I’m Not Becoming a Graduate Student! – Chapter 53

“Pet me more! Put your sincerity into it!”

“….”

“Yes, that’s it… Huh nya nya…”

Sion had to move his hands diligently to satisfy the squirming Silphia in his arms.

…Of course, he felt content just being able to touch her soft fur.

But it seemed that Professor Lunia was not satisfied.

“Wh-what are you doing?! Sion, stop tormenting her and come here!”

“No way! It’s still not enough! I worked hard, so I deserve this reward!”

“…I can’t help it then…”

Grrr!

Professor Lunia summoned magic.

“Dis-summon…!”

“…!”

“Using forced dis-summon? That’s cowardly! Aaah, no—!”

Swish!

Sion’s arm felt suddenly light.

Silphia vanished from his embrace as if she had teleported.

Professor Lunia kept bowing her head towards Sion.

“I…I’m sorry for troubling you, Sion….”

“Eh? No, it’s fine. It’s nothing at all. And….”

Sion looked around from the podium.

The other students were staring at him with looks that screamed, ‘What on earth is happening right now?’

If he didn’t wrap up this situation quickly, the stares would only grow more intense.

He whispered into her sharp ears so that the other students couldn’t hear.

“There are a lot of eyes on us right now… Let’s just finish class for now.”

“Kyah…”

“?”

“Uh, well, my ears are… sensitive…”

Vibrate!

Her long ears shook rapidly up and down.

…He didn’t know they were that sensitive.

He would have to be more careful with whispered conversations from now on.

“Cough, cough, then I’ll take my leave now, Professor.”

“A-ah, yes… Um, everybody please… applause for Sion, who helped us with the class…!”

For now, Sion left the wrapping up to Professor Lunia and returned to his seat.

Clap. Clap clap. Clap…

He returned to his seat with the awkward rhythm of clapping behind him.

The gaze piercing into the back of his head was quite intense.

“Anyway, I’ll conclude today’s class here…! There’s no need to be too disappointed if your Spirit Affinity is low! There are many ways to improve it over time…. So, class dismissed!”

As Professor Lunia delivered her closing remarks, the students packed their things and started to stand up one by one.

Sion was also getting ready to leave.

“Hey! Crazy! What the heck can’t you do?”

“…What? All of a sudden.”

“Your Spirit Affinity! A rank? S rank? I’ve never heard of anyone with either in my life!”

Excited Patrick was staring at Sion.

‘Just how high is Spirit Affinity at S rank…?’

Sion tilted his head.

He had only heard about the concept of Spirit Affinity for the first time today.

Then Geivolg jumped in, pointing his finger dramatically.

“Hahaha! Spirit Affinity, as the name suggests, means the potential to get along with spirits! The higher it is, the higher-ranked spirits you can contract and the more you can have!”

“…So, what’s an S rank like?”

“Hmm. Well, all the royal spiritists in Rodenburg have at least a B rank Spirit Affinity. A ranks are rare too!”

“…B rank?”

That meant the spiritists hired by the royal family had a B rank.

Then, the fact that Sion might have potential for at least an A rank or even S rank?

…Only then did he understand why Patrick was making such a fuss.

Having Spirit Affinity alone means he’d be on par with the spiritists hired by the kingdom.

“That’s not all! I have something I’d like to ask you, Sion.”

“…Huh? What is it?”

“What was that strange woman’s moan we heard from the hut earlier?”

Geivolg asked, throwing the question casually.

That was a surprisingly hard question to answer that made Sion freeze in shock.

“…Cough, cough! Cough!”

“Are you alright, Sion?”

Even as Geivolg expressed worry, Sion’s head was in a spin.

…What? You heard moans from the hut?

‘…No way.’

Sion’s face turned pale.

There had definitely been something to point out.

The one who let out the moans was none other than Professor Lunia.

If he thought back to what had just happened in the hut—

“Aaaah!!!”

“…P-professor?”

“A-Ah! I’m sorry! It just felt too good, I couldn’t help it….”

– ….

“C-could you do it more? I’m still itchy… Aah…”

Looking at just the dialogue, it seemed like they had crossed the line in the teacher-student relationship.

However, Sion had only scratched her back.

He had not engaged in any actions beyond that.

If he talked candidly, the misunderstanding would clear up quickly.

‘…But is it okay to speak straightforwardly?’

He knew the answer to that.

If he spilled the truth, he could satisfy Geivolg’s curiosity.

However, it would be Professor Lunia’s authority that would plummet.

In the end, the resolution Sion chose was—

“Ah, that? Professor Lunia was almost tripping when she went in, and she screamed then.”

“…Hmm? Is that so? Now that I think about it, it didn’t sound like something you’d typically make while tripping. It sounded more like… something a woman would moan about—”

“Hey hey! Geivolg, why are you talking about that? The professor fell. Right, Sion?”

“Y-yeah, that’s right.”

Fortunately, Patrick cut Geivolg off, managing to save the day.

“Hahaha! If you were offended, I apologize.”

“What? It could be misunderstood.”

“S-Sion?”

“……Professor?”

He timidly faced Professor Lunia, who had returned to normal after class ended.

She approached Sion.

“Uh, heh… what, what were you talking about…?”

“……?”

“I was just… curious….”

Professor Lunia hesitated with her words, asking Sion.

What kind of conversation were they having?

If you ask such questions…

“Hahaha! Oh, it’s nothing! I just thought I heard some strange moans coming from the hut.”

“S-some moans…?!”

Wobble wobble!

