IHTSCPIDAJ CH 08

At the sound of her tired voice, Samuel hesitated for a moment before slowly approaching her. His gaze lingered on her slightly disheveled hair.

“Thank you so much for today. Thanks to you, we managed to get through a situation that could have turned into a major disaster. If something happens again, I’ll ask for your help.”

Viola paused with the book still in her hand and turned to look at him.

“I’ll say this again, but I only got involved because of the gold coins. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

Despite her cold words, Samuel’s smile did not disappear.

“I know. You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure you receive the gold coins I promised.”

“You should. I have no intention of losing money in a deal with the president.”

Even in the face of her firm attitude, Samuel didn’t argue any further and simply nodded.

“Then I’ll take this fellow back to where it belongs. The student council members can take care of things here, so you can leave now.”

Viola silently watched Samuel’s back as he gradually walked away. Perhaps because the tension had finally left her body, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over her, and she leaned back into a chair.

The fatigue spreading from her fingertips throughout her body mixed strangely with a sense of satisfaction.

50 gold.

She had earned an enormous amount of extra income in just one day.

At least today, dealing with such an annoying job had been worth it.

Viola slowly exhaled, savoring her small sense of accomplishment all by herself.

“…Ah.”

Then, when she suddenly checked the time, Viola hurriedly got to her feet.

No matter how much money she had earned, she didn’t want to lose her stable job because of this one thing.

At least until Scarlett became an adult, she needed a steady income.

“Eeeeeek!”

Several days later, a short, high-pitched scream pierced the air.

As usual, Viola was walking quickly down the hallway with her cleaning supplies when a sharp scream coming from somewhere made her stop.

What kind of trouble is it this time…?

On a peaceful morning, when everything had been moving along quietly, an uproar like this could only mean one thing.

Trouble had begun.

“Haa…”

Viola’s gaze turned toward a secluded corner of the garden.

There, a student was staggering and leaning against the wall. Judging by the collar and emblem on the uniform, the student was from the General Department.

“Go away!”

In front of the student, a pitch-black crow had spread its wings wide and was swooping down threateningly.

Its size alone was already far beyond that of an ordinary bird, and thin traces of magical energy clung to the tips of its wings.

Another strange thing has escaped.

It was obvious that it was either a monster summoned by someone or an experimental subject that had escaped control during an experiment.

Are birds suddenly popular these days? This is driving me crazy.

Remembering the owl that had stolen the book from the library a few days ago, Viola let out a deep sigh.

Lately, she seemed to keep getting involved with troublesome creatures that had wings.

Let’s just catch it. It’s noisy.

Without saying a word, she drew the dagger from her waist and launched herself forward without the slightest hesitation.

“Move back.”

“Ah, ugh! Y-yes!”

Viola moved in front of the General Department student as though shielding them, ducking beneath the crow’s incoming beak.

Even the feathers scattering from its wings seemed to contain magical power as they flew toward her with sharp force.

Several attacks were exchanged in an instant, leaving thin cuts on Viola’s elbow and wrist.

Why is it so fast? Is it a monster rather than an experimental subject?

The crow’s attacks were more than simple intimidation.

It was moving as though it had a clear target in mind.

“…?!”

Just as Viola briefly caught her breath, interrupted the flow of its attacks, and prepared to target the edge of its wing, the crow flew past her side as though it had been aiming for only one thing from the very beginning.

Rip.

The moment she felt something tighten against her skin before being pulled away, Viola instinctively raised a hand to her neck.

There was nothing there.

She immediately looked up at the sky.

High above, beneath the claws of the flying crow, the handle of a large leather bag and Viola’s locket were swinging in the sunlight.

The one and only necklace in the world containing Scarlett’s portrait.

An item she had spent months saving money to create before coming to the capital—something that held her own time and memories.

“It… it’s gone…?”

The General Department student finally came to their senses. Still dizzy, they leaned against the wall while catching their breath.

Then they noticed that the leather bag they had been carrying was gone and began to panic.

Inside that leather bag was a magic stone they had received from a professor and were delivering on an errand.

