"I'm sorry."
"No need to say anything. Just leave."
They say that when someone gets too angry, they become cold, and that's exactly how it looked. Last time, I even yelled and threw a flask.
Of course, it worked out well for me.
I nodded politely to Professor Silbeck, lowered my head, and walked out of the office.
Before I could fully calm down, Adrias wasn't just idling around either. He occasionally ran errands for professors, earning some pocket money.
And just now, he got cut off. But if it were me, I would have cut him off too. Not only did he not do the assigned task, but he didn't even mention that he couldn't do it.
It's fortunate I didn't get scolded. Still, I won't attract attention by being chased out loudly this time. I thought for sure that would be the case.
"...?"
Why is everyone looking at me?
"What are you looking at? Have you never seen anything before?"
Somehow, it feels like déjà vu.
I tried not to care and first headed to the library to return the borrowed book. But even on the way to the library, I could feel strange gazes from the surroundings.
'What's going on? Am I being overly sensitive?'
Ever since I met Bahart the other day, I had become quite sensitive.
First, there was the fact that my true identity was almost exposed. And second, I realized that I didn't know the current time period and had no idea what would happen.
"That building wasn't there before."
On the way back from Mount Tap, I happened to see the Academy building, which was not present in the game.
Instead of a building, there was supposed to be a graveyard in that location, as far as I knew.
'I barely remembered it yesterday.'
In the game, it wasn't an important event, so I had forgotten about it.
Well, it was somewhat important, but it wasn't something I needed to pay much attention to, or so I thought.
'The Zephyr Sect's terror.'
It was an event that happened in the past in the game, just something that occurred. I didn't know when or why it happened exactly. But one thing was certain.
'It hasn't happened yet, but it will happen soon.'
And to make matters worse, I crossed over to a strange time period. Approximately half a year until the game's starting time. It meant that the terror would occur within six months. Of course, it wouldn't affect me as long as I didn't get involved.
'But the people who die because of that terror...'
I didn't know how many would die, but it was troublesome that a Named character was involved. Moreover, it was closely related to playable characters like Dianne Alven and Bahart Alven.
'Carlos Alven.'
He was the eldest son of Marquis Alven and the older brother of Dianne Alven. In the game, it was the time after he had already died, so I had never seen him in person. But he was mentioned occasionally due to the important characters Dianne Alven and Bahart Alven.
"Ah! Adrias Cromwell, the student!"
"Hello."
Lost in complicated thoughts, when I arrived at the library, the librarian called my name cheerfully, for some reason.
"I came to return a book."
"The 'Conflicting Understanding of Nature and Mana.' It's been exactly a week. Just leave it here."
Hmm, a week. Time really flies.
... Wait a minute, did you say a week?
"Oh, by the way, Adrias, there's a rumour going around that you've developed a potion..."
"I'm sorry. I have an urgent matter."
I hastily left the library.
That idiot.
After entering Adrias' body, did my intelligence also follow his lead?
How could I forget about that?
While running recklessly, I soon slowed down.
'But what can I do?'
Once I calmed down a bit, I realized there was nothing I could do.
That's right. Today is the day Angela evolves, but I had no way to enter the research lab.
In that case...
'I need to come up with an excuse.'
I first visited the magic material shop within the academy.
.
.
.
.
"It's the first time you came to see me first."
"Haha. I will come to see you, my teacher, more often from now on."
"Didn't I tell you not to use that title outside the laboratory?"
"I'm sorry. I got carried away with joy."
"Hmm..."
Charon was in the magical rune research laboratory within the academy for personal matters. After asking around, I barely found the location and went to see him, and he happened to have finished his work and brought me to his office.
Charon, who sent a strange glance, soon clicked his tongue.
"Sit."
"Yes."
"So, what brings you here?"
"Professor, I actually developed a potion. I thought it would be proper to inform you at least once, so I came to find you."
"You came early. Did you think you wouldn't be caught now that the evaluation is over?"
He threw a direct question.
Yeah! I did it secretly because I thought you would take it away! Is that enough?!
"...Haha. I just wanted to show confidence after passing the evaluation..."
Of course, he wasn't crazy enough to say exactly what he was thinking. Whether Charon knew my true thoughts or not, he continued to look at me with his piercing eyes and then stood up from his seat.
"Follow me."
As planned, I was able to enter the research laboratory. Charon opened the laboratory with the interaction of mana and the light of the ring.
As I was about to follow him, I suddenly had to stop because he stopped abruptly.
"Master?"
"..."
The atmosphere was strange.
I leaned my body slightly to the side and looked inside, where Charon was blocking the view. I could see that the inside was a mess.
'Damn, am I late?'
That aside, how did she break free from the mana restraint? Did she become strong enough to break free from the restraint through evolution?
Wait a moment. Could she still be inside?
I involuntarily shivered and took a step back. She is a powerful being even as a vampire.
