Chapter 45: The Second Piece (4)

[45] 7. The Second Piece (4)

Section F on the 48th floor, where Professor Killian’s laboratory was located, was disgustingly gloomy.

It was dim even though it was midday, and a foul stench filled the air. I could occasionally hear a sound that resembled a crow choking to death from behind the stone walls.

It suited him perfectly.

Gloominess, domineeringness, arrogance. (TL Note: It’s a word now.)

Those three words are the perfect description of Professor Killian’s personality.

He was disrespectful, not only to students, but even to his fellow professors. He also disliked being around people, and the shady rumors about him didn’t help.

Rumors about him buying orphans for his experiments,

or secretly colluding with cultists.

My mother had told me that he wasn’t always like this. He used to be cheerful but changed after his daughter passed away.

A broken man. That was my mother’s comment.

Hearing her say that, I felt sorry for him.

But at the same time, I thought he was pathetic.

How could a mage, a seeker who always looks to the future, be trapped in the past, consumed by tragedy?

He seemed so weak.

It’s not like his daughter was going to come back, even if he continues to mourn.

Anyway,

Lost in my thoughts, I arrived at the lab. It was tucked away in the deepest corner of this already gloomy place.

“Phew…”

I unnecessarily smoothed down my clothes and reached for the door.

But my hand couldn’t reach it.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”

A furious roar erupted. I instinctively withdrew my hand, and a second roar echoed through the air.

“Are you trying to mess with me?!”

It was a rough, savage voice. I recognized it as Professor Killian’s. Apparently, he was unleashing his usual tyranny on one of his assistants.

Sighing, I turned back, feeling a little disappointed.

Not getting involved in pointless matters is a sign of wisdom. I decided to just leave the book in his room.

As I was turning around…

“What the hell are you doing? I gave you what you wanted, didn’t I?”

Rem’s voice. I couldn’t help but stop, my eyes turning back towards the door.

“I wanted the *original*! You goddamn orphan!”

“Does it matter if it’s a copy? As long as the content is the same, isn’t it fine?”

That was a cold tone I had never heard from him before, colder than anything he’d ever said to me.

Even though his words weren’t directed at me, a chill ran down my spine.

But Professor Killian was clearly different from Rem and me. He roared back even louder.

“That’s a breach of contract!”

Rem dropped all pretense of formality. Sharp, thorny words flew from his mouth.

“You’re the one who broke the contract. You said it would be just for a month. It’s already been two months, don’t you think? When are you planning on letting me leave?”

It felt as if my heart skipped a beat.

Rem… was leaving the magic tower?

Or rather, had he come here to leave in the first place?

My thoughts were tangled with emotions. I tried to sort them out, but all I got was a throbbing headache.

Why?

No, how could I stop him from leaving?

How… How could I keep him here?

“I’ve had enough of playing your lackey for three years! It’s about…”

“Wait,”

Killian’s voice suddenly dropped.

“…Someone’s listening.”

“…!!”

A cold shiver ran down my spine. I hurriedly turned around.

But the door opening was faster.

“…!”

A strong hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside.

“You.”

My vision was filled with a skeletal face and bloodshot eyes.

“What did you hear?”

His voice did not sound rational. Instinctively, a lie spilled out,

“I didn’t hear anything…”

“That’s a lie.”

*Squeeze-*

Pain surged through my wrist. My vision blurred, and I couldn’t help crying out,

“O-Ow…! It hurts…!”

Professor Killian didn’t blink. He bared his teeth, and in a low voice, said,

“If you don’t tell me the truth right now, I’ll break your fragile wrist…”

“Killian!”

A shout, and a simultaneous release of his grip.

When I came to my senses, Rem was already standing between us, glaring at Killian.

“What in the world are you doing? Have you gone crazy?!”

Killian opened his mouth, but Rem didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“Do you even know who she is?”

Bewilderment flickered in Killian’s eyes. He looked me up and down, then suddenly his expression twisted in disgust.

“Parsley, rather crude interests for the daughter of the tower master. Eavesdropping, huh.”

I couldn’t help but retort.

“I-It wasn’t intentional! I really didn’t hear anything!”

He clicked his tongue. But he didn’t push me further.

Instead, he stared intently at Rem. Rem also frowned and turned to face Killian.

There was a disruption in the flow of magical power.

I realized they were having a silent conversation through some sort of magic.

They couldn’t seem to agree. The magic power flowing between them grew turbulent.

But not for long.

Gritting his teeth, Killian closed his eyes. And then,

“Don’t let this happen again,”

he said, and slammed the door.

“…”

Dumbfounded, I stared at the door. I was so shocked, I couldn’t even feel angry.

I felt as if magical wind had swept me off my feet and I had landed face first on the floor.

What was…

“Come with me.”

I turned and saw Rem. He had a tired expression on his face. Running a hand through his hair, he added,

“Let’s walk for a bit.”

