Chapter 10

For about a month until graduation, I was subjected to countless glares of pure envy at the student dormitory.

After all, the dorms are strictly off-limits to members of the opposite sex.

It makes sense; a magic school is a place for study, not a venue for dating. A male student bringing a girl into his room is a serious offense that could, in some cases, result in expulsion.

However, in my case—I actually received official permission.

“Here, Master. Say ‘Aaahn.’”

“Cerulia, I can eat by myself, really…”

That morning at breakfast, Cerulia was once again pointing a spoon full of soup toward me. Notably, this wasn’t Cerulia’s home cooking; it was made by Lise-chan, the dorm’s meal provider. As usual, Lise-chan’s portions were massive—there was enough soup to make my stomach slosh.

“Ehh, why not? I am Master’s familiar, after all~.”

“No, look… everyone around us looks like they’re regretting the fact that White Magic doesn’t have spells to curse someone to death…”

Some guys looked like they were ready to weep tears of blood.

“Cerulia-san, if you’re going to be lovey-dovey, please keep it in your room or somewhere out of sight. Even if you are a familiar, this is still an educational institution,”

Lise-chan said as she brought over the bread, giving Cerulia a firm warning.

Lise-chan takes care of all the meals here. She’s young, but she’s a professional housemother—essentially the sun of this boys’ dormitory.

“She’s right, Lise-chan! You should actually ban them from living together!”

“Exactly! This is a felony worthy of expulsion and having his job offer revoked!”

“I’m jealous! It’s scandalous!”

The other students chimed in, siding with Lise-chan all at once.

“Hmm… I did check the dorm rules just in case,” Lise-chan said thoughtfully.

“But I think this falls under Article 15: ‘Bringing pets into the dormitory is prohibited. However, familiars are permitted as they are vital partners to a mage.’”

Calling Cerulia a “pet” felt completely wrong, but there was no doubt she was a familiar.

“Since there aren’t any other mentions of familiars in the rules, I think Cerulia-san is technically ‘safe.’ Besides, it wouldn’t be right to tear a familiar away from its master…”

And so, because Cerulia is a familiar, it was deemed acceptable for her to live in the same room as me. It was only natural for the other students to be jealous.

The dorm rules probably never anticipated a student summoning a familiar that wasn’t an owl or a cat. Even I didn’t think I’d be able to summon a familiar with a distinct personality who could hold a conversation. That’s usually something only world-class mages can do, not students.

In fact, even President Kelkel—the one who told me to try summoning something—had been shocked. I really must have a natural aptitude for Dark Magic.

“But then again, everyone used to make fun of Franz-san for not having a job offer, so maybe this is just karma~.”

When Lise-chan said that, the room went silent.

So you guys really were talking about my lack of a job behind my back (or, well, basically to my face). In that case, I’m going to flirt with Cerulia as much as I damn well please!

“Thanks, Lise-chan. I think you’re my only ally in this dorm.”

I wondered if that was a sad thing to say, but it was definitely accurate.

“I’m just glad it worked out so well after I introduced you to Kelkel-san,” she replied.

That’s right. If Lise-chan hadn’t told me about President Kelkel, a regular at her favorite cafe, I’d probably be busy cursing the students who already had jobs by now. This truly was a total reversal of fortune.

“It is a bit of a misnomer to call her your only ally, isn’t it?”

Cerulia reached out and wrapped her arms around mine.

“I shall protect Master even at the cost of my life. That is my pride as a familiar!”

Cerulia really can say some cool, heroic things for such a beautiful girl!

“I’ll protect you too, Cerulia,” I replied. I couldn’t just stay silent because I was embarrassed.

Caught off guard, Cerulia’s face went blank for a second, but then her eyes immediately began to shimmer.

“Master… I am so, so happy!”

She gave me a light kiss on the cheek.

Ah, I guess if you live long enough, “normie” events like this actually do happen to you.

“Master, let us go back to the room! Right now!”

Cerulia started tugging on my arm. She was definitely planning to do something naughty.

“Wait, if we go back now, I’ll be late for class…”

“I recall that you already have enough credits, so you don’t actually have to attend this morning’s first lecture.”

She sure knows her stuff… Classes really are at the very end, after all.

The guys in the dorm were glaring again, looking like they were thinking, “I’ll kill you and then myself!” while others looked like they were on the verge of tears. Hey, you guys have jobs waiting for you in the real world, so focus on that!

“Ahem…”

Lise-chan cleared her throat.

“Cerulia-san… um, helping your Master lose his self-control so early in the morning isn’t good. It’s not exactly praiseworthy behavior for a familiar…”

Cerulia seemed to take those words to heart.

“You are right… I would be a failure as a familiar if I hindered Master…”

Cerulia slumped. Even her wings seemed to wilt slightly.

“I am still so immature if I cannot put Master’s best interests first.”

She looked so dejected that I felt sorry for her.

“Don’t worry about it. Your feelings for me have never wavered, and I’ve never doubted that for a second. So, cheer up.”

I immediately followed up with words of comfort. Cerulia wears her heart on her sleeve, which makes her easy to read.

At that, her eyes shimmered again—and she lunged at me with a hug!

“As I thought, Master is wonderful! Let us go back to the room this instant!”

“Then nothing has changed!”

It seems this lovey-dovey relationship isn’t going to change anytime soon.