Chapter 38

"Alcohol?"

Henrik was dumbfounded by Ted's answer.

Expensive liquor in a situation like this?

It was absurd, but before Henrik could say anything, Ted ground his teeth and fumed for some reason.

"I begged him so many times and he never came once, but now he says he'll show up for some damn bottle of liquor......"

"Ted?"

"What's so special about that liquor......!"

"Um, Ted?"

When Henrik called out to him, Ted snapped back to attention.

"Ah, right. What is it, Henrik."

"I'd like to ask why the liquor is necessary."

Suddenly Ted's face scrunched up again.

Frowning deeply, he looked at the carefully wrapped bottle.

"A 200-year-old premium wine certified by a sommelier....... That person who wouldn't come even if you offered money, who refused even when offered land...... He said if I got him this one bottle, he'd come to the academy as a guest instructor."

"That person? ......Ah, I see......."

For a moment Henrik wondered who he meant, but once he connected it to alcohol, Henrik could guess who it was.

Ted glanced at Henrik and asked.

"You know the name Isaac Wolfwood, right?"

"Of course I do."

"Naturally, that famous wandering Sword Saint candidate, the Sword Emperor......"

"He's also famous as an incorrigible heavy drinker."

"Exactly....... I have no idea what goes through that man's head."

Sword Emperor Isaac Wolfwood.

One of the five members of the suicide squad who stayed with Henrik until the very end in his previous life, and a famous figure who would become a Sword Saint in the future.

And also the first person who came to mind when the word 'alcohol' was mentioned. He had no desire for money or fame-only drinking, singing, liquor, entertainment, and the sword were his everything.

A sommelier-certified 200-year-old wine-naturally, Henrik nodded, knowing there was no better bait to hook him.

"And that man as a guest instructor......."

"The most popular departments are magic and knighthood, after all. If he's in the knighthood department, it'll be reassuring at least. And since incidents suspected to involve the Demon King are breaking out at the academy...... even if it means feeding him more expensive liquor, they're considering keeping the Sword Emperor tied to the academy."

"Not a bad choice. Though I wonder if they can keep procuring the liquor he wants."

When Henrik chuckled, Ted let out a deep sigh.

"What choice do we have when the academy's at stake."

"You're working hard like a proper dean."

Then Henrik suddenly thought of Bena.

Currently Bena was being treated in secret at Ted's hideout, so he was curious about her progress.

"How's Bena doing?"

"Thanks to the medicine you gave me, her condition is improving little by little, but it seems like we're just buying time. I think the curse will only disappear if we pull it out by the root."

"......I see."

"Right now your students are nursing her."

"The kids?"

"You gave permission, didn't you? They came and told me."

He gave permission? Henrik quietly thought back to the past.

He had a vague memory of saying something like that.

[If you want, you can watch over Professor Bena's condition.]

"Ah."

He remembered saying that to Carmine. Since Grimory and Amecitia were also there at the time, it seemed they were going with Carmine to nurse Professor Bena.

"From what the kids told me, your disciples are also indirectly connected to the incident."

When Ted glared at Henrik, Henrik sighed and said.

"This time the kids rushed in on their own. It's true they helped, so for now it's better to let them nurse Professor Bena."

As a professor, he had to pay special attention to student safety, so he was trying his best not to drag students into this. Ted felt the same way.

If the students were focused on nursing Professor Bena, that was actually fortunate. It meant they weren't recklessly poking around everywhere.

Handling things in complete secrecy with just the two of them wasn't easy.

It was only a matter of time before this incident came to light.

"Did you send a letter to Professor Bena's father, Margrave Aspera?"

"I did, and I got a reply. He says he'll visit Lemarnus soon."

"Of course he would, he's quite the doting father......."

Henrik nodded.

One by one, the cards were gathering.

As cards to counter the Demon King gradually assembled, Henrik couldn't just sit still either.

He loosened up his body slightly and said to Ted.

"Does the academy have any physical training equipment?"

"There is. For knighthood classes. Don't tell me you're going to use it? At this hour?"

"I can't be satisfied staying at Grade 3."

"Ha."

At Henrik's words, Ted laughed shortly and shook his head as if he couldn't stop him.

"Do what you want."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Mandolin family mansion.

Oliver had ordered the maids to clean up and was resting in his room.

He quietly thought of Henrik and his disciples.

He was a little envious. He didn't have disciples that close to him.

At the knighthood department, Oliver was either difficult to approach because of the Mandolin family's reputation, or his calling card as Carlo's son loomed too large for him to have a friendly image.

At best, his teaching assistant Julia was popular with the students.

Beautiful and skilled-she couldn't help but be.

Come to think of it, there were students who cheered for him like he was a male opera singer.

But that was closer to admiration than friendliness.

"Could I become a professor with disciples close to me like Henrik?"

Oliver muttered blankly while looking at the fireplace.

Then Julia, who was sitting leaning against him, glanced up at Oliver.

"That's what you were thinking about?"

"A little? Seeing Professor Henrik and the demonology students made me a bit envious."

"You could do it too if you put your mind to it."

"Easier said than done."

Oliver chuckled at Julia's words.

What student with any sense would dare approach Oliver, the son of the Mandolin Family, so casually? Well, there had been one such student.

Amecitia-from the very first day, she'd approached him like they were old friends and asked him to referee her match.

But she lost to Henrik in that duel, and as a result, ended up majoring in demonology. If Amecitia had been unhappy about it, Oliver would have persuaded Henrik to let her switch to knighthood.

But she seemed to get along remarkably well with Henrik, and appeared to have seriously committed to studying demonology.

Since their families had frequently interacted as fellow knight houses, Oliver had kept an eye on her since childhood. It stung a little that Henrik had stolen her away.

