The Bitter Aftertaste
Golden sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating one corner of the room.
The shop’s view was so good that the grand spectacle of the Royal Capital unfolded right outside the window.
“…Hubup.”
I had promised lunch with Professor Helahem and Remediela, intending to fill my stomach at an appropriate place, but here I was, sipping tea instead.
A truly luxurious tea that, the moment I caught its scent, felt worth more than several of my usual meals.
“Ugh?!”
Staring out at the majestic view of the Royal Capital from the window, I let out a sound from the burning heat in my mouth as I sipped the tea.
If it were me on a normal day, I would have spat it out reflexively, but two professors stood right in front of me.
I scrunched my face and gulped it down before I could even taste or smell anything.
My throat tingled from the scalding liquid.
“Lir, you hold the tea in your mouth, savor the aroma and flavor, then drink it,” Professor Remediela explained softly.
“It’s so hot…”
Whoosh, whoosh.
I blew on the tingling mouth and tongue, then relaxed my scrunched face.
Professor Helahem watched the scene with puzzled eyes, while Professor Remediela gazed at me with pure fondness.
“B-but why did you come to this expensive place?”
“I never intended to come here in the first place. But Professor Remediela…”
“Don’t blame me. I didn’t ask you to come. You must have been secretly drawn here.”
The two professors seemed very close.
They spoke with mutual respect, yet their banter revealed the easy familiarity of old friends.
“Ahem. Anyway, the professor invited me to dine together with a student, and I didn’t want to go somewhere unpleasant. So I brought you to a place I know well.”
“You came here wanting to see Lir, didn’t you?”
“Do you have to say such things right in front of the student?”
Tap. Tap.
With every line, the two professors traded light jabs.
Well, it wasn’t real fighting. The atmosphere had always been like this.
After their mild back-and-forth, a polite knock echoed at the door.
A waiter brought warm soup and salad.
“Is this a course meal?”
“Yes. The food here is quite delicious, though expensive.”
“I won’t mind. Professor Remediela is one of the richest people I know.”
“Don’t say things you don’t have to. Professor, you must…”
Professor Remediela being wealthy wasn’t shocking. Her clothes were always elegant.
Potent potions created by skilled alchemists were priceless. A single potion could save a life, so people paid any price.
Even Professor Helahem, connected to countless people, called her one of the top five richest.
I bowed my head and began eating the soup.
Since the professors didn’t stand on ceremony, I gradually relaxed and ate more comfortably.
“Pardon me if this is rude, but may I ask about Lir?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
I sneaked a glance at Professor Helahem.
“You’re a commoner, right? Do you live alone in the Royal Capital?”
“Yes, I’m a commoner. I’ve been living alone since shortly before enrolling in the academy. My parents passed away in the war. The inheritance from them has allowed me to live off their estate.”
Passing away in the war was true. I had secretly bought a house and earned money from knight salaries and extra income.
Professor Remediela’s expression darkened slightly, as if I had touched her own wound.
“Ah… I’m sorry. I touched a painful memory.”
“It’s fine. I barely remember my parents anyway. You don’t have to worry.”
Professor Remediela looked at me with pity in her eyes.
I found her gaze rather burdensome.
She had always thought of Lir as a mature student. The depth in the girl’s eyes was far beyond her years.
Unlike other students who had grown sheltered in greenhouses, her eyes held the scars of real hardship. Professor Remediela believed that.
And after hearing Lir’s story, she understood why the girl carried such a different gaze.
Losing her parents in the war meant an inevitable life unlike anyone else’s.
Even with the inherited fortune, the loss of loved ones meant she could never truly live a normal life.
How much effort and suffering had she endured to reach this level?
Professor Remediela secretly admired the girl before her and felt kinship.
“She must have been lonely.”
Whether raised by someone else or not, no one could replace parental love.
Professor Remediela knew loneliness all too well and had seen its pain in others.
She couldn’t simply ignore the girl who was suffering from it now.
“Lir, would you like to make plans more often in the future?”
“Um… yes?”
“You came from afar, right? The Royal Capital is huge, so there are lots of fun things. I’ll show you around. What do you say?”
“That sounds good.”
Lir smiled and nodded.
Professor Remediela hoped her poor yet amazing student would finally find happiness.
The mood grew a little heavy, but Professor Helahem broke the silence.
“Besides, aren’t you an amazing student? Even though you’ve shown talent for years, you were still just a student back then. Ah, that was before you were even a student.”
“Since the entrance exam, you’ve been outstanding in a completely different way from Daelrek. And you’re still proving it,” Professor Helahem said, ruffling my hair freely.
—Then my relationship with Professor Helahem must have been set as a casual acquaintance formed a few years ago.
Well, the heavy mood annoyed me, so I matched his rhythm.
Just as I was ready to join in, Professor Helahem brought up an unexpected topic.
“Oh, and Lir. What happened in the ecology class that made your name come up?”
“Ah, well.”
Was I supposed to say this?
