Research Life of a New Professor at Magic University - Chapter 34

TN: Changed Viscount Lacton to Earl Lacton.

Three beauties surrounded the small café table.
However, except for one blonde woman resting her chin on her hands, the others wore uncomfortable expressions.
It wasn’t the chairs’ fault; it was just that the situation was too awkward.

“……”

“……”

The situation was simply too awkward.

Arien and Claire were meeting for the first time.
Knowing each other’s existence while being strangers made the situation even more uncomfortable.

To Arien, Claire was a noble lady who had commissioned her for a project in her research lab.
To Claire, Arien was a graduate student in the professor’s research lab, tasked with making a sword.
There was no information beyond that.

They couldn’t call themselves friends, nor could they claim to have a particularly friendly relationship.

“Hello……”

“Oh, hi. Hello.”

“……”

“……”

It was difficult to pretend to know each other, yet they couldn’t act like they had never heard of each other.

In such moments, the role of a mediator is crucial.
This monumental task would naturally fall to Stella.

However, Stella didn’t seem to have that in mind at all.
She simply sat there with a smile as if finding the situation amusing.

‘Why on earth did she call for me?’

In fact, from Arien’s perspective, even Stella’s presence was quite awkward.
They had only exchanged greetings abruptly last time, without any further contact.
Stella was just a student who approached her with an overly enthusiastic attitude, enough to arouse suspicion even from Arien’s perspective.

Moreover, she was someone who uncomfortably pretended to be close to her.

Though Arien had been suspicious and wary of her intentions, a corner of her mind felt a little guilty now that she understood her motives a bit.

‘Why is she suddenly…!’

Claire couldn’t quite embrace the situation either.
While Arien knew something about Claire, Claire knew nothing about Arien.
All she knew was that Arien was Atwell’s assistant, Stella’s classmate, and an elf.

It was nice to converse with her sister after a while, but sometimes, her behavior was hard to follow.

“Um… You’re Professor Atwell’s assistant, right? I’m Claire Lacton, Stella’s sister. I placed the commission, and… No, never mind… Nice to meet you.”

“Yes. I’m Arienael.”

They awkwardly exchanged greetings.
Fortunately, there was at least something to talk about.

“Are you still staying at school?”

Claire looked at Stella pleadingly, but her sister just watched the awkward pair with a suppressed smile.

“Yes. Um… I’m glad to see my sister. I don’t have much else to do.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

Claire’s father, Earl Lacton, had instructed her to stay at the university until the commission was completed.
He wanted her to experience university life and spend time with her sister.
Claire couldn’t understand why he had given such an order, especially since she had plenty to do.
Of course, Stella knew the reason.

That’s why Claire felt slightly stifled wearing neat shirts and pants since the first day.
It wasn’t exactly casual wear, and though Stella didn’t say anything because it suited her better than a dress, it was still a bit annoying.

“Hey~ Why is our senior sighing deeply~ and looking like she’s about to die?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you! You’re sighing like it’s the end of the world!”

“What’s that supposed to mean…”

Arien was taken aback.
She glanced at Claire, wondering if Stella was teasing her, but Claire seemed curious, too.
Perhaps it was true that she had been in a gloomy mood.

“No, I wouldn’t want to worry you, Miss Stella.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you speaking to me so formally? Stella, try it! Stella.”

‘It’s not like that.’

Normally, they could pass each other on the street without acknowledging one another, but Stella suddenly became clingy.
However, Arien didn’t find it pleasant that the conversation dragged on like this, especially with the two Lactons present, making it awkward.

“…Stella, why did you summon me so suddenly?”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? ‘Our’ senior seemed troubled, so I called you! You shouldn’t need to hide things from me!”

Of course, they could pretend not to notice.

But Arien decided to just spill it out. Pointing it out wouldn’t make any difference anyway.
And she felt frustrated, so she wanted to vent.

“I’m just dealing with a bit of a tough situation.”

