I’m Not Becoming a Graduate Student! – Chapter 39

The student ID at Byzantium Academy comes packed with various features.

I don’t know what kind of person the previous principal was, but he implemented something akin to an academy website.

Finding Professor Heruj’s contact info there was not difficult at all.

Sion immediately called her.

“Hmm… who is this?”

A voice tight as if just awakened.

I wondered if I dialed the wrong number, but the only person I knew who ended their sentences with ‘~dam’ was her.

Sion respectfully held the student ID to his ear and bowed slightly, saying, “Yes, hello. Professor Heruj. I’m Sion, a first-year student in the Magic Department at Byzantium Academy.”

“Hmm… Sion? That name sounds familiar… I just woke up so my mind’s a bit foggy…”

“Um, the thing is, we had an appointment for the ‘Essential Swordsmanship for Protecting Yourself as a Magician’ class this Wednesday evening…”

Sion bent even lower.

After all, it was a matter of a student standing up a professor.

It wouldn’t be strange if Professor Heruj were to explode in rage.

‘I hope she won’t smack me like last time with that noble jerk…?’

The fact that she was scary when angry was something he’d seen clearly in a previous class.

The sight of her cutting down that brat noble who had been whispering something about him was still vivid in Sion’s mind.

Just as Sion was about to say ‘I’m sorry for not making it that time,’

“Ah, oh! I totally forgot!”

“…Huh?”

“I’m sorry! I can be quite forgetful, you know. Do you have time right now?”

“Um… yes, yes. I’m fine.”

“Then I’ll send you a text with the address to this number. I’ll be there soon, so just head there!”

Click—

With the sound of a blanket rustling, the call ended.

Sion stared blankly at his student ID.

…What was this situation?

“Could it be that Professor Heruj also… forgot?”

Just like Sion had forgotten his appointment with Professor Heruj, she seemed to have forgotten about him too.

Upon grasping this truth, Sion held his head.

‘Then… wouldn’t it have been better if I just kept quiet and let it slide…?’

If he hadn’t bothered to call, maybe Professor Heruj would have just overlooked it.

Perhaps in the next class, she wouldn’t recall him at all, and the name ‘Sion’ would just fade from her memory.

“Ah… Do I still have the mentality of a grad student’s servant?”

Sion let out a silent sigh.

In truth, being a college student, it didn’t really matter if he wasn’t on good terms with the professors.

She wasn’t even a professor from the Magic Department, but a professor from the Combat Department who was there just for general studies.

“…Well, let’s go for now.”

Had he not mentioned it, it might not have mattered.

However, after calling and waking up Professor Heruj, there was only one answer.

Meeting Professor Heruj.

‘Let’s think positively. I can’t get into the club promotion booth anyway.’

The club promotion event was still underway.

From what he heard, it would go on until the afternoon, but that was irrelevant to Sion now.

He just needed to make sure he didn’t run into Misako, who might be looking for him.

‘…It should be fine.’

As Sion looked at the bustling club promotion event, he turned around and headed to the meeting place.

The meeting place was the Professor Research Building.

*

“Nice to see you! It seems like it’s been a while!”

“Well, I saw you on Monday, so it’s only been three days.”

“Still, it’s nice to see you!”

Swoosh!

Professor Heruj greeted him while wiggling her fluffy squirrel tail.

The place they met was in the Professor Research Building at Byzantium Academy.

More specifically… it was the Professor Research Building for the Combat Department.

‘This place is incredibly spacious.’

As Sion stepped into Professor Heruj’s research room, a massive training hall welcomed him.

In terms of size, it was about as big as a regular auditorium.

When he thought about how the training hall for the Magic Department was only the size of a classroom, this place was indeed large and wide.

“Do all professors have rooms this big?”

“Exactly! Since Combat Department professors don’t need research rooms, they just turned them all into training halls!”

“…I see.”

“That way, no one can intrude. It’s safe to practice original techniques without anyone spying on you.”

