Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 225 Love Nest
As night fell.

Inside the baptismal cathedral, Mary, having successfully completed her day's work as a nun, stretched vigorously and returned to the living area in the cathedral's backyard.

After looking around briefly, Mary felt that the living area was somewhat empty.

For some reason, the peculiar quartet that "His Holiness the Pope" had entrusted to her care had completely disappeared. The white cat, which usually wandered around the church, was also nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this contrast.

The dimly lit backyard gave Mary an indescribable sense of tranquility.

In the midst of this scene, Mary suddenly heard some voices that sounded like murmurs coming from a corner of the backyard.

There were two different voices, as if they were saying something, but she could barely make out any of the words.

Most importantly, the sound was coming from the most dilapidated room in the backyard, a room that usually didn't even serve as a warehouse.

"Why is it that, of all times, Helian and Aien are not here?"

Muttering to herself, Mary felt inexplicably uneasy, but finally mustered the courage to walk toward the dilapidated hut from which strange noises were constantly coming from.

Also because of the dim lighting in the backyard, Mary didn't see where she was stepping and happened to step on a branch right in front of the cottage door.

click
Mary was startled.

She had never known that the sound of a tree branch breaking was so crisp. What made Mary even more nervous was that after the sound, the strange noises inside the house actually stopped.

"This"

Before Mary could react, the door to the cottage suddenly creaked open.

Before Mary could see anything clearly, she saw a pair of bloodshot eyes that emerged first from the darkness.

"Waaaah! Goddess bless, Goddess bless—!"

Mary immediately shouted, curled up, and squatted down on the ground in a ball.

This was a pose she had practiced countless times, designed to maximize the protection of her strong nun's habit in critical moments!

Then, Mary, who was still curled up and chanting "Goddess bless," heard a familiar voice.

"What are you doing?"

Mary shakily raised her head and saw Ritas.

Although Ritas could be scarier than a ghost at times, Mary still breathed a sigh of relief.

"So it's Professor Ritas. Really—it would have been so much better if you'd just said so."

Complaining in a slightly drawn-out tone, Mary then turned her gaze to the white disc in Ritas's hand.

"Goddess of Bathing, it has been a long time since I last greeted you."

"Oh! Good evening."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Mary, whose emotions had gradually calmed down, looked at Ritas, who seemed unusually silent that day.

Although his appearance didn't seem to have changed much, Mary felt that their Pope looked unusually haggard that day.

In the dilapidated hut in the backyard of the baptistery.

Ritas and the goddess of bathing discussed the series of events that had occurred at the magical railcar station.

The reason he chose the most dilapidated house was because Ritas considered that there were quite a few residents living in the church's backyard, so he was worried that randomly choosing a house might lead to accidentally stumbling into someone's "private room" and causing trouble.

In contrast, this room, which can't even be used as a warehouse, won't cause any trouble except for simple cleaning.

He already has enough on his mind and doesn't want to trigger any more strange plot developments.

In addition, he realized that the backyard of the baptistery was actually a safe and secluded place that could serve as a backup base. Therefore, he should ask Mary to reserve a room for him or something.

Hmm, since when exactly did these things become something Mary had to decide?

"According to the goddess of bathing, the 'fireworks maker' can accurately sense your presence?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That really scared me to death! My vision blurred and then 'bang!' Although it didn't actually hit me."

The goddess of the bath spoke with lingering fear.

"I didn't even dare to verify his identity! This is just too outrageous; the Fireworks Maker is the Darkin's number one."

"Nine."

"Yes, only ninth! She can already sense me across dimensions. Won't those ranked higher try to catch me through the internet?"

Hearing the panic in the goddess of bathing's voice, Ritas thought for a moment and then placed the white disc flat on the table in front of him.

"I believe that, to be precise, what the 'fireworks maker' sensed was not the presence of the goddess of bathing, but the power of this white disc."

"Uh, is there a difference?"

"There are still some differences. Simply put, nothing of the Goddess of Bath came into my world. However, the Goddess of Bath can manipulate the white disc to create something illusory and without substance in my world. As the puppet that manipulates the threads of the Goddess of Bath, it provides the Goddess of Bath with the information she needs within a certain range."

