Ring ring. Hearing the ringtone, I instinctively reached for my chest. Since I wasn't wearing my coat, there obviously wasn't an inner pocket there.
Where is that coming from? It's not the Professor's. I was in a daze until I suddenly remembered my coat was hanging in the closet and my eyes snapped open.
"Oh, right."
I was lying face down on the floor, but I got up and headed to where my coat was. The moment I dug through the inner pocket and pulled out my phone, the ringtone stopped.
Because I'd realized too late, the incoming call had ended and changed to a missed call. Next to the missed call icon was the caller's name: "Aria."
I tilted my head, wondering why Aria would call me when it was getting late. Figuring she might still be holding her phone since the call just ended, I called her back.
"Hello?"
[Ah, Urr. I thought you weren't going to answer.]
I heard some kind of echoing sound, like she was in a cave or something. When I put the phone closer to my ear, the echo hurt my ears, so I pulled it away slightly.
[Anyway, I was just wondering what you were doing.]
"Me? I was just lying down."
[Really? Want to take a bath then?]
I tilted my head, confused about why she was saying such strange things when I'd been wondering why she called.
"...Huh? Why?"
[I'm joking. I'm taking a bath right now.]
Aria chuckled at my dumbfounded voice, then explained her situation. I realized the echoing sound I'd been hearing was because she was in the bathroom.
But why would someone call others while bathing? That was the question.
[Is it weird? Calling like this while bathing.]
Surprised that she seemed to have read my mind, I kept my mouth shut. My silence at this awkward timing probably sounded like an answer to Aria.
I felt bad for making her uncomfortable, but Aria continued speaking as if it wasn't a big deal.
[It can't be helped. It's a cultural difference between species... Did you know? Elves bathe together in groups?]
"I just found out now."
[There's a huge bath in the Garden, and elves wash themselves there. When women gather to bathe together, that moment becomes like a social gathering.]
First she called while bathing, and now she was telling me about elven bathing culture. But it wasn't boring—it was quite interesting, so I wanted to hear more.
Humans have public bathhouses too, but is their culture more mandatory? Like you feel left out if you don't join in?
"Wow."
I had questions, but decided to just listen. When you're not sure what to ask, it's best to just express amazement.
As expected, Aria seemed excited by my reaction and continued enthusiastically. I had thought she wasn't very expressive, but that seemed to apply only to her facial expressions and tone. Watching how she spoke, I could tell she was enjoying herself.
[So sometimes I call Sera like this too. The other day, she happened to answer while she was bathing.]
"Uh-huh."
[I closed my eyes while on the phone, and it really created that atmosphere. I liked it, so I called like this again.]
"...But why did you call me?"
If she enjoyed talking with Sera, shouldn't she be calling Sera? Why me?
When I cautiously expressed my confusion, Aria laughed awkwardly and explained her reason.
[I called thinking Sera would be bathing at this time, but unfortunately she wasn't.]
"...Huh?"
I felt like I'd heard something creepy. I seriously wondered if timing calls to match someone's bath time was appropriate.
I frowned, thinking hard for a while. Since elves were a special species, maybe this was normal for them, and I just didn't understand. I groaned slightly.
I hope I won't be accused of being some kind of racist. Well, in this case, it would be elf-ist.
No, I wasn't discriminating in the first place. I just didn't know their culture. I shook my head quickly, moistened my dry lips, and said to Aria:
"Sh-should I tell Sera to take a bath?"
[No, if you're not bathing either, I was just going to do it alone. But since I called anyway, would you like to go to a hot spring or something together? I miss the Garden, and I want to comfort that feeling somehow...]
I let out an "Ah" of understanding.
Although it was a bit strange to guess when someone would be bathing, I could somewhat understand if the reason was homesickness. She was probably doing this to ease her loneliness.
I became curious about Sera's reaction.
"Should I... ask and get back to you?"
[Hmm? Ask what?]
"I have to go around with the Professor. So if I want to go to places like that..."
[Ah, I see. Could I act as your guardian? I could take responsibility for you.]
"Umm, hmmmm..."
As I frowned and pondered, Aria seemed to understand the situation and expressed that it was okay.
[I guess going to a hot spring with your professor would be awkward. It's not like you're taking the Demon God class...]
"Is that so? Right, you're taking different classes. What's your major, Aria?"
