SRS 57

“…He said he’s going to bring someone out?”

Yohan thought about the headmaster’s parting words, his expression thoughtful, before he found himself surrounded by his classmates from Divine Studies.

“…Sorry we couldn’t help you, Yohan.”

“Yes, I’m sorry too. We were just… really desperate.”

“Thank you, Yohan Herse!”

“You too, Mikael!”

“Right, Mikael, I never thought you’d step up like that. I’ll never forget this favor. Every night when I pray, I’ll make sure to mention both your names before God, and I’ll…”

“Alright, alright, calm down, Shan.”

Yohan soothed the friend who was speaking so fast he could barely breathe. Honestly, he’d been a bit hurt by all the anxious looks aimed at him during the headmaster’s announcement, but he couldn’t really blame them. In their position, he probably wouldn’t have volunteered either.

“It’s fine.”

He comforted the friends who looked guilty. Then, to escape the awkward situation, and to question Mikael about earlier, he grabbed him by the wrist.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. More importantly, I need to talk to Mikael for a minute about what happened earlier.”

“Of course!”

“Go ahead! We’ll come find you if something happens!”

His friends waved cheerfully. Maybe it was because the angel professor was gone, or maybe because class had been canceled, but everyone looked far livelier than last week.

Good, I was starting to worry they were all getting weird.

Feeling relieved, Yohan led Mikael away. He followed without resistance, his attitude completely different from when he’d stubbornly ignored Yohan’s signals to back down earlier.

When they reached the Rose Garden beyond Building 1, Yohan looked around carefully to make sure no one was nearby before turning to face him. His golden eyes scrutinized Mikael.

“Mikael.”

“Yes.”

“You…”

“You’re going to ask why I did that, right? I just wanted to help. You already have so much to do, so if you had to take on assistant work too, it’d be too much.”

Before Yohan could even finish talking Mikael answered like he’d rehearsed it in advance. Yohan blinked, momentarily speechless, while Mikael calmly continued.

“It looked like the headmaster only did it because he was curious about you. You don’t have to go along with his little games, Yohan. I’ll take on half the load so you can focus on what you need to do.”

Maybe it was because they shared the same kind of power, but Mikael didn’t like the headmaster. Yohan froze when he heard the contemptuous tone, forgetting his irritation for a moment.

Well, from an angel’s point of view, the headmaster’s behavior probably did seem careless. He found himself agreeing without meaning to, then quickly caught himself.

“That was too much. You know what the headmaster is like. He’s definitely going to create a situation where you’ll have to use divine power.”

Yohan’s own trust in the headmaster wasn’t much higher. That was exactly why he was worried. Remembering how the man had grinned even as the door was closing when Yohan brought him the divine beast’s egg, he knew the headmaster had an unhealthy fascination with anything that caught his interest. Drawing his attention never led anywhere good.

While Yohan was thinking that, Mikael pressed his finger to the furrow between Yohan’s brows.

“It’s fine, so calm down. You’re going to give yourself away with that expression before the headmaster even does anything.”

“…”

Yohan stepped back and rubbed his forehead. The crease was gone, but he still couldn’t tell what kind of expression he was wearing.

“Don’t overdo it.”

“I’m not that kind of person.”

“…That is true.”

Judging by the past month, Mikael wasn’t exactly the kind of person who showed blind devotion to anything.

…Or maybe he used to be. His past, the one he’d once told Yohan about, was so different that it was fair to say he’d become a completely different person since then.

Yohan took a breath. Now that Mikael had spoken up and the headmaster had already decided, there was nothing an ordinary student like him could do to change things. He’d just been too frustrated not to say anything.

But before leaving, he called out again.

“Mikael.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re a bit late on that, huh?”

Mikael paused for a heartbeat, then chuckled softly, teasing him.

“…I am sorry.”

Even though he knew it was just a joke, Yohan apologized earnestly. He’d only recently realized that whenever he felt indebted to someone, he couldn’t stand leaving it unresolved. He’d rather address it than push it aside, and that habit always made him postpone what he really needed to say. It was something he’d learned about himself thanks to Mikael, Suhyeok, and Kylus.

