Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Place Where the Boundary Between Life and Death Crumbles
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“When the hell is he coming?!”
The dean stomped his feet and bellowed. It had already been two days since Deus was supposed to arrive, but there wasn’t even a shadow of him in Robern.
If not for the maid Pindenai, he might have rushed back to Northsweden out of sheer anxiety.
The situation at the current Robern Academy was that dire.
Over a hundred students had already submitted resignation letters. They hadn’t been processed yet, and professors were trying to persuade them through individual meetings, but there was a limit to that.
On top of it, rumors had reached the parents, bringing external pressure as well.
Every morning, the dean checked his pillow and saw piles of his own fallen hair—he was under that much stress.
“Calm down and wait. No point rushing when your master isn’t the type to come sprinting just because you tell him to.”
“Hah.”
The revealingly dressed maid, who spoke so casually and curtly for some reason, was starting to get on his nerves too.
Karen, who had been standing there with her arms crossed, voiced her troubled thoughts.
“...What if something happened on the way?”
“Something happened?”
“Yes. It’s just too late, no matter how you look at it.”
Fair point.
Deus didn’t seem the type to suddenly turn tail and run, so it felt more plausible that an accident had occurred.
At that moment, Pinden A, who had been munching on the tea snacks in the dean’s office, licked the powder off her fingers and hummed casually.
“If the evil spirits start expanding their activity range, we’re really in trouble.”
The dean and Karen stared at her, wondering what that came from out of nowhere, but Pinden A just grinned mischievously.
“You know that twisted-body guy on the third-floor right staircase? It came down to the second floor yesterday.”
“Hah, why are you bringing that up?”
“Huh? It’s interesting. Thought you should know.”
“Know what.”
The dean snapped at Pindenai irritably, taking it out on her. Pinden A shrugged and pulled a cigarette from her bosom, lighting it.
“Got a match?”
“This is a no-smoking zone!”
The dean, at the end of his rope, shouted harshly and moved to throw her out right then, but Karen blocked his path.
“Wait a moment.”
Narrowing her eyes and glaring at Pindenai, Karen frowned.
“Your fingers are on backwards.”
“Hm?”
Pinden A looked at her hand holding the cigarette, as if wondering what that meant.
And sure enough.
“Huh?”
The fingers were arranged in reverse. Her thumb was where her ring finger should be—a bizarre sight.
Pinden A stared at it blankly, then clicked her tongue in annoyance.
“Damn, caught me.”
Ssslrk.
Pindenai vanished just like that.
No, the evil spirit pretending to be Pindenai.
The dean gaped at the sight, then dumbly turned to Karen.
Karen clicked her tongue and stood where the evil spirit had been.
“Looks like it was a warning. They’re saying they’ll take over the whole academy soon.”
Karen grasped the meaning behind the words about the evil spirits expanding their range.
The dean let out a sigh and started to lower his gaze.
“Um, over there.”
His hands trembled, his tongue dry as it stuck to the roof of his mouth.
“Professor Karen? Your feet are backwards.”
“Yes?”
Karen whipped her head down, and her heels were facing forward. Her feet were grotesquely twisted.
Seeing it, Karen gave a wry, regretful smile.
“Got caught because of her.”
And then Karen vanished too.
Witnessing that, the dean foamed at the mouth and collapsed onto his desk.
* * *
So where were the real Pindenai and Karen?
“Ugh, feels like someone’s impersonating me somewhere.”
Pindenai leaned against the rooftop railing, sniffing and then lighting a cigarette.
It was the only place in the academy where smoking was allowed, so she frequented it.
Beside her, Karen rested her chin on the railing, staring blankly outside.
The two hadn’t known each other long and weren’t close, but they naturally ended up meeting on the rooftop because they were waiting for the same person.
Karen glanced at Pindenai as she lit her cigarette with a lighter and exhaled.
Pindenai shrugged and offered her the pack, but Karen declined.
