The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 61

“Did I leave anything behind?”

Before leaving my dorm room, I looked around one last time. I didn’t bring much to begin with, so I doubted I’d leave anything behind, but better safe than sorry.

‘This place is ridiculously cramped.’

The more I looked at it, the more it made me sigh. It reminded me of the tiny room I rented for 320,000 won a month during my college years.

[Did you get attached to it after all?]

“Not a chance.”

I closed the door without looking back.

When a new semester starts, dorm rooms are reassigned based on the previous semester’s grades.

Therefore, students are required to vacate their rooms by the day before the new semester begins. Since I was heading home anyway, I decided to clear out early.

“I’ve got some time before the bus leaves.”

Even considering the time it would take to get to the bus stop, I had at least an hour left. Sitting around doing nothing was out of the question.

Realizing I had some time to spare, I naturally headed towards the school buildings.

‘Who should I visit first?’

Two people came to mind. First, I headed towards the teachers’ area, which was relatively far from the bus stop.

Most students had already left, but many teachers remained on campus as their duties extended into the vacation. Among them, there was one office that exuded an overwhelmingly distinct atmosphere.

Pshhh!

Purple smoke billowed out from under the tightly closed door.

“Cough, no matter how many times I smell it, it’s awful.”

The smoke was so heavy that it didn’t even set off the fire alarm. This was normal, but lately, it had gotten much worse for a reason.

Knock, knock.

As soon as I knocked on the nameplate, the door opened automatically.

“Come in. I was wondering when you’d drop by.”

“Professor, I’ve mentioned before that you should ventilate this room regularly.”

Faust paid no mind to my reproach and continued peering into her microscope.

“By the way, you did exceptionally well on the recent exam, didn’t you?”

“How about looking at the person you’re complimenting?”

“Oh, my bad.”

Faust lifted her face from the microscope, adding a slightly embarrassed smile as she realized her mistake.

“Sorry, I get carried away with my research sometimes.”

“It’s alright. I’ve gotten used to it.”

With a wave of Faust’s hand, a nearby kettle and teacup floated toward us.

“Anyways, congratulations. I’m increasingly tempted to recruit you as my assistant.”

“I’ll have to decline.”

I declined politely and took a sip of the tea I was served.

“How is the research progressing?”

“Glad you asked.”

Faust’s eyes lit up at the mention of research.

“The golden orb you brought me last time. I extracted its components and combined them with the prototype I showed you before, and the results have been very promising.”

“What do you mean by ‘promising’?”

Faust gestured towards one side of the lab. A cage containing lab rats floated over from the distance.

“Would you take a look at this?”

Inside the cage lay a small lab rat. Even at a glance, it was clear the virus-infected rat was panting heavily, yet it sat calmly in its spot.

“Remember the results from previous experiments? After administering the combined suppressant, the survival rate increased significantly.”

This was quite encouraging news, suggesting that the suppressant was nearly complete.

Normally, this would be a cause for celebration, but it wasn’t enough.

“How far are we from developing a cure?”

Not only had the appearance of infected entities been expedited by several stages compared to the original scenario, but the Rabbit had also revealed itself willingly.

‘I don’t know what variables might arise.’

Honestly, I was feeling a bit anxious. As one variable creates another, we had to prepare for upcoming uncertainties.

“Don’t worry too much.”

Faust locked eyes with me.

My reflection appeared in her subtly purple-tinted eyes.

“I’ll inform you immediately if there are any new developments.”

“…Understood.”

I had shown a disgraceful side of myself.

I knew full well that things wouldn’t move faster just because I was impatient. As Faust said, all I could do now was wait patiently.

“Thank you for your time. Have a good vacation.”

“Take care.”

As Faust was about to look through the microscope again, she paused.

“Oh, by the way, where did you get that white orb? I keep seeing noise in the microscope whenever I observe it, and I don’t think it’s a problem with the equipment.”

The orb I gave her before was a quest reward but essentially a fragment of Jin So-yul’s power.

‘It’s not the right time yet.’

Jin So-yul had yet to decide whether to follow her mother’s wishes or carve out her own fate. There was nothing I could do to hasten her decision, so I had to wait.

“I’ll let you know soon.”

“Oh, that’s disappointing.”

Faust brushed her cheek.

I knew. Despite her words, Faust was more dedicated than anyone else to developing the cure.

My gaze subtly shifted to the makeshift bed in the far corner of the laboratory. Faust would likely spend this vacation continuing her research here, without going home.

‘I wasn’t mature.’

I had no right to pressure Faust.

“Professor.”

“Do you have something else to say?”

I bowed my head to Faust.

“Please ventilate the room from time to time; it’s bad for your health.”

That was all I could offer at the moment.

* * *

My expectations rarely miss their mark.

“Excuse me.”

An empty Disciplinary Committee room. Only Seo Geum-bi was sitting at her desk, organizing the remaining documents.

“Junior, what brings you here?”

“I came to see you, of course.”

“I appreciate it, even if it’s just a polite gesture.”

She placed the documents she was organizing aside and shrugged.

“Please have a seat on the sofa while I prepare some refreshments.”

