Midnight Training
Benedict Academy has a total of three permanent professors. Each of them is a mage who has reached the 7-star level, and aside from Chairman Ern Benedict and President Hounds Mendelstone, they wield the greatest influence within the academy. If asked which among them is the most active in external affairs, anyone would unanimously point to permanent professor Savage Frankhorn.
"Is the preparation going well?"
Every morning, he used spray to slick back his dark green hair into a stiff, neat style. His sharp gaze peered through round-rimmed glasses. Even his impeccably pressed suit, as if it were brand new, seemed to indirectly reflect his usual pedantic and meticulous personality.
"Yes!"
Amy Pewter, a third-year student at Benedict Academy, answered energetically with a stiff posture while meeting Savage Frankhorn's blue eyes staring straight at her.
"Of course……brulp?!"
She suddenly bit her tongue and hurriedly covered her mouth, turning her head. Though she quickly straightened her posture while enduring the pain, her trembling lips and the tears welling up in her eyes spoke volumes about how much it hurt.
"Nwo pwobwem."
Even her pronunciation was slurring badly. This was exactly the kind of situation where people say "what a sight."
A deep sigh escaped Savage Frankhorn's lips at the stark contrast between her reliable answer and her utterly unreliable behavior.
"There's a potion I made on that shelf. Hold it in your mouth for a moment."
At Frankhorn's words, Amy put on an awkward expression and walked toward the shelf he pointed to. Perhaps because of her earlier actions, even her hurried back view as she approached the shelf looked completely untrustworthy.
"Just listen while holding it in your mouth."
Amy nodded vigorously with cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish. Her cheeks swayed with the forceful movement. It looked as if the potion she had drunk might come spurting out mixed with saliva at any moment.
Frankhorn adjusted his slipping glasses, deliberately looking away to avoid further eroding his trust in her.
"Your presentation is third. If the previous presenter doesn't run over, it'll start around 11 o'clock."
The Magic Tower Academic Conference thesis presentation. It was a forum where mages presented the contents of papers published in academic journals, answered questions, and exchanged opinions. Amy Pewter, listed as an assistant on the thesis Savage Frankhorn had written this time, was scheduled to take the stage in his place and deliver the presentation that day.
"Honestly, I don't care whether you succeed brilliantly at this presentation or make a mistake and embarrass yourself."
If she made a mistake, he could simply go up and continue the presentation himself. His achievements were so immense that something like that wouldn't even scratch his reputation.
On the other hand, unlike Frankhorn, who had his name listed in the Magic Tower academic journal countless times, this was Amy Pewter's first time having her name appear. For her, this opportunity was a golden chance to make her name known to other mages. It was a consideration and gift Frankhorn had specially prepared for her after all her hard work, and if she missed this chance, she might never get another opportunity this big again.
"Do your best, not for me, but for yourself."
Frankhorn said this while looking straight into her eyes.
"Yes! Of course!"
Unlike before, she swallowed the potion without averting her gaze from his blue eyes and answered with a determined expression.
'Now she looks a bit reliable.'
Seeing her like this eased some of his earlier anxiety.
"You'll be absent from class for the external experiential learning, so it won't affect your attendance, but make sure to review and preview thoroughly so you don't fall behind."
Academies in the Ellemental Kingdom, including Benedict Academy, generally recognize students' class days under the name of "external experiential learning" for any activity that helps with their education. One prime example is preparation for the Academy Tournament. Another was activities like the Magic Tower Academic Conference thesis presentation, just like Amy Pewter's case this time.
"In your case, you'll be falling behind on class content because you're also preparing for the Academy Tournament."
Preparing for the Academy Tournament and preparing for the Magic Tower Academic Conference thesis presentation. For someone like Amy Pewter, participating in both major events at once was impressive enough, so she would likely need even more effort to catch up on the material she missed.
'At worst, she might have to repeat a year next year.'
Repeating a year just for participating in external activities would be putting the cart before the horse. Despite Frankhorn's concerns, Amy answered confidently.
"It's fine. The student council president said he'd personally teach me the parts I missed later."
"……Don't torment that guy too much. He's already tired from preparing for the tournament and handling student council duties."
"Come on, you know how well I assist the president. Don't worry."
"Well……"
Judging from how you act in front of me, you don't exactly look reliable. Frankhorn shook his head as he watched her grin while flexing nonexistent biceps.
He quietly mourned the student council president's plight for having recruited someone like her as a member.
The development of magic civilization brought convenience to the lives of people in the Ellemental Kingdom, but it also took away some of their pleasures. One prime example was the disappearance of starlight in the night sky. As felt in Vivaldi Territory, this country had particularly few visible stars compared to other nations. It was as if they had been frightened by the city's brilliant lights and fled into the darkness of space.
"Why does everyone only nag at me?"
