The following morning, in the headmaster's office…

As Corvus is sitting at his desk with his forehead resting on his interlocked fingers, his head hanging low, he hears the door abruptly open.

「Straf-」

He turns his gloomy, weary eyes to the door. They widen when he sees a large pointy hat with a pointless leather belt upon it.

「…Aria. Everything from last night was handled appropriately, I presume?」

The headmaster asks as Aria shuts the door behind her, and walks up.

「Mhm. The fire is out, we've managed to recover a handful of books, and the corpses have been temporarily moved to the freezer along with the rest… I would say it all ended relatively well…」

Aria explains, waving circles with her gloved hand.

「…But I still don't know why your face looks like that, Corvus. You said you'll explain later, then how about now?」

She adds, placing her fists on her hips, right on the gaps of her side-slit dress. His eyes turn downwards, and he lets out a long, troubled sigh.

「…The team of battlemages from the Federation will have a handful of people who knew Diebin, they'll verify his identity with me… Most likely the old corpse is the professor's remains…」

「And that is what your long face is about? Maybe I misunderstood your relationship, but I don't remember you interacting with Professor Arkeis much.」

Aria asks, gently tilting her head with her brows furrowed. Corvus shakes his.

「That's not it, Aria… Indeed, I am saddened by his death, but that's not it.」

He replies, and hangs his head with a sigh again.

「What is it, then?」

She asks another question, and Corvus grows silent, hesitating.

「…I knew, Aria. Not quite so, but I knew.」

The headmaster says, looking into her eyes.

「What?… Knew… What?」

Professor Aria lightly shakes her head in deep confusion, blinking at him. He breaks eye contact to stare down at his oaken desk.

「…All the signs were there, but I just turned my head away. I knew there was something off about Professor Arkeis, Aria. I was even on the verge of asking Straf to investigate him…」

He replies in a heavy tone as if confessing to a crime under interrogation.

「Then why?…」

「…Because I didn't want my hunch to turn out to be right. His letters were worded different than usual. Their tone completely different than what I'm used to.」

Corvus says, still staring the desk. He fidgets heavily with his wrinkled hands, rubbing their outside with the other and switching every few seconds.

「Corvus, that's not your fault. It could have been a coincidence.」

The professor replies, shaking her head as she leans onto his desk.

「No, Aria. I could have asked Straf to check, but I was afraid of what he might do to him… But then, I could have done that myself…」

Corvus denies, shaking his head. He locks his sullen, listless gaze above his glasses with hers.

「…But I was afraid of upsetting Professor Arkeis. At least, that's what I have told myself. Truth is, I was afraid of finding out. I was just afraid of being wrong, as I was of being right.」

He adds, and stands up, climbing up his stairs to the window with his hands behind his back. Aria looks on with a troubled grimace on her beauty-marked face.

「That is, of course, on top of allowing in a deadly threat like that. I put everyone's life was in jeopardy, yours too, but most importantly, the students'…」

He continues as he looks out the window. A rising sun is casting long shadows on the city below.

「Corvus, you couldn't have known…」

「Perhaps… Perhaps…」

The headmaster nods lightly at Aria over his shoulder as he repeats himself.

「…But that does not change the fact that this whole situation could have been mostly avoided, if only I weren't so cowardly.」

He descends back down the stairs, and sits on the side of his desk.

「Diebin was right, Aria… He should have been the headmaster. Long ago. I do not condone his actions, but he was completely justified in his anger…」

「Corvus, that's not true…」

「It is, Aria. It is… Diebin proved the existence of small objects in the aether by creating a completely new spell like a madman, and what did I do?…」

The old man insists, nodding his head at Aria as she straightens out, standing beside him in front of the desk.

「…I've spent years and years digging through esoteric tomes in guilds, which the members of could have been counted on a single hand….」

He breaks the eye contact, turning his eyes downward at his feet with a crestfallen expression.

