episode_0050

Circe thought of herself as a genius.

He is now only in his mid-30s, and considering that wizards usually reach rank 6 when they are in their 50s on average, he is objectively a genius.

At the same time, she was the youngest professor at Grandis Academy, the most prestigious school in the kingdom, and had successfully completed several major studies, while steadily moving forward with her plans to achieve her life’s goals.

It was definitely like that.

How did it come to this?

‘Ugh… … my head… … … .’

If I had to pick the worst thing in her short life, it would definitely be something that happened during her childhood.

Cha-ak was going through a hard time right now. It was because he met some devil bastard.

A life where they survive on host vegetables and potatoes every day, eat lunch with boiled potatoes and water, and have difficulty paying dormitory management fees, let alone eating out or enjoying luxuries.

Of course, the annual salary at Grandis Academy is at least five times higher than that of other academies. Even if the salary was cut by 98%, you could still live comfortably if you saved up. You also had money saved up.

But Circe is not alone.

To be precise, there were too many holes for money to go through.

‘I have to keep donating to the Holy Land… … and spend money on acquiring test subjects… … … for research on life magic… … and I have to acquire more long-term horses.’

Her ultimate goal is to immigrate to the Holy Land, and to obtain a high-ranking position there.

As a stepping stone for that, I chose Grandis Academy. It was because of the ‘custom’ given to magic professors, the high salary, and the reputation of being the most prestigious school in the kingdom.

On the outside, she acts as an honest and kind genius female professor, but behind the scenes, she creates many long-term pieces using life magic.

I was taking my plans slowly, as I had to stay at the Academy for a few more years.

In the meantime, the Holy Nation was blatantly pursuing research on improving healing potions, so I used ‘custom’ to hand it over to them.

‘Mistake… … It was a huge mistake.’

It was because of that that I met the devil. To be honest, I had no luck.

Isn’t this a practice that has been tolerated for decades? And you’re trying to overturn it when you’re the finance minister who’s only been in office for a year? I’ve been a professor here since you entered the academy! Get a grip on reality!

… … As for saying that, the finance director was the one who knew the reality best. The monster called the chairman was pushing him from behind.

Circe was the scapegoat for the abolition of customs, because years of planning could all be ruined by a single word from the devil.

Circe had no choice but to cooperate with the demon while hiding her true intentions, and became the enemy of all magic professors.

Even their annual salary was cut by 98%.

‘I don’t have enough money.’

He tried to cause a commotion by having his long-term followers perform a summoning ritual as a way to restore his fallen reputation, but even that was discovered due to a lack of funds.

I didn’t have money to buy an artifact to hide the magic power of the summoning magic… … nor did I have money to buy a magic stone to draw the magic circle.

Even the devil child comes back to see him again and tells him about a plan to receive the hatred of not only the professors but also the students.

‘That son of a bitch.’

Circe swore revenge, but bowed down to the offer of a small amount of her salary, for she was truly short of money.

In order to get the most perfect revenge, I had to pretend to follow the devil’s words for a while. That’s why I tried to obediently go along with the plan to spray hair loss-causing agents.

‘What the hell was it?’

While researching and preparing hair loss inducers in the basement laboratory.

Suddenly, strange memories came flooding back to me.

I feel like there was something, something really important that I remembered. If I could remember it, it might make a big difference in my current situation.

No matter how hard I try to recall it, I can’t remember what that memory was.

No, rather, because of that, the delicately operated component analyzer stopped in the middle… … Uh.

And what happened?

How───

“Oh, Professor Circe. Are you awake?”

“Uh… … … .”

“That’s really great. I don’t think I could have just said it so comfortably. Because of you, Professor, this plan was completely ruined.

“… … Huh, huh?”

“That’s why, Professor.”

“… … … … .”

“Of course you will have to pay a corresponding price, right? I will cancel the salary increase and additionally cut your salary by 99%.”

“… … … Ouch.”

ah.

Let’s just pass out again… …

*

Oh, Circe has fallen again. I’ve used it a lot… … but not much? I haven’t used it much yet?

