Raising a Wolf in the Academy

“Mmm, is it morning…”
My body, trained by years of teaching, awakened my consciousness at the precise time.
The warmth felt in my arms as soon as I opened my eyes.
It was Whitey.
Perhaps tired from adapting to the new environment, it was still not out of its sleep.
-Huff, huff
Its faint breath tickles my skin.
“…..”

Naturally turning my eyes to look at the clock, I had about 30 minutes to spare.
I wanted to spend a little more time like this, embracing the warm ball of fur.
As soon as I had that thought, the devil’s whisper started to be heard in my head.
Saying there’s still plenty of time, that even if I’m a bit late, my assistant will cover for me.
When I even thought about taking the whole day off and dumping the lectures on Aisha.
“….!”
I boldly get up from the bed as if shaking off lingering attachments.
I wanted to lie down for just 5 more minutes… no, even 1 minute would be good.
But it was clear as day that if I did, I’d end up lying down for not 1 minute but 1 hour.
-Huff, huff
Despite the intense movement beside it, it was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.
It wouldn’t notice even if someone carried it away.
“Sleep well, Whitey. Your master is going to work.”
After petting its mane once, which hadn’t lost its fullness despite being embraced all night, I left the room.
‘Whew, wolf smell.’
The smell of Whitey was vibrating from my clothes.
I rather liked it, but there might be people who dislike animal smells.
If such a smell came from a professor, it could negatively affect the academy’s reputation.
So I headed straight to the bathroom.
-Swoosh…
The warm water touching my body washed away the remaining sleepiness—
“Ouch, it stings… What’s this?”
Feeling a sudden pain near my neck, I immediately checked the mirror.
There was a clear red teeth mark.
“Oh, could this be…?”
There weren’t many beings who would do this while I was sleeping.
No, except for one, there shouldn’t be any.
“That Whitey… How much must it have liked me.”
To think it would express affection even while sleeping.
How lucky am I to have been able to bring such a cute wolf.
Thanking my own luck, I dry off and put on clothes.
The bitten nape is a bit painful, but not to an unbearable level.
If someone sees the mark, it might be complicated to explain, so I should cover it with clothes appropriately.
I turned my body in various angles in front of the mirror to check if the mark was visible.
Fortunately, the collar covered it completely.
Unless I take off my clothes, no one would notice.
“Hmm… Good. It’s perfect.”
I moved my eyes to the clock.
There was still time until the lecture.
So what should I do now.
Paperwork is… out of the question, I can’t spend precious morning time on such things.
Preparing lecture materials… I’ve already finished that.
‘Then what I need to do now is… Right!’
Is my normal thinking ability declining from living so busy with work?
I almost forgot the most important task.
Feeding Whitey.
Although it’s sleeping now, it will surely wake up soon.
What if there’s no food then?
Unless Whitey can walk on two legs and use tools with its front paws.
Wouldn’t it have to starve, just waiting endlessly for my return?
‘If someone were to see that sight…’
An article with a title like [The Academy Professor was actually… an animal abuser!?] would appear in an instant.
‘Ugh…’
Just imagining it makes my whole body shiver and break out in a cold sweat.
‘No, this is not the time for this.’
If you’ve imagined the worst-case scenario, you should strive to prevent it from happening.
I quickly headed to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
Taking out the meat Whitey had left over from yesterday, I lightly grilled it.
Before long, as the surface of the meat started to glisten, it returned to a warm state.
Being careful not to let the smell permeate the clothes I had just changed into, I transferred the meat to a plate and cast a heat preservation spell on it.
With this, no matter when Whitey wakes up, it will be able to eat warm meat as if freshly grilled.
Since it ate once yesterday, it should understand that this is food it can eat.
I opened the bedroom door and quietly put down the plate.
But…
Now that I look at it, the room was quite empty.
Leaving an animal like a wolf alone in such a room for several hours would be tantamount to torture.
If someone were to discover this, an article with a title like [Irresponsible pleasure! The Academy Professor’s qualification should be revoked…] might appear.
‘Then…’
I use magic to create a doppelganger with the same appearance as me and place it in the corner of the room.
I set it to activate when it confirms Whitey has woken up.
I added simple interaction functions so it can say things like ‘Good boy’ ‘Pretty boy’, and even included an automatic petting function at regular intervals.
With this much, it shouldn’t feel anxious or bored when it wakes up and finds its owner gone.
“Well, it seems the Whitey issue is resolved. Shall I prepare my own meal now? Eat quickly and go to the lecture room…?”
Wait, polite speech?
-Knock knock!
At that moment, a knocking sound echoes.
At this hour, the person who might come here would be… probably Aisha.
“Pro-Professor… May I come in?”
Sure enough, a shy voice is heard from outside the door.
At the request of my one and only assistant, I immediately ran to open the door.
