Chapter 23 (2/2)
The entrance ticket to it was worth 10 thousand Elnes, but it was an island that wizards had to visit despite the price. There was a ‘Promotion Test’ going on there right now.
“No entrance fees?”
Epherene asked about the existence of possible expenses first. The 100 thousand Elnes support they got was quickly decreasing since the price of the stationaries and magic books they needed wasn’t laughable. They were forced to keep a tight watch on their budget.
‘I shouldn’t have eaten a Roahawk boar last week… I thought they were going to give me a discount since I’m their daughter’s friend, but they treated me so coldly instead…’
“Of course. It’s free.”
“Woah! I-I mean… I see. I see.”
If so, then it wouldn’t be that bad to think of club activities.
Ferit raised a question. “Don’t we need permission from our class advisor for that, though?”
Epherene listened attentively while pretending she wasn’t. Julia, having thought it over, finally answered. “Hmmm…Wouldn’t they agree if Epherene’s the one who asked?”
“What? What are you talking about? Why should I be the one to do it?”
“Professor Deculein doesn’t think too bad of you. According to rumors going around these days, you’re the only one he favors.”
Her face swiftly reddened. She didn’t even know such a dirty rumor existed. “That’s insane. Why would they think anyone would do that? Have they lost their minds while studying for the exams?”
“They just can’t find any other explanation. You were honestly also the one who asked for this club, too.”
“…”
Epherene bit her lower lip without saying a word. Why was Deculein being so nice to her?
And why was she pathetically hoping that was the case?
She thought about it in great detail.
However, due to the problem’s difficulty, she couldn’t think of anything else other than the lines of ‘she was pitiful.’
At least for now.
“What’s your relationship~?”
“Ah shh. What relationship? We’re just…” Epherene scratched the back of her neck.
For her, Deculein was a wall she had to jump over. He was her first goal and the reason why she became a wizard, after all. She tried to surpass him without disregarding modesty and humility.
But if she said it like that, it would sound almost pathetic. Hence, she gave a slightly twisted answer.
“We’re rivals.”
“Pffft!” The people in the room started sneering and chuckling. Her words even caused Julia to spit out the water she was drinking. “That’s a good joke, Epherene.”
“I’m not joking.”
“Hahahaha! The way you look so serious makes it even funnier.”
Clang—!
The door suddenly bent as if it had just been smashed, and a pot-like person came in panting. “You guys, what is this?!”
Relin yelled without any explanation. Surprised, the members hid behind Epherene.
“What the hell is this club?!”
Epherene felt nervous, but she bravely stepped forward. She had already experienced such opposition anyway.
“We made and submitted a club establishment plan, and we received permission to proceed with it. Hence, this club’s officially established.”
“What? Who in the world gave you permission?! No, wait. Now that I got a closer look at you, aren’t you that beggar who received disciplinary action?”
She was called a beggar once more, causing her to glare at Relin. Was it such a buzzword among the professors in the tower?
“Ho, look at this cocky bastard. How dare you glare at a professor? Lower your gaze, you disrespectful jerk!”
Relin’s face turned red. Behind the open door, his noble-blooded colleagues were grinning.
She immediately understood the situation. They were the ones who told him.
“The founding of a club requires permission from a class advisor. If you’re so confident, then tell me the name of the person that gave you their permission!”
“…”
“Tell me!”
Epherene bit her lower lip as he oppressed her.
When the club was being formed, he definitely told her not to bother him.
“Ha! I understand now. You’ve been deceiving us all along. Such actions are enough grounds for expulsion. Even if you weren’t, you clearly resisted the will of a professor. I shall make such knowledge known in the presence of the one who allowed the creation of this club!”
Relin had concluded that even if Epherene were telling the truth, the professor they joined hands with would only have a few years here, which would explain why they didn’t know anything. Behaving according to that judgment, he became fully capable of confidently demanding the advisor’s name.
“Now tell me! Who is it?!”
“It’s…”
“Say it! I order you to tell me!”
The more Epherene hesitated, the more ferocious Relin became. Nobles continued to gather in the corridor to insult and laugh at the club founded by commoners.
“It would be best for you to tell me before I go looking for them myself—”
“It’s me.”
