Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Reviewing Elin's Application
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I was in my research lab, reading Elin's self-introduction letter.
As expected, it was plastered with words like "best" and "pinnacle."
Things like that.
I closed the self-introduction letter with a snap.
There was nothing more to gain from reading it further.
‘This is the Elin I know.’
I had hoped for some anomaly, but it was wishful thinking.
No corners to dig into, no cracks worth calling that.
Her temperament that once she sets a goal, she must see it through no matter what—exactly as is.
Not for nothing is she called something like a "hornet's buzz"...
I don't care about that at all! If you mess with me, we all die together! Huh?! What are you looking at, you....
‘...’
For a moment, an image flashed in my mind, but I ignored it.
Not thinking about it is better for my mental health.
It's definitely not imagining a beautiful girl spouting such harsh words.
Anyway, if it's not, it's not....
“Cough.”
Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat and squeezed my eyes shut.
Elin is the sole peace in my heart... I must revere her as sacred.
From a distance only.
I switched topics again.
Runes, the root of all these problems.
One might think, so what if they can be used?
Runes are one of the actively researched themes, and among them, there are conversions that make them somewhat usable, even if not fully refined.
Still, using them raw is out of the question.
“If only those madmen didn't exist, there'd be no need to hide them.”
A faction classified as heretics even in the story.
Not devil worshippers, yet despised for a single ideology.
A strange group that exists in every class, with saints and villains coexisting.
Ancestral regression, atavism—they foam at the mouth insisting we must return to a pure state.
That alone might not be a problem, but they never shy away from all sorts of inhumane acts and deviations.
From that magic beast, I might be fine, but I can't say the same for Elin.
On the contrary, her weakness might make her a target.
A long tail gets caught, and right now, staying low is best.
‘That said, leaving it like this is also out of the question.’
Originally, there was no connection between Aiden and Elin.
Just as the saying goes, they were ‘not meant to be entangled.’
But now, they're too close.
I have to separate them somehow.
I clutched my forehead.
As I dragged my hand down, fatigue rushed in.
‘If the route twists further, it could get serious.’
The actions Elin is supposed to take—most of them are turning into pursuits of me.
It might not show yet, but I don't know the breaking point.
The limit where the story can accommodate anomalies.
If mishandled, Elin might fail to grow.
Then the protagonist's party loses their firepower mage.
And if that's the key factor in failing to defeat the root of all evil in the story?
The result is the same massacre.
Bad ending, game over.
In reality, it'd be humanity's extinction.
“...I guess I have to.”
I didn't want to touch this since it'd tarnish my reputation.
But no choice.
As I steeled myself to stand, the door opened, and a head peeked in—on wheels... no, it was Isel.
She met my eyes and scurried over.
“Did you stop by the Magic Department building, Professor?”
“I did. Why?”
“No reason. It was super noisy over there.”
“The Magic Department?”
“Yeah.”
As I made a face showing utter incomprehension, Isel stared at me intently.
She'd been scrutinizing my face for a while now—who knows why.
“As expected, Professor, you could make a living anywhere just on your looks.”
“What are you talking about....”
Never mind saying that to a master; she should really think twice about saying it to her professor.
“It's nothing.”
Yet she sneaks a glance this way.
I let out a small sigh and closed my eyes.
“You think eye signals won't get you caught? If you have something to say, spit it out. Don't make me curious for no reason.”
“Really? I can say it?”
“...Go ahead.”
What exactly is something I can really say....
‘What is she planning?’
Isel bit her lower lip and fell into thought.
She seemed to hesitate one last time before blurting it out—what could be weighing on her so much?
It couldn't be about Elin, could it?
Just as I was about to tell her not to, Isel shrugged and opened her mouth.
“Why didn't you accept Senior Lianel's confession?”
“Lianel...?”
Who?
Isel groaned as if to say, ‘of course.’
“You know, that yellow-haired senior with the cute, pure image. She's super famous in the Magic Department.”
“I don't know her.”
“Hmm... The elevator! Right, the girl you rode with in the elevator.”
Magic Department building, elevator? Confession?
‘Ah....’
Now it clicked, and Isel puffed up her shoulders triumphantly.
But she looked a bit uneasy somehow.
“Why didn't you accept her confession?”
“Is that important?”
“No, it's just... um. I was curious. She's so pretty, and you shot her down flat.”
I don't know why she's curious, but pretty? Famous enough in her department?
Really?
...A thousand years' regret settled heavily on my shoulders.
My eyebrows twitched faintly.
A heavy rage boiled up, but with eyes on me, I quelled it quickly.
No one in the world can do this to me.
‘What I saw back then was a cockroach.’
