The Professors Are Obsessed
The Professors Are Obsessed
Late evening.
A lone figure walked through the academy halls, lights winking out one by one.
At a glance, her stride was confident, but a closer look revealed a number of suspicious details.
The way she feigned nonchalance while systematically checking classroom doors, searching for something, then sauntering on without the slightest shame. The absolute absence of footsteps gave her away as a professional in these arts.
As luck would have it, someone was watching.
A woman with hollow eyes and disheveled pale violet hair spoke out to the intruder.
"Rowen? What are you doing in this building? This is Mezai faculty territory."
"Ah."
Professor Rowen, who had been stealthily snooping around, squeezed her eyes shut.
Of all people to catch her, it had to be this woman.
The rising star of the Magic Tower, Professor Violet.
A mage with whom Rowen shared a mutually antagonistic relationship.
'I'll have to come up with an excuse and slip out.'
Rowen's brow furrowed.
But Violet struck first.
"Don't bother with excuses. I saw you, very clearly, skulking through the classrooms."
"Spoken like a true mage. Utterly underhanded."
"I don't think someone who snuck into another faculty's building gets to say that."
"... Tch."
Rowen clicked her tongue and paused before answering.
"There's a student I've taken a liking to. I was looking for him."
"Romantic feelings for a student? Unbelievable. You are a professor. No matter how undignified the Reconnaissance Faculty may be, some lines shouldn't be crossed."
"What are you blathering about? I meant a student I want to bring into my lab. Not a romantic interest. You've holed yourself up in a room doing research for so long you've never had a proper relationship, have you?"
"Hmph. A mage need only be good at magic. What's so important about romance? I swear, the depraved elven obsession with breeding never fails to astonish."
"Why, you...!"
Insulting her race right in front of her!
Rowen nearly lunged, but exhaled her anger.
She was, after all, the one caught trespassing.
Picking a fight here meant losing.
And while the jab at elf culture was crude, Violet wasn't entirely wrong. Over a long lifespan, plenty of elves did develop rather eclectic tastes.
Rowen conceded and laid out her objective.
"I was doing a bit of a background check on Ian. I was hoping to profile him and recruit him for my lab."
"... Ian? Ian Blackangus?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. That child's reputation is abysmal. His grades are also terrible. He hardly seems like a student you'd take an interest in."
At Violet's words, Rowen's eyes narrowed.
"Violet."
"What?"
"You have a habit of biting your lower lip when you lie."
"......"
"The moment you heard the name Ian, you started getting ready to lie. He's actually an exceptional kid, isn't he?"
"... That's."
"Ha. Trying to fool a Reconnaissance professor who practically lives by reading people. You're a hundred years too early, you spell-slinger."
With that, Rowen turned around.
She intended to make a clean exit.
But Violet had no intention of letting her go.
"Hold on."
"... What now?"
"Ian is coming to my lab! I called dibs first!"
"You can't call dibs on a student! He hasn't even joined any lab yet!"
"Well, he's mine regardless! He's a student in my Mezai class!"
"Hmph! I can train Ian far better. I can turn him into the first reconnaissance mage!"
The argument was growing increasingly childish.
Violet's expression had become deathly serious.
"Then let's settle it like this. When did you discover him?"
"Huh?"
"When did you realize Ian's talent?"
"... During that practical session a week ago."
"Hah!"
Violet let out a nasal scoff, an undignified sound she rarely made.
Her face lit up with triumph.
"I realized it during the previous class period, so I actually did call dibs first!"
"Hey! A student isn't a piece of meat you can call dibs on!"
The professors continued their profoundly juvenile spat.
For the sake of Lichten Academy's reputation, it was a stroke of fortune that this exchange was happening after all the students had gone home.
"Oh, right. Do you know?"
"What."
"That Ian will be called before the disciplinary committee soon."
"Disciplinary committee? What are you talking about?"
Violet laid out the full story.
The fact that a suicide note threatening several female students had been found on the rooftop from which Ian jumped.
Rowen's brow furrowed as she listened.
"Hard to believe. He didn't seem like that kind of kid."
"Well, even if it's true, I still intend to take Ian under my wing. Sounds like you don't, Rowen."
Rowen started to retort, then let out a sigh.
"I hope nothing goes wrong at that committee hearing."
"... Exactly what I was thinking."
It was the first thing they'd agreed on.
◆
Preparing for the disciplinary committee
The heroines will likely band together
Prepare for that too
"Damn, got a chill."
A sudden coldness crept through the air.
Ian, sitting in his dormitory, shivered.
"Why'd it suddenly get so drafty?"
Unbeknownst to him, two professors were currently fighting over who would claim him, but Ian remained blissfully unaware.
Shaking off the shiver, he picked up his pen.
[ Today's Achievement Rate ] 90%
[ Tomorrow's Plan ] ???
[ Upcoming Goal ] Prepare for the disciplinary committee. Prepare for the scenarios.
He finished his daily growth log.
Waking early to write up a simple packed lunch and train.
At night, reviewing the day's work and establishing future plans.
This was Ian's recent routine. The objective was, naturally, 'ceaseless growth.'
