The Obsessive Regressor of The Academy

50. Imprisonment?

“I heard about the Evil Eye.”

Irina said, exhaling a plume of cigarette smoke out the window. Then, she pulled a small case from her pocket and tossed it at Acel. The case struck him squarely in the forehead, sending him tumbling backward.

“Gah!”

“Die.”

Ena, who was sitting beside him, reacted instantly. She conjured electricity in her hands, glaring at Irina. Irina shook her head with a weary expression.

When would this obsessive, overprotective behavior end? It was like a late-blooming love; she was acting as if she would give her very liver and gallbladder to a disciple she took in so late in life. It even felt like it was getting worse with each passing day.

‘I will absolutely never be like that when I take on a disciple.’

Irina vowed inwardly, placing her pipe on the table and approaching Acel. Ena glared daggers at her, but Irina, unconcerned, sat down beside Acel, who was rubbing his philtrum.

“Open it.”

“What is it?”

“You can’t open your eyes properly right now, can you? It’s something to help with that.”

Acel hummed in acknowledgment and opened the case.

The case clicked open, revealing a pair of glasses of unremarkable size. The lenses weren’t overly thick, and the frames possessed a striking design. They offered no visual correction, but rather, acted as a barrier, preventing magical energies from passing through to either side of the eye.

“Wear these for a while. You should be able to keep both eyes open without issue.”

“Oh…”

As she’d said. The moment Asel put on the glasses, she felt her vision sharpen considerably and let out a gasp of wonder. Seeing no sigils etched into the frame, the material itself must have been a mineral with a high magic-dampening coefficient.

Just as minerals with high magic conductivity were expensive, those with high dampening properties were equally so. These glasses alone would be worth dozens of gold coins.

Asel offered Irina a heartfelt word of thanks for the precious gift.

“Thank you. I’ll take good care of them.”

“Sure, sure.”

Irina responded dismissively before rising from her seat, a pipe now nestled between her fingers. Looking down at Asel, she asked in a serious tone.

“So. What in the world happened?”

“…”

“You’ve barely been at the Academy a few days. How do you end up returning covered in bruises? I can’t imagine the Academy seniors would be bullying you. Considering the timing of the first assignment, could this be related?”

“…How do you know about the Academy schedule?”

“I did a stint as a professor a while back. Not anymore, though.”

Regardless.

Irina muttered, tapping the tobacco into the bowl of her pipe.

“It *was* the first assignment, wasn’t it? What happened out there?”

Before answering, Asel’s eyes flickered toward Ena. The necromancer’s claim of her being her younger sister lingered in her mind. She didn’t want to burden her with yet more trouble.

But Ena’s face practically throbbed with curiosity. After a moment’s hesitation, Asel poured out everything that had happened that day.

The two women remained silent for a long while after hearing the story. Neither wore a pleasant expression.

Finally, after an extended silence, Irina let out a heavy sigh and spoke.

“Probably the publicly known Virshia Kleisen. A pseudonym, of course, and she even formed an organization named Virshia after it. A wretched group that gathers all sorts of criminal sorcerers who commit whatever insane acts they desire. They’ve been on the continent’s wanted list for ages.”

“…”

“That woman… I never would’ve thought she’d be hiding in some mountain valley, researching synthetic spell formulas. Even sacrificing lives to forcibly obtain a second talent? That would require at least tens of thousands of lives.”

“…The number is rather accurate. It seems this has happened before.”

“Commonly so.”

Irina continued in a disgusted tone.

“Unlocking talent at the cost of life. As soon as that became known, a bloodbath swept across the continent. It wasn’t uncommon for entire nations to be wiped out or vanish from the map.”

In the wake of the Possibility Devil’s emergence, there wasn’t a corner of the continent untouched by crimson. Most of the dungeons and labyrinths that remain today were built to manage those rituals more efficiently. Or as a means to seal away transcendents who’d abandoned all humanity.

Either way, countless sacrifices were required in their creation.

