Chapter 9

Chapter 9

‘I’ve really met a crazy person.’

Lily felt as if time were flowing at a snail’s pace as Ariel, struck in the face by Khal’s fist, collapsed.

Did he even realize what he was doing?

Khal wore a cynical smile, but his eyes glared at the Sceletus School students.

From the way things looked, it was like a ferocious lion intimidating a pack of herbivores.

‘I thought it was the other way around just a moment ago.’

As Lily looked on in confusion at this unpredictable turn of events, Khal looked at her and spoke.

“It’s decided. I’m going to Onyx Square. Thanks.”

“…What? How are you going to fix this situation before you go?”

Khal shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“What do you mean, fine?”

“These guys will never make this incident public. They’ll try to take revenge privately.”

“Ugh!”

The Sceletus School students grimaced, realizing their intentions had been seen through instantly.

Khal shoved his hands into his pockets and left one final remark.

“Tell Deses. If he has something to say, come in person.”

“Kuh! How arrogant!”

Khal snorted in mockery and walked out the door.

“Wait, hold on!”

Startled, Lily tried to catch up to Khal, then suddenly looked at Eri, who was standing there.

“Eri. It’s okay if I go, right?”

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

Sensing Lily’s urgency, Eri nodded with a dazed expression.

“Sorry.”

Apologizing, Lily chased after Khal without looking back.

Watching them leave, Eri burst into a giggle.

“Hmm, things are about to get interesting.”

“What’s so funny? Are you crazy?”

The students glared at Eri, their eyes burning with anger.

“I’ll keep today’s events a secret, so be careful next time.”

Eri put her index finger to her lips and winked at them.

“…”

Realizing that her annoying behavior was a veiled threat, they trembled in frustration. Eri was one of the students in Partes whom one must never provoke.

* * *

Having learned about the educational system of Partes through Lily, Khal left the main building without hesitation and headed toward a remote hut.

The wooden sign at the entrance was engraved with the symbol of ‘Onyx Square,’ showing a shield and a sword crossing each other.

“Unlike other schools, it looks like a remote countryside.”

“That’s what I told you. It won’t benefit you at all.”

Lily, who had accompanied Khal to the very spot, grumbled.

“Why are you following me, anyway?”

Khal tilted his head as he looked at Lily, who had somehow naturally fallen into step with him.

“…I wonder.”

As if she didn’t understand her own actions, Lily made a troubled face before speaking.

“You seem like you’re going to cause a lot of trouble, so I thought it would be better to keep an eye on you for a while. And if you end up suffering by going to some strange school, I’d feel like it was my fault.”

‘I should never have talked to him if I knew this would happen.’

Even though she still regretted her actions, for some reason, she stayed by Khal’s side.

Khal felt a strange sensation.

‘She’s worried about me?’

It was the first time he had heard such a thing since hearing it from his mother, Sarah Stark, so he was flustered, but he didn’t feel bad.

‘Is this the part where I offer a compliment?’

Since he had never given a compliment in his life, Kalliant didn’t know if this was the right thing to do.

Khal naturally stroked Lily’s head and said, “You’re a good girl. Is there anything you want to eat?”

Snap!

Realizing she was being treated like a pet, Lily’s forehead veins bulged as she shouted.

“Do you want to die?!”

Slap!

The sharp sound of a strike echoed through the forest.

* * *

‘…Women are difficult.’

To become a knight, protect women and children. If you commit assault or draw your sword without reason, you’re out.

Because he had adjusted his behavioral code, Khal couldn’t say anything to Lily even though a handprint was left on his cheek. He simply contemplated deeply on what he had done wrong.

Puffing with anger, Lily nonetheless persistently guided Khal to Onyx Square.

“Professor! May I come in?”

Standing in front of the door, she knocked, but there was no response.

“Professor, I’m coming in.”

Creak!

Lily pushed the door open.

But as soon as the door opened…

Whoosh!

A massive amount of books cascaded over their feet.

Looking at the scene inside the hut, Khal could not hide his bewilderment. Books were piled up like mountains, as if a war had swept through.

“…Is this a dump?”

“That’s rude. You should call it a research lab.”

Flutter, flutter, flutter.

Papers with scribbles on them flew through the air as if they wouldn’t allow a single gap. The pile of documents must have collapsed when the door was opened, making a mess.

Khal grabbed a piece of paper and, upon reading it, his eyes sparkled for a moment.

“Oho.”

He uttered a soft exclamation of admiration, too quiet for Lily to hear.

“Professor McCally, where are you?”

Meanwhile, Lily began searching for the professor.

‘Where did she go? Someone who spends all day locked in the lab because of research…’

Just as she began to look worried, wondering if she had gone missing, the pile of books right next to her started to shake.

“Huh?”

The moment she reflexively turned her head there, a small hand protruding from between the books grabbed Lily’s arm.

Then.

“Fooood~~.”

The owner of the hand was a girl who looked like a skeleton.

“Kyaaaaaak!”

Lily screamed at the sudden situation, and Khal covered his ears with his index fingers while looking at the human attached to Lily. A woman with thick-rimmed glasses and pink hair in twin tails. She was a small girl, about 150 centimeters tall.

“Don’t tell me that’s McCally?”

Khal thought as he looked at her with dark eyes. …Now is the last chance to change majors.

* * *

After the small commotion ended, Khal sat at a table set up outside the hut.

“You really startled me, Professor.”

Lily, wearing an apron, placed a pot of boiling stew on the table and looked at McCally with a still-resentful expression.

