Ch.9999. The Regressor

While Deus and his companions were resolving the incident at the Elia Convent.

The returner who could proudly declare herself the protagonist of this continent, Aria Rius, was in the middle of a rather unique adventure.

“Mmm.”

The Forest of Rometiu, quite distant from the Academy. Beyond merely being lush, it had a mystical atmosphere. Fittingly, it was a place where fairies and spirits lived in hiding.

In fact, they were helpful beings who would guide lost travelers to exits or warn them of approaching beasts.

Aria sat on a large, round boulder and unpacked her things. She removed the new greatsword she had been carrying on her back, leaned it against the rock, and began eating the lunch she had prepared.

“Chomp.”

Looking around, there was nothing but dense trees. Unlike when she had come here in her previous life, it was somewhat disappointing that the fairies and spirits now kept their distance, afraid of her.

‘It would have been nice to have someone to talk to.’

She thought about bringing some of her old companions, but then realized they probably wouldn’t have made it this far. Aria continued filling her stomach.

After finishing her meal, she sat absentmindedly looking up at the sky, barely visible through the trees.

Rustle.

Hearing footsteps through the underbrush, Aria quickly reached for her greatsword, but—

“Oh!”

Surprisingly, it was a face she knew well.

“Professor Erika?”

“Student Aria?”

An unexpected encounter.

They were both startled, wondering why the other was here.

Aria put down her sword and looked at Erika with a subtle expression. Though initially surprised, she had figured out why Erika was here.

“Are you here to make a contract with spirits?”

“…How did you know that?”

Erika, who had been strolling through the forest until just now, had reverted to her cool professor demeanor. Despite it being vacation, she maintained her professional stance, which irritated Aria.

Erika coming to make a contract with spirits during vacation to improve her abilities had happened in the previous timeline too.

But the important thing was—

‘This is too early?’

From what she knew, Professor Erika’s growth had required more time.

Could it be?

Feeling a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, Aria awkwardly twisted her lips into a smile.

“You’re an authority on light magic, so why would you need spirits?”

“That’s a separate issue. More importantly, you still haven’t answered my question.”

Erika crossed her arms, pressuring her.

“How did you know I came here to make a contract with spirits?”

It wasn’t for nothing that Erika had a reputation among students as an unapproachable professor. The peaceful forest suddenly felt filled with a cold chill.

But she had chosen the wrong opponent.

None other than a returner.

Erika’s pressure wasn’t even enough to count as a massage for Aria, who was actually fighting the urge to fidget with her hands and swing her sword.

‘I just want to kill her.’

Being irritated with Erika, Aria had such impulsive thoughts. Especially with the title of “Deus’s fiancée,” Aria’s reason seemed ready to snap at any moment, but—

‘The professor wouldn’t like that.’

Clicking her tongue, Aria sighed. Did Erika realize she had just been on the border between life and death?

“Professor Deus told me. He said Professor Erika would have good resonance with spirits.”

“…That person told you too?”

‘As I thought.’

She had taken a guess, and it was immediately confirmed.

‘I thought it seemed too early.’

She knew Erika had good compatibility with spirits, but this was too soon. She had suspected Deus’s involvement.

‘Come to think of it, the professor told me in my previous life too.’

After being discharged from the hospital, he had urgently lectured everyone around him about growth methods. Aria recalled his image.

If she had been alone, she would have closed her eyes and savored that memory, but unfortunately, she couldn’t.

“So what are you doing here?”

Erika’s voice broke through Aria’s fantasy, causing her to frown deeply before sighing and resting her chin on her hand.

“I’m looking for medicine.”

“Medicine?”

“Yes, I know there’s medicine here that’s very good for necromancers.”

“…!”

Erika was shocked by Aria’s blatant admission of her intentions. For the first time, cracks appeared in her cool expression.

“I’m going to bring it to Professor Deus. Then maybe he’ll like me.”

Aria said with a sly smile, but it backfired. Erika, whose expression had crumbled, quickly recovered and declared:

“He’s not someone whose favor can be bought with material things.”

“Tch.”

She was right.

Aria had only said it to tease Erika, but she was a bit surprised that Erika understood Deus better than expected.

“Anyway, my intention to give it to him won’t change. Wouldn’t he prefer me—young, fresh, and bringing beneficial medicine—over his ‘former’ fiancée who just sits around without even bringing divorce papers?”

