Two women face each other. One side has hostility, while the other holds suspicion.
The hostility belongs to the headmistress, while the suspicion is from Chloe.
Chloe couldn’t believe reality to that extent.
“No, why?”
“Are you really going to deny the detection magic?”
“…Is it really true?”
Why is the detection magic aimed at Adam reacting to the headmistress’s lips?
The answer was obvious. Those wretched lips had clearly been using Adam.
The moment this crossed Chloe’s mind, the feeling she had was,
“Are you out of your mind?”
“What do you mean?”
“Obviously every meaning!”
This is blatant sexual harassment and abuse of power. The over-a-hundred-year-old headmistress sucking on Adam, who was in his early twenties, is simply unacceptable.
It’s true that there aren’t specific laws against sexual harassment in either the kingdom or the empire, but this transcended the law; it was a matter of conscience.
“I must save Adam from that crazy woman.”
“Well, looks like you finally understood.”
In that moment, Chloe and Adult Chloe’s hearts synced. The two Chloes gazed at the headmistress with eyes filled not with suspicion, but with clear hostility.
Even while that chaos consumed Chloe, the headmistress stared at Chloe from start to finish.
Realizing that the headmistress was truly envious of her, both Chloes felt the irony of “How can someone her age lack a conscience?” coupled with a sense of superiority that came from knowing the other was envious.
Under the mentorship of Adult Chloe, Chloe finally spoke.
“Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, I met with the Finance Director.”
“So… on the last day of the festival.”
“I saw the fireworks with the Finance Director. Thank you for recommending such a great spot, Headmistress. I had an enjoyable time.”
“…Huh.”
It was Chloe who started, but the assist came from Adult Chloe. She whispered provocative remarks into Chloe’s mind as if genuinely amused.
“But was that really the spot the headmistress told you about?”
“Don’t you remember? When Adam first saw you, he asked if you were the headmistress. You sent him off first and planned to go later. You have to hide at least some wrinkles, right?”
“But you didn’t show up after all.”
“Well? Maybe there was some reason. Either way, the truth is clear. That location was recommended by the headmistress, but she didn’t come.”
So now what follows?
Just talk casually.
“Did you have a good time?”
“As you would expect from a recommendation from the headmistress, the view of the fireworks was special there. I happened to pass by and saw the Finance Director, and he told me to come sit next to him.”
“………”
“The Finance Director was waiting for you, headmistress… but since you never showed up, I didn’t want to leave him alone, so we watched the fireworks together.”
Chloe said this with a bright smile, as if there was nothing wrong.
The headmistress clenched her fist.
In that moment, Chloe broke into a cold sweat, but still, the headmistress wouldn’t swing a fist.
Chloe thought it made sense. Would it really be sensible to throw a punch over such trivial conversation? No matter how much lower rank Chloe was than the headmistress, a punch from the headmistress would be fatal.
But Adult Chloe reacted slightly differently.
“Prepare for teleportation.”
“What?”
“Just in case something goes wrong. If that old hag throws a punch, I’ll buy some time, so teleport immediately. The destination is the headmistress’s office.”
“Why there of all places?”
“Why? Because the headmistress showed her weakness first, so I need to go right to Adam. Teleporting straight to Adam’s office would be odd, so we have to go as close as possible.”
“……..”
Adult Chloe’s words were, to say the least, a bit sticky. It felt like she had imagined this scenario countless times before.
Thinking back, it makes sense. Since the headmistress died, Adult Chloe had been trying to win back Adam’s affections.
Ironically, despite being an absolute klutz in relationships, it’s clear she had brainstormed all sorts of methods in her imagination.
What she was suggesting was likely one of them. The fantasy that Adult Chloe herself would take Adam, defeating the headmistress.
At least that thought was helping her now, so Chloe quietly followed Adult Chloe’s advice.
However, as she hesitated while thinking through her response…
The headmistress, who had a twisted expression, took a deep breath and regained her composure.
“So, was the fireworks enjoyable?”
“Yes, it was.”
“I’m glad to hear that. However, the Finance Director looked quite tired. You didn’t keep him for too long, did you?”
“Well…”
“He must have wanted to leave right after work, but he stayed to watch the fireworks with a ‘student.’ As expected, the Finance Director is indeed a great ‘faculty member.’”
“……..”
