Let's Head to the Gambling Den
Lurua Feodosiya.
Honestly, I didn't know much about her.
Because... well, it might bruise my pride to admit it, but...
She wasn't even a character in the original story.
"Mm..."
"Why are you staring at me like that, Professor...?"
"It's nothing."
There probably wasn't a woman in the class taller than me to begin with.
But even so, she was noticeably short, with dark navy hair under a hat and glasses—a scrawny girl...
Someone this distinctive? I would've remembered her if she'd appeared.
Feodosiya... the family name rings a bell, but I can't recall anyone named Lurua.
Or maybe I really had forgotten. At this point, even that was getting fuzzy.
I'd always grumbled about getting old, but seeing this, maybe I really was getting senile...
But it didn't seem like a pointless assumption.
Makes sense. I can't even remember what I ate yesterday, and it's been over thirty years since I read the original novel, by the calendar.
But then again, I remembered characters like Sion, Irina, Alun, Zigrinde, or even Tiel just fine.
So it was honestly pretty weird.
The only difference between this world and the original I knew was that I'd killed the Demon King.
Whatever. It was all just stacked hypotheticals anyway.
For now, all I knew for sure was that the only info I'd had on her came from the attendance sheet.
Anyway. That's why I'd called out the girl begging me not to dock her attendance and dragged her outside.
The other students were still busy cleaning, so it seemed like the smart move.
"S-so, um... Professor...!"
She started fumbling through excuses for her absences, remarkably polite for one of our class's students.
And I got the gist right away.
"Yeah, I get it all."
"Y-yes..."
"So, to sum up, you holed up in your dorm and slept like a log the second the previous professor submitted his resignation?"
"...That's right."
"Too tired?"
"Y-yes... Honestly, yeah. I was exhausted."
The motive was too obvious.
Long story short: While the Mist Flower Class was in total chaos, she'd confirmed the prof was gone, shut herself in her dorm, and vegged out worry-free.
Ballsy move.
She reeked of that lethally drowsy yin energy, so it seemed legit.
But still—how'd she know to do that? And then she has the gall to ask me to fake an A+? I might not have known she existed, but she's a riot.
No changes. Get lost.
Even if she wasn't in the original, person to person, there was a limit to the shamelessness of someone who'd forgotten their place.
So I summoned a dragon's resolve in my heart, a mountain's momentum on my lips, and stated the principle firmly.
Student. Wanna get hit?
"No attendance fixes. You didn't show, so you didn't show."
"Ah, aa— P-Professor...!!"
"Fearless, huh? Acting like I should just change it because you left it in my hands..."
But stories always start with the desperate one making the first offer. When I came down strict, she teared up behind her glasses and pleaded.
"It's true, Professor! I'll do anything. Anything you say—just please, my attendance...! I have to get all A+ this semester!"
"Why."
"I can't say. Everyone has secrets they can't tell, right?! Professor...!"
Squeeze—.
She clung like she was about to grab my pant leg. Wait, she actually did.
A tiny girl barely reaching my navel, hugging my leg and whimpering pitifully.
From afar, she looked just like a daughter throwing a tantrum for a toy from Daddy.
But that desperation? Seemed one hundred percent real.
Save me. Save me...
I didn't know the reason, but her eyes behind the glasses...
They had that raw survival instinct I'd worn when my past life's pitch got trashed right before deadline.
So why not just get proxies to sign in or make attendance a habit? For this little thing.
Anything, huh...
That was a dangerously tempting word.
In my past life in Korea, it'd get you hauled to HR and stripped of your rice bowl.
But this was a romance fantasy where common sense died daily, the Demon King occasionally, and moms were always debating suicide.
Fine then. She was cheeky anyway, but yanking the leash too hard wasn't good. Plus, she'd shown up voluntarily once she knew I was here, so maybe cut her a little slack.
Might as well tease her a bit. Time for some plea bargaining.
"...Miss Lurua."
"Y-yes! Just say it! Anything! Really, anything!"
"Can you stand by that? What I ask might be... a bit gray-area, morally or by academy rules."
At that, Lurua's shoulders twitched.
Squeak—.
Like her instincts caught a whiff of danger.
Her degree was a big hostage, apparently—she gulped and nodded solemnly.
"...As long as you don't dock my score, I'll sell my soul."
