Chapter 124 – Senior Hunting Season (2)

It hasn’t been long since the second semester began, and the academy is in chaos as something has happened in that short period of time.
The statue of the president of the board of directors at the main gate fell off its head like it did during the student council president election, and most buildings had wooden boards blocking access.
Faculty and staff are busy running around, and the process of extinguishing the remaining fires that have bloomed here and there is in full swing.
As soon as I got off the carriage, I arrived first, grabbed Mark who was handling the situation, and asked him.

“What is this fuss about?”
“Ah, Louis! And a saint! I just heard this too… “I think the hunt for seniors has begun.”
“Senior class? Hunt?”

Caroline tilted her head next to me.
It has to be that way.
This too was a long-standing tradition of Parencia that took place every year.
Students at all academies prepare for graduation in their third year and decide on their future careers.

Someone to the magic tower.
Others are knights or royal capital officials.
However, just like in universities on Earth, there are cases where someone does not graduate even after completing the entire three-year course.
These are the people who repeated a grade or made what is commonly called a ‘wrong choice.’

“At the academy, there are students who have deferred graduation and become researchers who write personal papers or help with odd jobs under professors.”
“So?”
“Their treatment is generally not good and it doesn’t seem very normal on the outside. “It is usually confined to the laboratory, but it often appears on the premises at dawn.”

They also come to the store occasionally.
Most people buy several types of stimulants and potions, and they seem to combine them with their own recipes to create greater effects.
Although they had difficulty communicating due to excessive concentration on magic, they were generally good students.
However, the story changes as graduation season approaches.

“The problem is that they go hunting at the end of the semester. It’s commonly said that it’s looking for a successor. The targets are juniors who do not have much contact with Magic Tower and who show a lot of passion for academics, or those who are paid with a poorly prepared graduation thesis.”
“What about the professors here? Are you just watching that?”
“It’s a kind of neglect. In any case, valuable human resources are coming into your lab.”

There are also cases where they are subtly encouraged to hunt third graders who have been selected in advance.
At those words, even Caroline, who had experienced many hardships as a Heretic Questioner, went crazy. He couldn’t help but be surprised.
However, having experienced this situation every year, I couldn’t help but point out that there was something particularly strange about this year.

“This isn’t graduation season.”
“Right… Because the second semester has only just begun. “The third-year students are probably just deciding on their graduation thesis topics, so I don’t know why there’s such a fuss already.”

It may be a bit strange, but as it is a long-standing tradition of this crazy academy, some kind of line has always been maintained.
There wasn’t much interest because it was just kidnapping students with a straw and persuading them lightly, but the timing was clever.

— Hiyaaaaa!!? My, my academy! My statue!!
— Chairman! Hey, calm down!

They even destroyed the statue of the chairman at the main gate.
Do you want to be killed by Lehel?

“Besides, Louis, I have one more bad news.”

Mark carefully whispered to me that this was the reason why the current situation was not being resolved properly.

“My lord was also kidnapped. “You’re a third year.”
“What… ?”

***

“Who on earth! My statue! “I broke it!!”
“Oh, I guess there were some students who were a little more motivated this year. It’s just an accident…”

An emergency response team organized by an angry Lehel gathered in the conference room of Akasha Hall.
The professors couldn’t say a single word as she looked at her sharp eyes.
Caroline pounded her solar plexus hard as she saw Lehel not paying much attention to the uproar of her graduate students and only crying over the toppling of her own statue.
I can’t believe I lied to the church just to help that wizard.
At least it could be confirmed that the choice the goddess spoke of did not mean that Sacreure’s position would be affected by the church.

“But why did you bring me here? “Now that training is over, I’d like to rest a bit today.”
“That’s because the Parenzia branch of the Temple of Light and the Academy have a kind of cooperative relationship.”

Mark kindly answered the question of Caroline, who had suddenly left Lewis behind.

“There are many students who are obsessed with magic, so various accidents occur. We are asking priests to provide mental treatment for such students. “If we leave it as is, there may be people who try their hand at black magic.”

He cited the disaster during the first semester presidential election as an example, and said that he sometimes gets strange.
In any case, the consensus was that since the hunt for seniors had become more intense this year, there was a need to quickly form a suppression team.
At that time, Professor Pascal, who was in charge of the third grade class, made a bombshell statement.

“I… Chairman.”
“What is it again?”
“Actually, we also tried to suppress it before the chairman came back… This year’s graduate students don’t seem to be having it easy.”
“It doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to suppress it with the administrative power of our academy, does it?”
“No! It’s not even possible. A professor loses to a student. Even if it doesn’t cause major injuries, there is no problem in subduing it. But…”

He raised his glasses and pointed to the map of the academy placed in the middle of the table.
Here and there, a red X was drawn on the buildings occupied by graduate students.

“It’s hard to come to a conclusion. “It suddenly hid in the sewer beneath the site.”
“Yes? Ha…”
“Furthermore, among those who were hunted by this senior class was Lord Darling Tokarev, a third-year student, so it is difficult to launch a large-scale offensive until safety is secured.”
“No wait, what… ?”

Upon hearing that Darling had become the target of a hunt for the graduating class, even Lehel, a transmigrator who had no common sense, couldn’t believe her ears and asked back.

