The Academy Regressor is Obsessed

There were several places where carriages gathered on the Luminus premises. All were managed by large merchant companies, and they had a reputation for taking you anywhere on the continent if you paid. However, when asked about Wiheim, the answers were all the same.

“We don’t handle carriages going to Wiheim.”
“……”
“It takes forever just to get in, the road is rough, and all the customers are rude no matter how much money they pay, so we don’t want to go.”
“…Do you say that to people’s faces?”
“…Oh, are you a magician?”

Given the situation, he couldn’t return to Wiheim right away. He had no choice but to stay here for one night and somehow find transportation the next day. It was annoying, but there was no other way.

The good thing was that he had some extra money on hand. It was thanks to Ena, who had packed quite a bit for him. He was going to refuse since he didn’t think he’d have anything to spend it on, but it would have been a big problem if he had. He’d had enough experience sleeping on the streets as a child and didn’t want to do it again.

‘I guess I’ll find a room first and then look around.’

Asel thought this as he looked around the streets.

People were swarming everywhere. From nobles with their attendants to merchants, commoners, alchemists, magical engineers, and those waiting for exam participants. All sorts of people filled the streets. It felt like he might suffocate just standing still, buried in the crowd.

This was a phenomenon caused by the overlap of the Academy’s vacation season and entrance exam season. The already densely populated area was flooded with a transient population, making the number of people increase like insects. Every store you looked at was packed full of people.

It wouldn’t be any different for inns. He’d probably have to either pay extra or go around to really crappy places to find a decent room. Ordinary rooms were probably all gone already. Rooms would become available tomorrow since today was the last day of the entrance exam, but it seemed he had to get through today somehow.

“This is annoying.”

Asel muttered as he ate some street food he had bought.

Finding a place to stay in a city where he didn’t know the geography. It would be easier to ask locals, but finding a local in this city now was like finding a needle in a desert. If there was a building related to the Witch Association it would be different, but unfortunately, the Witch Association was a closed organization and didn’t have other branches.

In the end, he had to search on foot. Asel sighed deeply and started walking.

It was somewhat comforting that there were many things to see on the streets. Perhaps because it catered to Academy students, the street food sold at cheap prices was quite edible, and there were many interesting items sold in artifact shops and scroll shops. Among them, the scroll shop strongly attracted his interest.

But since finding lodging came first, Asel passed by the shop for now and entered a moderately sized inn. As soon as the employee sitting at the counter saw his face, he immediately shouted:

“Only one room left. Two gold coins for a night’s stay.”
“What the hell.”

A curse involuntarily came out at the insane price. Two gold coins for a night’s stay? There’s a limit even to madness. Asel left the inn without looking back.

But even going around to other inns, they were all similar or even more expensive. Some places operating like hotels even charged 5 gold coins for a night’s stay. They seemed to have sold their conscience to a passing dog. No matter how much money he had on hand, Asel had no intention of giving most of it away just for lodging.

So, he eventually came down to the outskirts of the city. Not as bad as the slums he had lived in, but still a back alley with stale air. Asel took a deep breath and sighed.

Just because the Academy is in the city doesn’t mean there are no slums. Rather, because of the large floating population, beggars flock from all over. It’s the same principle as why there are many beggars in tourist cities or countries. There might not be many criminals, but it was still no different from a gutter.

It was a familiar place for Asel. He didn’t expect to end up in a place like this, but it was fine as long as he could find somewhere to sleep. Asel quickly assessed his surroundings and entered the building that looked in the best condition.

The inside of the building was relatively clean, similar to the outside. He also saw some young ladies who looked like lower nobles. Their expressions weren’t very good, but given the situation, it seemed they had no choice but to come here.

Well, staying in a place like this is better than sleeping on the streets.

Asel ignored the glance of a young lady looking at him from the corner of her eye and approached the employee. The skinny employee opened his mouth as he looked at him.

“Are you a noble?”
“I’m a magician.”
“You’re an important person either way.”

He said with a friendly smile as he put the fruit he was holding in his hand into his mouth in one bite and chewed.

“There aren’t many rooms left, but shall I give you the best one among them?”
“How much for one night’s stay?”
“One silver coin.”

It was expensive for a slum, but considering the city’s prices, it was certainly cheap. Asel nodded and took out a silver coin from his pocket and handed it over.

“Thank you. The room is at the very end of the second floor.”

