Ch.18Proposal (2)

I followed the professor’s instructions and headed to her research office after all classes ended, as Elena Professor had told me. The research office is located in a building called the ‘History Hall.’

As Professor Virus mentioned, at Halo Academy students take common courses until second year, after which they must find their own career path. Perhaps because of this, each major has its own building, making the level of specialization quite high.

‘It’s just like a university.’

Until second year it’s like high school, and after that it’s like university where you have to travel to different buildings for lectures. I wandered around looking for the History Hall using the map Professor Elena gave me.

Halo Academy is like a small city in itself, so it took a long time just to walk around. If I had known, I would have grabbed a quick meal before coming.

‘It doesn’t matter since I got the book.’

Today, during the breaks between classes, I read the elven history book that Professor Elena had given me as a gift.

True to elves who consider themselves descendants chosen by the gods, the book contained many difficult words to understand, but thanks to my habit of reading regularly, I had no trouble.

I couldn’t avoid looking up words in the dictionary, though.

Still, I made good progress. Even though I hadn’t read even a tenth of it, I could roughly understand what kind of race elves were. If demons are mutations caused by devils, elves were closer to being descendants of “angels.”

This was a fact never mentioned in history books written from a human perspective. It seemed possible because elves are a long-lived race, so there were almost no lost records. Or perhaps they have a habit of valuing documentation.

Either way, the fact that elves are descendants of angels was one of the most important pieces of information for me. It immediately resolved my question about why there were no angels in this world when there were devils.

The evidence is that elven mana is white, unlike that of demons.

‘Other races only saw devils, so they wouldn’t have known angels existed.’

Because I had memories of my previous life, I naturally thought that if devils existed, angels would too, but others wouldn’t think that way. They would have thought that only gods were completely opposite to devils.

‘From the middle of volume 9 to the end of volume 10, I should develop a storyline about establishing relations with elves. And the devil faction executives should start their full-scale activities too.’

On my way to the History Hall, I briefly recorded the plot development for the Biography of Xenon in my notebook. I’ve already completed the manuscript for volume 8, so I just need to mail it to my parents.

“Is this it?”

After walking for quite a while, I was able to reach the building drawn on the map. Despite being called the History Hall, it wasn’t particularly impressive, but rather had a simple yet practical structure.

It seemed to be because it was a building where only professors or teaching assistants stayed, and unlike martial studies, it didn’t need training rooms.

‘Martial studies needs training rooms too. And they have more students.’

Let me say it again, this is a fantasy world where monsters and mana exist. Even at Halo Academy, martial studies that develop combat skills must be the priority. I’ve heard that because of this, the literature department often complains about budget issues.

I looked back and forth between the map and the building once more, then confirmed the name “History Hall” written at the entrance and moved forward. The main entrance was a polished wooden door that seemed well-maintained.

“Wow…”

I couldn’t help but be amazed as soon as I passed through the main entrance into the corridor. It had a very classical atmosphere, and there was even a water wheel in the middle of the corridor.

Moreover, portraits of historical figures hung on the walls of the corridor. While I had seen many of them in books, there were several I was seeing in portraits for the first time. Especially noteworthy was that beneath each portrait was not only the name but also a brief historical record.

‘Each race has its own historical figures.’

The portraits were organized by race on the walls. Naturally, humans, who have shorter lifespans but the largest population, had the most portraits. Other races had very few, countable on one hand, and demons had none at all.

I was looking around the corridor with a curious expression when I came to my senses and headed to Professor Elena’s office. Her research office was room 104.

Knock- Knock- Knock-

“Professor Elena. It’s Isaac. Are you in?”

I was able to find Professor Elena’s research office through the nameplate hanging between room 104 and the door. When I knocked and announced myself, I heard rustling sounds from beyond the door.

Judging by the “In Office” sign on the nameplate, it seemed Professor Elena would open the door herself.

Creeeeak-

“…Who are you?”

No. Let me correct myself.

When the door opened, a zombie greeted me from behind it. Not a real zombie, but someone whose appearance was haggard enough to be compared to one.

Dark circles hung so heavily under her eyes they looked like they could be jumped rope with, her black eyes were as dead as those of a rotten fish, and her skin was extremely pale rather than just dry.

With her dull blonde hair tied in a bun and her eyes drooping downward, she looked like she might collapse at any moment.

