Chapter 361: Side Story — The Answer
“It’s been a while.”
The petite wizard with flowing reddish brown hair, Aria Lilias, greeted with a blank expression as she used telekinesis to arrange books wedged in the bookshelf.
The books arranged on the shelf were obsessively tidy.
This was the top floor of the Hegel Tower, Aria’s laboratory. I sent White ahead and came to visit Aria for the first time in a while.
As usual, her tone was dry and emotionless, but I could sense that she was secretly pleased.
“Are you still spying on Professor Fernando these days?” I asked playfully as I took off my fedora.
“These days, it’s tough because that rascal of a disciple has gotten better at catching on.”
“So you’re still doing it.”
“Because I’m worried. If someone is my disciple, whoever they are. So, what’s your business?”
Aria perched on the desk in her laboratory and looked at me.
“We’re not the kind of people who need a reason to visit, are we? I just stopped by the academy and thought I’d come see you.”
“It’s too late to have a meal together… Just stay and relax before you leave.”
“Alright.”
Aria lowered her head and silently read a book.
No matter how petite and youthful she looked, there was an air of experience in the way she read. Calm and intellectual, I’d say.
I browsed the bookshelf, picked up a random book, and started reading. It was a Specialized text. In the middle of the pages, animated illustrations moved to explain the research process.
Suddenly, a curious thought struck me, I wondered if all the books on the shelf were magic-related texts.
“Teacher, are all the books here Specialized texts?”
“That’s correct.”
“…But there’s an erotic book here?”
“…”
As the saying went, If one wanted to hide a tree, hide it in a forest, the erotic book was inconspicuously placed among the Specialized texts.
No matter how vast the library was, it was hard to escape my eyes.
“…Someone must have left it here, and I just placed it randomly. Don’t misunderstand.”
“Is that so?”
Aria glanced at the book I was holding, then maintained her poker face while averting her gaze. I immediately knew she was lying. The next time I visited, the book would likely be gone.
Of course, I teased her just for fun. Not wanting to invade Aria’s privacy, I put the book back in its original spot.
To begin with, the title was Three Men, One Woman, so I didn’t have the courage to open it.
It was true I was curious, but there were things in this world better left unknown… So, I exercised self-control.
“By the way, it’s about time you told me something.”
“What is it?”
While I was browsing the bookshelf, Aria spoke to me. I stopped and looked at her.
Something I need to talk about?
“Did you forget? You said you’d tell me once everything was over. But you haven’t yet.”
“…What was it again?” I asked awkwardly with a smile, and Aria lifted her head to look at me.
“Why did you struggle so much when learning 7-star magic?”
“Ah.”
It came back to me.
I had promised to answer that question once everything was over. I had completely forgotten about it.
Being that it was all over, there was nothing left to hide.
I guess it was fine to reveal it as promised.
“That’s true… I haven’t told you yet.”
Unintentionally, a smile crept onto my face as I quietly walked along the bookshelf.
With each step I took, I faintly felt as though the troubled steps I had taken on the day I first faced the demons overlapped with my own.
My academy life wasn’t a story of romance or youth, but a survival tale stained with troubles and despair.
It was a precarious tightrope walk where a single misstep meant death.
Because I was…
“I was, in fact, the weakest.”
For a moment, Aria furrowed her eyebrows but quickly composed her expression.
“The weakest…? You? By what standard?”
“At Märchen Academy. I was genuinely weak. That’s why I worked hard to learn, study, and train, step by step.”
“I can’t understand that.”
“I suppose.”
As I spoke my story without pretense, I felt a weight lift off my chest.
The smile lingering on my lips was probably because of that.
“But I had a conditional ability to become strong.”
“Conditional? What kind?”
“The ability to grow stronger when I resolved to fight demons. I could only become strong when demons were the enemy. And everything I built up was useful when fighting demons.”