Last Saturday I somehow ended up giving extra lessons to an Institute Student, but this week I could stay home without any such obligations.
As I was vaguely thinking I'd forgotten something, I realized I'd missed meeting Lenya this week and let out a sigh.
Come to think of it, I had a lecture on Friday afternoon.
It would be nice to gather everyone for a Study Group, but I realized that if things continued this way, I wouldn't be able to meet with Lenya.
Friday afternoon lectures for first-year Institute Students, and then a Study Group on Friday afternoon?
With the schedules overlapping, I'd have to give up one of them.
It's not like we're extremely close friends or that I absolutely need to see her. But I'd like to have at least one good friend in each class I attend, so I want to meet her face-to-face and chat beforehand. That thought made me feel a bit disappointed.
"Hmmmm..."
I closed my eyes and placed my hands on both temples. As I concentrated so intensely that I almost believed I could send telepathic messages, I felt a hand on my head.
I opened my eyes and quickly turned my head. The Professor was looking at me with the corners of her mouth turned up.
"Urr, are you worried about something?"
"Not really... I just don't think I'll have time to talk with Lenya."
After saying that, I stretched my arms across the desk and rested my cheek on them. The Professor placed several sets of documents next to me and took a seat.
As I maintained my desk-friendly posture and quietly observed the Professor's papers, I became curious.
"Professor, what are you researching so intently?"
"This?"
The Professor hesitated for a moment and shuffled through the papers. There were quite a few titles clearly written on the front.
So these must be different topics bundled together? I wondered how many research projects the Professor was working on.
"There's more than just one or two?"
"Yes, that's right. I focus on whichever one is making progress, so I brought these to check. This one is about the magic circuits of Demon Gods, and that one is research on Aura. This one would be most relevant to you, Urr."
The Professor pulled out a bundle of documents from the middle and handed them to me.
I took them, but they were full of difficult characters. I was already struggling with basic reading, so there was no way I could read something like this.
Since she said it was related to me, I was curious, but reading was a problem, and even if I could read it, I doubted I'd understand it. So I just skimmed through it like I was looking at pictures.
In the process, I spotted a familiar word and showed it to the Professor.
"...Demon God! Right?"
"Demon God, that's right. And after that?"
"..."
As I furrowed my brow, the Professor chuckled and played with my cheek. My soft cheek was gently pulled by her touch.
"Huh?"
It was so unexpected that I let out a confused sound. The Professor saw my reaction and smiled.
"Why are Urr's cheeks so soft? Even though I maintain some youthfulness, mine aren't like this."
"I wanna touch Pwofessow's cheeks too."
"Hm?"
Hearing my slurred pronunciation, the Professor's eyes widened. When her hand released my cheek, I felt it bounce back. I puffed my cheeks with air and then returned them to normal.
"I want to touch the Professor's cheeks too."
As I reached out my hand, the Professor quietly looked at it. Then she leaned in slightly and offered her face.
I held the Professor's cheek. I didn't know how old the Professor was, but she looked quite young, so I thought her skin would be soft and gently touched it.
I tilted my head. Even touching the Professor's cheek, I had nothing to compare it to, so I couldn't tell if it was soft or not, and I gently removed my hand.
My hand, which had been kneading the air, soon moved to my own cheek. I grabbed my cheek and squeezed it. It felt much softer than before.
I realized that while I'd had others touch my cheeks and shake their heads, I'd never kneaded them myself.
Finding this interesting, I held both my cheeks and looked at the Professor.
When I reached out again to touch the Professor's cheek, this time she touched mine too. We held each other's cheeks and stared at each other.
The more we held them, the more our mouths stretched into an "ooh" shape. The sight of our faces stretching sideways was somehow funny, and I started laughing.
"Hehehe."
It was so funny that I laughed while my cheeks were being held, and the strange sound that came out made me burst into laughter. My hands naturally lost their strength. The Professor and I let go at the same time.
"Whew, that was a good laugh. Shall we get some work done now?"
I nodded.
