Chapter 200: Stalking
The day after Ryu was assigned as a temporary magic instructor for Class 1-A for a single week—
Around noon, Ryu once again headed toward the office of a certain pharmacology professor in order to bother her as usual.
As always, he entered without permission.
The moment the door opened, however, a horrifying stench exploded outward like a physical force.
The room was saturated with the smell of some unknown chemical concoction so vile that the concept of peacefully eating lunch instantly ceased to exist.
Even Ryu’s expression stiffened.
If they remained in there any longer, their carefully prepared lunches would absorb the odor and become permanently inedible.
Thus, Ryu immediately evacuated with Estelle and Daifuku-kun in tow, eventually settling onto a bench in the academy plaza.
“Fuuuuh…” Ryu exhaled deeply, looking genuinely relieved to still be alive. “For the first time in a while, I felt actual mortal danger.”
“Honestly…” Estelle crossed her arms irritably. “Making such a fuss over a little smell. This is why amateurs are troublesome.”
“What exactly did you do to create that smell? Did you boil goblin feces or something?”
“Of course not, idiot!!” Estelle snapped instantly. “It was the perfectly natural aroma of fermented medicinal herbs! I’m simply accustomed to it. But those novice pharmacists work in environments like that every single day to create medicine for ordinary people like you. You should be grateful.”
“Thank you, rookie pharmacists.”
“Mm. Good.”
Even Ryu had no rebuttal this time.
He could only remove his metaphorical hat in respect.
Fortunately, the lunches had survived untainted, so they decided to eat outside instead.
“Is Daifuku-kun okay, though?”
“…………” jiggle
“According to Daifuku-kun,” Estelle translated calmly, “the bottom of a slime swamp is far worse than that.”
“Ahhh… yeah, that swamp probably had years of sludge and corpse gas built up underneath it.”
As they chatted casually—
“Oi, Ryu,” Estelle muttered quietly. “You noticed it long ago too, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. He’s been tailing us since the moment we left the pharmacology room.”
“So that’s the strange student from Class 1-A?”
“Yep. Youngest son of Duke Mondo.”
“My, my… just how much does that boy adore you?”
A short distance away, hidden behind the shadow of a tree, Zex watched the two of them with sparkling eyes.
(Ryu-sama and Estelle-sama sharing a peaceful married lunch together… how indescribably sacred… If possible, I would commission a renowned painter to immortalize this beautiful scene and display it upon my bedroom wall forever…!!)
At that moment, two male students approached from farther down the plaza.
“Hey, isn’t that the ‘nojya-loli’ professor over there?”
“Wonder who she’s eating with. Let’s go say hi.”
““Heeey, Nojya-lo— GBUEH!!”””
Just as they attempted to call out to Estelle—
A black blur appeared from nowhere.
The two students instantly lost consciousness and were dragged away somewhere beyond the hedges.
Naturally, the culprit was Zex.
“What exactly is that fellow trying to accomplish?” Estelle asked flatly.
“I honestly have no clue,” Ryu replied. “Seriously, what is his deal?”
“He may genuinely admire you, you know.”
“…Being admired by a guy doesn’t make me happy at all.”
“Not romantic affection. Admiration. Reverence.” Estelle smirked knowingly. “That look in his eyes makes it obvious.”
“Oh? You can tell?”
“Who do you think I am?”
“A nocturnal mad scientist glutton perverted noja-loli elf.”
“Stop saying it so smoothly!!” Estelle barked. “I am the legendary love-expert onee-san elf feared by crying children!!”
After finishing their lunches, the two stood up to return to the school building.
Naturally, Zex resumed following them.
“This is technically your second lecture already, isn’t it?” Estelle asked. “Hasn’t he spoken to you at all?”
“Now that you mention it, he didn’t raise his hand once today.”
“If he actually spoke with you properly, he might faint on the spot.”
“We have talked once.”
“NANU?! What did he say?!”
“When I told him to visit the infirmary because he looked sick, he answered, ‘D-d-d-d-d-d-don’t worry, thank you very much,’ like some suspicious samurai having a nervous breakdown.”
“Kakakaka!! What an adorable little creature!!”
Even during this conversation, Zex continued shadowing them while pretending it was all a coincidence.
He simply wanted to keep the two within sight for as long as possible and bask in the overwhelming joy of observing them.
Ryu sighed heavily.
“Haah… honestly, I don’t think I can survive a whole week of this.”
“Since you’re here anyway,” Estelle suggested mischievously, “why not speak to him properly now? Lunch break still has plenty of time left.”
“Since you’re with me, I guess I could ask about the Mondo mines.”
“Mm. I shall accompany you.”
◇◇◇
Zex had completely abandoned his own lunch in favor of tailing Ryu and Estelle.
Incidentally, he still believed he had not been discovered.
The reason was simple.
Despite his overwhelming admiration for Ryu, Zex actually had very little understanding of Ryu’s combat ability.
At most, he assumed Ryu was “somewhat talented at magic.”
After all, no matter how deeply one investigated, there were almost no official records of Ryu’s battles.
The only documented military achievement was his participation on the Western Front, but even that had been thoroughly censored under a strict information lockdown ordered by Marquis Grace.
The public only knew that someone involved in the Western Front had defeated the three Heroes.
Zex himself believed Ryu had likely served as a strategist or commander supporting powerful imperial magicians from the rear.
In other words—
He genuinely thought Ryu possessed only enough ability to qualify as a magic lecturer.
In fact, Zex had even convinced himself that he personally needed to protect Ryu.
He still mistakenly believed his father, Duke Mondo, worshipped only Ryu’s unparalleled intellect.
A naïve misunderstanding befitting a student still green with youth.
“……………………”
(Seeing the two of them walking side by side truly emphasizes the difference in their physiques. I too must deepen my research into the aesthetics of height disparity…!!)
──And then, in the very next instant—
“Got a minute?”
“Huh…⁉”
Ryu was suddenly standing directly in front of him.
Zex’s eyes widened in absolute shock.
(I didn’t even see him move…?! Me?!)
“R-R-R-R-R-Ryu-sama…! W-What brings you here?”
“What are you, a bell cricket?”
“Such a sharp retort from Ryu-sama himself!! Thank you, thank you so much…!!”
“There’s something I wanted to ask.”
“I shall answer absolutely anything!! No, please allow me the honor of answering!!”
“I want to know what kinds of ores can be mined in the Mondo territory. Also, if possible, I’d like permission to enter the mines myself. Can you authorize that?”
“Yes!! I can personally grant the authorization, and I can explain every type of ore in detail as well!!”
“I see. That helps.” Ryu nodded. “Then let’s continue this conversation back in the smelly pharmacology room.”
“Stop calling it smelly, you fool,” Estelle grumbled.
It seemed their plan had worked perfectly.
The ores were as good as secured.
Trembling with happiness, Zex followed eagerly behind the two of them.