Grade Evaluation (2)
Grade Evaluation (2)
"...Just what the hell are you?"
"A professor."
A deep frown settled onto Yoon Do-sik's brow, as if my answer had particularly irked him.
"I-I feel as if I'm dreaming right now......."
Jaden, by contrast, was darting about with his shadowed eyes glittering, too busy marveling at every little thing to contain himself.
'I chose the wrong test subjects.'
While two weeks slipped past outside, I did not take a single step into the rift. Instead, I busied myself with distributing the remnants of Void that had spread through my body while those two were away, making sure it permeated the rift evenly.
Having finished their own tasks, the pair returned straight away and, unprompted, roamed the rift on their own, debating and repeatedly asking to swap notebooks to find the most optimal combination.
Should I call it surprising?
Not a single day passed without them wandering through the remnants of Void, their drive never once diminishing.
In other words, their desire to explore this space exceeded the remnants of Void. Though they'd complain of immense fatigue every morning on their way to the lecture hall, their eyes would sparkle again by afternoon as if nothing had happened the moment they returned to the rift.
What they withstood was nothing more than what had spread through my body and sloughed off—just a fraction of it—yet even I was a little taken aback that they endured it for two weeks.
That said, it was a bit disappointing not to observe a wider range of symptoms.
"Enough sightseeing. Let's head back."
"C-couldn't we look just a bit longer?"
"Ahem. It's, well, not that I don't trust you, but shouldn't we still be thorough with the inspection?"
There were no new species of monster, nor any mysterious materials hidden away. Only things that any active hunter would have seen and experienced, and even then just the ones found in low-stage rifts, yet the two couldn't suppress their excitement, like children walking into a toy store for the first time.
"Suit yourselves,"
I said, turning away.
"Just remember, if you slip up during the evaluation starting tomorrow, you'll be held accountable."
"Ah, of course. Not to worry. I've been a professor for how many years now? And I've already asked another professor for a special elixir to shake off the fatigue."
"P-Professor Yoon. I too......."
"We're not strangers, are we?"
"Thank you...!!"
The pair drifted further from me, laughing and chattering merrily together.
I left them to it and returned to the center where the exit was.
The Crystal that should normally be there was hidden on my command, and I had set things so that if anyone other than those two roamed in, they would be summoned into a separate, isolated space prepared underground. It would be fine to leave it unattended until the day of the evaluation.
I moved toward the exit, where a blue light rippled in place of the Crystal.
-Ding~!
-Ding~!
-Ding~!
My smartphone, not yet fully discharged, buzzed noisily.
With the fading crimson sunset at my back, I stepped out of the warehouse.
[ Baek Ha-na : can't you cut the reflection essay down just a little? ]
[ Baek Ha-na : you're not mad right? ]
[ Baek Ha-na : are you busy...? ]
[ Baek Ha-na : tch... if you're going somewhere where you can't get a signal, then you should tell me you're going!! ]
What had made my phone so noisy were the messages Baek Ha-na had sent me in the meantime. I checked the barely hanging-on battery and sent a reply.
[ Me : Half. ]
I hadn't assigned it as a real act of reflection in the first place, so I'd been planning to reduce it once the Grade Evaluation ended anyway.
I hadn't managed to properly investigate the exact symptoms of exposure to the remnants of Void, but considering that even after two weeks those two only experienced fatigue, it didn't seem particularly dangerous.
'If anything, it's the power I needed.'
The little rascal at home playing with Claire had far too much stamina, and so did Baek Ha-na, who would come back during vacation. Exposure to this remnant energy should at least reduce the time they spent running wild, so I hoped it would last at least until vacation ended.
-Ding~!
[ Baek Ha-na : thank you!! love you♥ ]
The moment I checked the final reply, the screen flickered off on its own. The battery was dead.
I tucked the device, its job done, back into my coat and kept walking.
The evaluation matches would start tomorrow.
Maybe because everyone was trying to manage their condition, it was difficult to spot students on the streets despite the hour not being that late.
-Piya?
However, the Fairy, its face smudged all over with soot from who-knows-where it had been wandering, spotted me and approached.
-Piya!!
