Ch.93Genius Mage (1)

# Nemesis

On the off chance that he might be falsely accusing an innocent person, Ruide secretly followed Klein.

What he discovered was Klein Minerva’s disgusting true nature.

After deliberately getting talented commoners expelled from the Academy, he would approach them with false generosity, exploit their labor, and even gaslight them by saying, “You have no talent.”

Not only did he commit such vile acts, but he failed to recognize his wrongdoing and even intimidated Ella who had created a perfect magic circle for him.

Ruide was extremely angry. And he felt pity.

Though he wasn’t particularly kind-hearted, he couldn’t ignore the misfortune unfolding right before his eyes.

So he made an offer. A teaching assistant position he had no intention of filling.

“You’ll… use me as your assistant?”

Ella opened her eyes wide.

“Yes. You’ll help prepare for classes that happen about once a month and handle annoying tasks. The rest of the time, you’re free to study or do whatever you want. For compensation… room and board, occasional magic lessons from me, and maybe one gold coin?”

“What?! W-wait, wait a moment.”

“Sorry. I don’t know the average rate. Ten gold?”

Ella was flustered.

She had just realized this wasn’t a dream but reality, yet she couldn’t easily gather her wits.

Well, it was too surreal.

“I… don’t have any talent. You’ll regret this.”

Ruide responded with genuine puzzlement.

“You don’t have talent? No, you do have talent.”

“Th-that can’t be.”

Ruide firmly shook his head.

“You have talent. You’re the most brilliant person I’ve ever met. I can hardly believe someone like you was stuck in a place like that.”

Ruide’s clear eyes gazed at Ella.

Every word he had just spoken was sincere.

Ella wasn’t a character from the original story.

However, he felt it the moment he saw her.

‘She has the potential to become a great mage.’

Her current level wasn’t high.

But the amount of magical power dormant within her… was beyond comprehension.

Far superior to Hersy.

‘This is ridiculous. That bastard…’

Ruide looked at Ella’s injury-covered body with lowered eyes.

He took out his staff from his chest.

He cast a healing spell on Ella. It was simply a spell to accelerate natural healing, but it was effective for such simple injuries.

“Ah…”

Ella slightly parted her lips, feeling the abundant magical power throughout her body.

Even more unbelievable was Ruide’s statement, “You have talent.”

Though it seemed impossible, Ruide’s tone was so certain that she felt a strange sense of trust.

“…I’ll probably just disappoint you.”

However, she wasn’t foolish enough to throw away what might be her only chance.

She forced a bright smile.

“B-but I can work hard. Really. I’ll do my best.”

Ruide stared up at Ella.

“You’re mistaken.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t have a choice. Once I’ve picked you up, you’re mine.”

**

Ella was tall.

She seemed about 170cm tall, and at first glance, she had a sense of superiority about her. A quality rarely seen among commoners.

If she had been born in the modern world, she could have been a model or an idol.

That was actually what bothered him. Their eye levels were too mismatched.

With half-open eyes, he turned the doorknob.

“This is my room. Where you’ll be working from now on.”

“Y-yes!”

Ella still looked dazed.

When she took in the professor’s office, her pupils trembled.

“You really are… a professor.”

“Did you think I was lying?”

“N-no, but… um.”

Ella glanced at Ruide.

Though it was very brief, he knew he was being scanned.

She probably wanted to say something like, “I honestly couldn’t believe a kid was a professor.”

In the past, this would have triggered him, but now Ruide didn’t mind.

‘Being a kid is the best.’

Because he had seen a (hopeless?) future. Better to live as a child than face that.

“Anyway, you can work at that desk over there.”

“But…”

Ella looked at Ruide nervously.

The desk was made of premium wood.

Its high-end design made her feel unworthy to sit there.

Above all, there was a nameplate on it.

[Honorary Professor – Ruide Christopher Windsor]

She couldn’t possibly sit in such a place.

But Ruide interpreted Ella’s hesitation differently.

‘Hmm. Maybe she needs a workshop as a mage.’

“Then come this way.”

A mage’s workshop.

Usually equipped with magic circles that amplify magical power for easier research.

Shock prevention magic. And most importantly, soundproofing magic.

If one were to experiment outside a workshop, the noise could kill several people.

Ruide opened the door leading to the workshop.

“Huh?”

“Eh?!”

But someone was already inside.

It was Mikael, the Emperor’s personal assistant.

She was holding a box, organizing something.

“Ah, Young Master! You’ve finally come to your professor’s office!”

Mikael greeted him cheerfully.

“Mikael?”

Ruide was utterly bewildered.

Come to think of it, he realized he hadn’t encountered her since first introducing the Teuton Knights.

He thought she had quietly gone back to the Imperial Palace… but apparently not?

“I’ve been handling various tasks on your behalf. Today, I noticed your workshop was lacking many magical materials, so I’ve been stocking it with top-grade items. From the right, there’s Raines’ feather, mandrake…”

“??”

After explaining enthusiastically for a while, Mikael noticed Ruide’s dumbfounded expression and quickly changed the subject.

“Y-you’re not very interested in materials. Well… Young Master can use the subspace connected to the Windsor family treasury. Then let me report on the achievements.”

Ahem, Mikael cleared her throat.

