As Monday morning rolled around, Soren was finally permitted to leave the infirmary.
'Ugh, my back feels so stiff.'
Thanks to his being forced to lie in a hospital bed for over a day, his entire body felt still, but he knew he couldn't complain much, knowing how much worse things could have been.
Now that Soren had been in his body for the better part of a month, classes were quickly becoming a breeze. At first, he had been worrying that it would take him a while to get used to it, thanks to the knowledge gap between Earth and Ivansia, but it was a useless worry since he was in class F.
There was also the factor that the original Soren had only attended for just under two weeks before Soren took his place, meaning he didn't miss much.
'But still I wish it were a bit more difficult.'
"—Memorisation is a key part of the process of learning a new spell. If you are unable to perfectly memorise the structure of a magic circle before putting it into practice, then there are many risks involved in implementing an imperfect magic circle—"
'At least I'll be able to keep the original Soren's scores without worrying.'
To Soren it had already been made abundantly clear that the only reason he had gotten into Stellaris Academy in the first place was through theory scores, otherwise there was no good explanation for the status window he had when first transmigrating, because of this there was a high likelihood he would face expulsion if he couldn't keep his written scores high, at least until he had proved himself practically.
'But seriously, can't they teach something more useful?'
Initially, Soren had been happy with his placement in class F since it allowed him to completely avoid any characters related to the story, but now…
Shudder
'I… actually want to study…'
'Ugh, what's happening to me?'
Ever since surviving the Rena Forest incident, he had been having strange thoughts that felt unlike him, such as:
- I can't wait to train!
Or,
- Studying magic sounds really fun!
'Has transmigration broken my brain?'
"..."
Woooonggg—
'But how has nobody noticed yet?'
Sizzle
An orange magic circle sat on his hand with a small flame flickering on top of it.
Throughout every lesson today, he had been secretly casting and holding [Ignition] until his mana pool was dry, then repeating it once it had refilled.
Sure, he sat at the back of the class with nobody nearby, but Soren was sure that there was such a concept as being able to sense mana in-game.
'Oh right… class F.'
Once again, it was easily explained away by that one simple thing.
He then brought his eyes back down to the flame in his hand.
The reason he was able to do this was all thanks to the skill he had recently obtained [Concentration].
Ever since buying it over the weekend, he had been trying to figure out ways to make use of it; after all, he had used such a valuable item to obtain it, so he wanted to get as much use from it as possible.
Thanks to his experimentation he had found out that not only was he able to achieve his goal of a moving magician but it also had a multitude of other uses such as giving him the ability to multitask when casting or even something as simple as just making it easier to focus on things such as someone's expressions or actions during a conversation.
It also mixed perfectly with his unique skill, thanks to him having ability to memorise everything perfectly at a glance.
'At least it was worth it.'
He was happy that it wasn't solely useful for his magic fantasies.
Soren then looked at his status window.
There was one other thing that he had done during his time in the infirmary.
It was an impulsive action that he somewhat regretted.
When scrolling through the store window to see what he could use his points on, he stumbled upon a certain item.
[Random Stat-Boost Elixir]
The moment he saw it, he desperately tried to scroll past it and forget about its existence, but that was impossible for someone like him.
As someone who had been a hardcore player of gacha games for over half a decade, he couldn't ignore such a thing.
On top of that, there was the matter of price.
The elixir only costs 25P.
Because of that, he ended up impulsively buying it only to see that the price was instantly raised to 50P.
Seeing that, though, had made Soren slightly hesitant to drink the elixir.
His current state was that of a weakling, but conversely, that also meant it was the easiest time to raise his stats.
Knowing this fact made him think that it would be better to hold off until his stats were higher so that it wouldn't be a waste.
There was only one problem with this, though.
Soren's self-control is awful.
Because he had nowhere else to place it, the bottle was placed on the table right next to his bed, meaning he just had to watch it for an entire day and in the end…
'I couldn't help myself.'
Drinking it increased his agility by +1, which was fortunate as he had been slightly worried that it might raise his charm even further.
'I wonder if increasing charm would even do anything at this point.'
Back when this world was still a game, charm was an inherent stat that was impossible to raise outside of limited-time event items, but as Soren had already discovered through the use of Stella's Apple, it was possible to raise it here.
In-game, however, the only thing that charm did was increase affinity gained when giving gifts or going on dates with characters, which led Soren to be curious as to how this would be translated into real life.
At first, he thought it might just make him more likeable but…
'That's definitely not the case.'
