86. Good News and Better News
86. Good News and Better News
The day after that headache-inducing conversation with Silina.
Stella didn't show up at the academy—she must have taken a sick day—and Pina, who I'd been pointlessly worried about, walked into the lecture hall looking perfectly fine.
As if that weren't enough, she checked that no one was around me, then scurried over with a bright smile and held out her Device.
[Lady Eliarnes! Good morning!]
"Yeah. Morning."
I returned the greeting half-heartedly and stared at Pina.
"Eep...?"
Pina flinched under my gaze.
I grabbed her shoulders and looked even more closely.
Close enough that our bangs touched and tickled our foreheads.
A fresh grassy scent and some faintly savory fragrance wafted up, crisp and clean.
"Eep, eeep... eep!"
Ignoring Pina's startled breaths against the tip of my nose, I opened my eyes wide.
"Open your eyes."
"Eeep..."
I glared into Pina's trembling brown pupils as if I meant to bore straight through them.
I don't see anything... suspicious.
No Demonic Energy, and none of that queasy feeling unique to mental-type magic.
...Was I worrying over nothing?
Watching Pina press her lips together with tears welling up, the instinct that had kept me tense all night loosened a little.
Still, you never know.
"Pina."
Tilt...?
"Where did you go last night?"
Flustered, Pina's lips quivered as she tapped away at her Device.
[I went to a supplementary lesson.]
"Outside?"
Pina's eyes widened.
[Yes. But how did you know? Did you see me leaving?]
"Ah... well, something like that."
Telling her someone had posted about seeing her on the Community felt a little... off.
"Who did you go with? The professor in charge of [Magic Power Control B]?"
[Yes, that's right. Because I couldn't keep up with the class properly, the new professor Phaid Haveron took charge of my supplementary lessons.]
Judging by her gradually brightening expression, it really did seem like nothing was wrong...
"So, are you taking his lecture today too?"
[Yes. It's twice a week—Thursday and Friday. Those two days.]
"Hmm... got it, for now."
I pressed the macarons I'd meant to give Stella into Pina's hands.
"If anything happens, don't just suffer alone—tell me. Got it?"
[Anything happens? What do you mean?]
"You know. Like... hmm, someone bothering you, or a professor doing something weird. That kind of thing."
Pina stared blankly for a moment, then went "Hah! Hah!" and shook her arms and legs.
Then she nodded vigorously and beamed.
Such a transparent smile.
The kind of smile that makes your back itch for no reason. Feeling awkward for no reason, I scratched my cheek and went back to my usual seat.
The sunlight tapping at the window carried the scent of spring, and the breeze slipping through the slightly open window was cool.
I looked up at the blue sky, which drew admiration on its own.
The weather is nice and the sky is clear.
The sunlight is warm and the breeze is cool.
The scent of spring and the academy's distinctive tidy smell put my body at ease.
"Hmm..."
But something feels empty.
Around this time, when I'm sitting in my seat looking out the window, I should always hear that cheerful voice calling "My lady!"—but it's quiet.
Maybe that's why a sense of longing lingers on the tip of my tongue.
I never felt this way back at the main house.
Maybe it's because we've been together constantly these days.
"I've definitely... gotten weird."
Wondering if Eurasia had arrived safely.
I smiled bitterly.
*****
"Oh my... there's a day when Miss Eliarnes comes to find me first?"
"Yes... I have something to ask."
"Hehehe. Very well. Ask away."
After the usual morning assembly ended, I went straight to Adelia's private office.
I had business with Adelia.
"Um... is it possible to attend a lecture that isn't on my schedule?"
"You mean auditing?"
"Auditing? Ah... yes. That sounds right."
"Hmm? Which lecture do you want to hear?"
"Professor Phaid Haveron's [Mana Control B] lecture."
Adelia's eyes went round.
"Professor Phaid's lecture... well, it's not impossible. You won't be able to earn credits for it, though. Is that all right?"
"Yes, that's fine."
It's fine.
Today, I'm attending to observe Phaid Haveron—to see what kind of person that professor is.
If I listen to his lecture and get a look at what kind of man he is, I might be able to shake off that lingering unease.
"Hmm...?"
Tap, tap—Adelia propped her chin on her hand and drummed the desk, looking at me with an odd glint in her eye.
"Why do you want to take that lecture? For Miss Eliarnes, [Mana Control D] would be... no, wait. You've reached Tier 5 now, so you don't need to take Magic Power control lectures, do you?"
"I have a reason I can't say."
"Oh my? If you can't tell me, then I can't give you permission, can I?"
Heh heh—Adelia laughed as if teasing me.
"Don't look at me like that. It's true that I can't submit an audit request without knowing the reason, you know?"
"Umm..."
The reason—honestly, it doesn't matter if I just make something up.
Adelia knows my personality well.
She won't expect me to give a proper reason.
And yet she's saying this...
She's just teasing me.
Damn Black Wizard.
I clicked my tongue and spat out the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm lonely because I have no friends."
"...Oh my?"
"...E-Eurasia went back to the main house, and Stella from the next class took a sick day today... I'm alone."
Adelia, who had been staring at me wide-eyed, twitched the corners of her mouth into a smirk.
