Chapter 54: May I Hug You?
Viktor was thoroughly taken aback by the news—his body stiffened slightly.
It seed to be the first ti Weija had ever seen even a trace of genuine shock on his face. It found itself mildly surprised as well.
"So—you didn't know Heni was a Succubus?"
"Why would I?"
Viktor was naturally aware of the Succubus as a species.
They existed only as females, absorbing the vitality of n through certain indescribable acts in order to strengthen their own Magic Power.
The more experienced a Succubus, the more powerful her Magic Power.
"So Heni—with not even a trace of Magic Power on her..."
A single phrase suddenly leapt into Viktor's mind.
Disgraced Succubus!
"I'd imagine even she herself doesn't know. To be fair, I only discovered it recently as well."
Weija preened its feathers with its beak and continued in an unhurried tone:
"After the Demon that had been possessing Heni departed, the aura belonging to her Succubus nature was gradually drawn out."
"After all, in certain respects, Succubi are a branch of the Demon race."
Still, that Viktor had failed to notice this did catch Weija off guard. It had always assud Viktor already knew about these small details.
"But Heni looks completely human."
"When have you ever seen a normal person with yellow pupils that glow? Honestly, when she opens her eyes at night, she's brighter than a lamp."
Weija grumbled with exasperation.
Though it was true that Heni had not displayed any of the characteristic traits of a Succubus, so Weija continued:
"Heni is likely a half-blood Succubus—born from a Succubus and so other creature, probably a human."
Succubi could reproduce asexually. Since Succubi were exclusively female, there was no possibility of producing offspring by coupling with another Succubus.
But a Succubus could bear children with other species. Though Succubi were capable of taking on any form a given species found desirable, once a Succubus reproduced with a particular species, the child born would be fixed in the appearance of that race.
That's right—even if a Succubus coupled with a gorilla, the offspring would simply be a female gorilla Succubus.
Viktor turned this over in his mind for so ti.
If that was the case, Heni's background finally made sense.
Leah had once investigated Heni's origins. She had grown up in an orphanage—no father, no mother, from as far back as anyone could rember.
Succubi were not exactly a species known for their maternal instinct. After a night of pleasure, they would simply leave the child sowhere and move on in search of their next conquest.
Whether the child survived—how was that any of their concern?
As for the father?
Most likely drained dry by the Succubus long ago.
"Which ans..."
Viktor went quiet for a mont.
"Right. Becoming a Mage through conventional ans is essentially impossible for her."
Weija studied Viktor and said with a smirk:
"Which is exactly why I thought you already knew. After all, our great Lord Viktor's reserves of Magic Power are rather... generous."
Viktor quickly accepted the reality of it and settled back into composure.
He then said mildly:
"This changes nothing for ."
As a purely practical player, Viktor had no interest in anything that served no useful purpose.
After all, what Power Leveling demanded was efficiency—not experience.
So naturally, whether Heni was a Succubus or not was of no concern to him.
That was simply her race. It had nothing to do with Heni as a person.
"Without any magical aptitude, her knowledge alone is already more than valuable enough."
At those words, Weija smiled its sly smile, its thoughts inscrutable to anyone watching.
***
Heni lay on the bed and slowly opened her eyes.
Her body felt heavy—as though a stone had been placed on her back. Her mind was uneasy, and a dull ache throbbed through her head.
Understandable, really. She could feel that she was absolutely starving.
How long had she been unconscious? She had no idea.
All she could tell was that she was lying in a soft, large bed—impossibly comfortable.
A spacious room—sothing she had never even dared to dream of.
But why did everything around her feel so familiar?
A faint, clean fragrance drifted into her nose.
All at once, Heni's eyes went wide as though she had just rembered sothing.
"Isn't this Professor Viktor's guest room!?"
How did she know? Because she had slept here once before.
That had been the day after she first t the Professor—only a single morning, but it had beco one of the most precious mories Heni held.
It was also because of that ti that Heni had co to feel that Viktor was a very gentle Professor.
In her heart, Viktor shone like brilliant starlight.
Yes—Heni admired him deeply.
Viktor had fulfilled every fantasy she had ever held about what a Mage could be.
Powerful, composed, mysterious, and gentle.
"The Professor...he saved ..."
"For soone like ..."
In an instant, Heni's face flushed red. She bit her lower lip and buried her head into the soft covers.
As though lost in so daydream, her fingers gripped the blanket tightly.
Then—footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Heni snapped back to her senses at once. She hurriedly lay back down, pulled the covers over herself, and shut her eyes tight.
As though she were still unconscious.
Creak—the door was pushed open, and soone walked in.
