Chapter 46

### Chapter 46: How to Steal a Wizard's Woman (1-30)

The weekend had ended, and it was time for the first class.

The students in the lecture hall were wandering around like zombies, groaning from Monday blues.

It was a scene that clearly showed how Monday blues are the root of all evil in every world.

I was also suffering from Monday blues...

But the real problem wasn't the Monday blues.

I glanced to the side.

Luna still hadn't arrived in the lecture hall.

"Damn... What should I do about Luna..."

[There's nothing we can do about what has already happened. The best course of action is to ask Sonia Friedrich to kiss you.]

"But that's not an easy task either..."

Last night, while I was waiting on the terrace, Luna overheard me muttering to myself through the communication device.

It was a line that could easily be misunderstood.

...It wasn't a misunderstanding, but the truth.

This mouth of mine is always the problem.

After that, Luna ran back to the dormitory, and we couldn't meet.

The glass of drink I was holding shattered behind me.

From the looks of it, she had brought two glasses, probably intending to drink together.

"I need to ask Sonia for some help."

[Since it's the first class, it's Sonia Friedrich's class. I'll talk to her right after it ends.]

While I was communicating, someone entered the lecture hall and walked up to the podium.

It was the teaching assistant.

"Ah, due to the professors' circumstances, the schedule has changed. The first class today will be Special Magic Studies, and the next class will be Magic Array Manipulation."

Just before the class, an announcement was made about the schedule change.

The students started murmuring.

"...Damn, nothing is going right!"

[You should talk to her during the club activity time.]

After the teaching assistant left and some time passed, the professor who teaches Special Magic Studies entered.

At that moment, Luna rushed in through the back door and sat next to me.

She seemed to have been waiting outside and timed her entry with the professor's arrival.

"...I'll think about it during class. There must be a way."

[From the looks of it, she won't respond even if you talk to her.]

As Armonia said, Luna was now with her head down, completely unable to focus on the class.

She was reading the book listlessly, and her eyes didn't seem to be focusing on anything.

Fortunately, from a distance, it looked like she was concentrating, so the professor didn't notice.

The elderly professor on the podium smiled and said,

"Many of you might be confused by the sudden change in the class schedule, but that's life. You might have been waiting for a beautiful professor, but an old man is also a part of life."

The students laughed along with the professor's smile.

"Today's class will be about golems, which are based on the mana drain we discussed last time."

Golems also existed in this world.

They were created by connecting multiple magic arrays to a single mana stone, and were used as war weapons in the past.

"A golem can't be considered good just because it has strong destructive power and is solid. No matter how strong and solid it is, if it can be dismantled by a single technique, it can be considered a defective product."

As expected of an elderly professor, his speaking skills were excellent, and the class was well-structured.

Each lesson built on the previous one, making it efficient to learn new things.

The professor explained various types of golems.

The golems he described were familiar to me.

Some were made of fire, some of ice, and some purely of rock.

At the end of the explanation, he mentioned a mana golem.

"Mana golem... The name sounds grand, but it's not much. This creature, which was created to target certain wizards, is one of the byproducts of mana drain research."

A mana golem made purely of sand usually has its core hidden in a pile of sand and poses no threat to ordinary people.

"But the moment a wizard is detected nearby... it starts to absorb mana and transform into the shape of a golem you are familiar with."

Moreover, the transformed golem creates an outer layer using the absorbed mana, forming a mana barrier.

"Does anyone know who the mana golem was created to target?"

All the students were silent.

Even Louis, who had a curious nature, remained quiet.

"I'm hearing about this mana golem for the first time today."

[It was used as a weapon during the continental war, targeting wizards with low mana, i.e., students at the level of Schutra School.]

"But I'll stay quiet."

I didn't want to raise my hand.

"Ha ha. Most of you are probably hearing about the mana golem for the first time today. It's not even mentioned in your textbooks."

Everyone sighed in relief. Since no one knew, there was no need to feel embarrassed.

But the professor, who was enjoying the students' sighs of relief, smiled playfully.

"Still, since we've started, we need a scapegoat to finish, right?"

Everyone laughed awkwardly, trying to avoid the professor's gaze.

The professor slowly scanned the room, and when he saw someone, he smiled.

He looked at me, or rather, at the person next to me, and spoke.

"Hey, student. You're reading the book so intently, have you found the answer?"

"..."

Luna was just staring at the book, unable to respond.

In fact, she hadn't even heard the professor's question.

I nudged her.

"!"

Surprised, Luna looked at me.

I gestured for her to look at the podium.

She looked around nervously and then stared blankly at the elderly professor on the podium.

"You're reading the book so intently, have you found out who the mana golem targets?"

"That... that's..."

She seemed to have completely missed the class.

'No good.'

[?]

I wrote down the answer I heard from Armonia on a piece of paper and threw it to Luna.

"!"

