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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 158 - Head Theoretical Professor Kaiden (10)
As I stared blankly at the cat figurine in my hands, something felt off.
Hindrasta stood motionless, fixated on the golden cat perched in my palm, drooling as she stared at it.
"Ack?!"
When she suddenly lunged for it, I raised my hand high to keep it out of reach. Hindrasta let out a zombie-like wail.
"Just once! Let me touch it just once!"
"Get a hold of yourself, Sophie!"
Knightley and Merilda tried to restrain her, but they were no match for her draconic strength.
"Please! I beg you! Just a single moment with that radiant beauty!"
True to the nature of dragons, Hindrasta was utterly bewitched by the glittering treasure in the form of the cat figurine.
"Alright, calm down. If you keep acting up, I won’t let you see it."
At that, Hindrasta miraculously quieted down.
"Oooh…"
When I handed her the cat figurine, she gazed at it as if entranced, her expression slack and dreamy like a cat intoxicated by catnip.
"It’s so radiant… so beautiful…"
Kaiden, standing at a distance, smiled as he watched her.
"Sophie, how do you know it’s real? For all you know, that golden cat in your hand could be cat poop."
Hindrasta jolted out of her daze, startled, and quickly handed the cat back to me.
"Do you have anything else you want to say? We should probably head back to the Academy soon."
Kaiden said with a gentle smile.
Hindrasta pointed an accusatory finger at him.
"Yeah, the most important thing! Are you a woman or a man?!"
"How amusing."
Kaiden chuckled softly.
"You call that the most important thing, yet it’s completely irrelevant. I’m a man."
"With that face, do you expect anyone to believe you?!"
"Would you like me to strip and show you? But even if I did, would you believe me then?"
Kaiden’s calm tone was razor-sharp as he continued.
"Once you start doubting something, it’s a slippery slope. No matter how much evidence is presented, you’ll keep doubting until the object of suspicion is utterly destroyed."
Hindrasta couldn’t muster a response.
"Alright, then. I believe everything is settled."
Kaiden looked around at all of us.
"I’ve already explained why I used magic on Sophie—it was for a legitimate reason. And as for why I brought Professor Dian here, it was simply to give him a special gift in private. Lastly, for the record, my outing with Professor Dian was nothing more than two old comrades spending time together—something we’ve done for the past ten years, far longer than the half-year you’ve all known him."
There wasn’t anything technically wrong with what he’d said.
"Shall we head back now? What do you think, Professor Dian?"
"Yeah. Let’s head back for now."
The moment I spoke, the world seemed to ripple around me, and before I knew it, we were standing at the Academy gates.
"Ah?!"
The students looked disoriented, clearly startled by the sudden teleportation.
"I’ll head in first. I’d rather not add to any unnecessary misunderstandings."
Kaiden said, adjusting his robe with a smile.
"The cat I gave you is enchanted to ward off nightmares and ensure restful sleep. Place it in your bedroom, with its gaze directed toward your bed."
"Got it."
"Rest well, everyone."
With those words, Kaiden vanished in a flash of light.
As soon as he disappeared, Knightley and Merilda let out long sighs of relief.
"Wow, that was intense."
"As expected of someone from the Demon King Slaying Special Force—his presence is no joke."
Hindrasta, however, glared at the spot where Kaiden had been, her expression filled with frustration.
"Hey, Sophie. I have something I’ve been meaning to ask you."
Knightley tapped Hindrasta on the shoulder.
"You and Professor Dian—did you know each other before?"
"Why are you asking now?"
"Just something about the way you talked earlier gave me that impression."
"It’s none of your business."
Hindrasta dismissed the question curtly before turning to me.
"We’ll talk later. Let’s go, guys."
As she led the others away, they bid me goodbye.
"Rest well, Professor!"
"Yeah, see you."
# # # # #
"Unbelievable."
Knightley muttered as they walked back to the dormitories, glaring at Hindrasta.
"That was so embarrassing. You yelled at a professor asking if he was a man or a woman, only for it to turn out that you were the one acting strange!"
