Unexpectedly, class was canceled. However, the students were not perturbed. Although the reason for the cancellation was unusual, sudden cancellations were not uncommon.
Students accustomed to such cancellations swiftly exited the classroom.
“Wow, isn’t that crazy? Professor Reynold got attacked, of all people?”
“I don’t know, I’m scared… It seems like my courage has left me… The professor isn’t just any noble but from a very distinguished family. It won’t be easy to get away with it if caught.”
“So, what are we going to do until lunch?”
“Exactly. It’s hot outside, is there an empty classroom somewhere?”
Was it the unexpected two-hour gap until lunchtime, or concern for the professor, now comatose, that kept the murmurs among the students leaving the classroom alive?
From the back row, Lucia suddenly felt someone approaching.
“Do you believe what they said?”
“Huh?”She turned around. It was Gracie, a classmate.
“Believe it? What are you talking about?”
“They said the professor was attacked by a stranger. Don’t you think something’s fishy?”
“…Fishy?”
“The stranger. It’s obvious who the culprit is!”
“…?”
What was she talking about? Lucia looked at Gracie, puzzled. Meanwhile, Gracie was looking around to see if there were other people nearby.
After the crowd from the classroom had dispersed, Gracie took Lucia to a secluded spot.
Making sure no one was around, Gracie, with a look full of certainty, spoke.
“It’s the assistant.”
“What?”
“The assistant is the culprit!”
“…Are you trying to get yourself into big trouble?”
Slap-
Lucia lightly smacked Gracie on the forehead.
Gracie Versailles. Like Professor Reynold, she was born into one of the empire’s prestigious families, but rather than behaving with decorum, she was a girl of her age who liked to delve into incidents and whisper with friends.
That was okay. After all, entertaining thoughts were something anyone could have, and sharing them with others was a pleasure Lucia knew well. Under normal circumstances, Lucia might have joined Gracie’s gossip.
But slander without evidence was another matter. Moreover, Gracie’s family, the Versailles, had a reputation far greater than that of commoners gossiping for fun.
“Gracie, don’t you feel sorry for the assistant?”
Lucia felt the need to lecture her ‘young’ friend.
“The assistant, you know. Barely manages to eat on time and spends day-to-day in the lab.”
“Oh… Really?”
“Yes! But it’s not just about meals. The assistant is so absorbed in research every day that he looks like a ghost. Did you see how pale his face was just now? How pitiful he looked.”
“Oh, that’s true.”
“How can you slander such a poor person without any evidence?”
“Um… I see your point.”
“Do you? Then next time…”
“But I do have clear reasons for what I said.”
Gracie spoke in a soothing tone, trying to calm the excited Lucia.
“That’s because the assistant isn’t human.”
“…Gracie?”
Lucia stepped back from Gracie. The assistant isn’t human? What does that mean? Lucia couldn’t understand what Gracie was talking about at all.
“Just, what are you talking about?”
However, Lucia did not dismiss the possibility that she might be misunderstanding.
Sometimes, Lucia felt trapped by the webs of the past, struggling to keep up with the conversations or atmospheres of those around her. Others might think she’s troubled, but Lucia was a reincarnate who had skipped 500 years.
‘…Perhaps, in this era, it’s normal not to regard an assistant as human.’
500 years was a long time. Just crossing national borders changed languages and cultures completely, not to mention the change of dynasties, which could happen several times in such a period, putting a gap between Gracie and Lucia, as Lucia tried to understand with a ‘modern’ sensibility.
“Am I hearing this right? The assistant isn’t human?”
“Well… I thought you, of all people, would know.”
“Don’t beat around the bush, just tell me. If the assistant isn’t human, then what? A demon?”
“Not a demon.”
Gracie smirked at Lucia.
“The assistant, he’s an elf.”
“An… elf?”
“Yeah, an elf.”
“But… the assistant doesn’t look like that at all. He doesn’t have pointy ears…”
No, what did being an elf have to do with the assistant being the perpetrator who harmed the professor? Gracie, she was not being prejudiced, was she?
She didn’t say those words. The reason was that Gracie’s family, the Versailles, were of mixed heritage, having accepted a lot of elven blood.
Her great-grandmother, Lady Margaret, was 3/7 elf, so to declare the assistant guilty just because he was an elf would be smearing her own face. Lucia listened a bit more patiently to her friend’s words.
“Whether ears are pointy or not, if you carve out the earlobes and receive regular healing, they become indistinguishable from normal human ears.”