The employee said as he handed over the key. Asel bowed his head towards him and moved his steps towards the assigned room with the key in hand.

Click.

As he inserted the key into the lock and turned it, the door opened. Asel looked around the room while taking off the robe he was wearing.

It wasn’t bad, better than expected. There were no bugs, and there wasn’t any particular smell. Only a bed and a desk were placed sparsely as furniture, but since he only needed to sleep here for one night, it didn’t bother him much. This was fine. Asel roughly threw the robe he had taken off onto the bed and opened the curtained window.

Luminus’ slums were surprisingly well-lit despite being slums. Is this how good the condition of slums is in a thriving city? Asel chuckled and left the room with his backpack and money.

‘Now that I’ve found a place to sleep, shall I walk around a bit?’

There was still plenty of time before night fell. It seemed like he could look around the city and search for any possible means of transportation to Wiheim. He also wanted to stop by the scroll shop he had spotted earlier.

‘Scrolls are disposable, but if I disassemble the formulas inside, they can help in researching other magic.’

For him, who had many things left to research immediately, scrolls were quite a good option. It wouldn’t be bad to move on to buying the parchment needed to make scrolls and directly adjusting the formulas himself.

As he was thinking this and coming out of the building, he felt a strange scent spreading from an alley.

A sweet yet addictive scent. Asel frowned hard as he recognized its identity.

“…It’s drugs.”

Although he had never bought and used drugs himself, ironically, Asel was much more of an expert on drugs than most addicts. Thanks to this, he could immediately recall which drug the wafting scent was coming from.

Originally an herb, but when processed differently, it becomes a drug called Quirgalsi that not only enhances all sorts of mana-related abilities but also physical abilities. It’s a type of drug that Asel had only delivered a few times because it’s very difficult to obtain. The price is also as expensive as a decent mansion.

‘Why is something like that here?’

Drugs in a city where the Academy is located? Contrary to what he thought, was it not a crime-free zone?

He clicked his tongue and moved his steps in the opposite direction from where the scent was coming from. At that moment, someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Where are you going?”

It was a man with a huge build. He had a sword at his waist, so he seemed to be a swordsman, and the scent emanating from him was full of drug odor, suggesting he was with those using drugs over there. Asel frowned deeply and brushed off his hand.

“What are you doing?”
“Hey, didn’t you just look over there? You seemed to know what was going on there.”
“So what?”
“Whoa whoa. Why so aggressive?”

The man grinned and put his hand on the sword at his waist.

“Makes me want to kill you.”
“…Haa.”

A sigh came out involuntarily. Who would have thought he’d run into guys like this as soon as he came to the back alley? It brought back memories from a very long time ago, which was just great.

“You sigh-gggggghhhh!”

Without needing to hear more, Asel pulled out lightning-natured magical power and scorched the man from his chin. With just that, his body fell forward. Fluids spurted madly from his mouth and eyes, and his muscles repeatedly contracted and convulsed before stopping.

As Asel looked down at the man with coldly frozen eyes, there was a commotion from the alley where the drug scent was coming from.

“What’s that? What’s that sound?”
“It’s Ryle’s voice. Did something happen?”

The men who exchanged such dialogue poked their heads out from beyond the alley. Their gazes moved from Ryle lying on the ground to Asel, and they each took out their weapons with fierce expressions.

“You fucking bastard. What did you do?”
“This always happens.”

Asel didn’t care about the men’s growls. Instead, he sighed as if familiar with the situation. The men’s faces contorted even more at that reaction. It was a good thing anyway. Asel lightly ignored the noisy chatter of the two men and leisurely prepared a formula.

At that moment, a girl with pink hair poked her head out from beyond the alley. She didn’t seem to be with the men. There was no drug scent coming from her body, and she had a gag in her mouth as if to prevent her from screaming.

No matter how you looked at it, it was clearly a crime scene. Still, just in case, Asel spoke to the girl with magic power in his voice.

“Kidnapping?”
“Mmm mmm.”

She nodded her head. There was nothing more to see. Asel immediately used magic to neutralize the two men.

[Fuse Ignition]

As Asel swung his hand horizontally, the rising flames engulfed the legs of the two men.

It happened in an instant. The men screamed in pain, but due to the silence magic Asel had cast, it dissipated into the air. Leaving the men struggling behind, Asel walked towards the girl.

