice is coming from around here… Ah, found you!”
As I dug through the paper mountain following the sound, green hair began to appear.
It was my assistant, Aisha.
‘This habit comes in handy sometimes.’
While I usually speak casually, for some reason I naturally switch to polite speech when other people are around—even when I don’t realize they’re there.
At first it was a bit unsettling how my tone kept changing randomly, but I’ve gotten used to it now.
It’s convenient since I unconsciously use proper honorifics without thinking.
‘Anyway, why is she here?’
“Miss Aisha, why are you here at this hour—”
“Just a moment please!”
I was about to ask why she was in the office at this hour, but it seemed getting her out of the paper mountain was more urgent.
“—I’ll help you with that. Grab my hand.”
“Thank you so much, Professor…”
After pulling her out with my help, she bowed her head in gratitude, but I had questions that needed answering more than thanks.
“If my memory serves, today was a day when Miss Aisha didn’t have any documents to handle, correct?”
That’s right—today was a day when she didn’t have any paperwork assigned to her.
And it wasn’t like I had called her either.
With the amount of work we have, she should be resting while she can.
“W-well… I thought the professor might overexert himself, so I came to help a little…”
That was her explanation.
Even though she had no work herself, since I as the professor had plenty, she came to the office to lighten my workload but accidentally got buried under the papers when she tripped.
What a diligent young lady!
A teaching assistant who voluntarily comes to help her professor—unlike other professors’ assistants who only think about ways to slack off!
How did such a wonderful person end up being my assistant? I don’t recall doing anything extraordinary in my past life.
“…”
“…”
While I was lost in admiration, unable to continue speaking,
She must have misinterpreted my silence because she quickly continued explaining.
“N-no, I didn’t touch anything besides the documents… I only handled the ones I confirmed were okay for me to deal with…”
I know she’s not the type to lie.
It’s just that…
The longer the silence dragged on, the more her eyes started watering, and I couldn’t help but feel like teasing her a little.
‘It’s all your fault for looking so tempting. I bear no responsibility.’
While making this completely useless excuse in my mind and continuing to ignore her, her voice started trembling.
Eventually, tears began to flow.
“Really! Please believe me…”
Alright, that’s enough teasing.
If I keep this up, she’ll probably stay mad at me and stop coming to help for a while.
…Not that I have any experience with that or anything.
“Please calm down. Of course I trust Miss Aisha’s words.”
“R-really?”
“Of course. The reason for my silence earlier was because… Miss Aisha was so admirable that I was taking my time choosing the right words to praise you.”
“Admirable… Praise…”
Upon hearing my words, Aisha immediately started smiling brightly, as if she had never cried at all.
Truly, she has a lovely smile.
Looking at her always makes me think—if I ever had a daughter, it would probably feel like this.
She’s such a cute girl, different from the wolf in her own way.
“Professor, is there something wrong with the kitchen?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You mentioned needing to clean the kitchen urgently when you left just now… I wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping, but I thought maybe I could help…”
[Jackpot! Free labor acquired!]
That phrase popped into my mind.
‘Well, I didn’t plan on asking, but since she offered first, I can’t turn her down too harshly…’
Shall I accept some ‘help’ then?
“Miss Aisha, would you mind looking over there for a moment?”
“Huh?”
I pointed towards the kitchen I had destroyed earlier.
“What could possibly be there… Eeek?!”
Following my finger, Aisha gasped in shock.
Her emerald green hair fluttered with her movement.
I took another look at the disaster I had created.
The magically reinforced door was nowhere to be seen, and everything inside was covered in black ash…
“Wh-whatever did you do?! Did you summon a demon?!”
I can understand her reaction.
“Miss Aisha, calling it demon summoning is quite the exaggeration—”
“B-but how could a human create such a mess!”
Exactly.
I don’t even remember what I did.
What’s astonishing is that despite turning the kitchen into this state, I still managed to cook normal food somehow.
Anyway…
“Miss Aisha.”
“Yes, Professor. Please tell me honestly who trashed the kitchen. I’ll give them a proper scolding—”
“That’s my current problem.”
“So who’s the culprit… Professor?”
-It’s not me?
Her gaze seemed to say that.
Sorry, but you’re absolutely right.
As a professor, I asked my willing assistant who came to solve my problems for help.
“Could you clean that up for me?”
“A-a bit too much, even if you say so…”
Her trembling eyes.
It seems she realized this request went beyond what she expected.
I understand.
Even I would run away if someone told me to clean that up.
But, since it’s her…
“Ah! When Miss Aisha said she’d listen to my troubles, I felt so relieved!”
I dramatically dropped to my knees.
“Professor? What are you talking about…”
“I believed Miss Aisha could solve my problems, which is why I showed you the kitchen!”
In that position, I dramatically pounded the floor while speaking.
Ultimate move: Appeal to emotions.
Using her kind nature, this was the dirty and despicable adult’s ultimate technique.
“Aaah… Ugh…”
Good, she’s almost convinced.
“Please. I’m begging you. Can’t you do it?”
“Alright… Since it’s the professor’s request…”
Hearing my heartfelt ‘request,’ she resignedly shuffled towards the kitchen.
“Sorry, Aisha. There’s no way I could clean that up.”
It may seem cruel, but…
If she doesn’t do it, I’ll have to.
I’ll treat her to something nice later.
‘Guess I’ll start the paperwork now.’
After silently paying respects to her who came here expecting to help with paperwork,
I started processing documents, using the sounds of her cleaning as background music.
One sheet
Two sheets
Three sheets
I gradually gained momentum, falling into a meditative state where I became a document-processing machine.
Right now, I’m nothing but a human document processor—
“—Sir! Professor!”
“Ah, Miss Aisha. Have you finished cleaning the kitchen already?”
“…”
“Did you finish… right?”
“…”
-Doridorido
She weakly shook her head and silently pointed somewhere with her hand.
Following her finger, I saw the kitchen.
It was still pitch black, though slightly lighter than before.
Something ominous filled me as I tried to back away, but her words came faster.
“Professor, please help…”
“…Understood.”
Apparently, even for her, cleaning such a kitchen alone was too much.
‘Sigh, can’t be helped.’
It seemed impossible for her to finish alone, and if she ran away during cleaning, I’d be the one losing out.
Plus, her expression clearly said she’d run away if I refused to help.
“Phew…”
Even though I made this mess, stepping into it again required considerable courage.
What was I thinking several hours ago that I could burn everything while cooking?
“Let’s finish this quickly and get back to paperwork, Miss Aisha.”
“Huh? W-well…”
She unusually frowned at my suggestion.
“Joke. Let’s finish this and go back, Miss Aisha.”
Only then did her expression return to normal.
‘Tch, guess pushing the paperwork on her was too much.’
Fine, I’ll help with the cleaning too.