If even one thing happened to it, it was an item valuable enough that they could be expelled on the spot without being able to say a word in their defense…

“Th-that crow just…”

The student was about to say something but immediately fell silent.

There was something terrifying about Viola’s expression.

Deep within her clear, transparent eyes lay an abyss of darkness and a quietly burning rage.

“I’m going to kill it.”

Her gaze remained fixed on the sky where the crow had disappeared.

The anger of someone who had been robbed of something precious—and a fierce determination to reclaim it—burned in her eyes.

“Hm?”

Lily was making potions as usual when she suddenly raised her head at the strange presence she sensed outside the window.

What she saw beyond the window was Viola walking somewhere without hesitation, her face filled with murderous fury.

Her eyes and overall atmosphere were anything but ordinary.

Normally, Lily would have whistled playfully and called out to her, but for some reason, she felt like it would be a bad idea today.

“Viola!”

But Lily wasn’t the type to care much about something like reading the mood.

“Huh? Hey! Are you ignoring me?!”

Unable to tolerate being ignored, Lily climbed right through the window and came outside.

“What’s going on?”

Lily strode over and blocked Viola’s path, crossing her arms as she asked.

Viola stopped for a moment and looked up.

“I’m going to kill some thief of a bird.”

“What on earth did it steal for you to sentence it to death?”

Realizing from the unusual atmosphere that Viola wasn’t joking, Lily lowered her voice.

But Viola seemed to consider even taking the time to answer a waste and started walking again.

Taking advantage of the moment, the student beside her spoke.

“It was a crow, but it wasn’t just an ordinary bird. It seemed like a monster. It flew away with the magic stone I was delivering… and that woman’s locket.”

“What?”

Lily narrowed her eyes and looked at Viola’s expression again.

Her face was filled with a deep and frightening anger that was rarely seen.

What on earth was inside that locket?

“Want me to help you find it?”

Viola didn’t react to Lily’s offer.

She didn’t seem to believe that Lily would genuinely help her.

“Ah, seriously, I’ll really help! You’ve helped me with my experiments— I mean, with my potion experiments—up until now. Think of it as me returning the favor.”

At that, Viola narrowed her eyes and replied with a sigh.

“How very kind of you.”

She wasn’t entirely convinced, but when she thought about it, having at least one magic user with her would be useful.

Her opponent wasn’t an ordinary bird.

Its size and movements were much more troublesome than those of a normal monster.

She thought she could probably catch it alone, but she couldn’t be certain.

She couldn’t afford to let it escape.

“If you get in my way or do anything useless halfway through, I’ll really get angry.”

Viola warned her with a serious look.

Lily placed both hands on her hips and smiled brightly.

“If I get involved, we’ll catch it in no time. Sounds fun.”

Viola stared at Lily for a moment before turning forward and continuing to walk.

“Eek! What is that?!”

At that moment, a scream from somewhere in the distance pierced their ears.

Viola immediately recognized the source of the sound.

Without saying a word, she turned around and sprinted toward it at full speed.

“What is this?! Those mages, seriously! What have they done this time…?!”

There, Dean was facing off against the crow.

The crow was charging at him, seemingly fixated on the shining ornament attached to his sword sheath.

Perhaps unfamiliar with such a situation, Dean backed away with an awkward expression.

In the meantime, it seemed that the crow had already discarded everything except the locket because of the weight.

“Ahhh! The magic stone!”

The student spotted the leather bag lying scattered across the floor and screamed in panic.

At the startled cry, Dean turned his head toward the three people.

Then he saw Viola running toward them with an expression so sharp that it seemed capable of cutting through anything.

“V-Viola?”

Dean froze in surprise at the far more frightening atmosphere surrounding her than usual.

“Dean, kill that bastard.”

Dean didn’t fully understand what was happening, but at Viola’s furious voice, he instinctively drew his sword and swung it.

The movement was smooth and precise.

The crow didn’t even have time to scream before its form scattered apart and disappeared into the air along with a red afterglow.

At that moment, as the powerful magical creature suddenly vanished, the energy accumulated inside it went out of control.

A blinding flash erupted.

Then a powerful shockwave burst outward in every direction.

“Ugh…!”