Chapter 43
On the carriage road to the academy.
I couldn’t help but scoff at the shameless creature sitting across from me.
“You avoided me like I was the plague, and now you suddenly want to tag along. Why?”
At my words, Mion scrunched his nose and shouted,
“Because I’m going to see my Mel!”
Day and night, it was always about Melin.
At this rate, she’s probably appearing in his dreams too. Ugh, such a nuisance.
“Fine. Then answer me this—why have you been avoiding me?”
“Th-that’s because you’re a witch!”
I stared at Mion, dumbfounded.
He must’ve realized how pathetic his excuse sounded because he quickly turned to the window to avoid my gaze, pouting like a stubborn child.
‘Oh? So he’s not going to tell me the truth, huh?’
Well then, I’ll just have to guess.
Resting my chin on the back of my hand, I spoke.
“Could it be…”
Mion’s blue eyes shot toward me. He looked visibly tense.
“…that you’ve fallen for me?”
I had been rather charming, after all.
I said it, recalling how I used to be adored by cats in my past life, and Mion practically jumped in shock.
“Are you crazy?!”
“Hey, sit down. The carriage is going to tip over at this rate.”
Judging by his dramatic reaction, I guess that wasn’t it.
“If you don’t want people getting the wrong idea, then tell me the real reason.”
“Hmph!”
He snorted in response and said nothing more.
All I could think as I watched him was—
‘This… doesn’t feel good.’
It was just like when he broke that expensive glass bowl playing on the shelf.
I closed my eyes and whispered a silent prayer.
‘Please don’t let this be something I have to fix later…’
A little later, we arrived at the academy, and there was Melin waiting for us.
“Sis! Mion!”
Having returned to his animal form, Mion immediately leapt into Melin’s arms.
Such a tearful reunion.
‘I’m the one who feeds him, you little freeloader.’
I shot Mion a glare, then turned to Melin’s bright and cheerful face and softened.
“Melin, were you waiting for me?”
“Yeah! I heard you were coming as a professor…?”
Caught off guard, I nodded.
I hadn’t officially been appointed yet, but news really did travel fast.
The saying “a word without feet travels a thousand miles” wasn’t wrong.
“Then how long will you be staying here?” Melin asked, her eyes darting.
“Unless something unexpected happens, one year.”
A whole year, stuck here.
If I didn’t manage to recruit at least one talented student like Duke Dinero wanted, I’d lose sleep over the unfairness of it all.
“I see…”
Her slightly delayed response sounded oddly awkward.
‘Is she… unhappy that I’m here?’
But hadn’t she seemed glad the last time? She even looked sad when we parted ways.
“Hmm, Melin, you seem a bit reluctant about me being here.”
“N-no! That’s not true!”
Her startled reaction said it all.
“I-I would never feel that way, sis…”
I tilted my head, confused.
‘…Is something going on that I don’t know about?’
Melin’s behavior felt like she was hiding something. And that left an uneasy feeling in my gut.
Ten minutes before Economics class started.
The students sat chatting in the lecture hall.
“Isn’t Professor Rogen supposed to teach this class?”
“No, apparently it’s someone who graduated early last year.”
“How can someone who just graduated teach Economics?”
If Clemence had been there, she would’ve nodded in full agreement.
“Ren, what do you think?”
Someone asked, and Lennox calmly replied,
“I’m looking forward to the class.”
As soon as Ren spoke, the students quickly changed their tune.
“Yeah…! I’m excited now!”
“If Ren says so, then it must be good!”
“I can’t wait to see what the class will be like!”
Ren’s words had a strange power of persuasion.
Maybe it was because everything had always gone the way he predicted, or maybe it was just the compelling aura he gave off.
Just then—
A blond boy sitting in the front, watching with amusement, opened his mouth.
“Hmm, I’m not looking forward to it at all.”
A boy with a tear mole under his eye — his charm was both gloomy and magnetic.
His name was Alfeo, Ren’s academic rival, constantly trading places for first and second in the class rankings.
But Alfeo was a bit unusual.
He slept through most lectures and was never seen studying, yet still maintained top scores.
He lived a carefree life at the academy, earning the envy of many.
“Economics class is just a glorified tribute to how noble and amazing the Imperial family is, right?”
Leaning back in his chair, Alfeo crossed his arms.
“They’ll probably just drone on about boring old history. Yawn, I’m already sleepy.”
He wasn’t wrong.
On paper, it was about teaching the Empire’s economic development, but in reality, a large portion of the curriculum was glorified imperial history.
“I just hope it’s not pure Empire-worship from the very first class.”
“A-Alfeo…”
Flustered by his blunt comments, the students exchanged tense glances between Ren and Alfeo.
Unlike the predictable outcome of a Louis vs. Ren match, no one could guess what would happen between Ren and Alfeo.
One was the pinnacle of calm; the other a genius with his mind.
‘Here we go again.’
Ren looked at Alfeo with clear annoyance — the kind reserved for something truly bothersome.
He knew all too well that Alfeo treated him like an experiment, constantly provoking him.
That kind of attention was both irritating and exhausting.
Usually, Ren just ignored him — but today, it was grating on his nerves more than usual.
Ren spoke.
“I don’t think that’ll be the case.”
“Then how about a bet?”
“…A bet?”
Alfeo instantly picked up on the discomfort flickering in Ren’s green eyes.
“No cheap penalties though. Sound good?”
When Ren didn’t respond, Alfeo grinned provocatively.
“Hmm, so you’re not confident, huh?”
Ren stared at him for a moment, then finally replied.
“What’s the wager?”
“One wish — the winner gets to ask the loser for anything.”
“…”
Ren’s eyes flashed with instant disgust. Alfeo seemed to realize how it sounded and quickly waved his hands.
“No, no, I’m not going to ask for anything gross, okay?”
He smiled reassuringly — which honestly made it even more suspicious.
Ren sighed softly, then nodded. Alfeo’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a quick agreement.
“Wait… don’t tell me you already saw the lesson plan?”
Of course, Alfeo knew how flimsy that sounded the moment he said it.
There was no way Lady Jacqueline, who had just finished prepping the class, had shown Ren the lesson.
“How do you know what I’ll wish for?”
Alfeo grinned as he spoke, but Ren didn’t reply. He just opened his textbook.
Honestly, Ren didn’t care what Alfeo’s wish was.
He planned to use his win to make Alfeo shut up in class from now on.
At that moment, the classroom door opened, and Clemence entered the lecture hall.
The room fell silent in an instant.
Alfeo watched the phenomenon with curiosity.
Even during the public problem-solving sessions and now this first class, it was strange how her presence alone silenced these rowdy, rebellious teens.
Standing at the podium, Clemence spoke.
“Alright, everyone. Put your books back in your bags.”
Was this a pop quiz?
As the students murmured in confusion, she held up a blank sheet of paper for all to see.
“From now on, I’ll be handing each of you a blank piece of paper.”
Her eyes scanned the students, as if looking for someone.
“Class president?”
“…That’s me.”
Ren stood up.
The moment their eyes met, Clemence paused, visibly caught off guard.
But she quickly regained her composure and instructed him.
“Distribute these handouts to everyone, without missing anyone.”
“Yes.”
Ren took the blank papers and began handing them out.
Clemence continued,
“On that paper, I want you to write what you expect from this Economics class.”