She was clearly a girl who had been raised preciously. Her pink bob hair reaching her shoulders and eyes of the same color were impressive. Despite nearly being kidnapped, there wasn’t even a hint of trembling in those eyes. Was she used to this kind of situation?

‘Surely not.’

A girl used to kidnapping? Such a girl would have died long ago.

Asel removed her gag and cleanly burned off the ropes binding her arms and legs. The girl massaged her aching wrists with her hands, then bowed her head deeply towards Asel.

“Thank you, I survived thanks to you.”
“It’s nothing. More importantly, why were you captured?”
“I drifted here because there were no rooms, but it seems I was unlucky.”

She was one of his kind. Asel chuckled and nodded.

“Don’t you have any companions?”

He had seen several nobles at the lodgings too. But they all had escorts with them. On the other hand, the girl in front of him didn’t seem to have any escorts at all.

“No, I came alone. You seem to be the same.”
“Well, yeah.”

Asel answered vaguely and burned away the drug powder blazing on the ground. The drug that had been struck by lightning evaporated without even keeping its shape. The girl exclaimed in admiration at the sight.

“You use lightning? Didn’t you use fire magic just now?”
“I’m versatile.”
“Ah, are you perhaps Revelation’s disciple who’s entering the Academy this time?”
“…How far has the rumor spread?”

Didn’t Ellen say only a few people knew? Why does even someone I met in a place like this know?

“I live with a child who has sharp ears. She keeps bringing rumors from somewhere.”
“You must not be bored.”
“That’s true.”

The girl said this and suddenly took out 5 gold coins from her pocket and handed them to Asel. Asel tilted his head as he looked at the glittering gold coins.

“Why this all of a sudden……”
“It’s a reward for saving me. From what I heard those men saying, they were going to sell me as a living sacrifice to devil worshippers. But thanks to you, that became a non-issue, so I should repay you. Just in case, please don’t say you don’t need it. I have a personality that likes to settle things like this clearly.”

Her expression was resolute. She looked like she would chase after him and stuff the money in his pocket even if he refused. Asel had no intention of refusing in the first place, so he smiled and accepted the money she handed over.

“I didn’t particularly want it, but since you’re giving it, I’ll gratefully accept.”
“That’s good. By the way, there’s one more thing I’d like to propose.”
“…? What is it?”
“Would you mind accompanying me and acting as my escort? I think I can trust Revelation’s disciple, and judging from the magic you just showed, your skills seem good too. I’m asking as a fellow new Academy student.”

The girl said this as she took out an Academy entrance exam application form from her pocket.

A fellow new Academy student. So she wasn’t simply here to visit relatives, but someone who directly participated in the exam.

‘I don’t remember seeing her at the exam site. Is she entering a non-combat department?’

The Academy is divided into combat departments that handle swords or magic, and non-combat departments that deal with alchemy, magical engineering, economics, politics, and so on. The ratio of new students entering each year was usually maintained consistently, and both were important roles within the Academy.

I heard there are even tasks that require non-combat and combat departments to work together. It wouldn’t be bad to make connections in a place like this. Asel thought this and nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go together.”
“Ah, thank you. You can choose the destination. I was just planning to look around the streets anyway. I’ll pay you 5 gold coins as compensation.”
“…There’s even compensation?”
“It would be disappointing if there wasn’t, right?”

The girl said this and then took out additional gold coins from her pocket. It was suspicious how much money she was carrying around. I heard that people who distrust banks carry all their money instead of depositing it in banks, is this woman perhaps that type of person?

I’m not sure. Honestly, it didn’t matter either way.

He wasn’t worried about betrayal. Even if she suddenly backstabbed him, it didn’t seem like a woman with no apparent combat ability could peel off the barrier applied to his skin.

She was an opponent he could kill with one magic spell anyway. There was no need to waste mental energy suspecting her until she showed hostility first. As Asel thought this and pocketed the gold coins, the girl suddenly pursed her lips as if she had just remembered something.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves.”
“Ah. I’m Asel.”
“Asel. That’s a nice name. I’m Isabella von Servenheim.”
“…Servenheim?”

Asel frowned as he muttered that surname he had casually uttered.

Servenheim was certainly…

“Yes. I’m the imperial princess of the Servenheim Empire.”

Isabella said this with a still expressionless face while making a V sign.

The meeting with the imperial princess took place in such a strange manner.