Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Protective Measures (2)
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Theodore White dozed off in his chair, blinking sleepily.
His flickering consciousness and condition that hadn't fully recovered were causing terrible headaches these past few days.
*Here it comes again...*
A throbbing neuralgia persisted on both sides of his head and in the weaker parts of his body.
Theodore recalled a few drug combinations good for neuralgia but soon shook his head.
The basic principle at Aegis Academy was to manage symptoms using the body's natural functions as much as possible.
Consciously aware of being natural, ordinary humans without over-relying on magic.
For that reason, he didn't know about other majors, but at least the Crown of Thorns Class where Theodore was had a tendency to overemphasize the natural and universal.
"Monitor, mind if I step out for some air?"
"Uh... that's."
"Is it a problem?"
"Honestly, yes."
"Got it."
Theodore nodded slightly to the nameless cadet standing outside the door without even peeking in, then lay sideways on the bed.
If he could at least see the view outside the window, it might help, but the window he hadn't blocked himself with his own hands let in neither the outside world nor even moonlight.
It was the same green color scheme as Arthur's room, but the silk wallpaper emitting a strangely gentle light was at least some consolation.
*Maybe I should head to the workshop before it gets any worse.*
For Theodore, the weakest part of his body was undoubtedly his right eye.
The very eye that had startled everyone three times: first when he opened it wide right after birth, second when the colors of both eyes differed, and third when the right eye melted away like foam.
Whenever his condition worsened or he fell ill, that empty spot without fail ached fiercely.
It's not unheard of for a newborn to open their eyes right away, even if uncommon.
But the moment he did, with heterochromia, and then that eye melting away—no wonder the rumors surrounding Theodore were far from auspicious.
Devil's child, the White family's curse, inevitable calamity.
There were various labels, but the incident that most influenced his enrollment at the academy was the "Prophet of Death" event.
*-Scissors... are going to fall on your head.*
It was an unrelated incident.
While his uncle was eating dinner ordinarily, scissors flew in from outside the window and embedded in the crown of his head.
After that, Theodore's sudden prophecies of death kept coming true one after another, eventually forcing him to pack his bags and leave as if chased out.
His path to the prestigious academy across the sea, said to isolate and cultivate those with extraordinary powers that inspired awe or talents whose limits couldn't be measured, was decided just like that.
*I can't do that sort of thing anymore, though.*
Whether it was just childish bravado during growth that happened to come true, or if a mystical ability Theodore truly possessed had evaporated, he didn't know.
But from some point on, his ability to foresee death cleanly vanished.
It might have ended there, which would have been fine, but in the end, Theodore's misfortune returned in another form.
That misfortune was the black magic talent he newly discovered during his studies.
"It's just the devil's power in a different form after all. Black magic, not even white magic!"
And so, Theodore White had spent his boyhood and adolescence at Aegis Academy, reclassified from "Prophet of Death" to "Weird Black Magician."
"Here, sorry about this, but..."
In the end, Theodore raised the white flag to the intensifying headache.
He felt bad for the troubled monitor, but Theodore planned to head to the workshop to concoct a potion to alleviate the headache.
*-Knock knock knock.*
That was until the sound of knocking came from outside the firmly shut door.
***
About twenty minutes after walking the night path with Enoch Clark leading the way, his face looking awkward (hidden by his bangs again, but probably).
Even hurrying a bit, detouring to the path leading to the surface caused quite a delay.
Finally arriving at the Thorn Crown House dormitory wing, Enoch gestured toward the entrance.
It was probably the rough agreement to let us in.
"I'll lead, so follow slowly. Try not to draw attention if possible."
"Understood."
Enoch had regained his composure, unlike his hesitant self moments ago.
We thus found Theodore White's room on the top floor, the fifth, of the dormitory wing.
In front of Theodore's door stood another student council cadet acting as monitor like Enoch, fidgeting boredly, who startled straight upright upon spotting us.
"Sorry for the late hour, but I have business with Cadet Theodore White."
"Business? At this hour?"
"It's urgent."
Enoch stayed silent, just watching me and the monitor's conversation.
Feeling we couldn't waste time, I got straight to the point.
"Sorry, but could you step aside? If I enter the room, it'll be two in a pair, right? Doesn't violate protective measures."
"Well, that's true, but."
"It's a very sensitive matter regarding my condition. Family history too, and not something to spread about the family."
Mentioning family history and house finally made the monitor guarding the door give an awkward bow and step aside.
