Episode 4
The notification appeared simultaneously as I immediately deployed a telekinetic shield above my head.
Thump! Rattle-rattle-rattle.
A heavy, crushing sound followed by a shower of pebbles like rain.
The flowerpot that fell from the sky was the size of a human head.
If I hadn’t deployed the shield in time, my neck would have snapped.
“Who’s there?”
A flowerpot this size couldn’t have jumped down on its own, so I looked up to find the culprit.
A third-floor window was open, but there was no sign of anyone.
Had they already fled?
[Notification]
[Death Branch Point Cleared.]
[Acquired Achievement Points as a reward.]
“…….”
Was the thought that ‘maybe someone dropped it by accident’ too optimistic?
There might be someone within this very academy who wanted Winter Winslet dead.
Swallowing my unease, I entered the Magic Studies building.
At least inside the building, I wouldn’t have to worry about falling flowerpots.
The faculty entrance had mailboxes installed, and the slot with Winter Winslet‘s name on it contained a few envelopes.
Just as I reached out to take them while passing by…
[Warning]
[Death Branch Point has been updated.]
Again?
I hastily looked around, but there was no one nearby.
The ceiling was solidly overhead.
But when I looked forward again, I saw the mailbox gaping its maw, ready to bite off my hand.
…The mailbox?
I immediately channeled magic into my right hand and struck down.
Crunch-Snap.
Squeeeak!
The sound of the mailbox—no, the Mimic impersonating a mailbox—screaming and collapsing.
For a moment, I was speechless.
Why was a monster that should be hiding in dungeons pretending to be a mailbox in someone else’s academy?
[Notification]
[Death Branch Point Cleared.]
[Acquired Achievement Points as a reward.]
Clicking my tongue, I retrieved the mail from the outstretched Mimic’s maw; the paper envelopes were soaked in drool.
I considered just throwing them away, but thinking there might be important documents, I carried them to my office.
And then I stared at them intently.
…Surely they wouldn’t have tampered with the documents too?
At a glance, they looked like ordinary mail.
But my wariness sounded an alarm.
Don’t open them carelessly.
Resolving not to open them unless it was truly urgent and important, I first skimmed the titles written on the envelopes.
<(URGENT) ‘Please approve by this morning.’>
<(MUST-READ) Regarding adjustment of College of Magic operational budget performance for Semester 1.>
<Royal Ministry of Magic, Bureau of Magical Crime Investigation. Request for attendance as a person of reference regarding suspicions of illegal manufacture and distribution of regulated magical substances within the Academy.>
<‘Sending draft script for Entrance Ceremony commemorative speech.’>
<Tenure Review Failure Notification.>
…Devilish bastards.
As if bewitched, I opened the documents, and the moment I pulled out the paper inside, I felt a slight resistance.
A sensation like pulling a thin thread connected to a trap.
Sure enough.
Whoosh!
The paper caught fire.
The rapidly consuming flames left charred marks on the paper, and the charred marks formed lines, creating a pattern.
The completed line drawing soon took the shape of a magic circle.
In other words, it was an improvised Explosion Scroll.
Of course.
BOOM!
[Warning]
[Death Branch Point has been updated.]
This time, the explosion was even faster than the notification.
These insane bastards.
They say curiosity killed the cat.
But Winter Winslet was no cat; he was a high wizard who had reached the 7th Class, and a shoddy improvised explosion scroll couldn’t leave a single scratch on my body.
Pffsss…
What remained in the spot where the explosion had occurred was a thin, hemispherical ice cocoon that had enveloped me.
For someone of Winter Winslet‘s caliber, with S-Rank talents in magic Power and Element: Ice, defense was possible even at an unconscious level without using a spell.
The efficiency of magic consumption was just lower.
[Notification]
[Death Branch Point Cleared.]
[Acquired Achievement Points as a reward.]
Whoosh.
Gathering the still-unopened documents, I burned them with a flame spell, finally becoming certain.
The Royal Academy of Laurentia.
Inside this place, there was someone aiming for Winter Winslet‘s life.
Who could it be?
Who had gifted me such malicious pranks on my very first day at work as Winter Winslet?
I was soon to meet that list of suspects.
After much tribulation, I finally arrived at the monthly faculty meeting.
The professors, sitting in a rectangle around the small conference room and engaged in miscellaneous chatter, fell silent as if on cue the moment I opened the door and entered.
A brief stillness.
“Oh, Professor Winslet has graced us as well. Surprisingly.”
Pairs of eyes fixed on me, led by the old man sitting at the head seat.
The gazes directed at me were largely of two kinds.
Wariness and hostility, or fear and avoidance.
The proportion of the latter was overwhelmingly higher, but these two types had one thing in common…
[Notification]
[This character’s Death Flag is active.]
I remembered a fact I had forgotten.
That one of Winter Winslet‘s nicknames was ‘That famous asshole of the Academy.’
I counted how many of the professors present had Death Flags raised against me, and, sure enough.
It was all of them.
The whole world was a Death Flag.
The moment Professor Winslet entered, his long blond hair flowing, the atmosphere in the conference room cooled and sank.
Professor Breda, sitting closest to the entrance, rubbed her arms, under the illusion that this wasn’t just a metaphor but the temperature had actually dropped by at least 3 degrees Celsius.
Professor Winslet, sitting down and looking up, was a man as tall as a coat rack and as inorganic as terracotta.
His cold, dry expression was unreadable.
Only after he passed behind her and moved to an empty seat could Professor Breda finally exhale the breath she’d been holding.
