The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 133

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

Chapter 133
Of course, Father is wealthy too.
But isn’t it true that the more wealthy connections you have, the better?
I smiled to myself and organized the books neatly one by one.
“But… it seems like they’ve been bothering you more than just once or twice. Have you considered talking to the Professor about it?”
I spoke with genuine concern. However, Jerdin gently shook his head.
“If, if I do that and end up facing retaliation from the nobles… no, it’s fine. I can just endure it a little longer.”
“Sigh.”
He believed it was better to remain inconspicuous. I understood that sentiment well enough.
So I nodded and said, “Alright, I understand.”
Just then, Sortie, who had finished packing her bag, tapped me lightly.
“Let’s go get lunch!”
“Sure! Oh, that’s right. Titi, about my lunch—”
Before I could finish speaking, Haven, who had been sending eager glances my way the whole time, suddenly jumped up from his seat and rushed toward me.
“Hey! You!”
“What? Why me?”
“Just you wait and see.”
He delivered the threat with impressive intensity. I fidgeted with my fingertips and looked away.
“Huh, um… but did you really have to run all the way from the back of the classroom just to say that? Are you serious?”
“Ugh, such a commoner, so infuriatingly blunt!”
“Haven, stop it!”
At that moment, Sortie, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.
“Why do you keep being mean to your friend? Did your parents teach you to act like this?”
Well done, our Titi.
Amusingly, Haven bristled at Sortie’s words but couldn’t bring himself to be aggressive toward her.
‘So that’s how it is when it comes to fellow nobles.’
How utterly pathetic.
“Ah, why are you taking the commoners’ side?”
“Using the word ‘commoner’ is forbidden, Professor Yuliope said—!”
“Ugh, this is so annoying! Everyone, let’s go!”
In the end, Haven and his group left the classroom entirely.
Sortie glared at Haven’s retreating figure with an indignant expression. Then, suddenly, she turned her head toward me.
“Do you prefer pepper or chili powder?”
“Huh…?”
“Choose! Pepper spray or chili powder spray! I’ll have to carry one starting tomorrow!”
“You brought those too? You’re really something.”
“There might be an outdoor party on the last day, so I brought them to ward off flying insects!”
“But still, spraying it on people…”
When I met Sortie’s gleaming eyes, I shut my mouth tight.
“It could be one method. I’ll take the mix, Titi!”
She finally broke into a smile.
* * *
After finishing his morning classes, Yuliope headed toward the Administrative Building where the Professor’s Office was located.
Ugh, I’m exhausted.
Teaching had drained far more of my stamina than I’d anticipated.
“Though honestly, I had no stamina to spare anyway! Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ah….”
My delirious laughter quickly dissolved into a deep sigh.
“Professor Yuliope?”
Just then, Odeli approached, wearing red butterfly-shaped spectacles.
“Ah, Headmaster.”
“This is officially your first day—how was it? The students are adorable, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Though my overtime shifts are decidedly not adorable.”
Odeli gave a light, dismissive wave.
“Oho ho ho! You’re getting quite the bonus for it, aren’t you? You know our Academy pays better than Southern Mariad, right?”
“Of course, esteemed Headmaster.”
Yuliope rubbed his palms together with an utterly serious expression.
“So if you could see fit to negotiate my salary favorably for next year….”
Heh heh heh. And then I’ll negotiate even higher and jump ship to another institution.
Whether Odeli sensed my true intentions or not, he laughed once more. “Oho ho!”
“That will depend on how this camp you’re overseeing turns out, won’t it?”
“Ah, I can hear my body and soul being ground to dust somewhere….”
How depressing. Truly depressing.
Yuliope downed a fatigue recovery potion in one gulp.
“By the way… how has the Zebert Duchy’s daughter been?”
“The daughter?”
“Yes. The Duke seemed concerned about her being shy around strangers, but is she adapting well?”
Hmm. Adapting, he says.
Yuliope’s expression grew ambiguous.
“She seems to be adapting well enough… but I can’t tell if she’s actually shy or not.”
“What do you mean?”
I recalled her name tag, hastily scrawled with just “Ru.” Those clear, piercing eyes confronting Haven as well.
When she overheard talk of commoners, she was apparently being mistaken for one—yet she deliberately chose not to correct them.
