Chapter 193: Encounter (7)
“Hmph.”
Windy May Maddown let out a quiet sigh.
“……”
Her gaze remained fixed, as if nailed in place, on the lifeless body of Anguster, which lay cold atop the autopsy table.
The body had been brutally destroyed and shattered.
Right beside the corpse, the strange wire that had been embedded in his chest was laid out neatly.
It looked as though several thin snakes had intertwined to form a single rope.
At a glance, it didn’t seem much different from several ordinary wires twisted together.
‘……What in the world is this?’
Windy May examined the wire closely as she thought.
After a lengthy investigation, she concluded that this twisted, nail-like thing was simply an ordinary wire twisted together.
……Or to be more precise, it was something whose purpose had completely ended.
“There’s no trace of mana… and no signs of alchemy either… and there’s no way this kind of result came from just physical force……”
Could it have been an extremely volatile ability?
Even if so, it was clearly strange that not even the faintest trace remained.
“……”
As for Anguster’s corpse, she could understand it even less.
Despite it being evident that several days had passed since death, his muscles showed no sign of rigor mortis, and there was not a single trace of decomposition.
As if time had stopped, his body looked startlingly lifelike.
“If it were necromancy……”
There were far too many unexplained elements.
In the end, she let out a soft sigh.
“Haah……”
Her original purpose had been to investigate the grotesque Tentacle Mass that had been stationed in the underground sewer, the lingering presence of a dragon there,
and the traces of the Cultists of the Evil God.
But then, she had unexpectedly encountered the corpse of Anguster, which had been moving as if alive.
On top of that, this unidentified iron needle had overturned all her plans and thoughts.
“……”
At that moment, Windy May suddenly recalled Lancia Jintia, whom she had met in the underground sewer.
‘The Agent.’
What had that bold Agent said to her again?
Yes, she had definitely asked about the Man without a head.
But Windy May knew absolutely nothing about the cryptic phrase, ‘Man without a head.’
However, the moment she heard those words, she had recalled something her old teacher, Edas, had once mentioned in passing.
‘……Could it be some kind of greater demon?’
Windy May shook her head and ultimately had no choice but to halt the experiment.
A tangle of complex thoughts unraveled in her mind, leaving it muddled.
Thinking she should take a short break and drink a warm cup of tea, she put a kettle on the stove.
Then, as if something had come to mind, she took out another teacup and placed it beside the first one.
Moments later, the soft fragrance of tea began to fill the room.
Windy May carefully placed the two teacups on a tray.
When she stepped outside with the tray in hand, she saw someone already sitting on the sofa in the lounge.
“……Do you know what happens when you waltz into a magician’s workshop uninvited? You don’t even get to keep your bones, you know?”
Windy May spoke with feigned severity in a teasing tone.
“……”
Cecilia Everglenn, seated on the sofa, turned her head silently to look at her.
Even after hearing Windy May’s words, her expression remained unchanged. She simply raised her head and stared back at her.
“Professor told me to come.”
At Cecilia’s indifferent reply, Windy May sighed and replied,
“That’s a problem in itself, you know!”
“Is it?”
“Of course it is! Do you have any idea how dangerous a magician’s workshop can be? In a case like this, you should’ve suggested meeting somewhere safer, Miss Cecilia.”
Cecilia looked at her with a face that seemed to ask what on earth she was trying to say.
Facing Cecilia’s icy gaze, Windy May spoke in a flustered tone.
“Hey, that’s a mean look! You shouldn’t look at your teacher with eyes like that! Come on, change them! Eyes filled with admiration! Now! Tsk! Hurry!”
“……”
Cecilia’s gaze grew even colder.
“Gehhk……”
In the end, Windy May exaggeratedly recoiled and let out a weird sound.
“Geez, don’t be so cold over just a little joke. You’re making me tear up… Here, have some tea.”
She placed a teacup in front of Cecilia and added,
“It’s expensive. I brewed it with my prized tea leaves, so even if it tastes bad, you have to drink it like it’s delicious. Got it?”
“Yes.”
Cecilia answered and lifted the teacup.
Then she lowered her head slightly.
“Thank you for the tea.”
As always, her reaction was dry and cold.
Windy May let out a small sigh as she looked at Cecilia, who was always particularly chilly toward her compared to the other two disciples.
“Ehhhew……”
She let out a sound of complaint without even realizing.
“If you treated me even half as warmly as you treat Lian, I’d have no more wishes left……”
“Pfft…! Cough, cough!”
Suddenly, Cecilia spat out the tea she was drinking and burst into a fit of coughing.
Her pale cheeks turned bright red in an instant.
“W-why are you bringing up L-Lian here…! I mean, why are you even mentioning that name…!”
