Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: A Lingering Grudge
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"Sir Luke. Didn't you say you couldn't remember the details?"
"I took a shot in the dark, and it turned out I was right. If I'd been wrong, I was planning to kill him on the spot."
Every novel has something called plausibility.
It's one of the most important things for any reader, and it's also one of the reasons countless authors drop their series, unable to tie up the countless plot threads they've scattered.
Then there's causality.
This isn't a word used only in novels; it's used in the real world, too.
The law that a result will inevitably occur if there is a cause is called causality. In the case of the Behemoth event, you could say that while it lacked plausibility, it did have causality.
In the story, a Behemoth suddenly appears in the skies above the Empire.
With demons on board.
From a reader's perspective, the thought that comes to mind is, "Suddenly?"
It didn't appear through a gate, there was no description of any omens, and there was certainly no narrative suggesting a demonic human was plotting something like this.
It literally just appeared out of the blue one day.
'Thinking about it now, it's a wonder a novel like that was ranked number one.'
As some people know, being number one doesn't necessarily mean it's a perfect novel.
Even if the writing is average and the premise is common, a work that meets the readers' needs and follows the trends is bound to become popular.
So, even if the plausibility was utter crap, the people who read it enjoyed it.
That's why, despite the lack of plausibility, seeing the demonic human I just caught told me that there was at least causality.
If only that had been written into the story.
I could have just come and waited for him in advance, without the hassle of tailing him.
"But, Sir Luke. When you said your name earlier, didn't you use someone else's...?"
"Who tells a stranger their real name?"
"...."
That's not weird, that's just common sense, right?
In the world I came from, getting doxxed could happen in an instant.
It's an age where people shred every single receipt and tear off all the shipping labels from their packages.
'The name Arthur is a total black card.'
When used against demonic humans or demons, it's a free pass for everything.
A truly overpowered name.
"Alright, let's head back. I'm hungry."
"Yes."
"Okay."
We left the alley and headed back toward the academy.
I wonder what's for dinner. I happily imagined the possibilities.
"Sir Luke. It's a bit late to ask, but was it okay not to stop that magic circle back there?"
"Stopping it would have been a disaster! That event was originally scheduled to happen a few months from now!"
"...Then isn't that even worse?"
The super-massive A-rank monster, Behemoth.
Another name for it is the Devouring Dragon.
It doesn't actually look like a dragon, but a creature doesn't need to match its moniker perfectly.
In martial arts novels, don't they give people nicknames like "Phoenix" or "Dragon"? Are those people actual dragons and phoenixes?
It's a similar concept.
The Behemoth is so massive that it can't be taken down by ordinary means, and it carries various monsters inside its body.
Not dead, but alive.
Its size easily exceeds 200 meters, making it difficult to hunt anyway. But the reason it's left alone, even though an S-rank adventurer could take it down, is because it's not a monster that harms humans.
It usually flies high above the clouds, descending once a year to devour a whole bunch of monsters before disappearing again.
Judging by its actions, it's a monster that's actually beneficial to humanity if left alive.
Although it would normally be a troublesome event, it's also the one I'm looking forward to the most.
The reason is a single line written in the author's TMI notes.
-The monsters inside the Behemoth all have an exquisite taste, rivaling the finest culinary ingredients.
That's right.
I'm so damn curious what they taste like!
I'm going to catch them all this time and have a bite of each.
"My mouth is watering...."
That's why I deliberately let the magic circle fully activate.
I killed him only after confirming the circle's activation was complete.
"Just thinking about it makes me hungry. I need to hurry."
To soothe my rumbling stomach, I quickened my pace.
***
"Hah...!"
On an infirmary bed.
A man shot up with a gasp.
The man's name was Dmitry Belikov.
He was the professor in charge of Class B, who had been unconscious ever since his duel with Luke that afternoon.
He had been in a long slumber, only to awaken now that evening had arrived.
"Where...?"
Dmitry looked around.
