༺ Finding A Place Is Hard! (4) ༻
Salome was a master of disguise.
With a few wigs, outfits, and some makeup tricks, she could mimic anyone in the world.
At least, that’s what Salome thought; it always worked out after all.
And this time was no exception.
“Professor Brigitte, long time no see. You’ve been in the library since 7 a.m. You’re very diligent.”
“Hohoho, it’s been a while. I usually wake up early.”
Salome disguised as Brigitte Walpurgis, a professor at Graham Academy’s high school and college department, entered the library with a confident demeanor.
It was a library said to be accessible only to those with A-Class privileges, like professors.
Here were numerous resources collected from the city of magic and magical engineering, Freesia, and she was sure the document she was looking for was somewhere here.
There were numerous stacks of books and documents.
Her hands finally pulled out an ancient book while shuffling through them.
“Demigods, the creators of the world. Are they gods or demons?”
The book had an old antique smell.
As she flipped through it, Salome picked up only the information that was useful to her.
“Nocturne was torn to shreds by the Demigods who feared his power. His fragments were scattered around the world, and thus, Pangea was in discord and chaos for a long time.”
“The great god Yahbach was originally mortal. However, in his fight against Nocturne’s evil followers, he obtained the crown of ascension, transcended, and finally brought the light of order to this world.”
“Could Nocturne possibly ever resurrect? The misguided followers of the false god continue their wicked deeds, trying to bring Nocturne to this land with their unholy karma.”
“…”
Thud—
Salome blinked her tired eyes and closed the book.
She couldn’t find much helpful information even after searching the A-Class library.
Well, Graham Academy’s library is called the “Sea of Information”.
It’s always difficult to extract just the information you want from the vast waves of text.
“Professor Brigitte, can I assist you with anything?”
A bespectacled librarian approached.
A man with slicked-back, pumpkin-colored hair in a 2:8 ratio, he looked very sincere.
He glanced at the book in Salome’s hand, disguised as Brigitte, and his glasses glinted.
“Are you interested in the Demigods? If I may suggest, I’d recommend you read the book ‘God’ written by Platan.”
A nerd keen on showing off—.
Normally, Salome would have ignored him, but it seemed like he might have something useful to say, so she asked.
“Is the book simply called ‘God’?”
“Yes. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this book contains everything there is to know about the Demigods. It was written by Humanity’s greatest mind, Platan. It should be around here…”
The librarian rummaged through the documents.
Soon, he scratched the back of his head.
“Ah, it seems someone has already borrowed it,”
Someone had already borrowed the book containing important information.
Salome asked.
“Who borrowed it?”
“It was Headmaster Elle Cladeco. She borrowed it on a long-term loan three years ago. Since there’s only one copy of this valuable book in the library, you might have to wait a bit.”
Elle Cladeco.
Salome recalled the woman who was indifferent to her own daughter.
The magician who neglected her child for the sake of knowledge was obsessed with ‘God’?
Nothing surprising.
‘Should I sneak into the principal’s office?’
As Salome began to plan how to get the book.
The librarian with glasses spoke.
“Speaking of which, this time the alliance between the Graham Academy’s laboratory and the Walpurgis family of the West has successfully concluded, didn’t it? Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have talked about that yet….”
The corners of the librarian’s mouth slowly rose as if he had made a mistake.
Salome quickly realized that this man approached her not simply out of kindness, but because he wanted to have this conversation.
However.
What Salome heard was news to her.
“An alliance?”
“Walpurgis is a household with great influence even in the Ivory Tower of the West. Of course, Professor Brigitte must know this already, haha.”
Swoosh—
The librarian covered his mouth with his palm, looked around, and whispered.
“If the Magic Tower and the Academy are to form an alliance… It must mean that a tremendous project is about to be launched. What are they trying to research? Does Professor Brigitte happen to know?”
“……”
Salome imagined magicians gathering to plot something.
It wasn’t a pleasant scene.
Because there were many idiots who liked to brag among them.
Many fools who only talked about theories and laws until they departed this world.
‘Magicians are mostly idiots. Idiots that don’t know anything about the real world. What kind of secret could they be hatching…?’
Although magicians were generally stupid.
There were times when they gathered and did something unimaginable.
Either in a good way or a bad way.
Of course, Salome couldn’t care less about this at the moment.
Swoosh—
She left the library.
8 a.m.
It was about time for the real Brigitte to start work, so she was about to go to the bathroom to remove her makeup.
“Brigitte.”
Someone called out to her.
Turning her head, she saw someone wearing a white robe with a silver hue.
She was wearing a pointed hat and holding a staff in her hand.
Unlike the crude magicians of adventurer teams or thief bands, this one gave off the aura of a real magician.
Because everything she was wearing looked expensive.
Wouldn’t she be able to buy a mansion if she sold everything? Salome thought before getting interrupted.
“Don’t you even greet your sister when you see her? You’ve really become worse since you left home, huh?”
“…Sister?”
Salome frowned and swept the woman from bottom to top.
Like most magicians, she had long and elegantly tied-back platinum hair and wore glasses on her face.
While her freckled face possessed a certain charm, her demeanor resembled the icy coldness of winter. The noticeable size of her chest, however, greatly irked Salome.
“Sis…ter?”
