Chapter 286
Chapter 286: Starting to Feel a Little Overwhelmed
The moment Heni's figure came into view, the shock rippling through the crowd spread in an instant.
Associate Professor Heni had—openly, brazenly, in front of this many people—straight-up thrown her arms around Professor Viktor?
Unlike the earlier speculation about Erika, this was simply undeniable fact.
Both Erika and Auréliane had their gazes locked onto Heni.
Auréliane stood completely frozen, as though her mind had short-circuited and gone entirely blank.
Erika was equally unable to hide the shock inside her, staring wide-eyed, every inch of her disbelief plain to see:
"He……Heni?"
By the time Heni came back to her senses, she finally loosened the arms wrapped around Viktor.
But one of her hands still gripped Viktor's arm tightly, as though reluctant to let go in the slightest.
Looking at the dumbstruck Erika, Heni's exquisitely alluring eyes slowly fluttered open, the gaze within them growing gradually warmer and softer, inviting and captivating.
A seductive air seeped from the corners of her eyes like unshed tears, her tone carrying a thread of provocation—like an invisible withered hand had hooked Erika by the chin—as it drifted over to her:
"Oh, it's Erika. My apologies, I didn't notice you there."
She wasn't sure how it looked to anyone else, but as Erika stared directly at Heni, a feeling welled up from somewhere inside her……
Unfamiliarity.
The face before her and the magical aura it gave off were identical to Heni's.
And yet, she just felt as though she were looking at an entirely different person.
Her gaze followed the curves of Heni's body and drifted, almost involuntarily, slightly downward—
Her mind was immediately hit with a violent wave of dizziness.
Hold on. This……this was Heni!?
Gone was that wide, concealing black robe she had always worn before. The feminine silhouette that had once been hidden beneath it was now on full display before everyone's eyes.
Faced with this version of Heni, Erika found herself almost at a loss for words.
That……that impossibly……
She lowered her gaze, glanced at herself, then looked back at Heni.
She was still hesitating over what to say when Heni spoke again.
Only this time, her tone was more subdued. Her arm remained linked with Viktor's:
"This isn't the time for conversation."
"Don't stir up conflict at the Academy entrance, Erika."
As she spoke, Heni pivoted smoothly—using the arm hooked around Viktor's as her anchor point—and once again nestled herself against Viktor's chest.
Eyes half-lowered, a faintly provocative smile on her lips, she sent each and every word drifting clear into Erika's ears:
"I'll be leaving."
"With♡the♡Professor♡first♡"
An unassuming Magic Formation materialized beneath the feet of Viktor and Heni.
The peculiar blue Magic Power swiftly wove itself into a Formation; delicate traceries raced across the ground in an instant, and faintly glowing blue stars flickered to life in the air around them.
The next second, the entire Formation vanished without a trace—leaving only scattered points of light that gradually faded—as Heni and Viktor dissolved into 2 streams of magical energy and rose toward the sky.
The crowd, watching from the moment the Teleportation Formation disappeared, felt their hearts come close to shattering, struck speechless with awe.
That was……a 3rd-Tier Magic……
Associate Professor Heni……was actually……actually a 3rd-Tier Mage!?
That……that was more than enough to qualify her for a full Professor position.
Erika stared at the spot where Heni and Viktor had vanished, her entire being frozen in place like a petrified statue, eyes drifting blankly toward the sky.
Heni……when did she……
"3rd Tier?"
That couldn't be……this was simply……
How long had Heni even been a Mage? How had she become a 3rd-Tier Mage?
Erika felt something in her sense of the world starting to crack.
She had so many questions she wanted to ask Heni—but as Heni herself had said.
This was the Academy entrance. It was not a place for causing scenes.
So she drew in a long, slow breath, and let it out.
Like an attempt to steady herself.
As for Auréliane?
She stood like a hollow wooden doll stripped of its soul, eyes fixed blankly on the spot where Heni and Viktor had left.
Auréliane had come to find Viktor with something particular in mind.
But before she'd had the chance to say a word, her teacher had been carried away by another woman.
"……"
She was silent for a moment—then, just like Erika, drew a long, deep breath.
She said nothing more to Erika. She turned away and walked, without hesitation, toward the Academy's interior.
Each step seemed laden with resolve; her retreating figure radiated a quiet, heavy gravity.
No one will take my teacher from me.
Auréliane silently made up her mind, and with firm, deliberate strides, departed from the bustling scene.
After Viktor vanished, the passersby and students drifted away as well, somewhat deflated.
They hadn't gotten the spectacle they had been hoping for—
The 2 Top-ranked Freshmen, Auréliane and Erika, each putting their abilities on display.
Proof of who was truly the most gifted student at this Academy.
What they saw instead was something arguably far more valuable.
Now that they'd laid eyes on Heni, some of them had already begun to remember.
Heni—hadn't she been Viktor's Teaching Assistant?
***
The next moment, blue luminescence slowly gathered down from the sky, gradually settling onto the ground, patterns knitting themselves together, reconstructing Viktor and Heni's forms before the Mage Tower.
【Identity verification successful—Professor Viktor, welcome back to the Mage Tower.】
A mechanical voice rang out; a sweep of familiar blue flashed across the surroundings, and the well-known office materialized before him.
The office remained as it always had—stacked with heavy, haphazardly arranged books—yet amid the disorder, a certain underlying order still persisted.
Viktor walked straight to the desk and settled into the chair.
