17 — A Childish Green Mess

"Is the headmistress already aware of this?" Lily asked bluntly.

Oh, right... Mrs. Celine.

If I'm being honest, if there was anyone in the academy who knew, of course it would be her. But her youthful appearance was, of course, in stark contrast to her demeanor, which still looked as spry as a teenager's. So it was only natural that no one wanted to ask her something like this, except me, because it was my duty.

It seemed nothing significant had happened yet.

In fact, it would be too strange if—

Suddenly, a rather loud knock came at the Student Council room door.

The three of us flinched at once, because the tone of the knock sounded like a threat to kill us one by one.

"Clara, you open it."

Lily said while hiding behind the Student Council president's desk with Myra, pointing at the door.

Instantly, my throat felt dry, my windpipe choked like a withered flower stem. I had been standing near the door already—I always stood near the door when I was nervous, and I had been nervous since the moment the budget number vanished—so I reached for the handle without thinking. I didn't check. I didn't ask who it was. I just turned it and pulled.

Then suddenly—

BANG!

A green-haired figure with glasses that had fallen to the floor, dressed like most teachers, tumbled down after colliding with me.

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch..."

"Sorry, I was in a hurry!" she said while wincing in pain and clutching her head.

No one would guess that the woman in front of me was a teacher. 

Honestly, I thought she'd fit much better as a student.

"Are you two always this clumsy?" Lily said, having suddenly appeared at the door, followed by Myra, who was smiling while holding back laughter.

So what about me? I was just holding my head. 

My chestnut-colored hair was in disarray—or at least, that's how I saw myself right now.

"Lily, you're so rude. Just because I look like this, you walk all over me. Ugh, you'we such a big meanie!" the green-haired woman shot back, pouting like a kindergartener.

Huh, what was that just now? Disgusting.

I felt nauseous listening to that weird rambling. 

It was also absurd to know that the woman who still looked like she was in her twenties was none other than the headmistress of Sophia Academy herself—Celine Augusta Angelina.

Oh, was that surprising enough to you? If I thought about it, I was far more surprised.

Because... what the hell?

Disheveled clothes, a plain white shirt, even a carelessly worn hat. Not to mention her unkempt, unmanaged hair. And she seemed to have no idea how to do her makeup—or maybe she just didn't care about her appearance at all. A far cry from how she looked during the banquet. And wasn't she supposed to be incredibly busy right now? 

Because the chaos inside and outside the kingdom was still ongoing, wasn't it?

But there she was, coming here as casually as she pleased. And of course, after tumbling down, she stood up at once, slammed that heavy, expensive door shut, and then smiled as if nothing had happened.

"Alright, children. So, what brings you here?"

Wait, hold on... weren't we the ones who should be asking that???

And do you know the most infuriating part? 

Right after she said that, this Celine creature just sat down and picked up a cup of tea.

The one that actually belonged to Lily.

I, still sitting on the floor—gaping, obviously—looked toward Lily, who covered her lips with both hands, then covered her face.

It probably felt like her lips had been indirectly kissed by a woman acting like the queen of the universe.

"Uh... Mrs. Celine, isn't that the question we should be asking?"

Myra, wait! You're being too bold!

Myra's question, of course, shattered the atmosphere that had seemed so calm at the start.

Celine, who had been so carefree, stopped sipping her tea at once, then set it back on the table slowly. A moment later, she picked it up again and took another sip, as if she had only paused to make a point.

Meanwhile, I—since no one was paying attention—quietly stood up while briefly dusting off my uniform and skirt, which had gotten dirty.

"Oh, right, I forgot." She said calmly.

A fully developed maturity, showing who she really was. In stark contrast to her reaction when she had bumped into me.

"Clara, Lily, Myra."

"Sit."

Without a word, we took the seats available in the room, followed by a chilling atmosphere with every step the three of us took.

This goosebump-inducing atmosphere was normal when she laid down the rules. Because we did respect her, even though sometimes I wondered how a woman as childish as she was—who disguised herself as an old lady in front of her students—was actually the most authoritative headmistress with this nurturing, motherly nature?

And for some reason, that smile seemed to hint that she always knew everything in the academy.

Oh, right. This was the time to ask her that.

I knew there was no easy answer from her, but it didn't hurt to try.

"Uh, Headmistre—"

My words stopped with her raised index finger, telling me to be quiet.

"Please don't call me that. Professor Celine is much better. Because I'm also a teacher here."

I just nodded. Meanwhile, Lily just closed her eyes and smiled cynically, followed by Myra, who turned and watched.

"So, what do you want to ask, Clara?" she asked while propping her chin, with her elbow on her thigh, which is quite... ah, better not get into that before her lifting her skirt actually frightened me.

I took a slow breath before finally letting out what was on my mind.

"See, the three of us found something off with last year's academy budget. Was that your doing?"

Lily immediately looked at me with increasingly sharp eyes, as if wanting to say 'Do you want to die?' Meanwhile, Myra's hand tried to cover her own mouth but not entirely.

"If that's true, so what? Is something wrong?" she replied, with a smile that kept widening.

Not a funny joke.

Actually, it wasn't wrong for me to accuse her. If there was someone who manipulated the budget and then rewrote it, it would definitely be her.

"Nothing's wrong, but I don't know who else I should accuse." I answered awkwardly.

My courage shrank further, along with both my hands pressing the tips of my fingers together without joining them.

"Your accusation is actually quite reasonable. I could do something like that, and I could do even more, so that none of you would know." She answered calmly.

She really was a monster...

It was hard to imagine that a figure of such virtue could have the potential to do something far more evil than any criminal.

"So if only you lot knew, it means she's stupid." She continued.

Instantly, the room went silent, without a single word spoken for a moment.

In the middle of this silence, I felt like someone who was ready to be sentenced to death by the local district executioner.

She had dodged it. She had dodged it so cleanly that I couldn't even tell if she had dodged it. If she had done it, she would have done it in a way that none of us would ever realize. If she hadn't, she was simply entertaining the accusation for her own amusement. Either way, I had learned nothing, and she had learned everything she needed to know about what we knew.

Which, knowing her, was probably the point.

Ren had come to the infirmary the day after. He asked his questions, took his notes, and left without telling me anything I didn't already know. The philosophical inquiry into memory magic turned out to be less inquiry and more formality. He looked at me the whole time like he was waiting for me to say something specific. I didn't. He left.

I still wondered whatever thing he actually had wanted.

"Have you ever heard of the Ancient Primordial Demoness?"