Something cold brushed my cheek before falling away. Opening my eyes slowly, I saw a lone candle flickering in the dim room. I must have fallen asleep while worrying about the young magical creature’s condition worsening during the night.

Mmm. Regretting the interruption of my light sleep, I nuzzled my face against the thin blanket in drowsy protest. Still holding the blanket tightly, I shifted slightly when a soft sigh drifted above my head.

“Are you awake?”

What… what is this? Another auditory hallucination? I hunched my shoulders deeply while keeping my face buried in the blanket. I’d prefer it to be a ghost rather than hearing Asrein’s voice right beside me after waking from a short nap.

Though I considered pretending to sleep, my rapidly growing curiosity won out. Finally, I slowly raised my head above the blanket.

Sitting at the head of the bed, he was gently closing a book, presumably having been reading by candlelight until now. His hair flowed elegantly over his white shirt, swaying in the gentle breeze. It was quite a beautiful sight, but shivers ran down my spine.

“Pro, Pro, Pro… Professor.”

“Yes.”

“I must not be fully awake yet… right?”

“This is reality, so don’t try to escape by dismissing it as a dream.”

“…Yes.”

Why on earth was Asrein sitting on the bed? And while I was sleeping, no less! All the circuits that had been busily turning in my head suddenly had their cables cut, bringing thought to a halt. Glancing furtively, I carefully asked.

“Have you been here the whole time…?”

“Yes.”

“Why, why? You could have rested much more comfortably in your room~”

While I dragged out the end of my words trying to mask my true feelings, he muttered with a voice tinged with resignation.

“Because you wouldn’t let go.”

“Huh?”

His tired eyes stared intently at my hand. Following his gaze, I finally discovered what I had been clutching all this time. What I hadn’t released in my sleep wasn’t the blanket. It was his shirt. His shirt! I immediately released the fabric, my hands trembling like I’d touched hot fire. Then I quickly sat up and properly knelt on the bed.

“I must have lost my mind.”

“Well… it’s fine.”

“I’m not fine. No, in my sleep… I… why… why did I do that…?”

The following explanation was even more outrageous. Asrein had come to check on the condition and was going to quietly leave after seeing I was asleep. But I had apparently sensed his presence, half-woken up, grabbed his shirt hem, and fallen back asleep. He said that no matter how much he tried to pull away, I kept whining, so he decided to just wait until I woke up.

First of all, I have no memory of waking up. Moreover, I definitely don’t remember whining at him. I slowly raised both hands to grip my head and desperately tried to deny reality.

“I’m not a child… right…?”

“Are you asking me?”

“How could someone be so shameless…?”

“Hah, anyone listening would think you weren’t talking about yourself.”

I wish it wasn’t about me…. Wiping my face where cold sweat had formed, I squeezed my eyes shut. I had the urge to immediately run away through a hole I’d make by punching the solid wall. While I was fixing my disheveled hair, he thankfully changed the subject first.

“Ah, while you were resting, I sent a dispatch to the Count.”

“Are you going to meet him in person?”

“Yes. What lies couldn’t one tell in writing?”

I hadn’t expected the Count to show a sincere attitude from the start. If he was in a position where he might face heavier charges than negligent management through careless actions, he might not even dare to bring up facts he knew.

“Then I’ll take the Sainur and return to school first. Above all, this child needs someone to care for it until it wakes up.”

I wanted to cherish my connection with the baby Sainur. Looking at the peacefully sleeping creature, he nodded readily.

“If that is your wish… When the sun rises tomorrow, return with Sir Sezan.”

“Thank you. Is there anything I should be careful about regarding the Sainur?”

“It’s regained much stability, so you shouldn’t need to worry too much.”

With his words, the worry that had tensed my entire body melted away like snow. There was something I had personally felt when the Sainur was sick and when my heart was breaking. Having someone to lean on, and earning that person’s trust… it’s quite a joyful thing.

“Your first task will be to care for this magical creature and safely return it to nature.”

“Yes, Professor…! Leave it to me.”

I smiled faintly while watching the small body of the magical creature rising and falling peacefully. I was determined to succeed in this mission given to me. When I nodded vigorously with a face full of resolve, his eyes softened for a moment.

“Morning is far off, so get plenty of rest.”

Asrein organized his book and stood up. As I tried to get up to see him to the door, he suddenly turned his head and looked down at me. His persistent gaze examined my face in detail, making me unconsciously avoid his eyes.

Perhaps I looked too shabby having just woken up. Suddenly, I remembered being scolded for my shabby appearance in front of the research lab for the first time. While I was shrinking back, already afraid of how I might be scolded, what followed was unexpected.

“…Tsk.”

Without hesitation, his hand reached out and touched my reddened eyes. Though I hunched my shoulders in surprise at his cold fingertips, I couldn’t avoid them. When I obediently raised my head, his gentle touch cupped my entire cheek and slowly caressed under my eyes.

My lost gaze circled through empty space, and my eyelashes trembled, betraying my surprise. Yet paying no mind to this, he thoroughly cooled the heat gathered around my eyes before withdrawing his hand.

“Don’t make me worry.”

