Ch.3232. Where the Boundary Between Life and Death Crumbles

“When the hell are you coming!”

The dean stomped her feet and shouted in frustration. It had already been two days since Deus Verdi was supposed to arrive, yet there was still no sign of him at Robern.

If it weren’t for his maid Findenai, she might have gone back to Norsweden out of anxiety.

The situation at Robern Academy was that serious.

Over 100 students had already submitted withdrawal forms. Though the forms hadn’t been processed yet and professors were trying to persuade students through personal counseling, there were limits to what they could do.

On top of that, rumors had apparently reached the parents, adding external pressure.

The dean was under so much stress that every morning she would find clumps of her own hair on her pillow.

“Just wait patiently. It’s not like my master will come running just because you’re rushing him.”

“Sigh.”

She was getting sick of this scantily-clad maid who spoke informally and was always chattering away.

Karen, standing beside her with arms crossed, spoke with a troubled expression.

“…Could something have happened to him on the way?”

“An accident?”

“Yes, he’s just too late, no matter how you look at it.”

Indeed.

It didn’t seem like Deus would suddenly turn tail and run, so thinking along those lines made more sense.

Just then, Findenai, who had been eating snacks in the dean’s office, licked the powder off her fingers and hummed.

“It’ll be a real problem if the evil spirits start expanding their territory.”

When the dean and Karen looked at her wondering what this sudden comment meant, Findenai gave them a playful smile.

“You know that twisted thing on the right staircase of the third floor? It came down to the second floor yesterday.”

“Ha, why are you telling us this?”

“Hmm? It’s interesting. Just letting you know.”

“What.”

The dean snapped at Findenai, taking out her frustration on her. Findenai shrugged and pulled out a cigarette from her bosom.

“Got a match?”

“No smoking in here!”

The dean shouted roughly, unable to tolerate it anymore and about to throw her out, but Karen blocked her.

“Wait.”

Karen narrowed her eyes, glaring at Findenai with a frown.

“Your fingers are reversed.”

“Hmm?”

Findenai looked at her own hand holding the cigarette, wondering what Karen meant.

And indeed.

“Huh?”

Her fingers were arranged in reverse. The thumb was where the ring finger should be—a bizarre sight.

Staring blankly at this, Findenai cursed in frustration.

“Shit, I’ve been caught.”

Swoosh.

Findenai disappeared.

Or rather, the evil spirit that had been pretending to be Findenai.

Seeing this, the dean’s jaw dropped as she stared blankly at Karen.

Karen clicked her tongue and stood where the evil spirit had been.

“It seems that was a warning. That they’ll soon take over the entire academy.”

Karen had understood the meaning of the evil spirits expanding their territory.

As the dean sighed and was about to lower her gaze…

“Um, excuse me.”

Her hands began to tremble, and her tongue felt dry, sticking to the roof of her mouth.

“Professor Karen? Your feet are reversed.”

“What?”

When Karen quickly looked down, her heels were facing forward. Grotesquely broken feet.

Seeing this, Karen gave a bitter smile of disappointment.

“I got caught because of that thing.”

Karen disappeared.

Seeing this, the dean frothed at the mouth and collapsed onto her desk.

* * *

So where were the real Findenai and Karen?

“Sniff, I feel like someone’s pretending to be me somewhere.”

Findenai leaned against the rooftop railing, sniffling before putting a cigarette in her mouth.

As the only place where smoking was allowed in the academy, she frequented this spot.

Beside her, Karen was also leaning on the railing, chin in hand, staring blankly outward.

The two hadn’t known each other for long and weren’t particularly close, but they naturally met on the rooftop because they were waiting for the same person.

As Findenai lit her cigarette with a lighter and exhaled, Karen glanced at her.

Findenai shrugged and offered the pack, asking if she wanted one, but Karen declined.

“Is he really going to come?”

“He’d better. If he sent me all the way here and doesn’t show up, he deserves to die.”

Findenai grinned as she exhaled smoke.

Yet both women’s eyes naturally remained fixed on the entrance to the academy.

It felt like he might arrive at any moment if they looked away even briefly.

Clunk.

Just then, Erika Bright and Gideon Zeronia opened the door and came up to the rooftop.

Gideon irritably fixed his eye-catching red hair with his hand.

“Professor Karen, there are students waiting for counseling, what are you doing up here?”

“Sigh, just taking a short break.”

Karen stretched and loosened her body before passing by Gideon and heading down the stairs.

“They’re working hard.”

Findenai muttered with the cigarette in her mouth.

Perhaps disliking this, Gideon glared at Findenai and approached her.

“You’re Deus’s personal maid, right? What’s your name?”

“Findenai.”

“You’re quite curt.”

Gideon was annoyed that this mere maid was openly disrespecting him, a member of the Zeronia family.

“So what? If you have nothing to say, get lost.”

Findenai continued to lean against the railing, puffing away at her cigarette.

“Let’s go.”

Erika, already familiar with Findenai’s tough personality, tried to stop Gideon, but he wasn’t the type to let such disrespect slide.

“I’ve been hearing about you lately. Don’t act so carelessly around the academy.”

“Phew.”

What exactly did he want her to do?

It would be easier if he just barked like a dog, but he didn’t seem like he would leave without getting a response.

“You believe in Deus? Let’s see how long that lasts.”

Findenai exhaled smoke, still keeping her eyes fixed outside the academy.

Being completely ignored seemed to irritate Gideon, who clenched his fist and raised his voice.

“Fine! Tell your master this! Erika and I are getting married, so he’s cordially invited to attend and grace the occasion!”

Erika was startled and exclaimed.

“What are you saying! I never agreed to this!”

Are they fighting?

Finding this somewhat interesting now, Findenai turned to watch the two.

Erika glared at Gideon with resentful eyes, but Gideon firmly declared it was already settled.

“I’ve already sent a letter to the Bright family. Breaking an engagement would harm a woman’s reputation, but if I accept you, the Bright family would welcome it with open arms.”

“You!”

Erika grabbed his collar, her eyes flashing with anger. Her eyes were already slightly moist.

“It’s just a political engagement anyway. The Bright family would surely prefer the Zeronia family, with its close ties to the royal family, over some outcast like Verdi.”

True enough.

Erika’s position in her family was merely as a tool for a political marriage.

To escape that fate, she had worked so hard to become a professor at Robern.

But now it seemed all her efforts had been in vain, and Erika bit her lip hard.

What had gone wrong, and where?

Her head began to overheat.

“Erika Bright!”

Suddenly, without realizing it, mana was swirling at her fingertips. Even as Gideon urgently called her name, trying to stop her…

“Ugh…”

As Erika’s tear dropped, golden magic was about to shoot forth when—

[What are you doing?]

The situation changed abruptly.

A black-haired girl was sitting on the rooftop railing. With her appearance, the entire academy began to be engulfed in darkness.

As if the sun had collapsed.

The light faded calmly.

Like a pigeon caught in children’s basket trap.

Darkness surrounded Robern, accompanied by the screams of evil spirits.

[The real fun is just beginning, should you be wasting your energy like that?]

Whoosh!

Findenai immediately launched a kick at the girl, but she was already gone.

[Hehehe! That person is coming back?]

The girl, now standing behind Findenai, covered her mouth with both hands and giggled with delight.

[I hope he comes soon!]

“You little brat!”

Crash!

Findenai twisted her body and threw a low kick, but she only shattered the rooftop railing—the girl was already gone.

[But you know what.]

The girl, now suddenly standing by the rooftop door, trembled with excitement.

She seemed unbearably delighted about what was to come as she asked with a smile:

[What difference will it make if that person comes?]