SRS 116

“…I feel weird.”

“…Huh, me too. It feels like it is confessing to you.”

“…….”

The fact that he couldn’t refute Suhyeok’s words made Yohan even more flustered. The mandrake’s shy expression and bashful gestures perfectly portrayed the situation after someone confessed their feelings. Yohan, who had closed his eyes, opened them again after a long while. But the scene before him didn’t change.

Swish, swish.

Since Yohan wasn’t touching them, the mandrake waved its root, it was probably saying “Catch my leaves.”

“Catch them?”

Nod, nod.

Now able to move its body freely, the mandrake could even nod its head.

“…Is it a gift?”

Nod, nod.

“……”

Yohan exchanged a glance with Suhyeok. It felt awkward, but seeing the mandrake like that was even more embarrassing, so he decided to just take it once. He approached, reached out, and grasped the leaf.

“…Thank you.”

The mandrake beamed at the polite thank you, it leapt up and landed on the back of Yohan’s hand. Soon after, the creature quickly crawled up Yohan’s arm and sat on his shoulder.

It pointed its roots forward, signaling to depart. Yohan looked back and forth between the leaf he’d received and the mandrake. He’d wondered what this sudden gift was, but it seemed to be an advance payment for using him as transportation.

“Wow, spirit plants are agile these days.”

Suhyeok marveled at the creature’s resourcefulness. Yohan felt his head throbbing as he stood up.

“…Alright, let’s go together.”

To the professor’s office.

Given the situation, it seemed he’d have to carry the spirit plant on his shoulder and visit Professor Will’s office.

But when Yohan actually went to see Professor Will, he received a disappointing answer.

“It seems the mandrake chose to stay with you, Yohan. It would be absurd for me to handle a mandrake whose self was completed by your divine power. Take it and live together. Didn’t the Mandrake King ask you to?”

“…Ah.”

So that’s what he meant by “request”?

So Suhyeok was right after all, Professor Will had deliberately ignored the spirit plant walking around. Faced with the professor’s intention to hand the spirit plant over, Yohan repeatedly declined, insisting it was fine. Yet in the end, he had to leave the office cradling the spirit plant in his arms.

-Heh heh.

The mandrake in his arms chuckled unpleasantly. Wondering why the laughter sounded like that, Yohan sighed. His mind was cluttered by the companion mandrake he’d suddenly ended up with.

Suhyeok watched the pensive Yohan, shrugged his shoulders and asked.

“Couldn’t you just leave it behind?”

“…It’d probably follow.”

“Like burying it in the woods and running away?”

“I’d get punished for that.”

“Punished? By whom?”

By whom indeed. Probably the Mandrake King, who entrusted this plant to him…

Swallowing words he couldn’t voice, Yohan hoisted the mandrake onto his shoulder. Anyway, both the Mandrake King and Professor Will had entrusted this plant to him, so he had to take it. If he left it behind and Professor Will found out, he’d get demerits, or worse, if the mandrake ran off to the Mandrake King and reported being abandoned, it would be Yohan who’d have a miserable school life.

Suhyeok chuckled at Yohan’s resigned acceptance of reality.

“Spirits, divine beasts, mandrakes… Seems like mysterious creatures see you differently. Judging by how they all cling to you.”

“…Yes.”

Spirits were one thing, but the other two were unwanted popularity for Yohan. As Yohan complained, Suhyeok laughed and accepted his lament.

First-years murmured as they saw the two crossing the hallway toward the dormitory. Yohan realized another nickname and title had been bestowed upon him.

This, too, was something he hadn’t wanted.

“Yohan. The students are calling you “The One Spirit Plant Follows.” What’s this about… Ah.”

Mikael, who had been asking the question while opening the door to Room 304, fell silent upon seeing Yohan seated on the chair and the mandrake perched atop his head. He didn’t answer, but the sight alone seemed to satisfy his curiosity.

Yohan gave a sad smile to his friend, who now looked lost about what to say to him.‎

‎

‎

“…That’s how it happened.”

“…You’ve been through a lot.”

After closing the door and stepping fully into the room, Mikael asked what had happened. Once all his friends had gathered, Yohan explained the circumstances that led him to being forced to adopt the mandrake. Mikael was most shocked by the fact he’d encountered the World Tree, while Suhyeok laughed hardest at the story of asking that World Tree for hints on his assignment.

Yohan glared at his friend, who was laughing so hard he was falling backward, then picked up the mandrake, who was perched on his head.

“Then this one kept following me around, so I ended up bringing it. The Mandrake King and Professor Will both asked me to take care of it.”

“So basically, our dorm just gained another resident, a spirit plan on top of the divine beast.”

-Heh heh.

“We’re complaining and it’s laughing again?”

The students of Room 304 gathered around to examine the mandrake. Under the stares fixed on it, the mandrake’s face… well, the part that could be called its face… turned red.