She couldn't see them, but Heni's instincts told her that whoever it was seed to be looking her over.
The footsteps drew slowly closer and stopped at the edge of the bed.
Heni desperately wanted to open her eyes to see who it was, but her guilty conscience from just monts ago left her completely unable to do so.
For a long while, the person made no move at all.
Just as Heni was on the verge of breaking—
Whoosh!
The covers were yanked back in one sharp motion. Heni felt a sudden chill rush over her body. Her eyes flew wide open, and she seized a corner of the blanket with both hands.
She looked up at the person standing there. Their face was as expressionless as ice—not a single thing had changed in their expression, as though they had simply done sothing perfectly ordinary.
"P-P-P-P-P-Professor!"
Heni's face burned completely red. She snatched the blanket back and hastily covered herself.
Viktor sat down on the chair by the bed, his expression unchanged, not a flicker of anything on his face.
"When did you wake up?"
Heni held the blanket up over half her face, her cheeks blazing like a steam engine at full heat, daring to show nothing but 2 eyes as she stole a glance at Viktor.
"J-just...just now."
Viktor nodded.
"Then get dressed and tidy yourself up."
Heni grew even more flustered, convinced for a mont that Viktor had sohow sensed what had been going through her head just now.
But what she heard instead was Viktor's calm, unhurried voice:
"I had the Maidservant make so congee for you. You should eat sothing light for now—don't forget to eat, you need to rebuild your strength."
"Also—the Academy has been destroyed. It will take a few days to rebuild. You don't need to go back during that ti. You can stay here as long as you like."
"Once things are back in order, I will nominate you to the Principal for the title of Associate Professor. You'll be able to teach your own classes after that."
Viktor laid out every arrangent for Heni in an orderly, unhurried manner—his tone left no room for refusal, and it all ca too quickly for Heni to even process.
"..."
Heni's grip on the blanket loosened slightly, and she lowered it from her face.
The malnourishnt from days of unconsciousness had left her complexion sowhat pale—which only made her look all the more pitiable.
Even with the flush still on her cheeks, there was no color in her face to speak of.
She sat there in a daze, unsure of what she was supposed to be feeling.
She wanted so badly to reach out and embrace him—even though she knew the distance between them was sothing impossibly, hopelessly far.
"...Professor."
"Mm?"
Viktor's eyes rested on her—still as deep water, without a ripple.
As though gathering the last of her courage, she lowered her head and voiced the wish she had held for so long but never dared to speak.
"May I...hug you?"
But the mont the words left her mouth, she shrank back like a startled fawn, not daring to look Viktor in the eye, and quickly added in a rush:
"S-sorry! Professor! That was such an unreasonable thing to ask—please don't think anything of it, just forget I said—"
The next second, Heni's eyes went wide.
Before she could finish, a broad and solid embrace wrapped around her from in front. Heni looked up, but could see nothing but the black inner lining of his Coat.
The scent from his chest reached her, and she was completely lost in it—wanting nothing more than to stay there, to linger in it forever.
She reached out, trying to wrap her arms around him in return, trying to hold on, trying to freeze this single mont in ti for good.
But the embrace lasted only an instant. Viktor stepped back before her arms could close around him.
He was like an elegant gentleman—one who would never refuse a woman's request when it was not unreasonable, and who would never cross a line or do anything improper.
Heni stared at Viktor, but his silhouette was growing blurry before her eyes.
Nobility...
Through her hazy gaze, only that single word remained.
Graceful and mysterious, refined and extraordinary. There was no one that word suited more than Viktor.
"If you need anything else, find the Maidservant at the door."
Viktor left those words behind, pushed open the guest room door, and drifted out like a gentle breeze.
Heni sat there, her face burning red with a mix of surprise and embarrassnt. She buried her face back into the blanket, but no matter how she tried, the image of Viktor holding her refused to leave her mind.
She did not know why—but a warm current rose from sowhere within her, filling her with a happiness she had never known.
"Hm?"
Heni felt sothing was off. She crawled out from under the blanket and stretched out one hand, holding her palm flat before her.
As she always did, she began attempting to construct a Magic Formation from her hand—sothing that, for soone with no Magic Power, should have ended in failure as always.
But this ti...
Erald-green lines gradually traced themselves through the air, slowly taking shape into a complete Formation.
A faint, small whirlwind began to spin from the center of her palm.
"..."
A cool breeze swept past the tips of Heni's hair, carrying with it a gentle thread of chill.
"I...am a Mage now?"
Heni realized her cheeks had grown damp.
Without her noticing, 2 quiet tears had traced their way down her face.
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