Chapter 143


    Lang Strauss.


    Professor of Poisonous Alchemy.


    He died at the age of 87 after a long illness.


    This shocking news flipped all of Kizen.


    News of his condition getting worse was widespread. Many times he vomited blood in ss, leaving Francescathe chief assistant teacherto teach instead.


    <em>"Lang, isn''t it enough already? You can give up the on-site work."</em>


    It wasnt just other professors, but even his close acquaintances who urged Lang to retire.


    <em>"You''re great enough to join the council of elders, so why are you overdoing it?!"</em>


    Yet he showed up every day, saying that he couldn''t abandon his mission. The overwork only made his condition worsen.


    In the end, this may have been inevitable.


    It seemed that Lang was also aware of this inevitability. He had written a will.


    [It is not appropriate to bother students with bright futures ahead because of an old dead man. If I die and the Nights of Erebuse, I wish you to continue teaching the students.


    I want Francesca, the chief assistant teacher, to carry on my job. I know this is unprecedented, but she is a talented person who shall grow to be far greater a necromancer than I, who is but an old man. It would be a shame for that child''s talent and passion to be left unutilized.


    Even if the funeral is held in a mausoleum, hold it modestly. Please omit the cumbersome customs.


    Nefthis, my greatrade, teacher, and close friend. I hope you may forgive me for leaving you alone like this once more. Iment the curse of time, but do not waste yourself with the samementations.]


    * * *


    After Lang''s death were the ''Nights of Erebus''.


    It was an old Kizen tradition for mourning the death of a renowned Kizen necromancer.


    If there were any traditions that necromancerswho always pursued change, development, and practicalitiesinsisted on without exception, they were ones rted to death.


    During this time, professors and assistant teachers wore ck. The students were dressed in school uniforms as usual, but all buttons were done up, and they wore ck ties. Male students had to wear ck socks, and girls had to wear ck stockings.


    Also, during the three Nights of Erebus, no lights or fires could be lit so the deceased could rest their eyes infort, left within the cozy darkness.


    Still, they performed normal sses on the first and second days to follow Lang''s will. Instead of using mana projectors, the professors drew directly onto the ckboards or used photographic materials and refrained from dark magic that caused fire or produced bright light.


    Students who returned to the dormitory after ss had to go to bed and sleep when night fell.


    Because the power generator waspletely shut off, and all lights were turned off in the dormitory, all of Kizen was in darkness.


    Even the lighting of candles was forbidden unless it was a serious matter. Light during this period was an insult to the deceased and their death.


    Two days passed like that before the sun rose on the third day of the Nights of Erebus.


    The funeral was scheduled for thest day.


    Renowned necromancers of Kizen went to an invible ce called the ''mausoleum'' after they died. After performing various ceremonies within it and sending Lang away, the Nights of Erebus would finallye to an end.


    Every professor in Kizen attended Lang''s funeral.


    Among the students, some who had a connection with Lang were selected to go up to the mausoleum.


    From the people Simon knew, Lorain, the daughter of Nefthis, and udia Menzies, a Poisonous Alchemy aspirant in ss A, went to the mausoleum.


    The third-years in particr went into a huge uproar. Lang was so popr amongst them that most Poisonous Alchemy majors quit their missions and returned to Roke Ind.


    However, Lang''s will to continue sses couldn''t be ignored, so sses on the third day of the Nights of Erebus were conducted in the form of self-study without a professor but supervised by assistant teachers.


    "Of all subjects, it''s Poisonous Alchemy right in the first period."


    Muttered Rick as he sat down and straightened his ck tie.


    "Ugh, sleeping too much made me even more tired. Were we asleep from 8?"


    Simonughed softly as he pulled out a chair in the seat next to him.


    "Think positively. We finally got a chance to catch up on all our lost sleep."


    Even the Poisonous Alchemy ss wasn''t in its usual practice hall but an ordinary lecture room with only desks and chairs. During the Nights of Erebus, using fire to boil the cauldrons was also forbidden.


    "Hello everyone~"


    "What''s gotten into you twozybones? You guys are so early."


