Chapter 43: See You on Friday (2)
"Try some, Theo. It's a treat from a famous dessert shop."
"I'm not thirsty."
"...It's really delicious."
Mari looked slightly disappointed but took a sip of her mint chocolate latte and picked up a piece of chocolate to eat.
"...."
"Eating sweets can clear your mind. You should give it a try, Theo. It's a special gift from the owner of a shop I know. They only sell a limited amount, even when customers are willing to pay any price."
While I understood her point, it didn't appeal to me.
I had lost my appetite.
"No, thank you. I'm fine."
"Alright..."
After Mari's disheartened response, silence fell over the faculty room.
The room grew quiet.
'I do feel bad.'
I knew it was impolite to keep refusing someone's kindness.
But if it doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel right.
I reminded myself of the initial goal I had set.
'I'm here to assist Mari with her research to get her to owe me.'
Breaking the long silence, I spoke up.
"By the way, I'm surprised you found the time to come here. You seem quite busy."
"Hmm, I'm not busy yet. Do I look busy to you?"
"You're dressed as if you're attending a formal event today."
I refrained from making any potentially rude comments about her makeup or the effort she put into it.
I believe it's healthy to maintain a certain level of distance, even with those I consider to be on my side.
Mari shrugged.
"It's not really a formal event. It's a Hero Association meeting. All sorts of people there argue about who's right and who's wrong. Ah, just thinking about it gives me a headache. Maybe I shouldn't go?"
"No, you should definitely attend if it's an association meeting. You must be busy, so let's get straight to the point. Please update me on the progress of your research."
"Oh, so this is how it should be applied... Am I correct, Theo?"
Mari looked at me, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Yes. As expected, you grasp it instantly, Mari. As I mentioned earlier, unless the herd's leader is top-tier, this method will undoubtedly work. After eliminating the majority of the monsters this way, a small group can complete the task."
"Hmm, hmm, hmm. I see..."
Mari nodded repeatedly.
'The youngest professor in the Hero Department is certainly not there by mere luck.'
Mari was more intelligent than I had thought.
I had prepared to explain for two hours, but she understood most of what I said in less than 30 minutes.
"Wow... I never considered it from this perspective. Why didn't it occur to me?"
There was admiration in her light green eyes as she looked at me.
"Perhaps because you have been continuously researching on your own. It seems like it's a matter you can't discuss with other professors."
"...You're right."
"Since you seem to understand up to this point, let me talk about the situation after deploying a small number of people."
I continued my explanation.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm... Wow. It really fits perfectly. Even the people in the association who are just there to make up the numbers won't know about this."
Before I knew it, Mari was not just nodding her head, but her entire upper body was bobbing up and down.
'But it's really distracting.'
With the movement of her upper body, her ample chest also swayed.
Her tight shirt couldn't suppress its might.
A faint line of cleavage was visible, deep and white.
I couldn't take my eyes off.
'Damn it.'
I felt a sense of self-loathing.
I understand that I'm at my prime.
Even so, I'm not a monster, no matter how much of a physiological phenomenon this is.
In such an important moment, I can't even control such a small desire.
It seems like Mari hasn't noticed my lecherous gaze...
Honestly, I can't think rationally when it comes to matters of the opposite sex.
'She must not know.'
If she finds out, I might die of embarrassment.
'Hooooooo.'
...It's all because of Siena.
If someone, whose name I don't know, asked me, 'When did you become such a pervert?' I would reply, 'Since Siena hugged me yesterday.'
That lascivious elf seems to have brought out the lust that was deeply asleep within me.
I seem to hear her 'hehe' laughter like a hallucination.
I hummed the national anthem in my mind at 16 times the speed.
"...Splendid rivers and mountains."
Damn it.
In my hurry, my inner thoughts slipped out of my mouth.
Mari tilted her head and leaned in to look at me.
"Hmm, Theo? Why are you suddenly like this?"
"···Ah, I apologize. I was thinking about the next part to explain."
I slowly moved my body back.
We were too close.
'I can't be more embarrassed.'
If I make another mistake, I might as well bite my tongue and die.
