EP.224 The Nightmare Returns (3)
‘When something precious is taken away by others, how should one act?’
For Rania, who has never had her own possessions taken away but only has experience in taking the places of others, it was an incredibly difficult question. Unable to find an answer from past experiences, she pondered deeply.
In the series of incidents, she realized something.
In just a little over a month, the students had forgotten about her. It wasn’t a matter of blaming the students. It was something Rania herself had to reflect upon.
‘I was only worth that much.’
A passing time, a series of incidents.
Regrets may exist, but she wouldn’t be buried in them. The incident had already happened, so she needed to find an answer.
A week spent in regret and obsession.
The answer Rania discovered at the end was very simple. It was so simple that it was appealing, and she pronounced it out loud.
“A stronger stimulus.”
That’s right, it was stimulation.
She had lacked sufficient stimulation.
If she wanted to make them remember her, to etch into their minds that she was the only professor worth their attention… she needed a stronger stimulus.
‘And, periodic stimulation.’
No matter how strong a stimulus was, if it came all at once, it would ultimately be forgotten. The important thing was that they had to be exposed to the stimulation on a regular basis.
Nod.
Rania nodded vigorously, leaning against the window ledge in the corridor. Her gaze was directed toward the academic bulletin board.
[Mana Trading Studies (Basic) Assignment Notice.]
And the academic notice she had posted.
After pulling an all-nighter planning the assignment, Rania looked at it with great satisfaction. Just imagining the reactions of the students looking at that notice brought a smile to her lips.
‘You can expect it.’
I will show you my best.
I’ll make sure you can never dream of another professor again.
“…Where do you think you’re running off to?”
Her murmured voice echoed softly in the hallway.
No matter what anyone said, Rania was definitely someone with a strong obsession.
2.
『The Nightmare Returns.』
After Professor Lrutia’s last class was over, the students, promising to hold a farewell party, dashed out into the hallway.
“From tomorrow, classes will start, so please check the academic bulletin board today.”
The chilling sentence whispered by the nightmare of Apuria.
They had to determine the truth of that statement. As a few students trembled in fear, they arrived in front of the academic bulletin board.
“Ah, you’ve all come quickly.”
There was a as guest in front of the bulletin board.
“P-Professor Rania.”
Like always, Professor Rania nodded gently with a soft smile. She took a step back and pointed at the bulletin board.
“Feel free to check it slowly.”
gulp.
As they swallowed hard, the students examined the bulletin board. There was a paper stuck there that they hadn’t seen just yesterday, and it bore the name of their nightmare.
[Mana Trading Studies (Basic) Assignment Notice.]
[Instructor: Rania van Trias.]
The students’ eyes moved quickly.
The expressions of the students reading the notice began to change in sequence. Some widened their eyes, some wiped their tears away… and others swallowed nervously.
And as if they had made a pact…
“P-Professor Rania?”
The students’ gazes turned towards Professor Rania.
Leaning against the window ledge, she casually adjusted her hair that was fluttering in the wind and tilted her head.
“What is it?”
“W-What’s this?”
“What do you mean?”
She smiled.
“It’s what you see.”
Taking a step closer, she pointed at the notice on the bulletin board. With her slender finger, she tapped the paper lightly and opened her mouth.
“The deadline for the assignment is until the end of the semester.”
Her gentle, soft voice.
However, that voice began to sound a little different in the students’ ears.
“With a period of two to three months, it looks like a manageable assignment if you take it step by step. I predict it will be tough if you try to cram it all in at once.”
Don’t think of resting for two months.
Isn’t a month of fun enough?
“The topic of the assignment is to draft a perfect trading formula, as befits ‘Mana Trading Studies.’ I expect you’ve learned well from Professor Lrutia over the past month.”
Seems like you all managed fine without me.
I’m going to test you this time.
“I believe everyone knows that ‘drafting a trading order’ is what ‘Mana Trading Studies’ refers to. Since you’ve already experienced it last semester in a group assignment format, it would be good to tackle it individually this time.”
You’ve done it once before.
You can handle it, right? I believe in you.
“Of course, it’s not about creating a perfect order. During the ‘Understanding Order Trading’ lecture, I will provide more detailed explanations regarding the assignment. So, there’s no need to be too nervous about it.”
It’s not that hard.
If you try, you can definitely do it.
Don’t worry.
I will make it possible for you.
“Once you complete the assignment, I believe you’ll experience significant growth.”
This isn’t just for my sake.
It’s all for you.
“Of course, if it’s difficult, you’re free to give up.”
“…Huh? Give up?”
“Yes, I can’t stop you if you say you can’t do it. I will help you as much as possible, but if you choose to give up, then what can I do?”
Their intentions were unclear.
As the students blinked in confusion, Rania continued in her soft voice.
“However, considering that this assignment has the highest weight this semester… If you give it up, it may be challenging for me to give good grades for you.”
Only then did the students understand Rania’s intentions.
Her words caught the students’ attention, and their pupils shook violently.
“Well, what’s the big deal if you get a low score?”
If you’re going to give up, then go ahead.
“You can retake it.”
If you want to take it again next year, feel free to do so.
“Is there anything else you want to ask?”
At her question, no one answered.
Only Rania was smiling brightly. In front of the nightmare that smiled more brightly than ever… the students felt despair.
‘Mana Trading Studies (Basic)…’
It is a mandatory course.
You must take it to graduate.
