Home/The Peaceful Academy Life of a Magic Potion Professor/ch13

Chapter 13

"Psycho... a psycho..."

Lamiya murmured, tapping her desk at regular intervals. Just how much of a psycho was she dealing with? The place she'd been in before escaping had so many psychos that the current troublemakers seemed adorable by comparison. Her conclusion was this: if Peter—who by Lamiya's standards was very normal—warned her that a classmate was a "psycho," that meant they were at least worse than Loki.

"So this is what Professor Karon meant."

If she'd known what kind, what level, and what degree of psycho she was dealing with in advance, she could have prepared... Lamiya regretted not asking Peter more questions, but she figured her curiosity would be satisfied tomorrow.

"Come to think of it..."

Lamiya pulled out the announcement tucked in her attendance book.

"Akira Sorin. House Sorin of the Duke's line... a Duke's house is quite high-ranking, isn't it? And yet a psycho... Well, I suppose that's possible."

Lamiya placed the announcement back in its place without much reaction. She muttered "psycho... psycho..." to herself a few more times before returning her focus to her research.

At present, she was working on Garyu's request—the potion to conceal jewel eyes. Based on what he'd told her, she established her research direction.

"Neither magic nor potions work. Let's start from there."

Divine power is specialized for healing, so she'd set that aside for now. Then... Lamiya brought out the samples she'd collected from Garyu and placed them on her desk.

"Finding the exact ratio seems to be the key..."

Lamiya slowly wrote out her experimental designs and methods on paper. She meticulously recorded the materials, ratios, weights, and even the order of procedures for each experiment. Though she never forgot her experiments and results once done, she needed a way to verify things after time had passed.

Lamiya retrieved the necessary materials from the potion ingredient storage and set them on her workbench. Then, with leisurely movements, she prepared various ingredients and the collected samples, combining them with the water infused with Garyu's magical power.

Truthfully, Lamiya had already had an inkling of how to proceed from the moment she heard Garyu's story. The one-week timeframe she'd given was generous—accounting for the possibility that rare materials might be needed or unexpected variables might arise.

"Ngh!"

A sudden headache struck Lamiya, and she urgently pulled a calming herb from her drawer, rolled it in paper, and placed it in her mouth. It was because memories from that time had suddenly surfaced.

Lighting it, smoke rose and the sweet-bitter fragrance spread. The pounding pain gradually subsided. The fragments of memories that had been surfacing like shards began to blur and sink back into the depths of her consciousness. As she calmed down, cold sweat she hadn't noticed she'd broken dried coolly.

"Pull yourself together. This isn't that place."

Lamiya murmured quietly. She'd barely... overcome it this far. She'd promised herself she would try. She forced herself to recall the time she'd spent with her friend after escaping that place—the days of laughter, of freely researching, studying, playing, talking... If her friend hadn't told her she was wasting herself away in such a remote place, that she should meet more people and experience different kinds of happiness, she might still be there.

"Phew."

Having returned to a calm state of mind, Lamiya resumed her potion research. Looking forward to what breakfast menu would await her tomorrow.

---

The next day, after a satisfying breakfast, Lamiya prepared for class. Her first period was with the third-years.

"Psycho..."

Lamiya gathered her attendance book, textbooks, and diary, and headed to the magical potions classroom. As she opened the door and entered, the students were seated at their desks. No more things falling from above—perhaps they'd tried it so often it felt stale, or perhaps it simply had almost no effect on Lamiya.

"Good morning."

Her flat, unwelcoming greeting was met with half-hearted responses. Lamiya hadn't expected warm welcomes anyway—she just needed to open the lesson. As she scanned the classroom, a familiar face caught her eye.

"Loki, long time no see."

It was Loki Arista, with his grass-green hair and jet-black eyes. He looked... fine. The wounds had healed completely, thanks to the potion she'd given him. She'd expected him to stay holed up for at least a week, but he'd returned to class sooner than anticipated. Perhaps it was because his friends Jacqueline and Olga were attending—if he stayed away, he'd be truly isolated.

Loki frowned slightly and made no secret of his displeasure, but he gave a small nod.

Not bad.

Lamiya hadn't expected him to change overnight. As long as he didn't bully his classmates, she didn't care if he put his feet up, ignored roll call, or refused to greet her. But...

