༺ A Place Where The Boundary Between Life And Death Blurs ༻
“When in the world is he coming?!”
The Dean screamed, pacing back and forth while making noises.
Two whole days had passed since Deus was supposed to arrive, but even a speck of his shadow was nowhere to be seen in Loberne Academy.
If Findenai, Deus’ personal maid, wasn’t here, he would have already gone back to Norseweden to drag him to the academy.
That was how serious the situation was.
Over a hundred students had already submitted withdrawal letters. And despite the professors’ attempts to persuade them through individual consultations, there was only so much they could do.
Furthermore, the pressure from unofficial external sources had also increased due to the students’ parents.
Every morning, the Dean would check his pillow, finding a little more hair scattered than the day before, showing how stressed he was.
“Be patient. Just because you’re stressing out doesn’t mean the Master will come running.”
“Haah.”
For some reason, the maid in revealing attire—who spoke informally and playfully—had become annoying.
Caren, who had crossed her arms, hesitated and muttered with a frustrated expression.
“Could there have been an accident on the way?”
“An accident?”
“Since he’s already so late.”
Indeed.
Deus didn’t look like he was going to abandon them all of a sudden, so it seemed more appropriate to think that way.
Findenai, who was eating snacks in the Dean’s office, spoke as if revealing a passing thought.
“Things are becoming really troublesome now that the spirits have started expanding their range of activity.”
The Dean and Caren looked at Findenai with surprise, wondering what she meant.
“There was a guy with a twisted body on the third-floor staircase, right? Yesterday, he came down to the second floor.”
“Huh? And what’s your reason for mentioning that?”
“It’s just… interesting. You can keep it in mind.”
“For what?”
Annoyed by Findenai’s nonchalant attitude, the Dean vented his frustration. But Findenai simply shrugged her shoulders and took out a cigarette from her pocket.
“Do you have a match?”
“Smoking is prohibited here!”
Unable to tolerate it any longer, the Dean shouted, intending to kick her out immediately. However, Caren stood in front of him, blocking his way.
“Wait!”
Caren narrowed her eyes and frowned at Findenai.
“Why are the positions of your fingers reversed?”
“Hmm?”
Findenai looked at her hand holding the cigarette.
And indeed…
“Oh?”
Her finger arrangement was completely odd. Her thumb was stuck in the position where the ring finger should be, which presented a bizarre sight.
Findenai expressed her frustration at this discovery.
“Damn, I’ve been caught.”
Swoosh.
Then, Findenai suddenly disappeared in front of their eyes.
It was more accurate to say that the evil spirit pretending to be Findenai disappeared.
As soon as the Dean saw this, his mouth dropped open. He looked at Caren with a bewildered expression.
Caren, clicking her tongue, stood in the spot where the evil spirit had been.
“I think it was a warning. Maybe something like, ‘Soon, we will occupy the entire academy.’”
Caren could only sigh when she understood that the evil spirits were only going to get bolder.
Just as the Dean was also about to sigh, he lowered his gaze.
“Um, that…”
His hands trembled, and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. It must’ve felt as if it were as dry as a desert.
“Professor Caren? Your feet are reversed.”
“What?”
When Caren quickly lowered her head, she saw that her feet were bizarrely twisted; her heels were where her toes should have been.
Upon seeing this, Caren let out a bitter chuckle.
“Shit. I got caught because of that guy.”
Swish.
Caren, too, disappeared just like that.
The Dean frothed and collapsed onto his desk.
* * *
“Sniff, is someone pretending to be me somewhere?”
Findenai, who was leaning against the rooftop railing, scratched her nose before placing a cigarette in her mouth.
As it was the only place in the academy where smoking was allowed, she often frequented this spot.
Right beside her, Caren had rested her chin on the railing, staring blankly at the scenery.
The two of them hadn’t known each other for long, nor were they particularly close. However, they naturally ended up meeting on the rooftop because they were both waiting for someone.
Caren sneakily glanced at Findenai, who had lit her cigarette and exhaled smoke.
Findenai shrugged her shoulders and extended her pack of cigarettes, offering Caren one, but the latter declined.
“He’ll really come, right?”