「…I've spent years that I could have spent with my wife to compile bits and pieces of knowledge on eastern magic. And so, they declared me an archmage…」

The headmaster continues, and lets out a large, exasperated sigh.

「…Me, an archmage. At the same time, Diebin was beneath me. Then they made me the headmaster. Me. Not Diebin.」

Placing his hand on his chest, Corvus looks at Aria with an immensely grim face, completely devoid of energy. Her face also becomes sullen, though with a mix of sympathy.

「I am a fraud, Aria. That knowledge was not even mine, I just put it together for the ease of access… It's like only I was the one to ever acknowledge him.」

He turns his eyes down again, shrugging his shoulders with immense guilt.

「Corvus…」

Aria sighs out, quietly listening to him this whole time.

「…Some archmage I am… I couldn't even think of a spell to use. I could only hope Straf would handle it all… An archmage is not equal to an archmage.」

Corvus says as he brings his palm up closer to his face, looking at it. He then turns his smile to Aria, though it is pained instead of happy.

「That's what I'm here for… You're not a duelist or a battlemage, Corvus. You are a scholar. Your recognition came from being a scholar. You are a beloved headmaster to everyone at the Academy…」

The professor shakes her hatted heat, leaning forward a little as she speaks in a soft tone.

「A scholar, headmaster… And what good of a mage am I? It's why I became the headmaster to begin with… Because everyone likes me, because I'm nice to everybody…」

He asks, shrugging with his wrinkled hand while his shoulders slump.

「Corvus, that's your strong point. You manage the Academy's affairs. Even if you suppose I'm a more powerful mage than you, everyone listens to you as if each word was their command. Because you are nice.」

Aria insists, nodding her head with her brows heavily furrowed.

「…Perhaps that's not how things should be, Aria? I am not nice… I just don't know how to not be nice…」

He sighs, and stands up off his desk, returning back to his chair. The professor grimaces, glancing aside as she thinks with a discomforted expression.

「…Who's afraid of the bite of a toothless dog?」

Corvus asks, quizzically spreading his hands before interlocking his fingers, lowering his eyes.

「Aria… My indecisiveness, my cowardice, my niceness… Has lead to the death of three innocent people, nearly four, and then almost two students. Everyone affected by the curse excluded, of course.」

The headmaster says, turning his shame-filled gaze back to the professor in front of him.

「Corvus, you can't blame yourself for that! That's nonsense!」

She lightly slams down her gloved hands on his desk, raising her voice in a decisive tone.

「I can, Aria. And I should. No matter how you cut it, the responsibility neatly returns all the way back to me, even if I were to blame the lowliest cleaner. I am responsible for the workers and professors…」

In a similarly firm manner, he shakes his head, raising his bushy brows as he speaks.

「…Therefore, even if I were to point my finger at somebody else, ultimately, I am to blame for not managing it in time. But it is me solely and entirely at fault. I am a failure as this nice headmaster.」

He adds, and his jaw visibly clenches, as does his fist.

「That's not true-」

「Aria…」

The professor tries to reply, but the headmaster cuts her off nearly instantly. She blinks at him as he remains silent for a few seconds, thinking.

「…You should be the headmaster instead. I will resign and send a letter of recommendation-」

Slam!

「Corvus! Enough! Stop talking nonsense!」

Aria shouts, hammering her gloved fist onto the desk, glaring at him and breathing heavily.

「You want to resign now!? With the term not yet over, and the students still in the dark about everything!? Pardon my rudeness, headmaster… But are you going senile!?」

She asks, shouting at the old man, huffing and puffing. Corvus slowly shakes his head, remaining silent with his fingers interlocked.

「…Not now. I will serve as a headmaster until the end of the term… But by the time the new one starts, it should also have a new headmaster…」

He replies, and Aria's beauty-marked lips begin twitching in anger.

