SRS 95

The Potion for the Negative and Timid, aside from making the user lose all confidence and become a pessimist for a set period, had no real side effects or lingering after-effects. That was the only silver lining. However, the fact that a potion had been used on a classmate during lecture for reasons unrelated to the assignment weighed on Yohan. He couldn’t help but steal glances at Professor Will.

If the Professor wanted to, he could easily dock points for a simple case of “poor attitude.”

What should I do? Should I use a blessing now to purify the negative effects?

But he hesitated. If he tried something like that now, he might actually draw the Professor’s attention and get caught red-handed.

Yohan watched Melek, who was muttering incomprehensible nonsense to himself, then held his breath and stepped in front of him. As Yohan moved to block Melek from Professor Will’s line of sight, Suhyeok closed in beside him. Yohan opened his mouth, feigning interest in their cauldron.

“What were you thinking? What if the Professor catches us?”

“Don’t worry. It’s not a high-potency potion, and it’s not like I did it out of malice. I’ve already got an excuse ready.”

Suhyeok winked and gave a thumbs-up. He didn’t look particularly trustworthy, but the milk was already spilled.

Praying that his impulsive friend actually had a deeper plan, Yohan checked on Melek one last time before focusing back on the potion-making. With the assignment time nearly up, there was no more room for idling.

“Undine.”

–Pwiriri!

As Professor Will had mentioned earlier, brewing the potion while contracted with a spirit made everything easier. The purification of the water and the blending of the solution was seamless. Since a water spirit was personally handling the liquid, the quality was naturally on another level.

Spirits really are wonderful.

Impressed, Yohan briefly wondered if he’d ever enjoyed this much convenience since enrolling at Fantasiademia. Then, urged on by Suhyeok, he hurried to finish the potion with all the teammates, excluding Melek, of course.

When the time limit expired, Professor Will began inspecting each group’s cauldron one by one. Eventually, he reached Yohan’s group.

The elf professor ladled out some of the liquid to check the color and took a tiny sip with a spoon. A curve appeared at the corners of his mouth.

“Excellent. This is of a high enough standard to be sold commercially. You should take pride in this.”

After dryly praising them, Professor Will quietly collected the potion from the cauldron. It was a routine sight by now, so no one dared to comment on his behavior.

Just as the Professor was about to turn away with a satisfied look, he spotted Melek and stopped in his tracks.

“Hmm?”

Doubt flickered in the elf’s eyes. Reading that expression, Yohan clenched his fists, thinking, ‘Here it comes.’

“Hmmm…”

While Yohan was frozen with tension, the Professor grabbed Melek’s cheeks, turning his face side to side to inspect him before looking back at the group.

“What is the matter with this student?”

“Ah, well…”

“That friend of ours always dreamed of being a Spirit Summoner,” Suhyeok interjected, stepping forward and lying through his teeth without missing a beat. “But after hearing that Yohan made a contract with a mid-level spirit, he’s fallen into despair, feeling disappointed in his own lack of talent.”

While the oblivious classmates looked confused and those in the know felt panicked, Suhyeok chattered on with perfect composure. Yohan felt a spark of respect. “So this is the level of audacity required to try and swindle a professor,” he thought.

“Aha.”

Falling for the smooth lie, the elf professor nodded as if he understood perfectly.

“I see… when one first realizes the gap in talent, this sort of phenomenon can occur. Tell your friend not to take it too much to heart. When comparing oneself to an existence outside the standard, nothing ever feels fair.”

“……?”

Yohan tilted his head at the Professor’s explanation.

Something about that feels… strange.

He’d definitely been praised, yet he felt uncomfortable. He was lost in thought, trying to put a name to that feeling, when the bell rang to signal the end of the third period.

“That is all for today’s lecture.”

As Professor Will dismissed the class, the other students continued stealing glances at Yohan’s seat. Their eyes were screaming with things they wanted to ask about the spirit contract and scenes they wanted to see, but they were holding back because the Professor was still present.

Yohan hid his awkwardness and stayed put. He planned to hold his ground and kill time until the Professor left, but just as Professor Will finished gathering his materials, he looked directly at Yohan.

“Student Yohan, follow me to my research lab for a moment.”

“…Excuse me?”

The order made Yohan’s eyes shift reflexively.

Why was Professor Will calling a student to his research lab, not even his office?

…Could he have figured it out?

Realizing the possibility, Yohan closed his eyes. He thought they had gotten away with it thanks to Suhyeok’s top-tier lying, but it seemed the Melek incident had been exposed after all.

But seeing as the Professor only called him, Yohan felt a small weight lift, thinking he was only being punished as the group leader. He nodded reluctantly.

