Chapter 35

They say the Magic Studies Department Head is Professor Reina.

The moment Yujin heard that, he spoke up.

“Any chance of a position change?”

“That… it’s not entirely impossible…”

“Haha, figured as much. Since I’ve been hired as a Magic Studies Professor, we should probably make the department head position fall under the Magic Studies department, right?”

“…”

As Yujin chuckled with half-given-up laughter, the President just hung their head, at a loss for words.

“I’d like to give you an important post if my heart desired… but unfortunately, all the positions are already filled…”

“It’s fine. Can’t be helped.”

While the President holds the most authority within the Academy, they didn’t establish it themselves. It was built through the overlapping interests of many people, and the funds used to create it were gathered through external sponsorship.

With so much money and vested interests tangled together, the Academy does hold a somewhat extralegal power and status against outside forces, but internally, there’s no end to the struggles over influence and power.

Among the professors are key figures from various countries, and it’s simply impossible even for the President to arbitrarily push them aside and give Yujin a significant post tied to the Academy’s real power.

Moreover, while the Academy does have an extralegal power and status against outside forces, meaning it can’t easily be shaken by someone as small as a minor noble or as large as a royal family using their influence… if a whole nation were to cut off support and sever ties, the Academy would inevitably be thrown into turmoil.

In short, if the President were to wield authority recklessly and fill the Academy with their own people, there’s a risk that each country would sever ties with the Academy. Plus, the reason Ines could take the position as President is because they belong to the Karandar Family, a neutral force unaffiliated with any nation.

Long story short, even if President Ines supports Yujin, it doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly. Adapting to life as an Academy professor is entirely on Yujin.

“This sure is… interesting.”

Yujin bitterly chuckled to himself. Of all people, his superior, the department head, happens to be Professor Reina Sahart. Given how she’s already got it in for him, things won’t be easy.

Seeing this, the President cautiously asked:

“…Excuse me, may I ask one question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Professor Reina mentioned… that you revealed your identity as a Dark Sorcerer…”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“…May I ask why you did such a thing?”

“Just a harmless prank. Thought I might as well play along with the misunderstanding of being a Dark Sorcerer and mess around a bit. Though I didn’t expect it to blow up like this.”

“Tha…t’s quite something.”

The President opened and closed their mouth several times before finally saying:

“…Even so, wasn’t pretending to be a Dark Sorcerer going a bit too far?”

“True, you’re right about that. But if I could rewind time, it wouldn’t matter…”

“…Is that possible?”

Of course, while I’ve seen time being reversed locally, can you really rewind time?

At that question, Yujin tilted their head slightly.

“Not impossible. It just takes some effort.”

It’s not just reversing time within the Academy; changing day and night essentially means rewinding time for the entire world. And even for a Transcendent, that’s no easy feat. To be precise, it would require Yujin to push themselves a little.

Not easy, but still possible. There are numerous recorded instances in Tiamat’s memories where a single Transcendent has rewound time for the whole world. The problem is…

“If you do something on that scale, the gods will definitely notice.”

Transcendents aren’t affected by time rewinds. According to Tiamat, it’s because they live in different worlds…

While mortals live in what’s commonly called the Lower Realm, Transcendents reside in the Upper Realm. Time in the Upper Realm isn’t something a single Transcendent can manipulate. The absolute time standard for Transcendents is also influenced by the Upper Realm.

In reality, all Yujin can rewind is the time in the Lower Realm. And even then, the gods will definitely notice if he does.

So now, undoing mistakes by rewinding time isn’t an option. Besides, this isn’t the kind of mistake worth fixing by going that far anyway.

“Just don’t plan on doing that. It’s not a mistake worth fixing to that extent.”

“Is that… so?”

At that, the President hesitated for a moment before speaking to Yujin.

“Please… don’t go too far. Reina has been assisting me for a long time…”

“Ah… I see. Certainly, from your perspective, it must be unpleasant for me to deceive her.”

