NOVEL WEB chapter 103
Chapter 28, Voting
“It seems we have been stuck in this dark underground for too long; many messages from the outside world have become outdated.”
The stern-faced elder sighed, “Something significant must have happened that we are unaware of.”
“That old man Plang seems to know something, but he won’t tell me. It’s probably because of that so-called silence pact,” Professor Gran shrugged.
“As long as Plang knows, it doesn’t matter; he has his own measures, and we old men who are half in the grave can do nothing even if we know.”
“How carefree,” Professor Gran whistled habitually.
“Hmph, I don’t want to prepare for sleep only to gamble with myself.”
The elder scoffed coldly and looked at Professor Gran, asking:
“So you’ve dragged us all here; it wouldn’t be to reminisce with us old men, would it?”
“I would like to reminisce, but it doesn’t seem like the right time.”
Professor Gran became unusually serious:
“I called you all here for one thing.
—Should we wake that one?”
“……”
As Professor Gran’s words fell, the entire dim room fell into silence, only the wheezing breaths of an elder could be heard.
It seemed everyone was seriously contemplating the heavy meaning contained in the light words, “wake that one.”
After a long while, it was the stern-faced elder who broke the silence, sighing:
“Has the academy really come to this point?”
“Who says it hasn’t?”
Professor Gran looked out the window; at this moment, the twelve tall towers had just risen, nailing the entire academy back to the ground.
“Naturally, there is the protection of the second layer of the Grand Seal, coupled with the strength of Prang himself. One could say that unless His Holiness the Pope comes personally with the scepter in hand, it’s unlikely anyone could rival him.
But the opponent, after all, is not human.”
Professor Gran couldn’t help but sigh: “Two evil gods have joined forces to attack the academy, one of whom has even partially descended in his true form. Such a thing has never been heard of in the thousand-year history of the academy. So regardless of whether Prang can win, we must prepare for a second option, or rather, the worst-case scenario.”
“What about calling for help?”
Someone suddenly said, “After all, this is Belrand, there are many strong individuals here, and the palace cannot possibly sit idly by.”
“Good idea.”
Professor Gran snapped his fingers, “But this professor, have you noticed a problem?”
“What?”
“Too slow. If there were reinforcements, they would be arriving too slowly.”
Professor Gran said:
“How far is it from here to Belrand? How far is it to the palace? And how fast can the crowned ones travel? Or do you think those powerful individuals are blind to such a commotion? I roughly calculated that for Belrand’s top powerhouses, from the moment they notice something unusual here to when they arrive to investigate, it would take at most three to five minutes. And how much time has passed now?
The lack of any movement now only indicates…”
Professor Gran raised his head, gazing at the slowly approaching blue moon in the sky:
“The entire academy may have been sealed off by that one.
In other words, the so-called call for help was impossible from the very beginning.”
“That sounds like a very desperate situation.”
After a brief silence, the dignified elder lowered his eyelids, as if making a decision:
“Then there’s no need to hesitate. As per the old rule, let’s vote. Those in favor of waking that one… raise your hands.”
The dignified elder was the first to raise his hand.
Then came Professor Gran.
Following that, one by one, withered arms were raised sporadically.
“Then, the number of supporters… a total of sixteen.”
Professor Gran took a quick glance and found that, aside from the professor who had just posed the question, everyone else had raised their hands.
“I still think this is inappropriate.”
The professor sighed:
“This is too cruel for that one.”
“But if we don’t wake that one in this situation, when they do awaken and find the academy has already been destroyed, they will surely be angry.”
A bitter smile appeared on the dignified elder’s face, as if recalling some unpleasant memories from a distant past:
“I certainly don’t want to be scolded by that one again.”
“Since that’s the case, let’s do it this way; there’s no need to get tangled up over such matters.”
Professor Gran clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention:
“Now, the second question—who will go wake that person?”
“……”
As soon as Professor Gran’s voice fell, the room fell silent once more.
But this time it was different; amidst the silence, Professor Gran felt a dozen pairs of eyes unavoidably fixated on him.
“……You can’t possibly want me to go, right?” Professor Gran’s cheek twitched.
“What else can we do?”
The authoritative elder raised an eyebrow:
“The only one here with somewhat functional legs is you, right?”
“That room has an elevator directly to it, you idiots! Asking you to go wake someone isn’t like running a marathon!”
Professor Gran shouted, “I was just busy evacuating all the students and even risked my life to save some perverted naked man. Now you want me to do something so dangerous? Where’s your conscience?”
“Ah, well, cough cough…”
The authoritative elder coughed a couple of times, his gaze drifting, then suddenly began to hold his foot in pain:
“No, my old leg pain is acting up; I can’t move.”
“But isn’t your old leg pain always in the left foot? Why are you holding your right foot?”
“……Recently… it got infected?”
“Old leg pain isn’t a fungal infection, you idiot!”
Professor Gran turned to the others, “What about you? Is your old leg pain acting up too?”
“……Ouch, my back just went out.”
“My hemorrhoids are flaring up…”
“I have a herniated disc…”
“My granddaughter is too mischievous; I need to go teach her a lesson…”
In Professor Gran’s astonished gaze, a group of old professors, who usually walked with difficulty, began to disperse while shouting about their ailments.
But the ailments they mentioned were ones Professor Gran had never even heard of, especially the one talking about their mischievous granddaughter—your granddaughter is over sixty, alright!
The professors scattered quickly.
A few professors who truly couldn’t move quietly pulled out coffins from the storage space, lay down inside, and then, under Professor Gran’s speechless gaze, quietly closed the coffin lids.
“……”
In the end, in the cold, quiet room, only Professor Gran was left, filled with indignation:
“So, with Prang not here, I’m the only unlucky one who has to do everything?”
“No way, I can’t be the unlucky one. With her temper when she wakes up, who knows what would happen if I called her? I need to find another poor soul to take my place.”
“Eh? Speaking of unlucky souls…”
Professor Gran stroked his chin as if recalling something, his expression gradually brightening:
“I seem to have a good choice.”
……
……
PS: I have something going on today, so this is all for now; I’ll make up for the rest tomorrow.