Chomp, chomp.

McCally was frantically stuffing stew and bread into her mouth. She looked up at Lily when she heard her voice.

“Sorry, sorry. Hahaha. I’ve been stuck in a dilemma for ten days.”

McCally smiled casually. Then she glanced at Khal and asked, “So, who is this handsome flower boy?”

Lily shrugged one shoulder. “He’s a new transfer student. I brought him here because he said he wanted to join Onyx Square.”

“My god! Why would he do something so crazy?”

“…Professor. You don’t have to admit it that honestly.”

McCally adjusted her glasses, which had slipped down to the bridge of her nose, and looked at Khal.

“If you came here with a half-hearted mindset, you’d better go back. Even those who thought they were geniuses couldn’t even stand a chance here and left. Get out before you ruin your life.”

She was giving advice as a senior in life, but instead of answering, Khal held out one of McCally’s scribbled papers across the table.

“Ah! You picked it up for me? Thanks.”

Did she speak too harshly? Just as a sheepish McCally reached out to grab the paper, scratching the back of her head, Khal pointed to a paragraph in the paper and said bluntly, “This is wrong.”

Snap!

The informal speech uttered without hesitation, coupled with an objection to her thesis, made McCally’s expression darken.

“You’re just a fledgling, yet you dare to point out a flaw in the research of the top professor produced by Partes?”

“I just said something wrong was wrong.”

McCally’s face turned red and then blue, and finally, the veins in her neck bulged.

“WHERE!!!”

A short while later, after a long debate, it was McCally who was defeated.

“Sniff, sniff, sniff. Waaaaah!”

Currently, she was clinging to Lily and wouldn’t stop sobbing in misery.

“Don’t cry, Professor. There, there.”

Why am I here doing this? Lily wondered how she had gotten so caught up in this, then looked at Khal with a curious expression. There was no way to know his hometown or what family he came from, but he wasn’t just a rough man who caused trouble. Surprisingly, this man had dismantled the theory of McCally, the top professor at Partes, with precise logic. And McCally, who had been crushed after only arguing back, couldn’t contain her resentment and burst into tears.

“Hic! That guy is so annoying!! Tell him to get lost.”

“…”

Was that any way to talk to a student who was asking to join her school? It was absurd, but Khal chuckled and said, “I like it. I’ll join this school.”

“Aaaaah! You’re really annoying!!”

As if she truly hated Khal, McCally said while trembling like an aspen tree, “You punk! Show some respect!”

“I am showing plenty of respect.”

“Where?!”

“…”

Seeing the two bickering, Lily thought, ‘Who is the teacher and who is the student?’ The distinction was unclear, but their squabbling seemed to be nearing an end. Khal twisted the corner of his mouth and said to McCally, “The reason your theory had no choice but to be flawed in a few places is that there was no one to coordinate it.”

“…Ho-How did you know that?!”

“I simply pointed out the parts that had side effects while actually trying to refine mana based on this theory.”

“R-Really?”

Khal nodded and said with a slight smile, “I can participate in your research and complete this theory.”

It was like the temptation of a devil. McCally seemed deeply shaken, acting restless.

“Hmph!”

But she soon turned her head away with a huffy expression, and Khal sighed. “…It’s difficult.”

“It’s because both of you are stubborn,” Lily pointed out, and the two made complex expressions. For Kalliant, the mana cultivation method designed based on McCally’s theory was the most appropriate means to settle the Demon King’s demonic energy into a frail human body. And for McCally, she needed a participant who could coordinate her theory. Whatever the case, the two were essential to each other.

At that very moment, the crystal ball on the table glowed, and the shadow of a woman appeared as her voice flowed out.

[It’s been a while, Professor McCally.]

“Pfft! Your—Your Majesty!!! What brings you to contact me so late at night?”

McCally, who had happened to be drinking water, sprayed it out of her mouth and immediately paid her respects. Lily was also greatly surprised and knelt on one knee. The one who had contacted McCally through the crystal ball was none other than the Queen of Isilia, Ekaterina II.

[I contacted you because I was curious if the research was going well. If you lack anything, I will provide as much support as you need.]

Thwack thwack thwack! It felt like arrows were piercing her chest. Feeling a great sense of guilt, McCally felt dizzy. The Queen’s expectations were inevitably burdensome.

“I—I am s-sorry for causing concern. The research is going well. I will show the results at the society soon.”

[Is that so? Then I must go there as well. By the way, did you have a disciple in Onyx Square?]

Thump, thump. McCally, sensing that the conversation was heading in an ominous direction, suddenly pulled Khal—who was standing blankly out of the crystal ball’s view—into an arm lock.

“Hahahaha, do not worry. I will show the results with my disciple at the society soon.”

“What? Why suddenly…”

Khal twitched his eyebrows and tried to react with displeasure, but…

“Smile, you punk. If you don’t want to die.”

Looking at McCally, who was sweating profusely, he changed his mind and paid his respects with a stiff smile. “…I am Kalliant.”

[Hohoho, it is a beautiful sight to see such a close relationship between master and disciple.]

The Queen laughed as if relieved. Meanwhile, McCally looked at Khal with an unhappy gaze and said, “I don’t like it, but I’ll accept you as my disciple.”

“I think you mean I’m accepting you as my master.”

Snap! Snap! The two of them had veins bulging on their faces as they bumped their fists together. Watching this, Lily muttered to herself, her expression one of utter disbelief. “…Where exactly does this look beautiful, Your Majesty?”