The Sleeping Graduate Student
“Writing a thesis and ending up like this?”
“It’s not all that surprising,” Professor Stranoff continued in a flat voice. “You’ve been running yourself ragged trying to save him. The fatigue must have piled up considerably.”
She slowly recounted everything Idel had done over the past week. “He wrote the thesis, invested in the resonator research, and got beaten up by the people who had the earliest slots in the waiting list. Since he couldn’t just abandon them, he commissioned new research and even went to external institutions to secure contracts.”
Just listening to it made her head spin. It was far more work than any ordinary person could handle in a single week.
“After finishing the discussion section and revising the conclusion, he suddenly collapsed from hyperventilation.”
“I-is he going to be all right?”
“The doctor says there’s no threat to his life, but they can’t guarantee when he’ll wake up.”
Stranoff patted Ire’s shoulder and made a request. “So please keep an eye on him, and contact me the moment Idel wakes up.”
Stranoff left first, citing a conference schedule. Thud. Ire’s legs gave out.
“Why… why would he do all that?”
The more she thought about it, the less it made sense. Why would someone she had barely met go so far out of his way for her? No matter how prestigious his family was, how could an eighteen-year-old boy have carved out such a legendary position in academia? And more importantly—how on earth had he removed the Outer Deities?
It was literally beyond comprehension. After all the desperate struggling she had done, he had solved it so easily—
“What are you doing sitting there in a daze?”
A voice came from the shaded corner where sunlight never reached. “Leaving a perfectly good chair empty and sitting on the floor is bad for hygiene. Please stand up.”
An android in a maid uniform with bluish hair stepped out of the shadows. She held out a coffee cup toward Ire.
“I suppose introductions are unnecessary?”
Sonia. Ire had been hit by this android many times. The most memorable humiliation was being struck on the head with a baguette at the Holy Spirit Institute—
“Haa… thank you.”
Ire accepted the cup with a bitter smile. Never forgetting a debt of gratitude—that was the truth of life she had learned through countless regressions. Idel was her savior. Therefore, Sonia was one as well.
“I’ve been running around matching the young master’s schedule and my body feels like a rag.”
Sonia leaned against a chair and began complaining. “If I don’t at least have some coffee, I really will break down.”
“You’re a robot, though…”
“We would also like to secure our own rights. How about a 110-hour workweek? I’d like to oil myself in my spare time.”
Sonia gave a small smirk. She downed the coffee in one gulp and began sweeping the floor with a broom.
“Aigoo, my joints…”
“Why are you using a broom when there’s a perfectly good vacuum cleaner…”
“Is there perhaps a kind lady with good manners who would help this poor maid?”
Ire, who had been watching awkwardly, stood up. She owed Idel a life debt. The least she could do was help with something as trivial as cleaning.
They swept the floor, polished the window frames until they shone, and adjusted the humidifier. Time passed quickly. Idel still had his eyes closed.
“Now it’s time to give the young master a light massage.”
“Huh?”
“A massage. A massage.”
Sonia narrowed her eyes and questioned Ire. “You don’t seriously think I would make you do something perverted, do you?”
“That’s not what I meant…!”
“Muscles deteriorate if they aren’t moved even for a single day. You were confined in the Holy Spirit Institute for a long time, weren’t you? That’s why I massaged you so often.”
“I know that much! What I’m saying is—”
Ire had been about to raise her voice, but she shrank back again. The words she wanted to say next were too embarrassing, too shameful, and strangely infuriating.
“……I-I’ve never touched a man’s body before.”
“My, you really have no courage at all.”
“It’s not something you can just say like that.”
“Do you have androphobia or something?”
Ire reluctantly nodded. “……A little.”
She didn’t mind if it was just a passing touch. But if a man tried to approach her with intent, or if there was any chance of forming a relationship, she would instinctively avoid him. Thanks to the Constellation of Patience, it only stayed at the level of avoidance. Without it, she wouldn’t even have been able to breathe just from being near Idel.
“What exactly caused it?”
“Don’t ask unnecessary questions.”
“Usually, interpersonal phobias directed at a specific gender are caused by abuse, sexual violence, or group bullying. So, perhaps……”
“Don’t dig any deeper either!”
Strictly speaking, it was because of the Outer Deities. The ‘pheromones of madness’ scattered by the Darwin-type Outer Gods. Any man addicted to those pheromones would lose his reason and become a beast that lusted after Ire unconditionally. It was a cursed affliction.
She had never been defiled. Whenever the situation arose, Ire would either flee on the spot, put a bullet hole in the would-be rapist’s head, or—in the worst case—take her own life to move on to the next worldline. But she had lost many good opportunities. It was like pouring ashes on already cooked rice. Even that was the Outer Gods’ doing.
And now, the Constellation was trying to interfere as well.
— The Constellation ‘God of Patience and Indomitability’ hopes that you will no longer avoid men.
— Assist the android with the massage. 1000 coins will be awarded upon success.
Ire rubbed her eyes and washed her face with dry hands.
“Hey, you!”
Her face flushed hot. Sonia tilted her head.
“So, will you do it or not?”
Gulp. Her throat moved on its own. A full 1000 coins. With 1000 coins, she could buy twenty Holy Spirit Bullets capable of instantly killing an EX-rank monster. She could also spin the Die five whole times.
“Why are you thinking about it for so long?”