A present day, more hellish than Hell itself. Irina, born in those times, still remembered the mountains of corpses and seas of blood visible wherever she turned.

“These acts are rigorously controlled now, so they don’t happen as often. But in the lawless zones, it’s a different story. Birshia probably forced the ritual there.”

Lawless zones meant lands unclaimed by any nation. Places where no one could live, teeming with monsters and plagued by all manner of natural disasters and aberrations. Lands governed not by laws written in books, but by the law of the jungle, wielded by the sword and spear in hand. That’s why criminals and demon worshippers often hid there.

What happened there was never known to the outside world. So, no one living beyond the borders of the lawless zones could know how many humans lived and died there, or how.

Birshia’s ritual was the same.

“Necromancy combined with synthesis alchemy… it’s going to be quite tricky. I should report this separately to the Alliance.”

“…”

“And meddling with the Witches’ Assembly’s mages… there will be a price to pay.”

Irina muttered in a low voice, placing her pipe in her mouth.

“From today onward, Birshia Kleisen is officially designated as a public enemy by both the Alliance and the Witches’ Assembly, and we promise to spare no material or moral support for her subjugation as a top priority ‘termination’ target. Is that alright? Ena?”

Ena nodded instantly at Irina’s question.

“She was a grudge I should have settled myself in the first place. If I’d killed her then, none of this would have happened… I let her get away…”

“Don’t blame yourself. You know as well as I do what the situation was back then. We didn’t have the luxury of hunting down Birshia too.”

“…Still doesn’t sit right with me. That a past grudge is still having an impact to this day.”

“Enough. Let’s end the heavy talk here.”

Irina said, blowing out smoke and chuckling softly.

“More than that, you’re quite something too. Using teleportation magic there? And teleportation magic that uses a catalyst as a power source on the spot? There’s probably no one else who’s escaped Birshia like that, right?”

“I’m just a bit…”

Asel replied with a small smile. Irina’s lips twitched at the reaction.

“Oh my, look at this one? Gotten all arrogant while I wasn’t looking? Ena, how are you educating your disciple?”

“Shut up. Don’t insult Asel.”

“No, it was just a joke…”

Irina said in an embarrassed voice, but Ena cleanly ignored her and sat between Irina and Asel, leaning her back against his body. Then, she forcibly pulled Asel’s hand and placed it on her head.

Asel quickly understood what she wanted and gently stroked her hair.

“Stronger.”

“Yes, yes.”

He added a little more pressure to her hair as she requested. Only then, seemingly satisfied, did Ena purr like a cat, enjoying Asel’s touch.

Irina watched the scene unfold and spoke in a dumbfounded voice.

“What is going on here right now? Surely not, but have you decided to ignore your age and continue this forbidden relationship?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ena! Consider our ages! Assel should be with a woman younger and firmer than you!”

“Shut it.”

_Crackling!!_

Electricity bloomed from Ena’s fingertips.

Simultaneously, the locked door clicked open, and from beyond, a purple cat leaped out, engulfing Assel’s face.

“Ugh!”

“Kid! You almost died, they said!”

The cat spoke. Assel, recognizing the voice, mumbled.

“Lady Bell.”

“Who did this! Who hurt our kid! Those no-good, damn sons of b*tches. Just say the word! I’ll kill them all!”

“Before that… I can’t breathe…”

“Nyaaang!!!”

Bell roared. Assel, spitting out the fur that had entered his mouth, glanced sideways at Ena for help. Ena chuckled, grabbing Bell by the scruff of her neck and pulling her off Assel’s face.

“Calm down, Bell. It’s good you’re visiting, but Assel’s still a patient.”

The news of Assel’s critical condition had already reached the Witches’ Coven. Irina had urgently spread the word, just in case.

Thankfully, the situation she had feared didn’t occur. Assel regained consciousness, and no lingering aftereffects remained. Still, there were a few who wanted to visit, so she specifically informed them of the cathedral’s location where Assel was staying.