“Is that so?”
“Ah, just for your information. I wasn’t born with pointy ears, but my uncle was, and they carved his earlobes when he was a baby. Our family practices this form of circumcision to avoid discriminatory views. That’s why I can tell the difference.”
Lucia recalled the assistant’s appearance she had seen earlier in the classroom. The assistant seemed just like a taciturn human male, without any expression changes, but the world is full of unexpected things.
“Here’s the important part about our grandmother!”
Gracie said, her breath flaring with confidence.
“Grandmother used to say, from her time at the academy, there was an assistant who ruthlessly replaced any professors he disliked.”
“It wasn’t the professors who replaced the assistants?”
“No! Isn’t that even more intriguing? An assistant that switches out guiding professors like parts!”
“…”
“This story was also mentioned by our third aunt. There was such a rumor back then, but today I’m certain of it. The culprit who harmed Professor Reynold is that assistant. No, the assistant himself!”
“But… there’s no evidence, right?”
Lucia scratched her head as she looked at the overconfident Gracie. It turned out to be a strong suspicion without any physical evidence.
“Why wouldn’t there be evidence? Isn’t it strange? The professor, besides his academic achievements, is an eight-star magician.”
“That’s true.”
“He would have had protective enchantments and various safety gears. It’s strange that he was attacked and fell into a critical state. Plus, the professor is from the Dras family. Who would be so desperate to attack someone so competent in both literature and martial skills?”
“Really…?”
“And, it’s also strange that the professor is still alive. If I were the attacker, I would have killed the professor to avoid any complications.”
“Hmm…”
“So, the conclusion is, an assistant wanting to grind down a disliked professor went too far by smashing the professor’s head. Then he went looking for a new professor to assist his research. Just watch. It’ll turn out just as I said.”
“Well…”
Lucia finally spoke up after some thought.
“Gracie?”
“Yeah?”
“If you’re so sure, shouldn’t you report this? What’s the point in just watching? If you’re right, then the next guiding professor will be the victim.”
“Lucia, you think that little of me? I am Gracie Versailles.”
Gracie, with a cold expression, flipped a thumbs-up downwards.
‘Yeah and I’m Kyrie.’
Lucia nodded somewhat enthusiastically to her spirited friend.
“We should report it right away. Fortunately, there’s more than an hour left until lunch.”
With those words, Gracie sprinted towards the main gate.
“…That happened?”
“Is she, what, a bit off?”
That evening,
Shiron heard this absurd story while dining with Lucia after school.
“No, she’s not that off. It’s just that she seems thirsty for stimulation…”
“I wouldn’t even associate with that Gracie kid. She’s not some delusional patient. Ugh, it’s exhausting to be around her.”
Shiron was unaware of such a ridiculous ghost story. A rogue elf infiltrating the academy for hundreds of years and was fine? What were the guards of this country even doing? This was a world where even a verbal acknowledgment of suspicion could lead to beheading.
“And, I know you’re strong, so I’m not worried, but just refuse if anyone tries to mess with you.”
“More nagging.”
“It’s not nagging. The reason you came home late the other day was because of that professor that was attacked. I didn’t want to interfere too much, but now I feel I should tell you.”
“…Who told you that?”
“Who else, but Siriel.”
Shiron took a big bite of pork leg and turned a page in his spellbook.
“I have a lot to say, but it’s best if you graduate from school quickly. You’re better suited to swords than magic.”
“…You don’t have to tell me multiple times. I know.”
Lucia responded and got up from her seat. Shiron had always looked after Lucia, but seeing Shiron after a year, she often felt he was too meddling.
‘She thinks he’s some kind of dad.’
But Lucia somewhat understood Shiron’s interfering nature. Shiron was a brother who would physically step up for his younger siblings. That was true 10 years ago and it hadn’t changed.
Lucia didn’t dislike such a Shiron, so while she might quietly grumble, she followed his advice. Unless the world turned upside down, it was unlikely that Lucia would pursue graduate studies.
“Oh, by the way.”
“Yeah?”
It was when Lucia was tidying up her spot to stand up, Shiron, who had taken his eyes off the spellbook, stared at Lucia.
“I thought I should tell you in advance.”
“What is it?”
“That… thing.”
Shiron closed the spellbook with a thud and chewed on his lips, seeming to hesitate over something important he wanted to say. Meanwhile, Lucia, forgetting to wipe the sauce from her mouth, tilted her head curiously.
“I’m going to propose to Siriel next month.”
“…”
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