Her long ears shook vigorously up and down.

Professor Lunia, whose eyes were darting nervously, stammered, “Th-that was… um, the cat spirit… it scratched me so I ended up making such sounds….”

“…Hmm? That doesn’t match what Sion is saying! Professor! Sion said you screamed when you tripped…”

“……Y-yes?!”

“Umm?”

Geivolg stroked his chin, falling into thought.

It seemed he had caught onto something from the differing answers of the professor and Sion.

…This is dangerous.

“Uh….”

“Professor, please tell the truth.”

“Um! I’m curious too. What happened between you and Sion in the hut?”

“Uh… w-well… I was just… scratching Sion’s back—”

Just when Professor Lunia, panicked, was about to reveal the truth,

Sion loudly covered her voice.

“Wha—?! After class, I said I would help you with something, right?!”

“……Um? S-Sion?”

“Let’s go right now! Just go into the hut!”

“Ah, but that’s… huh?”

Grab!

Sion took Professor Lunia’s hand and ran straight toward the hut.

Instead of telling the truth, he chose to run away.

It sounded like there was a lot of shouting from behind, but he ignored it.

Thud!

Once inside the hut, Sion took a deep breath.

“…Phew, I’m sorry. It’s just… I thought saying the truth would ruin your reputation…”

“Ah….”

“I mean, if a rumor gets spread in Vanity, it wouldn’t be great. So… ah.”

“…S-Sion… this is…”

Swish.

Professor Lunia shyly raised her arm.

On her delicate hand…

Sion’s hand was resting on top.

“Ah! I’m sorry!”

“…Ah.”

Sion quickly released Professor Lunia’s hand.

‘What a rush, to make such a mistake…’

Holding hands casually between men and women would be rude.

Let alone between a professor and a student.

“I’m sorry!”

“…Ugh….”

Unlike Sion, who braced himself for scolding, Professor Lunia had a complex expression.

…One might even say she looked flushed.

It felt like she wanted to say something but was unable to.

“It’s okay… uh…”

“Eh?”

“I-I’m… fine. You can hold my hand….”

As she fidgeted, she said it.

She said it was okay if he held her hand.

Upon hearing that, Sion thought.

‘…She really is a kind person. Professor Lunia is.’

Even after it all, instead of scolding him, she forgave him.

It was heartwarming to see her contrasting kindness compared to his previous professor.

A smile appeared on Sion’s face.

“Thank you… Since I’ve made excuses to come in, I’ll just stay a bit longer before leaving.”

“Eh…? No, it’s okay! You can stay a little longer… please come in…?”

Pull, pull.

Professor Lunia gently tugged at Sion’s collar.

Hmm… He had just committed a faux pas towards her.

It would be rude to refuse such kindness.

“Then… I’ll impose on you.”

Sion stepped into the cluttered hut’s interior.

Lunia disappeared into the kitchen, saying she’d bring some snacks.

Sion sat down on a chair that seemed to belong to her.

Not long after, she returned with a plate of cookies.

“Here, eat!”

“…You’re not giving me those clay cookies from last time, right?”

He had PTSD from the cookies she brought last time.

Last week, when Professor Lunia had offered him cookies saying she’d serve him food.

The taste, of course, was so horrible it wouldn’t be hard to believe it was clay.

“Clay cookies? Well, kind of… but I’ve improved a lot!”

“Improved…?”

“Yes! Based on your feedback, I made them again…! Energy Cookie Mk.2!”

She proudly said, taking a big bite of the cookie.

Crisp! The cookie crumbled with the sound.

She seemed to enjoy every bit of it.

‘I can eat this? Really…?’

Sion inspected the cookie with a skeptical glare.

At least, unlike last time,

It looked 99% identical to a cookie.

When he tapped it with his finger, it also sounded crispy like one.

As he took a cautious bite—

“…!”

The cookie was crunchy.

Within it contained various ingredients like raisins, chocolate, and grains.

It really felt like eating the protein bars or energy bars from his past life.

‘She made this in just a week?’

Sion couldn’t help but be amazed.

The synchronization rate with the energy bar from his past life was over 90%.

If she sold this as it is in this world, it would surely become a huge hit.

“Delicious, right?”

“…Honestly, it is delicious. Who made it?”

“I’m glad you think it’s good! Umm, this was… made by one of the professors in the Alchemy department.”

“…The professor?”

Sion felt something was off from Lunia’s words.

“Didn’t Professor Lunia make this…?”

“No, I can’t make things like this… My friend professor made it for me….”

“…!”

The conversation from last week popped up in Sion’s mind.

“Ah, this? This was made by a professor I’m close with… Energy Cookie!”

“…Energy Cookie?”

“Yes! With just one of these, you can sustain energy for more than one meal! Isn’t that amazing?”

When Professor Lunia had proudly shown him the clay cookie.

She had clearly said that cookie had been given to her by a ‘close professor.’

…Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

While Sion was rubbing the back of his head due to the chills creeping up on him,

Professor Lunia clapped her hands and beamed at him.

“Ah, by the way! I was asked to tell you something….”

“W-what message?”

Professor Lunia said with a bright smile.

“Thanks to your feedback, a research topic that had been lingering for over a year has finally been solved… She said she wants you to come by the lab!”

“…….”

“S-Sion? You don’t look so well. Are you okay?”

Thud.

The cookie dropped from Sion’s hand.

First-year student Sion.

Not only had he gained the favor of the professors in his classes, but now he was even being invited by a professor he had never seen before.

…He wanted to collapse and cry right then and there.