Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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It didn’t take long before we arrived in front of the Dormitory.
“Then should we see each other in the lecture hall next week?”
I fiddled absently with my bangs as I asked.
“No, I’ll pick you up.”
Mallo said it with obvious pleasure.
What was that? Why did he suddenly seem so pleased with himself?
“Wait, don’t tell me—”
“Don’t tell you what?”
“You’re planning to pick me up by car again, aren’t you!”
“What’s the problem with me picking you up by car?”
“It’s not exactly a problem, just—”
“Then we’re good. See you.”
Mallo said goodbye as if he had no intention of listening further, then vanished in the direction of the Plaza.
I stood alone in front of the Dormitory, muttering to myself.
“……It’s embarrassing, that’s all.”
* * *
The weekend I spent at Goldilocks was uneventful.
No difficult customers came in, and no situations arose that weren’t covered in the manual.
What I did learn was that the business card with the baby bear stamp that Mallo had given me on the first day wasn’t just an ordinary business card.
〈Is the first-place prize in the arcade really an Unlimited Meal Pass? I’ve always wanted one……〉
Goldilocks stared at me intently during a break when I made that offhand remark.
〈You really don’t know?〉
〈Know what……?〉
And she explained: only one Unlimited Meal Pass had ever been issued, and I was the one holding it.
The Unlimited Meal Pass was literally a coupon that let you order any menu item from Goldilocks infinitely.
So I’d been scrounging for meals since day one despite having such a treasure, simply because I didn’t know how to use it.
There was no point in asking Mallo why he hadn’t explained it.
If I pressed him on why he’d worked so hard, the answer would be obvious. He did it because it was fun, right? That’s probably what he’d say.
Besides, saving a little on food expenses wouldn’t actually reduce my debt.
In any case, on the day I was supposed to meet Bibi, Mallo came to the Parking Lot to pick me up, just as promised.
As I stepped out hesitantly, Mallo was waiting for me, leaning against the car.
I reached for the passenger door, but couldn’t help asking.
“Um, Professor, I’ve wanted to ask this for a while now……, but this isn’t your car, is it?”
As expected, Mallo looked at me as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
Right, well, that’s probably just his version of human mimicry.
Even the smartphone he always carries around is like that, and from the fact that Gwon Tae-hyun had even given him a skateboard, you could tell Mallo liked human-world possessions.
But even so, this was a bit much. Wasn’t it a little too… flashy?
“A showoff car.”
Looking down at the brilliantly polished white convertible supercar, I said this.
“What does that mean?”
“It’s just… it lacks a certain dignity, I suppose. It looks like exactly the sort of thing a reckless, silver-spoon aristocrat would drive?”
“I still don’t understand.”
I closed my mouth as I watched Mallo pretend to think. From the start, he was nowhere near dignified anyway.
“Do you want to take the bus instead?”
I shook my head quickly.
“No way. Your taste just came as a surprise, that’s all.”
I’d only ridden a bus once, when we went shopping, and honestly, I had no desire to ride one again.
The passenger door opened. I settled into my seat and arranged my billowing skirt over my lap.
‘What was I thinking, picking an outfit like this?’
My previous iterations as Amelie had similar builds, but they apparently had very different taste in clothes.
In the closet, evidence of multiple owners before me was clear: there were many bright, colorful outfits that the old me would never have worn.
Instead of my usual monochrome training clothes, I’d chosen a Ruffle Skirt and Fuzzy Knit.
If you asked me why……, well……, it was probably because of this shiny car that Mallo had brought.
I didn’t want to look shabby by comparison. There was no other reason.
“It suits you.”
Mallo said this as he closed the driver’s side door.
“……What does?”
“Your clothes. They suit you. No need to be so self-conscious about it.”
So he’d noticed my discomfort. It showed that much, did it?
I felt embarrassed and started playing with the ends of my hair instead.
“Cute.”
Mallo murmured this while checking the side mirror.
“Excuse me?”
He turned to look at me. Smiling, he said:
“You wore it because of that ‘friend,’ didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
What?
“I don’t… what are you even talking about? It’s not like that… it has nothing to do with that.”
“Is that so?”
“It has nothing to do with Bibi.”
“Understood. Can you fasten your seatbelt for me?”
That was all. Mallo seemed to have lost interest and answered indifferently, then started the engine.
‘What in the world……’
Before I knew it, I was biting my lip. And that’s when I realized I’d been wearing the Strawberry-flavored Lip Gloss I’d found in Amelie’s drawer.
I pulled a tissue from the glove box and rubbed my lips clean.
I couldn’t explain why, but I felt completely foolish.
* * *
The Nest Building was a rare sight in the Citadel—a high-rise somewhere between twenty and thirty stories—but counting the exact number of floors was impossible.
According to Bibi, if you tilted your head back to look at the top of the building, you could suffer a breakdown from irrational awe.
“You can’t tell even from inside the building? At least the Emergency Stairs should have floor numbers written on them.”
“Something’s written there, sure, but not the floor numbers. And the elevators are off-limits according to regulations.”
“So we have to walk up to the 12th Floor…….”
As I muttered this dejectedly, Bibi gave me a look as if I’d said something obvious. This was exercise, apparently.
“Anyway, did you memorize all of it?”
Bibi asked as she unlocked the door to the lobby with her Card Key.
“Oh, you mean the Regulations Manual? But that thing seemed a little strange…….”
That was when it happened.
“Lee Yuri.”
I started at the sound, and Bibi turned to me with a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing…….”
Behind me, Mallo laughed.
“Don’t worry. Right now, only I can hear what we’re saying.”
“……Don’t just call me like that out of nowhere. It makes me look like an idiot, startled for no reason.”
It was Mallo who had asked me to summon the professor, but the current Bibi had no memory of that fact, and couldn’t perceive Mallo at all.
Rather than twist my cognition to avoid falling into a Trance, it seemed better to leave him completely unheard and unseen.
It felt deceptive at first, but eventually I had no choice but to accept it.
I could explain it all properly to Bibi later, and she’d understand. It was a hundred times better than accidentally becoming a beetle.
“12th Floor, right?”
At Mallo’s gesture, the elevator doors slid open with a ding.
“What—?”
Bibi stepped in front of me, her guard raised.
“Oh my.”
Mallo chuckled softly as he looked down at Bibi’s head.
“That’s reassuring.”
He really was incorrigible. I glared at Mallo, then turned to Bibi and said:
“Get in.”
“What?”
“It’s fine. That passage from the regulations just came back to me. As long as we have a Card Key, the elevator is safe for us.”
I gestured to my head to reassure Bibi, indicating my unique way of retaining information. She was used to it by now.
Bibi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Bibi, I, and Mallo entered the elevator. Just as Bibi had said, there were no clues to guess the floor numbers.
The elevator panel just had countless incomprehensible buttons.
But there was no need to manipulate anything. Soon the elevator began to move with a gentle vibration.
“There are a few things I need you to promise me.”
Mallo stepped beside me.
‘Promise?’
“First, don’t go near the Emergency Stairs.”
Taken aback by his unusually serious tone, I glanced at Bibi’s expression. He was just staring at the display panel, oblivious to everything.
The display continued to show and erase incomprehensible symbols.
“Second, always take the elevator with me.”
“Um…….”
“And third, don’t look in the forward direction until you’ve left this building.”
“Forward direction……? What do you mean by that?”
“Answer me.”
It was unusual for him to press for an answer like this, but I simply nodded.
“Professor, I know it’s funny to ask this now, but…….”
“Mm.”
“Is this place……, dangerous?”
Mallo rolled his eyes as if pondering the question.
“Define ‘dangerous.'”
……Forget it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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