She instantly turned Chloe’s boast into something like “the faculty member who spent time with a student.” Unable to deny it, it hurt even more.
After all, Chloe merely watched the fireworks with Adam. Even their conversation was strictly kept within the bounds of faculty and student.
They had decided to address each other by name in the end, but even at that moment, Adam didn’t seem to have a feeling of intimacy towards the real Chloe; it felt more like he was merely accommodating her.
In a moment of silence, the headmistress smiled at Chloe.
“I’ve heard you’ve been helping the Finance Director recently. But please, don’t make things too exhausting for him.”
“Tired?”
“Well, I check on him every day, but I’ve noticed his dark circles have increased lately. He should be able to work with complete ease, and on the other hand, how surprised must he have been? He couldn’t just tell a student who was helping him to go away. He likely had to ask you to stay and watch the fireworks with him.”
“…He didn’t exactly seem tired.”
“Ah, he was hiding it since you’re a student. I usually wouldn’t say such things to a student, but please, don’t trouble the Finance Director too much. He is the most important figure at the Academy.”
Did she just say that she forcibly harassed such an important figure?
Chloe bit back the words that nearly slipped out in a rush of anger. In her mind, a vivid picture formed: the headmistress deliberately encroaching on Adam, while Adam, unwilling, remained silent, victim to his superior.
Above all,
“Well, I’ve been especially ‘comforting’ him every day. So please don’t hold him too long.”
“……..”
Comforting.
Comforting, huh.
“Was that deliberate when you just brushed your lips against him?”
“You must know that we’re using detection magic. How shameless can you be? I can overlook it, but you’re just a student at the Academy.”
“Is this what happens when you hit over a hundred, having never dated?”
“Or maybe you’re a virgin and just entered menopause. Could that be true?”
“……..”
The conversation fell into a lull. Both were waiting for the right moment after taking jabs at each other.
The ambiance was tense as they watched each other like gladiators waiting for the right opportunity to decisively strike.
Suddenly—
“Uh, uh? Finance Director?”
[Headmistress, where are you right now?]
“Oh, the Finance Director knows it’s just a minute…”
[It’s already been 20 minutes. You’ve been busy lately; what on earth is going on? Come to the headmistress's office right now.]
“Yes…”
As soon as the furious voice of the Finance Director came through the headmistress’s communication magic, the tension dropped.
The dejected headmistress listened to the Finance Director’s grumbling over the communication device, while Chloe, hearing Adam’s voice, immediately shouted.
“Finance Director! I’m right here!”
<...Chloe? Are you with the headmistress?>
“Yes!”
“Wait a minute!”
“You just told me not to trouble the Finance Director too much? Isn’t it less ‘troublesome’ for him to communicate from afar like this?”
“……..”
“Finance Director! In that sense, I’d like to receive a communication device just like the headmistress…!”
[Chloe, there’s no need for such a device between a student and faculty member, and it's unnecessary expenditure. Besides, it’s fortunate that you’re with the headmistress right now.]
“Yes?”
“Excuse me?”
[Today I have things to discuss with both of you, so please come directly to the headmistress’s office. You can come together. Until then, goodbye.]
Click.
“……..”
“………”
Adam promptly hung up with just his required statements, leaving a stiflingly awkward atmosphere between the headmistress and Chloe.
“Well… shall we go?”
“…Yes.”
Both the headmistress, who had just been dealing with her arrogance, and Chloe, who thought she would seize the opportunity, had been swiftly shot down by the Finance Director.
Now, constrained by Adam’s firm voice, they quietly headed toward the headmistress’s office. They spent over ten minutes walking the same path without a word. Since the Finance Director asked them to come together, the headmistress couldn’t go first, nor could Chloe use teleport magic.
Though they had just been hostile, at that moment, a peculiar sense of camaraderie enveloped them…
*
Kirke felt as if she had just awoken from a long dream.
“What is this…?”
A sense of liberation. A strange sense of liberation washed over her.
It felt like being freed from the world, from the mundane, from her torment.
Thus, Kirke opened her eyes.
“Professor Kirke, are you awake?”
“……..”
“Professor Kirke?”
She closed her eyes again.
With that demon standing in front of her, all she could feel was despair, far from any notion of freedom. Kirke missed her research lab and the hospital room where she had lain for days.
Yet, this wasn’t a hospital, and now that she had been discharged, there was no way to escape reality indefinitely.