    Camibarez and Meilyn also arrived at the lecture room.


    Both also wore ck ties. Then Camibarez, who usually went barefoot, wore ck stockings, and Meilyn kept her long hair neatly held up with a ck hair pin.


    "You guys, did you know"


    As usual, Rick bbered on.


    "that this Poisonous Alchemy ss won''t be a self-study, but a normal ss!"


    "What do you mean? Is it even possible to have normal sses without the professors?"


    In response to Meilyn''s question, Rick said in a faint voice,


    "The thing is, I heard that former-assistant-teacher Francesca, now promoted to professor, actually didn''t go to the mausoleum."


    Simon, Meilyn, and Cami all stared at Rick with wide eyes.


    "Youre serious? Why?''


    Chief assistant teacher Francesca Velmond obeyed Langs will more than anyone else.


    ording to Kizens rules, Lang''s assistant teachers would be disbanded, and another professor for Poisonous Alchemy and their assistant teachers woulde in from outside. But Nefthis couldn''t refuse her longtimerades final request.


    Although unprecedented, Francesca was promoted straight from assistant teacher to Kizen Professor.


    In fact, although people questioned going against procedure, no one questioned her in terms of skills. Even on the field, everyone was satisfied with her skills.


    "And"


    Rick lowered his voice.


    "Nefthis was going to entrust thest funeral ceremony to the deceased''s most cherished disciple, assistant teacher Francesca."


    "Professor Francesca."


    Corrected Meilyn in a stern voice.


    "Ah, yes. Anyway, Professor Francesca rejected Nefthis'' proposal."


    The three of them nced between each other, shocked. Simon asked,


    "Why did she refuse?"


    "Y-Yeah. I don''t quite understand! I heard that sprinkling the deceased''s ashes at the end is a great honor."


    "From what I heard, it was because of the "


    <em>Tap. Tap.</em>


    All four of them shut their mouths at the same time.


    Speaking of the devil, Francesca, now a professor, had appeared. She walked into the lecture room, her red hair fluttering behind her. The ss A students who came to take the morning ss wore stiff expressions.


    ''Sh-She really didn''t go to the funeral?''


    * * *


    * * *


    Maybe it was because she now held the title of Kizen Professor for Poisonous Alchemy. She lookedpletely different from when she was supporting Lang.


    All ck from head to toe, she wore a ck suit, shoes, and a scarf around her neck. Every time she walked, her hair and scarf waved through the wind in harmony.


    She stood before ss A as a professor for the first time. The routine of building up her resolve by tying back her long hair remained unchanged.


    "ss President."


    Those were Professor Francesca''s first words.


    While everyone was dazed, Jamie Victoria jumped to her feet. She moved with quick wit.


    "Attention! Bow!"


    "Good morning, Professor!"


    After all the students bowed their heads in unison, she replied with a gentle smile,


    "Wee, everyone."


    Jamie and the other students felt their hearts tingle.


    Lang was a bit old-fashioned, and he was the only Kizen professor who made his students bow. But his young disciple decided to inherit that routine.


    She took a deep breath.


    "Professor Lang"


    The students'' mouths went agape.


    "considered everyday life to be more important than anything else."


    She told Lang''s story first, which no one else had even mentioned.


    It felt more pitiful because it felt like she was peeling open her own wounds.


    "That was the reason why he tried to stand up front despite his sick body. Professor Lang said it so much it became a habit: Don''t look back at the past, don''t work for the future, just be faithful to the moment."


    Her voice spread out softly.


    "He said that the past restrains the present, and the future exhausts it. But that when the faithful present gathers up, it bes a rich past and a bright future. Professor Lang was faithful to the present until the moment he passed."


    Her voice was more engaging than in any of the other sses she had done.


    "Professor Lang has passed away, but I''ll live in the present. I promise to devote all my energy and passion to teaching you every day. Then, I believe Professor Lang will smile at me as well."


    It was a short speech, but Francesca greatly touched the students'' hearts.


