Chapter 148: Iona's Observation Diary (3)
Chapter 148: Iona's Observation Diary (3)
After school.
Iona might seem like she just marches to the beat of her own drum, but she is surprisingly thorough when acting as a professor in front of her students.
Naturally, she was bound to let her guard down a bit more after hours, when no students were around to watch.
Hoping she would expose a few more potential weaknesses, I pulled my Transparent Robe tight.
…Actually, just in case, I even used an Odor Removal Potion and Silence magic.
Since I could no longer hide in a crowd or pretend to be doing something else, I had to be extra careful about staying concealed.
With the mindset of someone taking on a boss monster, I maintained a set distance and slowly trailed behind Iona.
“Hum~ hum-hum~”
Even though no one was watching, Iona hummed to herself, walking with a skip in her step.
As she navigated the hallways with a light stride, she occasionally exchanged nods or brief pleasantries with other professors she encountered.
However, there was one notable exception.
The moment she turned a corner, she ran into Jason, the professor in charge of the Knight Department’s 1st Year Class A.
The middle-aged bald professor I had briefly seen during the dungeon practice immediately tried to bolt the moment he spotted Iona.
Hadn't he been Iona’s student in the past? He was a rare case—originally in the Magic Department, he realized late that his true talent lay with the sword and transferred out.
To think that a professor who was so strict and serious in H&A would turn tail and run the moment he saw Iona.
Just how much had she tormented him during his student days…?
“Hyah-hah! It’s harvest time for the bald!”
“S-Stop! If you pluck any more, I’ll actually go completely bald!”
She’s still tormenting him right now?!
I scrambled after Iona, who was wearing a smile more wicked than a nomadic invader, as she chased him down.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! I’ll give you some hair growth medicine! So just give me five strands of hair for this experiment!”
“Even if I apply the medicine you give me, you’ll just pluck them out again when the time comes! I am an adult with a wife and children now! I will no longer tolerate such outrageous behavior…!”
“Hmm, hmm. This is a brand-new hair growth potion co-developed by the Ella Magic Tower and the Steam Workshop. Do you really not need it?”
“…Is five strands enough?”
At the mention of a new hair growth potion, his voice turned as cautious and gentle as a lamb’s.
Iona pulled a luxurious-looking bottle from her Subspace Pocket and shook it at Jason.
“Urgh…!”
Exuding the aura of a man making a desperate sacrifice for his country, Jason plucked his own hair.
His teeth were clenched, his expression looking as if he might shed tears of blood at any moment.
“Why do you keep taking so much of my hair anyway? You know full well that plucking it like this while I’m under treatment makes the whole thing pointless.”
“Well, well. It’s not like it matters; it all falls out again after a week anyway. Is the treatment even working?”
“Kuh… If only I had reached the Expert level before my hair started falling out…”
Thanks to Jason’s profoundly depressed voice, I was able to grasp the situation.
It was true that hair growth potions existed on the Eurelia Continent.
Well… they weren't the type where one application fixed everything; you had to apply them multiple times over a long period.
The price of such medicine was astronomical, but at least it was treatable.
In Jason’s case, however, even that seemed difficult.
He could probably afford the cost of the medicine with an Academy professor’s salary.
The problem was that he had reached the level of an Aura Expert after he had already gone bald.
Once a person reaches the level of an Aura Expert, they begin to take on the characteristics of a superhuman, and one of the traits gained in that process is immense vitality.
You know the stories—fighting for hours after being stabbed in the heart, or surviving with a hole the size of a head in one's stomach.
Such feats are impossible for ordinary people, but for an Expert-level knight who has awakened their physical body and maximized their life force, they are a reality.
This is also why aging slows down drastically after reaching the Expert level.
However, there was a major catch: the body considers the state it was in the moment it reached the Expert level as its "normal" state.
In other words, for someone like Jason, his body perceived baldness as the natural, healthy state.
No matter how much hair growth potion he applied, his body—viewing the growing hair as an abnormality—would instinctively resist the medicine.
So that’s why he gave me such a complicated look and refused when I offered him the hair growth potion I bought at the auction in exchange for some swordsmanship lessons.
Mediocre medicine wouldn't be able to bypass Jason’s own physical resistance.
