The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

It was a voice like insects crawling. A horrible noise echoes in the ears, as if hundreds of centipedes were scratching the ground simultaneously. A strange feeling of a creature without human vocal organs forcibly speaking like a human.

Considering his existence, it wasn’t particularly strange. Something that was originally human, but twisted by receiving the grace and favor of a demon. An aberration, or rather a bizarre collective beyond that.

Personally, Virsia found him so filthy she didn’t want to get close to him. But having been entangled in the fate of the magic kingdom for so long, they had an inseparable relationship. She had to maintain this relationship at least until Ena’s death.

[Have you been well? It seems like it’s been almost 30 years since I’ve seen both of you together.]

“Ailes.”

[Hmm. I’m glad to see you too, Miss Virsia. I’m glad you look healthy.]

“…Let’s stop with the pointless talk.”

Virsia said with a deep sigh. Ailes sat down in the empty seat and picked up one of the dishes on the table, tapping his stomach. Then the seemingly normal skin on his abdomen split open, and a giant spider emerged to bite into the food.

It was a whole roasted chicken, but it disappeared in an instant. Ailes rubbed his stomach, which had closed again, with a satisfied smile.

[Delicious. As expected, this place has the best food in the Empire.]

“Shut up and get to the point of why you called us here.”

[You’re still as impatient as ever. Anyway…]

Ailes trailed off as he wiped the seasoning on his hand by rubbing it on his clothes. Then he opened his mouth wide and spat out two small insects from inside.

Insects with vertically split mouths and sharp teeth attached close together. They crawled across the table, approaching Virsia and Zerbil respectively.

Though they were insects with a disgusting appearance, the two focused on the pattern engraved on the insects’ tongues rather than their appearance.

An engraving in the shape of dozens of spiders swarming towards a throne. Though it had a delicate form as if it had undergone meticulous craftsmanship, what was felt from the engraving was the demonic energy unique to demons. Virsia immediately sensed this and split her lips into a grin.

“Don’t tell me.”

[That ‘don’t tell me’ is correct.]

Ailes answered with a broad smile.

[My lord, who was killed by Gaepyeok, has returned.]

“Ha…!”

[Though he hasn’t emerged from his cocoon yet, it won’t be long. Once the consciousness left in the maze of the past grows, it will be possible for the main body to manifest.]

“You want to use that to kill Ena?”

[It’s not an unreasonable idea. And even if we don’t kill her, if we can just shake her mind and put her to sleep, you can ascend to the throne, can’t you? Then all preparations will be complete. A forward base for the great ones will be created.]

“I’ll kill her myself.”

Virsia muttered, stroking her stomach as if spitting out the words.

“I’ll burn all her organs and gouge out her brain to crush it myself. Ah, but first I should cut up and feed her that precious disciple of hers.”

[Your words are quite nauseating. Well, I have similar thoughts.]

“But Ailes? It’s nice that the conversation is going smoothly, but why did you call me? I have no connection to the magic kingdom.”

Suddenly Zerbil spoke up like that. Ailes answered while retrieving the insects that had crawled out.

[I heard you had a clash with Gaepyeok a few years ago. And… you weren’t on good terms since your days in Weiheim, were you? That’s why I called you. It’s not a big reason.]

Ailes smiled.

[We’re going to close the sky. Will you join us?]

“Close the sky… huh.”

Are they planning some kind of subjugation against magicians operating in the open? At the moment Zerbil narrowed his eyes at this unheard-of declaration, Ailes continued.

[It’s fine if you refuse. Personally, I’d like you to join us.]

“Hmm.”

As if he had finished deliberating, Zerbil answered with a smile.

“The next performance isn’t until after midterms and the inter-year competition. It’ll probably be right before final exams.”

“That’s quite tight.”

“Can’t be helped. No one came to the Academy just to do club activities. We have to focus more on academics.”

Reine said that as she carefully opened the practice room door. Then she poked her head through and asked.

“Hi kids~ Do you have a moment?”

“Oh, senior! Of course!”

The students in the practice room greeted Reine with bright expressions. Reine replied “That’s great~” and then gestured for Celine and Asel to come in. The two entered the practice room hesitantly.

“Wow…”

One wall of the practice room was covered in mirrors. The floor was made of a material with good traction for easy movement, and there was a marble ceiling. High-quality magic lamps hung below, softly illuminating the interior of the practice room. Even at a glance, it gave the impression that a lot of money had been invested. Celine let out an exclamation of admiration.

“Senior, who are these people? New club members?”

At that moment, one of the drama club members with her hair tied back tightly asked, looking at the two. Reine answered with a smile.

“They came for a tour. It’s already the third time today~”

“Ooh…! Our club is really popular?”

“Other clubs average five times~”

“Ooh…! The future of our club looks bleak?”

Asel left the two engaged in their comic exchange and examined the magic installed in the practice room.

There wasn’t anything particularly special. Only basic soundproofing magic was laid out here and there. The formula was quite crude to have been manifested through a scroll. It seemed that a magic department student belonging to the drama club had installed it directly.

‘Should I do some maintenance?’

Asel roughly added to the deficient parts of the soundproofing formula, or completely rebuilt it to amplify the performance of the magic. With this, it would be almost impossible to hear the sound inside the practice room from the outside. He nodded with a satisfied smile at his creation.

