Ch.1212. Lover

“Here.”

With a casual yet polite tone, Findenai handed me some black tea. After taking a sip, I pushed the cup away.

Before I could say anything, Findenai grumbled first.

“Are you being picky too, master?”

“Findenai, this is my first order.”

As Findenai continued with her brazen attitude, I kept my eyes fixed on the book I was reading.

“Never brew tea again. Tea may be precious in Norsweden, but you brew it like pig urine.”

“You son of a…!”

Findenai was about to curse, but I ignored her and continued reading intently.

If someone asked whether I liked books, that would be somewhat ambiguous. I did often read novels to kill time.

I preferred games and visual media.

That would be natural for someone living in the 21st century, but my reasons were a bit different.

Phones and computers contained so much han that unless it was a powerful ghost, they couldn’t be touched carelessly, so I naturally shifted my hobbies in that direction.

Even when I borrowed books I liked from bookstores, ghosts would interfere, often tearing them up, forcing me to compensate.

I’ve digressed a bit.

Anyway, the reason I was reading now was simply to accumulate knowledge.

Having suddenly fallen into this world, I couldn’t get enough basic knowledge.

I ended up reading books out of necessity rather than desire, and especially regarding magic, I had somewhat biased knowledge for my professorship.

But a strange smell began to waft into the room.

Although I wanted to continue reading, the peculiar smell that stung my nose forced me to close the book.

“Haah. Skral.”

[Yes, master.]

Skral appeared from the empty space at my call. Findenai glanced around wondering what I was talking about, but of course, she couldn’t see Skral.

“What is this smell?”

“Smell? What are you talking about?”

Findenai interrupted. When I ordered her to keep her mouth shut, she immediately folded her arms and pouted.

[Every Wednesday, a smell leaks from the basement of the mansion.]

“Wednesday?”

[Yes, that’s right. I tried to check it myself, but there’s such a fierce evil spirit blocking the basement that I couldn’t investigate.]

“……”

Rubbing my chin, I glanced toward Findenai.

“Findenai, you really don’t smell anything, right?”

“Yes, my senses are better than ordinary people, so I wouldn’t miss it.”

“I see.”

Just as I thought I should check the basement, there was a knock from outside.

When I gestured with my chin, Findenai strode over with steps unbefitting a maid and flung the door open.

“Hmm, it’s Miss Deia?”

“I’m sure I taught you to speak politely.”

“I remember. I just don’t do it.”

“That makes it even worse.”

Deia and Findenai were having a power struggle. Findenai, being the maid, should have backed down, but her neck only stiffened more.

Realizing it would be her loss to engage further, Deia passed by Findenai and said:

“Five minutes.”

I thought it had been naturally buried since she hadn’t come for a while, but she finally visited today.

It seems the business with the scrap metal crew had finally been sorted out today.

“Findenai, go outside.”

“Yeeees.”

Findenai left, dragging out her words. Skral had already disappeared before I could say anything.

Deia entered the room with the distinctive sound of her flat shoes.

She was holding a pocket watch in her hand.

Click.

“Start.”

Deia, stiff as a wooden doll, began timing. I simply looked at her silently.

Tick-tock.

Tick-tock.

Time continued to move.

At first, Deia stood with her arms crossed and lips tightly sealed, but after 1 minute passed.

Then 2 minutes.

Finally, after all 5 minutes had passed with me just looking at her without saying a word, she frowned.

Her mouth twitched as if she wanted to ask something, but she turned sharply and left.

Findenai, who naturally came back in, shrugged her shoulders saying it was boring.

“I thought you might be having a conversation, but it was quiet. Did you communicate in writing?”

“No need to worry about it. And from now on, don’t eavesdrop on my time with Deia.”

“Ha, so many demands. My ears are as good as my nose, so I hear things even when I don’t want to.”

Findenai tapped her ears mockingly. Thinking her attitude needed correction, I stood up.

“When I spend time with Deia in the future, go outside the mansion.”

“…Just for 5 minutes, you want me to go outside?”

“You could smoke a cigarette while you’re at it.”

“Ah.”

Findenai immediately smiled broadly and nodded. Since smoking was forbidden in my presence, she had been quite miserable.

“Let’s go then.”

“…Where?”

Findenai hadn’t heard my conversation with Skral, but I didn’t feel the need to explain.

She would have to follow me anyway.

As I silently went outside, Findenai’s grumbling footsteps followed me like a shadow.

*

Karen, the health professor who was investigating the strange incidents at Robern Academy, entered Professor Peril’s laboratory.

