The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

It was right to respect one’s preferences. Asel gave a brief nod to Selene and immediately left the library.

“Hey, hey! Wait a moment!”

Her shout was heard from behind. Asel turned to look at her. Seemingly not very adept at physical activities, Selene was already panting after just a short run as she looked straight into Asel’s eyes.

“It’s not like that.”

There was no need to ask what wasn’t like that. He glanced at the book in Selene’s hand and nodded with a smirk.

“Alright.”

At that response, Selene’s face flushed red. She tucked the book into her chest and rolled her golden eyes.

“I said it’s not!”
“I said I understand.”

Asel replied casually and continued walking. Selene followed behind him, grumbling.

“I just picked this for fun. There was no ulterior motive at all!”
“No, I said I understand, didn’t I? Why do you keep clinging to me?”
“Because I’m worried you might spread strange rumors! Like ‘Selena from Aurora Magic Tower is actually a weird girl who likes being dominated by others’!”
“Aurora Magic Tower?”

Asel muttered those words and turned to look at Selene. That term caught his attention more than the words that followed. Although he had seen her face during the entrance exam, this was the first time he heard her name and affiliation.

Asel knew quite well about Aurora Magic Tower. Sex magic that handles the power of fixed stars. A prestigious magic tower that specializes in researching and developing it. Although less well-known than other magic towers dealing with elemental magic, in terms of the tower’s military strength alone, it was a monstrous group that easily ranked in the upper echelons.

Sex magic requires long preheating, but when manifested, its destructive power is far superior to other magic of the same level. As it handles the power of stars, its might is beyond imagination. It’s not for nothing that magicians from Aurora Magic Tower often participate in wars or large-scale subjugation operations.

It’s just that their numbers are fewer than flame magicians, so they’re relatively less noticeable. But they’re welcome talent wherever they are. Their magic is also visually spectacular overall.

Of course, just because one can use sex magic doesn’t automatically mean they belong to Aurora Magic Tower. To enter the tower, one must handle formulas of their branch at a certain level or above and pass a test. This applies equally to other branch magic towers.

This is why Asel hadn’t thought of Selene as belonging to a magic tower. Since she couldn’t do anything against magical interference and just got overwhelmed, he thought she was just a magician who could only use magic. It seems her skills were unexpectedly excellent.

Once he realized this, Selene started to look a bit different in Asel’s eyes. Although he had no intention of being selective about making friends, if she was a magician from a magic tower, there was nothing to lose by approaching her first. Asel matched his walking pace with Selene while smiling faintly.

“If you’re from a magic tower, there shouldn’t be any need to come to the Academy. Can’t you learn there, and gain practical experience by taking on requests handled at the tower level?”
“My master forcibly submitted an application for enrollment. Said I should go out and make friends instead of always being cooped up doing research.”
“……”

A master who values human relationships over magic research? Unusual, but not rare. However, the method of forced enrollment seems questionable.

“But well, now that I’m here, it’s not so bad. I think it might be better to stay here than be under the interference of old people.”
“Aren’t there many young magicians in the magic tower?”
“Not for us. Isn’t it the same for you? As a disciple of Aperture, you’re from the Witch Association, right? What’s it like there?”
“Similar.”

Asel answered like that and turned his feet towards the dormitory. Selene walked beside him with bouncing steps.

“By the way, how did you know I’m Ena’s disciple?”
“You’re already famous. Almost no one knew before the entrance exam, but now probably all students know? You shot lightning like crazy.”
“…I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
“Isn’t it bad? The professors must all be preparing too. Aperture’s reputation is no ordinary thing. The magical studies professors are probably already dying to get their hands on you.”

It wasn’t welcome news. Asel sighed and fiddled with the bracelet wrapped around his right wrist. As he did so, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He met Selene’s eyes and asked with a curious expression.

“Come to think of it, what happened during the entrance exam? I took the test with Lord Fernan, but I don’t know what happened to the rest.”
“…? Weren’t you there for the gathering?”
“What gathering?”
“After the exam. The supervisors gathered all the participants and explained, didn’t they?”
“…Really?”

Asel scratched his cheek with a disgruntled expression. He had left the tent as soon as he felt somewhat okay, but it seems the supervisors had conveyed something after that. He wished he had stayed a bit longer if he’d known.

Selene chuckled at Asel’s reaction, then stepped slightly ahead of him and said:

“First, the four people who dueled with Lord Fernan automatically passed the Academy. Their grades were all top-tier, so they moved into Wiesel. So right now, there are only four combat department people residing in Wiesel: you, Grace Bydel, Elena von Valdemia, and Ellen Hargelin.”
“……”
“And among the remaining participants, those who stayed in the exam site until the end are also confirmed for Academy admission. These confirmed people were divided into grades through a practical test, and most moved into Fiolen. Me too.”
“Then what about those who gave up or failed during the exam?”
“They take both a written test and a practical test, and if they pass the cut-off score, they’re admitted. These kids were all assigned to Gale and Wimble.”