I tried to wake him up right away, but when I saw his hair falling out, I felt sorry for him and stopped.

‘I’ll have to talk about the hair loss treatment compensation and building repair costs later.’

If they still have money left, they can take it all, and if they don’t have money, they can use them as research slaves.

But I think it would be a good thing for both of us since we would be focusing more on developing hair loss medication for our own hair.

He left the unconscious Circe in the corner and walked towards the chairman.

“Chairman, how did the entrance exam go?”

“All the magic professors, including Dean Billend, have decided to keep quiet. To be honest, they showed a mean side in front of Chloe, so if they have a conscience, they will keep quiet.”

“That’s not enough.”

“Huh?”

“If those guys had a conscience, they wouldn’t have let only me and Chloe in there. Talk to them separately and tell them that if they reveal anything, everyone will get a 50% pay cut.”

“Haven’t the magic professors already had their salaries reduced since the last custom?”

“That’s halfway there.”

“Aha.”

I can trust Dean Billend, but I can’t trust the other magic professors. The most certain way is to just put a safety net called a salary cut in place.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

“Then… … Minister of Finance.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“The festival is… …?”

“… … … After.”

Yeah, the problem is the festival itself.

We were going to cancel it outright, but thanks to the CEO’s persuasion, we changed it to only do it for a day or so and canceled it midway. We prepared a plan to spray a hair loss agent under that pretext.

That was all ruined by Circe’s troll.

“Is there still any hair loss trigger left?”

“After about 3/4 of it had already evaporated and been purified. And once the leak happened… … .”

“If a similar accident happens again, anyone would think it’s strange.”

They silenced the professors under the pretext of causing confusion and celebration among the students, but if something like this happens again due to the same hair loss-causing agent, anyone would think it is suspicious.

To begin with, Circe’s lab was in shambles, and Circe, who was supposed to cause the accident, was unconscious and not in good condition.

I had no choice but to admit it.

Looking at the chairman who was desperately trying to hold back the corners of his lips from going up while trembling.

I finally declared my surrender.

“Let’s have a festival.”

“This, all week?”

“All week long.”

“Yahoo!”

Well, there’s no time to make new plans now.

Still, until this year’s festival, it was possible to fully cover the artifact refunds given by the king, compensation from Hoguus, and reduced annual salaries.

As I watched my favorite chairman running around like a child, I naturally wondered why he was so reckless.

Anyway, since she looks similar to my age, isn’t it okay? Strictly speaking, she’s paying her age, right?

… … I tried to escape reality by thinking useless thoughts, but it was useless.

“Then you don’t have to go to all the areas on the first day! You can take your time and look around for a week!”

“Huh?”

“We promised to go see the festival together yesterday, right? Originally, we only had one day, and that was the evening, so I worked hard to plan a course that we could see in the shortest amount of time possible!”

Chook.

When the chairman unfolded the complete map of Grandis Academy that had been folded in a corner of the room, traces of the ‘course’ she had spoken of were clearly visible.

In the three districts divided into magic, martial arts, and administration, all kinds of shortest routes were drawn, focusing on areas where festival stalls and events were mainly concentrated.

The way they calculate all the obstacles that can take up time, the density of people, and the time it takes to enjoy each festival area is a little scary.

The chairman, with sparkling eyes, smiled broadly and drew a new route.

“A week is enough time! I’ve rarely been to festivals myself, but I’ve seen them from the president’s office many times! What I recommend is… … !!”

“That, Chairman.”

“At least you have to go to the club headquarters building where the student council office is located! The tournaments in the martial arts field are of a low level, but they are pretty worth watching!”

“Chairman.”

“And the highlight of the festival is the magic explosion event on the last day──”

“Chairman, I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re talking excitedly.”

“Oh, we should also hear the Minister of Finance’s opinion! Where do you want to go first?”

“I can’t go.”

“… … … Yes?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to go with the chairman.”

Daughter.