***

“Vice-Captain, what did you and Killian talk about back then?”

“… Why are you asking about that now?”

“Just curious.”

“To be honest, I don’t remember much, except that we were arguing about something trivial.”

“…He was angry enough to do that to Parsley over hearing a trivial conversation?”

“He was an asshole who wasted his entire life studying, growing old without ever having a girlfriend.”

“…Still, something about it seems odd.”

“You never worked under that bastard, so you wouldn’t know. Anyway, what happened after that is…”

***

“Forget about it.”

He said that as we were passing by Library 38 on the 38th floor, about 10 minutes after we started walking.

Rem abruptly stopped.

Then he casually hopped onto the windowsill and, with an indifferent look on his face, said,

“He was just being sensitive. I was getting tired of him, so I pushed him away, just to spite him.”

It was then I realized he was talking about the argument he had had with Professor Killian earlier.

Whatever I overheard, forget about it. It’s nothing.

It was a legitimate request.

A true intellectual is considerate and understanding towards others. Whatever they talked about in the lab was between them. It would be immoral of me to try to get involved.

But for some reason, I couldn’t stop myself from saying,

“…You’re planning to leave?”

Bewilderment flashed across his face before being replaced by frustration. I could hear him mumbling that I had heard *that* part too.

Meaning he had planned on leaving…

…And might still be.

“…Why?”

This time, it wasn’t that my tongue was disobeying me; it was as if it had acted before I could think. I lowered my head in embarrassment. I couldn’t help but use such a pathetic tone.

Just what the hell was wrong with me?

It’s completely up to him whether or not he leaves the Magic Tower.

In a way, this could even be considered a good thing.

He was a potential rival.

But I didn’t want him to leave.

I wanted him to stay.

I wished he would come to me first and greet me

and give me his annoying, mischievous smile.

In other words, I…

“I’m not leaving.”

My head shot up. He was frowning.

“I was going to leave after a month, but I’ve changed my mind.”

Then he glared at me and added,

“Happy now?”

“…Why?”

This time, it wasn’t a betrayal of my thoughts, but more as if my tongue had acted first.

“Why did you change your mind?”

Suddenly, Rem frowned and then looked away. He kept glancing at me before finally letting out a deep sigh.

And then, out of nowhere,

“Why the hell did you come looking for me at Killian’s lab anyway?”

He changed the subject.

It was a transparent attempt at dodging the question, but I decided to go along with it.

He said he wasn’t leaving.

That was enough for now.

…Probably.

“To return this.”

Pushing aside my doubts, I handed him the book I was holding.

An expression of disdain crossed his face.

“It’s been two months since we last met. Do I really need to explain to you, *again*, that I’m blind?”

“Ah…”

…It wasn’t entirely my fault. To begin with, as a genius, I’m not exactly prone to making these kinds of mistakes.

It’s just that Rem’s movements are too natural for a blind person.

He could navigate freely through the library’s towering bookshelves without bumping into anything, and if someone approached, he could tell who it was.

It’s hard to believe someone who can do that is blind.

But of course, he always had a retort ready whenever I pointed this out:

[For large objects, like bookshelves, I can use telekinesis to pinpoint their location. And I know who’s approaching by reading their mana signature. I’ve already told you, unless they’ve had some special treatment I wouldn’t even know those small things, or paper, existed.]

… And in that smug tone.

Therefore, I didn’t voice my complaints. Instead, I started explaining about the book.

“It’s a battered, old book, about 300 pages thick. The title is faded, so I couldn’t read it, but it looks like some kind of romance novel based on the contents. And in the back, there’s a sentence, written in your handwriting: ‘L hereby vows to dedicate his everything to C…’”

Rem suddenly stood up.

His face had gone white. He began frantically patting himself down, which was unusual. He really did seem genuinely flustered.

At that moment, I was certain that the book was his.

“This is yours, right?”

“Y-Yeah…”

He stammered as he took the book. Then, he gently traced his blunt wrist over it.

It was an affectionate gesture.

He seemed to have difficulty processing the emotion. His expression contorted slightly.

It was the first time I had seen him so emotional.

…It was a side I didn’t even know existed.

My heart stung, and the questions I’d been holding back suddenly burst forth.

*Who is C?*

*Just who is this person that made you make that face?*

“It seems precious to you.”

With much effort, I managed to force the words out.

“Is there a story behind this book?”

I forced myself to act nonchalant, as if I didn’t care or want to know.

That way, he could also answer casually.

“Thank you, I’ll repay this debt. I promise.”

But Rem only lowered his head and expressed his gratitude. He dodged my question.

He always did this whenever his past was brought up.

A prickly sensation arose in my chest, as if rose thorns were strangling my heart.

Trying hard to ignore it, I looked away and replied as if it was no big deal.

“Don’t mention it. It’s nothing.”

But the thorns in my voice didn’t disappear.