“…I’m still his current fiancée.”

“Sure. A relationship that ends as soon as you sign the divorce papers.”

Aria was precisely targeting a painful spot. Erika bit her lip, holding back the question of how Aria knew about the divorce papers.

She also found it strange that Aria, a student, was so hostile just because of one man like Deus.

“Have you met him somewhere else before?”

Deus had been at the Academy for a very short time. It seemed insufficient for a student like Aria to develop such feelings.

“Yes, for a very long time. I was with the professor.”

A meaningful statement.

Erika was curious but chose not to probe further. It felt like Aria would pounce like a beast if she stepped even slightly into that territory.

Swallowing hard, Erika nodded and began to walk away.

It was the first time she had felt uneasy just being with a student, but Aria was clearly different.

In a way, she seemed to possess something far more special than even Princess Elenoa Luden Griffin, who could be called the most special among the students.

“It’s vacation, so I won’t interfere. Take care of yourself.”

As Erika turned to leave, Aria, who had been staring blankly at her back, sighed and spoke up.

“Wait a moment. It’s dangerous to wander around the forest right now.”

“Hmm?”

“There are some strange people wandering around.”

Erika stopped at those words. Regardless of how Aria knew this, if it was true, she had a duty as a professor to protect her student.

She closed her eyes and summoned golden mana to explore the forest. As she did, small spirits began to approach Erika with interest.

‘How annoying.’

Aria disliked this aspect of Erika. She was irritated by the cold, rational thinking that clearly showed the position difference between student and professor.

While Aria was grumbling about having bothered to warn her, Erika’s eyes suddenly opened wide as she asked:

“Are you saying there’s really something out there?”

She couldn’t sense anything. Even the friendly spirits weren’t whispering any warnings.

Just as she was wondering if the girl was playing with her—

Aria gestured with her chin toward a spot.

Soon after, two mages wearing black robes and hoods appeared from that direction.

“…!”

A shocking situation.

They weren’t even far away, they were quite close, yet they had evaded her detection magic.

This meant they were no ordinary practitioners.

Though she didn’t know their purpose, their stealthy behavior, avoiding detection, suggested their intentions were not good.

“Aria, get behind me…”

“You’re Dante, right?”

Aria cut off Erika’s words. The two mages flinched at Aria’s statement.

“Dante?”

“It’s like a Black Mage group. Step aside a bit.”

Aria spoke irritably as she rose from the rock.

“How does she know about us?”

The man’s voice, leaking from under his hood, was strangely distorted. It gave the impression that his throat had a different structure than normal.

Aria chuckled at his question and answered:

“Do I really need to know that? You’re here looking for spirits too, right?”

“…”

There was no answer. But seeing through their obvious intentions, Aria continued with a laugh:

“You think your intentions are noble and lofty, but in reality, you’re just guys who reek of corpses.”

Despite the insulting words, the two Black Mages from Dante didn’t flinch.

For them, such humiliation was nothing.

“I know what your purpose is, and I don’t intend to stop you. What you’re trying to do is right, even if it’s disgusting.”

“We merely shoulder the filthiest burden for the continent.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want with that. I’m just here to give a warning.”

“…”

The greatsword appeared in Aria’s hand. It was the first treasured sword she had acquired during this vacation.

“Don’t approach the spirit master. If you do, I might end up killing everyone in Dante without even realizing it. He’s not someone parasites like you can leech off of.”

“Anyone can talk big.”

“Oh, try me.”

Aria glared at the Black Mages of Dante who were sneering at her, grinding her teeth as if ready to take their necks at any moment.

“Let’s see who’s right.”

A sound of swallowing could be heard.

The pressure emanating from this small girl was beyond the Black Mages’ imagination, causing them to hesitate.

“Now, this was a warning I’m sending to your leader.”

“…?”

Could this girl even know that the Black Mages of Dante were connected to each other? Despite Dante’s structure making betrayal impossible, she seemed to know too much in detail.

The two Black Mages were thinking of retreating, but—

Aria’s greatsword was chillingly pointed in their direction.

“Now I need to gather medicine for the professor.”

Aria grinned and beheaded the two Black Mages of Dante.

The two collapsed like crumbling structures.

For a necromancer, nothing was as beneficial as the souls of high-ranking Black Mages.

“Hehe, I wonder if he’ll like it?”

Aria shook the blood off her sword with a chilling smile.