In the headmaster's office, roughly thirty minutes later…

With his boots on the oaken desk, Straf is sitting in the comfy leather chair, leaning back with his arms behind his head. He rocks himself lightly, glancing at the door every few moments.

「…Come on, when is he coming back?」

Straf grumbles, and drops his feet back to the ground with a large sigh. He looks around the dim room, and whenever his eyes look towards where the presence feels the strongest, it seemingly shifts elsewhere.

「…Lily, if it's you, you can forget about getting more blood out of me.」

He loudly declares, and looks around the empty room again. The candlelight pulses brighter and falls darker as the flames dance on their wicks. Straf lets out a long, exasperated sigh.

「Am I actually going fucking nuts?…」

With his head lowered, he thinks out loud as he rubs his brows with his thumb and index finger.

「…No, that can't be right.」

Straf raises his head, and stares at the door with tired eyes. It opens without the slightest warning.

「…I am fine, Aria. Don't be ridiculous… Head for the class.」

Corvus says over his shoulder as he enters through the door. She stands in the doorway with her fists on her hips and a mix of concern and frustration on her face, but makes no effort to follow him in.

「You should learn to knock.」

Straf says loudly, interlocking his fingers as he leans over the oaken desk. Corvus and Aria exchange mildly surprised looks, before the headmaster gestures his head at her, and closes the door.

「…That seat suits you, Straf. Perhaps you should give taking my position a serious consideration?」

Slowly approaching the desk, Corvus points his hand at his occupied chair with a light smile, then holds his hands behind his back.

「If I'm ever the headmaster, I'll ban skirts longer than half the thigh. Have a seat.」

Straf replies, and points his hand at the visitor chair across the desk. Corvus lets out a soft chuckle, and obliges Straf.

「You know… I was a little under twice your age when my fellow professors started whispering about me becoming the headmaster. I was the Professor of Unorthodox Magic…」

The headmaster cautiously sits down with a little grunt, and leans in over the desk as well, mirroring Straf's posture, or perhaps simply disregarding Straf's caricature of himself.

「…It is a really interesting field. Although, the people who share the opinion seem to be a very tiny minority, ha ha…」

Corvus lets out a quiet chuckle, briefly spreading his hands with a small grin. Straf stares at him with a stone face, silently listening.

「…Aberrations aside, we only consider three types of magic. The common and standard magic we mages use every day. Second is healing magic, and the third… Eastern magic.」

「So?」

Straf asks, leaning back and crossing his arms.

「I always thought of eastern magic to be fascinating. It is very… Simplistic, so to say, but it works in strange ways.」

Corvus explains, briefly stroking his beard as he searches for the right words, and shrugs his shoulders.

「At times, it appears not to function like magic at all. There are many theories as to why, but none are really verifiable. After all, the mages of the Eastern Kingdoms are secretive, and rarely travel…」

He continues, once again spreading his hands, tilting and nodding his head as he explains with his bushy brows lightly raised.

「What's your point? You wanted me here to teach me a lesson about magic?」

Straf bluntly asks with a slanted mouth.

「No… No, of course not. You see… Most of what we, the mages of the Academy of Magic know about eastern magic, is because of me.」

Corvus replies with a sly smile and a shrug of his shoulders. Straf's brows rise in mild surprise, although the degree to which he is impressed is very limited.

「…I do not mean to brag of course, but eastern magic is a rabbit hole that goes very deep, and I have barely peeked into it. Compiling all the available information was a daunting task…」

The headmaster continues his explanation, weakly gesturing with his hands.

「…Eventually, I completed the compendium. Even those who were uninterested in my field wanted to learn more about the mysterious foreign magic. It took years and years of hard work.」

「I'm still not seeing the point.」

Straf remarks with a tight-lipped grimace, and the corners of his mouth scrunched to the sides.

「…Though indirectly, those efforts eventually culminated in me becoming the headmaster. But it was years I have spent chasing esoteric scribbles in tiny guilds bordering the Eastern Ranges, Straf.」

「So?」

「After the previous headmaster had died, in his will, he signed a letter that recommended me to the Federation, and within it, he asked the other professors to sign it as well…」

Corvus replies, growing visibly sullen despite his story taking an upbeat tone.

「…The following days, everyone was already referring to me as headmaster, though I believe most only jokingly so… In other words, the Federation's decision was a foregone conclusion.」

He goes on, and Straf lets out a long sigh, but continues silently listening with his arms still crossed.

「Waiting in this very office, I received a letter. Contrary to what I expected, it was a letter from my wife's family. Those were usually invitations to birthdays and such. Trifle things…」

The headmaster says, and pauses, growing silent as his eyes drift down to the desk. He lowers his head, resting his mouth on his interlocked fingers.

「…Those years I had spent chasing knowledge, were years I did not spend with my wife, Straf. The letter informed me that she succumbed to an illness.」

He reluctantly adds, briefly raising his eyes to meet Straf's gaze, before lowering them again.