Thanks to my aim, the paper landed on Luna's desk without anyone noticing.

Luna, flustered, read the paper and repeated it.

"That... the mana golem was created to target... students like us, who are still inexperienced with mana."

"Ah!"

The professor looked at Luna with surprise.

His usually gentle face was now beaming.

"Really impressive. To deduce something not in the curriculum on your own, well done."

"That... that's..."

"I'll give you 10 points."

Everyone started clapping.

Since Luna had a natural talent for being a top student, the other students clapped and looked at her with admiration.

"..."

Luna, who had been watching me, sat down cautiously.

She kept glancing at me but didn't say anything.

The professor on the podium spoke.

"By the way, the reason I talked about the mana golem today is that your greatest enemy is not an old wizard like me, but the mana golem."

He explained that the mana of inexperienced students is unrefined and easily scattered.

He also mentioned that the reason he gave them bracelets for magic array manipulation was to help with this.

"If you ever encounter a mana golem, run away immediately."

It sounded like a dismissive statement, but everyone fell silent.

"Once it activates, it will quickly drain your mana, and you will suffer from the very mana that you possess."

The professor, with a serious expression, added one more thing.

"Especially, do not visit the training ground in the forest to the east of Schutra School, even by mistake. It is the only place in the world where a mana golem still exists, used for the practical training of third-year students."

The professor warned that entering by mistake could be life-threatening.

It was that much of a mismatched opponent.

The professor then resumed his gentle expression and continued the class.

"From now on, we will discuss how to deal with a mana golem if you ever encounter one..."

Today's Special Magic Studies class started and ended with the topic of the mana golem.

***

"I hope you all have a pleasant lunch. Class is dismissed."

The class ended with the professor's calm voice.

I immediately spoke to Luna.

"Hey..."

Thud!

Luna had already left her seat and fled the lecture hall in a flashy manner.

"...Damn it."

[You need to take it slow with Luna Schtraubeld. But, Guardian, please remember.]

Armonia sounded like she had given it a lot of thought.

It was indeed a great move to resolve Sonia's frustration and prevent her from going to Louis.

I never thought that Louis would look elsewhere just because Luna wasn't playing along.

But that was just a stroke of luck, and our goal is to lead Louis to ruin.

I decided to be cautious with the next task.

"...I'll go get some lunch."

[Guardian.]

"Yeah?"

[Sonia Friedrich is coming.]

As I was preparing to leave the lecture hall, Sonia was signaling me to come over from a distance.

"..."

[As I've said before, you don't need to be too concerned about my words. You are doing a great job.]

"Thanks."

I smiled and approached Sonia.

The students were heading to the cafeteria, and the lecture hall and corridor were quiet.

A few students were chatting with each other.

"What's up?"

"Ah, I have something important to discuss. Do you have time?"

"Yes."

"I have something to tell you..."

Sonia's message was simple.

She would be unable to teach for a while and, as a result, the club activities would be temporarily suspended.

"Huh? What happened?"

"..."

Sonia hesitated, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, and then spoke quietly.

"You mustn't tell anyone."

"...? Of course, I won't tell anyone."

"...I've been selected as one of the interim professors to fill a vacant assistant professor position."

"Oh... Congratulations."

"Thank you. I haven't been officially selected yet, but the problem is not that."

"What?"

"Before, you had a bad relationship with the assistant professor who taught the Magic Array Manipulation class, right?"

She was referring to the sexual harasser.

"Yes, I told him the flies were annoying, and he went ballistic."

"Ha ha... Cough, I called you to warn you to be careful about that assistant professor."

"...?"

"The vacant position is his."

"Oh! ...That's not good, is it?"

I almost cheered but then looked around and spoke quietly.

"Yes, it's good, but the problem is that he's still an assistant professor."

I heard that Schutra Magic School has excellent job security for professors.

They are treated like family until they leave.

Moreover, the assistant professor's authority is maintained...

"If he meets you, he might find some reason to deduct points."

"Would that really be applied?"

"Yes, that's why I'm warning you to be careful. By the way, where's Luna?"

Sonia thought Luna would naturally eat lunch with us.

"That's..."

I explained the events of yesterday in detail.

Bang!

"Ouch!!"

She really hit me hard.

"Why did you do that!"

"I didn't know you were behind me."

"Hmm... I'll call her separately and talk to her. Just be careful not to make any slip-ups!"

"..."

"...?"

Sonia looked at me with a "What have you done now?" expression.

I asked out of curiosity.

"Why are you helping me, Professor Sonia?"

"..."

I've been curious about this.

I can understand helping me to some extent, but her active assistance was puzzling.

Moreover, she was helping me leave the man by her side.

"I like you, Guardian."

"..."

"But our relationship will only end in despair. I don't want you to have that kind of future."

A meeting between a married woman and her student can never be happy.

Sonia patted me on the shoulder and