Episode 713
“Professor Richmond!”
Richmond, struggling under the weight of a stack of thick textbooks, turned with effort at the sound of his name echoing down the academy hallway.
“Hmm? Professor Alice?”
Approaching him was Professor Alice, who taught Light Magic and Healing Magic. With her enchanting silver hair and lively expression, she seemed like a goddess of beauty. Though such comparisons were often frowned upon in modern times, Richmond, being from an older era, couldn’t help but think of her that way.
Alice approached with a radiant smile, her voice cheerful as she spoke to Richmond.
“The headmaster is looking for you.”
Alice, the adopted daughter and former pupil of Headmaster Arina, was already a 7th Circle mage in her thirties, a prodigy among prodigies on the continent, and considered the most beautiful woman since Angelina Graham. Yet, despite her bright smile, she brought troubling news.
Richmond’s eyes widened with anxiety as he asked Alice, “The headmaster? Why does she want to see me?”
Alice shrugged with a playful smile, admitting she didn’t know, but Richmond couldn’t muster a smile in return.
Arina Lubern, the headmaster of Pannotia Academy, was usually a gentle person, but there were times when she wasn’t. According to other professors, facing her in such moods was more terrifying than confronting an angry dragon. Even Hades, the academy’s guardian dragon, feared her enough to wander elsewhere, causing trouble among the noble families of Nirvana and Ishtar.
With Arina summoning him, Richmond felt a chill of fear. He rarely interacted with her, and when she needed something, she usually sent a message rather than calling someone directly. But there was no escaping it now, so Richmond followed Alice to the headmaster’s office, feeling like a lamb being led to slaughter.
“Professor Richmond? Are you alright?” Alice asked innocently, noticing his worsening complexion.
“Haha, I’m fine,” he replied, trying to sound convincing.
“I’d offer to cast a healing spell, but since you’re half-lich, it might make things worse,” Alice said with genuine concern, causing Richmond to quickly assure her he was fine.
Finally reaching the headmaster’s office, Richmond swallowed hard and stepped inside. Alice, who was the only one unafraid of Arina, announced their arrival with a bright smile and voice.
“Headmaster! I’ve brought Professor Richmond!”
In the center of the office, which was as packed with magical tomes as a library, Arina sat buried in paperwork. She looked up with a warm smile as Alice and Richmond entered, setting her pen aside and rising to greet them.
“Welcome.”
Despite the passage of twenty years, Arina looked unchanged, her youthful appearance seemingly frozen in time since achieving the 9th Circle. Alice, shorter and younger-looking than Arina, leapt into her arms.
“I missed you, Headmaster!”
Arina gently patted Alice’s head, chiding her softly, “Now, now, Alice, you’re a professor at Pannotia too. You shouldn’t be so childish.”
Despite her words, Arina’s gaze remained tender, as Alice was her most cherished daughter. But unlike Alice, Richmond stood trembling before Arina, his fear evident.
“Headmaster, I heard you wanted to see me…”
Arina, still holding Alice, looked up at Richmond with a smile that only made him more nervous.
‘What could she possibly want to say…’
“Professor Richmond, we’ve received a summons from the Guardian Alliance.”
Richmond’s eyes widened in shock. “The Alliance? Is something wrong?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Arina replied. “The sages and alliance members are gathering at Pannotia soon, so you’ll need to attend the meeting.”
Richmond nodded, recalling the past. After the Celestial War, the spirits his master had summoned returned to the higher dimensions. The transcendent beings, the High Table, should have ascended with them, but they chose to remain to stabilize the material world. They abandoned the name Highlanders and became Guardians, protectors of the realm. The newly allied nations, including Midland, Pannotia, Himonas, the Kingdom of Cusco, and the Rom Empire, supported them.
The Guardians were tasked with finding the constellations and angels hidden across the continent. Some lurked deep within dungeons, while others disguised themselves among the races of the material world, making the Guardians’ role crucial. Officially, the Hunter Guilds were clearing dungeons and eliminating Nephilim, but in reality, the Guardians were handling more of these threats.
The former transcendent High Table members led the Guardians, and a sudden meeting meant something was amiss.
‘Could the surviving constellations from the Celestial War be regaining power for another conflict? Or are there demons from the Abyss plotting betrayal?’
Currently, the Abyss was being managed by the Overseer, Asmodeus, Baal, and Agares, who were gradually relocating the demons to the New Continent. Though their power was diminished outside the Abyss, the demons were content to escape the unstable dimension. They were rebuilding their civilization in the New Continent’s wastelands, led by the three princesses of the Abyss and the Dawn Captain, Arataso.
The demons, who had once been the remnants of a civilization erased by the arrogant savior, were determined to leave their mark on the New Continent. However, not all demons supported this migration plan. Some opposed it, illegally infiltrating the Central Continent and causing harm, hoping to absorb souls and rapidly gain power to dominate the material world.
