The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

In the end, Asel and Pascal went around the mansion themselves, collecting the spreading flames one by one. Although he seemed displeased at being scolded by a much weaker and younger magician, when Asel kept his mouth shut and took action, Pascal just lazily followed along.

Asel glanced at Pascal, who was following him nonchalantly, then thought as he collected the flames that had spread into a space that looked like a bedroom:

‘Despite the ominous atmosphere, is it properly fulfilling its role as a resting place?’

The mansion he looked around while collecting the flames. Although no water came out, there were bathrooms, and fairly decent beds and sofas placed here and there. There wasn’t anything that could be called a trap, and aside from a few insects, there were no hidden creatures.

In the terrible place called the labyrinth, a resting place like this would be no different from a hotel. Perhaps because it was quite far down inside the labyrinth, the scale of the resting place seemed considerable.

At this rate, it shouldn’t be a problem to rest for a day before moving on. Thinking this, Asel collected flames for a few more minutes and returned to the lobby. Pascal chewed his cigarette and stuck close to Asel’s side.

Pascal said:

“No matter how I think about it, it’s a shame.”
“…? What is?”
“You, I mean you. If you join the Ignis Magic Tower, you could definitely take the Flame Emperor position.”
“…Flame Emperor?”
“Ah, don’t you know?”

Pascal exhaled smoke and continued speaking:

“The five pillars of flame that assist the tower head. They’re called Flame Emperors. They’re like errand boys who act in place of the tower head, who can’t move around freely. There’s just one vacant position, and if you join the tower and some time passes, it would naturally become yours.”
“Unfortunately, I belong to the Witch Association. I have no intention of joining a magic tower.”
“I guessed as much when you handled lightning formulas. More importantly, I heard there are very few men in the Witch Association. Is that true?”
“I haven’t seen any other men besides myself yet.”
“Oh, shit. Then how many women have you met?”

Pascal made a circle with his thumb and index finger and poked his finger through it as he asked. Asel grimaced at the blatant expression.

“Whether women or men. The Witch Association is a place where everyone lives obsessed with magic. There’s no time for such things.”
“Bullshit. Are you perhaps gay?”

Zap!!!!

As soon as Pascal finished speaking, dark blue lightning burst out from Asel’s entire body. Pascal chuckled and raised both hands.

“It’s a joke, a joke.”
“…Quite an unpleasant joke.”
“I’m sorry.”

Ignoring Pascal’s apology, Asel turned his head towards Selene and Saya, who were cleaning up the debris scattered on the floor. The two waved at Asel, who was coming down the stairs. Asel waved back and said to Pascal:

“More importantly, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know anything about the Sage?”
“…The Sage?”

Pascal repeated the question and shook off his cigarette with an indifferent expression.

“A strange guy.”
“……”
“A crazy bastard who believes he can change the world, save this world from demons. But I can’t deny that he actually has that ability. He alone has killed over 10 demons.”

The title of Demon Slayer is an extremely honorable one. It’s a title for hunters that can only be obtained by cleanly destroying a fully manifested demon. How many heroes have crumbled and scattered into history trying to obtain it? There aren’t many Demon Slayers remaining today.

Demons are fundamentally incomprehensible beings. They thoroughly deny common sense and are worlds that have established their own laws. For them, taking hundreds or thousands of lives with a single gesture wasn’t impossible.

He’s saying this person killed ten such beings. Considering that most Demon Slayers have killed just one demon, one can understand how incredible this is.

“But… he stopped showing himself at some point. We don’t know where he is, what he’s doing, or even what research he’s conducting.”
“…Is there a possibility he’s dead?”
“I don’t know. But I don’t think he’s dead.”

Pascal grinned and continued:

“I can’t even imagine that bastard dying.”

The conversation ended there. As if by agreement, Asel and Pascal stopped speaking and extinguished their magical power as they watched the two approaching. Asel shook off the remaining current on his fingertips and spoke to Selene, who had a sullen expression:

“Why the face?”
“While you were cleaning up the mansion, I briefly explored outside.”

Selene sighed deeply and continued speaking while looking at the thick darkness beyond the shattered window:

“There was nothing around. No living creatures at all. Same for the way up. The way down was blatantly there, so I found it right away.”
“There’s no exit from the resting place that leads out of the labyrinth.”

Pascal picked up on Selene’s words.

“It’s not that kind-hearted of a place. If you want to leave, go to the 16th floor and find the exit.”
“Do you know the location?”
“I do. Why, want me to go with you? Scared?”
“…Ha. I might really kill you.”
“The words of a star-fucker aren’t very scary.”

Star-fucker.

It was the most representative derogatory term for constellation magicians. Due to a past conflict between the Ignis Magic Tower and the Aurora Magic Tower, their relationship wasn’t very good. Although it has improved quite a bit now, unfortunately, Pascal wasn’t from the present time.

A flame magician living in the romantic era when they would immediately engage in life-or-death battles upon encountering constellation magicians on the street. It was perhaps natural that he wasn’t friendly towards Selene. However, he stopped at sneering and didn’t go further than that. He seemed to have a personality that avoided unnecessary excessive conflicts.

Pascal ignored the fuming Selene and turned to Saya, opening his mouth:

“Well… I was planning to return tomorrow anyway. Entering the 17th floor of the labyrinth alone is suicide, so I’ll have to come back later after finding companions.”
“……”
“So I’ll go with you. Don’t cry and whine that you’re scared, star-fucker.”
“Shut up.”
“How fierce.”