Bell was one of them. Held in Ena’s grasp, she hung limp, her body drooping downwards.

“I feel like crap. I hate it more than anything when someone messes with my people.”

“Was I Lady Bell’s person?”

“Of course! We’re close, aren’t we!”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it. Were we that close?”

“What’s this punk saying?”

Bell twitched her brow, raising a fist towards Assel’s face.

“Kitty-kitty punch!”

Assel burst into laughter, taking the soft blow of her tiny paw.

*

“I feel so goood.”

Elena, standing on the deck, muttered, taking in the sea air. One of the crew members, watching her from afar, said in a low voice.

“She’s cute.”

“Wake up from that dream. A tomboy like you couldn’t dare to touch someone like her.”

“Alchemist, Katelyn,” she answered, elbow-deep in the sea monster’s innards.

The majestic sea that sprawled behind the Duchy. The sea beasts that dwelt in its depths were quite the catalyst for alchemy. This three-headed colossal shark, hunted by Elena and the archer, Davy, of the Combat Division, was no exception.

The monsters of the sea inherently harbored cool, pristine energy from the ocean itself in their hearts. Refining it allowed one to create all manner of antidotes, and even potions that granted the ability to breathe underwater, or withstand crushing pressure.

This was the sort of potion Katelyn intended to brew: One that negated resistance in water entirely. The ingredients were demanding, but the high marks would practically hand themselves over upon completion.

Katelyn crawled out of the shark’s cleaved belly.

“If you want to court Elena, you’ll have to get through everything from the Duke who rules the Duchy to hordes of vampires guarding her. Can you handle that?”

“…Why say it like that? I just said she was cute.”

“Wipe that grin off your face. Enough dilly-dallying, bring me the heart.”

She tossed a dagger to Duke. He caught it, barely, a look of shock on his face.

“You lunatic! Why throw that so dangerously!”

“It’s not dangerous, so hurry up. Besides, you’re just tagging along for this assignment anyway. You don’t want to be remembered by Elena as a useless leech, so help with the butchering.”

Elena’s group was well-balanced, with two from the Non-Combat Department and two from the Combat Department. However, Katelyn and Duke from the Non-Combat Department were divided into Alchemy and Magitech Engineering, forcing a choice. Thus, the Alchemy Department, where Katelyn belonged, was selected. Duke, from Magitech Engineering, had done nothing during this assignment.

He had, at best, painstakingly researched the sea monsters. But even that was nothing compared to Elena’s extensive experience navigating the seas. Hence, his voice held less weight than Katelyn’s.

“…Why is a noble like me doing this sort of thing?”

“Is someone forcing you? Shut up and slice the vein right there.”

“I can’t bring myself to slice your veins, so I’ll obediently follow orders.”

“What utter nonsense.”

Katelyn smacked Duke on the back. He yelped and disappeared into the monster’s belly.

Despite her harsh words, Katelyn actually rather liked Duke. Despite his noble status, he seemed uncomfortable with being treated with deference, and he even threw in jokes from time to time, which made it hard to outright dislike him.

And Elena, the highest in social standing within the group, was similar in disposition.

A Duchess with the personality of a country girl, not using her status to order others around, nor being authoritative or overbearing.

Elena was like a female lead ripped straight from the pages of a novel, right here in reality. Impossible not to be liked, regardless of gender.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, Katelyn.”

Elena gazed at Katelyn, who had approached her, with a bright smile. Then, she leaned against the railing, gazing down at the expansive sea.

“Just admiring the view. It’s beautiful, the sea.”

“I heard vampires die if they go into running water?”

“That’s a lie! We swim and play when it’s hot! We eat garlic, and crosses don’t affect us, and the closer to pureblood you are, the less you’re affected by the sun! All rumors!”

Who even spread those rumors? Elena added, then slumped against the railing. Katelyn chuckled to herself, staring at the academy grounds’ harbor, which had begun to appear in the distance.

“It’s the end, then, the group assignment. It was a good team, in its own way.”

