Ch.33Chapter 33 – The Mechanic Enrolls in the Academy (1)

I successfully transformed the Chancellor’s childlike body back into that of a mature woman.

However, a very serious problem now revealed itself before me.

“Hehe, it’s been a while. Being back in this body rather than that of a child.”

“Ch-Chancellor!”

The Chancellor, now free from the side effects of the rejuvenation elixir—

“What?”

Because her body had grown larger—

“P-Please put some clothes on! Right now!”

All of her clothes had torn apart.

As a result, Shannon and I were now looking at the Chancellor’s completely naked body.

And, just as the Chancellor had boasted when she was in a child’s body, as an adult she was truly… impressive.

The Chancellor had claimed with her own mouth that she was “stacked” back in her day, and I’d wondered if it wasn’t embarrassing to praise oneself like that, but…

‘She had good reason to be confident.’

I’d thought that the Great Goddess Epitrina had great capacity for acceptance because of her divine nature, but the Chancellor’s capacity was no less substantial.

‘I thought she might have three heads.’

I wondered if carrying around something so large would be tiring, but she herself was calmly walking around.

And in the process, well, my brain was struck by a bouncing motion that I can hardly put into words.

“Chancellor! Please put some clothes on right now!”

However, the Chancellor’s primal state parade around the office was eventually stopped by Shannon.

“Mr. Pathos, please close your eyes too!”

“Ah, yes.”

Under Shannon’s wide-eyed glare, I had no choice but to squeeze my eyes shut.

I could hear the continuous rustling of clothes.

Honestly, I wondered if I could just open my eyes a tiny bit, but…

“Don’t you dare open your eyes.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

There was a strange murderous intent in Shannon’s voice, so I had no choice but to keep my eyes closed.

Though truthfully, I did peek a little through my hair, and I think I saw her br—

“You can open your eyes now.”

Since Shannon said I could open my eyes, I cautiously did so.

“Thank you so much. To be honest, I was skeptical of your abilities… but at this level, it would be more strange if Bergen hadn’t written you a letter of recommendation.”

The Chancellor was leaning against the window, looking at me with a subtle expression.

However, the clothes she was wearing were quite revealing. No, “quite” doesn’t cover it—the exposed skin was more extensive than the fabric covering her body.

“You said you were amazing back in the day, and that was certainly true.”

“Hehe, of course. When I was known as ‘Crimson Flame,’ men from all over the continent would come to propose to me.”

The Chancellor smiled upon hearing my comment.

“Come to think of it, you know my title, but you don’t actually know my name, do you?”

As the Chancellor said, I didn’t know her name.

The words “Crimson Flame” had come from her lips, but since I wasn’t from this world, I didn’t know what that title meant.

“My name is Regina Blasteria. In the past, I was known as Regina of the ‘Crimson Flame.'”

“Uh, hmm…”

Regina of the Crimson Flame? Regina Blasteria?

I had never heard this name once while playing Erasto Chronicle.

Actually, the Chancellor never appeared in the story at all.

She was just briefly mentioned as “The Chancellor resolved the situation” and that was it.

“Hehe, now that you’ve heard my name, do you understand how great I am?”

“No… I don’t really know.”

“What?”

When I said I didn’t know, the Chancellor—no, Regina’s face showed clear surprise.

“You really don’t know me? Seriously?”

Regina seemed genuinely shocked by my response that I didn’t know her.

She moved away from the window, approached me, grabbed both my shoulders, and brought her face close to mine.

“Really? You truly don’t know me? How can you not know someone as famous as me?”

“I said I don’t know because I don’t know…”

“Sigh… I must really be getting old. Back when I sealed the Evil Dragon, everyone recognized who I was just by hearing my name.”

Regina released my shoulders and trudged toward her sofa.

Then she plopped down on the sofa with such force that it made a loud thud.

But, Evil Dragon? Could she be talking about the Evil Dragon Neverander?

“By Evil Dragon, do you mean the Evil Dragon Neverander?”

