Ch.37Chapter 37 – The Freshman Suspiciously Favored by the Chancellor (2)

After receiving the Chancellor’s summons, I left the dormitory and headed toward the Tower of Documents.

The Tower of Documents wasn’t far from the dormitory, so I was able to enter without much difficulty.

Once inside, I took the elevator to the top floor, just as Shannon had done.

The elevator silently and smoothly carried me to the top floor, where I stood in front of the Chancellor’s office and knocked on the door.

“Chancellor. It’s Pathos. May I come in?”

“Ah, please enter.”

When I knocked and asked if I could come in, the Chancellor’s voice responded from inside, inviting me to enter.

I opened the door and entered the office, which was now very neatly organized, unlike when I had visited earlier this morning.

“Welcome, Pathos. Please come and have a seat.”

The Chancellor was using a much gentler tone than during our first meeting hours ago.

The arrogant little girl I had encountered earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Now, she appeared as a mature woman of dignity.

Though I suspected she was still older than me.

“Yes, Chancellor.”

Following her invitation, I sat on the sofa opposite her right side.

“Well, shall we talk over a cup of tea?”

As I sat down, the Chancellor offered me a cup of steaming tea.

“Ah… yes, thank you.”

As I picked up the teacup, she personally pushed a plate of cookies toward me.

“First, I’d like to express my gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

“If you recall our first meeting, I think you’ll understand.”

“Ah.”

From the Chancellor’s words, I understood what she was referring to.

Certainly, her first impression had been that of a young girl who seemed to have just graduated from elementary school.

With her childlike appearance trying to act like an adult, I had thought she was like a wizard from fiction—old in years but with the body of a child due to stunted growth.

But as it turned out, she had taken a rejuvenation potion that had side effects, making her excessively young, and I had fixed that.

“Actually, the ‘side effect of the rejuvenation potion’ was just an excuse because I couldn’t reveal the truth.”

“So, it wasn’t a side effect but something else?”

I looked at the Chancellor, asking what had really happened.

“That’s right. I did take a rejuvenation potion, but the problem was that the potion was cursed.”

“Cursed?”

A curse? Did she drink it knowing it was cursed?

“Yes. It was a very insidious and dangerous curse that even I, an Archmage, could only discover after consuming the potion.”

She further explained that there was nothing wrong with the potion itself.

However, the place where the potion was stored was a location where negative energy gathered, and during a battle with a demon commander who was guarding the warehouse where the potion was stored, she had blocked numerous curses. In the process, she believed a curse had settled into the potion.

“But how could an Archmage of your caliber not notice that?”

I couldn’t understand her explanation.

She was the great Archmage who had sealed the evil dragon Neberander.

How could a mage of her skill not notice a curse in a potion?

“No matter how skilled one is, there are times when greed blinds you, making rational judgment difficult.”

“Hmm.”

I could only nod at the Chancellor’s continued explanation.

Certainly, if that was the reason, it made sense.

Even the wisest person can be blinded once or twice when something seems greatly beneficial to them.

“The curse was so severe that even my friend, the ‘Saint’ Margaret, couldn’t remove it despite her best efforts. As a result, I couldn’t leave the Chancellor’s office for a long time.”

“Are you alright now?”

I was concerned about the Chancellor’s health.

Since her survival was believed to be connected to the seal on the evil dragon Neberander, ensuring her health was now a top priority.

“Hehe, I’m fine now. In fact, I feel even stronger than before taking the potion.”

I didn’t know how to respond to the Chancellor’s words.

Wait, not only was her cursed body healed, but she became stronger?

I hadn’t heard from Epitrina that my abilities included enhancement powers.

“That’s amazing. If you’re stronger than before, doesn’t that make you the Empire’s most powerful mage?”

“I suppose it does.”

She gave me an infinitely benevolent smile.

“Originally, as Bergen mentioned, I planned to provide you with all the benefits the Academy could offer. But since you’ve perfectly healed my body, I’ll personally provide you with additional benefits.”

“But, compared to other students… never mind.”

I considered the fairness regarding other students, given the benefits promised by Chancellor Bergen and the additional ones the Chancellor was now offering personally.

But then I realized I had no reason to worry about fairness compared to others.

Why? I was someone who could graduate from the Academy without taking exams or completing assignments.

In other words, just by attending the Academy and becoming a citizen of the Gelebrio Empire afterward, I deserved these benefits.

I hadn’t even asked for such benefits; they were offering them to me. What kind of fool would kick away such opportunities and choose to start life on hard mode?

I wanted to live a long and comfortable life, so if someone offered benefits, I intended to take them all.

“Don’t worry about fairness compared to other students. Glesius Academy is a higher education institution for developing abilities. It’s right to prioritize all benefits for ability users.”

She took a sip of tea and continued.

“Let me put it bluntly. The number of ability users worldwide is increasing dramatically. The number of ability users, which used to be maintained at 50-100 per generation at most, is reported to reach nearly 300 this year alone. Do you know what that means?”

“I don’t really know.”

“That’s fine. It’s okay not to know. Feel free to ask anything. You have that right, Pathos. Anyway, whenever many ability users appear, major events tend to follow. Whether it’s an attack by demon commanders or disasters and calamities too difficult for humans to handle.”

I sat quietly, listening to what she had to say.

“To conclude, great chaos and crisis will soon befall this world. The fact that there are 300 ability users means that the coming crisis will be incredibly difficult and dangerous. More dangerous than any past threat.”

Hearing the Chancellor’s words, I felt that a real danger was approaching this world.

Come to think of it, in the Erasto Chronicle, NPCs would casually mention, “Seeing so many ability users appear, something dangerous must be about to happen.”

I had somewhat guessed this from the fact that my favorite heroine, “Mina Endras,” was attending Glesius Academy.

However, the analysis directly from the Chancellor of Glesius Academy, who had lived in this world much longer than I had, conveyed a much greater sense of crisis than I had imagined.

“So, what should I do while attending the Academy?”

“Form connections with as many ability users as possible and become friends with them. You already have a status equivalent to nobility, so you can easily befriend nobles as well.”

“But won’t there be people who resent me for receiving special benefits?”

“What are you afraid of? Backing is meant to be used at times like this. The Empire’s second-in-command, the Chancellor, and the Academy’s number one, myself, are your solid backing. Who should you fear?”

So, I now have the terrifying backing of the Imperial Chancellor and the Academy Chancellor.

‘In military terms, it’s like having the Chief of Staff and the Prime Minister as my backers.’

I realized how powerful and fearsome my backing was.

“Oh, and don’t worry about classes. Since you were admitted through a special admission process, you’re free to do as you please. Classes? Attend if you want to. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. You don’t need to submit assignments or take exams. Additionally, you’ll receive a separate maintenance allowance, and if you need to spend a large sum of money, come find me. I’ll provide funds without any conditions.”

In other words, I could do nothing here and live like an idle rich person.

This is absolutely amazing!

“And for your safety, I’ll assign you a guard. Reina? Could you come in?”

She’s even providing me with a guard.

The Chancellor called someone’s name, and soon the door to the Chancellor’s office opened, revealing a woman who appeared to be around my age.