The chairman, with a blank expression, dropped the pen he was holding. Her eyes were shaking violently.

The chairman immediately clenched his fist and bit his lips.

“… … Who are you?”

“Yes?”

“Who are you going with…?”

He looked up at me as he said that, um.

The eyes are a bit too scary. I guess it could be because I thought he broke his promise… … But my body was shaking with fear without me knowing it.

Is this an 8th-grade murder? Honestly, I don’t really care about that.

It seems like the chairman hasn’t realized reality yet.

“I’m not going with anyone. In the first place, the chairman can’t go to the festival either.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

“According to our original plan, the festival was to be stopped on the second day, right?”

“Right, right?”

“So after the third day, I didn’t really worry about the schedule or document approval.”

“… … … Ah.”

“Now we need to review and re-apply everything again.”

Since the festival was going to be interrupted anyway, I didn’t really care about work or documents after the second day and just passed them over or made hasty decisions. But not anymore.

It’s a bit late, but we need to reexamine if there’s anything strange, and we need to somehow cancel anything that’s really ridiculous.

And now, there is only one day left until the festival.

Even if it’s okay until the second day, there are only three days left until the morning of the third day.

“What are you staring at?”

“Uh.”

“Let’s go to work. We won’t have time to rest for three days.”

What’s three days? I’m lucky if I can get some sleep until the festival is over.

It’s possible to sneak in work from other departments like the chairman did yesterday, but even considering that, the workload is murderous. This is because the festival is so big.

The irony is that although the plan is for the Patona festival to proceed normally, there is no time to enjoy the festival because of it.

While the chairman froze with his mouth wide open.

I first bent down to find festival-related reports in the pile of documents.

‘Now that I’ve talked to Cassandra, I need to meet the main character.’

It turned out that I couldn’t even leave my office, let alone meet with him until the festival was over.

After all, the only good festival is a dead festival.

Working overtime again… …

*

“Come this way! The Fire Magic Fan Club will be performing with fire magic! We are not responsible for any injuries caused by explosions!”

“Festival Special Discount! Chicken Skewers are a fairy tale! ”

“Let’s go over there this time!”

“Mutu Tournament Toto! Who will win between Lisha Claudia and Kaerin Desté!”

“Huh? Isn’t the winner going to be that 6th grade anyway?”

“I heard it’s not coming out this time? I haven’t applied yet.”

“Really?”

It’s noisy and bustling.

A large number of students, visitors, and merchants raise their voices. The streets of Grandis Academy, which boasts the size of a small city, are filled with people.

From stalls, specially designed booths, magic shows, tournament performances, to introducing your own inventions or papers.

The festival of the Grandis Academy was a place of enjoyment, a place for meeting and exchange, and at the same time, a place for learning.

In the middle of such a noisy festival.

Ruth Spero sat blankly on the bench.

“… … … … .”

Festival. It’s an event that I couldn’t enjoy properly before because I was so focused on training.

But if I recall, I did enjoy it just once. I went with Adam in my third year of high school because he was graduating next year.

It was a short time, but it was an unforgettable memory.

These days, even when I recall them, it only hurts.

‘… …I knew it.’

But what was bothering Ruth now wasn’t the memory of that day. It was, after all, related to Adam, but more precisely, what he had said.

It is said that the Academy had figured out the professors’ summoning ritual in advance and captured them.

The words she had heard a month ago were so different from the ‘before’ she had known.

‘The Academy clearly didn’t know about the summoning ritual, and the chairman even apologized personally.’

What on earth had changed this time that had changed the future? Ruth had no idea.

And at the same time, a sense of doubt came over me.

‘In the end, none of the things I did… … turned out to be right.’

Chloe suspected that she was connected to Circe. It was a misunderstanding. Chloe was only doing Adam’s favor.

I tried to stop the summoning ritual in advance. It was meaningless. The Academy had already taken care of the matter by arresting the professors.

Some may say that it has only been two months since they entered school and that there is still a lot left.

But Ruth wanted to ask in return.

