Chapter 156: Youth, Indeed (1)

Serpente’s interrogation yielded far less than I had hoped. She was nothing more than a puppet dancing on Mephisto’s strings, following his commands without knowing the true scope of his plan. As for other details about Mephisto, she seemed to be under some kind of restriction, unable to provide them.

What a shame.

I had thought this was my best chance to learn more about Mephisto, the most unsettling of the six Archbishops—though, to be exact, only four of them were left. But the harvest was meager at best.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked down at Serpente, who had fainted after the questioning. The question was whether to dispose of her or not. Normally, the safest way to deal with a demon was to kill them on the spot, leaving no loose ends. However, discarding a card that could prove useful against Mephisto felt wasteful.

Even with the memories of my past life, I knew little about Mephisto. How much power he possessed, what his ultimate purpose was, or why he had suddenly vanished in the middle of the war in my previous life—I knew nothing. Among the Archbishops, he was the one shrouded in the deepest mystery.

“For now, I’ll need to discuss this with Professor Baldwin,” I muttered.

Since this wasn’t something I could decide alone, I slung the unconscious Serpente over my shoulder and made my way back to the academy.

***

Three days later, after a brief visit to check on Professor Bastion, who was receiving treatment at the intensive care medical facility under Iris’s care, I headed to Professor Baldwin’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” answered Professor Baldwin.

I opened the door to see her lounging in her chair, one long leg crossed over the other.

Glancing at the neatly cleared table, I tilted my head. “How rare! You’re not smoking today?”

She gave a short cough and averted her eyes. “I’ve been trying to quit.”

I looked at her in surprise. “Quit? What brought that on all of a sudden?”

For someone who always had a cigarette in hand, quitting was almost unthinkable.

She scratched her cheek awkwardly before saying, “Well, don’t you dislike the smell of smoke, Dale?”

Her reply left me speechless.

Wait, am I the reason she decided to quit?

I bit back a laugh and shook my head. “Well, I don’t exactly like it, but there’s no need to force yourself to quit. It’s not particularly harmful to your health, anyway.”

Heroes were far more resilient than ordinary humans, and detoxification came naturally to them. A bit of tobacco wouldn’t damage their health.

She replied, “But still...”

“And besides, Professor Baldwin without a cigarette? It feels like flat beer. Something’s missing.”

She furrowed her brows, looking annoyed. “And just what exactly do you see when you look at me?”

“In any case, if that’s the reason, then you don’t need to stop. A cigarette suits you quite well, Professor.”

I didn’t hold a particularly positive image of smoking, but there was no denying that it somehow fit her.

“Really?”

She seemed almost relieved, quickly opening her drawer to pull out a cigarette. With a faint flush in her cheeks, she placed it between her lips and leaned toward me, eyes closed, as if demanding a kiss.

I proceeded to light it for her with a flicker of ashen flame.

She took a long drag, then exhaled deeply. “

Haa!

Finally, the stress of these past three days feels lighter.”

“Has it been that busy?”

She frowned. “Busy? That’s putting it mildly. To be honest, when you showed me that recording of you kidnapping a woman and forcing her into an interrogation, I didn’t know what in the world to do with you.”

I stared at her, deadpan. “Hey.”

The way she phrased it made me sound like a degenerate criminal.

She smirked mischievously, shrugging. “Kidding. Anyway, the situation with that demon has been handled for now.”

“How?”

“She’s locked up in the demon detention center in Valhalla City. Ready to be used as a bargaining chip if necessary.”

I wondered if the demon detention center could really hold her. While their security was strict, Serpente wasn’t someone who could be easily contained.

“Are you worried we won’t be able to keep her locked up because of the Blessing of Whispers?”

“Yes.”

“You needn’t worry. She won’t be able to use it.”

I gave her a questioning look, thinking,

She won’t be able to?

Professor Baldwin’s lips curved into a chilling smile. “The Blessing of Whispers works only if she can speak, correct?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then with her mouth sewn shut, the blessing is useless.”

Just hearing it sent a cold shiver down my spine. I briefly wondered how the demon would even eat like that, but I didn’t ask. The important thing was that we now had Serpente, a valuable card, in our hands. We didn’t know how Mephisto would respond, but in uncertain times, the more cards we held, the better it was.

“Dale.”

“Yes?”

“These past three days, I’ve been very, very busy.” She stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, fixing me with a weary stare. “From the start of the semester, I’ve been buried in meetings, working late every night. And just when things were finally starting to calm down, you waltz in and dump a ‘Bishop of Depravity’ in my lap like some live bomb.”

