“If you’re that eager to associate with me, shall we make a bet?”

“A bet, you say?”

He’d take it, wouldn’t he? He’d be intrigued, wouldn’t he? Narrow Eyes would be trying to build a rapport with Chris and extract information, following the Principal’s orders, after all.

I curled my lips upward into the most chilling smirk I could muster.

“Between the trash you’ve raised and the trash I’ve raised—which is at least somewhat usable.”

“Hmm, it sounds like you’re proposing a sparring match between our students.”

“If I win, stay out of my sight from now on.”

“You know how to use your head better than I expected. Then if I win, you’ll buy me a meal?”

Ugh, seriously persistent. Is he some kind of meal-obsessed lunatic? Is he Korean? Why is he so fixated on food?

Go for it, Chris. That arrogantly condescending gaze!

“No. There is no scenario where you win.”

“……Well, fine. It sounds entertaining. I’ll let our students know. So, when shall we set the date?”

Narrow Eyes had taken the bait.

‘Hell yes.’

For me, it was a fight with nothing to lose. Regardless of the outcome, I just needed the joint class to happen.

And honestly… I didn’t get the feeling that the overpowered protagonist party X-Class would lose.

“Tomorrow afternoon.”

After announcing it, I turned sharply on my heel and walked away, making it clear there was no room for negotiation.

And so, a Poké-X-mon battle—disguised as a joint sparring session—was set in motion.

* * *

However, Chris—who couldn’t sense even the flow of magical energy, let alone a person’s presence—failed to notice.

“……The professor is trusting us with a sparring match?”

That behind a pillar in the corridor, a student had been watching the entire exchange.

* * *

One month had passed since the new semester began.

By now, not knowing her at Bedallua Academy would earn you accusations of being part of the Demon Lord’s army.

Chris Dotten.

A figure who was the talk of not just the students, but the faculty as well.

“Didn’t nearly her entire class submit transfer requests on her very first day?”

“She supposedly just told them to study on their own. I peeked in recently, and it seems she still does that.”

“Has anyone actually spoken with her? I’ve never even run into her in the faculty dormitory.”

“Don’t even mention it. She walked past me in the corridor last time, and the aura was so murderous I couldn’t even bring myself to greet her.”

The professors of Bedallua Academy knew better than anyone that the proportion of eccentrics among geniuses was high. After all, they themselves were those very extraordinary geniuses.

Yet even to them, Chris Dotten was an unfamiliar presence.

She exuded an aura that unmistakably marked her as a formidable expert, yet hers was a name no one had ever heard.

An alien teaching method that could only be described as outright neglect.

A solitary and enigmatic woman who interacted with no one except her own students.

“Given all that, the fact she hasn’t been fired means she must be the Principal’s daughter.”

“The Principal is unmarried, isn’t she? So a hidden child, then…….”

“Look at the kids left in X-Class—they’re all top-tier material, you know? She’s clearly scheming to build her own elite mini-army.”

With so little known about her, rumors only grew more rampant.

“Did you hear? Y-Class and X-Class are going head-to-head!”

It was only natural that everyone’s attention was instantly captivated by this new development.

“And they’re betting a date between Professor Yujin and Professor Chris!”

……And if a ‘romance’ that seemed completely unlikely had been tacked on top of that, well—there it was.

* * *

It all began with Nika Tot’s talent for interpreting things in the best possible light.

“X-Class students, is everyone here!”

“Yaaawn~ I’m sleepy. I came because you said it was urgent, but what’s this about?”

“We need to head to dinner soon, so I’d appreciate it if you kept it brief.”

The student lounge. Those who had finished their afternoon classes had gathered in response to Nika’s summons.

Since Nika made a habit of getting worked up over nothing, the looks directed at him all said, *Here he goes again with more nonsense.*

“Thanks for making time! I decided this wasn’t something I should keep to myself, so I wanted to tell everyone as quickly as possible.”

Nika, undaunted, adjusted his round glasses with a *cheok* and set the mood with a serious expression.

“You all probably already know that we’re having a sparring match with Y-Class tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yeah. Professor Chris announced it during class earlier, right? Don’t tell me you want to strategize or something? It’s one-on-one anyway, so if that’s it, I’m out~”

“Ah, wait! Hold on! Then do you also know what happens if we lose that match—”

Nika slammed both hands on the table with a *bang* and paused for effect. For dramatic impact.