Then he left the room quietly after leaving just that short comment. Thud. Even after the door closed, I stood there blankly for a long while. In my completely stopped mind, only his voice kept replaying persistently. Finally, when my sense of reality that had gone missing suddenly returned, I barely managed to sit on the bed with my weakened legs. The heat that had been cooled around my eyes by cold fingers spread to my neck, and in an instant, I became like a well-ripened apple.

What exactly just happened? It would have been much better if he had just embarrassed me by asking why I cried. But why didn’t he blame me at all? How could he look at me with such worried eyes? And why am I… why…

“This is driving me crazy…”

Why am I blushing?

***

Four days have passed since returning from the research. During that time, I couldn’t properly sleep due to being in charge of an important matter. I never imagined that sleeping comfortably with my legs stretched out on the hard inn bed would be my last rest. During these four days, which felt both short and long, good news and bad news alternated.

First, the bad news came from Asrein, who had gone alone to House Ameli. When Asrein, who visited in person, explained the circumstances, the Count acted surprised but consistently claimed to know nothing about the ‘magical creature hunting.’ Afterward, he insisted on demanding evidence despite there being four witnesses.

The problem was that there wasn’t any convincing evidence. Because the poachers withdrew while I was unconscious, all the traps set in Bivrint Forest had disappeared, and we had even given proper funerals to the pile of corpses – the baby Sainur was the only evidence. But the Count brushed it off, suggesting we had merely rescued a young magical creature from starvation.

In the end, unable to corner Count Ameli, we only received an answer that he would ‘keep a close eye on things from now on.’ It was questionable how much the Count would actually pursue the matter.

Nevertheless, fortunately there was good news.

“Come here. Let’s eat~”

Finally, the baby Sainur woke up. Even after arriving at the university, it kept sleeping continuously, then suddenly woke up crying in the middle of the night. When I realized it was thirsty, I ran barefoot out of the dormitory to get water – even now, I feel dizzy thinking about it.

Until the Sainur’s condition improved, everything about eating and sleeping became my responsibility.

Now it has recovered enough stability that I’ve prepared a sanctuary for it in a corner of the glass greenhouse. Every time I stop by to check its condition, I find it impossible not to find it cute when it greets me with a slightly puffy face after sleeping stretched out under a tree trunk. I even gave it the nickname ‘Nur’, but sadly, that was the extent of our bonding.

“Nur. Won’t you play with me?”

Nur, who has a clear distinction between public and private matters, only approaches me at mealtimes. When eating fresh fruit, it doesn’t care whether I’m nearby or staring intently from the side. Even when I secretly try to touch its back with the back of my hand, it only flinches but doesn’t bite. However, once the meal is finished, it retreats into the grass without looking back. Though it’s natural for it to be wary after losing its group to humans….

“Open book.”

– It’s been a while, Tae-oh.

“Yeah. System. Show me the page with information about Sainurs.”

The relationship evaluation with the Sainur has been ‘Interest’ from the start, one level higher than wariness. At this level, the Dandel had decorated itself with yellow pollen for me and even showed off cute behaviors, but Nur didn’t. It seemed contradictory that while treating me like I didn’t exist, the relationship evaluation remained at ‘Interest’.

“About the relationship evaluation with the Sainur. It’s not an error, right?”

– The current relationship with No. 12 ‘Sainur’ is at the Interest level.

Before observing, becoming friends with Nur is the urgent priority. After saying good morning to Nur, I carefully examined the encyclopedia’s contents while heading to the research lab. Thanks to the ‘Interest’ relationship evaluation, Nur’s characteristics were clearly written. Among them, the most noticeable part was about what Nur likes.

“It likes dehid…?”

What’s that? It’s something I’ve never heard of before. If there’s nothing urgent at the lab, maybe I should go to the library and look up what ‘dehid’ is. Muttering to myself, I cleared the encyclopedia from the air and stood in front of the research lab door. Knowing Asrein was inside, I knocked lightly and opened the door wide.

“Good morning!”

Though I greeted energetically as usual, the atmosphere in the lab was unusual. Moreover, in front of Asrein stood Sezan, who should have been attending class at this time. A dark shadow fell across their faces as they turned to look at me. Quickly erasing the smile from my lips, I closed the door behind me.

“What’s wrong?”

Sezan sighed through tightly closed lips and said.

“I had sent a confidant to the vicinity of Bivrint Forest since that day.”

“A confidant?”

“Though it’s nothing to boast about, the House of Piart has several capable servants skilled at infiltration and gathering information. We hadn’t obtained any information until now, but just yesterday… we received new news.”

New news – had they finally found evidence about the culprit? Contrary to my expectations, his expression wasn’t good at all. The sharp anxiety lingering in the air suddenly dominated my entire body. And as always, bad premonitions have never been wrong.

“They found a corpse in Bivrint Forest.”

“…What?”

As I fumbled for words, unable to continue speaking, Sezan clenched his fist and avoided my gaze.

“It would be better if you hear the details in person.”

At his words, I immediately left the research lab and headed toward the vicinity of Bivrint Forest. After remembering to take motion sickness medicine, I couldn’t shake off the tension in the running carriage. A corpse. Who else had lost their life in Bivrint Forest, where numerous lives were already buried?