Apparently happy to see me after a while, it tapped my cheek with its tiny hands and giggled. The creature had subtly smeared soot onto my cheek in the process; I set it on my shoulder and returned to the manor.
"You've retur......."
Claire, who had hurried out from the kitchen to greet me, hastily sealed her lips and bowed her head. I'd thought so for a while, but her threshold for laughter was unexpectedly low. The triggers were just rather peculiar.
-Piyang~!!
The creature that had been resting on my shoulder flapped its wings at once and headed straight for the kitchen. It had played to its heart's content, so naturally it would be hungry, and off it went to fill its belly. A truly carefree creature.
"You'd best wash that one first."
"......Yes."
Still bowing her head, Claire turned and vanished into the kitchen at a quick pace, following the Fairy.
I changed into slippers and said as I passed the kitchen:
"I'd like a cup of coffee."
-Pibuuuuub!!
-I-I'll bring it right away.
"No rush."
I simply wanted to savor the aroma, something that had become a habit.
Leaving the clamor of the kitchen behind, I entered the study and sat at the desk. I was watching the sunset spill across the desk when a little time passed.
"...Pardon the intrusion."
Claire approached, carrying a teacup with steam curling from it, and set it down before me.
"Professor."
I turned my head, coffee in hand, and she leaned toward me. The distance closed naturally. A subtle floral scent tickled my nose.
"That child seems to have played a prank...."
Claire carefully wiped my cheek with a handkerchief she had been hiding in her hand, then stepped back again.
"Thank you."
"...It's nothing."
A pure kindness that expected no reward.
Holding the rich instant-coffee fragrance on my tongue, I spoke to Claire, whose cheeks were faintly flushed.
"Let's go out together tomorrow."
"......E-excuse me?"
"Is it that surprising?"
"Huh? Ah, no, I mean, n-no, it, isn't...."
Her attempt to act composed fell apart; Claire stammered, utterly failing to hide her bewilderment.
"It's not an order. I simply suggested it because you seem to have been confined here on my behalf, because of a request I made."
"C-confined...."
"Since you haven't gone out even ten times, I see little difference between that and imprisonment."
And even those few outings—two of them were to protect Baek Ha-na in my place while I was unconscious.
"The Grade Evaluation starts tomorrow, so it would be good if you, as Baek Ha-na's guardian, could watch over her."
"I-I shall do so. However......."
At the expected reply and reaction, I set down the now-empty teacup and said,
"You don't need to worry about the one in the kitchen."
"......Yes."
Even though her answer didn't match her lingering worry, I didn't bother to explain the reason.
**
-Piyuuu.......
"This way, there should be no cause for concern."
"Y-yes... pfft......."
Claire let out a small laugh at the sight of the Fairy, its head poking out glumly from her pocket.
I extended a hand to the woman in front of me, whose shoulders were shaking even as she kept her head bowed.
"Ah......."
"It'll be better to watch quietly."
Moving my hand slowly so as not to startle her, I took hold of her hand, to which I had grown somewhat accustomed.
"You should be getting used to it by now."
"T-that's...."
"That reaction every time isn't a bad thing from my perspective, so it's no matter."
I let my mana flow through our clasped hands and erased Claire's presence.
As for the Fairy inside her pocket, I bound it with invisible threads of mana, linking it so it couldn't stray from Claire's vicinity.
"It'll begin soon. Let's be off."
"Ye-es......."
I left the manor with Claire, who showed the same reaction as the very first time.
"It's, quiet."
"It is."
The students were likely steadying their hearts while waiting for their turns, and the faculty would all be gathered at the evaluation site. No wonder it was quiet.
-Piyuuung....
The creature, sulking because it couldn't fly freely, emerged from the pocket and perched on Claire's shoulder.
Claire carefully stroked the Fairy's head and smiled gently, and I took that smile of hers into my eyes for a brief moment.
We shared no special conversation, but by the time our clasped hands had grown a little more natural, we had arrived in front of the Grand Auditorium, where the first-year evaluation was being held.
And then—
-We came here by carving time out of a busy schedule, so how about showing a bit of flexibility and letting us in?
-E-even if you put it like that.......
A group blocking the entrance and pressuring a faculty member greeted us.