So That You Return
So That You Return
The ways students at the Academy spend their weekends are varied.
The largest group uses the campus convenience facilities, while some request outings or overnight leave to spend time with family or acquaintances outside the Academy.
There are also students who shut themselves in their rooms and become one with their beds to shake off accumulated fatigue, and conversely, students who spend the entire day in the training rooms for self-improvement.
And since there are no lectures, the clergy also spend their weekends with more personal time.
-Pirling~♪
Claire, whose schedule was empty and who had planned to sleep in for the first time in a while, heard a notification sound she had never set before.
"......."
By now, sleeping lightly had become second nature, so Claire opened her eyes.
Through the faint blue light reflected on the ceiling, she could tell it was still dawn.
-Pirling-pirling~!!
The smartwatch placed at her bedside began to ring obnoxiously, grating on her nerves.
"Haa......."
If she had her way, she would have turned off the power, but experience had taught Claire that this was not a meaningful solution. She reached out and picked up the smartwatch.
[ (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞ How long do you plan on sleeping!! ]
Claire checked the time displayed on the smartwatch.
Am 05 : 47
If it were a weekday, she would have been guilty of oversleeping, but fortunately, today was Saturday—the weekend.
"...Do you have a task for me?"
[ (* ￣︿￣) What task would there be this early in the morning? ]
"......."
If there was no task, then why had she been woken up? Claire barely managed to suppress a surge of irritation and asked again.
"Then please inform me of your purpose for contacting me."
[ ε=ε=┌( >_<)┘ You're late!! Late!! You have to go to our professor!! ]
"......."
Claire blinked a few times, then started to speak.
"Today is the weekend. That means both the professor and I are off. So there is no need to go to work today."
[ (´∀`) I know! ]
It seemed she might have to return her Executor's commission before long.
[ (｀Д´) Bad thoughts!! I'll never let you go, so wake up!! ]
"...Then I beg you to grant this poor lamb her sleeping hours."
[ (；￣Д￣) With that kind of mindset, it's going to get taken from you. ]
Taken. What was going to be taken?
[ (¬д¬。) If you keep being this lukewarm, I have my ways. ]
Claire's brow furrowed. Only then did she realize what her revered god meant by saying something could be taken.
At the same time, she felt a hint of anger. Lukewarm? After all the courage she had mustered.
But Claire could not argue.
A mail flew in immediately after.
[ (¬◡¬)✧ I'll tell our professor everything. ]
Claire had no choice but to leave the temple at this early dawn hour.
**
-Vwoooong!!
"Sueup......?"
Baek Ha-na opened her eyes to the vibration coming from her bedside.
Waking up, Baek Ha-na wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, silenced the vwoong-ing phone, and checked the time.
Am 06 : 40
She had clearly set the alarm for 5 o'clock, so why was it past 6 and approaching 7?
Baek Ha-na hurriedly got out of bed and went into the bathroom.
The dormitory curfew lasts from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Which meant she was free to leave the dormitory from 5 o'clock onwards.
"Fast, fast......."
After finishing her shower in an instant, Baek Ha-na came out of the bathroom and quickly gathered her clothes.
Her hair was still damp and clumped together, but she paid it no mind.
Lee Na-young, who had stayed up late helping her yesterday, was sound asleep, and she would have felt sorry waking her. This much she could handle.
Having quickly changed into her uniform, Baek Ha-na left the room and slipped out of the dormitory. She ran straight toward 'home.'
'Grrr......!!'
Originally, her plan had been to get ready more leisurely and stop by the mart to buy snacks. But all of that had fallen apart because of that one Cession Battle that came in yesterday.
An email that had flown in last evening.
[ Cession Battle Schedule Notice. ]
Proctor: Kang Han-na - Professor.
Location: Sparring Arena 1.
Time: PM 04 : 00.
※Please arrive at the Sparring Arena by PM 01 : 00 in advance to prevent doping and misconduct.
From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Even excluding the time it took to conduct the Cession Battle itself, three whole hours would be stolen from her there.
