Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Professor's Bargain
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15
1
“You’ve stirred up quite the mess.”
On a bright Sunday morning.
No sooner had I resolved to fully enjoy the weekend than I was summoned to the professor’s lab, where Edmund opened with those words.
“What do you mean?”
“The violent incident in the Esset back alleys. Ethan Mertezacker was questioned about it. I stepped in as his guarantor.”
Tsk, out of all those people, why did it have to be Edmund who got involved.
He usually sticks to his own business and tells others to stay out of it.
“…It was self-defense.”
“So you were there on the scene after all.”
“You were just fishing for confirmation?”
“I merely obtained certainty.”
Damn, that sly professor.
Acting like he knows everything while subtly probing.
To think a professor would pull something this underhanded….
“Even if it was self-defense, causing damage to the city means it won’t blow over lightly. It might not be a major punishment, but suspension is possible.”
“…If it’s that level, I’ll humbly accept it.”
As long as it’s not expulsion or failing grades.
A suspension, no less—meaning I get a legal excuse to skip classes.
For someone like me whose goal is just to graduate somehow, it’s less a punishment and more a reward.
“You sure about that? Considering your current attendance record, it’d lock in a fail for you.”
“…….”
Take it back.
I can’t afford a suspension either.
“I won’t let it happen again.”
“Quick to pivot, aren’t you?”
“The situation calls for it.”
Edmund tugged the corner of his mouth upward and nodded.
“I like how fast you assess situations.”
I didn’t want to flip my judgment like this either.
Theo, you idiot—midterms for the first semester just ended, and your attendance is already short? What the hell have you been doing?
“Fortunately, attendance won’t be an issue. I’ve already handled it.”
“…Thank you.”
“But in exchange, I have a few questions.”
Edmund stared straight at me.
Of course this guy wouldn’t help for free.
“What is it?”
“I’ve heard that an impressive spell was witnessed at the scene. A massive skull appeared, followed by a brilliant light that broke it down to mana particles and erased it. There was even a mana nullification effect in the area. Know anything about it?”
“…I was just caught up in it, so I don’t know the details. A giant skull popped up out of nowhere and startled me.”
“Disappointing. The rune language assignment I gave you is still under research, but I’ve figured out it’s a light-attribute spell with a mana nullification effect.”
“Must be a coincidence. I had no idea that rune had those effects.”
“Hmm.”
Edmund stared at me without so much as blinking.
My brazen lie could unravel in an instant.
Then he tapped his desk.
“Do you still have the assignment I gave you?”
“I left it back at the dorm.”
In reality, it burned up when I used the rune magic.
After parrying so calmly up to this point, Edmund shrugged.
“Fair enough.”
From his tone, he’s not fully buying it.
“Any interest in helping with my research?”
“I recall turning down the master’s program offer last time.”
“I know. I’m not saying you have to complete a master’s. Just assist with my research. In other words, be an undergrad research assistant.”
That’s scary in its own way.
It’s a straight path to grad school.
“My answer is….”
“Hear me out. If you help with my research, I’ll grant whatever you want, to the best of my ability.”
Is this a blank check?
He’s not promising anything specific, just “whatever you want.”
Unless he pulls out a genie lamp, I’m not buying it.
Guess I’ll refuse.
That’s what I thought, but my lips wouldn’t part easily.
What’s holding me back is the forbidden book in the dorm.
No idea how, but the one Choco brought.
A grad school pitch is annoying, but I can refuse somehow.
There’s room for negotiation there, but not with the forbidden book.
I need to dispose of it as soon as possible.
With Edmund’s connections, he could probably handle a forbidden book too.
A clever solution came to mind.
“I want permission to enter the Minenbar Library’s forbidden stacks.”
“The forbidden stacks, huh.”
Going all in, Edmund let out a groan for the first time.
Of course— it’s the forbidden stacks, off-limits to civilians.
Even with Edmund’s influence, it’s not impossible, but he’d have to think it over.
Either way, I lose nothing whether he grants it or not.
If he does, I get a chance to sneak the book back in.
If not, I have the perfect excuse to shut down his persistent recruitment.
“With a forbidden book stolen recently, permissions aren’t easy to come by.”
“Then I’ll have to regretfully decline.”
No compromises.
Pressing hard, Edmund rubbed his brow.
“I’ll bring it up with the chancellor first. I’ll let you know the results. Head back for today.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
A grin bloomed on my face at those final words.
2
“Time to head back and take a nap….”
Stretching languidly as I left the main building.
The sun was still high in the sky.
Too early for lunch, too late for breakfast—this was prime naptime.
I strolled leisurely through the weekend academy grounds.
The path to the dorms was lined with walkways, pleasing to the eye.
