Chapter 18

The library of Saint Lepheria Academy. As befitting the library of the top academy, its size and collection of books were among the best on the continent. If there’s someone who frequents this library, it would be this man.

Professor Lapit.

A bookworm recognized by all, he visits the library without fail every day at 7 PM. Today was no different.

“Hello, Professor.”

Librarians greeted him softly as they passed by. They had become familiar due to his frequent visits. Professor Lapit responded with a silent nod. His steps led him to the section filled with vast books on the history and doctrines of the church.

Hoping to find clues to unravel the mysteries of Lepheria Academy, he was engrossed in reading books related to the church.

As he walked as usual.

“Huh?”

Lapit made a face as if he saw something strange, Then shook his head.

‘Is my eyesight failing already? I should take care of my eyes.’

He was convinced he saw an illusion. That’s because he had never seen ‘That human’ in this place before. And reading ‘that kind of book’? It made no sense.

Yes, indeed.

Concluding it was a mistake, Lapit was about to move on. However, he turned his gaze back as if a slight suspicion remained. And then.

“What, what? Is it real?”

Lapit exclaimed loudly, surprised at his own reaction. He quickly covered his mouth. Fortunately, there was no one nearby in the spacious library to notice him. He glanced around and quickly approached ‘that human.’

A pale girl who looked frail. A face he knew all too well. The Blood Witch Riviera. There she was.

“….What are you doing now?”

Lapit asked with a look of disbelief.

“Reading a book.”

Isn’t that obvious? It’s just that the title of the book she was holding was ridiculous.

“No, why are you reading such a book?”

The book she was holding. He had never read it. But it was clear to see. It was a book written to somehow convey the basics of magic to goblin level fools. Why was she reading that book?

“I…… am trying.”

Riviera muttered with a suddenly gloomy expression. Why all of a sudden?

“What?”

“Perfect disguise.”

“What does that have to do with it?”

“It’s related.”

“How so?”

*Sigh*

Riviera let out a sigh. Then she shook her head.

“It’s all because of the professor.”

“What? Why am I suddenly involved?”

“Figure it out yourself.”

Riviera buried her head in the book as if she was too annoyed to talk further. Lapit stared at her in disbelief. It seemed impossible to get any more answers from her. Then, His sharp mind began to work quickly.

‘If she blames me……………’

It’s only the thug problem that came to mind. She grumbled about the thugs clinging to her because the recognition degradation spell was a mess. Honestly, he had nothing to say. But it’s not a big deal if ant like beings are a bit bothersome, right?

He even felt somewhat sorry and was secretly paying off the money the thugs extorted from her.

But why give him a hint out of the blue again?

There’s only one reason. The annoyance from the thugs must have increased somehow.

“The mystery is solved.”

Lapit pushed up his glasses and concluded with ease. Riviera looked at him as if to say, go ahead and speak.

Lapit spoke again.

“A new kind of harassment from the thugs.”

The thugs, who have nothing to do with studying, are asking to be taught magic? They’re openly messing with her. But it was quite clever. Such an ingenious method of harassment. It was worth taking note of.

Did that thought show on his face?

Riviera frowned.

“Your expression is disgusting. And that’s not the answer.”

“What?”

Lapit looked at her incredulously,

To which she bluntly said.

“The look in their eyes was different.”

The look? What kind of look?

“The look of longing for learning.”

What nonsense is this. She must be out of her mind from stress. In such cases, it’s best to avoid.

“Uh….. I see…… I understand. That’s what it is.”

Lapit mumbled vaguely and left without looking back, as if fleeing.

Soon, only Riviera was left where they had been.

“Pathetic.”

She muttered and buried her head in the book again.

“Good.”

I closed the book on magic studies with a satisfied face. Choosing to learn the basics of magic from Riviera was an excellent choice. It was so different from Hiresia.

She explained the core concepts clearly with almost one hit instructor level teaching ability.

The concepts and principles were firmly planted in my head. With the basics in place, studying magic became much easier.

“Why didn’t I know this before.”

I muttered, but in reality, it was a method that the protagonist could never use. The strange relationship that allowed me to threaten her was unique to Max and his gang. For the first time, I wanted to express gratitude for Max’s social connections, but when I thought about the future, it wasn’t the case. It was obvious how she would turn out once the purpose of infiltrating the academy was achieved. Anyway, that’s that, and now is now.

“At this rate, things are going fairly well.”

Aside from personal relationships, everything was going according to plan. I checked the calendar. An important day was approaching.

The dungeon emergence event occurring at Mount Harkin. A hidden event that must not be missed. Not just for me, but for the protagonist as well.

