Seeing Dekan's sincere gaze, Croix couldn't hide the flicker of emotion in his eyes for a moment.
But soon, he seemed to make up his mind and gritted his teeth.
"Dekan, I'm willing to help you in any way I can, except by going to the Shadow World with you. Please don't ask me about this again."
Then Croix firmly shut the door, leaving Dekan standing outside, stunned.
The last time someone had rejected him was... well, the last time.
"Phew."
Dekan let out a sigh.
Although he admired Croix, he hadn't expected the other man to refuse so firmly to join their squad.
But a mage like Croix was probably in high demand.
Even if his healing hurt like hell, his healing output was probably unmatched by any healing-class profession.
Dekan walked home alone, feeling a little regretful.
When he reached his dormitory door, he placed a hand on the doorknob and hesitated for a moment.
Then he silently turned around and stomped hard on his own shadow.
"Meow!"
With a familiar cry, Cat Teacher popped out of Dekan's shadow and bounced twice like a spring.
"Your ability is useless. You can't even block a physical attack."
Dekan gave a mocking laugh and looked down at Cat Teacher on the ground with a teasing expression.
Cat Teacher rubbed its head in frustration and said to Dekan:
"...Give me a bottle of that potion, meow."
Hearing Cat Teacher's naive request, Dekan burst out laughing.
He crouched down and unceremoniously grabbed Cat Teacher by the scruff, bringing its gaze level with his own.
Looking into its eyes, he said:
"You already owe me a favor, don't you? Pay me back for saving you first, then we can talk about a deal."
"...I can teach you a few spells, meow."
"No. Learning