It was a lecture that couldn’t be dropped just because they didn’t want to take it.
As luck would have it, the subject was taught by Rania, known as Apuria’s nightmare. An unavoidable nightmare was upon the students.
“Let’s work hard for the remaining semester.”
She slightly nodded and then left.
The students watched her retreating figure for a while. The soft clack, clack of her heels echoed in their ears.
The nightmare had returned.
It had come back too vividly.
“Wow.”
Someone exclaimed in admiration.
“This is really driving me crazy.”
Just as they sensed the moment they would ruin their recently restored life patterns… they closed their eyes. All that was visible behind closed lids was a dark abyss.
‘A long, long darkness.’
In that darkness, they felt as if they could glimpse their future.
3.
“…It’s noisy.”
Back in the professor’s office, I rested my chin on my hand and gazed out the window. Outside, I could see Kelharlem and a group of students heading somewhere.
‘Farewell party.’
I seemed to recall hearing something like that.
“Tsk…”
Watching the continuous line of students, I inexplicably licked my lips. As I casually looked outside, my Master spoke up.
“If you want to go, just go.”
“I didn’t say I want to go.”
“I’ve seen you do this before, Rania.”
My Master gave me a look of disbelief.
“If you want to join, just say you want to and go with that crowd. You have the worst timing for noticing something, but you pick the oddest moments to notice it…”
“No, I really don’t want to…”
I didn’t want to join that crowd.
Sure, I felt a little envious… but that was about it. After all, what would I do if I joined in?
“I just thought they did those things.”
I hadn’t had a proper farewell party in the Magic Tower because I had fled like a thief, and I didn’t get a proper goodbye when I left the hero party.
‘I did avoid some things I didn’t want to, though…’
Watching the students heading to the farewell party made me feel envious. I was curious about what that feeling would be like.
‘Still, following them would be a bit much.’
So I decided just to watch.
Just as I was counting the number of students following behind…
knock knock.
Someone knocked on the office door.
My Master, who sat close to the door, opened it, and upon seeing the guest’s face, spoke in a slightly startled voice.
“…What brings you here?”
···Formal address?
‘Who came?’
I couldn’t see the guest’s face because my Master was blocking it. As I turned to look, that familiar voice echoed in my ears.
“Ah, I was wondering if Professor Rania was inside…”
A student peeked in.
The moment our eyes met, her eyes narrowed.
“There she is.”
A girl with platinum hair, the symbol of the royal family.
The Fourth Princess, Ayla.
She looked at me with a somewhat playful glint in her eyes. My Master stepped aside, and a few other students entered the professor’s office with her.
“…Princess? What brings you here?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
I couldn’t guess the purpose of her visit. In response to my question, Ayla slightly tilted her head.
“What do you mean? I came to greet you.”
“…Huh?”
“You returned from your vacation, didn’t you? I had planned to greet you a bit earlier, but I had a lot to prepare.”
She smiled bitterly and pulled Chloe, who was behind her, to the front. Chloe flinched as her shoulder was grabbed.
“Chloe and I…”
Ayla glanced back.
“…and Resti also helped plan this.”
Resti nodded silently.
‘Plan? What plan?’
I was baffled, and Ayla pointed outside the door.
“We’re planning to go to Professor Lrutia’s farewell party. Would you like to go with us?”
“…Me?”
“Yes, I already mentioned it to Prince Lac in advance.”
At Ayla’s words, Chloe kept nodding her head.
In a stammering voice, Chloe added.
“Belnoa said he’d help too! And the students from the Battle Magic Department will assist as well…”
So what kind of preparation is going on?
Not understanding what they were saying, I blinked and asked.
“What preparation…?”
“What do you think? A thank-you.”
···Thank-you?
“Formally speaking, it’s recorded that you got injured while protecting us and rested for a month… but we didn’t properly thank you, did we?”
Had that stayed in their minds?
I didn’t know the details as Kalt said he would report it. I thought the money just showed up in my account as usual.
“We wanted to take this opportunity to express our gratitude.”
Ayla pulled out a red envelope from her pocket.
“I, along with my sister, wanted to… Well, my sister said she might show her face briefly at the farewell party.”
“…Huh? Princess Lruiel?”
“Yes. She wanted to convey her thanks to Professor Lrutia, but also to you, Professor Rania. However, she’s quite busy these days, so she’ll likely only drop by for a short moment.”
Handing me the envelope, Ayla smiled.
“So, would you like to come with us? It’ll be quite a big farewell party.”
As usual, Ayla approached me with a mischievous smile and whispered in my ear.
“I noticed you looked quite forlorn earlier.”
“No, when did I…”
“You really emphasized the word farewell party. Don’t pretend like you didn’t notice.”
snicker, Ayla chuckled as she took a few steps back. My face flushed, and as I struggled to find words, my Master chimed in.
“Stop being coy and go. You’ve been giving off the vibes that you want to go since earlier…”
“No, I really didn’t…!”
“Of course, I would.”
snicker, Ayla tried to suppress her laughter.
I glared at her in frustration, but it seemed to have no effect. Stifling her giggles, Ayla grabbed my arm.
“Let’s just go, Professor.”
“No, really…”
“Alright, alright. I get it.”
Half-dragged along, I stepped out of the professor’s office.
‘…I’m really not sulking.’
I maintained my innocence, but Ayla, Chloe, and Resti all just laughed it off.