Compared to the entrance exams of Luminus Academy held so far, this was quite an exceptional case. It means there were many variables in this exam.

“Who are the top and second place then?”
“I don’t know that. They said they’ll let us know on the day of the entrance ceremony. But… people who already know probably all know.”

Selene pointed at Asel and continued speaking.

“You’re the top of the magical studies department. Grace is top of the knight department. Elena and Ellen are probably second place in each, respectively.”

Their names are annoyingly similar.

Selene grumbled like that and let out a deep sigh.

“If it weren’t for Elena, I would have been second place…”
“On what grounds?”

Asel asked with a smirk. Selene seemed to flare up, furrowing her brow as she answered.

“Because there was no other magician who performed exceptionally in this exam besides you? Then I, the strongest among the rest, should be second place!”
“That’s absurd.”
“What did you say?”

Selene retorted like that and walked with bouncing steps. Then, at the fork in the road dividing into Wiesel and Fiolen, she mumbled in a slightly subdued voice.

“S-so…”
“…?”
“Y-you won’t spread rumors, right? I answered all your questions, and I didn’t get annoyed…”
“I said I won’t.”

What kind of person does she take him for? Asel shook his head and moved his steps towards Wiesel. Selene shouted loudly at his retreating back.

“I believe you!”

Asel waved his hand casually in response.

After returning to the dormitory, he washed up and immediately holed up in his research lab. The simultaneous manifestation of flame-natured magical power and ice-natured magical power that he had vaguely grasped today. He wanted to achieve some results before this inspiration disappeared. Although he was tired, it was bearable enough.

After completing about half of his research like that, Asel got up from his seat, rubbing his heavy eyelids.

‘Should I stop here for today?’

There was still plenty of time until the entrance ceremony. Since he planned to go straight to the library when he woke up, it seemed good to sleep at this point today. Thinking this, Asel left the research lab and threw himself onto the bed.

Falling asleep was instantaneous.

Likewise, waking up was also instantaneous.

Asel woke up early in the morning, washed up, then went down to the dining hall, quickly ate a piece of bread, and headed to the library.

Perhaps because it was morning, there were fewer people in the library than yesterday. There were plenty of seats available, and the number of flying books was noticeably different. It had become much more pleasant. Asel smiled with satisfaction, brought books on magical power fusion theory, and looked for a suitable place.

Not long after, he found Selene tucked away in a corner.

“Ah.”

Asel’s eyes slowly turned towards the title of the book Selene was reading.

[50 Ways to Train Her 2]

Asel raised one corner of his mouth and smiled openly.

Selene’s face turned bright red.

Drugs are a gift from God. The moment you consume them, you can understand all the principles of the world and feel as if you’ve become a god. This is something God created to bestow his senses upon humans, so all humans should happily indulge in drugs.

Religious orders that prohibit this are heretics who reject God’s will and should rightfully be punished. We must drink their blood, tear off their flesh and bury it in the ground, grind their bones and organs to make drug ingredients. This is the will of God and the will of me, God’s messenger, so there is no shame in my killing.

Gerbil shouted this to everyone. But the demon worshippers who actually heard this voice all had distorted faces.

“…Is that why you entered the kingdom’s cathedral and carried out a mass slaughter?”
“No? I just swept that away because it was annoying. They kept following me and bothering me, you know.”
“This crazy bastard is for real.”

A man stood up with blood vessels popping on his face. Gerbil covered his mouth with both hands and made a “Huk” sound.

“How scary. Are you going to kill me?”
“That’s enough.”

One of the demon worshippers spoke to Gerbil, who was sneering. The man who had popped his blood vessels gritted his teeth and sat back down, and Gerbil shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head left and right.

“That’s a shame. I was curious what would happen if I turned demon worshippers into corpses.”
“Enough with your petty provocations, priest. Just state your reason for coming and get out quickly.”
“Should I? I didn’t want to stay long either.”

Gerbil smiled brightly and stared at an old man with graying hair.

“I want to make a proposal. As you know, I’ve been rampaging like crazy recently, right? But in the process, I left behind some of the marks or rituals or whatever you people use.”
“…What did you say?”
“Oh, I recently happened to obtain a demon worshipper’s brain from the black market. When I transplanted a part of it, I was able to figure out part of the ritual you use. Anyway! This isn’t the important part—”
“You fucking bastard! So it was your fault that demon worshippers were reported to be running rampant recently!”
“No, that’s not the case, but.”
“Shut up, you damn bastard. I’ll cut off your head and use it as a sacrifice for the ritual.”