Professor Peril, who had fainted on her first day at the academy.

She, an unrivaled authority on physical magic, hadn’t set foot in her laboratory since that first day.

“This mirror, you say?”

Based on Peril’s testimony, Karen stood in front of the full-length mirror in the laboratory.

A beautiful woman in a white gown.

The scar crossing her nose was striking on her face.

Her dull eyes, with coarse gray hair tied in a ponytail, seemed to judge everything in the world with skepticism.

“It looks fine to me.”

Peril had said that even when she turned around, her reflection in the mirror remained the same. Karen spun around once, but the reflection in the mirror simply turned the same way.

“Hey.”

Karen, stroking her chin, drew the sword from her waist and swung it.

“You turned in the same direction as me.”

Crash!

The mirror shattered into pieces.

The mirror, which should have shown a reversed image, had turned in the same direction as her.

Among the broken mirror fragments, Karen could see her own image laughing hysterically.

“There’s definitely something here.”

This was currently Professor Peril’s laboratory.

But originally, it was the laboratory of the dismissed professor, Deus Verdi.

“This place was the first start, huh.”

Chronologically, this laboratory was the first place where anomalies occurred.

Professor Peril had said she saw numerous screams and resentful voices, along with a long-haired girl.

“She’s not coming out.”

No matter how long she waited, no such girl appeared.

Thinking it was a bit disappointing to end with just a mirror, Karen began to search the laboratory.

Former Professor Deus had used many of Robern Academy’s fixtures, leaving most items behind, so there was quite a bit to search through.

“First…”

Just as she was about to move to check the professor’s desk, the door burst open.

She thought it might be another anomaly, but it wasn’t.

“What are you doing here?”

A beautiful woman with blonde hair braided and draped over her shoulder, Deus Verdi’s fiancée.

It was Erika Bright.

“Oh, Professor Erika. Perfect timing. Did your fiancé mention anything about this incident?”

Erika frowned openly at Karen’s direct approach.

“I haven’t contacted him since his dismissal. And he has absolutely nothing to do with this incident.”

“…Nothing to do with it?”

“Yes, nothing.”

Erika’s answer was so resolute that Karen began to find her suspicious.

“Why do you think that?”

Erika was displeased with Karen’s interrogative manner.

“Professor Karen, you see this as some kind of terrorism, right? But he doesn’t have that kind of ability. He’s essentially someone who couldn’t even earn a professor title. He was barely able to get the title of visiting professor because he was my fiancé.”

“Hmm.”

Indeed, looking at the materials left by Professor Deus, there were only extremely basic magic books.

Such basic things that one might wonder why he even bothered with them.

“So instead of stirring up an incompetent person, find the real culprit.”

“Well, I’ll do it my way. As you know, the dean has delegated full authority for this investigation to me.”

“……”

Having already received that report, Erika kept her mouth shut.

Thump, thump, thump.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor. Both of them knew this wasn’t another anomaly.

Because the footsteps that shook the ground were quite famous at Robern Academy.

“Oh? All our academy’s beautiful professors are gathered here.”

Tall stature with muscles as beautiful and harmonious as a sculpture. A handsome appearance that naturally evoked the word “beautiful” and passionate red hair.

Gideon Zeronia.

A master of swordsmanship with exceptional skills, and the second son of the powerful Zeronia family in the kingdom.

The most popular professor among female students.

He smiled refreshingly, and Karen responded indifferently.

“Professor Gideon, are you also investigating this incident?”

“Huh? No, I came to get Professor Erika. I have something to discuss with her.”

Professor Erika nodded and immediately stepped out of the laboratory.

“Don’t waste time rummaging through unnecessary places.”

She shot a remark at Karen.

Clunk.

The door closed as the two left. But suddenly Karen’s eyes trembled.

“Hmm?”

Just before the door closed completely,

Did Gideon’s hand wrap around Erika’s waist?

It seemed too short a time to have found a new lover, even if she had broken off her engagement with Deus.

Karen carefully opened the door and peeked out to follow the two.

“Stop, that’s going too far.”

Erika pushed away Gideon’s hand that was wrapped around her waist.

“Come on. You’re too conservative. We’re dating.”

Even as Gideon smiled slyly and reached out his hand again, Erika slapped it away.

‘Are they dating?’

It didn’t seem like Erika had any particular affection for Gideon.

‘Well, it’s not my business.’

Karen gently closed the door again and began to search the laboratory, ignoring Erika’s advice.