With an endless sigh, Kirke opened her eyes.
Thud.
“Oh, your hair is falling out again.”
“Ah, ahh…!!”
“Though you underwent purification magic and the church’s blessing right after the accident, you were left unprotected amidst such intense hair loss triggers. It’s fortunate that it ended up like this.”
The Finance Director’s words were undoubtedly true. The burst of the substance analyzer was ultimately Kirke’s fault, and thanks to being rescued within less than ten minutes after the incident, she had avoided becoming completely bald.
However, round patches of hair loss had begun to appear on her crown. Moreover, the social consequences of this were slowly growing. Kirke looked in despair at the strands of hair that had fallen out.
Sure, those were indeed correct statements.
But why was she feeling so angry?
Couldn’t they at least soften their words in front of the person involved—?
“Oh, you could indeed say it’s just bad luck. If we consider the compensation amount you owe….”
“…It’s all my fault. So please, just don’t cut my salary!”
“Hey, what are you saying?”
“Finance Director…!”
“This isn’t something that can be solved just by cutting your salary! Your salary has already been reduced by 98%. Reducing it by another 2% wouldn’t even suffice.”
With a grin, the Finance Director nonchalantly shoved Kirke back into the pit of despair.
He began flipping through documents, counting numbers.
“Fundamentally, in cases of explosion or collapse, the Academy takes responsibility for repairs. However, this incident is somewhat special. The investigation shows that it was 100% your fault, and the hair loss triggers almost spread throughout the entire Academy.”
“That was because you insisted on doing it in the first place!”
“Correct. If the accident had occurred on the second day of the festival, I would have been seriously contemplating increasing your salary, because that would have been easier for me as well. But that’s not the case, is it?”
“……..”
“In any case, since slashing your salary isn’t an option, we have to access your personal finances. But didn’t you say you had no money left?”
“Yes….”
That was true. She had already spent every bit of money that came in due to her various arts and crafts, and after her salary was slashed by 98%, she couldn’t even afford to survive, let alone pay any compensation the Finance Director was demanding.
Despite that, for some reason, the Finance Director looked like he was enjoying himself.
That smile made Kirke feel incredibly fearful.
“Well, how about substituting with something else?”
“Pardon? Substitute… with what?”
“Simply put, you can repay this with something other than money. For instance…”
In that moment, the Finance Director’s gaze roamed over Kirke’s body. That chillingly creepy look made Kirke hurriedly hug her chest.
That wretched and vile man—was this what he had been after?
Kirke clenched her teeth in anger, but in the end, the upper hand was on his side. All she could do was glare contemptuously at the Finance Director…
“Research, to be precise.”
“…Huh?”
“The research on hair loss remedies. I believe it has become a more urgent matter for you, hasn’t it? I think you mentioned a timeline of 20 years, but before that, it looks like you might starve, and moreover, your patch of hair loss is gradually expanding.”
“U-uh…”
“Just so happens that I have secured some excellent laborers. You must focus solely on this research with them.”
If it was hair loss research, she had already invested nearly all her time into it, aside from minimal essentials. The Finance Director couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.
Nevertheless, to say it like this meant—
“The research lab has already been newly built. You will have everything provided for you from now on within the lab. Classes have been indefinitely canceled. I heard there are many students worried about you, Professor Kirke.”
“W-wait a moment. Finance Director?”
“Don’t worry. You can request any food you want. You will be allowed to go out once every three months. Of course, you’ll have to be accompanied by our personnel.”
Food? Request? Once every three months?
In the face of this ominous parade of words, Kirke jumped out of her seat in a hurry, but
Clack.
“Finance Director, I’m here…”
“Finance Director, me too.”
“Headmistress, Chloe! You both came? Please greet each other; this is Professor Kirke.”
“…Ah.”
In the next moment, as the two familiar figures stepped through the door, Kirke couldn’t help but tremble in primal fear at the sight of the headmistress.
In the midst of her lost words, the Finance Director placed a hand on Kirke’s shoulder.
“From now on, you can focus on your research solely. If you develop a hair loss remedy, you will be released immediately.”
“……..”
Finally, Kirke surrendered to reality.
For her plans, for her migration to the Holy Kingdom, for her career, and for her survival and hair.
Tears fell from Kirke’s eyes.
Ironically, like her hair, they fell and were hardly visible.
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