With that thought in mind, I resumed speaking.
"I will explain the next part."
After concluding her discussion with Theo, Mari headed to the Association branch in the capital of the kingdom.
Although she had mentioned it casually to Theo earlier, today's meeting was quite an important occasion.
Despite being in her late twenties and coming from a commoner background, Mari stood out as a hero in the Association, where numerous heroes of noble birth were affiliated. She faced restraint from many of them.
'Fools who have nothing to showcase but their lineage.'
However, Mari was in high spirits.
It was all thanks to the explanation that Theo had practically drilled into her head.
'I wonder if he is really the same kid as last semester. How could he come up with such an idea?'
When she first heard Theo's explanation, it felt as if she had been hit on the head with a hammer.
He had come up with an idea that even the seasoned heroes in the Association couldn't imagine.
At this rate, she should be able to deal a significant blow to the noble-born heroes who were endlessly restraining her.
"Hehehe~."
Humming happily, Mari boarded the academy's carriage.
'That being said, he unexpectedly has cute sides.'
Mari recalled Theo's figure in the professor's office.
He kept stealing glances at her body.
He probably thought he was being discreet, but he couldn't escape her intuition.
The way he suddenly stopped explaining and hastily ran away when she approached.
'Gifts should be given to cute kids.'
Mari grinned.
After lunch, Theo headed towards the training field.
Both yesterday and today, all club activities were canceled, so there was nothing else to do.
'I spent the morning in mock training and dueling...'
Let's go to the physical training ground.
Squeak—
He immediately swung the entrance gate open.
There were about ten people in the physical training ground.
All of them were familiar faces.
Neike, Piel, Eshild, Max, Aisha... even Andrew, the magician, was there.
'No doubt Aisha followed me here, but what's a germaphobe magician like him doing in physical training?'
Everyone, except Piel and Aisha, welcomed me.
"Good to see you all."
I was in a good mood.
To think that these same kids who once looked at me with dubious eyes were now welcoming me.
Indeed, hard work does pay off.
After stretching, I headed towards the center where the lower body training equipment was located.
"Oh, you've arrived... I mean, are you here, Theo?"
Aisha greeted me with a sullen expression.
Why was she acting like this all of a sudden? It didn't suit her.
"...Aisha, is something wrong?"
"No, nothing at all?"
She seemed to have quite a problem.
However, I chose not to pry.
"Alright, I see."
She was perfectly fine until two days ago.
Did she have a change of heart?
It was strange that a student I had never seen in the gym was suddenly there.
With these thoughts, I turned my gaze to Andrew.
"..."
Andrew, having locked eyes with me, came over.
"I heard from Aisha about how skillfully you led two teams—"
"You didn't hear that from me, Andrew."
Aisha quickly corrected him.
After Andrew regained his composure, he spoke again.
"...We gathered the club and discussed the Magic Dungeon incident in depth. Aisha seemed quite surprised. I guess there were things I didn't know about—"
"There was nothing like that. And I wasn't that surprised."
"...Eshild praised you a lot."
"That's true."
"..."
Andrew stumbled and closed his mouth.
Ah, they say boys in love turn foolish.
What a pure heart.
He's a germaphobe; he can't even touch gym equipment used by others.
"Uh, uh, I, I can. I can do it!"
As expected, Andrew was hesitating to grab the barbell.
All the while, he kept glancing at Aisha.
...Was he trying to show off his masculinity?
Just stick to the magic you've been doing.
It's rather pathetic to watch.
Let's just help him out.
From what I heard from Noctar, who was on the same team during the Magic Dungeon incident, he had a hard time protecting other students by himself.
"Andrew."
"...Are you going to mock me?"
"Take this."
I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and tossed it to Andrew.
Of course, it was an overly antiquated item for a simple handkerchief, catering to my tastes.
Andrew, with a skeptical look in his eyes, stared at me.
I immediately provided the answer.
"It's unused. Wrap it around your hand. You don't have to return it."
"....Understood."
Andrew turned his head, muttering 'I lost again,' and tightly wrapped the handkerchief around his hand.
'Why is he like this?'
Anyway, I should also start my training.
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