"Shut up."
Hindrasta snapped back sharply.
"You really believe that mage? Huh?"
"Why wouldn’t I? Like the Head Theoretical Professor said, if you don’t believe him, what can you believe? If everything’s just illusion magic, then everything’s fake—nothing is real."
Unable to argue, Hindrasta clamped her mouth shut.
"We’re lucky Professor Kaiden let it slide. If he’d followed the rules, we’d all be penalized. Sneaking out of the Academy and speaking so rudely to a professor? That’s grounds for disciplinary action."
"Then I’ll just drop out. Whatever."
Hindrasta’s tone was defiant, but her eyes betrayed unease.
"Still, something doesn’t sit right with me. It’s just my gut feeling."
"Maybe use that gut feeling to guess better on the theory exams."
"Alright, enough."
Merilda interjected with a laugh.
"It was all just a big misunderstanding. I admit, something still feels off, but there’s nothing we can do about it now."
Merilda linked arms with both Knightley and Hindrasta.
"Instead of worrying about Professor Kaiden, shouldn’t we focus on preparing for the end-of-semester evaluations?"
"Ugh…"
Knightley groaned.
Her recent pestering of Professor Dian had all been about the upcoming evaluations.
Normally, she wouldn’t have cared, but with Hindrasta dominating practicals and Merilda excelling in theory, she was feeling the pressure.
Even so, Knightley wasn’t inherently malicious. Despite her competitive streak, she genuinely considered Merilda and Hindrasta her friends—the only ones she truly trusted at the Academy.
"You’re right. Let’s get through the exams first."
Knightley sighed.
While Knightley and Merilda seemed to move on, Hindrasta couldn’t shake her unease about Kaiden.
As a dragon, she possessed an instinctive awareness that transcended logic.
No matter how convincing Kaiden’s arguments were, Hindrasta could sense there was something more—a hidden motive she couldn’t quite explain.
What could it be?
The simplest explanation was that Kaiden was secretly a woman, trying to monopolize Dian as a romantic interest.
But if that were the case, why hide her gender?
If Kaiden disliked being a woman, why not present entirely as a man? Instead, Kaiden’s appearance was feminine—more so than most women.
Or perhaps…
Perhaps Kaiden pretended to be a man to get closer to Dian during the war.
As comrades, they would have camped together and shared accommodations. Being the same gender would have made such proximity more acceptable.
But then what? Even if they became close, what was the point of hiding her gender?
Was she planning to reveal herself one day with a dramatic confession?
Lost in thought, Hindrasta’s head began to throb. Her mind wasn’t suited for this kind of overthinking.
It would almost be easier to believe Kaiden was an intelligent slime capable of casting magic.
She sighed heavily.
"I don’t know. My head hurts."
# # # # #
After sending the students off, I walked home alone, reflecting on what had happened.
In the end, nothing had changed. Kaiden had said all the right things, leaving no room for argument.
His reasoning for using magic on Hindrasta was sound.
Sure, I could try to argue otherwise, but as Kaiden pointed out, suspicion has no end.
Especially when dealing with an illusion mage, where everything—what I see, hear, touch, and taste—could be a lie.
Taken to its extreme, even my memories of meeting Kaiden could be illusions.
No, that’s absurd. I’ve already read the original story. I know how it ends.
But… what if even my knowledge of the story is an illusion?
What if being reincarnated into a fantasy novel was never real?
What if there’s no Hero Linus, no Four-Year war, no Academy at all?
I shook my head.
No point spiraling down that rabbit hole.
Once home, I washed up and lay in bed, examining the golden cat figurine.
The jewel-encrusted cat had a strange quality to it. The longer I looked, the more it reminded me of Kaiden’s smiling face.
So this was the real gift he wanted to give me.
It’s enchanted to ward off nightmares and promote restful sleep, apparently.
Isn’t that more divine magic than arcane?
Feeling the cat’s gaze too strongly, I draped a towel over it before drifting off to sleep.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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