“Oh, no need. I won’t be staying long anyway.”

I subtly showed the bag slung over my shoulder.

“You’re heading home, I see.”

“Yes. Actually, I came by to say goodbye before heading back. Are you staying at school?”

Seo Geum-bi smiled warmly at my question.

“No, I’m planning to return home tomorrow as well. There’s a Hunter Police exam during this vacation. I intend to focus on preparing for it.”

The Hunter Police exam is available to prospective graduates. In a way, Seo Geum-bi was also a candidate this year.

“I hope you pass.”

“You’ll do great.”

Honestly, she would likely be the top entrant. Worrying about Seo Geum-bi in this world is as foolish as it gets.

“I’ll work hard so I won’t embarrass myself in front of you.”

Seo Geum-bi smiled with her eyes.

As I watched her, something on the desk caught my eye.

“I thought you’d taken it home.”

It was a stuffed penguin, the one I had won during the festival, sitting on the Disciplinary Committee’s desk.

I hadn’t said it with any particular intention, but her response left me momentarily speechless.

“Well, I want to spend as much time with it as possible.”

Come to think of it, there was one more person I needed to see.

Wanting to say goodbye was just a whim of mine, but leaving without doing so felt incomplete.

‘Where’s Jin So-yul?’

I wandered around various places to find Jin So-yul. I checked the entire second-year campus, the dormitory area, and even the convenience store, but she was nowhere to be found.

‘What does Jin So-yul do during vacations?’

I mostly knew what everyone would be doing during the vacation. Leaving aside Han Yu-seong, a playable character, Jin So-yul was the only one whose activities I couldn’t figure out.

‘Not that I was ever curious before anyway.’

Since Jin So-yul’s importance in the original storyline was negligible, neither I nor anyone else cared about her whereabouts.

I wanted to satisfy my curiosity and ask her if we met, but…

“It’s already this late.”

The bus was arriving in 10 minutes.

Since it had a long interval between departures, missing it and getting another ticket would be awkward. I’d have to postpone finding out about Jin So-yul’s activities until next time—

“Oh my, who do we have here!”

Huh, why are you here?

At the bus stop stood Jin So-yul. But she looked entirely different from her usual self.

“Our precious Junior, is it?”

“Who’s precious?”

She was wearing a T-shirt with the phrase ‘Never Give Up!’ printed on it and dolphin shorts. She had a hiking backpack slung over her shoulders. Judging by her appearance, she didn’t seem to be heading for a simple outing…

“Senior, where are you going?”

“Travel.”

Jin So-yul confidently spat out the English word. Her pronunciation was off, but I decided to let it slide.

“Suddenly deciding to travel… Are you doing some sort of haunted house experience?”

“For you, Ha-baek, that’s quite a decent guess.”

Jin So-yul nodded with a satisfied expression.

“A journey to find myself! That’s the theme of this trip!”

“What kind of nonsensical—”

Looking closely, I noticed she had a talisman pouch hanging around her neck.

“I’ve been trying to think about what you said last time, in my own way.”

“Senior…”

“Hehe, I thought I might need to change my surroundings to change my way of thinking.”

Jin So-yul scratched her cheek.

She seemed to still be pondering what had happened during the ghost story episode.

“Mom didn’t want me to see ghosts, but maybe I can be of help to someone.”

And she added,

“Hehe, I might even meet my mother.”

Jin So-yul flashed a bashful smile.

[Poor thing.]

Yomi clicked her tongue from my shoulder. Occasionally, watching Jin So-yul’s innocent demeanor made my chest ache with guilt.

“Mom didn’t want to pass this suffering down to her child…”

Jin Dal-rae had tricked the diety’s eyes and shortened her life to keep Jin So-yul away from spirit possession. But I couldn’t bring myself to say this in front of her smile.

‘Should I tell her?’

Would giving her false hope be the right thing? Perhaps telling Jin So-yul the truth as soon as possible would be better for her.

As my thoughts spiraled,

“Ah, the bus is here!”

Just then, the bus Jin So-yul was waiting for arrived. Before boarding, she patted both my shoulders briskly.

“Why do you look so down? Are you that sad to see me go?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Jin So-yul smiled brightly at my response.

“Now that’s more like the Ha-baek I know. Have a great vacation, and say hello to Ha-na for me!”

With those parting words, Jin So-yul boarded the bus. True to herself, she dashed to the back seat and quickly opened the window.

“So long, adios~!”

The bus left with Jin So-yul’s energetic shout.

I stared blankly at the spot where the bus disappeared. For some reason, her face lingered in my mind like an afterimage.

“Yomi.”

[What is it?]

An unknown emotion surged within me. I wondered what color my spiritual aura was burning in right now.

“Do you think we can really do this?”

Honk—

The bus I needed to take arrived shortly after. My mind was still a whirlwind of thoughts.

Just before boarding, Yomi snorted.

[That depends on what you do.]

It wasn’t an incorrect statement.

I nodded as I watched the spot where Jin So-yul’s bus had been. She seemed fine on the outside, but she must have had plenty of concerns of her own.

“You’re right.”

Each carrying our own resolutions, we boarded the bus.