Chapter 16: The Sound of Gold Coins

-Triiiiiiinnnnnggggg~~~

When the alarm sound - which she couldn’t get used to - rang, Erica Bright waved her hand habitually-

Slap!

Thud!

-And the clock fell to the floor.

Fortunately, it wasn't broken as Erica had already destroyed the previous ones several times and replaced them with a new, sturdy one.

-Triiiiiiinnnnnggggg~~~

But unfortunately, because of the very same reason, it kept ringing even after falling.

“Ugh!”

Forcibly waking herself up, Erica rubbed her eyes, and after turning off the alarm clock, she got out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

She undressed and began her morning shower, trying to forcibly forget the nightmare she had had last night under the warm water pouring from the sunflower showerhead.

But the more she tried to forget, the clearer the dream came to her mind...

Actually, it wasn't just a dream, rather it was something that happened in the past.

“Haah~”

No, too short of time had passed to call it the past. Rather, it was the memory of a late night two months ago.

“…”

In her memory, she walked through the dark, gloomy halls of the Robern Academy late at night.

Stargazing was simply an excuse. In fact, it was just that she simply felt mischievous upon hearing rumors that her fiancé patrolled the academy alone every late night.

Her fiance...

He was a man who was the opposite of the rumors she had heard and was more caring and gentlemanly than she had expected.

He was the first man Erica had ever wanted to know more about.

Although the strategic engagement that was made in childhood always followed Erica like shackles, after seeing the other person, it didn't appear as bad as she'd thought.

It had only been a month since he came to Robern Academy. But in just one month, there appeared a time when Erica had to clear her throat pretending not to notice that she was already head over heels for him.

‘…’

Erica, who was tasting how sweet the love was for the first time, walked around the academy late at night, searching for him with impatient steps.

There were rumors that ghosts roamed the academy late at night, but to Erica, who was indifferent to those rumors, it was an added advantage. As it was quiet and they would be alone… so wouldn’t it be a perfect atmosphere to enjoy a date in the name of stargazing? And wouldn’t it also be possible to hold hands naturally in such an atmosphere?

At such a thought, Erica’s heart began to beat rapidly.

She’d never thought the day would come when she, who was always evaluated as a confident, competent, and cool-headed professor, would start to think like a little girl.

While Erica clicked her tongue, she carefully took off the white glove she was wearing and hid it in her pocket.

- Tap Tap Tap Tap

-"Dadap!!!"

A strange noise intervened between the sounds of her own shoes. Erica, who was walking down the hallway, realized that the strange noise had come from a nearby classroom, and sped up her pace slightly, thinking that it must be Professor Deus.

But before she took a step inside the classroom, in front of the door, Erica carefully touched her face, which was smiling involuntarily.

'Should I show him my smile? Professor Deus would like that… right? '

But wouldn't he also be taken aback if her usual cold impression suddenly changed?

Forced to act expressionless to appear normal, Erica opened the classroom door in frustration... and saw Deus trembling while strangling his own neck.

"DIE!!!"

"DIE!!!"

"DIE!!!"

"DIE!!!"

The way he screamed to himself to die without opening his mouth was like-

-Schnick!

The faucet was turned and the hot water pouring from the showerhead stopped. And, the memories of that time vanished, swirling down the drain with the water.

“Whew.”

After wiping off the water with a towel, Erica began to get ready for work. She put on a navy blue coat over her white shirt and transformed into a professor again, not Erica.

“…”

She looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. Her gaze naturally shifted to the paper stuck to the wall next to the mirror.

The first line read, ‘List of Cemeteries in the Robern Academy’.

At the time she researched about it and wrote this list, she didn't know, but in the midst of the various incidents happening in the academy, she was convinced of it now.

The reason why he returned to the usual Deus the next morning.

The reason why he had no memory of it.

And the reason why he was able to speak despite his hands strangling his neck and his skin looking purple due to lack of oxygen...

Erica felt like she finally knew the answer to these questions.

“It must be…”

***

“...Possession.”

As I was flipping through the bookshelves and coming up with answers on my own, Finden Ai, who was doing push-ups next to me, stood up and turned her head toward me.

"What's up?"

I gave her a warning look, slightly furrowing my eyebrows.

"I've been thinking about this since last time. If you're going to use informal language, then use informal language. If you're going to use formal language, then use formal language."

"I'm sorry, but formal language doesn't come naturally to me. So what were you saying about possession?"

In the end, did she choose half of both ways?

'That's okay though.'

Forcibly putting the leash on the wolf would only cause rebellion.

“The Skeleton Centipede in the family’s basement is a guy with the name ‘In-gol-chung’.”

"In-gol-chung? I've never heard of such a creature in the past."

No wonder.

"Because it's not a creature that roamed the world. It's something from a legend that is passed down from mouth to mouth."

“…A legendary animal?”

“To be precise, it should be regarded as a legendary monster.”

Finden Ai made a confused expression with her arms crossed. She didn’t appear to have understood it.

“Ahh!”

Then with a sharp sound, she turned to me and perhaps remembering what I had said earlier, she questioned, “So, what does the possession mean here? Who is possessed?”

