[Did you enjoy it?]

"..."

[I asked you, did you enjoy it?]

"..."

[Please say something.]

After the festival ended, we went back to our daily lives. The students were busy preparing for their final exams, which could be considered the end of the second semester.

Naturally, us professors were also busy with preparations as well.

Recently, I, too, had been rummaging through various books, reviewing them and considering questions for the exam.

Perhaps the Dark Spiritualist would be quite helpful in this regard.

[The festival only lasted for a day, so tell me, how did you end up meeting with four women at once?]

However, it seemed like she was quite upset because I had seemingly abandoned her and wandered around with other people during the festival.

Although I wondered why I had to make excuses about such things, first things first, I needed her help at the moment.

"It was just a coincidence."

Upon hearing my vague answer, the Dark Spiritualist pouted with displeasure.

[Even if it was just a coincidence, how could you coincidentally meet with four people in a day? And, coincidentally, end up flirting with them? Seeing this, it seems like the rumors that you were a playboy might be true after all.]

"Cut it out."

I responded irritatedly as her complaining started to bother me. The Dark Spiritualist immediately pouted again and this time, she laid on her back on the top of my desk.

Because of that, the exam papers with the question I had written down were hidden, and all I could see was the exposed stomach of the Dark Spiritualist, covered by a stocking-like piece of clothing.

Was this what she wore under her robe? It seemed quite revealing.

"Huff."

[I’m already dead. But do you know what? While everyone else grows old and falls sick, I'm stuck in this state forever.]

"So, what?"

I sighed before infusing mana into my hands and pushing the Dark Spiritualist off the desk.

[Ack!]

And just like that, the Dark Spiritualist rolled off the desk and fell. Being a ghost, she wouldn't get hurt or feel pain, but nevertheless, her reaction was quite amusing.

"Surely this was not the image I had of you in mind."

Although she acted like a child at times when she was around me, recently, it seemed like her mental age had truly regressed.

She was someone who had spent her life secluded in the laboratory, solely focused on studying Necromancy. Perhaps all her other desires from back then were now surfacing.

I heard that she acted differently when I was not around.

Owen said that during the time I was absent from the academy, the Dark Spiritualist, who spent time with him, was calm and cold.

Therefore, I thought that perhaps she only showed her true self to me.

However, why did this woman...

Why did she pursue necromancy while having such a disposition? Why did she want to sever all ties and solely focus on reaching the end of Necromancy?

I was really curious, but I didn't voice out my thoughts.

Just then, Erica Bright entered the lab after knocking on the door.

She was currently assisting me with this exam paper as well.

Of course, in addition to that, we had also been spending more time together recently.

"Take a short break."

In her hand was a box from the luxury dessert shop Findenai and I had visited previously.

Owen, who was tapping on the keys of the melodica, and Professor Fel Petra, who just like me, was also working on exam questions, were the first to react.

"Wow! Welcome!"

"Professor Erica! I'm so glad that you've been coming here more often lately!"

Upon receiving a warm welcome from the two of them, Erica's lips curved upward slightly as she handed them the cake before coming to my side.

[Do you know? Compared to before, the distance between you and your fiancée has decreased a lot.]

Said the Dark Spiritualist after rolling off, peeking at me while poking her head out from under the desk.

I pretended not to hear her.

"How's it going? Any progress? Do you need my help?"

"Yes, would you like to try solving this?"

"What is it?"

As Erica moved closer, our arms naturally touched, but she continued to solve the problem I handed her as if nothing happened.

Despite Professor Fel and Owen glancing over occasionally, she showed no hesitation.

For now, I pretended not to be bothered by it and waited for Erica to solve the question. Since Erica had attended all my lectures without missing a single one, if she couldn't solve it, the other students wouldn’t be able to do so either.

After some time, Erica casually took the pen from my hand and jotted down the answer.

"That is correct."

Erica nodded with satisfaction at my words. She then folded her arms and immediately offered her thoughts.

"The students might still find it difficult to calculate this part. There is quite a significant difference compared to ordinary magic calculation formulas."

"However, this is very important because many students still do not understand the difference between elemental magic and black magic."

"So, is this your stubbornness as a professor?"

Unexpectedly, Erica smiled with satisfaction at my words and replied.

"Then emphasize on this part more clearly in the next lecture. If you outrightly say that it will be in the exam, the students will put more effort into studying."

"I will make sure to do that."

As expected of Erica.

Since she had more experience as a professor than me, the tips she had given me were quite helpful.

Back when I was a student, I didn't realize this as I only needed to solve the questions; now that I needed to create the questions for the exam, I had a lot to think about.