    Tears soon entered the eyes of Meilyn, who always admired her, and Camibarez had to cover her mouth. Sniffles were heard from all across the lecture room.


    "Well then, let us begin with ss."


    Francesca''s ss was already dynamic, but it felt far more upgraded today.


    She walked around the lecture room dripping with sweat, drawing on the ckboard in detail to help the students understand theponents of toxic ingredients.


    No student or assistant teacher looked down on her for once being an assistant teacher.


    Maybe it was because her speech was so impressive that everyone followed her as a Kizen professor from the bottom of their hearts.


    And three hours flew by just like that.


    "Attention. Bow!!"


    "Thank you for the ss!"


    "Thank you, too. I''ll see you all again next week."


    Perhaps the emotions were still great, as the students left the lecture room slowly. Most notably, Poisonous Alchemy aspirants close to Francesca went up to her and left words of encouragement. Francesca smiled kindly and epted them.


    <em>Slide.</em>


    Just then, Simon quietly took Kajann''s sses from his inner pocket.


    Since receiving the item, he has been checking professors and assistant teachers to see if they were wearing biological faces or had a scar on their cheeks.


    Simon put on his sses and looked at Francesca.


    ""


    Again, there was no difference. There were no scars on the cheeks, either. When Simon was about to grab the frame to take his sses off


    "Cami?"


    Camibarez, who was looking at Simontransfixedblushed in surprise. She then waved her arms in front of her.


    "Aahhhh! It''s nothing!"


    "Hm?"


    Meilyn, who packed her bag into her subspace, approached.


    "Hey, what are those sses? Theyre so old-fashioned, and you look like a nerd."


    "Theyre old-fashioned, but they give off a pretty good vibe."


    Rick approached from the side, took off Simon''s sses with a smooth motion, and put them on himself. Then, he looked back at the three of them and took a pose.


    "What do you think?"


    "Makes me want to puke."


    Meilyn pretended to vomit, and Camibarez pped with a nk face.


    "Uh"


    Rick paused. Then, he began to scan Meilyn''s body from top to bottom.


    Meilyn, who had been standing still, suddenly turned red.


    "Hey, shit! What''s with the way you''re looking at me?"


    "Hmm? What do you mean?"


    "Give me those sses!"


    Meilyn approached. After quickly spinning out of the way, Rick patted Simon on the shoulder, cing the sses back in Simon''s hand.


    "Whew, Simon, you''re a man after all!"


    "?"


    "Ugh, what are those sses!"


    Simon tried on his sses again.


    There was a slight see-through effect because it was a pair of sses that allowed the user to see beyond a biological face. Of course, it didn''t have the dramatic effect that Rick was imagining, just that something grayish could be seen through the uniform.


    "Hey!!"


    Meilyn rushed in and snatched the sses off of Simon.


    She tried them on as if she was about tomit a murder should something strangee up, but it wasn''t really that bad.


    She returned the sses to Simon while clicking her tongue.


    "By the way, where did you get these?"


    Simon shrugged at Rick''s question.


    "Kajann gave them to me."


    "Woah! So mean! Are the two of you that close? I feel like I''m being isted in the dorm these days. Help me get closer to him!"


    Simon chuckled.


    "First of all, he wants you to be quiet while he''s trying to sleep."


    "Kugh."


    "Hmph, I don''t know who that person is, but Rick''s definitely at fault."


    "Ch-Cheer up, Rick! You''ll soon get to know each other well!"


    The four of them walked out of the lecture room while having a friendly conversation. ss A had about two hours to spare before the next ss, Hemomancy.


    Rick went to the dormitory storage room. Apparently, there was a shortage of workers with a lot of business-rted suppliesing in today.


    Meilyn said she and her clubmates would stop by the Magic Technology Academy. It was the building right next to the Poisonous Alchemy Academy where Simon took the ss.


    And


    "It''s been a while. Just the two of us~"


    Said Camibarez, with her cheeks flushed and brought up into a slight smile.


    Simon also smiled and nodded.


    "Let''s go eat, Cami."


    "Yes!"