20 - Return After 2 Years
"Dead? That deadbeat duo?"
"Yeah. They were found as corpses in the Old Wooden Dormitory."
Why? Nothing like this has ever happened before.
I furrowed my brow. I'd gone through dozens of loops, but there'd never been a route where those guys died at this point. Sure, they'd gotten expelled or their families ruined and vanished, but mysterious deaths? This was a first.
"Murder?"
"Nah, the autopsy said cause of death was 'overdose.' There was a box of 'Red Moon' rolling around at the scene."
My classmate clicked his tongue.
"Tch, they suffocated to death... Guess they puked all over each other in a drug-fueled frenzy. Filthy trash like that, I knew it'd happen eventually."
Overdose leading to suffocation... Hmm. I rested my chin on my hand, lost in thought.
Butterfly Effect.
No matter how many times I'd repeated this life, it had never played out exactly the same. This time around, I reformed Piarot. Had that variable rippled out to affect those guys' fates somehow? Maybe they picked a fight with her, failed, got stressed, and smoked more than usual.
Whatever. Causality didn't matter.
Good riddance, you assholes.
The school's cancerous tumors had self-destructed. No need to dig deeper. If anything, it'd make my school life more pleasant—music to my ears.
"Guess nobles have drug money to burn. Us commoners wouldn't know."
I played it off casually with a smirk and flipped open my book. Propping my chin up, I stared blankly at the blackboard.
"......"
Boring.
The professor's passionate lecture shattered into nothingness before it even reached my ears. For a regressor like me, class was just a rerun I'd seen dozens of times. I was only here to avoid failing for absences, and my ass was starting to get bedsores from sitting.
It wasn't always like this.
I used to be a spirited student once.
'Babe!! Hit on her! Hit on her! Hit on her!'
Pumping myself up in the mirror every morning, eyes bloodshot as I roamed the academy.
'Yeah, let's aim for top of the class!! Top students are popular by the rules!!'
I'd mobilized every scrap of a regressor's knowledge to study my ass off. Thanks to that, I transferred to the mana-less theory-heavy Magic Engineering department and actually snagged top grades once.
But... the result was the same. Impotent me despaired again. Like a memory tasting of 99% cacao crayon.
But that's ancient history now.
"Hehehehe..."
A silly giggle slipped out before I knew it. Piarot's shy face, the feel of her in my arms, that sweet lemon scent. My brain was wallpapered pink.
Crack.
Something broke at the lectern.
"You there, Student Evan?"
The professor's icy voice. I looked up to see her brushing off snapped chalk, glaring at me.
"Grinning to yourself like that—must be too easy and boring, huh?"
"......"
"So confident? Come up and solve this one."
The blackboard had a fiendish magic formula even the professor had been stumped by.
Shit...
I inwardly tsked. Piarot thoughts had pickled my brain—reality sense numb.
But whatever. I'd escaped eternal singledom after 130 years! With the world's hottest babe as my girlfriend! Who gives a damn about this stale rerun?!
I shuffled to the board in a daze. My head still plotting dates with Piarot.
What to make for dinner? Steak? Nah, pasta?
My hand moved on autopilot. Chalk tapped the board briskly.
Tap, tap-tap, tap.
I scribbled the formula mechanically, no thought required.
"There, done."
I set down the chalk and turned to head back.
"Huh?"
"Th-this is..."
The classroom went dead silent, like ice water dumped over it. The professor rushed up, nose practically to the board. Her eyes scanned it frantically.
"Student Evan!!"
Her scream jolted me alert.
"Yes?"
"C-can you explain this formula? Where the hell did you learn it?!"
Her hand trembled.
I finally glanced back at the board.
Oh...
I'd written a revolutionary mana dynamics equation that upended current academia—stuff that wouldn't surface till graduation season. Fucked.
I broke into cold sweat, spinning a hasty excuse.
"Uh, no, I just... applied an existing formula and thought maybe it could work this way too... scribbled it out. Haha..."
I scratched my head to look as dumb as possible.
But the professor's eyes gleamed like a predator spotting prey.
"Student Evan..."
"Yes."
She didn't even erase the board, strode right up, and seized both my hands. Uncomfortable skinship.
"You... no interest in grad school?"
"......Pardon?"
"No, you have to! Wasting talent like this! You're our department's treasure! Come to my lab right now—"
"Uh, Professor? Hands... a bit..."
"No refusals. Eaten yet? I'll treat you to the best restaurant, we can talk—"
Hearts practically beaming from her eyes. Classmates shot me mix of "Who the fuck's this guy?" shock and "Poor bastard, grad school kidnapping incoming" pity.
