I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

23 – Escape

The semester had ended. Finally, winter break had arrived.

With winter break here, students could rest, and although it was a short time compared to the students, the professors had to take a break and prepare for the next semester.

“Sigh….”

I sighed. I was contemplating how to achieve the short-term goal set by Professor Cordelia, which was to obtain the qualification of a ‘professor of magic.’

The qualifications for becoming a professor in the magic department were different from other departments. More precisely, unlike other departments, the magic department required academic achievements.

Whether a professor in the magic department was a combat mage or a pure magical researcher, they were ultimately researchers in the essence of magic. Therefore, even combat mages had to meet the academic performance requirements for the position of a professor.

Of course, thanks to this, if one could produce clear results, they could quickly obtain the qualification of a professor, which was an advantage that other departments did not have.

In my case… since I inherited Professor Cordelia’s magic, I would have to create magic related to it.

I already knew what kind of magic to create. However, the problem was…

“To actually use the magic I’ve conceived, I can’t do much at my current level.”

The highest-level magic I currently employ is a 3rd Circle spell. Even when combined with Professor Cordelia’s magic, “Sky’s Eye,” it only reaches the 4th Circle.

However, on the other hand, to bring the magic I’ve conceived to life, I needed to be able to use 5th Circle magic.

4th Circle and 5th Circle. One might consider it just a difference of one Circle, but the gap between them was by no means negligible.

Excluding the 1st Circle known as basic magic, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Circles are considered common magic, while the 5th and 6th Circles are advanced magic, and the 7th and 8th Circles are labeled grand magic.

Thinking about the common perception of wizards from the 2nd Circle to the 4th Circle as experts and the 5th and 6th Circles as on par with high experts, it was reasonable to view the difference between the 4th and 5th Circles as akin to the distinction between an expert and a high expert.

Filling that kind of gap wouldn’t happen overnight.

However, I couldn’t present the research results of a magic I couldn’t even use.

As a result, I found myself pondering how to proceed until the day I returned to Derin’s mansion, feeling as if my head was about to explode.

…

In the end, I returned to Derin’s mansion. Upon my arrival, Ceris ran towards me with a smiling face.

“You’ve come!”

I replied with a smile.

“Yeah. Anything happen while I was away?”

As soon as she heard my question, Ceris’s smile became somewhat ambiguous.

“…?”

I looked at Ceris with eyes full of doubt. What happened just because I was absent?

Ceris fanned her face, trying to cool down, and spoke to me.

“Well, rather than that, wouldn’t it be better for you to freshen up and have a meal first? I’ve already prepared the bathwater.”

I wanted to ask what happened first, but for now, I decided to follow Ceris’s lead obediently.

I nodded, and Ceris, sighing with relief, guided me.

… What on earth happened?

After the bath, I looked at Ceris, who was cheerfully pouring wine for me, and said with a smile.

“… What’s going on.”

No matter how you looked at it, Ceris’s current demeanor was not normal. Of course, Ceris was always very kind to me, but even so, it wasn’t to this extent.

Seris twitched at my words, avoiding my gaze and speaking in an awkward voice.

“Oh, no…? There’s nothing wrong at all…?”

I stood up and looked at Seris.

“Really?”

Seris, desperately trying to avoid my gaze, replied, “Yes, yes.”

I grabbed Seris’s face, brought it close to mine, locked eyes, and said, “Really?”

Seris heard my words, tried to turn her head subtly, but couldn’t escape my grasp.

“Uh, could you please let go for a moment… it’s dangerous for my heart.”

I continued to look into Seris’s eyes.

“I’ll keep doing this until you tell me.”

Though Seris’s face turned red, I had no intention of letting her off the hook. Eventually, she closed her eyes tightly and said, “Alright…”

After hearing those words, I released her face, and Seris covered her flushed cheeks with her hands, taking a deep breath.

“Can we talk after we finish the meal? It’s the first meal together since you’ve returned, and I don’t want to ruin it…”

I nodded in response to Seris’s words. I couldn’t be harsh enough to say no in this situation.

After finishing the meal and making preparations, Seris sat beside me.

She looked at me with concern, fingers tapping together, and then she spoke.

“You really need to listen, okay…?”

I nodded in response to her question.

Seris took a deep breath and opened her mouth hesitantly.

“So… while you were away, that person came looking for you.”

“That person?”

After a brief hesitation, Seris spoke in a small voice.

“…Ariel, Duchess Cielline.”

As soon as I heard that name, I felt a thud in my chest, a resonating sensation.

Why on earth had she come here?

I urgently grabbed Seris by the shoulders and asked, “Ariel!? Why, why!?”

Seris looked at me, sighed, and said, “She wants to meet you.”

Upon hearing those words, I stood there with my mouth agape. Why?

She had clearly abandoned me. Of course, there were various reasons, and it wasn’t solely her decision in the process, but in the end, it was Ariel who had abandoned me.

But why in the world—

“She wants to meet me?”

As I furrowed my brow, Seris looked at me with a sly smile and said, “Well, I don’t really know the reason.”

“What happened next?”

Blushing as if embarrassed, Seris lowered her head deeply.

“Well, I… I got really angry and chased her away.”

She got angry? I chuckled inwardly. Seris, who had always treated me gently with a smile, getting angry was hard to believe.

Even if she did get angry, it must have been on a cute level. I thought to myself with a smile. Then Seris looked at me and said,

“…Are you mad at me?”

“Huh? Why?”

Lowering her head, Seris spoke hesitantly, “I chased her away in a fit of anger. I showed an embarrassing side of myself…”

I laughed, “Ah, it’s okay.”

In response, Seris looked at me with surprised yet happy eyes and said,

“Um, then… Is it okay if I do the same thing next time when Idun isn’t here?”

I pondered her words.

…To be honest, it was difficult for me to say that I was ready to meet Ariel.

After a moment of contemplation, I nodded.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

There wasn’t much to gain by getting angry, and she’d probably do well on her own.

As soon as she heard my response, Cerise exclaimed with joy, “Really? Thank you! Well, actually, I don’t really like that person.”

Well, who could dislike him? I smiled and gently stroked Cerise’s hair.

…

A few days passed, and I was studying magic at Derin’s mansion. Then Cerise rushed up to me and said, “Um, there’s a big problem!”

A big problem? I looked at Cerise.

“Lord Cielaine is coming to see Idun tomorrow… He’s definitely not supposed to, but he’s coming anyway.”

I felt a sinking feeling as I heard those words.

“Oh, really? He didn’t listen to the instructions at all?”

“No.”

Strange. Ariel wasn’t usually the type to disregard orders.

I furrowed my brow and began to think about what to do.

Am I ready to face Ariel?

There was a debate in my mind, but ultimately, my rationality led me to the conclusion of ‘no.’

I sighed.

I still wasn’t prepared to face Ariel. It might never happen. But by staying here, Ariel was definitely going to come.

So, what should I do?

Should I face Ariel unprepared like this?

Next, what was next? After facing her, what topics could we discuss, meeting each other… Would I truly be able to endure the current me in such situations?

Yes. I nodded, and finally, I understood what I needed to do.

“Seris, could you help me prepare the things I need for the journey?”

I’m escaping. Tonight.