It would have been better if he had treated his hair loss before reaching the Expert level…
Perhaps he couldn't afford the medicine back then, or maybe he reached the Expert level through a sudden moment of enlightenment.
For the current Jason to cure his baldness, he would either have to use a powerful new drug, receive direct treatment from an Archmage, or reach the level of a Sword Master to undergo a complete physical metamorphosis.
Since the latter two were practically impossible, the only remaining option was a more powerful hair growth potion.
The moment Iona pulled out that new medicine, the outcome of this chase had already been decided.
Poor guy…
I briefly sent a look of pity toward Professor Jason before refocusing on his question.
“Phew… fine. Anyway, what on earth are you using my precious hair for? I heard you were researching tracking magic…”
“Oh? Oh? Did I not mention it? It’s not just simple tracking magic; I’m creating a spell that can track someone even if you only have a fragment of their body!”
“Tracking someone with just a fragment… is that even possible? The moment it’s severed from the main body, the connection should be lost, making it a separate entity.”
“Hmph! Hmph! I’m not telling a runaway disciple anything!”
“You were the one who told me the sword suited me better than magic, Professor Iona!”
Jason jumped in disbelief.
So he had transferred departments on Iona’s recommendation… I suppose her mindset was that as long as he could crush cultists, it didn't matter if he used magic or a sword.
Iona grumbled at her former student for a while, but then she chuckled, as if it had all been a joke, and nodded.
“It’s almost a success. And don’t feel too bad—I’m using the hair of all the other professors for my experiments too, not just yours!”
“Well, that’s a relief… Wait, no! The other professors have a completely different starting count of hair than I do!”
Jason flared up in anger as the realization hit him, but he soon let out a deep sigh and asked in a calmer voice.
“Are you still looking for it?”
“…….”
Iona simply gave a beaming smile without answering. Jason clicked his tongue softly.
“Tsk. I told you to take it easy.”
Of course, Iona dismissed Jason’s words by striking one of her signature bizarre poses.
“I don’t listen to anyone weaker than me!”
“…….”
Maybe it was because his hair had been plucked… but somehow, Jason looked like he had aged several years in that short span of time.
“Sigh… right. I’m sure you’ll handle it. Anyway, I’m heading home for the day. My daughter is helping my wife make dinner lately, and I’d feel bad if I were late.”
“Yep, yep. Family is important. See ya!”
Jason trudged away, and Iona waved her arms vigorously in farewell.
After parting ways with Jason, Iona headed straight for her laboratory without encountering anyone else.
Surely I’d be caught if I followed her all the way into the lab, right?
Just as I was about to withdraw with a sense of regret, thinking this was the end for today—
Click.
“Oopsie-daisy…”
Iona stepped out of the lab, making a strange sound that was somewhere between a groan and a sigh.
As if she had forgotten something, she began retracing her steps at a brisk pace.
Since she was heading right toward where I was standing, I quickly hid under a nearby staircase.
A moment later, the sound of Iona’s footsteps faded into the distance.
…She didn't lock the lab door, did she?
I peeked my head out. I could see Iona’s retreating back in the distance, but there was no one else around.
Is this an opportunity?
I had been curious ever since I heard her mention she was preparing something during her conversation with Jason.
In H&A, Iona was merely a significant supporting character. Nothing more, nothing less.
You couldn't control her directly, she never appeared in combat, and she didn't get deeply involved in the main plot.
Of course, since she appeared frequently, her dialogue scripts and illustrations were well-prepared.
And while you could find document items here and there that hinted at Iona’s past…
Despite all that, Iona was ultimately just one of the unromanceable NPCs.
The reason I was tailing her like this was because the information available in H&A was limited.
But now, I had a chance to sneak a peek at Iona’s laboratory?
I couldn't pass this up.
As a fan of H&A, I had to check it out, regardless of whether it led to a weakness or not.
After checking the surroundings one more time to ensure it was safe, I cautiously opened the laboratory door.
Creeeeak.
The door slid open with a slight, grating noise.
She had kindly left the lights on, allowing me to take in the entire laboratory at a glance.
Experimental tools I couldn't identify. A massive desk. Piles of books stacked on top of it.
And finally, a portrait of Iona that commanded attention from the center of the wall.
…Good grief.
Who hangs a portrait of themselves that big?
I could almost hear a phantom voice coming from the painting: “Iona has arrived!”