Though right now, naptime trumped sightseeing, so I didn’t detour.
“…What’s that guy up to, though.”
Still, my feet paused for a moment.
Leon was there, hauling luggage with a campus staffer.
It felt oddly familiar….
“Ah, the side quest.”
There was definitely a luggage-hauling side quest.
Most side quests were deliveries or moving stuff, really….
So I’d mostly purged them from my memory long ago.
As expected of the protagonist, Leon was on a side quest.
Our eyes met, and he waved.
Couldn’t ignore him, so I approached just as he finished hauling.
“Working on the weekend too?”
“They looked like they needed help.”
“Good on you. A model student.”
“Just the natural thing to do.”
“Fine, fine, no self-awareness is perfect.”
How many people help others out of pure goodwill and call it “natural”?
That lack of awareness is so protagonist-like.
“You’re the impressive one, though.”
“What’re you talking about? I’m just an average student.”
“Heard from Ethan. You went into that dangerous back alley to save some kids.”
“It’s been pretty distorted.”
I wasn’t the one who wanted to go in—Ethan was.
And he was there, yet he twisted the facts that much?
“I didn’t do much. Ethan led the way, and I just helped to secure my own comfy bed. Anyway, enough of that. No big issues? Worries or anything?”
“Nothing major. Just thinking about a new weapon.”
“A personal weapon?”
Leon nodded vigorously, fiddling with the sword at his waist.
“Training swords break too fast. I need something sturdy like yours.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
Broken World was a trash game, but it had a gem of a durability system.
No matter how good the gear, once durability hit zero, it broke—no exceptions.
You could repair it, but you couldn’t always keep it topped off.
Until he got the holy sword, Leon would be breaking weapons left and right.
So much so that he’d frequently fight mid-field with a tree branch after his weapons shattered….
Ugh, remembering it hurts.
The holy sword should be easy enough to grab soon.
I’ve suffered enough from the game’s systemic flaws.
“Come with me somewhere soon.”
“Where to?”
Leon replied lightly.
I pondered a fancy answer for a sec, but no need to dress it up.
“Eh, nothing special. Just to get you a decent sword.”
3
Meanwhile, in the Esterro Academy chancellor’s office.
In a space broader and more opulent than anywhere else on campus, Chancellor Taylor Curtis carefully wiped dew from his orchids with a handkerchief and spoke.
“You want to grant a student access to the forbidden stacks?”
His neatly combed-back white hair showed clear signs of age.
His beard had long been fully white too, yet Taylor Curtis exuded vigor rather than frailty in his uniform.
Deep wrinkles creased his face, but his blue eyes were equally profound.
His deep voice carried a weight that embraced all around him.
“Yes, Chancellor.”
Even Edmund Clayton yielded a step when facing him alone.
Taylor merely gazed warmly at the orchids lining the window.
“Opening the forbidden stacks to a student is dangerous. Extremely so.”
“I’m aware.”
“And yet you bring it to me directly means it’s no ordinary matter, right?”
“Yes. Student Theo Agrit can read rune language.”
Good heavens, Taylor sighed.
“To what level?”
“Just a hunch, but it seems he can decipher rune language from eras still under research.”
“That’s certainly grounds for a bold request. And Theo Agrit, no less… I remember that name.”
What surfaced in Taylor’s mind was the astonishing midterm results from before.
He solved every problem— and got them all wrong. Zero across every subject.
Unprecedented in Esterro Academy history.
Had he left them blank, it might’ve been different, but he answered every essay too— and missed every correct answer precisely.
Clearly intentional, but motive and purpose unknown.
That alone made him a student to watch, and now he could read cutting-edge rune language?
“This year’s freshmen include some unimaginable talents.”
“I implore you—not to evaluate such a student by ordinary standards. We can’t repeat past mistakes. Chancellor.”
“…Indeed.”
Taylor didn’t shy from the bitter taste.
He closed his eyes and confronted echoes of the past.
“It’s also what we—and this academy—have been overlooking.”
“We must not repeat such cases. It’s an educator’s duty to guide talent in the right direction.”
“You always say the right things, Professor Edmund.”
“No point in saying what’s wrong.”
Arrogant, perhaps, but from Edmund, it rang with strange credibility.
Taylor chuckled deeply and looked at Edmund.
Their gazes crossed in silence for a moment.
At last, Taylor spoke.
“I’ll approve your request. But take special care that no issues arise in the forbidden stacks. Regarding Student Theo Agrit.”
“I’ll approach him carefully, without rash interference.”
“Good. You’re always so reasonable.”
Taylor turned back to his row of orchids.
Added one by one each year as chancellor, they’d long surpassed two digits.
Among them, he traced in memory the one orchid absent from this place, whispering softly.
“I hope no more students have to get hurt.”