“What? What kind of guy—”
Relin froze as soon as he turned around.
“…?”
Like a criminal caught in the act of committing a crime, he blankly tilted his head and wore a naive expression.
“I heard you’ve been looking for me, Professor Relin.”
Deculein.
“W-why is Senior Professor…? Uhh… Huh?”
“Speak, Professor Relin.”
Deculein approached Relin closely and looked down at him, the difference in their heights creating the perfect scene.
“Go ahead and tell me what you were complaining about. I don’t have all day.”
“… Ah. Senior Professor Deculein, this club…”
“Yes, I was the one who gave them permission.”
“Ah, I-I see… B-but why?”
“Do I need a reason? Should I have asked permission from you?”
His eyes kept gazing in different directions, showing his confusion. The corners of Deculein’s lips twisted upwards.
“Continue what you were saying.”
“Uhm, that…”
Breathing heavily, he desperately looked for a way out. His brain had been turned into a mess, and his body was beginning to tremble due to the lack of an escape route. “Isn’t their room too restricting?”
Pointing to the interior of the club room, he barked. “We are wizards of the majestic Imperial University Tower! Why weren’t they provided with promising equipment?! This place is too cramped for club activities as well! Even the furniture given to them wasn’t of the best quality! I just couldn’t help but feel infuriated because of such details. Hahaha.”
Relin sighed deeply after finishing his excuse, then immediately smiled brightly. “I’ll take responsibility and give them something better.”
“As expected of Professor Relin, who’s always so kind and thoughtful.”
Deculein calmly nodded. Relin? Kind? Nonsense.
“W-well, I have a lecture that I need to teach, so… Hahaha!”
Relin left with a big smile, but the wizards in the hallway didn’t seem to want to disperse.
Deculein scowled at the crowd, more specifically, at the group who urged Relin. He knew of them.
Beck, Isiah, Jupern.
“You worthless cockroaches are always doing something a cockroach would do.” His blunt and gelid warning caused them to flinch and hide swiftly, truly like cockroaches.
Deculein looked at the members of the CMRC afterward, then turned his gaze to the club room’s interior.
“It does look cheap.”
That was all.
Deculein walked off the corridor like he was in a photoshoot.
“… Wow.”
Ferit’s legs gave out, and he collapsed on the sofa. Chills clawed through their bodies.
Recently, there had been rumors about Deculein’s performance lacking as the Senior Professor of the tower, but the people who had been saying that clearly didn’t know anything.
Upon meeting him face to face, one would immediately feel pressure heavy enough to prove to them that those rumors were nothing but a bunch of nonsense.
“Are you in a bad mood today, Professor? You’re scarier than usual…”
“Shhhh.”
Julia put her fingers on her lips at Ferit’s words. She then whispered in a small voice. “It’s her death anniversary today.”
“Death anniversary?”
Ferit asked back in surprise. Epherene’s eyes opened wide without saying anything. It was something she didn’t know.
“Oh, make sure you don’t say those words to Professor Deculein. If you mention it by mistake, your eyes will never open again. It’s extremely forbidden to utter that line in front of him.”
Julia intentionally spoke frighteningly. “… Pfft.”
She found even her own words funny.
Epherene, forcing a smile, managed her expressions.
“Death anniversary, huh? Interesting. I didn’t think he had someone he liked.”
“… Hmm?”
Julia tilted her head. Deculein’s bereavement might not be known, but his relationship with his current fiancé, Julie, was widely spread throughout the lands.
“Do you know who he liked?”
She didn’t know if Epherene was being sarcastic or serious.
“Hey, stop acting so crazy.”
Looking at the Ouija board, Rondo’s eyes widened as he grabbed his hair in shock, causing Epherene and Julia’s worry to grow.
“Why?”
“Professor Deculein… Just bombarded us with homework.”
“What?!”
Julia, Epherene, and Rondo all applied for Deculein’s lecture, which meant they shared the same responsibilities. Huddling together, they looked at the Ouija board.
On it was a list of tasks prepared by their professor.
[Conduct a magical study based on pure elements combined with three or more attributes]
[Create a research on the theory of magic’s density and concentration]
[Research about the ‘Quality of Mana’]
“Ah wait, what is this…”
Epherene felt a dizzying shock.