Ritas waited a while, and hearing the goddess of bathing still express her doubt, he simplified it further.
"In other words, the 'fireworks maker' traces the mysterious power he can sense, but in the end, he only traces the white disc. To trace back to the Goddess of Bathing, one must possess the power to trace from the white disc, using the white disc as the starting point to finally reach the Goddess of Bathing."

"I get it! So I don't need to worry, right?"

".right."

Ritas responded somewhat speechlessly.

I should have just said "Don't worry" directly.

"However, there's no need to worry about the goddess of bathing. But the white disc itself might be a cause for concern."

Ritas then lifted the white disc again.
"We cannot be optimistic and assume that the 'Fireworks Maker' is just an isolated case. Therefore, it is very likely that the high-ranking 'Darkborn' all possess the means to detect the power of the White Disc. In front of those who possess such detection methods, the power of the White Disc is no longer a secret. At the same time, the 'Third Ark Fragment' in Ann's possession also highlights the hidden dangers of the White Disc."

"Huh? Why is An's name popping up? And what kind of hidden danger is this?"

"Whether the white disc is truly the 'Ark' or not, it could potentially shatter this hidden danger."

Ritas sighed helplessly.

"What kind of hidden danger is that? It's just that you think this thing won't break, and you keep using it to test the water temperature and as a shield, okay?"

"Uh"

That seems to be the case.

At first, Ritas was just curious about the material of the white disc, but as he studied how to use it, things gradually took a turn for the worse.

"However, if the white disc isn't absolutely indestructible, and it can't be used to gather information with a special and secure view, and even encrypted communication is impossible, then what about the Bathing Goddess?"

"Wouldn't that make it even more useless?"

You said it yourself!

"Is my value only reflected in that disc?"

if not?
"Even if you don't say anything, I know what you're thinking!"

real or fake!

Ritas, who had been silently criticizing the matter, coughed lightly and said something like, "We should be more careful when using the disc in the future," to conclude the topic.

Ritas hadn't anticipated that, as the events surrounding the academy intensified, even the seemingly invincible White Disc would face a crisis.

Rather, the real question is: why is the intensity of this incident constantly escalating? "If we're going to talk about hidden dangers, that mark of sin on your hand seems to pose a greater risk. Oh, right! I know what that number ten was called before, wasn't it? Double-shot? Two-way?"

It should be 'two-way'.

Recalling the other party's abilities, Ritas was also satisfied that he finally had a name to replace "Number Ten".

"The Fireworks Maker seems to be able to sense where the 'two-way' sin mark is. But it's probably not very specific, otherwise he wouldn't suspect it on someone else."

"That's not a big problem."

Even if the fireworks maker's skills were a little more precise, Ritas wouldn't be worried.

Because he could imagine so many places to store things.

The more public place was the "Shijinku".

He could spend money to buy the highest-grade vault and see if the "Darkborn" were really so arrogant as to dare attack the oldest and only banking organization on the continent.

On a more private level, he could entrust the Sin Seal to Livis for safekeeping.

At worst, he could create a spatial rift and throw the Sin Seal into the "Livis Realm." Then, no one would be able to find it again.

However, Ritas didn't want to passively utilize the "two-way" Blood Mark, especially since he knew for certain that the mark could be used as "bait."

While Ritas was pondering these things, the goddess of bathing wafted over with a somewhat cheeky voice.

"Although, I'm glad that you're focusing on me and the disc instead of so many other things, I also feel that you're avoiding some more crucial matters—"

"."

"No need for formalities, just get to the point! What's the deal with your sister?"

Even if the goddess of bathing wasn't specifically mentioned, Ritas knew that the "sister" she was referring to was Vain.

The thought of Wayne gave Ritas another headache.

"Even if you ask me what happened, I'm the one who most wants to know what happened. I don't have a sister, and I don't know Wayne."

With a slight frown, Ritas spoke decisively.

He had spent a lot of energy figuring out what the "son of the great sinner Varang" was all about, what the mysterious "commander" was all about, why the "Darkborn" insisted on recruiting him, and the clowns of the Third Market Expeditionary Corps almost begged him to join them.

The answer is that Wayne mistook someone else for her!
Such a bizarre reason is beyond his comprehension. Even if he had three more Ritas to help him think about it, they probably still wouldn't be able to figure it out.