As far as Salome thought, this woman claiming to be her sister didn’t look much like the magician Brigitte.
So when she felt puzzled, the sorceress spoke.
“Right. Me. Gudrid Von Walpurgis. Have you forgotten your sister’s face after not seeing it for 10 years? I told you to come to the clock tower by 7 this morning. Why didn’t you show up? Are you rebelling?”
By 7 o’clock at the clock tower-.
“I waited in your laboratory for an hour yesterday. Yesterday and today, are you out of your mind making me wait? Even staying out all night? You disgrace the dignity of nobility!”
“……”
Salome had a bad feeling about this.
Gudrid furrowed her brows.
“Do you know how embarrassed everyone was because of your rumors spreading all the way to the West? A daughter of the great Walpurgis family, hanging out with the northern barbarians. Even hanging out with thieves?”
“Thieves?”
“Yes, hanging out with criminals who can’t even maintain basic decency. With such rumors going around, which noble would want to marry you?”
“……”
“Brigitte, even if you were excommunicated, you still need to consider your status as a descendant of the Primordials.”
“Hmm.”
“And that King of Thieves, Judas, was it? There were rumors that you lived with him? Do you know how much our family spent to stop those rumors?! Father will be coming to the city soon, so be sure to apologize.”
Gudrid let out a sigh.
However, Salome was upset in many ways.
“Judas is a bad guy. But he’s not the kind of person who should be criticized by someone ignorant like you.”
“What? Are you taking the side of that thief? You… There’s no smoke without a fire. How could this be? Ah, things can’t go on this way. You need a beating to come back to your senses, right? Just like old times! Don’t you know what happens when you mess with your sister!?”
Whoosh—
Gudrid slapped Salome’s cheek with her white glove-clad hand
Whack—!
The sound was loud, but the slap was slow and weak.
However, Gudrid spoke with confidence.
“How about it, does it hurt? You always have to be whipped like this. You always only listen after getting hit. You only became obedient when starved. You were so stupid you didn’t know until you got hit, right?”
The eyes peeking from behind the glasses seemed quite nasty.
Soon people were stirring.
“What’s that.”
“Is it a fight?”
“Isn’t that Professor Brigitte?”
“Who’s that next to her? With platinum hair and a butterfly-shaped brooch… a member of the Walpurgis family?”
Multiple gazes were gathered on the two of them.
Gudrid said.
“Still, this time Father decided to forgive you. It’s an opportunity to return to the Walpurgis family, so it would be better to behave more politely in front of him.”
“Polite. Being polite, right? Yes, being polite is good.”
Salome lightly brushed her cheek with her palm.
“Since you hit my cheek, this is self-defense. You bitch.”
“What? You, what did you just say? Ha, I can’t believe it. You’re so stubborn─.”
Whoosh—
Salome raised her palm.
And she swung it hard against Gudrid’s cheek.
It was at a speed that wouldn’t be visible in Gudrid’s eyes.
Wham—
A loud sound was heard, it didn’t seem like a simple slap.
Gudrid, who was hit, fell to the ground and writhed.
Gyaagh…”
* * *
“Professor Brigitte, are you okay?”
“You don’t look so well…”
1 p.m.
Tea time with the professors from the same research building.
Brigitte frowned at the professors who kept subtly asking her.
“It’s just a hangover.”
Hangover.
Brigitte was suffering from a severe hangover because she had drunk heavily the day before.
Hence, she was late again today.
The reason she couldn’t attend the 10 o’clock lecture was due to this.
“Hangover…?”
“We’re talking about the fight from earlier.”
But listening to the professors’ words, it didn’t seem like they were asking about the lateness and the hangover.
Fight.
‘What fight?’
It seemed that there was some sort of fight in the morning.
“I didn’t know Professor Brigitte could slap so roughly. After all, they say that wizards are physically weak.”
“Is that because you’re a wizard from the Demon King’s Subjugation Party? Hohoho-.”
Young professors of Brigitte’s age laughed along too.
From their stories, Brigitte could feel a strange sense of foreboding.
‘It’s a story I don’t remember. In fact, I don’t remember much from last night’s dinner… Ugh, I drank too much. It’s all because of that thief.’
Suddenly claiming to be Naru’s mother.
She was also a little angry at Judas for recklessly telling others about that important secret.
‘That bastard Judas, he told me that the thief was like an enemy to him. But what is this? They lived together? Naru seemed to follow that woman strangely well too…’
Thinking about yesterday’s events, Brigitte became angry again.
The newly arrived female professor asked Brigitte, who was like that.
“Professor Brigitte, you’re from the Walpurgis family, right? It’s a famous family recognized by everyone in the West. How envious that you spent your childhood there.”
Emily Flute.
She became a professor at the young age of twenty-two this year.
She was a woman who was called a genius.
She then added.
“The house must have been huge, right? It’s one of the richest families in the West. Since childhood, you must have had private teachers and learned a lot about magic, right? I’m jealous. I was poor…”
“Emily, shh.”
“Stop it.”
“Huh? Did I say something wrong?”
Young female professor Emily tilted her head.
While everyone was subtly glancing at her, Brigitte was swirling her finger around the rim of her half-emptied teacup.
Brigitte’s gaze seemingly melted little by little into the cloudy liquid in the teacup.
“…Home. Was that really my home…?”
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