She had half a mind to pick a fight with anyone and issue a Cession Battle yesterday, but since the Cession Battle is an Academy tradition, using it for simple retaliation or loopholes is severely punished. The only thing she could do was wait for applications from classmates whose names she didn't even know.
'Wrapping cloth, wrapping cloth.......'
Arriving near the maze, Baek Ha-na, without forgetting, went to a secluded spot where no one was around. She pressed the pure white wrapping cloth Baek Woo-jin had given her onto her head and entered the maze.
Without even admiring the white flowers blooming in the hedges, Baek Ha-na swiftly crossed the maze. In a flash, she reached the house, flung open the front door, and shouted the name of the person she had so desperately wanted to see.
"Woo-jin!!"
Just calling his name was already lifting her spirits.
Baek Ha-na forgot the irritation she had felt only moments ago, humming a tune as she took off her shoes.
"Huh......?"
About to head inside, Baek Ha-na noticed another pair of shoes placed next to her own and blinked.
Black women's boots.
Her gaze naturally drifted to the coat rack. A beige coat hanging next to Baek Woo-jin's black coat.
"Sniff sniff......."
Through her ability-enhanced sense of smell, she could detect a deeply familiar woman's scent from the beige coat.
Next, she enhanced her hearing.
-I'm not sure if it will suit Miss Ha-na's taste.... -She eats anything, so it'll be fine.
A conversation coming from the kitchen.
Baek Ha-na changed into slippers and headed toward the kitchen.
A light, savory fragrance wafted out.
"Miss Ha-na. It's been a while."
"......Yeah."
Claire, wearing the apron Baek Woo-jin usually wore, stood in front of the pot from which the appetizing smell was drifting.
Baek Ha-na turned her gaze.
"You're early."
There he was, not having changed one bit since the entrance ceremony, sitting at the table and looking at her.
"It's just finished, so please have a seat and wait a moment."
"Yeah."
Answering Claire, Baek Ha-na approached the table.
Not to her usual seat, but to where Baek Woo-jin was sitting.
Baek Woo-jin silently watched Baek Ha-na approach him, and did not stop her when she sat on his lap.
Baek Ha-na smiled silently and said.
"Fix my hair."
"It's a dog's coat."
"It's not that bad."
"Stay still."
"Oong!"
After turning her head, Baek Woo-jin nudged her cheek with his finger, turning her to face forward again. Then she gently closed her eyes and savored the touch of his hands.
"Where did the hair tie go."
"Tie?"
Baek Ha-na quickly pulled down the corners of her mouth and rummaged through her pockets.
"......I think I left it. Hehe."
Baek Ha-na leaned against Baek Woo-jin's chest and smiled brightly.
"There should be spares in the room, so we'll tie it later."
"Tie it for me~"
"......Haa."
At Baek Ha-na's request, looking up at him with blinking eyes, Baek Woo-jin sighed but had no choice but to nod.
Just as Baek Ha-na was sitting on Baek Woo-jin's lap replenishing what she'd been missing, Claire, who had come to the house only because Vuar's message was practically a threat, finally thought of a suitable pretext and approached the table.
"Wow...... Sister, I didn't know you could cook."
"Ahem. Of course I can."
Claire coughed lightly at Baek Ha-na's admiration and placed the plate containing the only dish she knew how to make—beef stew—along with a spoon at the spot where Baek Ha-na usually sat.
"I'm not sure if it will suit your palate, Miss Ha-na."
She had borrowed a little magic power due to a lack of seasoning and time, but when Claire herself had tasted it, it had been decent.
"Just smelling it, I can tell it's delicious."
"Hm. Still, please taste it first and judge."
Slipping down from Baek Woo-jin's lap, Baek Ha-na trotted over and sat in her own seat. She scooped up some stew and asked Claire.
"By the way, sister, what brings you here?"
"......."
Without waiting for an answer, Baek Ha-na took the stew into her mouth.
"Mm~!! It's good!! The meat melts!!"
Making a thoroughly happy face, she then lowered her spoon slightly and turned her head toward Claire.