Curtains were drawn on both sides of the bed and in front of him, and he could see a white marble ceiling.
From that, he judged he was in the infirmary.
Everything felt unfamiliar.
It was his first time in the infirmary since he'd become a professor.
"....!"
For a fleeting moment, fragmented memories that had been suppressed surged forth, making him feel dizzy.
Dmitry instinctively moved his hand to touch his chest.
After his chest, his side. After his side, his arm. After his arm, his leg.
Only after checking them in sequence could he finally relax.
He felt pathetic for feeling relieved that he was fine after the disgrace of fainting in a mere duel, but anyone would feel the same after experiencing the pain of being pierced by swords all over their body.
"So I lost in the end...."
He had lost again.
He thought losing to a commoner would be a one-time thing after Professor Epper.
This time, he had been defeated by someone who was once his student.
The duel had been one-sided. He had been practically toyed with, and by the end, it was no different from a one-sided assault.
"Professor Dmitry? Are you awake?"
"Ah... Professor Maria."
"I was so surprised when the students carried you in this afternoon. You didn't wake up until evening, so I thought you might have suffered some serious injury, but that wasn't the case."
"What...?"
Wait a moment.
What? Evening?
"Professor Maria? Could you tell me what time it is?"
"Yes? It's seven in the evening."
He'd been unconscious for half a day?
"Then what happened to my class...?"
"From what I heard, the new temporary professor took over."
That bastard...!
He couldn't stop him after all.
"Haaah...."
At this point, his head ached so much he couldn't think straight.
"Now that you're up, I can close up and leave."
"Ah, I'll take care of the rest and head out. Thank you for looking after me."
"Not at all, it's part of my job. Well then, I'll leave the tidying up to you."
"Yes."
Maria left through the door first, and Dmitry tidied up the bedding.
After he was done, he locked the infirmary door with the key Maria had given him and headed to the dining hall.
Even though he'd been lying down for half a day, his stomach was protesting, a reminder that the body consumes energy even while sleeping.
And so, as Dmitry headed for the faculty dining hall.
"Oh?"
"....!"
He ran into Luke.
What a cruel twist of fate. To run into the one person he wanted to avoid the most.
"Professor Acorn?"
"It is Professor Dmitry."
"Same difference."
Was he openly provoking him now just because he won the duel this afternoon?
*Grind.*
He clenched his teeth.
He wanted to do something, anything, but his body had already kneeled before fear.
It was as if his brain was telling him not to challenge the man before him, that he didn't want to experience being stabbed all over his body again.
It was a complete defeat.
And so, he ignored him and headed for the food.
His plan was to eat quickly and leave.
He deliberately sat in a corner far away from Luke, intending to eat his meal in peace.
"Do you really think you're ready to teach others?"
If only someone hadn't been sneering at him from the side.
He remembered that line.
Of course he did; it was the exact line he had said to him.
He had deliberately followed him to the next seat and was now mimicking his words with a tone that was unmistakably mocking.
Eating didn't feel like eating.
Normally, he would have enjoyed his meal at a leisurely pace.
Dmitry told himself this was an exercise in building patience, gritting his teeth and meditating.
"We've decided to call that a mental victory."
Not that it made the words any less audible.
***
Dmitry finished his meal quickly and returned to his quarters.
Before heading to his dorm, he remembered the infirmary key he had forgotten to return and put it back in its proper place.
His room was on the third floor. Although he had been asleep for half a day, his body felt strangely fatigued, making him want to rest as soon as possible as he climbed the stairs.
But...
"Oh. Professor Acorn. We meet again."
"...."
He met him again.
"Why...?"
"Hey, don't say 'why' like that. It's hurtful. Between us."
Luke pushed down on the doorknob and opened the door.
"This is our room."
Ah. So they were living here too.
Even if it was temporary, a professor was a professor. It was obvious they would be living here.
But why, of all places, did it have to be the room right next to his?
Suddenly, he grinned.
His teeth gleamed so brightly that he could see his own trembling eyes reflected in them.
