I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

“Just now……”

Baek Hana, who had been staring blankly, turned her gaze downward.

Before she could say anything to the fairy, who was pouting, the fairy with waist-length hair opened its small mouth.

-Mine!!

Once again, the awkward voice of the child filled the garden, and Baek Hana, who had been watching the fairy, widened her eyes.

Clap–!!

Baek Hana, who was about to take some action towards the fairy, flinched at my applause and turned her head towards me. I spoke to the rest of the children and Claire, who were slowly turning their heads towards me.

“If you’re done, go and get ready for lunch after washing up. Claire, you too.”

Unlike Claire, who nodded slightly, the children were still staring at me blankly, unable to recover from the sudden situation.

“Baek Hana.”

“Huh?”

The girl, who had been looking back and forth between me and the fairy below, fixed its clear eyes on me when I called her name.

“Don’t just stand there, go inside and wash up.”

“Uh, yeah……”

“Not you”

“Huh?”

Baek Hana, who was about to turn around to wake up the other children who were still dazed, looked back at me in surprise.

“I didn’t call you.”

“Oh……”

Baek Hana scratched her head, looking embarrassed.

I shook my head and grabbed the little rascal with my magic, who was surprisingly aware of my presence.

-Ppyak?!

Although it had learned to speak human language, it still spoke in the language of the fairies in sudden situations.

“It seems that her hair has indeed grown.”

-……

Usually, it would have caused a ruckus and demanded to be released, but this time, it flew onto my hand very obediently.

“It’s distracting, so disperse from the garden.”

With that, I closed the window.

··

After the group in the garden dispersed.

-Ppyu-um~

The creature, which had been obediently caught by me, is now sitting on the desk, nibbling on the essence of the Slime Queen.

-Ppyak~ Thank you!!

“……”

The fairy belched softly and held out its small hands towards me.

Its behavior was very rude, but I took out another essence from the drawer and gave it to the creature.

-Thank you!

After expressing its gratitude for the fourth time, the creature started to push the black jelly back into her mouth.

‘I don’t know.’

Aside from her hair growing longer, the creature’s body hadn’t grown at all. However, from its ability to speak human language and its existence becoming as fragile as a candle in the wind, I could tell that the time had been accelerated beyond what I had expected.

The problem was that the creature only had about a year of time left. But its changes couldn’t be explained by just one year.

Even though her time was brought beyond what she had left, she was still maintaining her existence. This was the point that puzzled me.

-Ppyak~

After devouring the fourth essence in an instant, the creature belched again.

“Do you need more?”

-It’s okay!

The creature wiped its small lips with its small hand and stood up from the desk. Then, it flew onto my palm without permission and sat down.

“What is it?”

-That.

The creature’s small hand pointed to my glasses.

I thought it had given up, but it seems that as its hair grew longer, it became interested in my glasses again.

“Take it if you want it.”

-No! I don’t need it!!

The creature made a sulky expression and lightly tapped my palm with its small feet. It seemed to be trying to show strength, but it didn’t tickle at all.

-Ppyo-yeo-jju!!

“……”

Although it had learned to speak, its vocabulary was limited, making it difficult to express what it wanted to say. However, it wasn’t hard to guess what the creature was trying to say with its limited words.

‘Did it want to see my eyes, not my glasses?’

I hesitated for a moment, then pressed the creature’s cheek, which was puffed out in a cheeky manner.

-Ppyu~

When I pushed one side, it puffed out the other cheek.

It was as if it was imitating what Baek Hana used to do.

Children seem to imitate each other without exception.

“Later.”

-Ppi?

The creature, which had been turning its head away, blinked and looked up at me. Even though it had accelerated its growth, it was still a young fairy.

“I’ll show you when you become useful.”

-Useful?

I nodded my head at the creature, which was tilting its head to the side.

“So.”

-Ppi?

I asked as I placed the creature on the desk.

“How much time is left?”

The last glimmer of light before death.

That’s exactly what the creature was like right now.

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.

.

“Professor……”

Claire opened the door to the study and entered.

“The preparations are done.”

She glanced at the fairy sitting in front of me and said this.

“It seems that you’ve noticed it. You came out an hour earlier than usual.”

Or maybe because the creature that usually went in with her was missing.

I turned the creature around with my magic so that it was facing me, as it had been sitting with its back to Claire.

“You have something to say.”

-……

The creature, which had been sitting on the floor, looked up at Claire and said.

-Thanks……

“……?”

The creature paused for a moment, then fidgeted with its fingers and opened its small mouth again.

-Thank you for being my friend….

“……!!”

Claire’s eyes widened.

Anyone could tell that she was surprised.

“Claire.”

“……Ah!”

When I called her name, she let out a short exclamation and regained her composure.

“Ah, yes, yes, yes. It’s okay…… yes……”

-Really……?

“……Yes, it’s really okay.”

As a faint smile appeared on Claire’s lips, a bright aura blossomed around the gloomy fairy.

