Chapter 27

Chapter 27

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“Hmm....”

I don’t know.

It wasn’t originally my area of expertise.

I never had the luxury to try something like this in my lifetime.

‘Just tell me straightforwardly with some intuition.’

What could be the intention of giving clues in such a convoluted way?

As I sighed at the problem that refused to be solved, Pia suddenly thrust her face forward.

“Do you have any concerns, Professor?”

After finding a solution to the Awaken case, Pia became surprisingly bright.

The shadow in her mind must have lifted at the thought that she could save people with her own hands.

I chuckled and replied.

“Well, it seems like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Haha... Huh, huhuh.”

Pia’s laughter was not mere words.

Dark circles under her tired eyes.

Messy hair.

The slightly downturned eyes were directed even lower than usual.

“Phew, the research on Awaken is progressing slower than I thought.”

Her workload exceeded imagination, raising concerns about overwork.

Lecture preparations, personal research, investor meetings, and even additional assistant tasks.

It surpassed the boundaries of personal space.

I even asked if she wanted to hire a temporary assistant, but the answer was a firm rejection.

“No, thank you. I can handle it on my own.”

With a resolute refusal, the appointment of a temporary assistant was inevitably postponed.

“...Huh?”

Pia’s eyes lingered on the paper I had scribbled on.

“The place where ignorance loses its strength, making the elderly sigh... Oh, Professor, do you like mysteries?”

I instinctively tried to hide the paper but stopped.

“Do you like mysteries too?”

I asked.

“I don’t think I’m bad at them. Can I take a look?”

she inquired.

“Of course. If anything comes to mind after looking at it, feel free to let me know.”

Pia, inherently quirky, sighed with anticipation.

I looked at her with anticipation.

“Hmm.”

“...”

“It’s challenging.”

So when she sighed with a wrinkled brow, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

“It’s really difficult...”

“But I understand at least one phrase?”

“What is it?”

“The line about the punishment that even a genius fears.”

Pia, with a proud smile, began to unravel the tangled story.

“It seems like a riddle related to Zero Requiem...”

Zero, a genius who will always be remembered in history.

Not just in magic but in various fields such as art, invention, engineering, and technology.

A prodigy who played a significant role in humans quickly starting the Second Age upon migrating to the Western continent.

As a result, Zero’s close friend, the former emperor, allegedly publicly joked that if Zero died, he would preserve his brain for research purposes.

“It was to the extent that he might leave it in his will, so it might not have been just a joke. There are even rumors that Zero deliberately hid his tracks because of this.”

Pia explained.

“So, the answer to that phrase is punishment.”

“Yes, coincidentally, it’s related to our previous lesson, isn’t it?”

...I looked at the riddle again.

I made the elderly sigh, and I was punished.

Now, everyone is looking at me, laughing and perhaps shedding tears.

“Oh, could you find the hidden me in the place where ignorance loses its strength?”

‘The location the riddle points to... is probably within Rosenstark,’ I thought.

Zero Requiem probably wouldn’t have placed his most significant connection elsewhere.

“The place where ignorance loses its strength,” I mused, seeming to recall something.

Feeling frustrated, I shifted my gaze to the Rosenstark map hanging on the wall.

A relatively small area, with various facilities tightly packed—research labs, practical rooms, dormitories, dining halls, libraries, and more.

“...Library?”

Muttering unintentionally, I received a clap from Pia next to me.

“Oh, right! The place where ignorance loses its strength!”

...It makes sense.

I approached the wall, staring intently at the map.

In this academy, there are dozens of libraries—tactical, alchemical, magical, staff, and the forbidden library.

And...

‘For a war fanatic to suddenly choose the path to Rosenstark...’

Therefore, before he recovered, they had to somehow deal with him or at least inflict some damage.

‘...The unfortunate part is that the preparations are insufficient, because of which I have to deal with this trash.’

If only he could take action himself!

The demon glanced disapprovingly at the traitor, concluding his words.

“Before finding another successor, you should hurry and take action.”

“Y-yes, I will keep that in mind!”

As the conversation concluded, the demon rose from his seat.

The traitor secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the demon didn’t leave immediately.

Bringing his massive head close to the traitor’s face, he took a deep breath.

The sensation felt as if a part of the soul was being drawn in, and the traitor shivered.

“We’ve given you what you’ve longed for all your life. I hope this time there will be results worthy of that.”

“W-would that be possible?”

Snap!

The demon left abruptly, just as unexpectedly as when he appeared.

“...”

The traitor, who had been observing his departure for a moment, blinked his eyelids a few times.

In one corner of his vision, the lingering image of the blue haze emanating from the demon’s eyes vanished.

Instead, bright afternoon sunlight greeted him.

‘...Damn.’

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, drank water vigorously, and looked through the glass window on the other side.

A well-organized view of the academy.

It was Rosenstark.

* * *

In front of the principal’s office, a crowd of people was buzzing with activity.

‘Why are the maids and assistants gathered?’

They seemed to be concentrating on something, oblivious to my arrival.

Among them, I spotted familiar black hair.

Nyhill’s first doll, Senneta.

Whispers were circulating among them with lowered voices.

“How many days has it been since she locked himself in? What on earth is she doing there?”

“It’s so frustrating. Hey, youngest! You did the cleaning yesterday, right? What did she say?”

The youngest maid, Senneta, looked upset.

“I couldn’t even go in. She told me not to disturb her by knocking.”

“Wow, this is insane.”

A sudden disappearance of Yussi.

For the past few days, she hadn’t taken a single step outside the office.

The reason was unknown, and even the professors were left waiting outside.

“Should we just open the door?”

“Opening the principal’s mind along with the door. That’s the senior’s early retirement life for you.”

“But should we just leave it like this? The professors are going crazy!”

...It seemed like the dissatisfaction of the professors was causing trouble for the subordinates.

‘What’s going on? It didn’t seem like they had a plan to deal with this.’

Anyway, her seclusion must come to an end now that I’ve arrived.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“If you open the door again and say something stupid, you might get kicked in the butt... Oh my!”

Starting with a surprised assistant, everyone stared at me with wide eyes.

The silence didn’t last long.

“P-Professor Redymer, nice to meet you!”

“I beg your pardon.”

“...Yes?”

“Because we might have to use a stupid method.”

But there was no need to pull the door handle.

Creak!

The door opened first.

Before the door could smack me in the nose, I sidestepped.

The person who appeared was, of course, Yussi.

‘Yussi? Why does she look like that?’

She looked quite disheveled.

Untidy hair, wrinkled clothes.

The usually sparkling glasses were dirty with dust and fingerprints.

“...Professor?”

She looked at me with surprise for a moment, then smiled.

“Ha...”

Brushing through her greasy hair with her fingers, she casually disappeared into the office.

I immediately followed.

“Don’t come in!”

Ignoring her plea, I stepped into the office behind her.

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