Chapter 16: Sound Of Money Pouring In

Triiiiiiinnnnnggggg~~~

Hearing the alarm she couldn't get used to ringing, Erica Bright flailed her hand out of habit...

Slap!

Thud!

...And the clock fell to the floor.

Fortunately, the sturdy, new alarm clock remained intact unlike the previous ones Erica had destroyed.

Triiiiiiinnnnnggggg~~~

But unfortunately, it kept ringing even after falling due to that very reason.

"Ugh!"

Forcing herself to wake up, Erica rubbed her eyes, turned off the alarm clock, got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

She undressed and took her morning shower, trying to use the warm water pouring out of the showerhead to forcibly erase the nightmare she had the previous night.

But the more she tried to forget about it, the details of the dream got more vivid...

Actually, it wasn't just a dream, rather it was something she had experienced in the past.

"Haah~"

No, it happened quite recently to call it the past. Rather, it was the memory of what happened two months ago, late at night.

"..."

In that memory, she was walking through the dark and gloomy corridors of the Loberne Academy late at night.

Stargazing was simply an excuse. In fact, upon hearing rumors that her fiancé patrolled the academy all alone every late night, she felt a bit mischievous.

Her fiancé...

The man was nothing like the rumors made him to be and was more caring and chivalrous than she expected.

He was the first man who was able to capture Erica's curiosity.

Even though the political engagement that was made in childhood always seemed like a hindrance, after getting to know the other party, it didn't appear to be as bad as she'd thought.

It had only been a month since he arrived at the Loberne Academy. But in just that one month, there were times when Erica had to make excuses to herself to avoid admitting that she was already head over heels for him.

...

Erica, who was tasting the sweetness of her first love, was walking around the academy aimlessly late at night, searching for him with restless steps.

There were rumors that ghosts roamed the academy late at night, but to Erica, who paid no attention to such rumors, it made the situation more favorable. As it was quiet and they would be alone... Wouldn't it be the perfect setting to enjoy a date under the guise of stargazing? And wouldn't holding hands seem more natural at such a time?

While thinking such thoughts, Erica's heart began to beat rapidly.

She'd never thought there would ever be a day when she, who was always evaluated as a confident, competent, and level-headed professor, would start fantasizing like a little girl.

Erica clicked her tongue as she carefully peeled off the white gloves she was wearing and thrust them into her pocket.

Tap Tap Tap Tap

Dadap!!!

A strange noise appeared amidst the sound of her own footsteps. Erica, who was walking down the corridor, realized that the strange noise had come from a nearby classroom, and quickened her pace slightly, thinking that it might be Professor Deus.

But before she took a step inside the classroom, right at the door, Erica carefully touched her face, which formed an involuntary smile.

Should I give him a smile? Professor Deus would like that... right?

But if her usual cold demeanor suddenly changed, wouldn't he be taken aback?

Forcing herself to act expressionless to appear normal, Erica opened the classroom door in discontentment... and saw Deus strangling his own neck while trembling.

"DIE!!!"

"DIE!!!"

"DIE!!!"

"DIE!!!"

The way he yelled at himself to die without opening his mouth was like...

Click!

The faucet was closed and the hot water pouring from the showerhead stopped. And along with the water swirling down the drain, the memories of that night vanished.

"Whew."

After drying herself with a towel, Erica began to get ready for work. She wore a navy blue coat over her white shirt and transformed into Professor Erica once again.

"..."

She took a deep breath as she gazed at herself in the mirror. Her eyes naturally shifted to the sheet of paper stuck on the wall next to the mirror.

The first line read, 'List of Cemeteries in the Loberne Academy'.

At the time when she started researching and creating this list, she didn't know, but with all the various incidents taking place in the academy recently, she was now sure of it.

The reason why Deus was his usual self the next morning.

The reason why he had no memory of that incident.

And the reason why she could hear him speak despite his hands strangling his own neck and his skin turning blue due to lack of oxygen...

Erica felt like she finally reached the answer to all these questions.

"It must be..."

* * *

"...Possession."

As I was combing through the bookshelves and searching for answers on my own, Findenai, who was doing push-ups beside me, stood up and turned her head toward me.

"What's that?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and gave her a reprimanding look.

"I've been thinking about this for a while. If you're going to use informal speech, then use informal speech. If you're going to use formal speech, then use formal speech."

"I'm sorry, but formal speech doesn't come naturally to me. So what were you saying about possession?"

In the end, didn't she use a mixture of both?

That's acceptable though.

Trying to forcibly put a leash on a wolf would only cause disobedience.

"The Skeleton Centipede in the Household's basement is an entity called 'Human-Bone Centipede'."

"Human-Bone Centipede? I've never heard of such a creature in my life."

Not surprising.

"Because it's not a creature that has ever set foot in this world. It's a being from a legend that is passed down orally."

"...A legendary animal?"

"To be precise, it can be classified as a legendary monster."

Findenai had a puzzled look as she crossed her arms. It seemed that she was unable to comprehend my explanation.

"Ahh!"

Then with an exclamation, she raised a question as she turned toward me perhaps recalling what I had said earlier.

"So, what does possession have to do with this? Who is possessed?"