"Doesn't Miss Eliarnes have Miss Silina among her friends?"
"S-Silina is... very uncomfortable."
"Hmm—?"
Her coquettish nasal tone brushed past my face.
My face flushed hot in an instant, my fists clenched, and my heart pounded—racing.
"If it's that much... well, fine. We can cite academy maladjustment as the reason. It's something that happens often to adolescents who enter the academy. Pff..."
Adelia let out an infuriating little laugh, conjured paper from thin air, and scribbled something at high speed.
The audit request was completed in an instant.
Thump—Adelia's official seal was stamped on it.
"Miss Eliarnes is in [Mana Cultivation F], correct? Your professor in charge is... let's see, Head Professor Wivir Arkand. I'll speak with him, so you can go straight to the lecture you're auditing."
"...Yes. Thank you."
I tried to leave the moment I received it.
"Miss Eliarnes."
But Adelia stopped me.
Of course... I expected this.
There's no way she'd just let me go after I did something this suspicious.
I let out a sigh and turned back.
"...Yes."
"I am the homeroom professor in charge of Miss Eliarnes. I'm also one of the few special professors at Karelai Academy. And that's not all. Miss Eliarnes seems to dislike Black Wizards, but I'm still someone called the next tower master of the Black Magic Tower, you know?"
"...So?"
"If anything ever happens, you can consult me. I won't forcibly dig into what Miss Eliarnes wants to hide."
Adelia smiled brightly.
I stared at her quietly.
Sure, well... if Adelia were an ordinary homeroom professor, I might have consulted her about minor things.
But Adelia isn't ordinary.
Adelia Baros was a Black Wizard.
Black Wizards were all fucking bastards.
Therefore, Adelia is one of those fucking bastards.
Furthermore, she's the foremost fucking bastard among fucking bastards.
So I can't trust Adelia's words.
Of course, her actions so far have actually matched what she just said.
She never tried to forcibly dig into my secrets, and she gave me the information I needed in those situations.
What does she want? Who knows. Aside from the pranks she's pulled on me, she didn't seem to want anything in particular.
Which makes her even more suspicious.
Favor without compensation?
Even if the Demon King vanished from this world and perfect peace arrived, such favor couldn't exist. At least, that's how the human masses I've seen are.
Therefore, I can't trust Adelia.
And this matter is something I have to handle alone.
If the imperial family discovers it, it'll become imperial property. If Eustetia discovers it, they'll surely reclaim it for the duchy as an ancestor's weapon.
And Nameless, too, ultimately belongs to Eustetia, so they'd reclaim it for the duchy as well.
As for anyone else I could get help from... there's Leona, at least.
But not this time.
In this matter, Leona is the most dangerous.
Those items might have been personally arranged by Arisa, who became Leona's master.
And in that illusion, I saw a handwritten note left alongside them, as if Arisa had written something down.
If Leona discovers that, she'll definitely lose her mind.
Well... if I start thinking the snake bastard underground is going to snatch them anyway, I'll immediately ask for help from Nameless or anyone else—everyone I know.
But first, I'm going to try to handle it on my own.
At a glance, it might seem reckless.
But if that bastard is a 7th Circle Black Wizard.
I won't lose.
If he's 8th Circle, then... hmm.
I don't know. I'll think about that when I get there.
At the very least, I won't lose.
I gave the still-smiling Adelia a rough nod and left her private office.
*****
Pina, sitting right next to me, is staring at me with sparkling eyes.
It's a lecture we normally couldn't take together, so now that we are, she must feel like she's seen a god.
Her tail is puffed up and her ears are perked. She's radiating excitement with her whole body.
I'm not sure what to say to her...
For now, I decided to stay quiet.
Partly because watching her fidget, wanting to talk to me, is pretty entertaining.
And also.
Because the state of the students sitting in this lecture hall seems really off.
Right now, I'm trying to focus and observe their condition.
How should I put it.
There's nothing... majorly wrong.
But I feel a strange sense of dissonance.
Pina is normal.
I, who am taking this class, am also normal.
But the other students sitting here besides me and Pina—not just the Signia students, but even the Hurnt students—are in poor shape.
What's causing it?
Click, click—I rolled a peppermint candy around in my mouth and carefully raised my guard.
And, a little while later.
Rumble—the lecture hall door opened.
"Hello."
Professor Phaid Haveron walked into the lecture hall.
First impression... hmm, ordinary.
His build, visible even through his clothes, looks slender and frail like the typical magic nerd.
At the same time, he didn’t have the sharp aura Wizards usually had—his face was rather gentle.
The voice I just heard was quite soft, too.
Clomp, clomp—
He hasn't trained his body.
His stride is uneven and his rhythm is slightly off.
He was a genuine Wizard through and through.
Standing before the podium, Phaid glanced at the audit request I'd placed there earlier, then raised his gaze and looked straight at me.
Pitch-black eyes stared at me.
No movement of Magic Power.
No suspicious signs.
Just eyes full of curiosity about what kind of student I am.
Which made it even more unsettling.
Because the people who've looked at me until now.
The people who've looked at Eliarnes Eustetia have never once had that look in their eyes.