Even this morning, when he was walking to class, not a single person greeted him.
'Well, I'll figure it out eventually, I guess..'
Ding- Dong-♪ Ding- Dong-♪
"—That's all for today, be careful on your way out. Oh, and Soren, Miss Rose asked me to tell you to wait here for her."
When Soren heard those words, he stopped packing his equipment away and brought his thumb to his mouth, biting it.
'I wonder why?'
He had already spoken to and been scolded by her when he had woken up in the infirmary, so he couldn't think of a reason for her to want to speak to him now.
'Did I do something wrong?'
"Hmm…"
While Soren was lost in thought, the door flung open and in walked Lilliana.
"Ah, you're still here, Soren."
Deciding it would be better to just ask rather than sit here worrying, he opened his mouth.
"Did I do something wrong?"
When he said that, Lilliana's eyes widened as she realised the misunderstanding she had created.
"No, no, it's nothing to do with that. I actually just had something I wanted to ask you—"
Hearing her words, he sighed in relief.
Then he froze, hearing the next words to escape Lilliana's mouth.
"–I wanted to ask if you were free to have lunch together?"
'Huh?'
He thought he had misheard something, but glancing up and Lilliana made it clear that he hadn't.
'It can't just be a simple difference between game and reality anymore..'
He had thought that the reason she had acted so differently back in the infirmary was something along those lines, but now, being confronted with an action that was so overwhelmingly different from anything she did in-game made him change his mind.
'What's going on..?'
"Uh—"
Just as Soren was about to respond, Lilliana spoke up with a slightly anxious expression.
"—If you have other plans, that's fine, I'm sure you're a busy person."
The self-depricating smile on her face caused Soren to respond quickly, worrying that she was taking his silence the wrong way.
"There's no way that's true. I'd be happy to have lunch together. It was just a bit unexpected, was all."
He had told a white lie by saying he didn't have plans, but he was sure Felix would understand, given the situation.
'I mean, he would ditch me too if Miss Rose asked to have lunch with him instead.'
Soren then looked at Lilliana once again, her small figure catching his eye.
'On second thought… maybe not.'
But Soren chose to believe that Felix would understand and shook off any useless thoughts.
"I'll go buy something and come back then—"
"—No need, this morning I accidentally made more than I can eat, so we can share today, if you're okay with that."
'Is that even a question?'
Soren refused to believe there was a single person in the world who would say no to an offer like that.
Seeing her emphasising the word 'accidentally' had also made it clear that this had been her plan the entire time, which Soren couldn't help but find cute.
"I'll take you up on that then, thanks."
"Then come sit down."
Pat pat
She patted the seat right next to her, and he sat down.
Lilliana placed the larger-than-normal lunchbox on the table and opened the lid.
At the sight before him, Soren couldn't help but swallow the saliva pooling in his mouth.
'It's not like I've been eating badly or anything, but… this is on another level.'
Soren's daily diet usually consisted of whatever the cafeteria offered for lunch, then snacking on some bread in the evening.
It was possible to eat at the dorms thanks to the maids, but Soren had a naturally small stomach, leaving him satisfied with just a single meal a day.
The food before his eyes wasn't anything glamorous, just some sandwiches and sides like rolled omelette, but the cafeteria food couldn't even compare, even though it was staffed by professional chefs.
It helped that not only was the presentation nice, but also each item of food was delicious.
Due to this, Soren ended up eating completely in silence, forgetting that Lilliana was right next to him.
When he turned to the side, Lilliana had a face filled with expectation, and so Soren hurried to tell her his thoughts.
"Sorry, it was so good that I forgot to say anything, definitely the best meal I've had in a long time. Thank you, Miss Rose."
It was a sentence spoken with complete sincerity, and because of that, it hit Lilliana even harder.
This morning, she had woken up early to prepare, putting her all into cooking the best meal she could, so seeing Soren speak so well of it made her smile brightly.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it!"
It was a face that would have been impossible to see back in the game.
A face of pure happiness, lacking the mask she always put on.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Upon finishing the meal, Lilliana turned to face Soren.
"There was a reason I asked to do this today."
Fully expecting it, Soren's expression remained the same as usual.
"The main reason was to, of course, check up on you. I know how good the priests are here, but the state you were in when I found you was so awful that I couldn't help but keep thinking back to it… You know, it's rare to see a student in such a state even just once, but with you it's happened twice—Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it. Anyways, my point is that I wanted to make sure you were doing okay."
