I Get to Sleep in the Same Bed as Master…

“Hhhic... Professor, I really can't do any moreeh...”

“You've still got more in you. I believe in your stamina and perseverance.”

“Nnngh... hhhnngh... can't... can't do it...”

Cersi's breathing grew rougher and rougher. The flush spreading across her face turned the surrounding air to heat. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek and dropped, drip, from the line of her jaw.

“Please, please just let me finishiih... almost... almost don— hhhyaagh!”

With a long, sweeping stroke, Cersi completed the final sentence on the parchment and let her quill droop from her fingers.

“Haah... haah...”

I pulled out the parchment pinned beneath her as she lay slumped over the desk, struggling for breath.

“It passes.”

“Y-you like it? Is it done? Hehe, heheh...”

I had assigned Cersi a stack of additional papers to write following her thesis on multi-phase dungeons, handing over nothing but my own knowledge and the wiki materials I'd compiled. I did have a paper-writing skill of my own, but for anything practical, she was far more meticulous — so on the condition that she be listed as co-author, I'd left the writing to her.

“I was shocked when you suddenly decided to publish papers. Where on earth were you keeping all these ideas?”

“Just as a merchant's credibility rests on his receipts, I figured a professor's credibility rests on his papers. I'm behind everyone else, so I intend to pile them up faster than the rest.”

“Hehet, thank you for giving me the chance, too. Goodness, a co-authored paper with you, Professor! They're saying the multi-phase dungeon thesis is already slated for inclusion in the Royal Library of the Kingdom?”

“So I hear.”

“That's an enormous honor! You could stand to be a little more excited about it, you know?”

Time was always the problem. The papers were for my reputation as a professor, so they ranked low on my priorities.

What mattered most to me right now, above everything else, were the students of Earth House.

With only one lecture on dungeon studies a week in the regular curriculum, I had resolved to devote every remaining hour to teaching Earth House students. The dormitory lectures, where only house residents gathered to receive instruction from their presiding professor, took place once a week. Since I needed to focus on the first-years for now, I'd handed the second-years over to Cersi for the time being. The one remaining third-year, meanwhile, seemed to have holed up somewhere and vanished.

The reason I'd put Cersi in charge of the second-years was that most of them were the passionless type — students who had already given up on their studies. If they came to me first, that would be another matter, but I had no spare capacity to chase after the unmotivated.

Dividing up the rest of the week, the math worked out to two hours of one-on-one tutoring for each of the twenty-four first-years, and I had already finished arranging the schedule with the students.

“Professor, don't you ever get tired? I've never once seen you rest.”

Cersi was right — I'd been working nonstop, drawing up individual curricula for every single student. That was exactly why I'd handed her the papers.

“I'm human too. Of course I get tired. But you rest only once the work is done.”

“You're so strict. Is there anything else I can help with?”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

I passed her the next batch of materials I'd prepared.

“Do you know what awaits you once this paper is finished?”

“Uh...”

“Writing the next paper.”

“Tch, just kill me now.”

“You're an orc, aren't you? Pull yourself together.”

“Uuuugh...”

Even as she groaned about dying, Cersi instinctively began jotting down the outline of the next paper. Mana flowed into her quill, and lines of text filled themselves in as though auto-completing.

I opened up her wiki page.

Keep her buried in departmental work, and her skill levels kept climbing right along with her. She was loyal to me, and she would be an enormous help for a long time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to come.

As I continued working, knock knock — came the sound of knuckles on the door. I told them to come in, and there stood Tia at the front, with Luca and Yuri behind her.

“Professor! It's gotten so late — aren't you hungry? Have a snack!”

Tia beamed and set a plate on the desk, piled with freshly baked, still-warm cookies. A rich, nutty aroma tickled my nose.

“Ah, I came because I was wondering when you ever sleep, Professooor...”

“Just felt like it.”

Yuri and Luca offered their greetings too.

“Is that alright?”

I wasn't especially fond of sweets, but thinking of how hard Tia must have worked on her baking at this late hour, a smile rose to my face on its own.

“As it happens, I could use the sugar. Cersi, take a short break.”

“Really? Hehet, I'll go use the restroom then!”

Cersi shot out of the office like an arrow, as if she'd been waiting for exactly that.

I broke off a corner of one of Tia's cookies and slipped it into my mouth. The gooey chocolate chip melted softly against my tongue.

“Mm. This is delicious.”

“Hehet. I-I'm actually pretty confident in my cooking. I used to make things for my grandfather all the time.”

“I see. It's good enough to sell commercially as-is. How would you feel about sitting in on some cooking lectures here at the Academy?”

“Cooking? They have lectures for that?”

“Adventurers and food go hand in hand. When a cook is skilled enough, the food they make can even grant beneficial buffs mid-battle.”

“Whoa, I had no idea. But cooking isn't one of the graduation exam subjects, is it?”

“It is.”

I handed her a list compiling all the graduation exam subjects.

“There were this many subjects you could take? Incredible...”