“Indeed… I was worried, as Asel seems to truly dislike group projects, but it was a better experience than I anticipated.”

“Asel, as in the top student of the Department of Magics? You seem very close?”

“Yes! Ellen and Asel are the closest! They even took the entrance exam together, and they eat together!”

“Is that so?”

Kaitlin giggled as she spoke.

“Then, which one do you like more?”

“Uh… hmm… I like them both…”

“But if you had to choose one? If they both fell into the water, and you could only save one, who would you save?”

“Ellen can’t swim, so I’d save Ellen, wouldn’t I? Asel would probably just levitate himself out.”

The Hargelin heiress can’t swim, huh. Kaitlin imagined the ice-cold girl thrashing in the water and burst into laughter.

“So, you like Ellen more then?”

“That’s not it. I like them both!”

Elena said, baring her canines as she threatened Kaitlin.

“More importantly, stop with these questions! They’re not fun!”

“Alright, alright. Another question, then. Is there someone you fancy?”

“Nope, not a one?”

Elena answered with a calm expression. Kaitlin realized that she wasn’t lying and nodded. She had been worried about some bad boy’s name spilling from her lips. It seemed there was no need to worry after all.

“What about me?”

Duke blurted out as he popped out from the ivory maw. Elena shook her head immediately.

“No way! Papa said all men are wolves!”

“Asel is a man too, though!”

“Asel is a good wolf! A handsome wolf!”

“This damned world. It’s the face again.”

Duke grumbled and retreated back inside the monster.

Even as this was happening, the ship continued onward. The depth gradually decreased, and now the harbor appeared larger than the sea itself.

Creak…!

Before long, the ship docked. As a sailboat operated by the duchy, the sailors politely moved the monster to the harbor.

Afterward, only the monster’s heart and other alchemically valuable parts were removed and sent to the monster dismantling workshop. In exchange, they received one gold coin. Elena and her group used the money they received to enjoy a celebratory meal at a nearby restaurant before returning to the Academy.

However, for some reason, the Academy seemed even more chaotic than usual.

“Please ascertain how many individuals have yet to return. We must conclude the group assignments now.”

“Saya, along with three other students, are currently undergoing treatment in the Academy’s medical wing. We have assurances that the Order will send someone within the day.”

“Saya, Quell, Warren… these three students are suffering from profound mental distress, as much as physical trauma. It seems they are deeply worried over the student who rescued them, as he is still missing. And then there’s Gorsel, whose entire team perished save for himself. He’s prone to fits, sobbing uncontrollably.”

Even from the snatches of hushed conversation between professors hurrying through the halls, it was clear something grave had transpired. Elena, having just returned, tilted her head at the flurry of activity when one of the professors from the Department of Magical Studies spotted her and rushed over.

“Elena, isn’t it? Welcome back. And your team… they’re all safe, it seems. Thank the heavens.”

“Yes… but is something amiss? Everyone seems so terribly busy…”

“Ah… well, you see…”

Before the professor could answer Elena’s question, a shout echoed from the end of the hallway.

“So, Acel is missing? After fighting an eighth-circle necromancer? You call that missing?! He’s dead! You’re just using ‘missing’ to soften the blow!”

“…The Academy, I believe, reviewed the commission. This incident arising is surely a matter for the Academy to address? If you insist on using the word ‘missing,’ then at the very least, you must take responsibility and exert some effort into finding Acel! But why is everyone just running around in circles? Acel was someone I considered a dear friend. For him to vanish due to the Academy’s negligence, and for the Academy to make no attempt to find him… I suspect House Hargelin will find the Academy sorely lacking.”

Those were the voices of Celine and Ellen. Celine, biting and sharp with her elevated tone; Ellen, restrained but accusatory – their modes of expression may have differed, yet their anger was cut from the same cloth.

But Elena didn’t register the details of their accusations.

It was the cause of their accusations that drilled into her ears.

“…Acel is missing? Dead?”