Now that she has evolved, I couldn't even imagine how strong she would be.
"But the success rate was 55%, right?"
Of course, judging by the mess, it's hard to say it was a success. However, while calculating the possibility of any unforeseen events, Charon took the lead and entered first.
As he entered, I had the thought of running away at any moment and followed slowly.
"Dare..."
Charon's ruthless voice trembled with anger. Inside the laboratory, there was no intact place, as if someone had gone on a rampage. Various apparatuses and reagents were broken and discarded, and the collected corpses were torn to pieces.
As the existence that caused this chaos came to mind, I hesitated whether I should escape now.
"Adrias."
"Yes, Master."
"When was the last time you came here?"
"Well..."
I couldn't come up with an answer immediately as I was already contemplating escape from the sudden question.
"The day I visited the Vin Hartz National Cemetery six days ago."
I managed to recall the answer, but Charon was looking around without any reaction.
Then, after looking around for a while, he asked another question.
"Have you visited yesterday or today?"
"Excuse me? No, I haven't."
There's no way that could happen. In the first place, you have the key.
Having heard my response, Charon finally walked towards the broken window where Angela was. I nervously watched from a distance, fearing that Charon might spew blood and die.
"This mixed-breed woman..."
A faint anger burst out of his mouth.
"Adrias."
"Yes."
"Have you ever tampered with Angela's restraints?"
"No, I haven't."
As if I would have gone crazy and tampered with it. What would happen if it got loose?
...In the end, it did get loose because of me.
"Well, unless you're insane, there's no reason for you to do such a thing."
"If I had tampered with it from the beginning, she would have been dead by now."
"Shut up."
He seems uncomfortable. Well, he has every reason to be.
Clearly, the highest-grade material that was intended to be used after raising the level of command tactics had run away.
If I also thought that I couldn't even try using Nickel and it was snatched away right in front of me, or if I thought that Nickel had disappeared somewhere, I would have exploded with anger.
The only difference between him and me is that I believed in my special evolutionary traits and used them immediately, while he saved them as much as possible and ended up being a failure.
Clang!
Charon grabbed a flask that was around him and threw it.
If the calm Charon did that, it means his anger has reached its limit.
"Leave."
"Yes."
Fortunately, he didn't take his anger out on me and simply drove me away. From the situation, it seemed that Angela was already gone. I'm not sure because I didn't calculate the exact time, but it's been a week since today, so she probably escaped not too long ago.
I left Charon alone and quietly made my way to the office.
The empty office felt gloomy.
"Adrias."
"...!"
I was so surprised that my body stiffened. Someone was whispering right next to my ear. When did they...?
"What the hell did you do to me?"
A seductive voice tickled the back of my neck. I thought she had escaped not long ago, but I was too defenceless.
Still, I never expected her to be hiding in the office.
"Adrias, look at me."
But did her tone always sound like this? Is it my misconception that I feel more friendliness than hostility in her voice?
For now, as my life is at stake, I carefully listened to what she had to say.
"Ha."
I blocked my mouth that made a sudden gasping sound.
Angela, with her red hair flowing down to the floor, was not the person I used to know. Her enchanting facial features, teardrop-shaped eyes, and a peculiar colour flowing between them displayed a strong presence. Her thick, blood-red lips, as if soaked in blood, intensified that atmosphere even further. Moreover, the worn-out and tattered clothes she was wearing at the moment made her appearance even more mysterious, leaving nowhere for the eyes to settle.
'Of course, I will face her with confidence.'
There is absolutely no personal motive.
She asked me to look, didn't she?
"Angela Lucifer. Keep your promise."
I confronted her with a defiant gaze.
"Promise? Shouldn't we explain the situation first before that?"
"I couldn't release the mana confinement sphere with my own power. So, I used another method."
It was a lie, but for now, I tried to come up with a plausible excuse.
"What method did you use?"
"There's no reason for me to answer that. As long as I find a way to get you out, isn't that enough?"
"Hmph! You're talking as if you got me out yourself, but I'm the one who came out on my own."
"Then if I didn't have the power, would that have been possible? In the end, what matters is that you came out. If it weren't for me, you would have remained an undead under Charon's control."
I spoke smoothly, driven by the will to survive.
The opponent is a being who can eliminate me with a single gesture.
Anyway, if I'm going to die, I might as well try something.
"Charon? Are you calling your master?"
"Is that important right now? Anyway, keep your promise."
"No, I won't. Keeping all the promises doesn't suit my style."
What nonsense about style is she talking about here!
I wanted to shout, but I barely held back.
"So, what are you going to do then?"
"I will keep half of the promise."
"...Half of it?"
I stepped back slightly.
"Exactly as it sounds. I will only keep one of the promises I made."
Before the opponent finished speaking, I tried to turn around and run away, but she stood in front of me as if she had teleported.
Angela, revealing sharp fangs, formed an enchanting smile and approached me, blocking my way.