“Why are they kidnapping Viscount Ruhilen?”
“Well, we don’t know why. “No matter how stupid he is, there is no way the lord of Farencia would enter graduate school.”
“Isn’t it possible that someone among the people gathered here was trying to trick you? Who instigated the graduate students he managed?”

The professors looked at each other and shook their heads.
As no one raised their hand, the case gradually fell into a labyrinth.
Even though Darling is a senior and his grades are not that good, he is not in a position to graduate.
Of course, he had no reason to accept a graduate student position.

“What about in Yeongju Castle?”
“There has been no official communication yet.”
“Is it so? It’s no big deal… Anyway, the most important thing is the safety of the students.”

Every year, the kidnapped students were tied to chairs, indoctrinated with arcane magic formulas such as ‘linear string theory’ and ‘prion particle theory’, and encouraged to enroll in graduate school.
However, as some strange events occurred this year, it was clear that more effort would have to be made to rescue them.

“First, secure the academy’s construction blueprint.”

***

The ordeal of the graduating class took place every year like an annual event.
However, this time, Darling is among those who disappeared.
Even as I headed to the store, worry did not leave my mind.
She didn’t commit a sin so serious that she would go to hell…
A suppression team will be formed soon, so I have to go to Lehel.

“Adella. “Have you been looking at the concession stand?”

Fortunately, the cafeteria was not occupied by graduate students or burning down like some buildings at the academy.
This probably means that the defenses built through a lot of effort were effective.
However, after opening the locked door and entering the dark room with no human odor at all, I felt something strange.

“Adella… ?”

The bread that was left on the counter when I left for Skandal is still there.
Although it has become soft, the fact that the number has not decreased at all means that Adela has never been here.
The iron dogs, who were chewing on the basement door as if they were hungry, exposed their teeth to me for starving themselves.
I was overcome by her ominous premonition and worried that something might have happened to her, so she hurried out.
And then we headed straight to the aquatic park.

A small refuge in the city center in front of the Apas Pavilion.
Even though it is chilly weather, there is a colder feeling than usual.
I looked around, listening to the sound of dry, twisted leaves crunching.
The appearance of erotic love on a bare tree branch.
And the same crying sound as last time is not heard.

“Oh… !”
“Huh?”

As I was walking towards the fountain where I had previously found Adela, I made eye contact with an unknown student.
As soon as the female student wearing the red hood saw me, she quickly ran away and disappeared somewhere.

‘Flower?’

What she was holding was a single flower.
After leaving the strangeness behind and going a little further, I finally saw the fountain where Adela was supposed to be and the sign in front of it.

[This year’s Parencia Academy specialty selected by the Broadcasting Department for the second time: The Ice Fountain of a Weeping Woman!]
[Adela Sylvester, a first-year student from the Rochear family, is showing off her magic to the fullest.]
[Perfect for a date course for lovers!]
[Caution: Never touch it.]

After reading the explanation, I looked up and touched my forehead in shock that was incomparable to when I heard the news that Darling had been kidnapped.

“What is this?”

Adela, who was shedding tears brilliantly, was sitting down like a frozen ice statue.
The crystals fluttering around reflect the colorful rainbow colors, making it beautiful.
The fountain no longer flowed water and the ecosystem of the aquatic park was completely destroyed, but for some reason there were quite a few wreaths placed at her feet.
I walked over to Adela, who was crying, wading through the flowers that I couldn’t tell who had sent them.

“Adella. “Come to your senses.”
“——.”
“You even gave me the keys to feed the dogs, but why are you doing this? “You didn’t even clean the cafeteria, right?”
“——.”

There is no reaction at all.
The same goes for touching the ice.
Is it really frozen?

After thinking for a moment about how to resolve this situation, I made sure there was no one around and raised my hand again.
This time, while activating the unique magic.

〈 Unique Magic: The End of Magic ⌜Magic·End⌟〉

Blah, blah, blah!!!

Then the ice started to crack, followed by paching! With a sound, the magic was released.
Adela opened her eyes as if awakened from an old seal, ice crystals flying everywhere.
For a moment, I was admiring her dazzling eyes and her flowing blue hair ——

“Hot… ! Teacher!!”

When she saw me, she immediately stretched out her hand and hugged me.

“I missed you!”
“What is all this? “What have you done again?”
“I learned that special move! Her older sister said that each of the wizards of Rosh Ar has the strongest skills!!”

I also heard it from her.
Could it be that Adela, whose jealousy has reached its peak because she was the only one unable to go to Skandal, has awakened once again?

Chuck!

Adela pointed to herself and cocked her nose.

“I froze time!”
“What?”

Really?
Did Adela say that Esther and Lehel were in awe of a technique that only the first ice and snowmen used?

“It’s as if time has been frozen and it won’t even be a minute until I see you again!”
“Hey, wait a minute…”
“Yes?”

I gathered my thoughts, recalling her remarks and the situation at the cafeteria I had just seen.
And then I asked Adela once again, who was proudly saying that she had frozen time.

“You froze time?”
“Yes.”
“Four hours?”
“Yes!”

So, what you mean is that you didn’t freeze time for the entire world, but you froze yourself like a frozen person, right?

“What is that?”

It’s so fucking useless.