“Hm? You know about the Evil Dragon?”

“Ah, yes. To some extent.”

Regina’s eyes lit up and she leaned forward when I mentioned the Evil Dragon Neverander’s name.

“How strange. You know the name of the Evil Dragon Neverander, but not my name? Me, Regina of the Crimson Flame, who played the biggest role in sealing the Evil Dragon?”

Regina found it curious that I knew the Evil Dragon’s name but not hers.

But anyone who played Erasto Chronicle would know the Evil Dragon’s name.

The second part of the story was about the world falling into chaos when the Evil Dragon’s seal was broken.

And the biggest cause of the Evil Dragon’s seal breaking was the death of the Glesius Academy Chancellor.

I didn’t know exactly what relationship existed between Regina’s death and the breaking of the Evil Dragon’s seal.

However, it was clear that Regina had a significant influence on the Evil Dragon’s seal.

If my memory was correct, there was no mention of the Chancellor being replaced, either through dialogue or story narration in the game.

So why exactly did the Chancellor meet her death?

“Hmm? Is there something on my face?”

As I stared at Regina’s face, she looked at me and started touching her face.

“No. You’re just more beautiful than I expected.”

“Hehehe. Unlike today’s youth, you’re very polite. I like that.”

Regina’s lips twitched with pleasure at my words.

“Well then, I should tell you the test results now.”

Regina looked at me with a smile.

“You pass. A perfect pass, at that. Your ability to fix everything has been perfectly verified.”

As she spoke, Regina gestured toward the air, and the quill pen and paper on her desk floated up.

With another gesture, the floating quill began to move and write something on the paper.

“However, even though we’ve verified your ability by fixing my body, you’ll need a certificate proving you’re an officially recognized ability user who has passed the Empire’s strict standards.”

After the quill finished writing, it returned to the desk, and the floating paper descended in front of me.

I took the fluttering paper and saw something written on it.

[National Certified Ability User Verification Exam Recommendation]

[The ability user ‘Pathos’ holding this certificate has had his abilities directly verified by Regina Blasteria, Chancellor of Glesius Academy. I hereby request that unnecessary procedures be omitted and only minimal verification processes be conducted before issuing a license. This does not violate Imperial law, and I, Regina Blasteria, guarantee that everything has been done through legal procedures.]

[Recommender’s Name: Regina Blasteria]

[Recommended Person’s Name: Glesius Academy First-Year Student Pathos]

The paper contained a request to issue me a certificate while omitting unnecessary procedures.

However, unlike what the Prime Minister had written for me, her recommendation still required minimal verification processes.

Honestly, I didn’t need this. I already had an exemption that could waive the entire exam.

I stood up and returned the paper to Regina.

“Hmm? Why are you giving this back to me?”

“It’s fine. I don’t need this paper.”

“Hmm… is that so?”

As I returned the paper, Regina accepted it with a meaningful smile.

“Since you say you don’t need it, I’ll respect your decision. Instead, if you ever need anything, feel free to come to me. Unlike for others, my office door will always be open to you. If you’re bored, come by for a cup of tea.”

“I understand. Then, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Shannon. Since classes are still in session, please show Pathos to his dormitory and class schedule. By the way, first-year students have their schedules automatically created by the Academy, so until you become a second-year, please follow the schedule provided by the Academy, even if it’s inconvenient.”

“Thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude to Regina and left the Chancellor’s office.

Shannon followed me out as I exited.

“Follow me. I’ll show you to the dormitory where you’ll be staying.”

I followed Shannon out of the Tower of Documents.

As we left the tower, it seemed classes had ended, as students were walking around in small groups.

I looked around hoping to see Mina and Elena, but unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen.

Hoping to meet them again later, I followed Shannon toward the dormitory.

“Huh?”

“P-Pathos, sir?”

And in front of the dormitory, I encountered someone unexpected.

“What brings you to the Academy, Sir Pathos?”

It was none other than Elena Sandrios, the uninvited visitor who had come to my shop not long ago.