“He really is coming, right?”
“He’d better. If he doesn’t after sending me all the way here, I’ll kill him.”
Pindenai exhaled smoke and grinned.
Even so, both women’s eyes naturally drifted to the academy entrance.
They didn’t dare look away even for a moment, fearing he might appear there suddenly.
Clunk.
That’s when Erika Bright and Gideon Zeronia came up to the rooftop, opening the door.
Gideon ran a hand through his glaring red hair and grumbled irritably.
“Professor Karen, there are students waiting for counseling everywhere. What are you doing up here?”
“Sigh, just taking a break.”
Karen stretched and shook out her body before walking past Gideon and down the stairs.
“Tough luck.”
Pindenai muttered around her cigarette, watching them.
Maybe that rubbed him the wrong way, because Gideon glared at her and approached.
“You said you’re Deus’s personal maid, right? What’s your name?”
“Pindenai.”
“You’re awfully rude.”
Gideon bristled at how this mere maid openly disrespected him of the Zeronia family.
“So? If you’ve got nothing to say, beat it.”
Pindenai stayed leaning on the railing, puffing away at her cigarette.
“Let’s go.”
Erika, who already knew Pindenai’s brash personality, tried to hold Gideon back, but he wasn’t the type to let himself be ignored.
“I keep hearing about you lately. Don’t go strutting around the academy like you own the place.”
“Whew.”
What did he want?
It’d be refreshing if he just barked like a dog, but this guy didn’t seem like he’d leave without a response.
“You trust Deus that much? Let’s see how long that lasts.”
Pindenai exhaled smoke, her eyes still fixed outside the academy.
Being treated like he didn’t exist clearly provoked him, as Gideon clenched his fist and raised his voice.
“Fine! Tell your master this: Erika and I are getting married, so make sure to attend as a guest and bless the occasion!”
Erika startled and shouted.
“What are you talking about? I never agreed to that!”
Were they fighting?
Finally finding it a bit entertaining, Pindenai turned to watch them.
Erika glared daggers at Gideon, but he declared it firmly, as if it were already done.
“I already sent a letter to the Bright family. Breaking an engagement harms the woman—since I’m accepting her, the Brights will probably welcome it with open arms.”
“You!”
Erika grabbed his collar, eyes blazing with fury. Her eyes were already glistening slightly.
“It’s a political engagement anyway. The Brights would much prefer the Zeronia family, close to the royals, over some backwater Verdi scum.”
And that was true.
In her family, Erika’s position was merely a tool for a political marriage.
She’d worked so hard to escape that, landing a professorship at Robern.
Yet now, all that effort had been for nothing. Erika bit her lip hard.
What had gone wrong? Where?
Her head started overheating.
“Erika Bright!”
Before she knew it, mana swirled at her fingertips. Even as Gideon urgently called out to stop her.
“Urk, ngh.”
Just as a teardrop fell from Erika’s eye and golden magic was about to fire off.
[What are you doing?]
The situation changed too abruptly.
A black-haired girl sat perched on the rooftop railing. With her appearance, darkness began enveloping the entire academy.
As if the sun had plummeted.
The light faded calmly.
Like a pigeon caught in a children’s basket trap.
Darkness shrouded Robern, accompanied by the screams of evil spirits.
[This is where the real fun begins—wanna waste your energy like that?]
Whoosh!
Pindenai launched a kick straight at the girl, but she was already gone.
[Heh heh heh! That guy’s coming back?]
Now behind Pindenai, the girl covered her mouth with both hands, giggling delightedly.
[Hope he hurries!]
“You little brat!”
Boom!
Pindenai twisted her body into a low kick, but it only shattered the railing—the girl was no longer there.
[But you know.]
In an instant, the girl stood by the rooftop door, shoulders trembling with joy.
She smiled, as if the upcoming events were unbearably thrilling, and asked.
[What’s gonna change even if he does come?]