「…I do not have long left, anyway. A sitting headmaster dying suddenly causes all sorts of issues-」

「One more word and I'm going to tear your beard off, Corvus!」

She screams in fury, pointing at his long-bearded face. His head cocks back in surprise, and after a moment, he begins chuckling.

「Eheheheh… Woe to the students that incur your wrath as a headmaster. I hope you cool down by the time-」

He replies, shaking his lowered head with a toothy grin on his face.

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「That's not happening!」

「Hm?」

Aria blurts out, and he tilts his head, furrowing his brows.

「If you resign, I'm resigning too! You can consider this an official courtesy notice! If you need to fill out a form, write in the same date as yours!」

She shouts, and moves her hand back to her hip in a fist.

「Aria… No matter how you look at it, I am just unfit to be-」

He spreads his hands again, shaking his head with a placating smile.

「Silence!」

The professor shouts back, immediately silencing the old man.

「Listen, Corvus!… Unless it is for health reasons, or being a headmaster is no longer appealing to you, or perhaps you want to go on a well-deserved vacation… If you resign, I'm out! Got it!?」

Aria asks, glaring at him with an angry face. He lets out a resigned sigh and adjusts his glasses.

「…Don't you have lectures today, Aria?」

He smiles faintly at the furious big-hatted woman.

「…Yes.」

She nods, replying in a significantly raised voice.

「Then go.」

Corvus nods back, and says with a warm smile. Her eyes gain a wary glint, but she turns around and stomps away towards the door. She pulls her hat's brim down to squeeze through, and shuts the door.

The headmaster lets out a large, troubled sigh, places his glasses down on his desk, and lowers his tired face into his aged and weathered hands…

…

Two hours later, in Professor Aria's class…

Gonnngggggggg… Donnnnnnnnngggggg… Gonnnnnnnggggggg…

The professor steps away from the blackboard, still holding chalk between her gloved fingers. She points her other hand at the students slowly shuffling to the door.

「Exam tomorrow! If you weren't paying attention today and fail the term, that's your own damn fault! Neela! Tisha!…」

She shouts, causing the students to gain anxious grimaces on their face. Her eyes snap to Cycelia's friends, and her pointing finger is next as she calls them out.

「Eh? But we were paying attention!…」

Tisha's golden head perks up in surprise before explaining herself.

「…We will see.」

Aria ominously declares, setting the chalk down as she glares at them. Straf, Damian, and the rest exit the classroom.

Tisha and Neela look over their shoulders, quickly hopping away from the open doorway.

「Uwaaa!… She's in bad mood for some reason!」

Neela remarks, looking at Tisha with a tight-lipped grimace.

「Well, I had to wake her up when she was sleeping, and then the headmaster asked her to stay…」

Damian chimes in, shrugging his shoulders as the group walks in the direction of the cafeteria. A brief silence begins, and Cycelia turns her emerald eyes to Straf's bored face.

「Straf, will you join us for a meal?」

She asks with a smile, lightly tilting her head.

「…Nah. Not right now, at least. I was thinking about heading over to the old man.」

He glances at her face, then shrugs, turning his head forward.

「Ah… That's right, the headmaster wanted you to come to his office…」

Cycelia lowers her chestnut head with a little sigh, nodding feebly.

「…It's okay Straf, go talk to him… But if you happen to finish before the bell, come see us.」

She adds, smiling at him again.

「Right. See you later. If not, I'll catch you in class…」

Straf shrugs, and splits away from the rest of the group at a junction, heading straight while they take a turn and disappear beyond a corner.

With his hands in his pockets, he continues through the halls for five or so minutes as the crowd rapidly thins while heading in the opposite direction. When finally alone, he glances up at the ceiling.

「Hey, Dyslexia.」

Straf says, his voice echoing a little through the empty hallway. A few seconds of footsteps in silence pass.

「Hey.」

He says again, louder. Another prolonged silence. Straf rolls his eyes.

「I said hey, you deaf fuckin' bimbo!」

Straf shouts at the ceiling, passing beneath a magic lamp with a tight-lipped grimace on his face.

