Chapter 136 (1/2)

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With Mille and Katy

When Hikaru woke up, he found himself covered in a blanket. Too much sleep made his head feel heavy. The dim, blue sky outside suggested not a lot of time had pa.s.sed since daybreak.

「I overslept.」

Having his head stroked by Lavia, he fell asleep right away and woke up the next day. He was starving. He rose from the bed, and the chilly air in the room made him s.h.i.+ver a bit. Winter was fast approaching.

「I wonder where Lavia went.」

Hikaru got out of bed and donned a robe from the closet. As he left the bedroom, Lavia returned.

「Good morning, Hikaru.」

「Good morning. Did you go outside?」

「Yeah. I figured you'd be up soon.」

Steam rose from the bag she was carrying. She bought food—deep-fried bread and cheese, and bean soup in a pitcher. Serve those with bacon from the magic fridge and they had perfectly good breakfast.

「Thanks. I was just starving.」

「You're welcome…」

「What's wrong?」

She looked glum.「Paula had been the one making breakfast. But buying is better than me cooking.」

「Ah…」

Hikaru didn't really cook either. While Lavia was picky, she couldn't really make the effort to cook—quite the complicated girl.

There was a market nearby and there were plenty of food stands. Nothing wrong with buying food just after dawn, but it certainly felt dull.

Once they finished breakfast, Hikaru cleaned himself. After grooming himself, he left their place together with Lavia.

They were headed to the academy. Once winter came, cla.s.ses were cancelled. However, the inst.i.tution was still open, so people could still continue their research or hole up in the library.

Hikaru discussed the trip to Zubura once more with Lavia over breakfast. She didn't really have any problems with it, so Hikaru decided to prepare for the trip after talking to some people.

Lavia said there was a book she needed to finish reading so she headed to the library, and Hikaru made his way to Building C just in case.

This place does have the atmosphere of a real school or a university…

One of the reasons why Hikaru decided to study here was because he missed actually going to school a little.

I didn't really do things that a normal student would, though.

He got into an argument during enrollment, his instructor Professor Mille was a drunkard, he helped create the student alliance, and refined his Stealth.

If there was anything he actually learned, it was body movement useful for his Stealth. For Hikaru who had no prior knowledge about martial arts, Mille was a blessing. He absorbed information like a sponge drew water, and further developed his already broken Stealth.

Stealth is my lifeline so I have to improve on it more.

Right now the late Unken—at this point, Hikaru didn't know he was dead—would've been exasperated, asking him how far was he going to take it. But Hikaru thought there was still much more to his Skill. There should still be things he could learn here in the academy.

Hikaru squinted as he arrived in Building C, a refurbished tool shed. The door was open, and the smell of alcohol drifted from within. By Hikaru's feet were a pair of boots. Pants lay on the floor up ahead, and then a cardigan, and…

「Dead drunk again…」

Mille, who only had a s.h.i.+rt on, snored as she slept. Hikaru picked up two bean-sized stones and hurled them into the Professor's nose. She quickly got up.

「Ugh! Th-This feels familiar…!」

「You're awake.」

Mille stared at Hikaru who stood at the door.

「What happened to our agreement, Professor? I told you to stop drinking too much. I believe the limit was three gla.s.ses. Also you'll catch a cold if you sleep without clothes on in this weather—」

「H-Hikaru? Is that you?」

She stood up, staggering. Hikaru thought she was acting strange.

「Hikaruuuuuuuuu!」

「Wha?!」

Mille leaped towards Hikaru, practically tackling him. Caught off-guard, he couldn't dodge it, and was knocked down.

「Huh? Uh, Professor?」

「You're alive! I'm sho glad you're okay!」

「Of course I am.」

「I-I haven't heard from you ever since you went to Borderzard. P-People said you might be dead…」

「What?!」

Mille was a mess; she reeked of booze and her make-up had come off, but he couldn't get her off of him. She was apparently worried about him.

The Four Stars had told Claude and the others about Hikaru's well-being. But Claude, together with Luka, headed to Jarazack, with Professor Mikhail as their bodyguard. Silvester and Catherine went back to their respective homes. Only Mille was left clueless.

Mille only knew that Hikaru made his way to Borderzard to solve the monster problem in Un el Portan. Waves of monsters surged towards the town, and the Adventurers Guild called for reinforcement. One would think it wasn't something a lone student from the academy could handle. And a few professors seemed to have stirred things up. They talked about how the adventurers in Borderzard were wiped out, loud enough so Mille could hear them. The princ.i.p.al warned them not to spread unreliable information, however.

「Oh… Sounds like they're having fun spreading fake news.」

Names were added to Hikaru's list of people he'd need to teach a lesson one day. He pushed Mille away and raised his body up.

「B-But I really thought you were dead…」

「As you can see, I'm alive and kicking. Have more faith in me.」

「But…」