Leorina returned to the place designated by the Pope, tossed her bag aside, and headed straight for the bathroom. Having used her brain for the first time in a while, it felt as though her mind were melting.
After washing up and stepping out, Leorina was shuffling through the living room to dry her hair when there was a light rapping sound at the window. As she approached, she saw an elaborate mechanical bird in the shape of a crow pecking at the glass with its beak.
“Oh, right.”
When Leorina opened the window, the crow fluttered onto her shoulder and landed.
This was an ‘automata,’ a mechanical device created through magic engineering to be used as a secret messenger for the STF. Its role was to deliver mission reports or directives, and its shape varied according to rank; among them, the crow belonged to the Pope.
“Ah, okay. Just wait a second.I just managed to catch my breath, so I haven’t written the report yet.”
Leorina sat at her desk immediately and picked up a pen.
[According to my observations, the subject resolves his lodging and meals at the Academy for the most part, despite having a home. Judging by the subject’s monotonous lifestyle, I judge there to be no anomalous aspects or uncontrollable elements in the surrounding environment. However…]
Leorina let out a groan and moved her pen again.
[However, the subject does not seem to have very good social skills and appears to be quite headstrong, so I believe attempting a rash assassination would only raise his guard. Therefore, as a first step toward completing the mission, I am striving to foster a friendly relationship with the subject and proving myself to be a useful person to him. I intend to maintain the current status quo for the time being while looking for an opportunity.]
Having written that much, Leorina made a sobbing sound.
“…Friendship, my foot. I’ve just been worked like a dog so far.”
Please, save me. I want to go home.
She had managed to pull off every mission she’d been given so far, no matter how difficult, but this was the first time she had faced a mission this hopeless.
“Even if I have to look for an opportunity and handle it quietly, if I only look for opportunities, I might end up getting Master!”
Leorina, feeling suddenly overwhelmed, folded the roughly finished report neatly, opened the hatch on the automata’s back, and tucked it inside.
After opening the window to let the Automata fly off, she sprawled out on her bed and gnashed her teeth.
“I’ll have to find an opportunity and kill him tomorrow.”
Leorina fell sound asleep, harboring such hopeful thoughts.
* * *
The next day, Leorina arrived at work energetically, worrying about how to seize an opening with her target, but she was greeted by an abrupt question from Khalid, whose eyes were dark with shadows from pulling an all-nighter.
“Good morning, Professor!”
“Ah, you’re here. I happened to think of something I was curious about, so I was waiting for you.”
“Pardon?”
“What was it about my research that you liked?”
“Th-the research?”
“You must have had a motive for applying to my lab. What part did you like that made you choose to work under me?”
‘I didn’t expect to get a question like this on the fourth day, rather than the first….’
Leorina, caught off guard, rolled her eyes.
“I… well, as for the Professor’s…”
While agonizing over an answer, Leorina eventually blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Among your papers, I read the content regarding the method to make a rabbit’s tail grow longer and found it truly impressive!”
“You… read that?”
“Huh? Yes.”
Before coming here, Leorina had needed to learn as much as possible about Khalid, so she had spent her nights reading all the papers of his she could get her hands on.
She had just said whichever one came to mind, but Khalid’s bluish-purple eyes sparkled at her words.
“You really read that? That research that no one recognized?”
“Yes. I read it.”
As Leorina nodded, the dark shadows under Khalid’s eyes suddenly vanished.
“How—How was it?”
“What was?”
“What did you think of the research when you saw it?”
At Khalid’s expectant face, a lightbulb turned on in Leorina’s head.
This is it!
Academics are, by nature, people who beg for interest in their own research. So, when Leorina pretended to know about the paper, Khalid had reacted to it.
Leorina tried to recall the content of the paper as best she could, but having read so many, her memory regarding rabbit tails and the like was hazy. So, she began to spout random nonsense.
“I think it’s good research. Although it’s still in the early stages and there are parts that require follow-up research, if applied correctly, I believe there are practical aspects to it as well. I think that if you just implement that research, it will find a use somewhere.”
It was such a generic statement that it could apply to any paper, but it seemed to satisfy Khalid well enough.
“Is that so? Does it really seem useful?”
“Yes!”
“Right? You think so too, right?”
“Of course, of course.”
Leorina rubbed her hands together, flattering him with a sycophantic expression. Unaware that it was flattery, Khalid grinned.
Having heard a satisfying answer, Khalid strode over to the bookshelf and began pulling out books without hesitation.
“I was actually wondering what work I should entrust you with. You’ve mostly handled the backlogged chores, and you need to settle on a research topic, too.”
Khalid, who had floated the chosen books in the air with magic, turned his head to look at Leorina and curved his eyes into half-moons. At that moment, Leorina felt a chill run down her spine for no apparent reason.
“It’s a good thing you said you were impressed by that paper. It seems just right for this semester’s project.”
At Khalid’s gesture, the books floating in mid-air flew toward Leorina.
“First, find at least three fields where the rabbit tail growth method could be applied and come up with some methods for application. Use these books as reference for your research.”
“…Pardon?”
“Wow, I was wondering how I’d find the motivation to do follow-up research on my own, so I’m glad someone showed up to share the load. Oh, don’t worry. I’ll help out here and there, too, so ask me if you run into anything difficult.”
Khalid patted Leorina’s shoulder with a relieved face. Leorina, on the other hand, asked with a sour expression.
“Then, by when should I have this done?”
“Hmm, I haven’t really thought of a deadline, but a deadline is what gets the brain turning, after all. About a month?”
“A-a month?”
“Is that too short?”
“No, I’ll do it.”
Leorina nodded, thinking that if she assassinated Khalid before then, it would be over anyway. At her compliant answer, Khalid grinned again when she wasn’t looking.
“And make copies of these lecture materials.”
“Yes, sir!”
“When you’re done with that, find the things related to the content I’ve marked in those materials from those books and organize them. I need to use them when teaching the undergraduates.”
Leorina looked at the pile of books stacked like a mountain in the corner of Khalid’s office.
‘Are those… the same books that Meryl got hit on the head with on my first day?’
Hoping against hope that she had misheard, she asked with a trembling voice.
“Fro—From all of these?”
“Including these, and of course, all the books in the laboratory.”
“Ugh…”
As Leorina groaned and narrowed her eyes, Khalid looked disappointed.
“Can’t you do it?”
“No! I can. I can do it!”
Leorina quickly regained a bright smile and clenched her fists.
“I’m heading to class then.”
“Yes, have a good time!”
The corners of Khalid’s mouth twitched as he headed toward the lecture hall, seen off by Leorina.
“I’ll have to treat my windfall well so she doesn’t run away this time.”
A few undergraduates passing by flinched at the sight of his face and quickened their pace to pass Khalid.
The sight of the professor, who always wore a gloomy face, grinning like that had an unpleasant effect on the undergraduates’ hearts, but Khalid himself remained oblivious.
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