It made sense; practicing in an open space could lead to someone learning your techniques.

…Although not everyone was like Sion, who learned skills just by seeing them.

“Today, I called you, Sion student, to teach you my sword technique… the Yulseo Sword Technique.”

“The Yulseo Sword Technique?”

“That’s right! It’s an original sword technique I created.”

She puffed out a breath in a serious manner.

Not just any sword technique, but an original one—Sion felt the weight on his shoulders before they even started.

“Is it really okay for you to teach me such a valuable technique?”

“It is valuable, yes. But it’s fine! You’ll probably understand why once you see it.”

“‘By seeing it’, what do you mean…?”

“I’ll show you now!”

She picked up a wooden sword and took her stance.

The atmosphere suddenly shifted, and the air felt heavy.

Sion held his breath, focusing on her movements.

…Whoosh!

“What?”

She stepped forward.

Moving rhythmically back and forth, Professor Heruj was in motion.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

It was as if he were watching a video buffering with intermittent pauses.

She danced with strange movements as she stepped.

It was a familiar sight.

‘It’s like… a squirrel’s movements, right?’

He unexpectedly recalled having seen a video featuring squirrels.

The image of a squirrel munching on almonds flashed through his mind.

They’d be still for a moment, then dash off, nibbling, before zoning out and scurrying off again.

Her actions mirrored a squirrel’s movements perfectly.

“Huah! This is the basic form of the Yulseo Sword Technique. What do you think?”

“…What do you mean ‘what do I think’?”

“I want your honest thoughts!”

Honest thoughts?

Sion replied immediately to her request.

“…Honestly, it looks so cute, just like a squirrel.”

“It’s c-cute!?”

Her tail fluffed up in surprise.

“You shouldn’t tease the professor!”

“Not what I meant… eek! I’m sorry.”

Whoosh!

As Professor Heruj swung the wooden sword in anger, Sion quickly apologized.

Wait, she was the one asking for honest thoughts…

In that moment, a translucent window appeared in front of Sion.

[Magic Name: Yulseo Step.]

[Style: Yulseo Sword Technique]

[Rank: 2nd Circle]

[Description: The basic step of the Yulseo Sword Technique. Quick and unpredictable movements like a squirrel.]

[You have discovered a combat skill of the same rank as your circle!]

[A new skill has been registered in your combat diary.]

[You can now use Yulseo Step.]

‘…Was that really a skill I just saw?’

It was a step technique, and a 2nd Circle at that.

That meant it was a technique of considerable difficulty, right?

As he was standing there dumbfounded, Professor Heruj let her tail drop.

“As you can see, it’s incredibly difficult for anyone other than the Yulseo tribe to use the Yulseo Sword Technique.”

“…It certainly seems tough to replicate those movements.”

“Exactly! But I believe I can find at least one person who can do it. So I’ve been letting talented swordsmen try my step technique every now and then. If you can’t use this step, you can’t learn the Yulseo Sword Technique!”

Each joint has to be controlled separately.

As she said, unless you were one of the beastmen from the rodent species, replicating that movement was impossible.

…Unless you were someone like Sion, who learned skills as soon as they saw them.

“Now, give it a try! I’ll watch you.”

“Are you talking about that cute… ahem, mysterious movement?”

“I’ll guide you as you go. Of course, I don’t expect you to get it on the first try.”

‘For now… let’s hide what I can do.’

If he showed off that he could use Yulseo Step effortlessly, it would be dangerous.

Right now, she was desperately trying to find people to teach.

If he were to suddenly master Yulseo Step…

“That’s not the movement! You need to control your joints a bit more! You have to completely pause your movements!”

“Um… this is hard.”

“It’s okay, take it slow.”

Sion tried his best to replicate the Yulseo Step without relying on his combat diary.

As expected, he wasn’t even close to executing it correctly and just flailed around.