“It’s time to start taking care of the protagonist.”

It’s the protagonist who hasn’t grown properly, but what can I do? To survive in this game, I need to take good care of him for mutual benefit.

“I guess I’ll have to move around tomorrow.”

The plan was already set in my mind. A plan to lure the protagonist and Annette to Mount Harkin. I checked the plan one last time.

“Huh? What’s that?”

Camian looked at the shop owner Myron puzzledly. Annette next to him had a similar look.

It was a natural reaction for part timers working as waiters and kitchen assistants in a restaurant to be suddenly told to go to Mount Harkin. Myron began to explain with a kind smile.

“You know that most of our steaks contain black root mushrooms, right?”

“Yes, we do.”

Black root mushrooms.

A mushroom that grows in shady caves where sunlight doesn’t reach, its unique aroma enhances the flavor when combined with meat.

That’s why it was one of the basic ingredients used at Myron’s Steakhouse. However, due to its habitat in caves, it was quite difficult to obtain, and therefore, expensive. But Myron insisted on using only high quality ingredients, without substituting for cheaper alternatives.

“But here’s the thing. Our main supplier just contacted us saying they’re having trouble supplying black root mushrooms.”

It was a tricky situation for the restaurant, but what did that have to do with Mount Harkin?

Myron continued to speak to the still puzzled pair.

“If things stay this way, we might have to close the shop for a while. So, it seems we need to take action to secure our own supply.”

“Secure?”

“Yes. There’s a cave on the side of Mount Harkin where black root mushrooms grow. It’s a place not easily noticed by people, so we’ve been using it secretly.”

There was no lie here. In fact, when there was a supply issue with black root mushrooms, they would harvest them directly from that place.

They would harvest just enough to not deplete the source and wait until the supply was restored.

The problem was how ‘he’ found out about it.

‘I was careful, but still got caught.’

At first, I was shocked to learn that fact. If ‘he’ spread the rumor, people would flock to harvest the expensive mushrooms, and our secret supply would be useless. But ‘he’ didn’t use the rumor to blackmail us. Instead, he offered money. And then ‘he’ told us to send Camian and Annette there. It was not something we could just accept based on the word of a suspicious person.

…But the money was too much to refuse.

Too much money.

It was a temptation we couldn’t resist.

The truth is, although the business was doing very well, when you add up the expensive rent, the cost of ingredients, and finally the wages, the profit wasn’t as much as people thought. That’s why we gave in.

‘Am I going crazy?’

No.

‘He’ clearly said. He wouldn’t harm the part timers in any way. He swore on the name of God, so it couldn’t be a lie. Eventually, Myron spoke again.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go there and pick some mushrooms for us. I’ll pay you extra for your trouble.”

“is it tough?”

Camian asked.

“No, it’s nothing much.”

Annette smiled.

There was a bit of a slope, but she was trained enough to climb it. It wasn’t that it wasn’t hard, but the joy was greater than that. I don’t know when was the last time Camian and I spent time together in the mountains. I only remembered it was a very long time ago.

‘We were young back then.’

When did he grow up to be such a reliable man? I couldn’t believe how time had passed.

“If it’s tough, let me know. We can rest a bit and than go.”

Camian spoke again.

“Okay.”

Annette nodded. And she thought. Is this the opportunity? I knew Camian had various concerns.

But we hadn’t had a serious conversation about those concerns. I was afraid that bringing it up might just add more pressure. But it also bothered me to just keep watching. So I thought today might be the opportunity, but…

‘Let’s wait a bit longer.’

Annette thought. It seemed better to talk after finishing the task.

“It looks like we’ve arrived.”

Camian said, checking the map. A cave was visible ahead. It seemed to be the very cave the shop owner had told us about.

“Yeah, it seems so.”

Annette said, wiping sweat with her sleeve.It was a relief to arrive at the destination just as it was starting to get tough.

“Shall we go then?”

Annette was about to take a step. At that moment.

“Wait.”

Camian watched ahead with sharp eyes. His right hand was on the hilt of his sword.

It was a weapon prepared in case they encountered wild animals or possible monsters.

Annette’s expression changed at Camian’s reaction. She gripped her staff with a serious face.

A suffocating silence.

It was a human voice that broke the silence.

“Yawn, what’s this? It’s so noisy I can’t even take a nap. “

Rubbing his eyes, a figure emerged from the thick bushes. Surprise appeared on the faces of Camian and Annette as they recognized the figure.

“……You are?”

Max Celtrine.

There he was, right before their eyes.