Because he wanted to change that, he admitted it without excuses. Mikael blinked and sighed.

“I can’t even tease you anymore. …It’s fine, Yohan. If you’re fine, I am fine too.”

He patted Yohan’s shoulder twice, then nodded toward the dorms. “Come on, we’ve some free time for once. Let’s rest.”

Yohan didn’t refuse and followed him back toward Room 304. Their steps fell into the same rhythm.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Yohan! Is it true? You’re really going to be a Divine Studies teaching assistant? Wait…more importantly, is it true that the headmaster himself is going to teach you guys?”

The moment the break after first period began, two men came running down the hall and swarmed in Room 304, shouting about the explosion at Building 1.

Catching their breath, they slumped into chairs while Yohan handed them glasses of water.

“Haah… ha… oh, thank you.”

Suhyeok took the glass and emptied it in one gulp. After catching his breath, he frowned. His breathing had returned to a normal rhythm, but his agitation from bursting into the room obviously hadn’t.

“So, is it true? What happened? I’ve been hearing all sorts of things from people.”

“I heard that the Divine Studies professor and the Magic Studies professor fought.”

“Right, and that Building 1 was blew up by Professor Hegel, so all the first-period classes there were canceled.”

The two friends asked for details, and Yohan answered without hesitation.

“To put it simply, everything you heard is true.”

“All of it?”

Suhyeok gasped, then coughed as he choked on his breath. Thump, thump. Kylus gave him a few firm pats on the back, though judging by the sound, he was more irritated than sympathetic.

“Ow…”

Grimacing, Suhyeok straightened his back and looked at Yohan.

“I honestly thought at least one part would be wrong, but everything was true? Then you becoming an assistant too…”

“Technically, Mikael and I both became assistants.”

“…”

Kylus clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Yohan, you said just a few hours ago that you wouldn’t take on more work.”

“That’s what I wanted to say. You said you wouldn’t get caught by any professors… well, he’s not exactly a professor. That’s the problem…he’s worse.”

“That was foolish.”

“Reckless, too.”

The two of them took turns scolding him. Yohan averted his gaze, embarrassed. In their position, he’d feel the same. Only that morning he’d insisted everything would be fine, that his schedule was manageable. And now, barely two hours later, he’d not only taken on new work but also attracted the headmaster’s attention. No wonder they thought he’d lost his mind.

Like a moth diving into fire.

However, it wasn’t entirely fair. He hadn’t jumped in; the headmaster had practically grabbed him by the collar and dragged him in.

“Don’t be too harsh. This whole thing was the headmaster’s decision. It’s not like Yohan did anything to cause it, and it wasn’t exactly a situation where he could say no.”

Mikael spoke up on his behalf.

Yohan almost felt moved, until he saw the exasperated looks on his friends’ faces.

“…You two really can’t go a day without trouble.”

Suhyeok sighed and shook his head.

“Yes, well, what’s done is done. You’re already an assistant, so just do it properly. Do it well, and make sure none of that attention spreads to our room.”

“…That’s not really something I can control, but I’ll try.”

Yohan wiped the sweat from his neck at the impossible request. Suhyeok chuckled.

“I’m kidding. It’s just such wild news, I had to check if it was true. And, well, tease you a bit for dragging chaos everywhere. You won’t be able to attend your major classes on the days you assist, right? I’ll take notes for Herbology. You can copy them later.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“…Don’t thank him, Yohan.”

“Huh?”

“Im Suhyeok’s notes are impossible to read.”

“…”

Thud!

The two of them immediately started throwing punches and blocking each other’s while rolling across the floor. Yohan watched the scuffle while sipping his water, he was already used to it.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

The noisy but familiar break ended, and second-period arrived. Yohan waited in the courtyard of Building 1 for the headmaster. It was his first class as an assistant, and even though he tried to stay calm, he was still feeling a little nervous.

A moment later, the headmaster descended from the sky.

But instead of his usual loose white robes, he was dressed in an ornate ceremonial outfit.

The gold decorations made him twice as radiant as usual, and Yohan’s nervousness doubled with it. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how this class was going to go.