"Let's get along, shall we? Professor Acorn."
That smile was unsettling for some reason, but Luke took the two women beside him and entered his room.
Dmitry also scrambled into his own room as if escaping.
Even after entering his room, the tension from the recent encounter didn't subside for a while.
This was a madman who had tried to kill someone in a duel. Anything could happen at any time.
This space, which had always been a source of comfort, felt uncomfortable today.
The thought that he was just beyond this wall left a lingering anxiety in a corner of his mind.
What did he usually do when his mind was this distracted?
'...Right. The tea ceremony.'
He would calm his mind with the tea ceremony he had learned, ad nauseam, since he was a child.
The tea ceremony taught by his family. He had initially disliked it, but through endless effort, he had eventually come to enjoy it.
He picked up the teapot on the table in front of the sofa and brewed his usual black tea.
Afterward, he sat at his desk, took out a book, and felt his mind and body begin to settle.
As he always did, he took a sip of black tea, put on his round glasses, and slipped a finger into the book to open it to the bookmarked page.
A different world unfolded within the book. Each held its own story, containing all sorts of knowledge unknown to the world.
That was why he loved the stories that were books.
Just as Dmitry was becoming engrossed in his book.
*Bzzzzzzzz.*
"?!"
A sound that made him instinctively frown, shattered all concentration, and forced him to shake his head assaulted his ears.
His focus was instantly broken.
The source of this sound was something no human could fail to recognize, a creature that could make even the most noble aristocrat shake their head in a vulgar manner.
A mosquito.
He always wondered how God could have created such a horrid creature.
By the time Dmitry came to his senses, he was already scratching his arm.
"What?!"
He had no idea when he'd been bitten. Even a man of his skill, with his senses fully extended, hadn't noticed the bite.
Steeling his nerves, he raised both hands and clapped. It was a posture that looked ridiculous, yet was the most effective for catching mosquitoes.
*Slap!*
He got one.
Bright red blood stained his hand.
"Now I can finally get some rest."
The moment he wiped the blood from his hand with a handkerchief.
*Bzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzz.*
"Wh-What?!"
Where did so many come from?!
The windows and the door should have all been closed.
So where did this dreadful legion come from to torment him!
Dealing with them would be simple if he used magic, but he couldn't cause such a commotion inside his room.
"Damn it!"
*Slap! Slap! Slap!*
In the end, only the loud sound of clapping echoed through the room.
Thirty minutes later. When he could stand still and hear nothing, and see nothing flying around, Dmitry collapsed into his chair.
"Haaah...."
He'd never seen such a swarm of mosquitoes. He was a little tired from the unnecessary exertion.
But the bizarre occurrences didn't end there.
*Skitter skitter skitter.*
A sound even more horrifying than the buzzing in his ears filled the room.
Not one, but dozens.
From the floor, the walls, the ceiling. The source of the sound was a creature that was, if anything, more dreadful than a mosquito.
"Hyaaaah!?"
It was a foolish sound that he couldn't believe had come from his own mouth, but he was in no state to worry about that now.
If he missed even one, he wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
This time, he had no choice but to use magic.
*Fwoosh!*
He focused as much as he could, freezing them without damaging the furniture and walls.
"Haaah...."
His body felt sluggish from the physical exertion and use of magic.
Why were creatures that lived in sewers and slums here, and in such numbers?
Perhaps because the filthy things had entered, the room seemed to have a slightly sour smell.
'What in the world is happening?'
Logically, it wasn't just one or two; it was impossible for something like this to happen so suddenly.
Was he hallucinating?
Had he been cursed without realizing it?
Just as he was thinking that.
"...ah."
Now he was hearing things.
...No, this wasn't an auditory hallucination.
The sound grew louder.
As he held his breath and concentrated, the sound gradually took on a distinct tone.
"Hnngh♡ Haaaah♡"
It was noise... no, moans coming from the next room.
But, for a sound coming from beyond the wall... it was far too loud.