His body leaned slightly forward, both hands folded before him, brow furrowed, expression grave.
His face was a picture of exasperation.
He sat in silence, and even Weija on his shoulder had been shaken by what had just occurred and didn't know what to say.
Weija's beak parted, and she spoke:
"What just happened?"
Viktor calmly turned the matter over in his mind.
Why had Heni suddenly become……this bold?
Something about this was definitely off.
When Heni had made contact with him just now, her Level had lit up above her head.
Lv30.
Levels didn't lie. This meant Heni had become a 3rd-Tier Mage.
How had she reached 3rd Tier so quickly?
Viktor was puzzled. He thought it over for a moment, then used the crystal orb on his desk to summon Heni:
"Heni, come to my office for a moment."
Once she had received clearance to enter, a blue portal descended, and Heni appeared inside the office.
She was still dressed in the teacher's formal uniform—but the black robe she had always worn to conceal her singular allure was nowhere to be seen.
"Professor, you called for me?"
Viktor looked at Heni and noticed that her presence was considerably more settled than before.
That once-overwhelming aura of allure now seemed to be under her own control, drawn inward and contained.
But Heni had undeniably changed. The quality she radiated made her seem far more self-assured than she had been.
He wanted to confirm something—so Viktor extended his hand and gestured for Heni to approach.
"Come here."
Heni walked over to Viktor with a smile.
Viktor reached out and gently rested his palm against Heni's arm.
She didn't pull away. That soft smile remained on her face.
Only at the moment of contact did a faint flush bloom across her cheeks.
Viktor raised his eyes to look at the space above her head.
Lv30.
A 3rd-Tier Mage, without doubt.
Viktor withdrew his hand.
Heni tilted her head, a hint of puzzlement crossing her face:
"Professor, you……"
"Just confirming something."
Viktor's expression was composed.
Without lifting his gaze, he continued:
"Next time, don't do that again."
What Viktor referred to was, of course, the display at the Academy's entrance just now—acting with excessive intimacy in a public setting, with complete disregard for appearances.
Heni lowered her head slightly, tilting it just a little to one side, lashes dipping downward.
Something seemed to move in her eyes—a faint rosy light drifting and swirling—and a trace of temptation seeped through.
"Professor……do you dislike it?"
Her soft voice was like a slow, drifting incantation; even the surrounding air seemed to grow warmer by a few degrees.
And yet, Viktor remained entirely unmoved.
He simply held Heni's gaze with absolute seriousness and said by way of instruction:
"A place like the Academy entrance will only invite unnecessary trouble."
Unwanted talk. Damage to one's reputation.
Not that he had any reputation worth protecting to begin with—but Heni was different.
Heni smiled softly, her sweet expression like a bewitching full moon—captivating and warm all at once.
She replied, docile and compliant:
"Understood."
"When we're in public, I'll be more mindful of how I conduct myself."
Viktor gave a small nod.
Then Heni's voice took on a teasing lilt. She narrowed her beautiful eyes, a flash of uninhibited playfulness flickering through them.
"In that case, if it's in private♡"
"That's fine then, isn't it?"
Viktor looked at her, expression blank.
Then he rose from his seat and walked over to stand before Heni.
He reached out and gently caught her chin.
Heni let out a soft, breathy sound:
"Mm~"
Their eyes met, and the moment hung suspended.
The depths of Viktor's gaze ran cold—a piercing, glacial light, like ice left undisturbed for a thousand years.
Rather than feeling frightened by that chill, Heni's eyes held something that almost looked like anticipation.
In the end, Viktor did nothing further.
He simply reached out, placed his steady palm on the top of Heni's head, and gently ruffled her hair.
Heni blinked in surprise. She felt a warmth course through her, flowing through her very meridians; a happiness so full it seemed to overflow from within her heart.
Viktor's voice followed, quiet and unhurried:
"Because you are Heni—I'll allow it."
"As long as it's what you want."
The words settled, and he released his hand; slipping both hands into his pockets, he moved to stand behind her.
Heni stared after Viktor as he stepped away, caught off guard for a moment, before quickly turning her head to look at him.
Viktor's form, however, had already begun to fade—gradually becoming translucent, as though he was about to vanish entirely.
A brief shimmer passed, and his indifferent voice followed after:
"Come with me to the City of Mages in a few days."
"Now that you're at 3rd Tier, there are certain things you're finally qualified to be involved in."
He didn't look back. His figure disappeared completely, like a phantom dissolved by a passing breeze.
Heni stared fixedly at the place where Viktor had gone, her eyes still carrying traces of infatuation.
A warmth had bloomed in her body, one degree warmer than before.
"Professor……"
Just as she had thought.
"Mr. Crocodile wasn't wrong at all."
Feeling the warmth lingering on her body, Heni couldn't help but wrap her own arms around herself; her body trembled faintly with excitement.
Behind her, a pair of phantom fox-like pink-furred tails gradually rose into being, swaying back and forth inside the office, as though brimming with barely contained delight.
A seductive aura seeped upward from them, spilling out like a flooding river until it saturated the entire office.
And as they swayed, a second tail grew from behind her—identical to the first—the 2 of them winding around each other, dancing ceaselessly in the air.
Heni cupped her own cheeks in both hands. A faint flush of rosy warmth had risen across them, and at the depths of her eyes, pink hearts flickered in and out, one after another.
"I will offer you everything I have♡"