"This world is truly absurd."

Ritas remarked sincerely.

"Tsk tsk, still pretending. If Wayne isn't your biological sister, what is she? No wonder you address Charlotte and Cortine in such a strange way. So, you do have a biological sister! By that logic, do you also have an older sister or a cousin?"

Dear cousin.

This was the first time Ritas had ever heard such a peculiar word.

Rather, it's as if his way of maintaining distance from others in the Elson family can be interpreted in this way?

wrong!

Since the goddess of bathing could come up with such an interpretation, doesn't that mean...
"Why is the Bathing Goddess so certain that Wayne is definitely my sister?"

Ritas also found it strange. A woman suddenly appeared and pounced on him. No one cared about what was going on with the woman; instead, they asked him what was happening.

If we have to say something, isn't he a victim?
"Well... how should I put it? Have you ever looked in a mirror, Ri?"

"."

"If you were a few years younger and underwent gender reassignment, you'd probably look like Wayne."

"Do they really look that similar?"

Already somewhat doubting himself, Ritas asked in confusion.

Although their time together was very short, he could indeed sense a certain familiarity in Wayne. However, Wayne's demeanor and mannerisms were quite different from his own.

Does this really prove the saying, "The person who understands you the least is yourself"?
"Moreover, even if we really do look alike, it doesn't mean anything. The reason I've become who I am today is due to my past experiences, my upbringing, and some specific illnesses. Apart from appearance, blood ties have had a very limited impact on me. So why can people who are only related by blood become similar to me?"

"Tsk, you're even bringing up illness to avoid admitting it. Keep asking, are you going to become depressed? You might wonder why I insist that Wayne is your sister, but I'm curious why you'd rather claim you're sick than admit it. Are you afraid she'll take your inheritance?"

In her heart, the beautiful girl is both a righteous goddess of bathing and quite dissatisfied with Ritas's resistant attitude.

"I wanted to have a touching reunion with such a beautiful girl after so many years! What are you unhappy about? Oh, I see! It's because Wayne is a member of 'Darkborn,' isn't it? Our Professor Li doesn't want to get involved with such a criminal organization, even if he's already a formal member!"

"I"

For a moment, Ritas was speechless, then took a deep breath.

He had been somewhat agitated, but had now calmed down.

He realized something: he couldn't seem to explain himself to Wayne.

Even those who know him very well are more willing to believe what they see with their own eyes than to believe his memory, which is so good that he almost never forgets anything.

"By the way, when are we going back to our 'love nest' in Spring City?"

The goddess of bathing schadenfreude rang out again.

“From today onwards, this will no longer be my residence.”

"Ritas said with a dark face."

Before, he might have had a chance to go back. But now that he realizes there's no way to explain it, only a fool would go back.

While Ritas was on the verge of losing his mind in the Baptistery, on the other side of Spring City, at Ritas's mansion.

Completely soaked, Xia Luoluo kept muttering and cursing in the bathroom.

"Damn it! That damned Ritas must have done it on purpose! He just wanted to spite me, so he hired someone to put on that show for me! Aaaaaaah! It was all his doing!!!"

Hearing Charlotte's scolding, Corténe, who didn't actually need to wash up but had come all this way, couldn't help but chuckle.

"So cute~ Xia Luoluo, you're so grown up, yet you still think the world revolves around you~"

Looking at Charlotte, whose hair was covered in so much shampoo foam from scratching so hard that it almost enveloped her entire body, Cortrinet teased her.

Charlotte is only two years younger than Ritas.

Therefore, according to the kingdom's laws, she was already considered an "outstanding" adult about five years ago.

But to this day, Xia Luoluo still doesn't know how much effort and resources it will take to complete those "designs" she talks about. And those actions themselves are completely meaningless.

Perhaps, if you searched the whole world, only Xia Luoluo would think that after seeing such a scene, it was all "Ritas's doing! He's trying to anger me!"

"Kurt—! You actually side with Ritas!"

"There's no such thing as taking sides."

Cortrienne shook her head, leaned back on the edge of the bathtub, and looked up at the stone ceiling of the bathroom.

Her voice sounded somewhat dejected, weak, and helpless.
"No wonder Ritas has never been willing to consider us his real family."

"So, those were his real family."

(End of this chapter)