Her voice, which snapped back angrily, trembled ever so slightly—unlike her usual tone.
‘…Huh?’
Windy May stared at Cecilia, surprised by her completely unexpected reaction.
Then she let out an awkward laugh and said,
“Noo, sorryyy… Eheh, I was just teasing.”
She replied while subtly avoiding Cecilia’s gaze.
‘Hmm, I thought it’d take a bit longer.’
Judging by her reaction, it seemed someone had tipped her off.
Whoever it was, Windy May thought they had done something terribly unfunny and sipped her tea quietly.
“……Urgh.”
Cecilia, who had been glaring at her with her lips tightly pressed together, turned her head away.
In that awkward silence, the two of them sipped their tea for a while.
“……So, what brings you here?”
The one to break the silence first was Windy May.
In response to her question, Cecilia answered.
“……As I mentioned earlier, I came because you said there was something you wanted to discuss regarding class.”
“I’m pretty sure I told you to come during the next class. And you even said you understood, didn’t yo—”
“……”
“……Well, since you’re already here, why don’t you go ahead and say it?”
What in the world is she trying to say?
Windy May’s eyes slightly narrowed at Cecilia’s demeanor, which was even more cautious than usual.
“Grmm.”
Cecilia hesitated for a moment, then let out a deep breath and carefully opened her mouth.
“Um… so, this isn’t about me, but someone I know……”
Ah, this.
Windy May realized instantly but skillfully played along and nodded as if she didn’t know.
“……Yes, yes. Someone you know. So, what about this acquaintance of yours?”
Cecilia, who had unconsciously been fidgeting with her fingers, stopped and continued in a trembling voice.
“That person… h-has… um, they have feelings for someone of the opposite sex.”
“Hm.”
Windy May nodded with a rather serious expression.
“But it seems they realized they had those feelings… a bit too late. And coincidentally, at that time, someone else… publicly confessed their feelings to that person.”
Cecilia’s voice grew quieter and quieter.
“So… that, um, the person I know asked me what they should do, but… it’s embarrassing, I have no experience with this kind of thing… so I couldn’t give them any helpful advice. That’s why I was wondering if, maybe, Professor… might have a good idea, so… I came to ask.”
She added in a small voice,
“Among the people I know, you have the most experience, Professor.”
After finishing her story, Cecilia looked at Windy May with hopeful eyes.
“You came to the right place, Miss Cecilia!”
Windy May puffed out her chest proudly as if to say, leave it to me.
“I, Windy May Maddown, am a true master of romance! Just a few decades ago, I had all the men in the Magic Tower wrapped around my finger! I was the first love of countless people! I received so many love letters that I could fill an entire warehouse with them!”
Clearly a bit too excited, she shouted more dramatically than usual.
As if to shake off the tangled thoughts in her mind, she emphasized again,
“I’m the perfect person to give your friend some flawless advice!”
“……Uh.”
At that, Cecilia’s expression subtly shifted.
She looked Windy May up and down, then asked suspiciously,
“You… received that many love letters from the people in the Magic Tower?”
Windy May’s appearance was that of a small, childlike girl.
At best, she looked like someone just entering adolescence.
Her confident claim just now seemed utterly disconnected from her youthful appearance.
“Ah—!”
Windy May suddenly realized her slip-up.
Then, flustered, she raised her voice defensively.
“Cecilia, are you doubting your teacher? Do you even know how dazzlingly beautiful I was before the curse?”
“Were you?”
“I had so many marriage proposals…! I was truly a devastating beauty of unmatched charm!”
Cecilia nodded with a still skeptical look.
Seeing her expression, Windy May almost snapped again, but managed to calm herself with a forced cough.
“Ahem……”
She gave a slight shake of her head.
For some reason, it felt like her emotions were more turbulent than usual today.
‘Maybe I was just too focused earlier.’
Her eyes suddenly sharpened.
‘……Or maybe.’
Even as she calmly assessed her own condition, Windy May kept up her childlike demeanor as she continued.
“Anyway, let me first explain what needs to be done. Make sure to remember this.”
Just as Windy May was about to begin her advice—
“Please wait a moment!”
A loud noise came from outside, followed by someone’s urgent voice.
“Y-you can’t go in there!”
“Please wait, this could really become a huge probl—!”
Despite the protests, someone was approaching with heavy strides.
Soon, the door burst open roughly.
“……”
It was a man with a broad and solid build.
An overwhelming presence radiated from his body, and most notably, his eyes glowed with the violet hue unique to the imperial family.
It was none other than the Second Imperial Prince of the Empire—Gernot.
“Ah.”
He glanced between Windy May and Cecilia, then quietly muttered in a low voice,
“So this is where you were.”