Ch.150150. Preparing for the Family Meeting

“Did you enjoy it?”

“……”

“I asked if you enjoyed it.”

“……”

“Say something.”

After the festival ended, daily life returned. Students were busy preparing for the final exams, which could be called the end of the second semester.

Naturally, professors were also busy accordingly.

I too had been reviewing various books lately to prepare exam questions for the finals.

The Dark Spiritmaster would be quite helpful in this regard, but.

“How did you manage to meet four women in one day at the festival?”

She was quite upset that I had abandoned her and gone around with other people at the last festival.

While I wondered if I should make excuses, I did need her help.

“It was just coincidence.”

When I answered casually, the Dark Spiritmaster pouted, saying she didn’t like that.

“So you coincidentally met four people? And coincidentally seduced them? Looking at this, I guess the rumors about you being a womanizer are true.”

“That’s enough.”

Getting annoyed, I snapped at her, and the Dark Spiritmaster pouted again, this time sprawling across my desk.

Thanks to that, the exam paper I was working on was covered, and I could see the Dark Spiritmaster’s stomach, which looked like it was covered in black stockings.

So that’s what she wore under her robe. Quite revealing, I thought, but.

“Sigh.”

“I’m dead, you know. But you know what? When everyone else gets old and sick, I’ll still be in this state.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

I sighed, infused mana into my hand, and pushed the Dark Spiritmaster away.

“Ugh!”

She rolled off the desk and fell to the floor. Since she’s a ghost, she wouldn’t get hurt or feel pain, but her reaction was good.

“I’m sure she didn’t have this image before.”

There were parts of her that changed childishly while she was with me, but lately I wondered if her mental age had really decreased.

During her life, she was locked up in her laboratory, keeping her mouth shut and only researching necromancy, so perhaps this was how her suppressed desires were now being expressed.

‘I also heard she’s different when I’m not around.’

Owen told me that the Dark Spiritmaster who stayed with him while I was away from the academy couldn’t have been more calm and cold.

I thought that perhaps she only showed her true self to me, but.

‘Why did this woman…’

Why did she devote herself to necromancy with such a personality? Why did she want to see the end of necromancy, cutting off all ties?

Questions rose, but I didn’t voice them.

Just then, Erika Bright entered the research room with a knock.

I was also getting her help with this exam.

Of course, we seemed to be spending more time together lately than that would require.

“Take a break.”

In her hands was a box from the high-end dessert shop that Findenai and I had visited before.

Owen, who was tapping on the melodica keyboard, and Per Petra, who like me was working on exam questions, were the first to react.

“Wow! Welcome!”

“Professor Erika! It’s so nice that you’ve been visiting often lately!”

Receiving a warm welcome from the two, Erika entered with just a slight smile, handed over the cake, and then came right to my side.

“You know what? The distance between you and your fiancée has decreased a lot compared to before.”

The Dark Spiritmaster, who had fallen under the desk, peeked out with just her head and looked at me.

I pretended not to hear.

“How’s it going? Making any progress? Need help?”

“Yes, could you try solving this?”

“Let me see.”

Erika approached gently. Our arms naturally touched, but she continued to solve the problem I gave her without hesitation.

Even though Professor Per and Owen were glancing at us, she didn’t waver.

I also didn’t particularly mind and waited for Erika’s solution. Since Erika had attended all of my lectures, if she couldn’t solve it, the students wouldn’t be able to either.

After a little time, Erika naturally took the pen from my hand and wrote down the answer.

“That’s correct.”

At my words, Erika nodded with satisfaction. Crossing her arms, she immediately gave her impression.

“I think this calculation part might still be difficult for students? It’s quite different from normal magic calculation formulas.”

“But it’s that much more important. Many students still don’t understand the difference between elemental magic and Black Magic.”

“A professor’s stubbornness, huh?”

At my words, Erika smiled with satisfaction and replied.

“Then emphasize this part more clearly in the next lecture. If you tell them it will be on the exam, they’ll study hard.”

“Definitely.”

As expected of Erika.

Since her experience as a professor was much longer than mine, her tips were useful.

When I was a student solving exam problems, I didn’t realize it, but now that I was in the position of creating problems, there was quite a lot to think about.