“Tough situation? What is it?”

“It’s nothing… Today, for some reason, nothing seems to stick in my head during lectures… Even when I try to study again, it doesn’t go well…”

“Did you have a hard time studying all day?”

“Yes, it feels like that.”

“Well… Isn’t it unnecessary to worry too much? Even I have days when I swing my sword, and everything goes smoothly, and days when it doesn’t…”

Feeling awkward just sitting there like a decorative pillar, Claire interjected.
Stella nodded vigorously upon hearing her words.

“Yeah! Isn’t it normal to have days like that? You’ll be fine in the future, so don’t dwell on it too much.”

But Arien’s mood didn’t improve. Today was just the beginning.
There would be even bigger challenges waiting for her in the next class.

“I feel like I’m lacking a bit.”

“You’re lacking?”

The two sisters exchanged glances upon hearing that sentence.
It was a choice of words that could be easily misunderstood; indeed, they misunderstood each other.

“Yes. I was just zoning out during class… No, I didn’t mean to zone out, but nothing was registering in my head.”

“Is it just today that you’re suddenly like this?”

“It was especially bad today, but it’s been like this lately. It seems to be getting worse.”

At that moment, Stella asked with a slightly ominous smile.

“Can you tell me what you were thinking about?”

“Um… that’s a bit…”

“Is it a secret? That’s mean.”

“No… it’s not really a secret, just a bit embarrassing to talk about.”

How could she explain the pointless thoughts she had while bored in class?
She couldn’t even remember them all.

“Embarrassed? Secret? Feeling inadequate?”

“…Yes? Well, yeah, kind of.”

Claire looked at Stella as if to say, “What pointless nonsense are you saying now?” But Stella, wearing a meaningful smile, casually exclaimed.

“Could it be Professor Atwell?”

Among Arien’s random thoughts, there had been some about Professor Atwell.
He often barged into every class like a regular, so she wondered if he would appear today, too.

So far, it had been too frequent and boring.
She had hoped he would show up today since she couldn’t focus on the lecture.
Ironically, his name didn’t come up today, as if it were a lie.

Anyway, it wasn’t helping.

“Um… Yes, that’s right.”

“Oh my.”

“…”

Stella covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Arien.
Claire’s eyes widened. She suddenly seemed to avoid eye contact as if she had heard something awkward.

“Really? Seriously?”

“Well, lately, he has always surprised me at the most random moments. Almost every time… Why do your expressions look like that?”

Arien had to spend nearly an hour explaining and dispelling misunderstandings.

Emotions of embarrassment, bewilderment, and absurdity were swirling in Arien’s mind.
But Stella continued to wear a sly smile, exchanging glances and exclamations.
Even Claire wore a subtle expression, avoiding eye contact.

It was clear that the misunderstanding hadn’t been completely cleared up yet.

“What on earth are you thinking? I mean, seriously… Do you think that makes any sense?”

“Oh, um, I’m sorry…”

“Why, why! It makes total sense!”

But even knowing that most of her imagination was just a misunderstanding, or rather because she knew it was a misunderstanding, Stella became even more excited and jumped in.

“Aren’t you two always together? Every day, in a closed room, even on weekends!”

Arien found Stella’s ability to depict the miserable situation where she was dragged along until the weekend in a bizarre way infuriating.

She wanted to snap.

How could romance flourish in a relationship closer to that of a slave and a slave owner?
But she couldn’t say it aloud.
The word ‘slave’ seemed like it would only cause more misunderstanding.
Plus, she didn’t want to make it worse with Claire, whom she barely knew.

“Stella, behave.”

“Oh! You should tell them to behave!”

“Sis, stop it. It’s embarrassing.”

“You two look good together though! The height matches, and the contrast between black and white, too! Wait, how can an elf have black hair and a human have silver? Isn’t it usually the other way around?”

“The professor’s hair is more white than silver.”

