Chapter 638: Lab Members (1/2)

Finished with my lunch, I came to Erina's lab with Alyssa and Iris.

[Unnn? Ahh, the three of you are here~~]

Erina, dressed in a lab coat, greeted us with a soft smile on her lips as she was reaching out for the lab equipment in front of her.

[……You're…… caramelizing something…… again.]

[There are infinite possibilities in caramel after all~~]

[No, I don't think so…… You're still the same as usual, aren't you, Eri-chan-sensei?]

Watching Erina making caramelized stuff again, Iris and Alyssa chuckled. Watching her add caramels to all the sweet she has, a thought suddenly popped out in my mind.

[……Arehh? Where's the baby castellas?]

[Unnn? Baby castellas? Ahh, those sweets sold in festivals, right? They were tasty too…… I don't get to eat them quite often though……. So, why did you mention baby castellas?]

[Eh? No…… I wonder why?]

[Ahaha, Kaito-kun, you weirdo.]

That's strange? Why did the word ”baby castella” suddenly come up in my mind? For some reason, I imagined Erina heartily eating baby castellas, but I don't remember seeing her like that.

However, I somehow feel like her eating baby castellas strangely fit her…… Seriously, what in the world is going on?

[Did the others arrive already? Like Riri-senpai or Liddy-senpai?]

[Hmmm, those two still weren’t here yet. Fae-chan is already here though.]

[Oya? Fae-san is here huh…… So, where is she?]

[……Unnn, she’s sleeping in my nap bed.]

[……I see…… I'll go wake her up.]

[I'm counting on you~~]

The two senpais that Alyssa mentioned, Riri-senpai and Liddy-senpai, are senpais who belong to Erina's lab.

Saigyouji Ririka-senpai, the winner of the national kendo tournament, is a young woman of great talents, and Liddy Quanette-senpai, an archery master and an exchange student like Iris-san.

Both of them are very kind and have helped me in many ways. I mean, Erina's lab only has six members, so the members get along very well with each other.

[……Come to think of it, I know it's too late to ask this now, but why does our lab have so few members?]

[Unnn? Ahh, there are lots of people who want to join but…… you see, I'm the youngest of all the professors. So, it would be a bit complicated if a novice had so many people in my lab. That's why, I asked them to join other labs instead.]

[Heehhh…… So there really is such a thing as power relations between cliques……]

[Ahaha, they're troublesome to deal with though~~. Well, for me, it's better to have a small number of people so that I can keep an eye on everyone.]

To put it bluntly, Erina is very popular in the university. She's cute and kind, so it isn't that surprising. However, as the youngest professors, she seems to have her own share of troubles, and she sometimes comes to my home to complain.

Well, it may not exactly be the same as that saying where ”the nail that sticks out gets hammered down”, but the young and talented Erina probably stands out in many ways.

[……Rather, our laboratory is quite famous in the university, you know? After all, we have ”Yumegaoka's Three Great Beauties” and ”Yumegaoka's Three Great Cuties”. Anyway, come on now, Fae-san. Please wake up already.]

[Umyuu…… Three…… years more……]

[That's way too long!]

Alyssa came back, pulling a girl with light purple twin-tails, a laptop on her chest, and large-sized casual clothes…… Fae-san.

[……Hello, Fae-san.]

[Uwaaahh? Ahh, if it isn't Kai-chan and Ai-tan. Yahhoooo~~……]

After tepidly greeting with a sleepy expression on her face, Fae-san sat down on a chair in the lab…… or rather, Alyssa made her sit on it.

At that moment, Iris-san slightly tilted her head and turned towards Alyssa.

[……Alyssa…… That three somethings…… you said just now…… What was that?]

[Oya? Iris-san haven't heard about it? In our university…… here in Yumegaoka University, there are people who are called the Three Great Beauties and Cuties. Incidentally, the Three Great Beauties are Riri-senpai, Liddy-senpai…… and Iris-san.]

[……Eh? ……Me?]

[Yes. And the Three Great Cuties are Fae-san, Eri-chan-sensei…… and this cute me!]

Iris-san tilted her head curiously when she saw Alyssa saying this with a smug look on her face. Well, Iris-san has a low self-esteem, so she's probably think ”Why me?”.

Looking at it objectively though, there's no reason why Iris-san shouldn't shouldn't be counted in it……]

[……Everyone in it…… are members of the lab……]

[That's right, and my guess is that…… this is the reason why our lab is insanely popular, and we're flooded with applicants. Well, Eri-chan-sensei refuses to accept those people with such evil intentions though.]

[Hmmm, I don't really like how they call me that though. I'm an adult, so I'd rather they call me a beauty…… Why is it that I'm not counted in the beauties?]

[……No, well, it's because Erina is small, isn't it……]