Making problems that students could solve while increasing the difficulty to differentiate grades was no easy task.

“Usually, it’s easier to quote problems used by other professors in the same or similar majors from last year’s exam… but since you don’t have that, you have no choice but to work harder.”

Of course, there wouldn’t have been any exams on Black Magic.

Since I was already aware of this, I continued without any complaints.

To begin with, I couldn’t get the knowledge and answers I wanted to give with other professors’ problems.

“Let’s eat something first.”

“…Alright.”

Although I don’t particularly like desserts, I leaned back against the chair and rubbed my eyes, considering Erika’s thoughtfulness.

Before I knew it, Owen had brought cake and a fork to my desk. As I slowly reached out and started eating, Erika smiled with satisfaction while looking around.

“By the way, where’s Findenai?”

Findenai’s cake remained untouched. At that question, I hesitated for a moment before answering.

“He said he had personal business.”

“Personal business?”

Erika tilted her head curiously but didn’t ask further when she realized I wasn’t going to elaborate.

I break off a small piece of cake with my fork and put it in my mouth. A subtly sweet taste spreads pleasantly in my mouth. It seemed Erika had chosen something moderate, knowing I don’t like sweet things.

While eating the cake, I changed the subject.

“By the way, did you send a letter to the Bright family?”

“Yes, I sent it express, so the reply came quickly. They said to come right when the vacation starts.”

“I see, I also sent a letter to my family.”

A negotiation table disguised as a meeting between families. Still, I needed to have enough people, so I called for Darius.

Deia can handle the territory affairs, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

* * *

While Robern Academy was just entering autumn with chilly weather arriving, Norsweden was already experiencing the cold of winter a step earlier.

Of course, even this could be called autumn weather in Norsweden.

“A meeting between families?”

Matching the cold, Deia’s voice came out frostily.

“Yes, it seems Deus has finally made up his mind.”

Darius laughed heartily, not properly reading his sister’s mood, rejoicing in the second son’s marriage.

But such an attitude was further irritating Deia.

‘There’s no way that guy would get married.’

The Deus she knew—that is, Shinwoo Kim—would never marry Erika.

With such conviction, Deia immediately realized he had other plans.

She had heard that he had also stopped the massacre in the Marias Great Forest to the east recently; perhaps he felt some need then?

‘Something that requires the Bright family.’

The Bright family, generally known as a prestigious magic family.

Everyone knew that Erika Bright was an authority on light magic and had published two papers in the Millennium Library.

While her achievements were notably prominent at the moment, the two older brothers above Erika and the family head were also renowned in magic.

‘They certainly are a useful family.’

Even in King Orpheus’s recent sword rampage, they naturally bowed their heads and passed with minimal damage.

Among the families that still had power while giants like the Zeronia family were staggering, they were one of the few.

‘Why hide things from us too? He could just tell us everything.’

Deia felt a bit hurt, but the reason Deus didn’t tell everything was probably because he didn’t want to burden them.

But Deia’s mind was already working sharply.

‘I can’t miss this opportunity.’

Deia, the lady of the Verdi household, recognized the need for preliminary work to handle the Bright family along with Deus.

And for that, Darius was most important.

“Don’t think of it as a normal family meeting. Be alert. You need to memorize everything I tell you about the Bright family.”

Since both of them couldn’t leave the territory, naturally Deia planned to stay.

So Darius needed to remember the information she gave him well, organize it, and pass it on to Deus.

But.

“Hmm? Are you saying you want to investigate the family that’s about to become our in-laws? Don’t do that.”

“……”

“Don’t create situations that make people blush. It’s not like we’re going to find weaknesses and shake them.”

She understood that Darius disliked this kind of scheme after atoning for the sins of the Verdi family with Deus before, but.

“Sigh.”

Slapping her forehead, Deia sighed. Being clean and righteous is good.

But one shouldn’t be stupid.

“Fine, just stay still. Go there, smile, and just bow.”

I’ll handle grabbing them by the collar.

Swallowing those words, Deia resolved to accompany them to this family meeting.

“Hmm, I should practice my smile and etiquette after a long time.”

“Why don’t you just show them a nice axe dance while you’re at it?”

“No matter what, that would be too much. Have some common sense, Deia.”

“……”

This is really annoying.