Home/The Peaceful Academy Life of a Magic Potion Professor/ch16

Chapter 16

"..."

As Lamiya stepped closer, the crowd parted. She crouched down and examined the bird's carcass closely. It had a peculiar odor—not the kind one would normally smell from a dead animal.

"Poison."

Lamiya murmured in a voice so low it was almost inaudible. She had a rough idea who the culprit was. That "psycho" kid, most likely. Of course, there was a chance it wasn't him—it could have been Loki or some of the other students. But one thing was certain: whoever it was, they were in the third-year magical potions class.

"So this is the type."

"Pardon? What do you mean?"

Professor Anya came to Lamiya's side, her expression deeply troubled. Lamiya didn't bother answering. Undeterred, Anya asked.

"Do you have any idea who might have done it?"

"Roughly."

Judging by her reaction, it seemed Professor Anya had her suspicions too.

"I hope it wasn't the magical potions students this time..."

She looked at Lamiya with worried eyes. Lamiya's expression was as dry as ever, but Anya imagined she must be deeply shaken inside. In truth, Lamiya was completely unfazed. She'd seen far more horrifying sights countless times before.

"A dead animal is nothing..."

At least it wasn't a person. A bird's carcass was practically tame by comparison. She'd witnessed and experienced things ordinary people couldn't even imagine—dissecting all kinds of animals, testing how ingredients affected different organs, measuring pain levels. Honestly, she felt numb to it. If anything, it was a pity the carcass was unusable even as a research specimen.

Lamiya felt the need to quickly clean up this trivial situation.

"It's in the way—let's get rid of it."

"...Pardon?"

At her words, the servants flinched. It was technically their job, but no one had volunteered—whether male or female, it was an unpleasant task. Lamiya, however, had no intention of letting the servants handle a poison-contaminated carcass. She pulled a potion from her pocket and sprinkled it over the bird.

Swoosh—

The carcass burst into flames and turned to ash in an instant. The servants stared with mouths agape at the miraculous sight.

"Wow, can magical potions do that too?"

Professor Anya exclaimed in admiration. Between the flowerpot incident and this, Professor Lamiya seemed different from any magical potions professor she'd seen before. Lamiya answered as if it were nothing special.

"There's nothing they can't do."

Lamiya had always believed that magical potions were just as—if not more—practical and full of limitless possibilities than magic. Given what she'd witnessed in her past, no one could afford to underestimate them. Yes, in some ways, they might even be more dangerous than magic.

The servants thanked Lamiya for lightening their load and quickly swept away the ashes that had fallen to the floor.

Once the area in front of her laboratory was clean, Lamiya unlocked the door and went inside to prepare for her class.

But that wasn't the end of it.

After that, not just birds, but dogs, cats, rats—carcasses of all kinds of animals began appearing before Lamiya's laboratory at all hours. So much so that the servants offered to take the potion and clean up the mess before Lamiya even saw it. It wasn't just because the stench was unbearable to them, even though they weren't the targets—they were worried about Lamiya, who kept receiving these silent threats from an anonymous source. She was young, a commoner with no backing, and frail to boot. Anyone would naturally be concerned.

"Today it's a raccoon."

She muttered in an emotionless tone. Lamiya didn't give the servants any potion. First, because the situation had no effect on her whatsoever. Second, because she wanted to observe how far this behavior would escalate. And third—if her suspicions were correct—giving the servants potions might actually put them in danger. Psychos didn't tolerate interference.

Lamiya crouched down and examined the raccoon to see if it too had been poisoned.

The same scent as before.

Unlucky thing.

Grunt... grunt...

"Hm?"

A faint sound came from the raccoon. Barely perceptible, but it was still breathing. Lamiya scooped the raccoon into her arms, carried it into her laboratory, and laid it on her desk. She quickly put on sanitary gloves, administered first aid, and began brewing an antidote.

Having dealt with this multiple times, she'd already identified the poison. She'd even brewed the antidote before—it was the exact same viper venom from the practical examination she'd taken during the hiring process.

Gru... grunt...

Judging by its condition, there wasn't much time. She had to work faster than during the exam. But having done it before, Lamiya managed to cut five minutes off her time, completing the antidote in just ten minutes. Fortunately, she had all the necessary ingredients in her laboratory. She spoon-fed the antidote to the raccoon. Gradually, its pained grunts subsided. Its breathing was becoming easier.

"A... trap."

One of the raccoon's legs was badly injured, covered in blood—it must have been caught in something sharp. Now past the critical phase, Lamiya applied the same bruise-healing potion she'd used on Peter, then carefully wrapped the wound with bandages.