And then, with eyes gleaming, he blurted out—

“The professor…… has to go on a date!”

“……?!”

It was a sentence so out of nowhere that no one could have possibly anticipated it.

Everyone was too dumbfounded to speak for several seconds.

*Tap.* The only sound was the soft thud of the snack in Michael’s hand dropping to the floor.

Nika surveyed those stunned faces with satisfaction before continuing.

“I heard it with my own ears! During lunch break in the corridor, Professor Yujin from Y-Class kept asking Professor Chris to ‘have a meal together’—essentially asking her out!”

“Wait, is that for real? Did you mishear, or are you interpreting things your own way again?”

“Angelina, the men of the Tot family do not lie!”

Beside Angelina, who was still furrowing her brow in disbelief, Dolce chimed in with a grin that openly said, *This is going to be fun to stir up.*

“Yeah, inviting someone of the opposite sex to a meal is a pretty standard way of asking them out. Besides, I’ve never heard Professor Yujin say anything like that before~”

“T-true…… Professor Yujin does prefer to keep to herself as much as Professor Chris does.”

“Right? She’s not the type to ask someone to eat together without a reason like that.”

When the innocent Bell nodded absently, Dolce eagerly piled on.

Meanwhile, Michael had been completely shell-shocked by the overwhelming revelation.

“……The… professor… on a date…….”

Finding the situation increasingly entertaining, Dolce grinned and turned to Nika.

“So, so? Did Professor Chris say something like, ‘I like strong men, you trash. I can’t be bothered to deal with you myself, so beat my students in a fight and I’ll go out with you’~?”

“D-d-d-date……!”

Michael’s breathless stammering was lightly ignored.

“Not bad with the Professor Chris impression, Dolce? Pretty close! It seems Professor Chris wasn’t interested in Professor Yujin, because she said, ‘If X-Class wins the sparring match, don’t hover around in my sight anymore!'”

At Nika’s words, Angelina clicked her tongue.

“……Professor Yujin, I didn’t see her that way. Once she was rejected, she should have backed off, not turned it into a bet.”

And so, Narrow Eyes—Yujin—who had merely been trying to get closer to Chris on the Principal’s orders, ended up branded as a relentless suitor who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

In turn, Chris became known as someone who used her students to fend off a persistent admirer.

“In other words! The professor trusts us that much. So this time, we need to do more than just our absolute best!”

Of course, unfortunately, X-Class was composed entirely of people whose arms bent so far inward they practically snapped. Fitting for members of the ‘protagonist’s party.’

“We have to win…… that’s what you’re saying, right? Simple. It’s what I do best.”

“Alright~! I’m curious to see the professor on a date too, but we can’t lose to those Y-Class scrubs.”

“Hehe, then let’s do our best for our professor. Within the limits of not getting hurt, of course.”

It was inevitable that their enthusiasm would end up burning a little too hot.

“……I-I’ll make sure… nothing troubles… the professor!”

“Michael, sparks are coming out of your fist right now. Put it away!”

Even Michael, the most timid of them all.

* * *

The day of the decisive battle dawned.

[Time Remaining: 23:20:48]

I gazed at the system window with utter composure.

It had felt awful when I first received it, but come to think of it, there was no quest easier than this.

If the kids won, I’d just say, “Don’t get cocky.” If they lost, I’d say, “Pathetic.” Simple as that.

‘Besides, they’re fighting safely in a prepared training ground, so there’s no reason for me to step in.’

My heart was light. In novel terms, this was the long-awaited slice-of-life arc.

I popped the last piece of jerky into my mouth and casually dusted off my hands.

It had already been over three weeks since I’d started subsisting on the bulk-purchased jerky and hardtack, all to maintain my ‘solitary persona.’

At first, the Korean inside me had thrown a fit about how this was even possible—

‘But think about it. Does ‘Chris’ look like someone who’d go to a cafeteria and stand in line holding a tray?’

Eating was an act directly tied to survival.

It was unbefitting for Chris, a corpse that breathed only because it couldn’t die.

Why else would I be practicing climbing a tree at every mealtime to sit with one knee drawn up in a stylish pose?

A persona is life. Life!

Besides, my mana was maxed out anyway, so I didn’t have to worry about starving even on light meals.

‘I’ve killed enough time. Shall I head in now?’

True to the willful ‘Chris,’ I dragged my feet with a *jjik jjik* and deliberately entered the training ground at a leisurely pace.