His terrible physical stamina didn’t help either.

“Okay, wait… pant let’s take a break.”

“It’s only been 5 minutes?!”

“…5 minutes?! Haa… it hasn’t even been 5 minutes?!”

Sion plopped down onto the floor.

His bangs were soaked with sweat.

Had five minutes really felt this long?

When he glanced over to wipe his sweat, he noticed Professor Heruj’s ears drooping.

“…I guess it was impossible for you too, Sion student. I’m sorry for making a magic department student do swordplay…”

“No, I’m fine with it. But… you mentioned that the Yulseo Sword Technique is optimized for the Yulseo tribe, right?”

“Correct.”

“In that case, why not teach it to members of the Yulseo tribe?”

“……”

The Yulseo Sword Technique was tailored for her tribe, meaning she could teach it to those of her kind.

For those in her tribe, even mastering the Yulseo Step wouldn’t be all that hard.

“…I was chased away from the Great Forest where the Yulseo tribe resides. So, I cannot go back.”

“…You were chased away?”

At her unexpected words, Sion snapped out of his thoughts.

Looking up, he saw that Professor Heruj’s ears were drooping even lower, sticking to her hair.

She gazed off into the distance as she continued.

“I often heard people say how could a herbivorous squirrel wield a sword? So I left. To spread my blade, I had to go to the world, not just the Great Forest.”

She looked at her own sword as she spoke.

Many calluses visible on her hands.

That had surely been earned through hard work.

“I want to meet an heir to pass on my sword technique before I die. The Yulseo tribe is such cowards… Even in this vast empire, they’re hard to find.”

“……”

“If you’ve started to lose interest, please feel free to let me know. I think it’s unfair to hold you back, Sion student.”

As she said this, she forced a smile.

Her lips trembled slightly in a fake smile.

Unable to watch any longer, Sion stood up.

“S-Sion student?”

“Wait a moment.”

Swish.

Sion grabbed the wooden sword and took his stance.

His startled Professor Heruj watched his actions, and he briefly shut his eyes.

He had a fleeting thought that wondered if this would be the right thing to do, but…

‘Let’s just give it a shot. Yulseo Sword Technique.’

It was the sword technique that took first place in international sword contests.

There was no way it could hurt to learn it.

Especially in this dangerous and tumultuous medieval fantasy world, wouldn’t it be prudent to know at least how to defend himself?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

“…!!!”

Sion executed Yulseo Step using his human body.

Every time he cast it, his joints felt like they were cracking, but…

That was undeniably the movement Professor Heruj had shown him.

After a brief demonstration that lasted only a few seconds, Sion wiped the sweat from his bangs.

In less than ten seconds, both his mana and muscles felt like they were being overworked.

As Sion caught his breath, Professor Heruj exclaimed…

“W-Wow…”

“…Professor Heruj?”

“Wow… This is the real Yulseo Step… Finally… my sword technique… Phew!!”

Her ears perked up, and her tail seemed like it was about to take flight.

Professor Heruj’s eyes grew wide in excitement.

Suddenly, she jumped up!

“Of course, it’s Sion student!!”

“P-Professor…? Eek!”

Fluff!

Sion lost his balance and ended up rolling on the floor.

‘But it felt fluffy, didn’t it?’

As he rolled on the ground, it remarkably felt soft.

Glancing back at his waist, he noticed a certain fluffy something wrapping around him…

Professor Heruj’s tail was tightly holding onto his lower back.

She sparkled with bright eyes right in front of Sion’s face.

“Impressive! It’s definitely Sion student! I wasn’t seeing things!!!”

“P-Professor?”

“From now on, you are my apprentice, Sion student. You can call me ‘Master’ instead of Professor now!! Finally, I have a disciple to inherit my sword technique!!”

“…Huh?”

Seeing the madness glint in her eyes, Sion recoiled slightly.

…Maybe it would have been better not to show off Yulseo Step.

He already regretted it.