NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 15
“Ugh!”
“Hey! If you spit that precious thing out, what’s the use!”
As soon as Skarl heard the nature of the potion, he tried to throw up the medicine he had drunk by putting his hand in his mouth.
Using spatial magic, I twisted his wrist and tied his hands up.
At the same time, I sealed his mouth with the sole of my shoe, completely locking him down.
“Just drink it quietly since it’s good for your body. I’ll let you go once the effect starts kicking in.”
I knew that he was immune to ordinary poison.
Unless it was a deadly poison that could genuinely kill a human, I wouldn’t be able to harm him in any way.
But using deadly poison would likely mean I wouldn’t extract any information and would end up killing him.
Then what would be a good way to give him a horrifying experience while instilling a glimmer of hope that I could return him to normal?
After a bit of thought, the answer came to me.
The improved transgender potion, the first collaboration between a genius alchemist and a witch.
It was the outcome of Celestia’s development and Paul’s work to adjust the side effects.
Since clinical trials were still pending before completion, I figured I might as well try it on Skarl’s body.
I still wasn’t sure why TS potions existed in this world, but it was great to have a useful tool.
“Guhh!”
Was it finally kicking in? Skarl was starting to twitch and convulse.
Despite showing extreme rejection, he was completely bound up, allowing me to leisurely enjoy the show until he accepted the drug.
Eventually, changes began happening to Skarl’s body.
The process was so bizarre it was hard to describe in detail.
To summarize briefly, his upper body bulged up while his lower body shrank down.
His hair lengthened, his face became slender, and his waist transformed into a curvy form.
I was curious if his voice had changed too, but unfortunately, the subject lost consciousness, leaving me unable to confirm.
And now, I couldn’t figure out why Skarl appeared at such an early timing.
“Ugh…”
Ziiip!
While I was feeling a bit regretful, a notification sound rang from the communication crystal I had stored in my pocket.
It was a red crystal that only appeared during emergencies.
It was a signal for all professors to gather at the designated meeting place.
It seemed they had finally figured out what happened with the crown prince’s attack.
‘If the S-Class and A-Class professors in charge of the North hadn’t been assassinated, they might have realized it sooner.’
But those two were professors supporting the arrogant nobility.
They had manipulated their way into being assigned to the class, and their skills were below average among the professors.
They had more pride than talent and had been constant annoyances.
There was no way idiots like them could handle a group of assassins that included Skarl.
While it was a relief they had taken care of themselves without my intervention, I felt a strong urge to spit on their corpses since they left behind so much extra work.
‘For now, I’ve got to respond to the summon.’
Seeing the injured crown prince come to the East forest would surely lead to a barrage of questions directed at me and Professor Pernelson.
Especially since I would undoubtedly be the easy target for a questioning onslaught.
It looked like I was going to have headaches for a while from this incident.
There was plenty of information that needed to be pried out of Skarl, but I’d let things unfold naturally while leaving a note on that expanded chest of his.
With a note saying, ‘Originally a guy,’ I sent him off to Celestia’s hut.
‘…Skarl will surely end up being handled by those crazy alchemists.’
With this, the witch’s forest incident came to a close.
I had only the cleanup left to do, but I wondered if I’d be able to get some proper rest.
*
On a hill not far from the meadow where Daniel fought Skarl, a student had already arrived before them.
Under the shade provided by a tree lay a student sleeping comfortably.
A lazy girl who felt bored by everything, Ailey.
There was no need to explain why Ailey, who should be sustaining herself in the forest, was in the hill, as it was simple—she was skipping.
While other troublemakers were reluctantly surviving in the forest, she had decided to escape alone.
She understood that if caught by a professor, she would face discipline for her poor classroom attitude.
Yet still, Ailey had an unwavering belief that she wouldn’t get caught and took the plunge into escaping.
Cloaked in invisibility magic that could fool even a professor’s eyes, she swiftly slipped away from the witch’s forest.
Once far from the forest, Ailey began searching for paradise.
A place where she could sleep without being disturbed and wouldn’t wake up midway.
After a long search before the bad weather came, she found herself on the hill.
Since arriving at her paradise, Ailey had started sleeping so soundly that she wouldn’t notice anyone swooping in to carry her away.
In the midst of her delightful dreams, the sound of her reality pulling her back came from none other than Daniel.
The place he claimed, which was suitable for fighting and far from the witch’s forest, happened to be not too far from Ailey’s hill.
Ironically, Daniel had come to the meadow with Skarl, and Ailey was awakened by the commotion of their disturbance.
At first, she felt annoyance.
She expected to sleep undisturbed until at least the next morning, but now that was ruined.
She thought of using force to quell the ruckus.
However, once she identified the source of the disturbance, she had no choice but to put that thought aside.
