[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 138 - The Academy Visit of Lormane (4)
"Sir Dian."
The door opened, and Olysia entered the room.
"I’m leaving some water here. I thought you might be thirsty."
"Thanks."
Olysia placed the pitcher and a cup on the bedside table before quietly leaving the room.
She was right. After drinking earlier in the evening, I had been feeling thirsty. Perfect timing.
I took a sip of the cool water and lay back down, falling asleep once more.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I was woken up again by another knock at the door.
"Olysia, is that you?"
"No, it’s me."
It was Ismera.
She entered the room, quietly closing the door behind her and locking it with the latch.
"You’re still awake, aren’t you? I knew you would be. You were waiting for me, weren’t you?"
Not exactly.
After all, Ismera had been completely wasted earlier, staggering around with Kirrin, so I assumed she was fast asleep by now. I didn’t expect her to show up in my room, sober as could be.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"I’m perfectly fine. I only had one drink, after all."
"Then why were you acting like that earlier...?"
"I didn’t want to raise Olysia’s suspicions."
Ismera approached the bed with a faint smile.
"If I’d acted normal, Olysia would have insisted I return to the dormitory. She’s afraid some weird rumor might start between us, and that you’d end up resigning because of it. Isn’t that right?"
"I suppose that’s true."
"So, I pretended to be drunk. That way, Olysia wouldn’t worry and would feel comfortable letting me sleep in one of the upstairs rooms."
"I see... and you kept feeding Kirrin drinks for the same reason?"
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ismera responded.
"Exactly. Kirrin would have just been in the way. She’s fast asleep now, completely unaware of anything. She’ll probably be late tomorrow. And Olysia is downstairs."
Ismera then straddled me, slowly beginning to undo her clothes.
"No one is going to interrupt us, Mister. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come around often. So let’s see it through to the end."
Fear suddenly gripped me.
What exactly does she mean by "the end"?
The last time we were in the Great Forest, things didn’t stop until sunrise.
But there’s no avoiding it. She’s gone through all the trouble of setting this up so meticulously. It would be wrong to refuse her now.
"Alright, Ismera. But this time, you’d better be ready."
# # # # #
Kirrin stood in front of the Academy’s main gate.
She wasn’t wearing the black cloak that professors typically donned, but rather a simple set of everyday clothes, with a large bag at her feet.
She turned to look behind her, but the gate remained firmly shut, showing no signs of opening. To make matters worse, a light drizzle began to fall.
Sighing, Kirrin picked up her bag and walked toward one of the carriages parked in front of the gate.
"Excuse me, I need to go to Belminoa...."
"This carriage is for Academy staff only."
"Oh, sorry...."
Rejected, Kirrin moved on to the next carriage.
"Um, to Belminoa...."
"No."
This isn’t my dormitory room, so this must be one of Dian’s guest rooms.
He must have laid me here to sleep.
So, what about Ismera? She only had one drink, so she probably went back to the dorms.
Kirrin sat up in bed, her terrible nightmare keeping her fully awake. She wanted to thank Dian for taking care of her.
Plus, this was a rare opportunity to have a proper conversation with him.
There were questions she had about Dian’s past that had always lingered in the back of her mind. And she also wanted to see how much he would support the plans she’d been quietly working on.
Kirrin’s plan wasn’t anything grand.
She intended to step down from the role of Headmaster and become a regular professor in the Combat Department.
With the recent creation of the Vice-Headmaster position, Ismera would make a fine Headmaster.
Dian could then take over as Vice-Headmaster, and Kirrin could remain in the Academy as the Head Combat Professor. That seemed like a reasonable plan for the future.
However, to make that happen, she desperately needed Dian’s help.
The authority to appoint the Academy’s Headmaster rested with the Imperial Security Office, and the Second Princess herself held that power. Since Dian had close ties with her, Kirrin had no choice but to rely on him.
There was one issue, though.
Up until early this year, the Second Princess had utterly despised Kirrin.
So if Dian somehow managed to mediate and Kirrin stepped down, the Second Princess might seize the chance to expel her from the Academy altogether.
To prevent that disaster, Kirrin knew she needed to stay close to Dian, who had the Princess’s favor.
But Kirrin couldn’t handle it alone—she needed Dian’s support.
It seemed like a good idea to broach the topic with him now.
Summer break was approaching, and it would be best to settle any personnel changes during the break and start the second semester with everything in place.
With Ismera as Headmaster by the second semester, the Academy might be able to raise the level of its first graduating class.
Considering all these factors, Kirrin decided it was time to visit Dian’s room.
But just as she got up from bed, she quickly threw herself back under the covers.
The door opened, and Ismera walked in.
"Whew...."
As Kirrin turned to face the other way and squeezed her eyes shut, Ismera let out a long sigh and sat on the edge of the bed.
"My back is killing me...."
Muttering to herself, Ismera sat for a moment before getting up and leaving the room.
Kirrin heard her footsteps heading toward the stairs, and soon after, the sound of water running in the bathroom downstairs.
She’s taking a bath? I thought she’d already gone back to the dorms.
Where could she have gone in the middle of the night, only to come back at dawn to bathe?
I really don’t get it....
While Ismera washed up, Kirrin heard more clattering from downstairs, likely Olysia preparing breakfast.
Then, one of the doors upstairs opened, and the sound of Dian’s footsteps followed.
"Ouch, ouch. Everything hurts."
What does he mean by everything hurts? Maybe he slept in an awkward position and hurt his shoulder?
"Everyone, breakfast is ready!"
Lost in her thoughts, Kirrin heard Olysia call up from downstairs.
With no other option, Kirrin resigned herself to heading down for breakfast without having accomplished anything.
# # # # #
Meanwhile, Priestess Maya...
Scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch.
After tirelessly scribbling away in her patient log until dawn’s first light, Priestess Maya finally closed the book and slowly stood up.
She had reached the last page of the ledger.
It looked like she’d have to make a trip to the Church headquarters.
There’s a lot to report to the Chief Administrator.
Stretching her cramped legs after crouching all night, Maya lumbered her way out of the gate.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]