Fingers (1)
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The tip of the pen drummed against the desk. Laura von Adelaide irritably ruffled her hair. Her silky white locks parted smoothly along her fingers.
"…What the hell was that."
The primordial flower that man had shown her. It refused to leave her mind.
‘Laura von Adelaide. You are deducted 10 points.’
She shuddered—
"Hng…."
His endlessly cold expression. Just recalling that bone-chilling frost made her body tremble. Was that the kind of face to make in front of a student?
Laura von Adelaide didn't like that man one bit. Her father had given her a heads-up, but still, she didn't like him.
"What is he… Strutting around like he's all that."
This was the Caldea Imperial Academy. The empire's greatest—no, the world's greatest prestigious institution.
A professor appointed here should naturally maintain the dignity befitting such a position, shouldn't he?
But what about this man? Laura pictured Professor Antonelli in her mind.
His black hair was somewhat tidied, but still disheveled. Eyes perpetually hollow. Pale skin. And that cold demeanor.
Not a single thing about him appealed to her.
"Haa…."
Of course, Laura knew full well that her complaints bordered on nitpicking. A professor could be tired, sure.
But not in front of her. She couldn't tolerate it.
After all, she was Laura von Adelaide. As her name implied, she was an Adelaide—the Adelaide ducal house's sole direct descendant, their precious only daughter. A war hero's lineage.
Laura took great pride in being a member of that illustrious Adelaide family. She had always admired her father and strived to emulate him.
Her father was a 7th-circle archmage. As if to claim his blood ran true in her veins, Laura herself had already reached the 4th Circle at her young age, her talent prodigious.
"Urgh…."
And yet, there was exactly one problem that gave this prodigy headaches.
Laura lifted her head from the theology tome it had been buried in. Piles of theology books flanked her on both sides, forming little mountains.
The academy library's librarian seemed to be shooting her annoyed glances, but Laura paid it no mind.
"It's too hard…! That idiot professor…."
Professor Antonelli's assignment was profoundly difficult. Not everyone in this world could wield Divine Power. This had long been accepted as common sense, an eternal truth.
Of course special powers like Divine Power were something only priests could use, right?
‘Then why?’ No one had an answer. Just as 1 + 1 = 2 was self-evident, people never questioned it.
But Professor Antonelli had cast doubt on that very essence of theology. He'd hurled a stone of "why?" into the placid lake formed by accumulated certainties.
The ripples of doubt spread uncontrollably. Like tree rings expanding infinitely, new waves birthed more, flooding the entire lake. This repeated endlessly.
Laura's head throbbed. That was why her fingers pressed firmly at her temples.
No matter how she scoured the theology books, she found no answer to the question he'd posed. At best, vague claims that priests were the chosen ones, or that true faith would reveal the truth.
Most were flimsy or outright nonsense. Submitting a paper based on this drivel….
—Laura von Adelaide. Is this the best your assignment can do?
‘…No way.’
Absolutely not.
She couldn't bear such a future.
Steeling herself to dive back into the books—
"Um…."
A male student wearing glasses, apparently from the academy library club, approached her. From his uniform tie color, a second-year.
"Yes, senior? What is it?"
"Ah, a first-year, huh. Well… it's about time to close up. The librarian's already getting ready to head out."
Laura glanced out the window. Darkness had already fallen outside.
"…Can't I stay and study alone?"
"Th-that'd be tough. You know academy students have curfew."
"Haa…."
Laura sighed deeply, as if the ground might cave in. The library club boy flinched.
"S-sorry. But it's really closing time; no choice."
"No, it's fine. Sorry, senior. I'll go."
"Yeah, thanks. Tomorrow's the weekend, though, so you can come early and study. We open early on weekends too."
Laura grabbed her bag and stood. On the desk remained the twenty or so theology books she'd pulled from the shelves, still precariously stacked.
The library senior's face fell at the sight. He'd have to reshelve them all before heading to the dorms, naturally.
Glancing at him, Laura promptly held out her student ID.
"…These. I'll borrow them."
"Bor-row…? All of them?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"It's not not allowed, but…."