Pascal chuckled and patted Asel’s shoulder, then turned towards the direction of the bedroom.

“We’ll leave tomorrow. For now, I need to sleep a bit before moving.”
“…I’m willing to go to the 20th floor though.”

Asel muttered in a low voice. Pascal immediately contorted his face.

“Are you an idiot? The 20th floor alone? Or with everyone here? Either way, it’s a perfect situation to die in a foreign land.”
“……”
“If you want to die, die alone. I absolutely hate sacrificing myself following someone else’s desires.”

He said that and then hid himself in the bedroom as if he had no lingering attachments. Asel glanced at his retreating figure and sighed deeply.

His words were right. Asel’s desire to go to the 20th floor of the simplified labyrinth was purely due to his personal greed. Only Asel was interested in proving whether the Sage’s tomb was really here and digging into the truth that followed. For others, his interest was simply someone else’s business.

He’d like to break through to the 20th floor alone if he could. But Asel knew very well how ridiculous that would be. If he didn’t want to die in vain, it was right to take a step back here.

It’s uncertain whether one could really lose their life in the simplified labyrinth installed in the Academy. That means it’s not certain. Asel wasn’t crazy enough to bet his life on such a gamble.

‘There will be opportunities in the future too.’

He recalled what Roger had said. Didn’t he say that the club that discovered the simplified labyrinth would be given entry permission for a year? If that’s true, there shouldn’t be a big problem if he escapes this time and comes back later. As long as he belongs to the drama club, he should be able to enter anytime.

Yes, let’s escape first. Saya and Selene seem to want that too, so let’s come back later with like-minded people and try again. Grace would definitely cooperate.

Thinking this, Asel nodded and told the two to go in and rest for now. Selene sighed deeply and trudged towards an empty room, while Saya cleaned up the lobby a bit more before lying down on a sofa in the corner.

When there was no one around, Asel took out Aleph, which he had kept in his bosom, woke her up, and asked about the person named Pascal Theron.

Aleph immediately poured out information about him.

[Pascal Theron. An archmage belonging to the Ignis Magic Tower who, after securing the position of Flame Emperor, served as the head of the Ignis Magic Tower for about 15 years. He died in a fierce battle with elves during the racial war, but he was one of the figures who greatly contributed to their defeat by burning down 70% of the elves’ great forest with his own hands. It’s said that the number of elves he burned alive alone reaches tens of thousands.]

“…Then are you saying that the one here right now is not Pascal himself?”

[If I trace your memories… that’s probably the case. It must be a thought-form left by him, or something equivalent. He himself probably thinks he’s Pascal though.]

Asel sighed and covered Aleph again.

Pascal Theron. A high-level flame magician whose skills were beyond doubt. A talented magician who would reach the realm of archmage in the future and even rise to the position of tower head. What does it mean that such a person remains in the simplified labyrinth in a 7th Circle state?

Perhaps he’s a phantom arbitrarily created by the simplified labyrinth, based on the real him who had drifted in the labyrinth in the past.

There are many speculations, but no certainty. Asel leaned against the wall and slid down to sit, exhaling a long breath while looking at the dark ceiling.

In the dark bedroom. Roger was reading a small book that didn’t match her build while shaking her leg. From afar, it looked like she was revving up to grab and punish someone, but in reality, she was excited while reading the climax part of a romance novel.

Regardless of her outward appearance, she too was a girl who had just become an adult. It was natural to have at least one favorite romance novel.

“Ooh…!”

A page vividly describing the main character and heroine kissing. Just as Roger was about to enter that chapter, the bedroom door opened and Reine appeared. She frowned as soon as she saw the dark room and activated a magic light.

“It’s too dark. Are you children of darkness?”
“Arghhhh!!”
“Kyaaaaa!!”

As soon as the bedroom lit up, two drama club members lying on the floor screamed. They had been wearing dark robes, so they hadn’t been visible until now. Reine shook her head as she looked down at the two.

“Twins! Stop interfering with the initiation and get out!”
“This is the scene of an outrage. Ah, is this the emotion called sadness?”
“Brother, do not grieve! We shall someday be liberated from that witch!”
“If you keep saying weird things, I’ll make you write reflection papers?”
“We’ll leave.”
“Me too.”

At Reine’s threat, the identical-looking man and woman left the bedroom. Reine sighed deeply and sat next to Roger. Roger didn’t even give her a glance, staring intently at her novel as she opened her mouth:

“You’re here.”
“I came right after the club activities ended. Are our new club members okay?”

At Reine’s question, Roger slightly lowered the book she was reading and smiled while looking at the huge bed:

“They’re fine. Their body temperatures rose sharply in the middle, but they were okay after I poured water on them.”
“Is that so?”

Reine chuckled and met Roger’s gaze.

On the bed large enough for five people to lie down comfortably:

“……”
“…Not a star-fucker… no…”
“Must… be… helpful…”

Selene was lying face down on top of Asel, who was at the very bottom, and Saya was burrowing into Asel’s arms.

Their gentle breathing sounds clearly revealed that the three were deep in dreamland. Reine wiped away the drool that had flowed from Selene’s mouth and was wetting Asel’s cheek, wearing a soft smile.

“Have a good trip, sleepyheads.”