I stepped back slightly when I faced this person. Stepping back allowed me to properly see who had opened the door to greet me.

‘…An elf?’

The person who opened the door and greeted me was an elf. A female elf, just like Professor Elena.

Though her beauty was diminished by her zombie-like appearance, even that couldn’t hide her inherent beauty. Rather, she exuded a strange atmosphere, including a kind of decadent charm.

“…Excuse me?”

While I was staring at her blankly, the elf tilted her head and called out again. And she even blinked her eyes slowly.

At this, I quickly gathered my wits and asked her in a very cautious manner.

“Um… Is this Professor Elena’s research office?”

“Yes, it isss…”

Given her drawling speech and answer, I checked the nameplate on the research office again. It was definitely Professor Elena’s research office.

I assumed the elf in front of me was Professor Elena’s assistant.

“Who is it?”

Just then, a familiar voice flowed from inside the research office. In response to that question, the presumed assistant elf turned around and answered in a voice drenched with fatigue.

“Yesss… someone named Isaac…”

“Ah! Let him in quickly.”

“Come innn…”

“…Excuse me.”

Though I felt somewhat uneasy, I stepped inside. Even as I moved forward, I didn’t forget to make eye contact with the elf who had opened the door.

It was a bit scary being stared at with what are commonly called “dead fish eyes,” but it was still tolerable. As I entered the research office, I could smell the musty odor characteristic of old books, and I saw various books and piles of papers stacked high.

Even a quick glance revealed that most were books related to history. It looked like a proper research office for studying history.

“You’re here. Come sit down.”

Professor Elena, who was sitting at her desk, welcomed me with a bright smile. With an awkward feeling, I sat down on the reception sofa she pointed to.

As I sat on the sofa, Professor Elena also sat on the sofa placed opposite me. For reference, there was a table placed between us.

“Here are some snacks and teaaa…”

“Ah, thank you.”

Not long after I sat on the sofa, the assistant placed refreshments on the table. After I thanked her, she turned around as if to return to her desk.

“Where are you going, Cindy? Sit next to me.”

“I want to resttt…”

“I know you’re tired from writing your thesis, but this is important for you too.”

“Okaaay…”

The elf named Cindy sat down sluggishly at Professor Elena’s direction. Thus, two elves with polar opposite appearances sat across from me.

“A bit surprising, isn’t it?”

Not a bit, but very surprising. Anyone would be startled if greeted by a half-dead person as soon as the door opened.

However, I couldn’t say that directly, so I just laughed awkwardly. Professor Elena seemed to notice my feelings and placed her hand on Cindy’s shoulder.

“She’s been staying up for days because of her thesis. She’s in pretty bad shape right now.”

“If you know, let me sleeeep…”

“After you finish that thesis.”

“That’s unfairrr…”

Seeing the two of them… reminds me of professors and graduate students from my previous life. I never became a graduate student myself, but I saw many memes about it online.

The most notable one was that graduate students aren’t treated as humans. Most said they act as servants to professors to earn their doctoral degrees. I even vaguely recall hearing that professors make them run personal errands.

Perhaps because of such memes, I also have the perception that graduate students are slaves who are easy to exploit.

‘Surely not me too?’

Just as I was slightly worried inside, Professor Elena, who had been teasing Cindy, looked at me and opened her mouth.

“Let me introduce you. Her name is Cindy. Full name Cindy Skywalker. She’s been my assistant for 25 years.”

“Assistant is just another word for slaveee…”

“Would you please shut up? You’re making him misunderstand.”

“It’s not a misunderstanding, it’s the truthhh…”

“Then leave.”

“I’m sorryyyy…”

They seemed more like close sisters than professor and assistant. If Elena really treated Cindy like a slave, she wouldn’t joke around like that.

I looked at the two with curious eyes, then suddenly a question came to mind and I asked:

“You’ve been an assistant for 25 years?”

“Yes. Humans also need to work as assistants for a certain period to earn their doctoral degrees before becoming professors, right? Most assistants in literature are like that.”

This is the first I’m hearing of this. So there are concepts like master’s and doctoral degrees here. Well, it might be stranger if there weren’t, given that there are academies and professors.

While I was looking dubious, Professor Elena continued her explanation.