‘She dislikes standing out, so perhaps that’s why?’
The youngest of the prestigious Zebert family. Moreover, that rare and precious daughter of theirs.
Everyone in the Empire knew the circumstances of the Duke and Duchess, so the meaning behind their adoption of a “daughter” was unmistakable.
Recalling the extraordinary interest in the young lady before camp even began, Yuliope’s expression turned indifferent.
‘But I can’t give her special treatment because of that.’
Noble or not, they’re all the same students to me.
If conflicts arise among the children, I’ll intervene only as a professor.
If anything, I disliked the notion of hierarchy forming in the classroom based on status.
“Well, for now she’s doing fine. It seems she’s made quite a few friends.”
Odeli’s eyes flickered with emphasis at the halfhearted response.
“Fine, you must take very good care of her. Do you realize how much the Zebert Duchy is pouring into our Academy?”
“Pardon? That’s hardly my concern. The Duke’s contributions don’t exactly flow directly into my paycheck, do they?”
“Hmm. Are you perhaps not hearing something?”
“What?”
“The sound of Professor Yuliope’s salary being cut.”
Oh dear. Yuliope clapped both hands over his ears and shook his head like a madman.
The headmaster smiled with a soft hum and patted Yuliope’s shoulder twice.
“But… what about the Library situation?”
Only then did Yuliope lower his arms and grip the ancient manuscript he’d been holding under his armpit.
“…As you can see.”
Odeli’s expression grew infinitely grave.
“I’ve been racking my brain all night trying to find a solution, but there’s nothing.”
“Sigh… I see.”
Odeli rubbed his weary brow.
“Once the camp ends, an audience with the Emperor is scheduled. I’ll bring this matter to His Majesty. I’ll have to request a Mage be dispatched.”
“…A Mage, you say.”
“Don’t make that face. Of course, our Ancient Manuscript Archive has never permitted Mages to enter… but what choice do we have?”
“Sigh…”
It was an ancient rule of the Archive.
A rule that had never been broken once throughout the Academy’s long history.
It was only natural that the Academy’s headmaster and professors would follow it.
“This is most troubling…”
Gulp, gulp gulp.
Yuliope downed another fatigue recovery potion.
“Well, as long as I can just leave work…”
The headmaster couldn’t hold back any longer and bristled.
“No, that’s why I’m telling you to go home and rest! You have a house right in front of the main gate—why do you insist on pulling all-nighters in the research lab every single day?”
“But work…”
“Hey, are you eating properly? Hm? Professor Yuliope!”
Yuliope pretended not to hear and shuffled forward with a sniffle.
In one hand, he clutched the ancient manuscript he so dearly loved.
As Yuliope wobbled toward the research lab, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Professor!”
Looking up, I saw a child running toward me from afar.
The girl who had just been the subject of our conversation.
It was Rubian.
“…Miss Rubian?”
The child with an adorable strawberry pin in her hair approached and bowed respectfully.
“Hello!”
Yuliope focused his weary, blurred vision.
“I’m sorry for causing such a commotion this morning.”
Her bright blue eyes sparkled. This was the first time they’d actually conversed, and she proved far more clever and well-mannered than he’d expected.
“Hmm, no need to apologize. Is that why you came?”
“Well, partly, yes.”
Rubian tapped her foot shyly as she spoke.
“Today’s lesson was so inspiring that I wondered—could I possibly tour the Ancient Manuscript Archive?”
Yuliope’s eyes widened considerably.
“That would mean… you have an interest in ancient texts?”
“Yes. There’s something oddly familiar about them, and I find myself drawn to them somehow. I have this burning scholarly passion to read them fluently someday.”
“Ahem, ahem! Ahem ahem!”
The young professor’s face flushed crimson.
‘I shouldn’t give special treatment.’
But…
“It’s quite rare for students to take an interest in ancient languages, ahem!”
This isn’t special treatment, is it? I’m simply guiding a student who shows genuine scholarly interest!
He struggled to maintain composure, but his lips kept twitching upward despite his efforts.
Without realizing it, Yuliope reached out and gently stroked Rubian’s hair, then froze.
‘What is this sensation…?’
She’s precious. This student.
Somehow, I don’t want to let her go.

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