“Good morning, Ms. Aisha.”
“Yes… Go-Good morning, Professor…”
“Ah, please come in.”
“Then… Excuse me for a moment…”
Only after I tell her to come in does she carefully move her feet.
She was such a consistent assistant, even after visiting many times.
“By the way, Ms. Aisha. Have you had breakfast?”
“Ah, no. Not yet…”
“Skipping breakfast is not good. I was just about to prepare breakfast. Would you like to join me if you don’t mind?”
Of course, she expressed her refusal.
Of course. Regardless of whether the answer to the question was positive or negative, my action was already decided, so I silently headed to the kitchen.
A girl of Aisha’s age should eat a lot.
‘Let’s see, ingredients I can use right away…’
Oh, wait a minute.
“…Ms. Aisha?”
“What is it, Professor?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can prepare breakfast. I’ve run out of ingredients.”
“Ah…”
She lets out a small sigh as if disappointed.
Indeed, even if the mouth cries refusal, the body is honest.
“Um, Professor… Then in my room—”
“Can’t be helped. Ms. Aisha, shall we have the academy cafeteria food after a long time… What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing… Nothing at all…”
Well, if she says it’s nothing, I shouldn’t pry.
Right now, eating breakfast was more important than that, so I left the office with her.
“It really has been a long time since I’ve eaten cafeteria food.”
“Come to think of it, Professor, at some point you started preparing your own meals… May I know the reason?”
The reason…
There was nothing I couldn’t tell her, so I opened my mouth.
“Ms. Aisha. Do you know about mackerel braised fillet?”
“Yes… I know about it.”
“That’s the reason.”
“…Pardon?”
Oh dear, did I try to convey the content too compressed?
“Despite having ‘fillet’ blatantly in the name, when you take a bite, your mouth is full of bones.”
Is it okay if you remove them well?
Of course not.
“Um… If I understand correctly. Professor… You’ve been making your own meals for months because you dislike mackerel braised fillet…”
“I’ve been making my own food. You understood correctly.”
“…..”
She made an expression as if dumbfounded.
I’ve only seen that expression a handful of times until now, did this look that pathetic?
‘Strange, wouldn’t anyone dislike food that’s not fillet when it clearly says ‘fillet’?’
“That’s right! Mackerel braised fillet and dried pollack gangjeong! They should be expelled from the cafeteria menu!”
“See. This isn’t just my thought…?”
…He shouldn’t be here right now.
“Ah, Professor Alkea!? The alchemy class should already be starting—”
“Shh… That’s not important. Want to try drinking this?”
He approaches Aisha in an instant and sticks a liquor bottle in her mouth.
-Gulp gulp…
-Pop!
After confirming Aisha’s Adam’s apple move a few times, Alkea retrieved the bottle.
“Hehe… Professooor…”
Judging by how she got this drunk from just a couple of swallows, it wasn’t ordinary alcohol.
“Professor Alkea. What are you doing feeding this high-proof alcohol to a child?”
“It’s okaaay. You’re supposed to learn about alcohol from adults.”
Saying that, he brings the bottle to his own mouth.
“Sigh…”
“Don’t be like thaaat. How about you have a drink tooo—”
“Professor Alkea!!!”
“Oh, no.”
Seeing his assistant running towards him with a loud voice from the end of the corridor, Alkea made a dismayed expression.
“You can drink after work is over! Why do you keep doing this!”
“Bu-But…”
“But what? I told you I’d confiscate the bottle next time you do this, didn’t I? Hand it over quickly.”
“Please, anything but that…!”
Alkea tried to protect his liquor bottle with his whole body.
But there was no way a human who just shuts himself in the workshop drinking could win against someone else in strength.
Soon he starts pleading with tearful sobs.
Anyone watching would think he’s having the Philosopher’s Stone taken away, not a liquor bottle.
But.
No matter how superior one’s physical abilities, an assistant can’t beat a professor.
“Haa… Alright. I’ll give it back. But in exchange, you have to conduct today’s lecture properly. Understood?”
In the end, she had no choice but to return the bottle with a sigh.
“…I’m sorry for our professor’s behavior.”
With Alkea on her back.
Before leaving the cafeteria, she bowed her head to us.
“When Aisha wakes up, I’ll make sure to send this person to apologize.”
“You have it tough.”
“…Thank you for understanding.”
With these words, she left the cafeteria silently.
She’s probably heading to the alchemy lecture room.
To suffer like that as the price of getting a bad supervising professor.
I must never make Aisha suffer like that.
“Professooor…”
“Ah, Ms. Aisha. Please wait a moment. I’ll quickly cast a hangover cure spell—”
“Mackerel braised fillet… It’s delicious…”
Can I… make her suffer a little?
Even if she’s drunk, how can she say such a terrible thing so nonchalantly.
Look at how clear her pronunciation is.