He seems unusually well-behaved compared to before...

If he were this docile, would he have done those things deliberately? People don't change that easily. What was it...? Lamiya pondered briefly and soon found her answer.

So that's it.

Loki's gaze kept drifting, consciously or not, toward one person. His furtive glances were laced with fear and terror. And that person had only just returned today... It was a male student Lamiya had never seen in the magical potions class before. She found herself murmuring involuntarily.

"Psycho..."

"Pardon?"

A student in the front row asked, and Lamiya waved her hand lightly.

"Nothing. I'll take attendance now."

As usual, Lamiya called out each name in turn, checking who was present.

"Vassen."

"Here."

"Peter."

"Here."

"Media."

"Here."

"Sorno."

"Present."

The students raised their hands and answered when their names were called.

"Loki Arista."

"...Here."

When Loki, who until recently had been openly hostile toward Lamiya, answered without resistance, the classroom stirred. His response confirmed what had only been rumors and open secrets. Everyone had suspected, but seeing it firsthand made it real.

"...Whoa."

Vassen whispered softly. Probably everyone was thinking the same thing. At the same time, they were curious—how had that frail professor managed to defeat three larger male students? Loki was the type who'd do the same to anyone that Peter had endured. Yet he'd tucked his tail so quickly. What exactly had happened?

None of them seemed able to imagine that Lamiya had beaten him with her own fists.

Regardless of the students' speculation, Lamiya marked Loki as present in her attendance book and called the next names.

"Jacqueline Hyacinth, Olga Vincent, Carmel."

They all raised their hands and answered in turn. Lamiya called the next student.

"Akira Sorin."

The moment she spoke the name, the classroom was enveloped in icy silence. Her suspicion from yesterday was now confirmed.

"Akira Sorin."

Lamiya called his name once more. A black-haired male student seated in the far back row by the window had his arms crossed and his head bowed. When Lamiya called his name a second time, he simply laid his head down on the desk, as if she weren't worth acknowledging.

"..."

Lamiya gazed quietly at Akira Sorin, who was sprawled over his desk. She'd already seen Loki's rebellious posture on the first day, so this wasn't surprising at all. And since this was a student with the nickname "psycho"... if he'd answered, that would have been more unexpected.

"Absent."

"!"

Unlike with Loki, the students exchanged looks and mouth shapes, their silent communication buzzing just as loudly. They thought: She actually did it—even to a duke's son. There was a world of difference between Loki, a count's illegitimate son, and Akira, the eldest son of a duke. No professor had ever dared to penalize Akira.

Rustle.

At that moment, Akira slowly lifted his head. The eyes that had remained closed throughout roll call opened with agonizing slowness. His concealed irises were revealed—short black hair, deep vivid red eyes, and pale white skin, a combination that seized the attention of everyone in the classroom in an instant.

Ah, everyone except Lamiya, that is. She simply wondered what was happening.

Akira Sorin propped his chin on his hand and sneered at Lamiya.

"Heh... heh. Looks like something interesting came in while I was gone."

Lamiya inwardly thought, Oh. She glanced at Peter, who was mouthing, "See? I told you he was a psycho." She found Peter's expression amusing.

Heh.

"!"

The students thought they'd seen wrong. She... laughed...? It was brief, but unmistakable.

Akira Sorin's eyes lit up with interest. Lamiya called roll once more, toward Akira, who had lifted his head. Since she'd already marked him absent, this was just to confirm now that he seemed awake.

"Akira Sorin. Are you absent?"

But an unexpected answer came back.

"No."

The students' gazes shifted to Akira once more. He even raised his hand as he answered.

"Akira Sorin, present and accounted for."

He smiled brightly, too. Lamiya, watching him suddenly using polite speech, pushed up her glasses with her middle finger. Her expression was as impassive as when she'd first entered the classroom.

"Next time, answer promptly."

"Yes, Professor. Like I'm doing now?"

Unlike Akira's sudden courteous demeanor, the classroom atmosphere rapidly turned frigid. The students' faces paled. Lamiya decided to appreciate his enthusiasm.

"Good. Then I'll give Akira the opportunity to answer questions during today's lesson."

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