In just two months, the future has changed so much from what Ruth knew, so what if more time passes?

No, from the beginning.

Wouldn’t Ruth’s movement itself be poisonous?

‘If I hadn’t heard the truth from Adam, I would still be suspicious of Chloe.’

He would have harassed her endlessly, threatened her life, and perhaps even killed her under the pretense of stopping the future Chloe.

… … Could it be said that there was no selfishness in that thought? Could there have been no hatred or jealousy towards Chloe, who was next to the fallen Adam?

I’ve been thinking and worrying about this for the past month. I’ve been attending classes as little as possible, ignoring Mina’s worried words, and spending the rest of my time cooped up in the dorm.

I constantly felt inferior, guilty, and pathetic towards myself. The feelings didn’t get any better, and the more I felt them, the worse they got.

‘I clearly said I would contact you again regarding student council matters.’

As if to fuel those negative emotions, there was no contact from Adam at all.

Maybe Adam abandoned Ruth because he was disappointed for some unknown reason.

I was afraid of unpredictable situations. Even though I finally encountered the miracle of regression, I was resentful of my own incompetence.

Rather, just rather.

‘I wonder if I’m not necessary.’

Unlike before, I had power. I had money. But what good did it all mean?

Ruth’s eyes, sitting on the bench, were filled with only dark emotions.

How about we just kill Circe and expel ourselves from the Academy? Let’s travel around the continent and kill all the future villains.

Of course, since they haven’t done anything ‘yet’, Ruth will remain a vicious serial killer. But it didn’t matter.

Even if I were in the academy, I would still be this incompetent and pathetic.

anyway……

“Ruth? It’s Ruth, right?”

“… …Your Highness the Princess?”

Ruth raised her head at the sound of a voice. Beatrice, who had come closer without her noticing, was looking at her.

But Ruth had tried to tell him to just be left alone.

“Your Majesty, those clothes… … ?”

“This is a part-time job. I just hand out flyers, but I get paid a lot of money, right?”

Beatrice was wearing a cheap receptionist outfit. She was already famous within the Academy for doing all sorts of part-time jobs.

Although she is a princess of a foreign country, she does not shy away from difficult tasks. This was revealed along with the fact that she did various chores, including cleaning the bathroom, during the midterm exam on the deserted island, which drew favorable attention.

There were some who clicked their tongues, saying that it was not befitting of royalty, but there were also many who favored the fact that a 5th-grade magician and princess who had overcome a chronic illness was working part-time.

‘……okay.’

This change in Beatrice is also something Ruth doesn’t know about. It’s probably related to Adam, but this is just a guess and she doesn’t know the details of what happened.

He burst into laughter that contained the meaning of self-deprecation.

The moment Ruth, whose mind had been hardened by this chance encounter with a bad meaning, was about to get up from the bench.

“By the way, Ruth, did you hear? The student council president just opened a fortune teller’s shop!”

“… … ?”

“He’s famous for being a fake fortune teller, but he’s still a 6th-grade wizard, right? A lot of people came to have their fortunes read, but the student council president said he had already decided on the first customer, so he turned them all down.”

So what are you trying to say?

I feel sorry for Beatrice, who spoke to me first, but I am not in the mood for small talk.

Ruth glared at Beatrice for a moment with that thought in mind, but she just snickered instead.

“But the first guest that the student council president mentioned was ‘a student of the same grade as me.’”

“… … … !!”

“If there’s a student like that, there’s only one in the whole academy, right? I have a reason to be the student body president. Could you take me with you, considering our friendship from the deserted island?”

“… … … … … .”

“Yes? Please.”

Dot, dot.

‘I hope it’s the last one.’

Ruth, who had been thinking for a moment, eventually nodded, and Beatrice, smiling brightly, reached out to her.

After seeing the dot, let’s say goodbye to Adam. Then, after killing Circe, let’s leave.

Today will be my last day at the Academy.

Ruth had no doubts about it.

“Come on, Regressor!”

“… … Yes?”

Obviously.

That must have been it.