Clearly letting out frustrations she had been holding back, she vented her complaints in a rush. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep incidents this big hidden from the academy administration and handle them in secret?”

“

Ah!

I-I’m sorry.”

Excuse or not, it was true that I had left everything for her to take care of.

Her lips curved into a sly smile, her eyes glinting mischievously. “Are you truly sorry?”

Rising from her chair, she stretched herself across the guest sofa in the middle of her office, then turned her gaze on me. “If so, how about you personally relieve this professor’s fatigue, Dale?”

“Are you asking me to give you a massage?”

Sprawled across the cushions, she playfully swayed her long legs. “

Fufu

. Why else would I be lying down on this sofa like this?”

I sighed and stepped closer to where she lay. Crouching beside her, I got ready to knead her shoulders, only for her to grab my hand.

“Sit on my lower back,” she said.

“That’s a bit...”

“Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable for you to reach from that angle?”

I clicked my tongue. With no way out, I awkwardly climbed onto her waist. Over the thin white blouse, I pressed my hands to the faintly visible line of her back.

“

Nngh!

” she exclaimed.

I worked my thumbs into the muscles around her spine. Contrary to her delicate waist, thin enough to look like it might snap with a touch, I could feel firm, well-trained muscles beneath my fingertips.

“

Haaah!

Mmhh!

Ahh!

”

“Please don’t make strange noises, Professor,” I said.

“B-but I can’t help it if they come out, can I?”

“If you keep that up, I’ll stop right here.”

“

Ugh!

”

She bit her lip to stifle her voice. But it didn’t last long. Once I really dug into the knots in her back, her suppressed cries broke free again.

She said, “Dale! Y-you’re pressing too hard! If you keep pushing there—

Ahh

!”

“No. Wait a minute.”

“I-I can’t.

Nnghh

!”

Why is she doing this to me? I should’ve put up a soundproofing barrier on the door first.

Just as I paused to catch my breath and got up to check the door, something heavy struck against it, and I felt a push. A man lay sprawled on the floor, staring up at me, a stack of documents clutched in one hand.

“Albert?” I said.

Albert scrambled upright, stammering. “I-I was just running an errand for Professor Kane, and so,

ermm!

”

“Wait, calm down, Albert. It’s not what you think!”

His face was beet red as he shook his head furiously. “I-I-I didn’t hear anything, Dale! Nothing at all!”

No matter how he acted, it was obvious he had heard plenty.

“D-don’t worry! I won’t tell anyone!” he said.

“No, listen, that’s not...”

“S-sorry for interrupting your,

erm

, special time!!!”

Before I could stop him, Albert spun around and bolted down the hallway.

Uh, so... Wait a minute. Isn’t the Hoover family the empire’s largest information guild? I’m screwed.

* * *

After leaving Professor Baldwin’s office, I sat on a bench outside, clutching my head in both hands. “

Haah!

”

At that moment, a familiar voice reached my ears. “What’s with all the gloom?”

I looked up and saw Senior Sophia standing there, arms crossed, peering down at me.

“It’s nothing,” I replied.

“For nothing, your sighs were loud enough to echo down the hall.”

I clamped my mouth shut, avoiding her sharp gaze.

She continued, “Well, fine. If you don’t want to talk, don’t. Not like you don’t already have a mountain of secrets you’re hiding.”

“What brings you here, Senior?”

The building used by the fourth-years was quite a distance away.

“I came to see you,” she answered.

“Me?”

“There’s something I wanted to say, and... something I wanted to ask of you.” She bowed her head slightly. “Thank you. Because of you, I was able to clear up a lot of misunderstandings.”

Her expression had softened considerably compared to when we first met. It was lighter, as if a burden had been lifted from her heart.

“Does this mean I can actually talk to you now?” I asked.

“

Huh

? What are you...

Oh

.” She let out a small laugh, remembering the awkward first time we had met. “Well, do as you like. We’ll be seeing each other often in the research lab anyway.”

“Research lab?”

“I’ll be helping Professor Bastion with his project.”

“

Ah

.”

The future Archmage working together with the heir of the Great Sage—I couldn’t even imagine what those two would end up creating.

I smothered a laugh and gave a small nod. “So, what was the request you mentioned earlier?”

“

Ah

, right, that...” Her cheeks flushed faintly as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “You said you’re close with Berald Ryu, right?”

She cleared her throat and continued, “C-could you maybe,

uh

, give me his contact?”

I was at a loss for words.

It was the season of autumn, and with it, a new wind of youth began to stir.