Raising the difficulty level just enough to differentiate the grades of the students while ensuring it was solvable was no easy task.

"Usually, it would be more convenient to quote questions from the previous exams of the other professors in the same or similar majors... But since that is not possible for you, you'll have to work harder."

Of course, there wouldn't have been any previous exams on Black Magic.

I kept working on the task without much complaint as I was already aware of this. In the first place, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get the knowledge and answers I wanted from the other professors' questions.

"Let's eat first."

"...Alright."

I wasn’t particularly fond of desserts, but seeing that Erica made an effort to buy this, I leaned back for a moment, rubbed my eyes, and glanced at her.

Without me noticing, Owen had already brought over the cake and a fork to my desk. As I slowly reached out to eat it, Erica looked around with a satisfied smile.

"By the way, where's Findenai?"

There was still a piece of cake left for Findenai. I hesitated for a moment before answering.

"She said she had some personal matters to attend to."

"Personal matters?"

Erica tilted her head suspiciously, but when she realized that I didn't intend to elaborate any further, she stopped asking questions.

I took a small bite of the cake with the fork. The subtle sweet taste spread pleasantly in my mouth. Since she knew I didn't like overly sweet desserts, Erica must have chosen something suitable.

I changed the subject while eating the cake.

"By the way, have you sent the letter to the Bright Household?"

"Yup, I marked it as urgent, so I received a quick reply. They asked us to come over as soon as the vacation starts."

"Alright, I have also sent a letter to my family."

This meeting was a sort of negotiation disguised as a formal meeting between the families. Still, since we had to fill the seats, I also called Darius.

If we entrusted the matters of the territory to Deia, there wouldn't be any problems.

* * *

While the weather at Loberne Academy was just turning chilly with the onset of autumn, an early wintry chill had already settled over Norseweden.

Of course, this weather could be called autumnal in Norseweden.

"A family meeting?"

Deia's voice was filled with coldness, appropriate for such a wintry chill.

"Yes, it seems that Deus has finally made up his mind."

Not noticing his younger sister’s mood, Darius let out a broad laugh, rejoicing because of the marriage of the second son of the household.

However, seeing such a sight made Deia even more annoyed.

There was no way that bastard was planning to get married.

Deia knew Deus very well. In other words, she knew if that were Kim Shinwoo, he would never marry Erica.

With such conviction, Deia immediately sensed that he had other plans.

She heard that there was a massacre in the eastern region of Marias Great Forest recently, and he had managed to end it. Perhaps at that time, he felt the need for something.

Perhaps there must be something he needs from the Bright Household.

The Bright household was always famous for its prestigious lineage of mages.

It was well-known that Erica Bright was an expert in light magic research and had two papers recorded in the Millennium Library.

While her contributions were not as prominent, Erica's two older brothers and the head of the household were also highly regarded in magic.

Certainly, they are a household with many useful connections.

Even during the recent purges of King Orpheus, they naturally lowered their heads and passed through with minimal damage.

At a time when households like the Zeronia were struggling, they were one of the few influential households that still remained.

Why is he hiding something from us? He can just tell us everything.

Deia felt slightly annoyed, but the reason Deus didn't disclose everything was probably to avoid burdening them.

However, an alarm was already raised in Deia's mind.

I can't miss this opportunity.

As the lady of the Verdi Household, Deia realized that preliminary work was necessary to deal with the Bright Household.

And for that, Darius would play the most crucial role.

"Don't think of it as a usual meeting between families. You need to remain focused. You need to memorize everything I'm going to tell you about the Bright Household."

Since they could not leave their territory empty, Deia naturally thought that she would have to stay behind.

Therefore, she had to make sure that Darius remembered and organized the information she would provide him and then hand it over to Deus.

That was what she thought. However...

"Hmm? Are you really going to investigate the household we'll be in-laws with now? Don't do something like that."

"..."

"Don't unnecessarily create embarrassing situations. There's no need to attack someone's weak point."

Ever since that incident, where he had to atone for the sins of the Verdi household with Deus, Darius always disliked this kind of maneuvering. However…

"Jeez."

Deia sighed as she smacked her forehead. Being clean and righteous was good.

However, wasn't this a bit foolish?

"Fine, you should just stay quiet. Just go and smile politely, maybe bow a bit."

Because I will be the one who handles the necks of the opponent.

After swallowing back those words, Deia resolved herself to accompany him to this family meeting as well.

"Hmm, it's certainly been a while since I practiced my etiquette and have smiled properly."

"Why don't you go and coolly impress everyone with your axe-handling skills while you're at it?"

"Well, I think that's a bit too much. Use some common sense, Deia."

"..."

Seriously, what a crappy brother.