“F-fine, I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”
Right now, every single coin mattered. Besides, Idel was her savior. If she didn’t do at least this much, there would be no way to repay even a fraction of the ocean-like debt she owed him.
“I’ll take the left side, you take the right.”
Following the order, Ire moved to the inner side and glanced at Idel’s face. He was more handsome than she had expected. More precisely, he looked like someone who was diligent. She recalled a distant memory—from a time when she could still look at a man’s face without narrowing her eyes. Back then, Idel had given off a somewhat sly impression.
Ire chewed on her lower lip and lifted the blanket.
“……”
Something was clutched in his left hand.
“What is this?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? It’s paper.”
“So why is he holding something like this while unconscious?”
Sonia peeked over from the other side and checked the writing on the paper. She let out a sigh.
“It’s a thesis. If he keeps holding it, he’ll get calluses.”
She shot Ire a sidelong glance, a subtle playful glint in her expression.
“My hands can’t reach it, so I can’t do anything about it.”
“Fine, I’ll do it!”
Like defusing a time bomb, Ire carefully tried to pull the paper out without touching Idel’s hand.
“……?”
Tug, tug. It resisted quite strongly.
“You’ll have to touch his hand directly to pull it out. That would be the most reliable method.”
“I got it, so please!”
Cold sweat ran down her back and her heart pounded violently. Being fully conscious made it worse. Ire Haslen was facing the greatest crisis of her life since gaining independence from the Outer Deities.
Tap.
She touched it.
“Ugh……!”
A shiver ran through her entire body. An instinctive revulsion. She took a deep breath. She had to repay this debt, even if it was like this. At the very least, she needed to get used to the existence of Idel von Rheinland.
“W-why won’t it come out!”
“Can’t you even do that one thing properly? Wait, I’ll come over. Damn it, why won’t this come out?”
The more they tried to pry it open, the tighter it clenched.
“Is this a Venus flytrap……?”
“It’s a thesis hell.”
In that moment, Idel gained another nickname.
“You’re not actually awake, are you?”
“The young master greatly dislikes wasting time like this. If he had regained consciousness, he would have already gone out to do research.”
In the end, they gave up and decided to just do the massage. At first, she felt intense revulsion, but after using the Composure skill and telling herself she was just volunteering, she gradually got used to it.
— You have obtained 1000 coins as a quest reward!
It had been a difficult battle.
“Idel! Idel!”
A girl with a golden ponytail burst into the hospital room at bullet-like speed.
“Lady Rustila, you’ve arrived.”
“Idel, are you okay?!”
Rustila had rushed over right after finishing her daily sparring with Naire. She dove into Idel’s arms as if performing a dive. Clutching him, she burst into tears. Why hadn’t he called her when he was writing the thesis? She had told him to call her anytime he needed help, so why was he trying to shoulder everything alone?
“Hurry, hurry and wake up……”
There was no answer. Rustila shed even more tears. Ire felt flustered. Rustila was her only sanctuary. Cold to others, but warm to her own people—that was Rustila. In previous regressions, Ire had received so much help from her.
Yet that same Rustila was now clinging to a man. At the same time, she occasionally shot Ire cold glances.
“Sister, I told you it’s just overwork.”
Following behind was a silver-haired, golden-eyed girl. Seti von Adelbain Rheinland. While loudly slurping tapioca pearls, she patted the sobbing Rustila.
“You there.”
Seti addressed Ire directly.
“Since you made our brother suffer so much, make sure to repay him properly later.”
Ire nodded. Of course she intended to. Still, hearing her call him “brother” so naturally was surprising. Even Seti, who became foul-tempered whenever Idel was mentioned, used such a familiar term. Just how good were Idel’s relationships in this regression?
She felt newly grateful. That the final worldline she had arrived in was this one.
“Student! Student! Idel, my student!”
A man’s voice rang out. Ire’s body stiffened. The person who entered was a tall, middle-aged man. From his attire, he didn’t look like a doctor—more like an adult connected to Idel. With just a glare, he pushed Rustila away from stroking Idel’s face and thrust a paper covered in equations in front of him.
“You can hear my voice, can’t you, Idel! You’ve slept for two whole days! Get up and look at this! I’ve developed a groundbreaking theory that will change the world right now!”
“I-I don’t know who you are, but……”
“A discussion! I’m requesting a discussion on this! You’re the only one I can discuss this topic with! Time is of the essence!!”
“Someone won’t just wake up because of that……”
“You promised we’d write papers together for the rest of our lives!!”
Slide.
Idel opened his eyes.
***
“Professor, so it’s Professor Feynman. I thought I wouldn’t see you again after that time. Wow, this is definitely worthy of the Archea Prize. Thinking about it suddenly makes it hard to breathe……”
“I’m just glad you’re alive! I finally got my student back, and the thought of losing you again made everything go dark. Thank goodness it was just simple overwork. If it had been a stroke, I would have, sniff, really……”
“Professor!”
“Student!”
“Professor!”
“Student!”
“Professor!!”
“Student!!”
The two men shared a passionate embrace. The sight was so sticky that Ire momentarily suffered a brain freeze. Rustila and Sonia had similar reactions. Especially Rustila, who looked deeply hurt.
‘He didn’t wake up when I tried to wake him……’ she muttered, looking dejected like a puppy abandoned by its owner.
“This bastard’s at it again.”
Only Seti made the correct judgment and escaped the hospital room.