“No, no! It’s not exactly unpleasant, but…”

“Hahaha, feel free to be honest. Also, there’s no need to worry too much. It was just a light-hearted joke. I have no intention of making Professor Reina’s life difficult.”

Yujin was sincere. What would he possibly gain from tormenting Professor Reina?

The low-level pleasure derived from messing with others? While Yujin may be nasty, he’s not that kind of person.

Relieved by Yujin’s reassurance, the President nodded.

“Yes… thank you.”

“So, anything else you’d like to say?”

“Ah, actually, there is one more thing…”

“What is it?”

The President glanced around briefly before asking Yujin:

“You said there was a way to help Princess Elysia, right?”

***

Meanwhile, at the female dormitory.

“…”

At the very top floor of the building, in a room more luxurious and elegantly decorated than any other, a woman lay asleep on the bed like Sleeping Beauty in the forest.

The flower pinned to her right eye complemented her beauty, giving off an odd yet mysterious aura.

At the same time, despite her powerful martial arts skills, she had a frail, delicate air like a flower, which made anyone who saw her feel protective.

If someone were to see her now, they might lean in to kiss her tempting pink lips like a prince from a fairy tale, unaware of the thorns hidden within.

“…Hmm…”

Just then, the sleeping princess began to stir with a soft groan.

Her long, slender eyelashes fluttered as her eyelids slowly opened.

“…Ah.”

With a soft exclamation, she slowly sat up.

Her gaze wandered forward, still drowsy from sleep. Not fully awake yet, she began looking around in a daze.

“…My… room…?”

She realized she was in her dormitory room prepared for her at the Academy. Being specially arranged for the princess, it was far more lavish and luxurious than anywhere else, even among the facilities overflowing with aristocratic extravagance.

Though, she herself didn’t care much about such things.

“…Why am I… here…”

She muttered absentmindedly, wondering why she was in this room.

It was strange. After all, it was normal for her to be in her dorm room.

“…Ah.”

However, the memories of last night gradually surfaced in her mind.

Nightmares, hallucinations, auditory hallucinations… and the discomfort caused by other energies, which eventually drove her to take a short walk outside.

And the memory of losing her senses due to the smell of magic and rushing to the garden…

“…That man.”

There, she met a man accompanied by horns spreading magic.

She touched her right cheek. She felt the flower that had bloomed in her right eye.

It was the flower that man touched yesterday. Now that she thought about it…

“…I didn’t… have nightmares.”

That wasn’t all.

She looked around. There were no hallucinations anywhere.

The annoying auditory hallucinations that always lingered in her ears and mind were gone too. It was peaceful and tranquil.

“Ah…”

For a moment, she lost herself in this tranquility, her expression vacant.

What was happening? Had she finally shaken off this curse?

But the flower in her right eye remained. That damn demon hadn’t disappeared.

Then, what did this situation mean?

“…That man.”

She recalled the man she met yesterday.

His jet-black hair like a starless night sky, his artistic beauty unmatched by any handsome men she’d encountered since being born a princess, his unreadable smile and half-closed eyes…

And the red galaxy that unfurled from his hand appeared in her mind.

-You haven’t slept properly, so rest first.

Finally, his gentle smile and kind voice towards her, and those crimson eyes that captivated you at first glance, came to her mind.

“Ah…”

She let out a vacant exclamation. Her heart raced with a strange feeling.

It was unfamiliar. What was this sensation?

A wave of emotion washed over her. She couldn’t identify it, but one thing was certain.

She had to find that man.

“He’s a new professor. He’s definitely somewhere in the Academy.”

She clearly remembered his introduction.

The newly appointed professor who recently joined the Academy: Yujin.

He had introduced himself as such.

Remembering him, she immediately rose from her seat and headed toward the door.

Issues like washing up before meeting him or the fact that students were currently commuting didn’t cross her mind.

All she could think about was finding that man right away.

Creak!

Just as she pulled open the dormitory entrance door…

“!”

She froze in place. No wonder…

“Guess there was no need to knock after all, huh?”

“Ah…”

Because the man she was looking for was standing right in front of her.