But such demons often fell into the Guardians’ surveillance, being eliminated by the sages, hidden transcendent beings, and the Ten Stars. As these incidents repeated, the demons grew fearful, and those who ventured into the material world did so quietly, avoiding detection, leading to a period of relative calm.
Richmond’s mind was a whirlwind of potential problems. Seeing his troubled expression, Arina smiled.
“Whatever you’re imagining, it’s not too late to worry after you hear the details.”
Caught off guard by Arina’s insight into his thoughts, Richmond cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem, just in case. I’ll attend the meeting as you suggested, Headmaster. If that’s all, I’ll take my leave…”
“Hold on, Professor.”
Arina’s voice stopped him in his tracks, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.
“Y-yes, Headmaster?”
“I believe you have something to discuss with me regarding the budget.”
At the mention of the budget, Richmond’s already pale face turned even whiter.
“The budget?”
“Yes. The material costs for this semester don’t add up. And by a significant margin.”
Richmond felt a chill at Arina’s smiling face and took a step back.
“Haha, that’s strange, Headmaster. There must be some mistake…”
“I heard a rare beast’s bones were delivered to your lab recently. Could there be a connection between that and the budget discrepancy? I don’t recall receiving a proposal for such materials in the Necromancy course.”
One of Arina’s intimidating traits was her meticulous oversight of the academy’s affairs, despite being a 9th Circle Archmage. This made her a fearsome figure to professors like Richmond, who misused research funds.
Realizing he had no escape, Richmond dropped to his knees, bowing his head.
“Please, Headmaster, I was going to replenish the funds with my salary. But the discovery in the New Continent called to me… I couldn’t ignore it. Surely, as an Archmage, you understand?”
Arina, still smiling, replied, “No, Professor. Not only do we practice different types of magic, but it’s also against the rules to misuse research funds like that.”
Her words were irrefutable, leaving Richmond unable to argue. Arina gently set Alice aside and approached Richmond slowly.
Crackle!
A faint spark of light magic flickered at her feet, causing Richmond to tremble in panic.
“W-wait, Headmaster! If that hits me, I’ll die!”
“Well, since you’re already a lich, it doesn’t really matter, does it? Oh, right, you’re only a half-lich, so you’re not completely dead yet. Why not go all the way and become a full lich like Professor Vayne? Then I could use magic without any worries.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, the entire principal’s office was engulfed in a blinding light.
“Aaaaargh!”
Richmond, the half-lich vulnerable to light magic, let out a scream that sounded like he was on the brink of death.
Sizzle—
Moments later, Richmond lay on the floor, thoroughly roasted and rolling around helplessly.
Arina dusted off her hands as she looked at him.
“If you use the budget for your twisted hobbies one more time, you’ll be the healing experiment subject for the trainees for three days straight.”
Arina spoke these terrifying words as if they were nothing.
Richmond managed a weak nod and crawled out of the office.
“Ugh… I almost died. But at least I protected our child…”
Just then, Alice emerged from the office, her face bright with a smile.
“Professor, they said you need to return those bones to the administration office by tomorrow. They’re planning to auction them off at the Dortha Auction House.”
Richmond’s face twisted in despair as he reached out desperately.
“No, no! Just kill me, please!”
“Really? Should I cast a recovery spell on you then?” Alice offered cheerfully.
With her words, the hallway outside the principal’s office once again flashed with brilliant light, soon filled with the mournful wails of the half-lich.
”…I don’t think I really need to go.”
Hades, appearing as a young elf with black hair, stretched his legs out in the seat of the latest airship, a pipe in his mouth, and frowned deeply.
Across from him, Feynan lowered his newspaper and looked at Hades. Now a middle-aged man, Feynan had the dignified appearance of a seasoned wizard.
“If Lord Nigel himself has called the meeting, it must be something significant. Besides, aren’t you the guardian dragon of Pannotia, Hades?”
Hades let out a loud groan.
“Are you kidding me? There’s a woman at the academy who’s crazier and stronger than I am! What kind of guardian dragon am I supposed to be? Do you have any idea how much trouble she causes?”
“Surely, you don’t mean Arina, do you?”
“Who else could it be? There’s no one crazier than her…”
Hades’ voice suddenly froze.
A girl with white hair and a gentle smile had appeared beside him without a sound.
Arina greeted Hades with a smile.
“Welcome, guardian dragon of Pannotia. I came to meet you a little early because I was so eager to see you.”
Sweat trickled down Hades’ forehead as he tried to ignore Arina and looked out the airship window.
“Wow. Ah. It’s really beautiful. Don’t you think so, Feynan? The view of Pannotia from up here is just breathtaking.”
Arina, still smiling, spoke to the back of Hades’ head.
“Since it’s been a while since you last visited, you’ll have to earn your keep, won’t you? Oh, mighty guardian dragon.”
At Arina’s chilling words, Hades squeezed his eyes shut.
‘It’s over. My life as a dragon is over.’