High Attack, Low Defense

"Dr. Ratio, let me tell you a little secret."

The Trailblazer's clothes had soaked up enough water that they rose and fell continuously with the ripples on the surface.

For some reason, the Trailblazer no longer called Dr. Ratio "Professor," but that happened to suit the man just fine.

Whenever she had called him "Teacher" or "Professor" before, it had always made the distance between them feel somewhat greater.

Now that she only called him by name, it seemed a little more intimate.

Dr. Ratio reached out and gently stroked the plaster head with his fingertips, his nails occasionally tapping against it with a crisp sound.

"What?"

He had absolutely not put on the plaster head just now because he was embarrassed. He absolutely had not wanted to hide his expression from the Trailblazer.

"In a couple of days, the Express Crew will be warping to Amphoreus. I hear it's very dangerous, Professor.

"If something happens, this might be the last time we see each other.

"So, even though I did this to you, you probably won't be angry, right?"

Amphoreus?

Dr. Ratio narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was a place he had never heard of, presumably a world that even the Trailblaze had yet to reach.

The hardships and dangers there were surely far more perilous than the Trailblazer's cheerful tone made them sound.

He sighed, closed his book with his left hand, and lightly tapped the Trailblazer on the head.

"What are you saying? 'If something happens'—you even dare to curse yourself like that? Don't be my student anymore, Trailblazer."

Stelle quietly lowered her head.

"Even if you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been angry."

Seeing Stelle silently lower her head as though she had been wronged, Dr. Ratio added in a very soft voice.

The Trailblazer swiftly glanced up at him.

Since when had Dr. Ratio become so easygoing?

She quietly called out to the Aeon of Elation in her heart.

Stelle: Aha, what's my progress in winning over Dr. Ratio now?

Aha: It reached 100% a long time ago.

Stelle: What do you mean, "a long time ago"?

Aha: Ah, right. Even before you started trying to win him over, his affection for you had already reached 50%.

Stelle: ??? Dr. Ratio was unexpectedly high attack, low defense!

Aha: Otherwise, why do you think he gave you free one-on-one lessons before? Don't tell me you thought a professor teaching fifty-two courses at a university had nothing better to do?

Huh...?

No wonder.

At this moment, all the fragmented clues in her mind finally linked together!

Stelle had been suspicious for a long time.

There were so many companions. Stelle had gotten up early and returned late, going out to complete daily missions and work, earning Stellar Jade to buy tickets from Pom-Pom, the conductor, then using those tickets to invite the companions aboard.

But Dr. Ratio alone was different.

He had not made Stelle spend anything. Him alone—only him—had come for free!

Wasn't that enough to prove something?!

So that was it. So that was it!

But when had it happened?

The Trailblazer could not figure it out. Had it been when she first saw Dr. Ratio's plaster head in the Seclusion Zone, or when she had been jointly interrogated by Asta and Screwllum?

Exactly when had Dr. Ratio noticed her?

It no longer mattered.

There was no point in digging into those things now.

The Trailblazer felt both slow-witted and suddenly fortunate. Thankfully, before heading to Amphoreus, completely cut off from the outside world, she and Dr. Ratio had laid their feelings bare.

She suddenly climbed up and pressed both hands against Dr. Ratio's collarbones.

She had originally wanted to grab his collar.

But unfortunately, Dr. Ratio did not have such a thing on him right now.

Dr. Ratio blinked in confusion, not knowing why the Trailblazer had suddenly become so excited.

"Dr. Ratio, I like you too! Mwah, mwah, mwah!"

As she spoke, the Trailblazer reached out with one hand and yanked the plaster head right off Dr. Ratio's head!

Meeting the man's stunned gaze, she brazenly began kissing him all over.

Dr. Ratio: What? What did she mean by she liked me "too"? I never said anything from beginning to end!

Dr. Ratio thought that although he had no idea what the Trailblazer had been thinking, she had somehow managed to win herself over—and had even succeeded.

Still, the result was good.

Remembering his decision to board the Express for free, his gaze unconsciously softened.

Dr. Ratio reached out, grabbed the back of the Trailblazer's collar, and lifted her up like a kitten.

After her wild kissing spree, the Trailblazer's lips had turned somewhat red.

Two glistening droplets of water still lingered upon them.

Dr. Ratio's gaze was tender. Without the plaster head to conceal him, his expression seemed magnified several times over through the mist-blurred view.

Water splashed in the bathtub, accompanied by the rushing sound of flowing water.

The rolling steam in the air grew thicker.

The Trailblazer could not remember much of what happened afterward.

She remembered soaking in the bathtub for too long before Dr. Ratio groggily carried her out.

She drew the curtain, tossed her soaked clothes into the washing machine, wrapped herself in a bath towel, and stumbled out of the bathroom.

The effects of inhaling the hypnotic flowers began to kick in at that moment.

The Trailblazer headed straight for the bed, burrowed beneath the covers, and fell into a deep sleep.

When Dr. Ratio emerged from the bathroom, that was the sight that greeted him.

The lights in the room had long since been turned off. The Trailblazer had curled herself into a tiny ball, the blanket over her rising and falling with her breathing.

She had clearly entered dreamland.

Dr. Ratio curled his lips into a smile. He did not linger, merely picking up the documents the Trailblazer had signed from the table before preparing to leave.

Before leaving, he gently tucked the Trailblazer's blanket around her.

His fingers paused briefly by the bedside table.

Then he turned around and strode away.

On the bedside table, a cute yellow duckling stared with round eyes at the peacefully sleeping Trailblazer.

"Good night," the little duckling seemed to say.

How should one put it?

The Trailblazer was not Dr. Ratio. She did not normally spend all that much time in a bathtub.

So while he could soak in water for a long time, she could not.

Thus, the moment Stelle's head touched the pillow, she exited her state of Elation.

To put it simply: the Aeon of Elation had worked herself into a strike.

In her dream, Aha eagerly replayed the entire process with the Trailblazer.

Aha: Oh my, watching you and Dr. Ratio kiss each other from a third-person perspective was so delightful! You have no idea!

Stelle: Considering how hard I worked, asking for a hundred scripts wouldn't be too much, would it? Bring them all to me now.

Aha: Don't be so impatient. I'll give it to you when you're about to board for Amphoreus. I'm only giving you one.

Don't underestimate this one, okay? You should value quality over quantity. This one is a condensed edition.

There's absolutely no nonsense—nothing but the good stuff! You'll definitely like it.