Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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"Ha... ha... Dean..."
The teaching assistant's face had drained of all color, and he trembled as he stared at the dean.
Judging by appearances alone, the dean looked younger, but the aura he exuded didn't seem like it belonged to someone in their thirties.
With his white hair and the same black robes as the other professors, he appeared outwardly ordinary. Yet there was an overwhelming pressure that made it hard to breathe.
The dean chuckled heartily as he approached the teaching assistant.
"Sorry to interrupt your class. It was so noisy, I got curious and came to check."
"N-no, not at all! I'm truly sorry!"
The teaching assistant suddenly dropped to his knees and began to sob.
It was impossible to tell if the tears were from the pain in his backside or sheer terror.
"Hahaha, get up. These things happen."
"S-sorry! S-sor—I'm sorry!"
Even as he stood, he kept repeating his apologies.
'People can get that pathetic, huh.'
[The dean could easily dismiss a mere teaching assistant, so he has no choice but to act this way.]
The other students were also on high alert, frozen like statues.
The dean smiled as he surveyed the classroom, then addressed the students.
"My apologies for disturbing your important exam."
"N-no, Dean! Everyone's thrilled to see you!"
"Hahaha. Who'd be happy to see an old man like me?"
"N-not at all! Everyone, applaud!"
Is he insane? Clapping out of nowhere like that.
But contrary to my thoughts, the other students began clapping enthusiastically.
And I was one of them...
The dean smiled at the teaching assistant.
"Since I'm here anyway, mind if I watch the exam?"
"O-of course not!"
The teaching assistant clutched his backside, groaning as he carefully offered the chair he'd been sitting in, bowing deeply to the dean.
"P-please, have a seat, Dean!"
"Hahaha. Given your condition, shouldn't you be the one sitting?"
"I-I'm fine!"
"Well, if you insist. Old age makes even standing a chore."
Without the dialogue, this looks like a bully tormenting his lackey...
Since the dean looked younger, the disconnect was jarring.
The dean sat upright and asked the teaching assistant,
"By the way, what happened earlier to make you so angry?"
"W-well..."
The teaching assistant explained the situation from before.
Conveniently omitting his own indecent behavior, he claimed he'd suspected Louis of using magic on him and was about to punish him.
Louis immediately protested.
"I didn't do it!"
"Don't lie! If not you, then who?!"
As the sparks of conflict reignited, the dean stepped in to calm things.
"Now, now. Settle down. Teaching Assistant, did you personally witness that student using magic?"
"W-well..."
The teaching assistant hemmed and hawed, unable to respond.
The dean, still seated, looked at the students and asked,
"Did anyone here witness that student using magic?"
"..."
No one answered.
"It seems like a misunderstanding on the teaching assistant's part. Logically, if a student was using magic right in front of everyone, someone would have seen it."
"B-but..."
He was right.
Logically speaking...
'Whoa, this ability is insanely useful. I could assassinate someone with it, and no one would know.'
[But a long tail gets caught eventually. You should be careful.]
'Got it~'
I casually replied in my mind while watching the dean.
But for some reason, it felt like the dean's gaze was fixed on me.
It wasn't an illusion—he was staring right through me.
'...Why's this guy eyeing me so suspiciously?'
[A mage of his caliber might possess unique abilities we don't know about. You could get caught, so stay cautious.]
After a few intense seconds of eye contact, he turned to the teaching assistant and said,
"That said, I can definitely sense a mana flow... Lightning attribute magic."
His words made me start to sweat a little.
But the teaching assistant kept pinning the blame on the wrong person.
"Y-yes! It was definitely that guy!"
"No, I..."
As Louis tried to defend himself again, the dean cut in quietly.
"Let me say this just in case."
The moment the dean spoke, the room fell silent.
His expression had changed completely from before.
He was smiling, but there was no mercy in it.
"If any student in this school ever draws a blade against a professor, I will deal with them myself. Understood?"
"..."
No one could respond.
It wasn't that they didn't—it was that the pressure crushed them too much to speak.
The problem was, the teaching assistant was under the same weight.
He trembled so violently he could barely stand.
'Wow... No wonder he's an archmage.'
[He's someone else you need to watch closely. He's an ally, but not our comrade—keep that in mind.]
'Got it... I'll remember.'
The dean reverted to his gentle smile and asked the students,
"By the way, is there anyone here studying lightning attribute magic?"
"D-Dean..."
"Yes?"
"The lightning attribute class was discontinued this year..."
"Ah, right... I forgot. Must be dementia setting in with age, eh?"
The dean and teaching assistant looked at me.
Then all the other students followed suit.
I was the only one with my hand shyly raised.
The dean eyed me curiously and said,
"You're really taking the lightning attribute class?"
"Yes, as a subsidiary subject..."