"For real? Don't need your soul."
"A-anything!"
But did I look like the type to order something harsh?
Messing with students like this was a crime. A crime.
Before professor, as a fine gentleman, I couldn't.
"Anyway, no need for souls. How about I fish for some info, just in case."
I pulled the attendance sheet from my pocket and jabbed a name with my pen.
「Valentina Rothschild」
The second daughter of the Rothschilds—top trading and finance house in the imperial south.
Her casino take rivaled a province's yearly budget. One of the few commoners who'd bought their way into this academy where plebs were taboo.
And...
"This one's refusing classes too, like you. Didn't show from the start, like Alun, and she's not in the dorms either."
"Ah...!"
I had a rough idea where, but nothing solid—didn't want to kick an empty can, so I'd held off.
"But as a classmate, you might know? Any idea where she is?"
Her eyes darted at the question.
"W-well... that is..."
Oh? Hoped so, and bingo?
I was gonna let her slide for showing up nicely, but her revving up to spill was perfect.
But what slithered from her lips next exceeded all expectations.
"...Under the clock tower, in the 3rd District Entertainment Area— the Golden Rose Casino. It's run by a massive illegal outfit, and rumors say it's fueled by Rothschild cash."
"Oh...?"
Spot on. I'd figured Valentina was thereabouts, but this was precise. Impressive.
"So she skips school and runs the casino there for a living..."
"You know more than I thought."
Even at that simple remark, she flailed like a guilty thief.
"I-it's just!! She's so famous, rumors are everywhere! I'm not stalking her or anything!!"
"Stalking...? When did I say that..."
"Eek—?! No! Just rumors! Really, I swear!"
Whatever. Didn't matter to me now—I was intrigued. This girl... not in the original, but maybe key? Fine. Time to round 'em up and figure it out.
"Then, Miss Lurua, shall we verify that info together?"
"...Pardon?! T-today?"
"Yup. Where I'm from, they say pull the iron while it's hot. Come on."
Whoosh—.
"Kyaa?!"
I snatched her scruff like a kitten and flung open the classroom door.
There, proving the earlier battle: sparkling clean floors and three ashen-faced zombies collapsed.
"...Oh my, Professor! Why are you hauling that glasses girl by the scruff? She's an eyesore."
Sion reacted first, as expected. Her soot-smudged cheeks from earlier? Gone—who knew. Still cute as ever. Though her sharp glare at the dangling Lurua felt ominous. Probably just my imagination?
"Professor!"
"Ah, damn grand duchess..."
And Irina, oblivious, chimed in beside Sion with dignified poise.
"Cleaning's done perfectly. What do you think?"
"Looks good."
"Hehe... Knew you'd notice. Feedback led to waxing the wheels too—extra shine, right?"
Irina preening from her wheelchair, Tiel soul-lessly clutching a mop beside her. I knew it, but our Mist Flower Class was harmony incarnate.
"Good work. Didn't even ask, but you're all overflowing with spirit."
"M-more like... we're dying here..."
Tiel's frail whine? Ignore. I plopped Lurua down casually.
"Face memorized, attendance passes. Cleanup's done, so everyone except Miss Lurua—focus on today's lesson."
"Except Lurua...? Why? You two off somewhere?"
Sion's eyes tinted suspicious. Wondering what I'd do with Lurua? Fair.
"Yeah. Taking today off to counsel the absentees."
"I see."
"I'll cover Lurua's other classes with my authority. No worries there."
But while Sion nodded, Lurua paled and clutched my clothes.
...What? No idea why, but it burned where she touched.
"P-Professor?! You're going now...?!"
"Can't go off-hours, right? Not like I'm punching overtime."
"B-but. Don't, that's...!"
I ignored the weird tingle and whispered calmly.
"Why? It's a deal. Want good grades? Step up. After all those no-shows, you saying you can't handle this?"
"Nng...!"
"I'm not dumb—I noticed. You know something solid about Valentina. So..."
"Ugh, ughh!"
"Help out?"
"For my grades...!"
Perfect. That's the spirit. Love students who keep their word. Look at those crazy eyes? Beautiful.
"Alright, let's roll."
With that, I left the rest in the Mist Flower Class and headed out with Lurua in tow.
Roll her around, observe a bit—might jog some forgotten memories. Probably.