“The same goes for us elves. You have to work as an assistant under a professor and earn your degree. But as you know, elves learn much slower than humans, so it takes a lot longer.”

“How many years does it usually take on average?”

“Not just a few years, at minimum it takes at least 30 years. In human lifespan terms, that’s about 3-4 years. Moreover, to become a doctor, or rather a professor, you have to pass a strict review within ‘Yggdrasil.’ You have to submit a doctoral thesis, and the standards are very demanding.”

Yggdrasil is the capital of Alfheim, the country of elves. As you can see, the name is identical to that in Norse mythology.

By the way, seeing that one must pass a review within Yggdrasil to become a professor, it seems the standards are very strict.

“I’m jealousss… humans only take up to 5 years…”

“You’re slow even by elven standards, so 5 years wouldn’t be nearly enough for you. Anyway, there’s one reason I called you here.”

“What is it?”

I waited with slight tension to hear what request Professor Elena would make. If it’s an unreasonable request, I’ll naturally refuse. I barely have time to write my manuscript, so I can’t afford to spend time on other things.

Meanwhile, Professor Elena placed her hand on Cindy’s shoulder as she munched on snacks and opened her mouth.

“Teach her how to write.”

“What?”

“Whaaaat…?”

Not just me, but even Cindy, who had been quiet, looked at Professor Elena with surprised eyes. Professor Elena pinched Cindy’s cheek lightly with the hand that had been on her shoulder.

“She’s good at everything else, but she’s terrible at writing. It took her at least 5 years to write just one master’s thesis. And even that wasn’t good in my opinion.”

“That hurtsss…”

Even though Cindy whimpered, Professor Elena didn’t let go of her pinched cheek.

“So I need to teach her composition, but I’m busy myself.”

“Can’t you call another student?”

“I was going to, but you caught my eye just in time. Actually, she only started writing her thesis in earnest recently.”

Then what has she been doing for 20 years? Even though elves learn slower by human standards, this seems a bit extreme.

Of course, being slow to learn doesn’t mean having poor memory. As elves live even longer than demons, they would remember everything that happened decades ago.

Simply put, they have good memory but poor application skills. Of course, that would change once they perfectly understand a concept.

I slowly digested her words and began to voice my questions one by one.

“Aren’t there other assistants? It seems a bit strange to have only one assistant in the first place?”

“They’ve all graduated and become professors now. She’s my first elven assistant. And most of the professors in the History Hall are my students. I hesitated to ask them because it felt like I would be taking away their busy time.”

“There must be students with better writing skills than me, who just enrolled?”

“In my view, you were the most outstanding. Do you think I wouldn’t know after seeing students for 100 years as a professor?”

Professor Elena kindly answered each of my questions. Most were reasonable and understandable reasons, so I had nothing more to say. Especially after hearing that my writing skills were the best among all the students she had seen in 100 years, I was dumbfounded.

After a while, when no more questions came from me, Professor Elena pushed up her slipping glasses and opened her mouth with a slightly disappointed tone.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t have the authority to force you. How about this instead?”

She paused briefly and spread her arms wide. It was an exaggerated gesture as if to say “look at this.”

Just as I was wondering about this, Professor Elena, with her arms still spread, said in a proud voice:

“Most of the books and papers here are ones I’ve collected or written while working as a professor. Not just histories written from human and elven perspectives, but also those of dwarves, beastkin, and even demons.”

“D-demons? How did you get…?”

“I happened to have a connection with a demon. I extracted as much as I could from that person. Unfortunately, they’ve returned to their homeland now.”

She then leaned her upper body slightly forward and suggested again in a subtle voice. I could see the light of greed behind her round glasses.

“If you help Cindy, I can lend you all the books here. And let you come and go freely in the research office.”

“… …”

“What do you say? By the way, you can help her only when you have time. We have a much longer concept of time than you humans think. Even once a month would be fine.”

What more is there to say? The answer is already decided.

“I look forward to working with you.”

But at this point, I had no idea.

No idea what it meant that elves learn at an extremely slow pace by human standards.

“Looking forward to working with youuu…”

No idea how much of a blockhead this elf named Cindy would be by my standards.

“Then shall we go eat together to celebrate? Have you had dinner yet?”

“No, I haven’t eaten yet.”

I had no idea at all.