Jealousy ground his teeth while sprawled on a bench in Raymond National Park, gazing at the night sky where only the moon hung pitifully. In his hand was a smartphone emitting a bright light, gripped so tightly it seemed it might break. The screen displayed the following message:
Damn old hag. Where the hell did she hear about this? Just as Jealousy was about to reply to Kain's message and put his phone away, a text from Lust arrived. He hadn't heard from her in ages, so he wondered what was going on, but the content was quite something.
"Who the hell is giving orders? Annoying."
Though her tone was a soft request, saying she'd repay him later and asking him to do his best, to Jealousy it was nothing but a command. Since he hated anyone other than his master giving him orders, his irritation soared the moment he saw Lust's message.
"Does she think she's Pride or something?"
Even Pride's orders were barely tolerated because they were the master's will. Seeing Lust's message made him unable to hold back his anger, and he nearly threw his smartphone to the ground.
'It's not like that old hag doesn't know my personality.'
Yet the meaning behind Lust sending this message was clear. She wanted to look after Togun Masao no matter what. He'd heard that the kid had helped her when she fought Eun Ma-hyun in Vivaldi Territory. At the time, he'd sneered and dismissed it, asking how a superhuman could barely survive with help from an incompetent, but seeing her even send a text showed that the help she'd received must have been quite significant. Or maybe she simply took a liking to the kid.
'Whatever the case, that kid's in for some hardship.'
Each of the Seven Deadly Sins of the underworld had their own obsessions. Greed was obsessed with money. Wrath was obsessed with combat. Gluttony showed a terrible obsession with food, while Sloth was so fixated on sleep that she abandoned work to sleep all day in her room. Jealousy himself had a strong obsession with beauty, and Pride had always shown an obsession with the master stronger than anyone else. And finally, Lust's obsession was with talent. Once she set her sights on someone, she would stop at nothing to make them hers. That personality had allowed her to command the largest force in the underworld before the Death King, and after falling for the Death King at first sight and deciding to make him hers, she had joined him.
'She'd been quiet for a while after setting her sights on the master, but……'
Looking at her now, it seemed her old nature hadn't completely disappeared.
After sending his reply to Lust, Jealousy slowly rose from the bench where he'd been lying. Rustle. At the same time, he heard footsteps approaching from beside him. Someone stepping on fallen leaves and coming this way. Jealousy turned his head naturally, as if he'd known the person was approaching even before they made their presence known. Togun Masao appeared under the streetlight, looking around warily.
"……"
Raymond National Park at midnight, especially in a fairly secluded area where people rarely came. Normally, Togun wouldn't have come here at this hour either. Yet the reason he was here now was simple. Jealousy had called him to this place in the middle of the night.
'He's here.'
Jealousy turned his head as Togun approached.
'He really stands out.'
The mark on Togun Masao's forehead. The seal Lust had personally placed. While others generally couldn't sense it, Jealousy could smell her scent strongly from Togun.
'How annoying.'
That made him even angrier as he recalled the earlier message.
"Are you the person Professor Karlsen mentioned?"
Togun carefully asked as he approached Jealousy, who was frowning and making his displeasure obvious. Without answering, Jealousy strode forward and kicked Togun in the stomach with his right foot.
"Kuh, kuhuk."
The sudden violence left him breathless. Feeling his vision go dark, Togun collapsed to the ground and continued dry-heaving. Looking down at him, Jealousy spoke indifferently.
"I told you to come by 10 o'clock. Did my words sound like a joke?"
Jealousy grabbed Togun's hair as he sat on the ground and forced his head up, shoving his smartphone's clock screen in front of his eyes. The time displayed was 10:02.
"I don't like wasting even a little of my time on someone like you. If you're late next time, it won't end with just this."
After saying this, Jealousy threw Togun back to the ground. He continued speaking to the boy who was still lying there, dazed and unable to process the situation.
"You don't need to know who I am. I'm busy during the day, so I'll call you around this time from now on. I'll pick a different location each day with no people around."
Well, that's what he said, but he generally planned to use this park. It was hard to find a place with fewer people in the capital, which remained lively even at night.
'I can't exactly take him to one of the underworld's branches just for something like this.'
Perhaps Togun was finally coming to his senses. Jealousy grinned as he watched him slowly get up.
"I'm teaching you half against my will, but since you're learning from me, I won't tolerate you getting beaten up wherever you go."
I'll train you thoroughly so you can strut around confidently even at the Academy Tournament. Under the streetlight, his appearance was the most beautiful man Togun had ever seen in his life, but the smile on that face was nothing but menacing.
'Professor……'
Who exactly did you ask for this favor? I would've been better off learning from Professor Scape. Togun made a tearful face as he recalled Professor Karlsen's delighted expression before coming here, saying he'd barely gotten permission from the person in question. From this first meeting alone, he could tell. For the more than a month until the Academy Tournament, a terrible hell awaited him.