[Me? I'm in Spellcraft too. I came to the Academy to create my Original.]
Aria made splashing sounds, like she was playing with the water.
[Can you hear it?]
"The water sound?"
[Yes.]
Aria said that and chuckled.
[I envy Sera~]
"Why?"
[She said she'll be taking classes with you in the afternoon.]
"Hmm, you should take them with us too."
[If I'd known you were there, I would have signed up earlier. Oh, right. Please tell your professor that a student named Aria has signed up for the class.]
Why should I be the one to say that...
It was under the Professor's jurisdiction, and I didn't want to interfere unnecessarily. What if he didn't want more work or was already stressed with too much to do?
"I-I'll ask about it."
[Okay, thanks. I need to finish bathing now, so I'll hang up?]
"Yeah, en-enjoy your bath?"
[Mm-hmm.]
With that, Aria abruptly ended the call.
It felt like we'd talked for quite a while. As I stared blankly at the screen and lifted my head to go to the living room, I saw the Professor leaning against the wall nearby, watching me.
"Eek!!"
I wondered why the Professor, who should have been sitting on the living room sofa, was standing here watching me. My heart was startled. The surprise made it pound heavily.
"W-why are you here...?"
"I was curious who you were talking to that hot springs came up."
The Professor had an expression that suggested he wanted to hear about it. I awkwardly showed him my phone.
"I-it was Aria! That friend of Sera's from the Spellcraft department... the one you've seen before..."
"I remember. The friend whose name you wrote down to memorize, right?"
The Professor made an interested sound through his nose.
"So?"
"I said I'd ask you!"
When I exclaimed my innocence, the Professor seemed to ponder for a moment.
"Still, a student probably wouldn't want to go with a professor. In reality, I can't send you to such places outside the Academy where I can't even ask you to run errands."
The Professor was fully aware of what Aria was concerned about. Honestly, you didn't need to research it—just thinking from a student's perspective made it obvious. Though there were some professors who didn't understand that.
Just as I was feeling relieved that Aria wouldn't be put in an awkward position, the Professor stared at me intently.
"Do you want to go to such a place, Urr? If you want to, you can go with me."
"...Uhhh, wellll."
I wasn't against going, but I wasn't particularly eager either, so my words naturally dragged out. The Professor quietly watched me, waiting for my answer.
I thought, "Please be considerate! Ask if I don't want to go and change the subject!" But the Professor's firmly closed lips showed no sign of opening.
Sweating profusely, I pouted and then carefully added:
"It's not that I don't like it... but I'm not exactly excited about it either..."
"Really? I just thought you'd enjoy it."
"Aria is an elf, and she said in the Garden, women gather to bathe together as part of their culture!"
I explained why the hot spring topic had come up. That's why Aria had said those things. After explaining that much, the Professor nodded with his hand on his chin.
"I see. If it's because of that cultural practice..."
He didn't say much more, seemingly respecting such cultural differences.
After a brief silence, I subtly changed the subject. This was to help Aria add the Demon God class during the course adjustment period.
"By the way, are you busy, Professor?"
"Why?"
"...Just wondering if you have a lot of work and if it's difficult..."
I was laying the groundwork first.
If I brought up Aria right away, it might seem like I was begging for a favor, saying "Please let my friend in, she's my friend. Please." I wanted to avoid that.
The Professor usually let me do whatever I wanted if I said I wanted to do it.
As I watched the Professor cautiously, he stroked his head.
"Even if it's hard, I just deal with it."
"Do-do you just work with paperwork like this?"
"Hmm? I suppose so? Well... it might be difficult to read, but I also research new things, organize what I've analyzed, teach classes, and before I know it, time flies by."
The Professor had more responsibilities than I thought. The Professor I saw mostly just typed at his computer desk, scribbled with a pen, or went out, but it seemed those tasks weren't as simple as they appeared.
"But why do you ask all of a sudden?"
I'm sorry, Aria. The Professor says he's busy.
If I mentioned Aria in this situation, wouldn't the Professor just say he'd consider it?
Unable to bring up Aria, I looked around nervously, trying to find an appropriate answer to his question, then squeezed my eyes shut and exclaimed:
"I-I wanted to give you a massage...!"
"Really? Then I'll take you up on that offer."
Thankfully it worked, and the Professor responded in a pleased voice.