The man drew the sword at his waist and approached Gerbil with large strides. Gerbil looked at him with a deep sigh.

“Really. This is why I hate people with short tempers. They don’t even try to listen.”
“Shut up!”

The man shouted and swung his sword towards Gerbil’s neck.

A swordsman who had reached Master level a few days ago through human sacrifice. The aura that bloomed on his blade shot out with momentum as if it would split the world. But there was no change in Gerbil’s expression. He glanced at the swung blade while brushing off stone dust on his face.

Crackle!!

That was the end of it. The swordsman’s sword cut through space along with Gerbil’s neck. The magic enveloping the hideout was bisected, and black blood spouted like a fountain from Gerbil’s neck. The swordsman clicked his tongue as he looked at this sight.

“Damn magician bastard. Even his blood is disgusting.”
“That’s too harsh. Those words just now were a bit hurtful.”
“…!”

A voice that shouldn’t have been heard was heard. The swordsman opened his eyes wide and unconsciously swung his sword. But as his shoulder was pulled back, his arm turned into rotten flesh and fell off with a thud. The sword fell from his arm that had lost muscles and nerves, and he gritted his teeth in extreme pain.

“Grrrgh…!”
“Be quiet.”

A voice flowed from Gerbil’s rolling head on the ground. Gerbil’s body carefully picked up that head, and he continued speaking with a bright smile.

“I’m speaking right now.”
“…!”

As he spoke, the swordsman’s tongue and jaw rotted and crumbled. His oral cavity was instantly sealed. The swordsman hurriedly tried to grasp the sword with his intact hand, but his brain being crushed was even faster. The swordsman died on the spot, dripping brain matter and blood from his ears, eyes, and nose.

A tragedy that occurred just from exposure to condensed murderous intent, without any magic.

Although he had reached his level through human sacrifice, he was still a swordsman who had clearly risen to Master. He could face an army alone, and if he wanted, he could crush an entire city.

He killed such an opponent with just his aura. There’s no need to explain how absurd this act was.

“To continue what I was saying.”

Gerbil spoke while rubbing his severed head against his neck to reattach it. The elderly man gulped and listened to his voice.

“Since I’ve been frequently leaving traces of demon worshippers, the Alliance, the Empire, and the Church have been suspecting that I might have become a demon worshipper. So I heard the Alliance even formed a subjugation team. They say they need to kill me before I summon a demon or something. I’m not even interested in those demon-like idiots.”
“……”
“Anyway. The important part starts now. Honestly, a subjugation team? I don’t care either way. If I hide in my territory, even Lady Ena couldn’t enter recklessly. So I’m hardly paying attention to that side. The important ones are you people, the demon worshippers.”

Gerbil continued speaking while raising up the corpse of the swordsman whose brain had been crushed.

“Perhaps because rumors spread that I became a demon worshipper, I’ve been getting contacts from various demon worship groups recently. You’ve been actively operating lately, haven’t you? So maybe that’s why, I keep getting proposals to join forces from places suffering from manpower shortages or needing large amounts of sacrifices.”
“…So?”
“So! Before I kill all those bastards, spread the word. Tell them if they dare make any proposals to me in the future, I’ll turn them into corpses along with the demon they serve.”

Gerbil said this with a still smiling face. The old man frowned and answered.

“…Is that all?”
“Huh? Of course. Why?”
“You barged in here, killed all our comrades, killed the sacrifices, and even stole the sacrifice ritual just to ask for that?”
“Yes. The owner of the transplanted brain belonged here. Is there a big problem?”

Gerbil asked, blinking his eyes. The old man’s face contorted. But he didn’t open his mouth. Compared to Gerbil, the old man was no different from a newborn baby. He could lose his life with just a gesture from Gerbil.

No matter how much of a demon worshipper one is, life is precious. The old man forcibly suppressed his boiling anger and clenched his fist.

“…I’ll do as you say.”
“Good. I’ll take your lives being left intact as payment. Ah, I think you know better what will happen if the task isn’t carried out properly.”

Gerbil said this and then got up from his seat, but suddenly remembered something and spoke to the old man.

“Ah, I have a few more orders. One is to find out about a country that seems okay to devour, and the other is…”

Gerbil continued speaking, stretching the corners of his mouth.

“The rumor that Aperture has taken on a disciple. Find out if the disciple in that rumor was picked up from the slums of the Kidwin Kingdom.”