Chapter 126: Living Together (1)

In the heavy silence of the office, Professor Kane rested his chin on one hand. After a few moments, he finally said, “So, while you were out on official business with Professor Baldwin, you just happened to acquire a magic device, and that device suddenly malfunctioned in your room and exploded?”

His sharp gaze then shifted toward Professor Baldwin, who was seated beside me. “Is this true, Professor?”

She stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and gave a slow nod. “Yes. I confirmed it myself.”

Professor Kane narrowed his eyes, suspicion flickering across his face. “Hmm!”

However, the look didn’t last long. When he caught Professor Baldwin’s defiant glare, one that all but seemed to ask whether he had a problem with her reply, he sighed deeply.

He turned back to me. “Dale.”

“Yes, Professor,” I replied.

“Do you understand that bringing an unauthorized magic device into academy grounds is a clear violation of the rules?”

“Yes, I—”

Professor Baldwin cut me off before I could finish. She said, “Hold on. I was the one who told Dale to bring the artifact. The responsibility lies with me.”

Professor Kane’s voice dropped a note lower. “Professor. I understand your wish to shield him. But if you are directly involved, the matter becomes far more serious.”

A cadet smuggling in a forbidden magic device was one thing, and a professor doing so was another. There was no question which one would stir greater scandal.

I quickly shook my head. “Professor Baldwin had nothing to do with this. I made the decision to sneak it in. The responsibility is mine alone.”

Professor Baldwin looked at me. “Dale…”

In truth, she had already gone above and beyond for me by letting the blame rest on a faulty magic device.

Professor Kane pressed his fingers against his temple, letting out a long breath. “Dale.”

“Yes.”

“This is an offense that would normally justify expulsion.”

The word expulsion made my shoulders flinch.

Lifting several sheets of paper from the desk, Professor Kane continued, “But, first, there were no casualties.”

He scanned the reports. “Second, you acted immediately to put out the fire.”

Strictly speaking, Senior Sophia was the one who had extinguished the flames with her magic. But it was also true that I had tried to use water magic before she stepped in.

“And finally, after considering the petitions written by your fellow cadets, we professors have decided not to expel you.”

“Petitions?” I asked.

Professor Kane waved the stack in his hand. “Yes. Iris, Yuren, Berald, as well as Camilla, Jules, and Albert, all of them submitted letters pleading for leniency on your behalf.”

I was speechless.

Professor Kane gave me a look of disbelief, papers still in hand. “The Saintess of the Holy Empire, the heir to the Knight of the Sun, the bloodline of House Ryu, the next Sword of the Holy Empire, the son of one of the Republic’s wealthiest families, and the heir of House Hoover, which runs the Empire’s largest intelligence guild. When you list them all out, it’s absurd. Since when did you have such a far-reaching network?”

A swell of emotion rose in my chest. I clenched my fist, moved beyond words.

So, they all rushed to write petitions for me, I thought.

With that, at least the worst had been avoided.

“Oh, and one more.” Professor Kane pulled a sheet free and slid it across the desk. “Sophia Evergreen also submitted one for you.”

The unexpected name caught me off guard. “Senior Sophia did?”

On the day of the incident, she had stared at me with those cold eyes and said, “This was your doing, wasn’t it?”

Who would have thought she would go so far as to defend me?

Professor Kane looked up. “Yes. By the way, Dale, since when were you close with the Red Calamity?”

“The Red Calamity?”

“I mean Sophia Evergreen.”

Wait, her nickname as a cadet was the Red Calamity? I had no words.

Professor Kane shook his head, clicking his tongue in disbelief. “She is infamous for being cold to her peers. And yet, here you are. Quite the talent, aren’t you?”

Clutching Senior Sophia’s petition, I swallowed hard. “Ugh!”

We were close? In another life, maybe. But in this one, we were hardly on friendly terms.The moment she had seen me in this life, she had told me to get lost. No matter how much I mulled it over, I couldn’t figure out why she had helped me this time.

“Well, regardless, the faculty has decided your punishment will be a suspension lasting until the start of the break, a week from now,” Professor Kane added.

“Does that even mean anything?”

With final exams underway, there were no classes anyway. A suspension hardly seemed to matter.

A cryptic smile appeared on Professor Kane’s face. “Hmm. Who’s to say it means nothing?”