Before the possession, he hadn't exactly been a model citizen.
But.
"I have to invest time in myself before others will look my way."
The body he inhabited had belonged to a guy who only ever stared at others until he got utterly drained.
Using Pongpongi as a cautionary tale, he'd found himself learning to work for his own sake.
"Should I start actually working on this body now?"
Coincidentally, he'd just secured a decent protein supply.
The smoked jerky from the giant rabbit was ready.
It had taken a significant amount of time, but it was worth the investment.
- Look into substitute workout equipment.
Satisfied, Ian filled in the empty plan and stretched.
"At this level, I can say I've changed, right?"
This was Pongpongi's body—a body that had poured every ounce of its energy into other people. The moment he redirected that energy, he could feel himself growing day by day.
"I've also made an ally."
Danya was still a bit prickly out of embarrassment, but she followed his lead well enough when it mattered.
On top of that, he'd succeeded in drawing the interest of several professors. Perhaps a little too much interest.
"I absolutely must not get dragged into a research lab."
Still, connections like these were vital.
Not connections forged from desperation, but those built naturally.
Lichten was, by any measure, one of the top academies in the world. Every single person here, professor or student, held uncommon value.
"And the disciplinary committee is coming up."
To prepare for that, connections were essential.
No matter how strongly he pleaded innocence, it meant nothing without people to back him up.
'Ideally, I'd also want a heroine on my side.'
This point was a constant source of worry.
At the committee hearing, it was certain Ian would be treated as the perpetrator and the heroines as the victims of his threats.
If even one of the heroines would stand with him and claim shared innocence, it would be an enormous help.
Given the circumstances, all the heroines were thoroughly convinced Ian was responsible. Persuading them would be no easy task.
'Plus, the real culprit won't just sit back quietly.'
The worst-case scenario was approaching a heroine, only to discover she was the perpetrator.
If that happened, well...
He didn't even want to imagine it.
Moreover, the perpetrator's pattern of binding all four together as a group of victims suggested they might try to continue gathering the heroines. Likely, that was exactly what would happen.
"Tricky, tricky."
This academy was a gathering of the smartest and most talented people around.
Finding the culprit would be genuinely difficult.
Even though he wasn't actively pursuing them too aggressively for fear of provoking a reaction, he hadn't expected to find zero physical evidence.
At this rate, it might be easier to just identify which of the heroines wasn't a virgin.
'Wonder if there's an artifact that detects virginity or something.'
Ian shook his head firmly.
Approaching that side of things carelessly could make him a real criminal.
"Let's take it slow."
Rina of Unexpectedness.
Sharon of Physicality.
Aria of the Unstable Mind.
Emilia of Justification.
For now, he'd start with the closest one, Rina, and slowly work his way through.
"The more I observe her, the more she seems different from the Rina I saw beyond the screen."
As long as his opponent didn't come at him too hard again, he'd be given time to grow.
'Time is on my side.'
It was a judgment only Ian, confident in his rapid growth, could make.
Before he knew it, the clock had struck nine in the evening.
"The time when the growth buff used to activate."
This was when Pongpongi would cast growth buffs on the heroines.
The black magic altar and spells he'd used back then were long dismantled, but his body still itched instinctively at this hour.
'Just how diligently did this guy run his Pongpongi routine?'
So lately, he simply meditated where the altar used to be.
He focused on himself instead of others.
And in this way, Ian's growth never stalled, not even for a day.
◆
Meanwhile, at the Knight Department training grounds.
—Shiiing!
A cold chill split the air and carved into the wood.
It was an aura laced with elemental properties, rarely seen from an academy-level knight.
But.
The half-cut tree remained stubbornly in one piece, far from a clean slice.
"......"
A flicker of fury filled Sharon's blue eyes.
It was rage directed at herself, for doing nothing but spinning her wheels for days.
"Hoo."
Sharon looked up at the sky with a sigh.
Then, as if struck by a realization, she bolted inside the training hall.
She sat upright in a meditative posture and began cycling her internal energy.
"... Tonight, it will come."
She circulated her inner power, waiting for the mysterious, helpful energy that had been absent for days.
Ten minutes passed.
"... Why."
Sharon withdrew her internal energy.
That energy hadn't come tonight either.
It had been a week now.
Somehow, the date lined up precisely with the day her growth had suddenly slowed.
"... That can't be."
Sharon shook her head.
It had to be a coincidence.
Because if it wasn't a coincidence, that meant all her growth had been due to that mysterious energy.
That was something she simply couldn't accept.
"......"
Sharon stood up.
It was time to wash up and sleep, but she resolved to swing her sword a few more times.
Normally, Sharon adhered to her schedule with military precision. But tonight, something told her she couldn't afford to. The more her growth stalled, the more frantic her heart became.
Then.
- Plunk!
Something dropped to the training ground floor.
Sharon picked it up.
"... A key?"
She unfolded the small note attached to the ring.
— An anonymous support group for victims of the Ian incident is being convened. Please use the enclosed key to connect to the magic network.
Sharon's lips twisted into a faint grimace.