“First, I’ve concretized the ‘demerit policy’ you initiated. I’ve categorized specific demerits and merits, made professors familiarize themselves with it, and systematically transformed the system. As a result, conflicts throughout the Academy have decreased by 68 percentage points, and there’s been a record 32% increase in skill improvement compared to last year. Also…”

Ruide closed the door.

Mikael’s reporting felt almost manic and frightened him.

‘Could this have been His Majesty’s purpose from the beginning?’

He had wondered why the Emperor suddenly sent knights and an assistant—thinking about it now, this seemed to have been the goal all along.

The development of the Academy.

Naturally, Ruide had no intention of cooperating whatsoever.

But… she seemed to be doing a good job, so he might as well make use of her.

Ruide decided to use magic and opened the door again.

Mikael was frozen in the same position as before.

“Amelia is looking for you.”

“…Pardon?”

“Go help her quickly.”

It was Ruide’s favorite magic: “Passing the Buck.”

“Ah, yes!”

Mikael, who had been working constantly except when sleeping.

She had been looking for tasks to do.

The tragedy of an exploited public servant.

At the news of new work, she smiled brightly, bowed to Ruide, and left.

It felt like a storm had passed.

Ruide sighed in relief and looked at Ella.

“This is the workshop.”

“May I… look around for a moment?”

“Yes. It’s your space now.”

Ella stepped into the workshop with a blank expression.

A spacious and pleasant area, incomparable to Klein’s underground workshop.

‘These magical materials…’

There was an unbelievable amount of rare magical materials stacked up.

‘I probably shouldn’t use them.’

But she knew they were out of her reach.

Klein would always get extremely angry if she used even slightly expensive magical materials.

“You can use them.”

Ruide, leaning against the door with his arms crossed, said.

“I can… use them? Th-these?”

“Yes.”

Ruide nodded while yawning.

“Now I’ll tell you your main task.”

Ruide gestured for her to come out. Ella left the workshop and stood awkwardly in front of Ruide.

“Your job is simple.”

Ella stood stiffly before Ruide with a tense face.

‘It doesn’t feel real yet, but this is my last chance. No matter how harsh, I must endure.’

But she couldn’t help feeling afraid.

All the nobles she had encountered had malicious sides they kept hidden.

“Here.”

“Yes.”

Ruide pointed to a fox cushion.

“Lie down.”

Ella immediately lay down.

She placed her hands on her navel and stared up at Ruide.

Ruide, with a serious expression, took out his staff and measured Ella’s body proportions.

‘Human experimentation… perhaps?’

“Hmm… you’re bigger than I thought.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Well, it’s fine. As long as it’s soft.”

Ruide lay down in Ella’s arms.

“…!”

He hugged her waist and snuggled in. Soon, quiet breathing could be heard. He had fallen asleep.

“…?!?!”

Ella made an indescribable expression.

She couldn’t move a finger or even breathe, frozen in a rigid posture.

**

Amelia and Hersy walked side by side. Hersy briefly told her about what had happened earlier.

“Is it true that such a thing happened?”

Hersy felt unnecessarily apologetic.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. You don’t need to be sorry, Hersy. However… it’s puzzling.”

After hearing the story, Amelia wasn’t angry.

She was more perplexed.

The Ruide she knew only ‘reacted.’

He usually just observed, and only moved when the other person did something. Whether it was a negative or positive reaction.

He wasn’t the type of child who would take the initiative to do something like cheating.

“How did Ruide look?”

“Well, he basically looked sleepy… but he seemed displeased. Will he be alright?”

Amelia thought he would have forgotten about it by now.

‘He must have been sensitive after waking up.’

Having concluded that Ruide was fine, she felt somewhat relieved. Instead, she worried about Hersy.

“Are you alright, Hersy?”

“Pardon?”

“…You wanted your family relationship to progress last time.”

Hersy spoke firmly.

“I don’t want to get close to someone who commits the shameless act of stealing another’s efforts.”

“I-I see.”

Amelia laughed awkwardly at the cold response.

“…But.”

“Yes.”

“There’s something that puzzles me.”

Hersy spoke with a troubled expression.

“Actually, I went to confront him.”

“You mean him?”

“Yes. I thought stealing meant there was a victim, and it was my responsibility to resolve it. But…”

Hersy swallowed hard.

The image of Klein lying on the bed kept coming to mind.

“He was sleeping. Not just normal sleep, but like a dead person. No matter how much I tried to wake him, he wouldn’t get up.”

Hersy had witnessed priests struggling when she arrived at the mansion.

From what she heard, Klein had been found collapsed, and the butler, sensing something was wrong, had requested help from the church.

There was a problem. The problem was that there was no problem. But Klein’s deathly still sleep indicated something was definitely wrong.

“What could it be?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

Hersy sighed.

“Time will tell. Let that man sleep comfortably.”

They had arrived at Ruide’s professor’s office.

Hersy had packed a lunch as an apology, so they could eat together.

The fox had told them Ruide’s location.

Knock knock.

After a simple knock, they slowly opened the door.

But.

“…!”

The two saw something they shouldn’t have.

The always cute Ruide.

He was sleeping in the arms of an unfamiliar woman.

Hersy’s mental state instantly collapsed, leaving her dumbfounded.

But Amelia…

Snap.

Seeing her brother sleeping with a strange woman, she felt something break in her mind.