"So, what brings you here?"
"...I came because... I wanted to make you breakfast, Miss Ha-na."
"I see. Thanks. And it's really good."
"Yesss......."
Claire could feel it instinctively. That Baek Ha-na was genuinely grateful to her and was truly enjoying the stew. The problem was the intense wariness mixed in with it.
Taken.......
Claire recalled Vuar's mail that had tormented her this dawn.
That strong caution she'd occasionally glimpsed since the day Ha-na awakened five years ago. She couldn't count how many times Baek Ha-na's inexplicable reaction had bewildered her.
But now, she thought she had a vague idea of the reason.
"Give me more!!"
"Please eat slowly."
Claire scooped fresh stew onto the empty plate and thought.
Whether the wariness Baek Ha-na was showing now was to protect her family, or something else entirely.
"I ate well."
Having emptied the pot in a flash, Baek Ha-na licked her lips and got up from her seat. She then dashed over to Baek Woo-jin, who was sitting in his chair looking at his phone again, and threw herself into his embrace with a poof!
Claire's eyebrow twitched slightly as she watched.
"......That's once."
"Okay~"
What was once?
Claire swallowed hard as she watched Baek Ha-na nestled in Baek Woo-jin's arms, now chest-to-chest and face-to-face instead of back-to-chest, while Baek Woo-jin simply let her be, still looking at his phone.
"Heung~"
Nestled against Baek Woo-jin, Baek Ha-na moved her head around, sniffing at his scent.
At that, Claire forgot about cleaning up and spoke.
"Um...... Miss Ha-na?"
"Hm?"
Baek Ha-na turned only her head slightly to look at Claire.
"Miss Ha-na, you're also now... ahem, not a little child anymore...... so I think it would be better not to engage in such behavior."
It was a posture ripe for misunderstanding if anyone else saw it.
However, even as she nodded, Baek Ha-na gave the exact opposite answer to what Claire had hoped for.
"It's fine, I'll only do this at home. Woo-jin gave me permission, too."
"......Professor?"
Claire called out to Baek Woo-jin, but it was Baek Ha-na who answered.
"It's a promise we made a long time ago. Three times a day. Spoiling sessions."
"......."
Spoiling sessions.
She remembered.
Exactly one year after Baek Ha-na had come here, the day she had bought Baek Woo-jin a gift with money borrowed from Claire and expressed her gratitude.
That day, Baek Ha-na had secured permission from Baek Woo-jin to act spoiled three times a day.
But to think that promise was still valid even now.
"Hehe......."
Baek Ha-na, with a completely relaxed face, tried to nestle even deeper into Baek Woo-jin's embrace.
Claire thought, no matter how she looked at it, the sight before her was deeply, deeply wrong.
She had just decided she needed to have a serious, separate conversation with the person involved about this problem.
"Woo-jin."
"......What."
Baek Ha-na looked up, grinning, and her lips moved lightly.
"Aren't you curious how I've been at the Academy?"
"You've been well, I'm sure."
"......."
"......I am a little curious."
"Right? I'll tell you when we go to bed."
Tell him when they went to bed. Didn't that mean they were going to sleep together?
At that, the moment Claire tried to open her mouth.
"Unfortunately, that's impossible."
"......Huh?"
Baek Woo-jin put down the phone he was holding and looked at Baek Ha-na nestled in his arms as he spoke.
"Did you put in for an overnight leave before coming?"
"Ov, er-night......?"
Baek Woo-jin continued toward Baek Ha-na, who reacted as if hearing the word for the first time.
"Requests for outings and overnight stays can be submitted up to the day before the weekend or a public holiday."
"And, so......?"
"That means unless you submit an overnight leave request, you have to return to the dormitory before curfew."
"......Huh?"
Baek Ha-na's eyes trembled uneasily.
"The dorm inspector definitely sent a notice yesterday. I don't know what you were doing that you missed it, but......."
Avoiding the desperate gaze directed at him, Baek Woo-jin looked back at his phone and delivered his verdict.
"Go back before curfew."