She whispered to the colleague sitting next to her.
“What brings him here?”
“Indeed. The guy who never shows his face usually…….”
The one responding was Professor Charles, who taught basic magic spells.
Professor Corrigan, sitting beyond him, had unfortunately started hiccup.
She taught transformation magic and had a timid personality.
“Hic!”
“Be careful. Who knows what kind of tantrum he’ll throw if he thinks you made eye contact again.”
It wasn’t just these three; everyone in the conference room was on high alert due to Professor Winslet‘s unexpected appearance.
Amidst the sound of swallowed saliva echoing, Professor Winslet, after briefly scanning the room, spoke.
“How long will you just sit there with your mouths shut? The meeting?”
“Ahem, ahem!”
The old gentleman at the head seat began the meeting with a reluctant expression.
“Since everyone is seated, shall we begin the 5th Faculty Meeting of this year? I am Kimberly Kelly, Dean of the 2nd College of Magic. As the position of Dean for the 1st College of Magic is currently vacant, I will be presiding over the meeting in that capacity.”
The former dean who should have been here had his head fly off last winter after somehow displeasing Professor Winslet.
That was why Dean Kelly kept glancing at Professor Winslet‘s reaction throughout his speech.
“First, please review the monthly work plan distributed to your seats. The first item is a directive from the Academic Affairs Office.”
Even though the meeting had started, most glances still hadn’t left Professor Winslet.
The profile of Professor Winslet, tilting the paper in front of him and scanning it with his eyes.
His posture seemed as if he were handling something unfamiliar, and Professor Breda, sneaking peeks at him, snorted inwardly.
‘I bet. You probably never read these before.’
Dean Kelly continued the meeting.
“This is a report that there are personnel from the 1st College of Magic who have not completed the mandatory ethics training for faculty members. It says those individuals must attend the make-up session this weekend to avoid disadvantages. The ones who did not attend the Anti-Corruption Education and Conflict of Interest Prevention Law training are… Hmm, Professor Winslet?”
Gulp.
Dean Kelly flinched as soon as he finished speaking.
Because everyone except Professor Winslet was staring daggers at him.
“Uh… Did I make a mistake?”
“Dean Kelly!”
Someone shot their hand up to speak.
“Go ahead, Professor Corrigan.”
It was unexpected for the usually reserved Professor Corrigan to raise her hand and speak up during a meeting.
But Professor Corrigan made an even more unexpected statement.
“Our Professor Winter doesn’t do that sort of thing!”
“…Excuse me?”
When the Dean retorted in disbelief, Professor Corrigan, nervous, blurted out in a voice fluctuating in pitch.
“Professor Winslet just doesn’t do that, okay! Dean Kelly, you must not know because it’s your first time here! Right? Ahaha.”
It sounded like nonsense, but Dean Kelly swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.
Because he felt a strange sense of incongruity from Professor Corrigan‘s words and actions.
Her exaggerated tension, her desperate eyes…
It felt unnatural, as if someone was holding a sword to her throat.
Was she sending some kind of signal?
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the Dean decided to let it pass for now.
It took a few forced coughs to regain his composure.
“Ahem, ahem. Then, next item. Professors who have applied to open courses for the 1st semester must submit their syllabi to guarantee students’ right to learn, but there is someone who has not yet submitted this. Hmm, namely…….”
The Dean adjusted his glasses once and read the name written on the paper verbatim.
“Professor Winslet, again?”
Naturally shifting his gaze, the Dean made eye contact with Professor Winslet and felt a chill run down his spine.
The blond-haired handsome man offered no answer.
He just stared intently at the Dean’s face with an icy, expressionless mask.
His cold eyes seemed to say:
‘Go on, say one more word.’
This time too, Professor Corrigan saved him.
“Dean!”
“Yes?”
“Professor Winslet doesn’t submit those!”
“…….”
The Dean wiped away a cold sweat.
He finally realized.
Professor Corrigan wasn’t trying to disrupt the meeting; she was trying to protect him from provoking Professor Winslet‘s wrath.
The Dean gave a small, grateful look.
“W-well, let’s skip this item too. Next is the matter of the unpublished course evaluation results from last semester…….”
Dean Kelly stopped mid-sentence.
Because, once again, the person in question was Winter Winslet.
Glancing subtly at Professor Corrigan, sure enough, she was shaking her head vigorously at the Dean.
As if telling him not to cross that river.
“Hmm.”
The Dean simply took his pen and crossed out all the items on today’s agenda related to Professor Winslet.
That left exactly two.
“…….”
Anyway, the meeting had to end for him to escape this murderous place, so the Dean reluctantly proceeded.
“This time, it’s a request from the Student Affairs Office. They want to run a half-price meal event for enrolled students once the spring semester starts. However, since the budget is limited, they will prioritize implementing it for colleges or departments that can cover a certain portion of the cost.”
Dean Kelly, thinking he could finally hold a proper meeting now, let out a sigh of relief.
“I checked yesterday, and the 1st College of Magic’s budget seems to have some leeway. Particularly, last year’s carry-over amount is substantial. How about covering the support funds from this? Does anyone have any objections?”
Screech!
The sound of Professor Corrigan pushing her chair back and standing up.
Seeing her desperate expression as she shot upright, the Dean could almost picture what was coming next.
“Deaaaaan!”
“Don’t tell me……”
“That money is Professor Winslet‘s emergency fund!”
“No.”
The Dean barely managed to close his gaping mouth.
‘No, what kind of place is this?’
It was truly a madhouse.