I watched the two departing figures until they completely vanished, then knocked on Theodore's door.
"Come in."
The voice sounded somewhat listless, but it was already too far to turn back.
I flung open the door and entered Theodore's room.
*Messy, unlike his image.*
Theodore's room was organized chaos, truly.
Similar items were grouped together, but it couldn't be called tidy.
"You came when I'm feeling bad."
I could guess from his voice, but Theodore was looking at me with a slightly pale, drained expression.
He didn't wear the eyepatch alone, so the prosthetic on the usually covered side gleamed a bit brighter than the other eye.
"It hurts."
Theodore's reply sounded less like a capable 19-year-old elite and more like a seven-year-old child half-drunk on fatigue.
Me being older probably made it easy for him to let his guard down.
"Headache?"
"Sometimes."
I didn't know Theodore well enough to read his intentions like with Arthur.
Feeling sorry for him, I hesitated briefly, but that only made me think we needed to end this drawn-out talk quickly.
"Sorry about the timing, but I can't delay this any longer."
"Yeah."
"Anything come to mind in the past week?"
That was what I was curious about.
I knew my dreams were influencing reality.
Figuring out why could come later.
The key was whether any traces remained for Theodore, a major character from my dreams besides me.
"Like me appearing in your dreams, or recalling future events."
"I can't do prophecies anymore."
"Prophecy? That's not what I mean, I mean."
As someone who had just gotten out of bed myself, my concentration was as shot as Theodore's.
At this rate, Theodore or I would end up back in bed.
"What I'm saying is, have you ever seen future events in a dream?"
"...No, not at all. Nothing like that...."
"Really nothing? I won't even ask you to recall the circumstances of casting magic on me. Anything small is fine."
"Nothing."
Theodore answered immediately, but his face still showed traces of contemplation.
Then he abruptly stood, grabbed my arm, and pulled me out of the room.
"Theodore?"
"Two in a pair."
"What, a code?"
Instead of demanding more explanation from Theodore, whose responses were growing shorter, I decided to go along with his stubbornness.
As we left the room, the two monitors leaning on the stair railing, waiting for our talk to end, followed in flustered panic.
*Ah, because of the protective measures.*
He had a place he wanted to go but couldn't because the monitor wouldn't accompany him.
I rubbed my hands pleadingly toward Enoch Clark, with whom I'd built some rapport over the past few days of travel together.
Enoch let out a small sigh, stepped back instead of blocking us, and followed at a distance.
"Where to?"
"Workshop."
"Oh, good. I was going to see you anyway, made up an excuse for that."
"......"
"Ignoring me now? Anyway, said I'd borrow some medicine for my chronic condition."
Getting a response from Theodore, lost in thought, seemed tough.
At least comforting was that he was listening, even if not replying.
Theodore and I, plus the two monitors, headed to the Crown of Thorns Class main building.
"Can I just barge in? Nah, it'll be fine."
Of all the buildings I'd seen, the Crown of Thorns Class main building exuded the most bizarre atmosphere.
The Black Lily Class main building overwhelmed visitors with awe through straight lines and exquisitely detailed craftsmanship.
In contrast, the Crown of Thorns Class main building seemed to reject strangers with its labyrinthine interior hiding secrets and the chill from the cold marble.
Theodore navigated the maze-like interior without hesitation, leading me underground.
We descended a spiraling staircase that twisted deliberately to confuse, for quite a while, until a massive wooden door appeared.
"Wear this."
Theodore suddenly handed me thin cotton gloves—don't know when he grabbed them—then put on the same himself.
The moment the 'workshop' interior came into view past Theodore's body, I couldn't help but gasp softly.
It was a massive laboratory packed densely with specimens, herbs, ancient tomes, experiment tools, and suspicious silver instruments, all arranged by purpose.
I left the monitors who had unwittingly followed inside at the door and turned back.
"So this is the workshop."
"Yeah."
"Go ahead and do what you need. I'll look around."
"Looking around is dangerous."
"Uh, fine, I'll shut up and sit."
Theodore nodded at my words and led me to a corner of the deep, complex workshop.
It was the only spot where moonlight filtered through amid tightly packed wooden partitions.
By then, Theodore had brought several suspicious stones, a glass beaker, and a few bundles of mysteriously colored herbs onto a black velvet cloth, lit the lamp under the beaker.
"So, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Self-hypnosis."
"Self... self-what?"
"Self-hypnosis. Starting now."