Considering Suhyeok had only drugged Melek for his sake, Yohan was prepared to take responsibility and follow quietly. But then, Suhyeok grabbed his shoulder with a look of genuine panic.

“…Are you really going to go?”

“Huh? …I have to, right?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? I’m the group representative, so the responsibility lies with me…”

Tak.

Suhyeok snapped his fingers right in front of Yohan’s eyes. Seemingly thinking once wasn’t enough, he snapped two or three more times, his face scrunched as he shook Yohan’s shoulder.

“What are you even talking about? Do you seriously think you’re being called in because of Melek?”

“…That wasn’t it?”

“Wow. Yohan… how are you going to survive this cutthroat Fantasiademia when you’re this naive?”

He shook his head in disbelief and warned Yohan to remember what happened during the first combined class with the seniors. At that, Yohan searched his memory, and he flinched.

“…He’s not calling me because of the potion?”

“If he were going to punish you for the potion, he would’ve done it right here. Calling you to his lab means he’s something else in mind. Like, for example…”

Suhyeok’s gaze drifted to the side, catching the elf professor waiting by the door for Yohan to come out. He lowered his voice to a whisper.

“He probably wants to use you, maybe to help him brew some potion that requires the power of a spirit.”

“…!”

Was it because he was a hunter who spent his life dodging traps? Suhyeok seemed to sniff out the professors’ schemes by instinct.

Snapped back to his senses, Yohan realized his lapse in judgment and looked toward Professor Will.

“…But I already said I’d go.”

“…I swear, you’ll be the death of me. Just wait a second.”

Suhyeok walked over to the classroom window, opened it wide, and whistled. Moments later, his griffin came soaring in, wings flapping at the windowsill as it greeted its master.

Suhyeok’s voice was full of fake sincerity as he yelled at the top of his lungs in the next second.

“What? Yohan’s griffin is sick? …Damn it! Is it because of that incident?! Yohan, there’s no time! You have to go check on it right now. Jump on!”

The moment the lines left his mouth, Suhyeok jumped onto the griffin and yanked Yohan’s arm. He hauled Yohan up behind him and took to the sky.

“Now, act panicked and shout something,” he whispered, just barely audible.

Yohan, who had been stunned by the sudden drama, finally caught on and moved his lips.

“W-Wait a minute…!”

“…Don’t ever try to be an actor when you go back home.”

After Yohan’s clumsy attempt at acting troubled, the griffin circled the building and accelerated toward the griffin stables.

At first, Yohan felt a pang of guilt, was it really alright to run away like this? But as he saw the open landscape and took a breath of fresh air, his heart lightened.

“…I’ve never done something like that before.”

Suhyeok grinned and tilted his chin up boastfully.

“Kylus and I do it all the time.”

“Kylus does?”

“Yes. When you’re living as a mercenary, there are plenty of times you have to toss your pride aside.”

“…That must have been rough.”

“It was nothing. Actually, that life is the reason I’m doing fine for myself here.”

Perhaps sensing the mood was getting too serious, Suhyeok brushed off his past with a playful shrug and dropped Yohan off at the stables.

“Just to be safe, stay here and check on your griffin, then head back in a bit.”

“I will. Thanks for the ride.”

“If you’re really grateful, help me out with the Herbology assignment later.”

“I can help you with that even without a favor in return.”

When Yohan spoke with sincerity, Suhyeok blinked at him for a moment before breaking into a mischievous smile.

“I know! That’s why we like you. See you, Yohan!”

The student who had started the chaos, and then snatched Yohan right out of the middle of it, vanished into the sky on his griffin. Yohan watched for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“…All this fuss just because of one spirit contract.”

He had been tense since second period, and when he opened the stable doors, a tired expression finally appeared on his face.

He had hoped this would just be a one-time thing, but after sitting through two more classes, Yohan had to admit he’d been incredibly naive.

Mikael was right.

The students weren’t the problem; the professors were the real danger.

He couldn’t even count how many times he’d been “invited” to visit an office today.

By the time Yohan returned to the dormitory, his face was gaunt after a full day of being hounded by both friends and faculty.

“…Should I just ask to terminate the contract?”

As Yohan muttered under his breath; feeling like he couldn’t survive another day like this, the three students of Room 304, who were busy trying to comfort him, suddenly turned their heads toward the window.

“A letter?”

Mikael opened the window, and a letter that had been bobbing outside drifted in before unfurling itself.

The four of them huddled together to read the document. In unison, they all let out a heavy sigh.

The letter was a summons: a mandatory assembly for the guard squad training and orientation.