A fierce battle was unfolding between a magician wielding spatial magic and an assassin who masterfully maneuvered dozens of objects.
It was a scene you wouldn’t even see at the world’s greatest arena.
“Wow…”
The two were battling with such dazzling skill that it was blinding to watch.
The magician switched locations at a casting speed that defied dimensions, while the assassin relentlessly pursued with firm legs.
Both exhibited abilities where either could easily come out on top.
Before long, Ailey’s drowsiness vanished, and unknowingly, she started focusing on the fight.
She felt a shiver from witnessing something she had never experienced before.
One reason she was called a prodigy sword mage was her high mana responsiveness.
While she couldn’t visually capture mana like Skarl, she could feel it through her skin.
In the condensing space, the mana surged like waves.
As it became wild under an overwhelming force, the twisted mana sought to devour everything in its path.
Sensing the narrowing power of annihilation, Ailey was certain of one thing.
Anyone who stood against the professor wouldn’t come out alive.
The subject appeared to have realized this as he knelt down and surrendered.
Only then did Ailey breathe out the tension that had filled her.
“What an intriguing person…”
He wielded the power to dominate the world but behaved so weakly as if it meant nothing.
He accepted discrimination and contempt while maintaining his charm, seemingly caring little for others’ opinions.
Initially, she thought him to be a weak person with no will to overcome, only to realize it was a massive misconception.
“He must be strong enough not to care about such trivial matters…”
A lazy smile crept onto Ailey’s face.
Having discovered someone who could fulfill her wish that showed no signs of materializing outside of dreamland, she couldn’t help but smile.
“That professor might one day be able to kill me.”
What a chilling thought her desire was.
*
Meanwhile, in the witch’s forest, chaos ensued as Nina brought the unconscious crown prince to the F-Class camp.
Though Nina had healed him, the students were horrified by the blood-soaked prince and requested help from the professors without hesitation.
Responding to the students’ request, Professor Pernelson arrived, quickly checking the crown prince’s status before attempting to contact someone.
Soon thereafter, the academy’s headmaster and the commander of the royal guard visited the witch’s forest.
With the confirmation of the assassins’ corpses along with the northern professors and bodyguard knights, the situation became increasingly serious.
The royal guards swiftly transported the crown prince while declaring they’d investigate this incident thoroughly.
The existence of Kia del Academy was dangling by a thread, yet under the headmaster’s leadership, field studies continued.
Ending the practical lessons midway because of this incident would prove that the academy was submitting to the royal family.
Under the premise of learning, all students must be treated equally and provided the same opportunities reinforced the academy’s ideology.
However, that didn’t mean there weren’t discontented voices.
F-Class students were terrified.
After all, the assassins that might still be lurking could come to annihilate them.
Even if not, they faced the risk of losing their lives if they stumbled upon those lurking around the forest.
So how could field studies proceed under such conditions?
Especially in Nina’s case, evidence that she almost died due to the scar on her neck surfaced.
With an innocent student nearly dying, pushback was inevitable.
Even if she promised to protect them, the defiance would not easily subside, leaving the headmaster with no choice but to persuade Nina.
“Nina, are you okay?”
“Ah, yes…!”
“I truly apologize for this incident. I displayed a rather pathetic image, failing to prioritize the safety of the students. As the representative of Kia del Academy, I sincerely apologize.”
“It’s alright! As you can see, I’m perfectly fine!”
“…Nina, you’re too kind. We professors should be the ones ashamed for not standing up to blame and chastise you.”
“Not at all! All of the academy’s professors are wonderful people! For example…”
Suddenly, Nina recalled the moment she had just experienced.
In a life-or-death situation, Daniel tore through space, dragging the assassin with him.
It felt so deadly that she thought she would suffocate, but as she realized he did it to protect her, her face flushed with heat.
“For example…?”
“Ah, it’s nothing!”
Once again, Professor Daniel arrived.
He had revealed even the secret he tried to hide to save her.
Yet mentioning his secret would be repaying kindness with malice, so she couldn’t say a word.
Part of her also wished only she knew that spectacle.
“Anyway, I’m alright!”
“Are you sure you’re not overdoing it? If it’s too much, we could excuse you and the students from F-Class from the lessons.”
“I’m not overdoing it. Besides, since this is my first field study, I want to see it through to the end!”
“If that’s the case, may I ask why?”
“That’s…”
Nina began to blush, twisting her body as she hesitated.
Gathering the courage, she started to speak bit by bit.
“I want to do my best to…be next to the person I admire.”
“I see…”
The headmaster bit his lip, feeling a tingle.
He quickly realized the kind of feelings Nina was harboring, and it made him want to burst out laughing.
In a moment of reflection, he couldn’t help but smile at Nina’s youthful and fresh spirit.
He was definitely excited to see if that innocent girl’s feelings would reach someone else.