The Professor started working, and I watched quietly for a while before slipping onto the sofa and lying down. As I relaxed completely on the sofa, I thought this must be what heaven feels like.
The cool leather of the sofa welcomed me. With my eyes closed, immersed in that comfort, I let out a "heh" of contentment.
I wondered if this was what weekends felt like. Surrendering to the indescribably cozy sunlight, I debated whether to sleep or do something else.
Everyone must be sleeping in because the chat was quiet, so I had nothing to do. Since the Professor was working, I didn't want to turn on the TV, so I just tossed and turned with my thoughts.
Scratching my stomach, I carefully observed what the Professor was doing from behind.
The Professor, seemingly in work mode, had cut off all awareness of her surroundings and focused solely on the documents. She held thick papers, speed-reading and turning pages. When she found something important, she took out a highlighter, marked it, and jotted down something brief on a separate paper.
Seeing numbers written down, I guessed they were page numbers.
"Professor?"
"Yes?"
"Why are you a Professor?"
Having nothing to do, I just asked out of curiosity. I worried that I might be disturbing her work, but my concern didn't last long as the Professor answered.
"...I just sort of ended up that way."
The Professor's hands didn't stop. Relieved that I hadn't disturbed her, I inwardly sighed with relief.
I should stop talking to her now, I thought, turning my body back to a proper position on the sofa. As I lay there with my hands clasped over my navel, wondering if I should just sleep, the Professor spoke to me.
"But why do you ask all of a sudden?"
I had planned not to speak more since she was working, but when the Professor asked, I had no choice but to continue the conversation.
"You just look really busy."
"Well, if you like research, you go through the Institute program, and if you want to research more, you go through the professor track. You earn money by teaching others, use that money to support yourself while continuing your research—that's what people who enjoy this kind of thing do to become professors. That's what I did."
"Hmm, I see."
I nodded.
"So did you always want to do research like this?"
"I did."
The Professor tapped her pen.
I nodded at the sight.
"I see."
**
When she was young, Yuria's goal was the extermination of Demon Gods.
The existence of Demon Gods was harmful to humans. The same applied to other living beings.
The life-draining Aura. The tyranny without ethics or morals. People suffered and shed tears because of them. Yuria had seen this with her own eyes.
She had sent off her own family that way too.
So she researched Demon Gods. Where their weaknesses were, how to kill them easily. How their power could be diminished—that's what she was busy contemplating.
It was an emotion closer to vengeance than interest or academic curiosity. She pursued it relentlessly. To the point of creating an Original, to the point it could be called an obsession.
The research on Demon Gods never ended. She killed them using new methods she researched. Meeting many types, she pondered how best to deal with them, and eventually even received the unusual title of "Demon God Slayer."
In Yuria's heart, there was still an unhealed scar. The desperate wish that all Demon Gods should die, that they should disappear from this world, burned with vengeful passion.
But, even within that, there was one exception.
"Professor?"
Urr's bright-eyed gaze shook Yuria's heart.
It was a moment when her firmly held beliefs began to waver. She found herself wondering if there could be such a thing as a good Demon God.
That question remained unanswered.
If a Demon God had sufficient moral values, ethics, and didn't emit Aura, perhaps they wouldn't need to be killed.
If that were possible, it would be wonderful.
Yuria tasted bitterness. Even though the world was unlikely to move in such a simple direction, a part of her heart vaguely held onto hope.
"Urr, are you hungry?"
"...No."
Urr shook her head.
It was a typical Demon God answer, having a body that doesn't feel hunger.
"Then let's eat a little later."
"Anytime is fine."
Sitting on the sofa, Urr swung her legs. Her legs swayed left and right, stirring the air.
Yuria watched for a while, then quietly looked at her research documents.
'Methods to Euthanize Demon Gods.'
Although it was research for Urr, it contained content that she wouldn't want to use even if it were possible, leaving only bitterness lingering.
If only Urr were human. If she were, this heart wouldn't be wavering.
Thinking this, Yuria tucked the document at the very bottom of the pile.