I had expected the professors to hear about it eventually…
“Professor Geremy’s teaching style didn’t make sense to me, since I lived near battlefields…”
I continued telling them everything that had happened that day, of course leaving out the part about embarrassing Ink.
It was obviously going to cause a scandal, and honestly, I thought it too.
“Hahaha! So that’s what happened! Geremy got his comeuppance!”
“Wow. Lir, you didn’t seem that capable. I was surprised.”
Their reactions weren’t bad at all.
Professor Helahem laughed heartily, clearly fine with it, while Professor Remediela looked shocked that a student had done such a thing to a professor.
“Professor Geremy’s teaching evaluations were bad, so that makes sense.”
“So…?”
“I couldn’t find any sign of Professor Geremy. Apparently, he’s been studying monsters not just in the academy’s back alley but also venturing outside the capital for research.”
“Oh.”
He actually recovered better than I thought.
Delaying exams to throw himself into research—his actions had real meaning.
“Didn’t I tell you many times that Professor Geremy should take a sabbatical and travel the kingdom?”
“Don’t say that in front of me, in front of Professor Geremy.”
While the two professors chatted, a knock sounded at the door, and a waiter entered.
The waiter placed the main dish on the table and began setting out sauces and sides.
Chicken as the main ingredient, the appearance was a bit plain, but the taste was surprisingly exquisite.
“Oh, Lir. The Megirurun you gave me last time has been purified well. I was relieved you sent two.”
“Megirurun? Where did you get it?”
“It was lucky. I paid a steep price, but…”
I couldn’t call it theft. After all, that Megirurun would have been confiscated by the kingdom anyway.
It was better to use it for something useful than to let such an expensive herb go to waste.
“Stop by my workshop whenever you have time. Ah, a few days after the ecology exam is over.”
“Do you have other plans?”
“I have to grade test papers, and originally I wasn’t going to say anything, but Lir’s dark circles are terrible.”
Ah, talking about dark circles.
“As a professor giving assignments and tests, I shouldn’t say this, but I feel sorry for the kids every time I see those dark circles. Why make young students suffer so much… right?”
“W-why are you looking at me?! My assignments aren’t that heavy. I only give one a week.”
“How many professors give just one assignment a week… Ah, never mind Remediela.”
I and Professor Remediela met eyes and high-fived.
Professor Remediela only gave assignments twice a month, and the amount wasn’t even much.
“Don’t tell me… you’re ganging up on me. Do you have some grudge against me?”
Professor Helahem sighed deeply at the two of them teasing him subtly.
It was still midday, with several hours left until sunset.
A leisurely time.
“I’m full. It was delicious…”
I should know better than to eat and then complain.
I would have skipped such places too, thinking the money spent on food was a waste.
Professor Remediela had promised to take me there often, so I would see her again.
“What a nice person.”
Professor Helahem had taken my teasing in stride and matched my rhythm perfectly.
Although I was tired, sleepy, and sluggish, I was glad I accepted the invitation.
Now I was walking toward Farnike Academy.
From this street, I could reach home in a few minutes, but I had told Daelrek and Serpin I was going to the training ground, so I couldn’t turn back.
“I must maintain my daily routine.”
When time was completely tight, it was impossible to avoid, but even now, with a little breathing room, skipping the routine felt lazy. At least that was how I saw it.
Rubbing my eyes with both hands, I opened the door to the training ground.
“Oh, you’re here? Lir-nim?”
“We’re here.”
Daelrek and Serpin were the only ones in the training ground. Altro and Flavio were absent, probably because they had gone to study for the ecology exam.
They seemed to have been sparring, weapons in hand, sweat-soaked and breathing heavily.
“You two are in good shape. You have the stamina for a real match?”
“It was light. Just enough to keep my senses sharp.”
Whoa.
I wouldn’t be able to spar at this level. If I used that much energy, I might not just faint on the bed but fall into eternal sleep.
Anyway, I told them to keep sparring and started push-ups and light stretching in the corner.
“Why does stretching have to be this hard?”
Extending my legs and arching my back left me gasping.
Push-ups, swinging a sword—anything made my body ache.
“Being young is good. Good.”
Meanwhile, the two kept sparring lightly.
Fire in their eyes, they moved with desperate determination to win.
The clashing of weapons rang in my ears, but I ignored it and focused only on my own exercise.
About an hour passed, and Daelrek and Serpin finished their training.
They drank from water bottles, wiped sweat with towels, and approached me.
“Lir, how about a real spar next time? When your condition improves.”
Lir leaned against the corner wall with her eyes half-closed.
Soft snoring sounded faintly, like someone sleeping.
She didn’t seem asleep. Her dark circles seemed darker than before.
Concerned, Daelrek was about to speak when Lir opened her eyes and warned softly.
“Shh. Quiet.”
She looked at Daelrek with guarded eyes.
“Hey, who’s there? This place is only for A-class students.”
Lir’s gaze turned beyond Daelrek, toward the corner of the training ground where a corridor led to internal facilities.
A faint presence was felt from inside. Very slight, but Lir sensed it clearly.