"But isn't the class canceled?"
Even the dean didn't know everything about the school.
For a single student, it seemed the full professors had handled it internally.
I explained that I'd received a practice room and was self-studying starting today.
"Oh dear... With Professor Maximilian around, you could've gotten better instruction. What a shame."
"Yes..."
He looked regretful, but something felt off.
I wondered if that expression was genuine.
The dean smiled again and asked,
"Did you perhaps covertly deploy a magic circle?"
Now I was the prime suspect.
If I slipped up even slightly, it was over.
"I..."
"Dean, he didn't do anything like that."
"Hm?"
It wasn't me who spoke.
It was Luna.
"I've been watching him the whole time, and I didn't see any indication of him using magic."
"Hm..."
The dean alternated glances between Luna and me, flashing a meaningful smile.
Then he asked the other students,
"Did any of you happen to witness it?"
"..."
No one replied.
After a long silence, the dean turned to the teaching assistant.
"It's unfortunate, but it might've just been a natural burst of condensed mana."
"I-if you say so, Dean..."
Thanks to Luna's testimony, I was easily cleared.
Whatever the dean thought, anyway...
The dean and teaching assistant exchanged a few more words before the exam could resume.
This time, though, the teaching assistant was shaking more than the students taking the test.
"N-next, Luna Staatfeldt."
"It's Luna Staatfeldt..."
"R-right! Deploy your magic circle."
In truth, Luna was in the worst spot here.
Forcing herself to focus on an exam amid all this chaos, now under the dean's watchful eye...
But Luna calmly completed her magic circle.
No— it was far better than before.
'She must've practiced a ton.'
[She's diligent, so she wouldn't slack off.]
'Her being late today was probably from pulling an all-nighter and oversleeping.'
I silently praised Luna's magic circle while watching intently.
Thanks to the dean, we didn't have to witness more of the teaching assistant's blunders, so the class atmosphere flowed smoothly.
Then it was my turn.
"...Next, Seong Suho."
"Yes."
Unlike usual, I walked steadily, stealing glances at the dean.
The teaching assistant glared at me with displeasure as before, but I couldn't read the dean's intentions at all.
He just smiled at me.
I ascended the podium and awaited the teaching assistant's signal.
He signaled, still giving me the evil eye.
"...Begin."
I began drawing the magic circle with fluid grace.
Thick golden lines formed a perfect circle, filled inside with thin yellow solid lines of rune characters.
Without a single flaw, I aligned the characters precisely.
My hands moved faster than my brain could register, executing the circle.
In a short time, I completed a sun-like, radiant golden magic circle.
Total time: about 15 seconds.
Since it was an exam, my focus made it quicker than usual.
The brilliant glow and stable electric current from the magic circle drew gasps of admiration from all the students.
(Whoa, that magic circle is insanely good.)
(Louis did it better, but lightning circles look so badass.)
(Ah, should I switch to lightning?)
(Idiot, focus on yours first. You're drawing with your feet...)
(Want a taste of my front kick?)
I was starting to receive unprecedented treatment compared to my initial reception.
The guys who'd called me a commoner or whatever had adapted to school life and barely mentioned it anymore.
All except one...
"..."
Guyfer, excluding him.
He glared at me, then turned around.
I inadvertently followed his gaze—he was looking at Luna.
Luna stared blankly at my magic circle, absorbing it with her eyes.
The dean, seated beside her, clapped and praised me.
"Hahaha. Truly beautiful. I was worried about you studying lightning, but you could succeed Professor Maximilian. Your skill seems superior to his when he was here."
"Thank you."
Inwardly, I recalled the professor who'd died to his own magic.
'The deceased lightning professor was over 60, I think...'
[Ludwig Rippenstein was around 500 years old.]
'Crazy, not half a century—half a millennium.'
I paled internally while checking the teaching assistant's reaction.
Grading next to the dean, he wasn't half-assing it out of fear.
"Teaching Assistant, what do you think? Having a student like this under you."
"W-well... Haha... It makes me glad our school's future is bright..."
"Hahaha, no need to be so modest. You're an alumnus too. Compared to back then, today's competition is nothing. Hahaha."
"Haha... Th-thank you."
The teaching assistant bent over backward to avoid offending the dean, flattering him desperately.
Watching him, I marveled at the wonders of the human body.
...How's his spine still intact with that gut while bowing like that? Incredible.
I gave my closing bow and returned to my seat.
Luna glanced sideways at me.
Today, she didn't avert her eyes even when I looked back.
She gazed steadily, then mouthed silently.
If I wasn't mistaken, she said,
(Thank you.)
I played dumb, shrugged, and smiled at her.
Luna smiled back at mine.
Confirming her smile, I turned to focus on the others' exams.