novelraw Chapter 116: Quality
Chapter 116: Quality
"Jasmine..."
"Jasmine, wake up!"
Jasmine slowly pried open her heavy eyelids. The blurry shapes of her two roommates gradually sharpened into focus. The curtains had been drawn aside, and morning sunlight streamed across the dormitory floor. Only then did Jasmine realize she had overslept.
"S-Sorry!"
She bolted upright in a fluster. In her nightgown, her shapely figure was strikingly outlined by the thin fabric.
"What's there to apologize for? Didn't you sleep well last night? It's not like you to oversleep."
"That's right — you're usually the first one up in our room."
Under her roommates' concerned gazes, Jasmine discreetly pressed a hand to her chest. The image of last night's cold-faced gentleman in the darkness flashed unbidden through her mind.
'Professor Fischer is actually that terrifying?' When she was discovered and he gave chase, she'd nearly been scared out of her own soul.
Thank goodness he hadn't found her hiding in the pool. If she'd been caught, the fact that she wasn't human would have been exposed for certain!Still a little shaken, Jasmine glanced at her own body beneath the covers. There — a pair of human legs wrapped in pajama pants, toes curling slightly upward. Not the massive tail.
Confirming she hadn't given herself away, she let out a breath of relief.
"I-It's nothing. I just had a nightmare last night..."
Milika and Isabel exchanged a glance. Then Isabel suddenly grinned.
"Don't tell me — you dreamed about Professor Fischer?"
"Wha—!"
'Why... how does Isabel know?!'
Jasmine's heart leaped as she looked at Isabel. She thought her roommates had somehow found out about being chased by Professor Fischer across the campus.
'Wait — no. When I snuck back to the dorm last night, no one was here. And there couldn't have been any witnesses near the gymnasium.'
Faced with Jasmine's panicked expression, Isabel waggled her index finger with perfect understanding.
"I took one look at that homework sheet Professor Fischer handed out, and oh my — it's a nightmare just thinking about it... Jasmine, were you terrified by the assignment too?"
"Huh? Oh — uh, yes."
Jasmine's emotional rollercoaster in front of her roommates was dizzying. But after confirming that neither of them knew about last night, she finally relaxed.
"Hurry up and get dressed! We'll be late if we don't leave soon."
"Okay~"
Jasmine scrambled to change, struggling with the clasp of her bra in front of the mirror, then finishing dressing and washing up before following her roommates out of the room.
Mornings at the university always carried a familiar drowsiness. The students were plainly exhausted, yet their youthful vigor shone through regardless.
The three girls walking toward the breakfast hall drew every eye — like three roses opening in the morning light.
"Lady Laofang's classes are really fun. She had us analyzing a bunch of ancient Nari poems. Isabel, your ancestor Gothrin I adored writing poems about geese. Lady Laofang says he wrote at least a hundred..."
"Really? Now that you mention it, Father once said something about Grandfather and the ancestors all loving goose meat."
"Is that true? I thought it was because they wanted to praise the fighting spirit of geese!"
Jasmine covered her mouth and giggled. She couldn't always keep up with the youthful chatter between her roommates, but just listening was entertaining enough.
"Professor Fischer!"
The next second, Milika's greeting froze the smile on Jasmine's face. Her heartbeat spiked.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a gentleman seated at a window table in the cafeteria, enjoying breakfast. Hearing Milika's call, Fischer looked up at the three approaching girls. His gaze lingered — specifically on Jasmine at the back — for several seconds.
'He didn't figure it out, did he? Please tell me he didn't figure it out?'
Jasmine shrank behind Isabel, too nervous to meet Fischer's eyes, hoping to make herself as invisible as possible.
But mercifully, Professor Fischer appeared not to have connected last night's shadow to her.
He withdrew his gaze quickly, gave a simple nod, and dabbed his lips with a napkin.
"Milika, Jasmine, Your Highness Isabel — good morning."
"Professor, you're here so early! Did you move into the faculty dormitory? Does that mean I can visit your room after class?"
"You'll be caught and reported. If you need anything, come to the office."
While chatting with the visibly disappointed Milika, Fischer's gaze drifted covertly to Jasmine's legs behind Isabel. Her shapely, white-stocking-clad calves showed no sign of the enormous tail he had glimpsed last night.
'How does she do it?'
Though a theory was forming, Fischer's face betrayed nothing — a picture of complete ignorance about the previous night's events.
"Aww, really? Well, do you want to eat breakfast with us?"
"I've already finished. Enjoy your meal. Oh, and—" Fischer smiled, tidied his plates, and picked up his hat and other belongings, "—be careful around campus at night lately. Don't walk alone, especially you young ladies. Understood?"
"Ah, yes — understood, Professor."