Grete... Grete... this is too much.
God gave me this face but forcibly castrated my sex drive.
Making it so I can never get aroused by my own kind.
Even if a peerless beauty lay on my bed seducing me, she'd look like nothing but a black chitinous insect.
This confirms it.
I'm following Aiden's settings to the letter.
Aiden being called rice-taste isn't just from acting superior, though that's part of it.
Truth is, Aiden has the talent to back it up.
It's not arrogance—it's justified pride.
So most of the rice-taste label comes from....
‘His relationships with women.’
While others rejoice over courting one beauty, Aiden has them swarming around him.
Not that he's drunk on it—he doesn't touch a single one.
Aiden just watches the ones fluttering around him.
Some curse his high standards, others envy his harem management.
Only after that reputation spreads do his status, talent, power, and wealth catch the eye, making him seem obnoxious.
Things others can't attain even with a lifetime of effort.
But I have an excuse too!
‘It's not my fault!’
The Dream Demon Lord—it's entirely that guy's fault... why give me this of all things....
I drew out a long sigh and gave a solemn reply.
“...She's still a student, isn't she? A professor shouldn't sow confusion during these prime years for burning with academic passion.”
Isel let out a small gasp of admiration at my sage answer.
She looked completely caught off guard.
“To think you'd have such thoughts, Professor....”
“You sometimes undervalue me too much.”
“I figured your standards were sky-high.”
Not wrong.
Not sky-high standards so much as a species issue.
Mostly human versus insect....
Regrettably, I have no confidence in loving Gregor.
A sudden thought pierced my mind, and my pupils dilated briefly.
The only ones I can look at with a sound body and mind are sub-races.
Elves, beastkin, witches. Only they escape this blessing.
Unknowingly, the pen in my hand trembled twelve times a second.
My breath caught.
My hand shook like I had tremors.
This wouldn't happen lightly... but now, a mental shock like electricity coursed through my brain.
‘The only ones I can perceive as normal humans are sub-races?’
Then this blessing... is it forcing interspecies on me?
My jaw dropped.
Interspecies?
Like a ship slowly capsizing and sinking, my upper body crumbled.
‘That's no good....’
Anything but that....
I'm not a deviant.
I must not be...
I must not be....
Absolutely.
Isel glanced at the suddenly sinking Aiden.
Unlike before when her chest tightened slightly, she felt inexplicably pleased.
Who knows why.
‘As long as it makes me happy.’
No need to attach reasons to petty emotional shifts.
She didn't even want to analyze it.
Besides, from the moment he rejected the confession, she'd been buzzing with excitement.
‘Heh.’
“If being a student is the issue, then later it's fine?”
“...If the issue is resolved.”
‘Issue, issue....’
If student status is the problem, time will solve it eventually.
Especially professor and student.
They're throwing themselves at him now because they don't know, but they'll give up soon enough.
‘But I have plenty of time.’
She had the excuse of assisting the professor.
After undergrad lab internship, grad student TA?
Then a PhD in the same professor's lab.
Time overflows if she wants.
By then, everyone else will see it as an insurmountable wall and quit.
Since they won't know what the professor is thinking.
Even if they realize late, no problem.
By then, she'll have been with the professor for years.
Isel slyly smirked, out of Aiden's sight.
“...You look oddly pleased.”
“No way. Must be your imagination.”
“...Is it.”
She glanced at the headache-gripped Aiden, then moved to make coffee.
Pretending it was totally unplanned, she dragged her steps and asked with backs turned.
“So, Professor, you plan to brush off all incoming women?”
“I'm thinking that for now, but you're prying a lot today. What's up?”
“Nothing at all. No worries.”
Brushing off all incoming women?
Heh heh.
As she savored the delight, the door creaked open with an unwelcome intruder.
A petite girl, silver hair and emerald eyes striking—a half-elf.
Famous as an old-school mage for carrying a staff as tall as herself during magic demos.
‘Retro-style mage....’
But even without that....
Isel's eyes sharpened.
“What's this about? Student Elin. This is the Knight Department building.”
“I came to see Professor Aiden. Move.”
‘How do I deal with this one?’
“You can't just barge in and expect to....”
“Isel, if you're making coffee, pour one for Elin too. Let's hear what she wants.”
She suppressed a twitching lip corner and took a small breath.
No need to show pettiness here.
“Fine.”
“What kind of answer is that... Never mind. Elin, come this way.”
Aiden looked momentarily flustered, then dismissed it.
The professor probably doesn't know what this half-elf's ulterior motives are.
Isel clicked her tongue inwardly and closed her eyes.
“I have plenty of time.”
As long as she doesn't get hasty.
As long as she doesn't get hasty.