“The girl we saw in the basement. She was possessed by that In-gol-Chung.” 

"Ah, I see." Finden Ai nodded her head, finally understanding something. I closed the journal that Darius gave me and put it back on the bookshelf.

"How do you know that though? Is there such a record?"

“Yes, a long time ago. Several mages, under orders from one of the heads of the Verdi family, conducted experiments underground.”

Their names were also written in the record neatly: Marks, Lafolk, Armen, Winnie, Sheen, Cottobero…

Looking at the long list of researchers, I couldn’t help but be stunned.

“At the time, the head of Verdi, who feared the invasion of the Clark Republic, requested an experiment to summon a strong monster using human bones, and they agreed.”

“… … Hmm?”

Finden Ai, who seemed uneasy about something, crossed her arms and looked around. She also appeared to have understood that something was strange.

Ignoring her reaction, I continued my words. But perhaps, the part I was going to talk about from now on would be the most irritating to her.

"The material for producing In-gol-Chung was, of course, human bones… Finding dead people in North Whedon was not that difficult after all."

"...... Immigrants… Us?"

Finden Ai said, gritting her teeth. 

To her, it was something she could not tolerate. But it was a fact; They captured the immigrants trying to cross over the North Whedon Mountains and continued experimenting on them. Although it wasn't just immigrants who were experimented upon, the majority of the subjects were immigrants.

However, in the end, the Clarke Republic did not invade, and the research ended up being a failure with the underground facility being closed down without any significant achievement.

The remaining ‘tools’ and ‘subjects’ were left behind in the basement of Verdi’s mansion. The experiment succeeded only after everyone had left.

‘Perhaps it was that girl who was alive until the end.’

Then, the girl gave her heart to the insect god and was possessed by a demon, becoming its vessel.

After that, they lived there for a long time, buried and forgotten.

"But possession? Does that really exist?"

When Finden Ai, who had never heard of it before, asked, I nodded slightly.

“It is possible. Especially if it has a strong ego or if it is a ghost with a grudge, it can ignore the owner’s resistance and dwell in the body.”

“Hoo?”

“In some cases, a possessor can even control the original owner’s memories and emotions… and becomes a completely different person.”

Finden Ai, who had been showing interest in the topic, paused and looked at me. Then she asked me curiously.

“Do you have any experience?”

Although I didn't answer, Finden Ai appeared to have understood that my silence was an affirmative answer.

With the expression that she asked something unnecessary, she grumbled and complained as if she was embarrassed.

“Necromancers are creepy and don’t know how to live.”

‘Well, this is something that normal necromancers can’t do.’

-Knock.

Then a knocking sound came from outside the room. When I ordered to come inside, a hesitant maid approached me cautiously and handed me a letter.

“T-That, young master. A letter came from Robern Academy.”

“…letter?”

“Y-yes, the dean’s seal has been stamped on it, and the falcon who brought the letter is waiting… probably for an early reply.”

"Hmm."

It was quite rude, but I immediately noticed that it was an urgent situation.

I immediately opened the envelope and skimmed through the contents.

“Tsk.”

It was frustrating content that left one with nothing to do but click their tongue. It all started with losing all the contingency plans I had left behind for an emergency.

Then came the shameless demand to rewrite everything, and the unappetizing bait of considering rehiring if I comply. 

Originally, I would have given them instructions on what to do.

After all, admission to the first year was just around the corner. In fact, it was the time when the main character entered the academy and it was the starting point of their growth.

So, what would happen if it was ruined by demons?

It was obvious what the future of this world would be like.

But now that things had come to this, I had a different plan.

-Fuzzz

I answered without hesitation, burning the letter.

“Tell the dean to learn polite sentences.”

If the dean himself sent a letter to someone who had been fired, it must be quite urgent. So, the maid was quite surprised by my resoluteness. But after coming to her senses, she deeply bowed before quickly leaving the room.

"If you get reinstated, I can go to the center of the continent too," Finden Ai said.

Well, it was obvious why; the academy in the center of the continent would be much easier to raise money or gather information for her.

“There are still issues to be resolved.”

"In-gol-Chung? Ah, great. I'll bring an ax."

Finden Ai jumped out of the window excitedly. No matter how many times Deia warned her, that habit was not cured.

Shaking my head, I focused on the current situation.

There was no such thing as a monster called Ingolchung on this planet. In other words, it was a monster that had been spread entirely by word of mouth among the continent's people.

‘Looks like I have a lot to learn.’

I prided myself on having extensive knowledge about demons and evil spirits, but it no longer seemed I could entirely depend on my previous knowledge.

‘No, it’s okay.’

‘I will be able to learn again…’

And I would also be able to restart my necromancy research, which had been sluggish due to a lack of family support.

‘Because Robern Academy will give me all the money.’

“I definitely gave a solution before leaving.”

But if you lost it, there was nothing I could do about it. 

‘Unfortunately, from now on, you will have to pay.’

-Jinglang! Jinglang! Jinglang! Jinglang!

I felt like I heard the sound of gold coins from somewhere.

Ah, right.

It was the sound of my worth as an Academy professor skyrocketing.

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