-tweet~!

“Ah……”

As the fairy stuck to Claire’s cheek, she fidgeted with her hands, not knowing what to do.

I watched the two of them for a moment, then slowly stood up from my seat.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.”

“Ah, yes, yes……”

“You’re being a bit too much.”

-Ppyak?!

I grabbed the creature with my magic and threw it into Claire’s apron pocket.

After roughly finishing up, I left the study with Claire.

-tweet!!

The creature, which had been sitting quietly in Claire’s apron pocket, flew onto the table as soon as it saw it and settled into the cookie basket, which was like its designated seat.

“Baek Hana.”

“Uh, yeah?”

Baek Hana, who had been glancing at us while secretly looking at the fairy, flinched and looked up. I lightly flicked my hand at the frozen children.

Whoosh.

“Wow?”

“Uh, uh……?”

“Ugh~”

“Hih!”

I blew hot air into their wet hair, and their reactions were quite diverse.

“I told you to dry your hair properly before coming out.”

“Heh, heh……”

I shook my head and sat down.

Claire then placed a stew of a slightly different color than usual in front of the children. She had been struggling to improve her cooking skills, so she started making small changes to her most confident dish, stew.

“Start eating.”

The children began to eat the stew after I picked up my spoon.

Usually, they would have been chatting lightly, playing with the fairy, and making quite a ruckus, but because of Claire’s behavior in the garden, they were all focused on their food and didn’t say much.

“Edyn, Nayoung.”

“Yes, yes?!”

“Yes……?”

After the meal, as the children were getting up from their seats, the two of them whom I called out flinched and turned their heads.

“I have something to say, so sit down for a moment.”

“Yes, yes!!

“Yes, yes.”

“And Baek Hana.”

I sent the fairy, who had been secretly peeking at me from the basket, flying towards Baek Hana, who was glancing at me.

-Ppiit?!

“Wow!!”

Baek Hana caught the fairy with both hands, looking surprised.

“Take it and play with it.”

“Uh, uh, yes……”

Baek Hana left the kitchen with Maria, rolling her eyes at the fairy.

I spoke to the two of them, who were sitting with tense faces.

“You don’t need to answer, just listen.”

I used my magic to lift the bag tied to Idni’s waist and placed it on the table.

“Since the fairy gave this to you, it’s up to you how you use it. It’s not a big problem to make it into a potion like this.”

I placed the bag back on Idni’s knee.

“However, you must never give the result to the fairy. Nod your head once if you understand.”

The two children nodded, swallowing their saliva.

I didn’t need to tell them the reason, so I nodded back.

“That’s the end of the story. You can go now.”

“Then, we’ll go.”

“We apologize for the inconvenience……”

The two of them bowed to me and quickly disappeared from the kitchen.

“Claire.”

“Yes.”

Claire, who had been standing a little distance away, came over to me.

“If you have something to say, go and say it.”

“No, it’s nothing……”

She shook her head and said.

“She’s a smart child, so she’ll probably connect your warning with my behavior earlier today.”

“That’s possible.”

Since she said she was fine, I didn’t insist further. Instead.

“Then, why don’t you prepare some snacks and take them to their room?”

“Snacks, you say……”

“If you don’t like that, you can have tea with me in the study instead.”

“Uh, uh……”

After hesitating for a moment, she bowed her head and turned towards the cabinet.

“That child often craves sweets, so I’ll prepare some for her.”

“Do that.”

I turned my back on Claire, who was taking out chocolate from the cabinet, and headed towards the study.

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.

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The study was filled with silence.

I leaned back in the chair warmed by the sunlight and took out my smartphone.

Then I went into the contacts list and pressed the name of the third person registered there.

-Yes, Professor. I’ve received your call.

Kim Sung-won’s voice came through the small speaker before the second ring.

“The work I instructed you to finish by next spring.”

-Ah, the list of people who have suddenly grown or become scholarship students, right?

“Finish it by the end of this month.”

-……Yes?

His voice sounded very surprised.

“If it’s difficult, you can say so. But I can find people to do the work anytime.”

-Ah, no, no, no!! Ha, ha!! I, this month!! Yes!! It, it’s possible!! I just have to pick out the people from the list, how hard can that be!!

“This month. I’ll trust you and wait.”

-Ha, ha…… I, you can trust Kim Sung-won–

I ended the call, leaving behind the trembling voice of the guy.

To be honest, since I moved up the deadline by eight months, the accuracy of the final product will be much lower than the original. But I’ve found something even better to replace it, so that won’t be a big problem either.

Srrrrk.

I opened the third drawer of the desk.

‘The Scale of Sacrifice’ lay flat on the bottom of the drawer, emitting a subtle golden light.

I briefly touched the mysterious energy emanating from there, then sealed the drawer with my magic again.

“It will be an unforgettable summer.”

For everyone who has formed a bond with that fairy.

This summer will be a special time.