At the same time, a woman with a cute impression suddenly thrust her face into Asel’s line of sight. Asel flinched and pulled his head back. She giggled and leaned her upper body forward slightly.

“You’re the top student in the magic department, right? I remembered your face because it’s my type.”

“…Yes, I’m Asel.”

“I’m Leona Part! Second year in the magic department. Just call me Senior Leona. Let’s be close friends, okay?”

At the moment Asel made a sour expression at her friendly attitude, Celine tugged on his clothes. When he turned his head, he saw her pointing towards the mirror. Asel stared in the direction her finger was pointing and let out a small sigh.

The male and female leads were dancing to the music they had turned on. They whispered words of love to each other, infusing acting into every expression and tone. It was a level of acting that could be believed to be professional rather than just a club. Celine unconsciously let out an exclamation of admiration as she watched.

“Wow…”

Her eyes sparkled like stars.

More like a girl befitting her age than a magician. It seemed she had longed for such activities since she was young. That’s why she was showing such a bright expression.

Whirl.

The female drama club member playing the role gripped her skirt as if wearing a long dress, and spun in place. The male followed closely, and the mood of the song gradually built to a climax. Asel watched the scene and genuinely admired it.

Not long after, the song ended. Along with it, the drama club members who had been embracing each other wiped their sweat and smiled brightly.

Clap clap clap!

Reine and Celine applauded simultaneously. Asel, who had been standing quietly beside them, also clapped along with the atmosphere. The drama club members bowed their heads in thanks to the three, and wiped off their sweat with towels piled in the corner.

“How was it?”

Reine asked, looking at Celine. Asel saw Celine’s sparkling face and gave a wry smile.

It seemed the club had been decided.

By the time he finished the club tour with Celine, the time had already passed well into the evening. Celine thanked him for going around with her, then returned to her dormitory. Asel bought something to eat for dinner at a nearby shop and entered the dormitory.

Glancing towards the training ground, he saw Ellen and Grace sparring. The sight of Ellen wielding a halberd much larger than herself and Grace dodging the blade with strange footwork while thrusting her sword was quite impressive.

Asel thought about greeting them, but decided not to disturb their sparring and just went up to his room.

Tap tap tap.

As he stood in front of the door, he heard footsteps of someone walking on the opposite side. Asel grinned and flung the door open.

Beyond it, Ena stood at the entrance wearing a simple shirt, waving her hand with a smiling face.

“You’re back?”

“Were you waiting?”

“I was wondering when you’d come.”

Ena said, taking the package Asel was holding. Inside were just simple sandwiches that could be eaten easily.

“Is this dinner?”

“Yes. If you don’t like it, I can cook something for you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll eat it well.”

She smiled and placed the package on the table. Asel took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack, then took out a sandwich from the package and chewed on it. Though he wasn’t one to leave food, he wasn’t a big eater either, so this was enough to fill his stomach. Ena was originally a light eater anyway.

Though it was bothersome that food expenses were doubled compared to usual, Ena gave him that much more pocket money, so his wallet only got heavier.

‘It seems she still has no intention of returning.’

Ena, who had said she would return to Weiheim when the Academy reopened, was still staying in Asel’s dormitory. Whether she was satisfied with life here, or had no reason to return, she continued to stay here without even thinking of leaving.

As for Asel, it didn’t particularly matter either way, so he just continued living together. They had lived together in the mansion originally anyway, so it wasn’t very bothersome. They even took turns using the bedroom, so there was no problem with sleeping arrangements.

Things were going smoothly in many ways. He had gotten used to living together now.

“…Oh.”

Asel leaned against the window, eating the sandwich with sauce dripping, and looked down at the training ground.

Ellen’s spear tip had just grazed Grace’s cheek and moved on. Though it wasn’t the double-headed axe she usually used, she seemed to have no trouble handling the halberd, perhaps because she was used to long weapons.

But Grace, despite her cheek being slightly scratched, didn’t panic at all. Rather, she rushed forward and struck Ellen’s abdomen with the pommel of her sword. As Ellen frowned at the sensation of her breath being knocked out, Grace’s bizarrely twisted sword tip stopped near Ellen’s neck.

The outcome was decided. Ellen smiled bitterly and dropped the halberd she was holding.

“I lost.”

“Phew…”

Grace caught her breath and sheathed her sword. Ellen sat down on the dirt ground, rubbing her sore abdomen. Asel was watching the two absentmindedly when he noticed a bird flying towards him and tilted his head.

A familiar shape of bird. A magical machine with its entire body covered in metal with high magical conductivity, moving solely on magical power as its driving force.

It was a messenger bird from Weiheim. Asel narrowed his eyes as he looked at the messenger bird that stopped right in front of him, flapping its wings.

[Chirp chirp!]

While Asel’s messenger bird resembled a pigeon, the machine before his eyes looked more like a sparrow. Its body was small, and its wings weren’t very large either.

Considering that all the messenger birds used in Weiheim took the form of pigeons or hawks, this was quite an anomalous appearance. But before Asel could wonder about it, he burst into laughter as soon as he read the first sentence of the paper the sparrow spat out.

[I heard you almost died, you idiot!]

The familiar crooked handwriting. Ena, who had rested her chin on Asel’s shoulder, muttered as soon as she saw it.

“It’s from Evelyn.”

[Do you really want to see your sister go crazy that badly!!!! What am I supposed to do if you die!]

Asel gave a wry smile as he read the following sentences.