After a little more pain, it was time for me to take a shower. Miko, on the other hand, just freshened up a little and slipped back into her uniform. She wouldn't even think of showering in public. Maybe it's because I would get to see her naked. What does she think of me? That I would throw myself at her?

Anyway, in the meantime, it is afternoon, and I'm starving. So, our current destination is the cafeteria inside the main school building. We want to eat something and then attend an evening lecture to get a taste of the class for the first time. Today's topic is monsters and dungeons. An interesting subject for anyone who wants to work in a guild one day. That's probably why Miko chose it for us, or rather for me.

I'm really bad at remembering directions, but in the case of the cafeteria, the closer we get, the more I catch its scent. A big whiff through my nose is enough to show me the way.

"What's wrong with you? Do I stink?" Miko's voice is quiet, but her tone is rather harsh. She's not insecure, is she?

"You could have simply taken a shower."

"So… you do smell something?"

"Just the delicious food from the cafeteria."

She bites her lip lightly, and although she turns away quickly, I see her cheeks and ears turn slightly red.

"Sorry that I snapped at you."

"It was nothing."

I look over and feel a strong urge to bump her with my shoulder. A little poke to lighten the mood, but my shy ass won't move a single bit in her direction. And I don't want to rule out the possibility that she might beat me up if I do.

Oh no. We reach the cafeteria, which is absolutely packed. You might think I'm worried about the long waiting time. But that's not the biggest issue right now. Much worse is Miko, who is convinced that anyone who looks at us thinks that she stinks.

Just to be clear, this girl smells like flowers. Even in the gym, while we were sweating a lot, she unfairly didn't emit a single unpleasant scent.

As unnecessary and downright silly as she acts, I do think it's cute how much she worries about this. If I knew how to calm her down, I probably wouldn't do it just to watch her struggle for a little longer.

Stinky and I finally arrive at the food counter. Armed with a tray, I order the dish of the day, namely a spicy curry with rice. Miko took the same, and we started our search for a table.

Despite the long queue for dinner, there are plenty of empty seats. Some of the students packed their food and left the cafeteria immediately. Compared to the long wait, we ate almost too quickly. But that leaves us enough time to look for the room where our lecture will take place.

"Here it is," Miko remarks and enters the open auditorium. I follow her after checking the note hanging on the door to ensure we're in the right place.

The place is smaller than I expected. If all the seats were taken, there would probably be room for around forty to fifty people. But now, fifteen minutes before the start, just six other people are here besides us.

Miko immediately moves to the far corner of the last row, as far away from everyone else as possible. That's not the only reason why we get a few irritated looks. Our yellow guest armbands also somehow stand out against the black shirts of the school uniform. I sit down next to her.

"Kayla?"

"Huh?"

"Do you have anything to write with?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I thought you might want to take notes."

"I don't think so. I doubt I'll have much to do with monsters in the future."

"Maybe."

"I hope so."

After this insightful conversation, we browse around on our cell phones. A quarter of an hour passes in the blink of an eye. As the door closes, my attention is caught. I look ahead to see a familiar face in front of us.

"Good evening. My name is Alex. I've been studying dungeons and monsters for seven semesters already, and I'll lecture you tonight. If you have any questions, please don't wait to ask them."

She takes a USB stick out of her backpack and plugs it into the laptop connected to a projector. With the technology up and running, she looks ready to start but first glances through the rows and spots us in our corner.

"Today, we are also welcoming rare guests to our school. Two real witches who are working in a guild that explores the dungeons, which we can sadly just discuss here. Thank you for being here tonight."

The collected gazes of the other students hit us. Miko avoids them by hiding her face behind her arms, resting on the table while I wave awkwardly. After surviving this, Alex starts the lecture.

She briefly repeats the content covered in the previous weeks, like the fact that monsters in the dungeons consist of mana and dissolve into it as soon as they are destroyed. That this may not always be the case, as we have learned, is hardly known to anyone and is therefore not mentioned.

Then she starts to explain how to determine how dangerous a dungeon and its monsters are, a subject I unfortunately already know a fair amount about. That's my excuse for occasionally glancing over at Miko, who also shows little to no reaction to Alex's words.

"Pay attention instead of staring at me," she whispers sharply as she notices me.

"But it's more enjoyable to look at you."

"Then at least try to listen."

"I do."

Having permission to admire her face is still fun but somehow different. Something is missing when she doesn't resist, so I turn my gaze back to Alex's presentation.

She is currently showing illustrations of various monsters and their weak points. I wonder if these creatures are made of mana and created by someone or something. Why with a weak point? It may be true that it is difficult to create something perfect, but we are talking about magic, aren't we?

What also puzzles me are the creatures themselves. There's not a single one I don't know from a video game, anime, or some fantasy movie. Are the monsters based on the fiction of our world, or is our fiction based on the monsters from the dungeons?

Unfortunately, I have the feeling that my questions are neither wanted nor can be answered, so I'll just leave it to wonder.

"Oh, wow, our ninety minutes are almost up. As I said earlier, you can download the presentation from the school server at the end of the session. Next week, I will not be able to give a lecture due to the preparations for our school festival. Still, one of our professors will review the previous material with you. Thank you for your attention, and have a nice evening."

I don't know how time could have passed so quickly. My brain probably shut down to protect itself from learning anything. I wouldn't say it was Alex's fault, but the lecture was boring. Watching Miko was definitely more captivating.

"Shall we get going?" Miko stands up before waiting for my answer and pushes past me, holding her butt in front of my face for a brief moment. She's lucky I enjoyed that. I notice that she's not heading for the exit but towards Alex.

"So, what did you think of the lecture?"

"Pretty boring." Miko is as brutal and honest as they come.

"I expected that." Alex laughs faintly and looks at me in anticipation.

"It was quite exciting, I'm not interested in monsters and dungeons, but it's still cool to hear about them."

"What did you think of the part about dragons?"

"Um, really cool."

"I wasn't talking about dragons at all, but I don't blame you for being distracted. I'm sure I would have been, too, sitting next to her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sometimes, Miko is unbelievably dense.

"It's a secret between Kayla and me." Alex grins, and Miko sighs, slightly annoyed.

Alex seemed likable, but with that implication, I can't help but see her as my enemy. My rival.