Academy students could borrow library books without limit. Powerful anti-theft magic circles etched into the books prevented any pilfering.
But the concern was….
"Isn't that too many? Can you even carry them?"
"It's fine. Just process the checkout, please."
"Uh, alright. Sure."
…the sheer volume compared to her petite frame.
While the library senior processed the checkout, Laura crammed the books into her bag with all her might.
"…Um, senior."
"Yeah?"
At her call, the boy turned, student ID in hand.
"Is there anywhere I can study at this hour? The dorm supervisor patrols."
"Uh… Night self-study should be under the duty professor from the academic affairs office."
"Academic affairs… Got it. Thank you."
Leaving the library, Laura headed for the academic affairs office. It was the weekend tomorrow anyway, so studying late tonight would be fine.
"……."
To reach academic affairs from here, she had to trek from the annex all the way to the main building. Huffing under the weight of her book-laden bag, Laura let out a long sigh. And kept walking.
How long had she traversed the dim corridor?
"…?"
A classroom door slightly ajar caught her eye. Red light leaked from the gap, accompanied by strange sounds.
An ominous aura from the crimson glow wrapped around her. Unfortunately, she had to pass this corridor to reach academic affairs.
Laura flicked her magic wand, muffling her footsteps.
It was time for everyone except library club and a few exceptions to return to dorms. Who would linger in some nameless classroom at this hour?
…Should I peek?
But Laura shook her head. Peeking wouldn't lead to anything good.
She'd tell the duty professor at academic affairs. They'd handle it properly.
She passed the classroom quietly. She focused intently on not glancing through the gap. An intense foreboding gripped her.
Having slipped past unnoticed, Laura sighed in relief.
Then, unbidden, she looked back.
"……."
Her scarlet eyes.
Something with a blood-drenched face.
Staring at her. At Laura. At Laura von Adelaide.
Glared? Watched? Scanned? Gazed?
…coming? This way?
"Hah…! Heok…!"
Snapping to, she was already sprinting down the corridor at full tilt. The heavy bag had never felt so burdensome. She flung it aside into some corner.
Hairs standing on end across her body. A chill wind grazed her nape, raising gooseflesh. Laura ran without stopping.
Academic affairs. Get to academic affairs. She didn't know what that was, but get there.
Who was on duty tonight?
No. It didn't matter.
All that mattered was reaching academic affairs safely. That was everything to Laura.
* * * *
Scritch. Scritch.
The fountain pen's trace on paper was sweeter than music. I savored the pleasant sound as I signed the duty roster. Professor Esther's signature was already there beside mine.
The academy sprawled across vast grounds, so one professor alone couldn't handle night duty effectively. Thus, when pulling duty, they assigned two professors with no classes the next day.
For my first night duty, my partner was Professor Esther. She sat beside me, absorbed in a paper on illusion magic.
Then, the balding middle-aged man shuffling papers chuckled heartily and waved.
"Well then, I'm off! Haha!"
"Yes. Good work."
"Take care~."
Andres Professor, the second-year summoning magic instructor who'd stayed till the end to hand over duties, waved as he left academic affairs. Professor Esther and I lightly saw him off before settling back into our chairs.
"Vice Priest! I brewed coffee!"
Right after Andres left, Deaconess Sophia burst in energetically. The rich aroma of coffee wafted gently through the office.
Sophia set the coffee on the desk, and the three of us—me, Professor Esther, and Sophia—gathered around.
"Whew… It's getting chilly now that night's here."
"Big diurnal temperature swing."
"You should dress warmer too, Vice Priest. It's so cold my teeth are chattering!"
"Deaconess Sophia. It's still spring."
"The weather doesn't feel like spring at all!"
I tilted my coffee cup, savoring its fragrance. Normally I'd have tea, but pulling an all-nighter called for coffee.
The warmth spreading through me felt soothing. Off my meds now, these small comforts meant even more—utterly relaxing.
"No students for self-study tonight."
"Yeah. Weekend starts tomorrow, so they're probably saving it for early training field sessions."
That left little for me beyond occasional patrols. I eased back into the chair, tension draining.
My first night duty at the academy. Hopefully, nothing happens.