I tilted my head, puzzled, but decided not to press him. Instead, I asked, “By the way, were any cadets injured in the incident?”

“Oh? You’re still worried about that?”

“It was my mistake that caused it.”

Whatever the reason, there was no denying that the fire incident had been my fault.

Professor Kane explained, “Well, at least none of the cadets were hurt. Some lost their belongings that were left in the rooms, but that’s all.”

“May I compensate those cadets personally?”

“I mean, I don’t see why not. Though the academy should’ve already given out damage allowances, right?”

“Even so, I’d like to make amends as much as possible. And of course, I’ll apologize to them in person.”

It was my mistake that caused this mess. Pretending nothing had happened without even offering a proper apology would be shameless.

Professor Kane folded his arms, eyes glinting with curiosity. “And do you even have the gold to pay them?”

“Well, that shouldn’t be an issue.”

I had managed to salvage a few byproducts from Behemoth’s corpse. Admittedly, the monster had been crushed to such a miserable state that none of its horns, hide, or fangs had survived intact. Still, these were remnants from a twelve-eyed demonic monster. If I sold them through Professor Baldwin, I could fetch a decent price.

I could’ve made much more if only I had managed to pull out a mana stone from it. But what could I do? Mana stones were never easy to obtain, especially from high-ranked demonic monsters.

This would also be a good chance to repay Jules for the money I borrowed. Truthfully, because of the memories of my previous life, where Jules had mocked me as nothing more than a doormat and tormented me, I had treated him rather harshly in this one. But this Jules was nothing like the one from my previous life. He was so different that he was practically a different person altogether.

I couldn’t keep treating him the same way I did in the past. Of course, Jules himself had insisted I treat him as if nothing had changed, but there was no way I could truly go back to being cruel toward him. I used to think the only person I could ever call a friend in this life was Yuren. Who would’ve thought Jules would count as one too? I let out a faint chuckle and shook my head.

Professor Kane asked, “By the way, have you figured out where you’ll be staying?”

“Staying?”

“Yes. The semester break is only a week away, but until then, you can’t exactly sleep on the streets, can you?”

“Ah.”

I had been so busy dealing with the fallout of the fire that I hadn’t even thought about that.

Professor Kane continued, “The academy has provided the other cadets with temporary housing, but if you showed up there, the atmosphere would be… awkward, to say the least.”

“That’s true.”

After all, I was the one who had burned down the dorm. If I walked into the temporary housing, I would be met with glares from every direction.

Professor Baldwin, who had been quietly listening beside us, cleared her throat and glanced my way. “Ahem! In that case, there’s only one option. I could take Dale in for a while.”

Professor Kane immediately replied, “Professor dorms are strictly off-limits to cadets, Professor Baldwin.”

Clicking her tongue, she pulled out a cigarette.

Just then, Professor Kane snapped his fingers as if he had come up with a brilliant idea. “Oh, that’s right. You’re close with Yuren, aren’t you?”

“I beg your pardon?” I said.

“How about living with him for just a week? He’s in Building A anyway, and those rooms are spacious.”

Live together with Yuren… I mean, Yurina for a whole week? I thought.

I was flustered at the idea. “Uh, well.”

“Come on, you’re both guys. What’s the big deal?” he said.

“N-no, that’s not it.” I bit down the words rising to my throat. We weren’t both guys. Thinking fast, I blurted out an excuse. “Ahem! You know Yuren’s from a noble family, right? He’s not exactly fond of sharing his space with others.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even during the last ruins expedition, he insisted on using a private tent instead of sleeping with the group.”

Professor Kane tilted his head, still doubtful. “Hm.”

He then activated his Hero Watch. “Well, I’ll just ask him directly.”

“Please do.”

I was sure, absolutely sure, that Yurina would politely decline. There was no way she would agree. A man and woman living together in one room, even just for a week, was bound to cause endless trouble. From sleeping arrangements to bathing to simply using the toilet, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Professor Kane called Yurina and said, “Oh, Yuren? This is Professor Kane. About that… yeah, exactly. So here’s what I’m thinking, oh? Really? Hah. Alright then, good.”

He ended the call and looked straight at me. “He’s fine with it.”

“Excuse me?”

“More than fine. He practically shouted with joy the moment I brought it up.”

I was speechless.

Just like that, my one-week cohabitation with Yurina was decided.

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