"The girl we saw in the basement. She was possessed by that Human-Bone Centipede."

"Ah, I see."

Findenai nodded her head, perhaps finally grasping something. I closed the journal given to me by Darius and put it back on the bookshelf.

"How do you know that though? Is there such a record?"

"Yes, from a long time ago. Several mages conducted experiments in the underground room, under orders from one of the heads of the Verdi Household."

Their names were also clearly recorded in the journal: Maalkus, Lafolk, Armen, Winnie, Cien, Cottobero...

I couldn't help but be astonished looking at the long list of researchers.

"The Head of Verdi at that time, fearing an invasion of the Clark Republic, commissioned an experiment to summon a strong monster using human bones, and they agreed."

"......Hmm?"

Findenai, who seemed disturbed by something, crossed her arms and glanced around. She also appeared to have understood that something was amiss.

Ignoring her antics, I continued my explanation. But the part I was about to start speaking about from now on would perhaps be the most infuriating part for her.

"The medium for summoning the Human-Bone Centipede was, of course, human bones... Finding dead people in Norseweden was not that difficult after all."

"......Barbarians... Us?"

Findenai said, gritting her teeth.

For her, it was something that could not be tolerated. But this was a fact; they captured the barbarians trying to cross over the Norseweden Mountains and conducted experiments on them. Although it wasn't just barbarians who were experimented upon, the majority of the subjects were barbarians.

However, the Clark Republic did not invade Norseweden in the end, and the research ended up being classified as a failure with the underground facility being shut down as there were no significant results.

The remaining 'specimens' and 'subjects' were left behind in the basement of Verdi's mansion. Hence, the experiment succeeded only after everyone had left.

Perhaps it was that girl who remained alive till the end.

Then, the girl offered her heart to the insect god and was possessed by a demon, becoming its vessel.

After that, they remained there for a long time, buried and forgotten.

"But possession? Is that really possible?"

When Findenai, who had never heard of such a thing before, asked me, I nodded slightly.

"It is possible. Especially if it has a strong ego or if it is a spirit with a strong grudge, it can ignore the owner's resistance and dwell in the body."

"Hoo?"

"In some cases, a possessor can even take control of the original owner's memories and emotions... and become like a completely different person."

Findenai, who had been showing interest in the subject, paused and stared at me. Then she asked me curiously,

"Have you experienced it?"

Although I didn't reply, Findenai appeared to have understood that my silence was an affirmation.

While expressing that she asked something unnecessary, she grumbled and complained as if she was unsettled.

"Dark Mages are creepy and don't know how to live."

Well, this is not something a normal Dark Mage can do.

-Knock.

Then, there was a knock on the door. When I gave permission to enter, a hesitant maid drew near me cautiously and handed me a letter.

"T-That, Young Master. A letter arrived from Loberne Academy."

"...Letter?"

"Y-yes, the Dean's seal is on it, and the falcon who delivered the letter is waiting... probably for an immediate reply."

"Hmm."

It was quite discourteous, but I immediately understood that it was perhaps an urgent situation.

I promptly opened the envelope and skimmed through the content.

"Tsk."

The content was so infuriating that all I could do was click my tongue in annoyance. It all began with the loss of the contingency plans I had left behind in case of an emergency.

It was followed by a shameless demand for all the instructions to be rewritten and an unappetizing bait of taking my rehiring into consideration if I complied.

Initially, I would have just sent them the steps to be taken.

After all, admission for the first years was just around the corner. In fact, it was the time when the main character would enter the academy and was the starting point of their growth.

So, what would happen if it was hindered by evil spirits?

It was clear as to what future this world would arrive at.

But now that things had reached this stage, I had a different plan.

Fuzzz

I burnt the letter and replied without hesitation.

"Tell the Dean to learn to speak more politely."

If the Dean himself had sent a letter to someone who had been fired, it must have been quite pressing. So, the maid was quite surprised by my steadfastness. But on coming to her senses, she gave a deep bow before quickly leaving the room.

Findenai said,

"If you get reinstated, I can travel to the center of the continent as well."

Well, it was obvious why; the academy at the center of the continent would make raising money or gathering information much easier for her.

"There are still more pressing issues to be resolved."

"The Human-Bone Centipede? Ah, great. I'll bring an axe."

Findenai jumped out of the window with excitement. No matter how many times Deia corrected her, her habits did not change.

Shaking my head, I focused on the current situation.

There was no such thing as an entity called a Human-Bone Centipede in this world. In other words, it was a monster whose information had been spread entirely by word of mouth among the continent's people.

Looks like I still have a lot to learn.

I prided myself on having extensive knowledge about demons and evil spirits, but it seemed like I no longer could completely depend on my previous knowledge.

No, it's okay.

I will be able to learn again...

And I would also be able to restart my necromancy research, which had been sluggish due to a lack of financial support.

Because Loberne Academy will provide me with all the money.

"I definitely left them with a solution before leaving."

But there was nothing I could do about it if they lost it.

Unfortunately, you will have to pay from now on.

Jinglang! Jinglang! Jinglang! Jinglang!

I felt like I heard the sound of gold coins from somewhere.

Ah, right.

It was the sound of my worth as an Academy professor rising!