“Wow! You must have seen it up close! The true nature of him that only someone who spends every moment next to him could–”

“Stop it, Stella.”

Arien, unable to bear it anymore, spoke with a stern voice.

“Yes~ I’m sorry.”

But Stella showed no signs of backing down.
Arien had to be satisfied that at least she stopped teasing her.

“I was talking about the content of the magical studies class. Since I haven’t attended any classes in this subject, even a momentary lapse has resulted in this. I feel pathetic.”

“Um… But isn’t that nothing to worry about?”

Claire was the one who responded to that.

“The supervising professor, Professor Atwell, is the top authority in magical studies. He’s right there, so why not ask him?”

Arien pondered how to explain her embarrassing situation.

In fact, everyone knows that you can’t be too casual with your supervising professor if you’ve been to university.
But Claire, who had never been to university, understood the supervising professor with the sense of an academy homeroom teacher.
A sense of relief washed over Arien when Stella spoke up instead, thinking she might help.

“That’s obvious, Claire.”

“What are you trying to say now?”

“You see, women don’t like showing their flaws to potential interests….”

The sense of relief vanished instantly.

“I said stop it, Stella. If you say one more thing like that, I’ll get mad.”

Although she said it like that, Arien felt uneasy inside.
It would be childish to get angry and storm out just because Stella wouldn’t stop.
Fortunately, Stella didn’t embarrass her further.

After a brief silence, Claire, not Stella or Arien, spoke up.

“Um… Sis?”

“Yeah, what’s up, little sister?”

“…Why are you suddenly using that title? Anyway, aren’t you good at magical studies? You boasted about getting an A+ in ‘Intermediate Magical Studies’ last semester. You also mentioned taking an elemental studies class.”

“Yeah, so?”

Arien’s head shot up at Claire’s words.

“Intermediate Magical Studies” is a third-year major course in magical studies.
From its name alone, one can infer the existence of “Advanced Magical Studies,” a subject that students outside the magical studies department seldom take.
It’s even more challenging than “General Magical Studies,” which non-majors take.

Stella isn’t even in the magical studies department; she’s in the magic department.
It was impressive that she took and aced it in her second year.

On the other hand, Arien hadn’t taken any magical studies-related courses since her first year, aside from “Introduction to Magical Studies.”

“What do you mean by that? You call her a close senior, right? Then, help her out a bit. Stop causing trouble all the time.”

“Trouble! Little sister, what kind of language is that to use towards your sister!”

“Sis… Can’t you speak more normally?”

“Now you’re calling my speech abnormal? Claire, how do you see your sister!”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Arien watched the two engage in meaningless conversation with a mix of hope and expectation.
Whether they were upperclassmen or graduates, it’s natural not to know the content of courses you haven’t taken.
It’s a miracle that Arien has kept up with fourth-year magical studies courses until now, considering she hasn’t taken “Intermediate Magical Studies” or even “General Magical Studies.”

As Stella gave up on responding, she looked at Arien with a kind smile.

“Senior?”

“Y-yes?”

“Are we really close, senior?”

It seems Arien has been keeping a strange distance all along.
There was only one answer she could give here.

“Yes, we are.”

“Then can I call you big sister?”

“……”

“Senior?”

“Yes.”

“Is it really okay?”

“……Yes.”

“Great, big sis! We’re practically siblings now!”

Though it wasn’t appropriate to say in a place where real siblings were present, Claire pretended not to hear.
She had given up on rebutting her sister’s every word since she was young.

Arien felt relieved that Stella didn’t say, “Nice to meet you, sister!” or the like.

“However~”

At that moment, Stella whispered almost imperceptibly, her lips barely moving, so quietly that Claire, right next to her, wouldn’t hear.

Only Arien, being an elf, could hear it.

Stella didn’t approach Arien but whispered as if directly into her ear.

“You’ll have to help me too, alright?”

Arien nodded with an uneasy expression at Stella’s mischievous grin.