「Then I have received a letter from the Federation. I did not feel like celebrating in the slightest. My reward for my hard work was not seeing her for years, and no choice but to continue working…」

「That's the story? And the point is?…」

「…Are you spending time with the queen lately, Straf?」

Corvus asks with a serious, gloomy face. The two stare at each other for a few moment in silence.

「…Yeah. From time to time.」

Straf shrugs, looking aside at the bookshelves with his mouth aslant. Corvus nods, slowly picking up speed.

「Good… Good. I am not so naive as to believe I could have cured my wife, but I could have at least spent those years with her. Decades later, that regret is still with me, and it will remain until I die.」

The old mage lowers his face, almost hiding it behind his hands, blinking rapidly behind his spectacles. Straf rolls his eyes.

「Shoulda woulda coulda… You're really going to mope about because of a what if? Yeah, you could have cast some rainbows for some shitty kids and spent time with your wife, but you didn't…」

Straf throws his hands up, and gets up from the chair with a creak from the leather. He places his hands in his pockets, and walks to the visitor's side of the desk.

「…So why fucking beat yourself up over it still? Everyone has regrets. If you don't, you're probably already dead- Nah, you were probably never born. Even then, you'd probably go ahh, I wish I was alive!…」

He continues, spreading his arms with a tight-lipped grimace on his face while Corvus silently watches from the side, still seated in the visitor's chair.

「Humans are dumb sons of bitches that always think the grass is greener on the other side. If you stayed with your wife, you'd regret not putting in the work to become the headmaster.」

「No, I don't think-」

Corvus lightly shakes his head in denial, but Straf loudly scoffs and cuts him off.

「Yeah, right. If you get chocolate, you regret not getting vanilla. If you get chicken, you regret not getting beef. If you're alive, you regret not being dead… You'd regret it. I guarantee it.」

Straf replies with an amused grin, while the headmaster listlessly ruminates on his words with his head lowered.

「…How can you be so sure, Straf? Were you ever married?」

「Did you not hear me say that humans are fuckin' stupid? You could be in the happiest marriage in the world, and you'll regret not picking another girl.」

He asks, tapping his temple with his finger, smirking at the headmaster before placing his hand back in his pocket. The headmaster weakly nods his head, and stands up.

「…Perhaps. I don't agree with you, but perhaps. Through the years, I've learned not to discount any wild theories I'd hear… Far too many of them proven themselves to be right.」

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Corvus smiles lightly at Straf, passing by him and sitting down in his leather chair. He swivels forward, and places his elbows back on the desk, once again interlocking his fingers.

「So, did you call me here just to tell me your sob story, or is there more to it?」

Straf asks, briefly spreading his arms.

「No, of course not… I apologize for rambling, but it may be the last chance I have to ramble…」

Clearing his throat, the headmaster throws his hand up, and brushes his beard with his head lowered.

「…We are running out of time, Straf. Professor Reise is better now, but he is in no state to give lectures to the students. Worse yet, I'm seeing student health deteriorating as well.」

With a grave expression, he looks into Straf's eyes as he continues, speaking in a grim tone.

「I am aware. I've been going around the whole fucking place looking for the guy.」

Straf rolls his eyes in response with a sour expression on his face.

「I am in no way blaming or hurrying you, Straf. I simply want you to know… I may appear fine, but truth to be told, I am not feeling well at all. My help may become very limited in the following weeks.」

Corvus replies, and sets his glasses aside on his desk.

「The spectacles may as well not even be there. I have a fever every day. I struggle to get out of the bed. Not to mention, it's becoming harder and harder to think…」

The headmaster adds, looking at him with his tired half-lidded eyes as he explains. The old mage then lets out a large, troubled sigh, then places his spectacles back on his nose.

「So… How long do I have?」

Straf asks, crossing his arms with his mouth scrunched to the side.

「…A week, perhaps two if we're lucky. Professor Reise is unlikely to live through the next week… And quite frankly, the odds are against me as well, Straf.」

「So if I want to save your decrepit asses, I've got less than two weeks?」

Straf asks, and Corvus weakly nods back.

「Correct. But it will take another two to three weeks before the first students start dying. Ms. Redwing should be fine for perhaps even longer… But I am unsure how long.」

The headmaster replies, and sighs as he leans back in his chair.

「I've got a question for you…」

Straf announces, and leans over the desk's edge on his hand. The headmaster's eyes focus when they turn to him.

「…Are there any creepy places around the Academy? Dark, desolate, abandoned… Likely haunted, whatever. Anything like that?」

He asks, inquisitively turning his free hand palm upward while staring at the headmaster with a serious expression on his face.

「…Creepy? Why, there are some places in the Academy that make me shiver. I tend to avoid them on my night walks-」

「Where?」

Straf slaps the desk, and points his finger at the old mage's confused face.

「…There's multiple- I will just write you the directions…」

Corvus attempts to explain, but then shakes his head and pulls the drawer out. He once again gets his ink and quill, and begins writing on parchment.

