Chapter 118 : Chapter 118
Volume 2
Chapter 42 : Could It Be...
...
“Hm?”
After leaving the training grounds, Muen suddenly stopped on the path carpeted with parasol leaves.
A hint of confusion flickered through his gaze as he swept his eyes across his surroundings.
It was class time now, so there were no other students on the road.
Everything around him was quiet as well.
The only sound was the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind.
On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“But why does it keep feeling like someone’s watching me?”
Muen could not help frowning.
That faint, elusive sensation of being observed was like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, flicking its tongue at him again and again.
“Could it be some pervert stalking me?”
Muen shuddered.
“But wasn’t that guy Koren already caught?”
Thinking that, he did not dare linger any longer. Shaking his head, he quickly left the area.
...
At class time, there were not many people in the library.
“Oh? Junior?”
Senior Anna was wearing the librarian’s black uniform and long skirt.
Her smooth hair had been braided and draped over one shoulder, making her look like a gentle older girl next door.
Only when she saw Muen did the slight crescent curve of her eyes reveal a hint of the little devil in her nature.
“What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be in class right now?”
“Could it be...”
Bracing both hands on the desk, Anna leaned half her body toward him.
A fragrant breeze drifted from her as she smiled softly.
“You skipped class just to come see me?”
“I...”
Overwhelmed by Anna’s “presence,” Muen leaned back slightly.
Even so, his gaze still could not help drifting downward.
So big.
So high.
So magnificently overwhelming.
From this top-down angle, not only could he take in the grandeur of those twin peaks in full, he could even vaguely glimpse the fathomless ravine hidden within the tight gap of her blouse.
“Junior.”
It seemed Anna had noticed where he was looking.
There was a faint note of reproach in her voice.
She raised a finger and lightly tipped his head upward, forcing his gaze away.
“No lewd thoughts allowed.”
“That’s nonsense. I wasn’t doing anything.”
Muen’s cheeks reddened slightly as he retorted at full volume.
“Honestly.”
Anna straightened up and folded her arms across her chest with a soft sigh.
“This librarian uniform is already the most conservative uniform in the academy, and you still managed to stare at it with those lewd eyes. Junior, just how hopeless are you?”
“Well, whose fault is that when you’re so beautiful and have such a perfect figure, Senior?”
Muen gave a foolish little laugh.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Anna smiled charmingly, then lowered her head and resumed the work she had been doing before Muen arrived, sorting the stack of books in front of her.
“So?”
“Hm?”
“My question from now.”
“Oh.”
Muen came to his senses, then immediately struck a handsome pose, leaning against the nearby wall as he coquettishly brushed back his bangs.
“Just as you said, I came specifically to see you.”
“Really?”
Anna lifted her eyes and gave the other hand behind his back a meaningful glance.
“You came to see me and even brought a gift? Let me see what it is. Fundamentals of Magic? My, my, Junior Muen, how impressive. How did you know this is my favorite book? I like it so much that lately, even though I do not need to study this subject, I have flipped through it dozens of times already.”
“Uh...”
Muen awkwardly hid the textbook farther behind his back and laughed sheepishly.
“Senior, you must have seen something wrong. How could I possibly be so shameless as to come disturb you while you’re working?”
“Oh, is that so?”
Senior Anna arched a delicate brow.
“If I saw something wrong, then please make yourself at home, Student Muen. It’s class time, so the library is nearly empty. You can do whatever you like.
“Just do not disturb my work.”
Anna patted the books she had arranged neatly in front of her and gave him a mischievous smile.
“After all, it is work hours.”
“I was wrong, Lady Anna.”
Muen immediately pressed his palms together and begged for mercy.
“I am a shameless scumbag. Please forget what I just said and teach me a harsh lesson!”
“That is more like it, my adorable scumbag junior.”
Anna let out a tinkling laugh. Her graceful body trembled slightly with it, and Muen’s heart seemed to sway along with her.
“Then let’s go.”
Anna gathered up the books and pushed open the small door behind the counter.
“Huh?”
Seeing Anna walk right out from behind the desk just like that, Muen froze and blinked.
“Is it really all right for you to leave your post?”
“Do not worry. It’s not as if I’m leaving the library. As long as I sit somewhere that can still see the counter, it’s fine. And besides...”
Anna smiled as she looked at Muen.
“At a time like this, other than a bad student who is suspected of skipping class, like you, who else would even come to the library?”
“...True enough.”
Muen swept his gaze across the library. Aside from a few upperclassmen quietly looking up materials, there was no one else.
...
After finding a seat near the counter with Senior Anna, another round of painful yet blissful study time began for Muen.
The complicated material was broken down by Anna, who was gifted at teaching, into fragments of knowledge that Muen could absorb with ease, then steadily poured into his mind.
Muen could clearly feel himself improving.
But for him, that was not the only delightful thing about it.
Whenever he looked up and saw Senior Anna’s expressions and smiles, so absorbed in her teaching, he could not help wishing time would slow down.
Slower.
And slower still.
If only this moment could continue forever...
“Junior, you smell like another woman.”
After finishing one section of the lesson, Anna flipped through the book in her hands and spoke as if only casually.
“Uh...”
Muen, who had been lost in pleasant daydreams, instantly stiffened.
“I-I do?”
“I’ve smelled that scent before.”
Anna set the book down, and there was something meaningful in her expression.
“It was the same when I visited you in the infirmary. It’s that student council president, isn’t it?”
He was stunned. After that, he had been in “close contact” with more than thirty men. And she could still smell that?
“My sense of smell has always been very sharp.”
As if she had seen through his thoughts, Anna smiled.
“So, is it?”
“It is...”
“In other words, before you came here, you met that student council president first?”
“Ah... right.”
Muen answered stiffly.
How strange.
Why did this feel like the guilty panic of a scumbag getting caught cheating?
He had not even done anything!
No, I have to...
Just as he was about to say something to dispel this awkward atmosphere, Anna suddenly leaned forward and rested her cheek on one hand.
A sweet fragrance lingered at the tip of Muen’s nose.
“Come to think of it, Junior, you are quite the famous playboy in the academy.”
“Haven’t I said it before? Those are just rumors.”
Muen smiled bitterly.
“That may be true, but you do seem to be unusually close with several famous girls at the academy.”
“Am I?”
Muen scratched his cheek.
He had not noticed girls in particular, but he definitely had the feeling that some boys were coveting his body.
Still, why had Senior suddenly brought this up...
“So I wanted to ask...”
Anna suddenly brushed back a strand of hair. Her eyes, as though brimming with spring water, curved slightly as she asked in a soft voice,
“Junior, is there someone you like?”
“Huh?”
Anna’s words were so clear, and so sudden.
It was like a professional boxer had thrown a heavy punch straight into Muen’s heart, making it pound violently.
Muen’s eyes widened, and he instinctively glanced around.
At some point, everyone else in the library had already left.
Only the two of them remained.
And so, everything was deathly quiet.
Wait, wait, wait.
This kind of setting.
This kind of atmosphere.
The senior suddenly asked a question like that.
Could it be that she is about to...