“I expected the unpopular ones like Spirit Magic or Demon Hunting, but there's even Herbology on here. I doubt a soul signs up for that.”

Yuri and Luca, too, pored over the list as though it were some marvel, scanning down line after line.

“There IS a cooking exam! Maybe I really should try... Wait, is there a curriculum for it right now?”

Tia turned to me with the question.

“Not at the moment. But if it happens, I could teach it myself.”

“You, Professor? Personally?”

“That's right. I have my fair share of cooking experience. I've even collected recipes from all over the continent on my travels.”

“C-cooking lessons, just the two of us...”

Tia swallowed hard. Yuri stepped forward in front of her.

“P-Professor. It's late today, so let's leave the counseling for later, okaaay...? When are you going to sleep? If you stay up too late, tomorrow will be hard on you.”

“Hmm. It is getting late, isn't it.”

“W-well, right now we're all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠using separate rooms, aren't we? No matter how close the rooms are, it feels a little... lonely. So starting tonight, we were thinking of taking turns sleeping with you.”

“You girls and me? One at a time? No, surely that's going a bit...”

“I-it's fine! I'll just sleep, that's all! Besides, I won rock-paper-scissors today!”

Yuri glared with those scarlet eyes of hers, puffing steam through her nose. She had always had trouble falling asleep alone, so — would she really be alright?

They were still children who needed looking after. And yet, in a way, it made me happy too.

“Alright.”

At my answer, Yuri's luxuriant tail shot straight up and began wagging at blinding speed. It seemed she'd finally found some peace of mind.

“Don't worry. Tomorrow is my turn.”

“Tch. Fine, I guess.”

Tia and Luca wore complicated expressions — satisfied and disappointed all at once.

“I'll turn in in an hour. Everyone worked hard today as well. Go on ahead and get some rest.”

“Yes, sir.”

The three answered in perfect harmony and filed out of the office. Cersi slipped back in as they left, trading places.

“Professor — those three were recommended students, weren't they?”

“That's right.”

“You admitted them the latest of anyone, yet you've all grown close so quickly. Are you really alright with students you didn't hand-pick yourself? You have to graduate every one of them with an Opticulum, after all.”

“If it's those three, they're the ones I worry about least in all of Earth House.”

I answered with complete conviction.

“Recommended students, hm.”

There was one more recommended student, however.

Imperial Princess Ashley Condenburg.

That one would need a little more attention.

“Hehe, hehet.”

Yuri could not contain the giggles that kept escaping her, entirely without her permission.

How long had it been since she last slept beside her Master? Already she was imagining burying her face in that broad chest of his and breathing in deep, and her face melted into a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silly, helpless smile.

“Nightgown... I bought a pretty one because Xuehua recommended it. And I've put on perfume, too.”

For beastkin, who carried strong natural scents, perfume was an especially popular commodity.

Fine perfumes were expensive, affordable only to the wealthy, but even commoner beastkin fussed constantly over their scent, dabbing on fragrant herb juices throughout the day.

These days, Yuri had steeled herself and splurged on a high-grade heartblossom perfume in preparation for her time with Wicker, and she wore it everywhere.

“O-okay. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Here I go. I'm sleeping in the same bed as my Master.”

If they lay under the same blanket together, surely she could touch him naturally now and then. Surely the mood could turn... pleasant.

And then, if things went on like that...

Yuri found herself swinging her enormous tail back and forth, back and forth, without meaning to.

She stepped out of her still-unpacked room and headed for Wicker's. She knocked and waited a moment. No matter what she did, the tension would not leave her shoulders.

Click — the door opened at once.

“A-Orabeoni! I-I'm in your care tonight...”

“Come in.”

Wicker greeted her evenly, his face calm and unbothered. Yuri stepped slowly into his room.

It was a chair professor's quarters, all right — a bedroom that would not have been out of place in a count's estate. Every last article of clothing was put away, neat without a single exception.

“You must be tired. Lie down.”

It was an enormous bed, built to sleep four. Before she knew it, Yuri had done as Wicker said and was lying on the mattress. Her body simply moved on its own — such was the bond between master and servant.

This feels... kind of wonderful.

The fact that she was entrusting her body's every movement to the person she treasured most sent a shiver and a sense of safety through her all at once.

“Oh? It's not uncomfortable at all.”

Because of their tails, most beastkin could not sleep lying flat on their backs. Yet Yuri, stretched out properly on the bed, felt the soft mattress supporting her body perfectly.

“I had it prepared before you arrived. The mattress is built so the section under your hips can be removed.”

“Oh — you're right. Thank you...”

“Then let's get some sleep.”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Wicker switched off the main light and raised a soft glow from the lamps beneath the bed. The dimmer the light, the sharper her senses grew — and the faster her heart pounded.

Whew. Whew.

Yuri slowly finished steeling herself. She buried her twitching ears in the pillow and waited for Wicker to lie down beside her.

His breathing drew closer and closer.