The Important Thing Is Being Unyielding (1)
The Important Thing Is Being Unyielding (1)
After a huge burst of joy at finally seeing Flare after so long, I gradually calmed down a little.
After that, I introduced Flare to Chloe and Nibuer.
"I told you I was sick until I was nine, right? The person who treated me was Flare here. I'm not exaggerating when I say she's my lifesaver."
"No, that's a bit much...."
"I've heard a lot about you. I'm Chloe, Master Yune's exclusive butler and bodyguard knight."
Chloe gave an awkward bow after hearing my introduction.
"...."
Nibuer, on the other hand, just stood there blankly, as if her brain had momentarily shut down from the shock.
"What's wrong, Nibuer?"
"...It's a pleasure to meet you. Professor Flare. I'm Nibuer, a first-year who'll be taking your class."
"...First time? Ah, right. Nice to meet you."
Only when I prompted her did Nibuer manage a smile and greet her properly.
But this time, Flare's expression soured, as if exchanging names with Nibuer like this made her uncomfortable.
"Ah. Was it weird for a professor to exchange names with her students? Sorry if that was awkward. I was just so happy to see you I got carried away."
"No, that's not it at all... Ahem. It's nothing."
I tried to guess the meaning behind her expression and apologized, but Flare waved it off as if it really didn't matter.
Well, she used to be a mercenary, so something like this wouldn't bother her.
After that, we sat at the table in the lab and chatted.
"But Sis, where'd your horns go? I heard the professor in charge of this class wasn't a dragonkin, so I thought it was just a different person with the same name."
"My horns? I'm hiding them with polymorph magic for a while. I thought the students might be scared."
"...What? Polymorph? That's seriously high-level magic, isn't it!?"
"I've reached quite a high stage recently. Not just polymorph, but my skills in many areas have improved a lot. It might all be thanks to you, young master?"
"Thanks to me...?"
"Actually, before, even when I wanted to focus on research, I didn't have money, and when I went out on mercenary work, I couldn't research—I was stuck in a vicious cycle that kept my stage stagnant. But thanks to you, young mas— Urk!"
"...Ah. Right. That's enough of that."
But as she spoke, Flare's expression twisted in pain.
The reason she suddenly cried out in pain... must be because the magic contract was still in effect. That contract had a confidentiality clause that required our contract to be kept secret.
Seeing that, I quickly changed the subject. I didn't want to see her in pain.
"And Sis, what's up with your clothes? You've always had a really high body temperature, so you used to only wear thin clothes. Aren't you hot?"
The second thing I asked about was her outfit, which had been bugging me since I was in her arms earlier.
When I was eight, since Flare is a dragonkin with red dragon blood, she used to wear clothes that barely covered her skin to let her body heat escape.
But the outfit she was wearing now was tight and clung to every curve. It looked like it didn't let any air through, stifling and hot just to look at. It was completely different from the revealing clothes she used to love.
When I asked why she was wearing something like that...
suddenly, a violent fake cough erupted beside me.
"Ahem. *Cough!*"
"...Huh? Nibuer?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. My throat just got a little ticklish."
"No worries, that happens."
Nibuer had suddenly started coughing violently, as if trying to give someone a hint.
I glanced to the side and then looked back, to find Flare scratching her cheek with a grin.
"Why are you smiling?"
"...No reason. It's nothing."
"Oh...? Anyway, why the clothes?"
"Well, I'm a professor now, so I can't go around the academy in comfortable clothes."
Flare gave a small smile and explained that she was just dressing to suit her position as a professor.
I knew how much she suffered in the heat, so I looked at her with concern, but she puffed out her chest as if to say not to worry.
"Young Master, don't worry. I enchanted it with magic, so I'm not hot at all. See? I'm not sweating, right?"
"Now that I think about it...? In the old days, you'd have been drenched in sweat ages ago."
The sister who was boasting about her clothes didn't have a single drop of sweat on her.
Her body temperature was so high that when I'd sleep on top of her, we'd both end up sticky with sweat. So seeing her so dry in that outfit, she must really not be hot.