"You're lucky. You."

If she'd been even a little later, it would have died. Lamiya rested her chin on her hand and watched the sleeping raccoon.

"Life sometimes hits you from behind without warning."

The raccoon itself probably never expected to end up caught in a trap, poisoned, and nearly dead. Lamiya lined an experimental basket with plenty of blankets and soft cushions, then moved the raccoon from the desk into it. She placed the basket on the guest table. Since the poison had been neutralized late, recovery would take some time.

"I was planning to observe a little longer... but I'll blame it on you, raccoon."

With a contemplative look, Lamiya watched the sleeping, wheezing raccoon for a moment, then gathered her bag and left the laboratory.

"Professor!"

Lamiya was on her way to the third-year classroom when she stopped at the sound of someone calling from behind. It was Peter. He looked quite urgent. Had something else happened?

"Professor, are you all right? I heard the rumors about... horrible things being placed in front of your laboratory..."

She'd asked the servants to keep quiet to avoid trouble, but word must have gotten out. Still... a week was fairly long for such news to stay contained.

"Ah, yes. There were animal carcasses."

"Really?! You mean it's true?"

Peter's face contorted in horror.

"Professor, are you okay?"

"About what?"

Seeing Lamiya's genuinely puzzled expression, Peter realized once again that she wasn't an ordinary person.

"Still, having dead animals in front of your door is... you know..."

"You get used to it after a while."

"Wha—?"

Peter made a strangled sound of disbelief. His face looked as though he'd just heard the most absurd thing in the world. Lamiya patted his shoulder lightly.

"Class is about to start. Let's go."

"...Professor Lamiya."

So many people were calling for her today. Lamiya greeted the two professors who were blocking her path with an expressionless face.

"Hello."

Peter also bowed politely.

"Hello, Professor Karon, Professor Heeth."

Karon somehow felt as though Lamiya hadn't really greeted him at all, but he didn't show it. She'd be gone soon enough anyway.

"I heard there've been some terrible incidents lately?"

As Karon spoke, Professor Heeth picked up the thread.

"I heard there hasn't been a single day without a dead animal in front of your lab... it's practically a zoo."

"Professor...?"

Peter had never trusted professors in general, but he'd never imagined they could be so rude to one another. And that Professor Lamiya had been enduring all of this.

He felt sorry for her—she already had her hands full with the magical potions class—but Lamiya ruthlessly shattered that sympathy.

"That's right. Would you like one?"

"?"

"?!"

"You seem to want one, so I'll bring you one next time. They show up every day, after all."

"Professor Lamiya!"

Professor Heeth shouted as if scolding her. Karon's face was red with indignation—he clearly felt insulted. Glaring at Lamiya, he said.

"I warned you last time. This wasn't going to end. Let's see if your luck can save you this time too."

With that, he bumped hard into Peter's shoulder as he passed, as if Peter were invisible.

"What... I thought he wanted one."

Lamiya remained perfectly composed, without a trace of malice.

"Let's go."

Completely unfazed, she headed toward the classroom, with Peter shaking his head and following behind.

Lamiya conducted class as usual. The students listened and took notes without any major disruptions.

"That's all for today's lesson."

The students closed their textbooks and prepared to move to their next class.

"Akira Sorin, hang back for a moment."

The casual remark, spoken as casually as "don't be late for your next class," instantly froze the classroom atmosphere. Akira smiled.

"Yes, Professor."

The moment he spoke, the students quickly filed out of the classroom—they knew better than to get caught in the crossfire. Survival took priority over curiosity.

Once everyone was gone, Akira slowly made his way to the lectern where Lamiya stood.

"What can I do for you, Professor?"

"Was it you who placed dead animals in front of my laboratory?"

Akira looked slightly taken aback—he clearly hadn't expected her to ask so directly.

"No."

"Is that so?"

"I only learned about it just now, when you told me."

"Really? It's interesting that you're just hearing about something everyone in the entire school already knows."

"..."

Akira unconsciously clenched his fist.

"I won't say things like 'I'll forgive you if you confess now'—I haven't suffered any harm, after all."

He tried to make sense of what she was saying. What did she mean?

"It's just that I'm getting tired of it."

"...Pardon?"

"Brewing potions every time and turning them to ash is a hassle."

Though he'd denied it, Akira's eyes were flickering restlessly. Lamiya leaned close to his ear and whispered.

"It's boring, you third-rate psycho."

That was her assessment of Akira Sorin—from everything she'd observed so far.

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