“Looks like it’s embarrassed?”

“Yes. It was like this earlier too. Guess it’s pretty shy.”

“Can’t it talk?”

“Almost? It can laugh, cry, scream, or answer ‘yes’.”

“With that much, it should be able to learn to talk. Should we teach it? It’s the vocal organs, right?”

At Mikael’s suggestion, Yohan shook his head. He was already tired enough; dealing with a talking mandrake would be twice as exhausting.

Mikael was a little disappointed, but said he’d help anytime if Yohan wanted, then got up.

“By the way, since it’s a plant, shouldn’t it have a pot? If it keeps wandering around with its roots exposed like that, it’ll catch a cold.”

“I agree. This situation does feel a bit like mandrake abuse.”

“…Then should we get one from Professor Will?”

“Well, I’m not sure a regular pot would work. It’s a mandrake that can move around, wouldn’t that be uncomfortable? We probably need something like a mobile pot.”

A mobile pot?

There’s no such thing. Making one themselves would be quicker.

When Yohan groaned, Suhyeok clapped his hands.

“Ah! Why don’t we ask that dwarf craftsman we met in the commercial district to make one? We can take the mandrake into the commercial district.”

“But we don’t have access passes.”

“Ask the headmaster. You’re close with him, right, Yohan?”

“I’m not close with him.”

“Suhyeok. Stop picking on Yohan.”

When Yohan became stressed by Suhyeok’s attempts to create a friendship between him and the headmaster, Kylus stepped in. He pointed at the Suhyeok, and spoke up for Yohan.

Then Mikael mentioned Professor Will.

“Since Professor Will told you to grow this, shouldn’t we ask him for access passes or for help getting a pot?”

“Oh.”

“Is that so?”

“That seems most plausible.”

With unanimous agreement from the remaining three, the path to obtaining a pot was decided. Yohan left the dormitory again with the mandrake in hand. He planned to hurry and meet Professor Will before his general class began.

“Let’s go with you.”

“If I go alone, the professor might glare at me.”

“We’ll go with you and help if needed.”

Yohan was a little touched that the three agreed to accompany him on this journey. He wondered if it might be a bit much, but he couldn’t voice such thoughts in front of those who had stepped forward for him.

“Thank you.”

His premonition was also somewhat ominous, so Yohan didn’t refuse their kindness. He went with them to Professor Will’s office and knocked. The offices and research labs of the first-year professors were right in the building next to the lecture halls, so the walk wasn’t far.

When they knocked, Professor Will himself greeted the four students.

“Yohan? What brings you here?”

Professor Will blinked when Yohan, who had left, returned in less than half an hour. Yohan recited the request he’d rehearsed with his friends on the way. He made himself sound pitiful, holding up the mandrake and exposing its roots. Professor Will looked down at the bare-rooted plant, then adjusted his glasses.

“If that’s the case, I’ll give you access passes to the commercial district.”

“……!”

Some seniors had only obtained such passes after offering professors alcohol and driving them mad. To have one handed over so readily was unexpected.

Leaving the students, who wore expressions of astonishment at the stark difference in difficulty compared to when they received access passes as compensation for blocking the professor’s intrusion, Professor Will briefly returned to the table. He handed them a letter envelope sealed with wax and a single note.

“There is one condition, however. Go to the inner part of the commercial district, to the craftsmen’ quarters, and find the house mentioned in the note. There you will meet Hepatus. Please persuade him to remake the herbal alchemy tools. I planned to do it myself, but I simply don’t have the time. I must rely on your help.”

“Ah.”

No wonder he handed over the access passes so readily. Yohan looked at his friends. Their expressions didn’t change much.

‘What should I do?’

When he silently mouthed the question, they just gave him a look that said to accept it. They probably didn’t think they could get the access passes for free either, so they seemed willing to grant a request like this.

“How long do we have to persuade him?”

Yohan cautiously asked for a deadline.

“Until the end of this month.”

That left about two weeks.

“Will access to the commercial district be unrestricted until then?”

“Access is unrestricted, but all purchases are impossible until the request is completed.”

“Then, during that time, the mandrake…”

“I’ll give you a temporary pot. It’s just an ordinary one, but it should be fine for a short stay.”

The elf professor readily handed him a perfectly good pot. After a moment’s hesitation, Yohan glanced at his friends once more and accepted the blue pot and the envelope.

“I’ll give it a try then…”

He wasn’t confident, but entering the commercial district wasn’t a common opportunity, so accepting was his only choice. The elf professor closed the door after saying he saying he was counting on them.

Yohan met his friends’ eyes behind the closed door.

“…I hope this was the right thing to do?”

Given the circumstances, he had accepted, but since it was a request from a professor, he doubted the resolution would be smooth sailing.