Perhaps sensing Oliver's thoughts, Julia stroked his head and said:

"You're pretty upset about losing Ame, aren't you?"

"No, that's not it."

"Liar. You were so disappointed when Ame decided to major in demonology. I was almost jealous."

"......"

Just then, they heard the mansion's front door opening.

"I think Father's home?"

"I'll go check."

"See you."

Julia waved her hand lightly.

Oliver opened the door and stepped into the hallway, where he immediately ran into Carlo, who had just returned from work.

"You're back? Father."

"Yes."

Carlo answered briefly and walked past Oliver, then turned back and said:

"Now that I think about it, the maids seem quite busy. Did we have guests?"

"Ah, I invited Professor Henrik and his disciples for a banquet. It was to repay the debt for saving Julia."

"Henrik... Henrik..."

For some reason, Carlo nodded with a meaningful smile.

"Did Henrik do anything strange?"

"Strange... behavior?"

Carlo strode forward until he was face to face with Oliver.

As the nearly 2-meter-tall giant looked down at him with fierce eyes, Oliver swallowed hard.

Father or not, Oliver had been raised under strict discipline. Being alone with his father like this still wasn't easy for him.

"N-no. Nothing happened. We just talked about food......"

"Hmm... I see."

Carlo stepped back and suddenly grinned.

"Sounds like you had a pleasant time."

Faced with that somehow forced-looking smile, Oliver couldn't bring himself to say more. When he glanced away, he saw Julia emerging from the room.

"Julia, it's been a while."

"Yes, it has been a while. Father."

"Did you enjoy the banquet?"

"Yes, Amecitia seems to be doing well too."

"Amecitia...? Ah, the only daughter of the Flammeur Clan. Well then, are you staying the night? I'll prepare a small room for you."

"No, I'm leaving now. I have a class tomorrow that requires preparation from dawn."

"I see, get home safely."

Carlo nodded with a smile and entered his room.

Julia grinned and said to Oliver:

"Father's the same as always."

"Huh? Oh, yeah... right."

But to Oliver, Carlo had felt strangely different somehow.

Lately, he'd often felt a sense of dissonance from his father. It was as if he occasionally became a different person.

'Am I just imagining it?'

"Oliver?"

Lost in thought about Carlo's retreating figure, Oliver snapped back to attention at Julia's voice.

Carlo was certainly a good father.

But somehow, the expression he'd worn while asking about Henrik had seemed like a different person. Oliver felt an indescribable sense of wrongness.

"Something's......"

"Hmm?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

When Julia tilted her head curiously, Oliver brushed it off with an awkward smile.

After sending Julia home, Oliver quietly walked down the corridor and stood in front of Carlo's room. He could hear his father's presence inside.

'Father's still in his room......'

Oliver moved his steps toward the end of the corridor.

There stood the study-a room his father often shut himself in, and one he'd been strictly warned since childhood to "never enter."

'Lately, Father's been spending even more time in the study.'

His heart felt strangely uneasy.

The arm that had suddenly appeared, and his father's incongruous behavior.

Plus Henrik's reaction when Professor Bena's story came up at the banquet.

But hesitation arose for a moment.

'Should I really do this?'

Oliver hesitated briefly before turning away.

'Right, I'm just being oversensitive.'

As Oliver turned and began walking away, the memory that flashed through his mind was of his father with both arms intact.

At first he'd thought it was a mistake, but the more he reconsidered, the more he leaned toward believing it wasn't a mistake.

'Something even magic can't fix......'

He turned back and stood before the study.

If he didn't resolve this suspicious feeling, the discomfort would continue to gnaw at him.

Oliver carefully lifted the key.

During his rebellious teenage years, as an act of defiance, he'd secretly made a copy of the key to his father's precious study.

He never imagined he'd use it like this, but his instincts told him there was some clue in this study.

He inserted the key into the hole and turned it-

Click.

With a click, the study door opened slightly.

When he pulled the handle, the spacious study came into view.

Countless books were scattered across the floor, and notes covered in magic circles lay rolling about, covered in dust.

Oliver closed the door again and locked it. Then he slowly looked around.

It looked almost like Bena's research lab.

It appeared to be part of the traces his father had left behind during the time he'd shut himself in the study after losing his mother.

Though he'd regained his energy now and served as the Academy's department head, in Oliver's childhood memories, his father had been a gloomy man locked in his study, muttering to himself.

"......."

Oliver swallowed and stepped into the study.

-Creeeeak, thud.

As the door closed, the study grew dark.

Oliver took out a match and lit the candle holder on the desk.

He'd known well enough that his father had studied magic despite being a knight, but-

"What in the world is this......."

Oliver couldn't help but be amazed.

The magic formulas and magic circles written in the books and notes were of such a high level that even Oliver found them difficult to understand.

'Now I understand why Bena follows Father.'

There was a reason Bena had followed Carlo despite holding a position as a professor in the Magic Department.

Advanced magical knowledge.

It felt like seeing a side of his father he'd never known.

Oliver picked up the candle holder and began carefully examining the books and magic circles.

From basic magical theory to elemental theory, advanced courses to magic creation.

Books containing countless authors and countless theories had all been read so many times they were tattered.

'An incredible amount of knowledge.......'

As Oliver's gaze moved to the desk, a black book caught his eye. The clean, sturdy hardcover looked extremely expensive.

But he felt an ominous energy emanating from the book.

It felt as if black, sticky mana was seeping out and spreading across the study floor.

'What is...... this?'

As if entranced, Oliver picked up the book and looked at the cover.

[Basic Course in Necromancy.]

"......!"

Oliver froze in shock at the book's title.

Necromancy was a forbidden art recognized by the state. Which meant this book was forbidden.