《I am not Dyslexia.》

Athea's frustrated voice echoes through Straf's mind.

「Could have fooled me… You react to bimbo just fine, though.」

He scoffs, smirking.

《That was a coincidence! I just felt like checking on you!》

She insists with a frustrated shout.

「Okay, deaf bimbo…」《You!…》

Straf shrugs his shoulders, taking a turn towards the dormitories through the empty halls.

「…Say… It's over now, right? You can talk about it without the boss getting upset?」

He asks, glancing up at the ceiling again.

《…I suppose I can explain minor details. Don't bother asking me for more.》

Athea replies after a brief pause.

「Right, so… Am I correct in thinking that the vampire fucked off, and abandoned his mage buddy?」

《Yes. He is a rather cowardly sort, I had expected him to do that from the beginning.》

「Well, not like I care about that asshole all that much anyway…」

Straf dismissively shrugs his shoulders, watching another lamp above levitate past him.

「Here's another one… The wraith and the mage were working together, right? How did that happen?」

《Shortly after the first murder, the wraith took notice of them. It knew they are trying to kill everyone gathered there, and so it offered help, suggesting its own way of doing it.》

「…With the Cursefire, right?」

《Correct. But it wasn't so simple. It needed to become at least partially physical, and despite the mana gathered within it, it would have never been enough to resist the flame's light…》

「Since he was an outsider like me, the curse left him alone… So the old man helped him, right? Nothing to lose from a deal like that, after all… But how?」

Straf asks, furrowing his brows at the ceiling, tilting his head.

《…I suppose it's not that much of a secret at this point. He created a simple runic spell to infuse mana into the air above it. It was immensely inefficient, but even scraps were enough for a wraith.》

After a moment of hesitation, Athea explains

「Damn… He made a wireless charger because he was pissed off about being a loser?… Come to think of it… He was talking about taking over the throne… We're pretty far from it. Why was he here?」

Straf asks, and a prolonged silence begins.

「Hey. Tsk… Don't fucking tell me it's another secret…」

He rolls his eyes with a click of his tongue.

《…Fine. It's not a secret either, technically…》

Athea relents, albeit sounding a little frustrated.

《…It's true that he intended to take the Redwing throne by force, but he required more power. Do you remember her grimoire?》

「Lia's demon summoning book? Yeah, vaguely…」

Straf replies with a shrug of his shoulders, his nonchalant voice echoing through the halls.

《He used it there. Initially, his plan involved the baron slowly slaughtering the students and professors…》

「Wait, he used it? Here?」

His head perks up, and his gaze snaps towards the ceiling with his brows furrowed in confusion.

《Yes. But with the appearance of the wraith, he took on a more passive approach-》

「You mean there's a fucking demon summoning circle, here, at the Academy?」

Straf interrupts Athea, pointing his finger at the ground before him as he looks upwards.

《Yes, that's what I said.》

She confirms, audibly frustrated.

「What the fuck!? Where!? I better remove that fucking thing!-」

Straf shouts, stopping in his tracks as he just barely stops himself from running back.

《Don't bother, it already is non-functional. Everyone except you already knows… Well, those that should know, anyway…》

Athea cuts in and explains in a calm tone again.

「What the fuck? How am I the last one to find out?」

《Because you are on your way to the headmaster for a discussion regarding the topic, are you not?》

She asks in a derisive tone.

「…Yeah, I guess.」

Straf shrugs, and continues heading towards the dormitories.

「One more thing… And that's something only you will be able to tell me, really…」

《Yes?… It better not make me angry-》

「…Tell me about the skeleton. The full story as it happened. Names, when, why… Everything.」

《Ah, what a relief…》

Athea says with her joy almost palpable.

《…Very well, but you better slow down. It's long.》

「Fine… Hit me with that riveting backstory…」

Straf shrugs, and his wide steps narrow significantly, almost taking on the quality of a leisurely stroll through a park…