As something Lilliana had said caught Soren's attention, he was unable to focus on anything else she had said.
'Twice?'
Since transmigrating, Soren had only ever been injured once, so he was confused as to what she was saying, then it hit him.
'Come to think of it, when I first came to this world, I was already lying in the infirmary.'
'What could've happened?'
Thinking that it was something he should look into later, he turned his attention back to the person in front of him.
"I'm fine now, all thanks to you."
"That's good, but Soren…"
Lilliana hesitated for a moment, worrying that her next words might seem strange.
"Yes?"
But she shook off that worry, looking at the boy next to her.
"If you ever need anyone to talk to, I want you to know that you can always come to me. I know I may not be the most trustworthy, being the youngest professor, but I will always try my best to help. All you need to do is ask."
She then reached her arm out and stroked Soren's head.
'I feel like there's some sort of misunderstanding…'
Even though Soren thought that he had taken no action to correct it right now, he knew that this misunderstanding wasn't necessarily a bad one.
The worry evident on Lilliana's face also made it difficult for him to correct it, so he instead just accepted her kindness.
"Thank you, you'll be the first person I come to if I ever need help."
"Promise?"
Soren nodded.
Hearing that, Lilliana smiled, happy to know that he would rely on her.
'...She's too cute.'
She then took her hand off his head and stood back, leaving Soren with a sense of disappointment.
"We should finish up, lunch will be ending any moment now. What's your next lesson, Soren?"
"It's alchemy, how about you?"
"That's a shame, I need to go to my office to prepare for next week's lessons, so we'll be heading in opposite directions."
"Then I'll see you tomorrow, thank you again for lunch."
Saying everything that was left to be said, Soren was about to start walking towards his next class when Lilliana stopped him, fiddling with her hands anxiously.
"Soren… how would you feel about doing this again sometime?"
Soren smiled widely at her cute question, filled with anxiety.
Lilliana continued.
"I was thinking maybe a couple of times per week, if that isn't a hassle. When you told me your diet earlier, it was clear that you weren't eating enough, and it's also a good way for me to keep an eye on a troublemaking student, so it's a positive for both of us—"
She kept rambling on, making excuses when Soren urgently cut her off.
"—Wait, I'm a troublemaker?"
He pointed to himself in a state of shock.
Ever since transmigration, he had kept relatively to himself, perfectly completed every assignment given to him, and never once got in trouble, and yet here Lilliana was calling him a troublemaker.
He couldn't believe it.
Then Lilliana tilted her head and made a face as if to say he had just asked the most obvious question ever.
"Yes? What else would you call a student who has had to have overnight stays in the infirmary multiple times before the mock duels have even begun?"
Her logic was sound, leaving Soren in a state where he couldn't argue with her, causing him to shut his mouth tightly.
"Pff, let's get moving then, otherwise you'll be late. I'll let you know ahead of time about lunch so that I don't interfere with your plans."
Saying those words, Lilliana turned and left with a smile on her face.
Soren, seeing that, didn't have the heart to tell her that he never really has plans.
Felix's face came to mind for a moment, but Soren ignored it.
Walking towards the classroom, he couldn't help but think back on what just happened.
He suddenly got invited to lunch by Miss Rose—Lilliana Roseblood—the genius professor who rarely ever makes personal connections, keeping everyone at arm's length.
That was surprising, but Soren could understand it by thinking about the fact that she was genuinely worried about him.
But then she cutely lied about making extra food so she had an excuse to share with him.
After that, she even stroked his head, going out of her way to make sure he knew he could rely on her.
And then finally, even asking to make having lunch together a common occurrence.
All of this together left Soren's brain a mess.
It was as if she were telling him to throw away any information about her he might have known from the game.
'Also, didn't her mask just completely fly off..?'
Unlike her usual stiff expression, she had been smiling and even looking at Soren with genuine worry.
'I wonder if she even noticed?'
'But why is she acting like this with me?'
No matter how many times he asked himself that it didn't make sense.
He wasn't anyone special, in fact, he was quite the opposite, the 5th lowest ranked student in the entire magical studies department with garbage stats…
'Stats?'
When that word came to mind, he quickly came up with a possibility for her actions.
"In the end, it can only be that, right?"
.
[Charm - 8.7 (S-)]
.
It was the only plausible explanation for her actions in his mind.
Completely ignoring whether it was even true or not, Soren decided to believe that he had figured it out and continued towards his class in a good mood.
————「❤︎」————