Jasmine pressed her lips together. She was clearly convinced that Fischer had no idea who the shadow had been — he probably thought it was a thief or a burglar.
She exhaled softly. The tension in her heart dissolved entirely.
Fischer said his goodbyes and disappeared through the cafeteria door.
He still had a morning class with the second-years. Nothing else unusual was on the agenda, so Fischer planned to devote the rest of the day to Eliog. He figured the demon was still sleeping this morning and didn't bring her food — he'd go at noon instead.
Class flew by. The second-year students were similarly tormented by Fischer's assignments. Since these were handed out on Thursday, the deadline fell on the following Tuesday.
Even so, students crowded around Fischer afterward with questions — some even asking for advice on career planning as magicians.
It was an interesting topic. Before graduation, students could sit for two or three certification exams proving their magical proficiency. The two most important options were the Naris Magic Association's "Magician Professional Certification" and the World Magic Association's "Magician Qualification Certificate." Both came in beginner and advanced tiers.
Many students aimed to earn at least a beginner certificate before graduating. Which one they chose depended on where they wanted to work, as the Naris certificate wasn't recognized in Kadu, the Northern Border, and certain other nations.
This reminded Fischer of something Chancellor Kaine had mentioned when discussing the Schwari visit: Schwari's Magic Society had unexpectedly visited the World Magic Association headquarters in Kadu the previous month. Kaine had suggested the move might be connected to their upcoming trip to Naris, though even he didn't know what they'd gone to Kadu for.
As the students filed out, Fischer gathered his things and headed to the cafeteria to pick up the food he'd ordered that morning. He skipped eating in the dining hall and went straight toward the lab.
Passing the Southern Continent Demi-Human Protection Association quarters, he once again saw no trace of Xi Yate or any other staff. The Pioneer Party probably had more events to keep them busy.
When Fischer reached his lab, he had half-expected that Eliog, driven by morning hunger, might have wandered off looking for food. But when he pushed the door open, she was lying on his cot in exactly the same position as when he'd left the night before — utterly motionless, embodying the word "sloth" with exquisite thoroughness.
Fischer called her name. Not a twitch. He resigned himself to eating his own lunch first. That was when the flame at the tip of her black, slender, arrow-tipped tail — draped lazily over the edge of the cot — suddenly flickered to life.
When Fischer looked over, she finally sat up, rubbing her eyes at a glacial pace.
"Yaawn... morning. Why do you get up so early every day? Don't you know that early rising shortens your life?"
"Where did you get that theory?"
Eliog blinked in confusion for a second. Then, upon seeing Fischer's face, she seemed to suddenly remember something.
"Oh, I forgot you're not a demon. Alright, by human standards I suppose regularity is better... Ooh, food. Much obliged."
Her gaze locked onto the chicken on the table. She lazily gripped the edge of the plate, bit off huge chunks of meat, and gulped them down whole.
She patted her stomach, savoring the flavor with evident satisfaction.
Unlike humans, whose taste receptors were on the tongue, demons apparently needed to swallow food before they could perceive its flavor — another of the many differences between the two species.
"You keep eating. Can I continue my research?"
She nodded indifferently, kept gnawing meat, and waved Fischer on.
Fischer turned his attention with considerable interest to the slender tail swaying behind her. The flame on its arrowhead danced vigorously, burning bright.
"I've been meaning to ask — why does the tip of your tail produce a flame that has absolutely no warmth?"
Fischer reached for her tail. He was about to touch the arrowhead-shaped tip when Eliog stopped him, twisting the tail away.
"Don't touch that part. It's very sharp. The flame is an extension of my consciousness — a manifestation of a demon's power. Word of advice: if you ever run into a demon whose tail-flame is big and blazing, run for your life. If you get caught, they'll suck the marrow right out of your bones."
She smiled over her shoulder at Fischer. He then looked at the small, guttering, barely-alive flame on her tail and couldn't decide whether she was being truthful or pulling his leg.
"Besides that, the tail can also assess a target's quality. Like this—"
The words had barely left her mouth when the tail lashed around like a bolt of lightning, striking toward Fischer. He reacted with blazing speed, snatching the tail — but the agile tip twisted free, and the arrowhead pierced the skin on the back of his hand with surgical gentleness.
There was no pain at all. The flame sank into Fischer's skin. Before his eyes, a single drop of blood traveled in reverse along the tail's tip, flowing back into Eliog's flame.
The next instant, the flame shuddered. The arrowhead withdrew from Fischer's skin.
Eliog turned to look at him. Deep in her throat, a sound like magma bubbling erupted — a low, rolling gurgle. Her eyes grew brighter. A smile curled the corner of her lips.
"Well, well... your fluids are extremely high quality. I might even be able to bear little demons with you."