Ah... miss Piarot.
Fresh off 130-year solo escape, now stalked by an old female prof. This harem too?
Damn.
Class ended, I ditched the prof(stalker) and bolted to Piarot's place.
"Phew... made it."
"Welcome back, Evan... You look exhausted."
Piarot greeted me at the door. One look at her face melted away the hellish day's fatigue like snow.
"Seriously, so much happened today."
I flopped on the sofa unwashed, spilling every academy tale—prof's grad kidnapping attempt to Paiman's drug bust.
"Oh my god... horrifying. You won't touch drugs, right Evan?"
She leaned her head on my shoulder, worried.
"Huh? Course not."
I grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"I've got something way more addictive than drugs—'Piarot.' Nothing else registers."
"Tch... smooth talker."
"For real?"
Playfulness struck; I tickled her side.
"Kyahaha! Stop! It tickles!"
"Lemme check for drug traces?"
"Ahaha! I surrender! Surrender!!"
We tumbled wrestling on the sofa. Balance gave out.
Thud.
I landed atop her on the cushions. Playful laughter cut short; a charged silence fell.
"Ah... Evan..."
She gazed up, face flushed, arms parting invitingly.
Moist eyes. Parted lips.
Boing!
I sprang up like a spring.
"H-ha... so... hot!! What's with this weather? Time to prep dinner, yeah?"
I fanned myself frantically, fleeing to the kitchen.
"Ah..."
Her sigh of disappointment stabbed my back.
Sorry, Piarot. I'm dying here too. My pants are one wrong move from bursting.
* Dinner time. She poked at her salad and spoke up.
"Evan... I'm really fine now."
"Ah... I'm the worried one. Scared something'll happen to you."
"I'm truly healthy now..."
"Not yet. Look at these dark circles."
I shook my head firmly. Her body's still recovering. Push too hard, she might collapse again.
"Alright, promise then."
I set down my chopsticks, declaring solemnly.
"When your dark circles vanish completely and the doc gives you a clean bill of 'healthy,'... I'll do anything you want."
"......Anything?"
"Yeah. That... naughty stuff too."
"Tch... I really am fine now."
She pouted.
"I'm not. If you get sick, my heart breaks."
I thumped my chest pleadingly.
"Think I'm some saint? I'm holding back desperately. 'Cause you're precious."
"......Got it."
She nodded shyly.
"Promise? No dark circles?"
"Of course. I... don't wanna hold back anymore either."
We hooked pinkies, thumbs stamping the pact.
** Four days later. Friday dinner done, chilling on the sofa.
"Woooof!! Evan!!"
Piarot comet-slammed into my arms. Like a giant dog worn out waiting for its owner.
I stroked her hair familiarly.
"What's up, princess? Bored?"
"No, not bored."
She nuzzled my chest, mumbling.
"I think... I'm 'Evan-addicted'..."
"Puhaha, what?"
"Don't laugh! I'm serious."
She snapped her head up, eyes teary, staring at me.
"When you left for class today... hands shaking, anxious, heart pounding..."
"Haha..."
"Right! Withdrawal symptoms! Can't breathe without you."
She hugged my waist tight.
This wasn't mere clinginess. To her, I was her sole lifeline to the world—oxygen tank equivalent.
"Truth is... me too."
I chuckled, confessing honestly.
"In class, prof's voice fades out; all I think is 'Did Piarot eat? Not crying alone?'"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Couldn't even take notes."
"Hehe..."
She beamed, then clenched a fist with resolved determination.
"Alright, decided!!"
"Huh?"
"I'll follow you to class starting tomorrow."
"......What?"
I blinked at her blankly. The shut-in witch volunteering for crowded lectures?
"You sure? People's stares still scare you."
"Yeah. Terrifying. Legs shake just thinking about it."
She admitted frankly. But then gripped my hand tight, voice clear.
"But... being apart from you scares me more."
"......!!"
"One minute without you hurts worse than an hour of stares. So I'll go."
Ah. What a mad lovebug. Something hot surged from my chest depths.
"Heh heh heh..."
"Wh-why laugh?"
"No... don't say stuff that sweet."
I crushed her in a hug, face to her shoulder.
"I'm melting here."
"Tch... me too."
We clung, savoring each other's warmth, inseparable for ages.
** Next day, dawn. We finished refreshing morning exercise and hearty breakfast. Then, the big moment: school prep.
I straightened her uniform—first time in two years—tidied her hair a bit.
"Piarot, really okay?"
"Yeah. 'Cause... I wanna be with you, Evan."
"Alright, let's go."