“He better. If he doesn’t come after sending me all the way here, I’ll make him regret it.”
Findenai chuckled and blew out smoke.
Meanwhile, the gazes of the two women turned towards the entrance of the academy.
They never removed their eyes from the entrance for more than a second; it felt like he would arrive at any moment.
Creak.
At that moment, the door opened. Erica Bright and Gideon Zeronia appeared.
Gideon, irritated, adjusted his red hair with his hand.
“Professor Caren, there are students waiting for you, so what are you doing here?”
“Ugh, I’m just taking a break.”
Stretching and yawning, Caren walked past Gideon. She ignored him and descended the stairs.
“Such a hard-working professor.”
Findenai murmured with a cigarette still in her mouth.
Displeased by the disregard, Gideon glared at Findenai and approached her.
“You’re Deus’ exclusive maid, aren’t you? What’s your name?”
“Findenai.”
“You’re short on words.”
Annoyed by her blatant disrespect for him even as a maid, Gideon’s mood soured, but Findenai didn’t back down.
“If you have nothing to say, then get lost.”
Findenai remained leaning on the railing, puffing her cigarette; she tried to shoo away the annoying idiot.
“Leave her alone.”
Erica, who knew of Findenai’s strong personality, tried to intervene and calm Gideon down. However, he was the type who couldn’t stand being treated like this.
“I’ve been hearing about you lately. Don’t go causing trouble at the academy.”
“Hmm.”
What should she do? If she thought of this as a dog’s barking, it might actually be refreshing. But he didn’t seem like he would leave until he heard an answer.
“You believe in Deus? Let’s see how far that gets you.”
Blowing out smoke, Findenai continued to silently gaze at the academy’s gates.
Gideon, feeling provoked by this treatment as if he were a ghost, clenched his fist and raised his voice.
“Deliver a message to your master for me! Erica and I are getting married, so make sure he attends as a guest and brightens up the occasion!”
Startled, Erica exclaimed,
“What are you talking about! I haven’t agreed to anything!”
Were they fighting?
Now finding the situation amusing, Findenai turned her body and began to watch the two of them.
With a resentful gaze, Erica glared at Gideon, but he firmly declared the preparations were finished.
“I’ve already sent a letter to the Bright family. Breaking off the engagement may be harmful to the woman, but if I initiate the engagement, the Bright family will welcome me with open arms.”
“You…!”
As Erica grabbed his collar in anger, her eyes moistened.
“After all, it’s a political engagement. Even the Brights would think that the Zeronia family, which maintains a close relationship with the royal family, would be much more profitable than someone like the Verdi Household on the outskirts.”
That was right.
In her family, Erica was merely a tool for a political marriage.
To break free from that destiny, she had worked so hard to secure a professor position at Loberne Academy.
In the end, all her efforts turned out to be in vain. Erica clenched her lips in frustration.
What went wrong, where did it start to go wrong?
Her head began to overheat.
“Erica Bright!”
Without even realizing it, mana surged in her fingertips. Even though Gideon desperately called out to stop her, she didn’t seem to hear him.
Sob.
As Erica’s teardrops fell and her golden magic was about to be unleashed—
[What are you doing?]
The situation abruptly changed.
A black-haired girl was suddenly sitting on the rooftop’s railing. With her appearance, darkness began to engulf the entire academy.
As if the sun was slowly dimming, the fading light calmly disappeared, like a dove caught in a children’s trap.
As the darkness surrounded Loberne, the spirits’ screams accompanied it.
[Now, it’s getting interesting. Can you really afford to relax like that?]
Swish!
Findenai immediately threw a kick at the girl, but she was already gone from the spot.
[Hehehe! He’s coming back?]
The girl, who was now standing behind Findenai, was laughing joyfully, covering her mouth with both hands.
[Hehehe! I hope he comes soon!]
“You little brat!”
Swish!
Turning her body, Findenai attempted to kick once more, shattering only the rooftop railing this time. The girl, again, was no longer there.
[By the way.]
This time, the girl appeared in front of the rooftop’s door, trembling with excitement. With a clear smile that couldn’t contain her joy, she asked.
[What difference does it make even if he comes now?]