I clicked my tongue a little, a bit disappointed that she'd changed from the old days. Just then, Flare suddenly asked me a question.
"But, Young Master Yune, you haven't changed at all. In many ways."
"...Huh?"
A question mark popped into my head when I heard that. We hadn't seen each other in seven years, and she says I haven't changed one bit? Was that a compliment or an insult?
But at her words, Nibuer and Chloe both nodded in agreement.
"You're right; the young master hasn't really grown at all."
"And your adorable— ahem. Your manly qualities are also unchanged."
"...Young Master Yune, are you still calling yourself a manly man?"
"Yes."
"Really... I wish you'd at least changed that."
The three of them were chatting away, leaving me standing there with wide, blank eyes.
...Wait, I didn't grow at all in seven years?
"...That's not true! I've grown a lot! And I'm going to grow even more!!?"
After that, to protect my pride as a manly man, I argued that I'd definitely grown compared to my childhood, that I was even still growing, and that once my growth spurt hit, I'd get much taller. But...
"I see. Yes. Truly a manly man."
The three of them looked at me with lukewarm eyes, and Nibuer, as if to placate me, praised me as a manly man, which told me that my desperate speech hadn't gotten through at all.
'I really did grow, though... even if only by a fingernail's worth.'
* * * * * *
After the commotion settled down, Flare brought out some simple tea to change the mood.
Flare had coffee, Nibuer had a foreign tea called 'green tea,' and Chloe and I had milk.
As I sipped my milk, soothing my slightly parched throat, Flare finally got to the reason she had called me here today.
"Ahem. So, Young Master, why in the world do you want to become an undergraduate researcher?"
When she asked why I'd applied to be a research student, many thoughts passed through my mind.
Flare is my role model. The fire-element magic she taught me, those beautiful halos of light, became a beacon of dreams in my once-dim life. I've worked hard all this time to stand by her side... and so on.
But listing all those reasons one by one was embarrassing... and honestly, I didn't really need to.
So while the three of them sipped their drinks, I just said one honest thing.
"...Because I want to be with you, Sis."
""Pfbt!!""
But oddly, all three of them started choking and coughing violently at my words.
"H-huh? What's wrong with you all?"
"Y-young Master, what do you mean by that?"
Nibuer was the first to recover and ask me that.
...Were they misunderstanding again?
"I first learned magic from you, right? So I meant I want to keep learning from you at the academy, right by your side."
I knew women in this world tended to jump to all kinds of misunderstandings no matter what I said, so I spelled out my intentions clearly.
Only after hearing that did Nibuer and Flare wipe their mouths with handkerchiefs and calm down.
'...Chloe, didn't you bring a handkerchief? No way, she'd definitely have one.'
Meanwhile, Chloe was trying to wipe the milk off her mouth by rubbing it on her clothes.
I pulled a handkerchief from my chest and wiped Chloe's lips for her. I knew all too well that milk on clothes would soon start to smell.
"Geez, geez. Drink it slowly. Who chugs it so hard they choke?"
"...Thank you."
When I pressed the handkerchief firmly against her lips, Chloe's eyes widened in a moment of surprise, then she docilely accepted my touch. Though her voice was subdued as she thanked me, her ears were perked up the whole time.
And then.
"I knew it... So he does that to everyone. Whew, my heart's pounding."
Oddly, Flare was clutching her chest, her face turning red,
"Young Master, at this rate you'll end up seducing every woman at the academy. From now on, I'll visit your dorm every day and teach you the proper way to speak with the opposite sex."
Nibuer, with a dead-serious face, started spouting nonsense about teaching me how to talk to women. I mean, I've spent the last eight years mostly talking to women. What was she suddenly going on about?
But experience had taught me that listening to Nibuer never hurt, so I just nodded.
"Got it. Anyway... Flare, Sis? So, can I be your undergraduate researcher?"
With that, I returned the conversation to the main point: my application to be a research student.
Flare thought for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry, Young Master. That'll be difficult."
...Huh?