After bullying the Congalala, cough, after bullying the Nusluck boss, Knox stood in front of the fallen body with one hand resting on his chin, staring at it as if he was carefully analyzing something important.
Seeing this, the three girls grew curious and kept watching him, trying to understand what exactly was going on inside his head. At first, it was just simple curiosity, but the longer they looked, the more their thoughts began to drift in strange directions, slowly going further and further away from anything reasonable.
One would think their thoughts had gone so far that they could even reach Teyvat.
Even Mem, who was floating beside Knox, somehow put on a serious expression, although no matter how serious she tried to look, her face was still undeniably cute.
Unable to hold back any longer, the three of them stepped closer.
And then they heard it.
"Hmm… this part, and this part… I think it can be cooked as tenderloin steak, hehe."
Knox spoke in a low voice, his expression showing a strange mix between a focused chef and someone already imagining the taste of the food.
Beside him, Mem kept nodding repeatedly, as if she fully understood what Knox was saying.
"Mem, mimi, memi…"
Even though her words made no sense, the tone she used sounded completely serious, making it feel like she was genuinely taking part in the discussion.
The three girls stopped.
They stared at the two of them without saying anything, their expressions completely flat as they watched the strange interaction between master and his pet (?).
Then, a voice was heard from the bushes.
Hearing that, Cindy, Claudia, and Merida immediately turned serious, their expressions shifting as they prepared themselves for a possible sudden attack.
Rustle rustle rustle
The bushes shook again.
Then, from within them, four Nuslucks with different colors came out.
No.
To be precise, four people with different hair colors stepped out.
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
"..."
Silence filled the air for a moment.
It turned out the ones coming out of the bushes were Group Seven: Simon, Meilyn, Rick, and Cami.
Based on their appearance, with leaves stuck in their hair and clothes, along with traces of recent fighting despite having no visible injuries, it was easy to tell that they had just finished a hunt as well.
But before anyone could say anything—
Knox suddenly spoke.
"Ahh! Everyone, look out, four different colored Nuslucks just came out! Be careful!"
"Mimi!" Mem followed along.
Hearing that, Simon and Rick both twitched their mouths, Cami froze on the spot, and Meilyn's forehead twitched as if a hashtag had just appeared on it.
"Who are you calling different colored Nuslucks?!"
Meilyn's shout echoed through the forest, loud enough to startle the nearby birds and send them flying into the sky.
After some banter, Simon finally asked, "Knox, Cindy, Merida, Claudia, why are you here?"
Knox answered with a relaxed tone, "Well, the same reason as you guys~"
Hearing that, Rick nodded and let out a low whistle. "As expected of you guys. Looks like you managed to get information about the upcoming test too."
Cindy immediately put her hands on her hips. "Of course. Who do you think we are? Right, Merida?"
Merida, moving lazily, also placed her hands on her hips. "…Yeah. Who do you think we are?"
Claudia followed, but instead of copying them completely, she rested her hand on her face.
"Sigh… Merida, at least say it with a confident tone like Cindy…"
After that, Group 8, excluding Knox and Mem, learned that Group 7 was here because of Professor Hong Feng.
As they continued chatting in a calm atmosphere, someone suddenly emerged from the bushes and walked toward them.
"There you all are."
A man with sun-kissed bronze skin, short crew-cut hair, and a slightly sulky expression stood in front of them.
Knox looked at him, then casually commented, "Hmm? A furless Nusluck? A bald Nusluck?"
"Who are you calling bald?!" the man snapped immediately.
Cindy blinked. "That's your concern?!"
It turned out to be Bred, an assistant under Hong Feng.
"Good work. The teleportation magic circle is ready, so let's move to where Professor Hong Feng is waiting."
"Yes!" Group 7 responded.
"But before that," Bred added, his gaze shifting toward Knox and the others with clear displeasure, "I don't recall Professor Hong Feng inviting another group."
Knox stepped forward slightly, still wearing his usual calm smile.
"Hello, Assistant Professor Bred. We were not invited by Professor Hong Feng. It was simply a coincidence that our group and Group 7 met here."
Bred scoffed.
"Heh, good. I don't want Professor Hong Feng to cook more. It would only burden her."
Knox's smile remained, gentle and almost too innocent.
"I see. But even if she invited me, there is no way she would cook, right? I mean, it is already clear who would cook better~"
"Mem, mem," Mem added, nodding seriously with her paws crossed.
Hearing that, Bred's expression twitched. He never expected someone to casually say something like that about Professor Hong Feng right in front of him.
"Hmm? Is what I said wrong?" Knox asked, tilting his head slightly.
Bred wanted to refute him. He even felt the urge to punch him.
But he could not.
Putting that aside, he could not deny Knox's reputation in the culinary field. Even he had heard about it before.
In the end, Bred could only grit his teeth and endure.
"…Enough chit chat. Let's go!"
Meanwhile, Cindy, Claudia, and Merida exchanged confused looks. After spending enough time with Knox, they could tell that he clearly did not like this assistant professor. Whether it was annoyance or something else, they were not sure. But one thing was certain, they trusted Knox more, so they chose to stay silent.
"It's finally over!" Group 7 said.
Everyone smiled and followed behind Bred while chatting lightly. Beyond the bushes, a magic circle was already spread across the ground.
"Thank you, sir!"
"I'm going first!"
Meilyn, Rick, and Camibarez stepped into the magic circle one by one and disappeared.
Simon was about to step in last—
"Wait a moment."
Bred raised his arm, stopping him.
"You. Come talk with me for a moment."