“You-you-you-you-you-you—”
Leah was so startled that she instinctively tried to pull her hand away from Will’s mouth. But as soon as she tugged, Will firmly held her wrist in place.
He…
He was actually sucking the blood from the tiny wound on her finger?!
Leah’s fingertips tingled.
As for Will…
The tiny puncture from the clip pin allowed a small trickle of blood to flow, like a gentle stream seeping through a crack in a rock. He could feel the warmth of Leah’s witch blood, its faint sweetness lingering on his tongue.
Surprisingly, witch blood tasted quite good. He wondered if it had any special restorative properties?
“What are you doing?! Are you a vampire or sothing?!”
But…
A strange thing happened. As her blood was drawn, Leah’s rapid heartbeat began to slow, and the overwhelming tension in her body started to fade, replaced by a natural sense of fatigue.
She stared at Will, who was still sucking on her finger. When he looked up, his bright blue eyes reflected the image of her golden twin-tails.
This…
This was what a modern, assertive student looked like?!
Sucking his teacher’s blood without hesitation?!
Slurp, slurp…
After about a minute, Will finally released her finger, licking his lips before casting a small healing spell to stop the bleeding.
“How do you feel? Better?”
“T-There’s no way—”
Leah wanted to deny it, but when she saw Will’s sincere gaze, she rembered his earlier advice: to be direct and honest.
Leah quickly swallowed her words and replied:
“…Better. Much better. Thank you.”
“Looks like the bloodletting thod works wonders.”
“Huh? Is this so obscure healing magic?”
“Nope. It’s my own invention. I figured your symptoms were related to the overactivation of your magical circuits, which are tied to your blood. So… I thought letting out a bit of blood might disrupt the flow and help stabilize things.”
This line of reasoning was sothing he had picked up from his discussions with Mr. S. He had learned not to treat this world as rely a setting or a ga—sotis, real-world logic worked wonders.
“Oh, and since my magical concentration is much lower than yours, my bodily fluids are far less potent. If I were to lick or kiss you, the effect would be even—”
“W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU PERVERTED GLASSES-WEARING FREAK?!”
Leah scooted two ters away from him on the floor.
“……”
Will fell silent.
Even though he was telling the truth, he had to admit that the way he phrased it did sound… questionable. He hadn’t even considered how it might co across.
But… being called out so suddenly…
He felt a little deflated.
“D-Did I… hurt your feelings?”
Noticing Will’s sudden change in deanor, Leah crawled back over from two ters away. She gently patted his head, like a mother comforting a child.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry. It really… really worked. Look, I’m feeling much better now.”
“But your face is still pretty red. Are you sure it worked? You’re not lying to , are you?”
“T-That’s none of your business!”
Leah turned away, muttering softly to herself:
“…Being… being treated like this by my student… of course I’d blush, no matter what…”
“Oh, by the way, don’t you have that… teleportation magic? You’ve used it in front of before.”
Will had just rembered this as he watched Leah sitting there, enduring her discomfort without saying anything.
“Why not use it to leave? Don’t tell it’s because—”
“It’s absolutely NOT because I wanted to spend ti alone with you, so I deliberately didn’t use it!”
—Though her words were a bit stuttered, Leah had, for once, embraced directness, honesty, and sincerity. She wasn’t lying.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, she reached into her pocket…
And pulled out her spatial pouch.
She tipped it over, shook it, and even gave it a little jiggle.
It was completely empty.
“Uh…”
Will leaned closer to inspect the ground, worried they might have missed sothing.
“Ah… ahaha… Recently… I’ve been a bit short on funds. Most of the magical tools I collected—including the pink chalk for teleportation spells—were sold off for money. So I can’t use it anymore, hehe.”
“…Of course. That’s so you.”
Will sighed. Even so, Leah had used quite a bit of valuable material today, including the restoration gel and counterasure coating, to help him deal with his bullies.
“But if I win the research competition in a few days, I’ll not only get the prize money but also qualify for a decent fire magic research grant. Then… I shouldn’t have to worry about money anymore…”
Leah hugged her knees, mumbling to herself.
“Um… well…”
She hesitated for a mont before taking a deep breath and speaking seriously:
“I ca here to find you… not just to see who was confessing to you. I also… wanted to talk about working together.”
For once, she was completely straightforward about her intentions.
“Wait, what did you just say? Did I hear that right?”
Will’s eyes lit up. If he weren’t so stiff from the cold, he might have jumped two ters in the air.
“I an… collaboration. Um… I’ll split the prize money with you. If you’re interested in future projects, you can join as a collaborator. And when the research paper is published, your na will be included.”
She quickly listed several terms before pausing.
“But for now… I can’t be your ntor. Sorry, that’s the one thing I can’t agree to.”
“Aw~ Teacher, we’ve co this far, and you still don’t want to take on as a student? Is it sothing I did wrong, Miss Leah~?”
Hearing Will’s exaggeratedly sweet tone, Leah nearly fainted.
“Stop, stop, stop! Don’t talk like that—it’s so gross.”
Hugging her knees, Leah felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her. But this ti, it was a natural fatigue, as if she could finally relax and fall asleep.
“It’s just… your written scores are excellent. If you do well in the practical exam, there are better teachers than who can guide you. A student like you, with innovative thinking and practical skills, will be in high demand.”
Leah felt that, as a temporary teacher who would eventually leave the school, she wasn’t the right fit to be his ntor.
She glanced at Will, who had turned his gaze away—what she interpreted as a look of disappointnt.
But in reality…
Will wasn’t too bothered. He had only wanted to use this opportunity to spend more ti with this adorable tsundere.
Getting her to the point where she was willing to propose collaboration was already progress.
He still had a few years. One day, she would transform into the kind of yandere who would pin the protagonist against a wall, her eyes filled with hearts, a bold and obsessive declaration of love on her lips!
“Phew… It’s fine. Getting this far is enough. I’d be happy to work with you.”
“Mm.”
Leah got the answer she wanted.
This was enough. This was enough.
But…
Why did she feel a faint longing, a desire for him to always stay by her side…
To always be the strong-willed student who looked at her?
—With that thought, Leah drifted off into a rare, peaceful sleep.
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