「There are also… Certain faults and flaws… That came about during the construction of the building…」

He adds, pausing briefly as he writes another line.

「Like what?」

Straf asks, leaning in from the side to read the contents of the paper. This maneuver appears to disturb Corvus, and with furrowed brows, he attempts to cover it up while writing more.

「Certain rooms were abandoned… Due to a design error.」

He replies, momentarily placing his quill in the pot and skimming through the list while squinting heavily, despite it being right in front of his wrinkled face.

「…For example, a room was meant to be a classroom, but someone had the measurements wrong, and they eventually built up. It's too small to be a classroom, so we use it as a storage instead.」

Corvus says as he looks Straf in the eyes, then resumes writing.

「…Is that it? Anything else?」

「No, of course not. There were plenty of errors. Here's an example you may have already ran into… Right across from Professor Arkeis's study, there is a door leading to stairs below.」

The headmaster shakes his head, and turns to Straf again, extending his index finger.

「So there's another floor below aside from the crystal one? A basement? Wouldn't that be bad news if it exploded?」

Straf asks, furrowing his brows.

「No. Specifically for that reason, the Academy of Magic was built up, not down. That door leads to an empty, abandoned earthen room that was meant to be excavated into another floor.」

Corvus explains, and takes his quill in hand again, resuming his writing.

「Why is the Academy full of design fuckups like this? I thought mages are supposed to be smart.」

Exasperated, Straf spreads his arms, shaking his head in disbelief.

「Ha ha ha ha ha… The Mage Federation used to not be a unitary body, Straf. There was plenty of infighting, disagreements… Especially around the times the Academy was being constructed.」

「So a bunch of bitter old people were bickering instead of trying to do a good job?」

Straf asks, and Corvus weakly nods, reading through the list again.

「Yes. Luckily those times are over. Here is the list, I believe I haven't skipped out on anything. I may be biased, but I've written in a few places that, quite frankly, make me uncomfortable.」

The headmaster replies, and holds the paper out for Straf. He takes it, and quickly skims through it. It features a very crude map of the Academy, and a brief description of the abandoned locations.

「…May I ask why are you interested in this?」

Corvus asks as Straf throws the paper into his [Portable Storage], and takes a few steps for the door.

「…I just have a good feeling about it.」

Straf shrugs, looking at him over his shoulder with a tight-lipped grimace.

「A good feeling?…」

The old mage utters out, furrowing his brows at Straf while he walks away.

「Hey, one more thing… You don't mind if I just ignore the「No entry」sign and just walk straight in, right?」

Straf stops, and asks over his shoulder with his index finger extended.

「Nooo… However, that door will be locked with a key. Ask Julva for any keys you might need, tell her that I am permitting it.」

The headmaster shakes his head in response. Straf shrugs, and pulls his pipe and deerstalker combo out of his [Portable Storage].

「Elementary…」

Straf says as he leaves through the door, greatly confusing Corvus on his way out…

…

Fifteen minutes later, in the dwarf woman's office.

The door opens, and Straf nonchalantly walks in. She peels her eyes away from her book, and furrows his brows at him.

「Ah, I remember you. Don't tell me you've lost the key-」

「Nope. I need all of… These keys. The headmaster says I'm allowed to get them.」

Straf immediately cuts Julva off, and peeks at the paper in his hand before placing it on her desk and tapping it with his finger. She reads through the list while Straf sucks air in through his unlit pipe and waits.

「My… That's a lot of keys. The headmaster permitted this?」

She looks up at Straf with eyes of suspicion, and shuffles herself off her chair.

「Yup. Ask him if you don't believe me.」

Straf shrugs his shoulders, looking at her with a bored expression on his face.

「Oh no, it's not that I don't believe you… It's just… This is a lot of keys to bad rooms. Let's see…」

Julva dismissively waves her hand, then looks at the keys hanging up above her. She picks up her chair, places it down in front of the key rack, climbs onto it, and begins collecting the thick keys into her stout hands.

「Hm?… Now what happened here?…」

She mumbles out, looking with heavily furrowed brows at one of the empty hooks for a key.

「What's up?」

「Nothing… It's just someone seems to have already taken the key to the so-called basement room.」

Thump!

「So I can't get it?」

Straf asks as the woman jumps down the chair with a deafening noise.

Clankkkk!

「Oh, you can. It'll just take a moment. I need to look through the records and see who has taken it… What's your name, dearie?」

She places the large pile of keys in front of Straf, and opens a huge, thick tome over the desk as she asks.

「…Straf Katastrof.」

Straf reluctantly replies. She nods her head, uncorks an ink pot, and begins scribbling in the book.

「It's going to take a while. Come back in a few hours.」

She says without taking her eyes off the record book. Straf rolls his eyes as he clicks his tongue, takes the pile of keys into hand, and leaves.

The faint sound of a quill scraping against paper and muffled crackling of a fire in the stove fills the small brick room…