Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 239 The Freak's Blind Date

Night time.

Arriving at Ritas at the Latras Manor on time, I was led by a waiter to the VIP room on the second floor of the banquet hall, which overlooked the dance floor.

At almost the same moment, a young woman also entered the same VIP room with a servant.

In the corridor, a total of four people, including two waiters, were crammed in front of the not-so-spacious VIP room.

This scene was somewhat awkward.

"Although today is just an occasion arranged by our families for us to 'get acquainted,' as the man, I think I should at least arrive a moment early, even if it's just a minute, to show respect."

A deep, magnetic female voice echoed in the quiet, secluded corridor at just the right pitch.

"Similarly, I think that as a woman, it is also acceptable to be a minute late to express her modesty."

The flat, almost completely flat sound was clearly heard by the others.

Even before entering the VIP room, the two VIPs, who were already quite tense, made the two attendants who were just leading the way start to sweat.

However, in the next instant, the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed to a completely different feeling.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Ritas Berengrom Elson."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Rita Gabrielle."

Even with a smile, Rita appeared serious and aloof, while Ritas, who wasn't smiling and therefore also serious and aloof, exchanged a minimal greeting before entering the VIP room together.

Completely unaware of what had happened, and unsure whether the two had "reconciled" or were about to fight, the two servants weakly uttered something like "please call us if needed" before standing in the outer corridor.

Shortly after, the sound of the VIP room door slamming shut could be heard.

In the VIP room.

The white disc was placed in the corner of the table, like a decoration.

The disc itself is in an unfolded state. However, after the goddess of bathing said she was going to take a long bath and might not return until tomorrow, there has been no further news.

Ritas had no idea what a long bath could last all day, and he was skeptical of the bath goddess's excuse.

Although he had no evidence, he had a feeling that the Goddess of Bathing had been secretly plotting something these past two days.

Did the Bathing Goddess really go for a long bath?
Of course not.

At this moment, the goddess of bathing, holding her breath and observing the men and women sitting on either side of the table on their blind date, felt that her behavior might be somewhat superfluous.

After all, their initial meeting clearly showed their animosity.

But looking closely, this Miss Rita is actually quite pretty.
Her blonde hair, a pale off-white, was elegantly styled in an intricate updo. Her face was, in short, very small! A delicate nose and a small mouth, but her eyes were large, with long, naturally beautifully curved eyelashes.

A cool and aloof face, an intellectual aura, and an elegant yet unpretentious, exquisitely crafted evening gown.

If she could speak now, the Bathing Goddess would have wanted to call out "wife".

The goddess stared at Rita for a while, seemingly lost in thought, then shook her head repeatedly.

No, I can't let a vixen bewitch me. Besides, if I had to choose, their little sister isn't bad either!

For this blind date, Ritas, who usually only maintained a presentable appearance with "utmost efficiency," prepared meticulously. Ritas, already quite tall and with adequate shoulder width, looked good in anything, like a natural clothes hanger. Without the long robe that concealed both his strengths and weaknesses, although still all black, Ritas appeared much more elegant and sophisticated than before.

Besides the careful attention to his overall attire, Ritas wasn't carrying those somewhat dowdy bags and packages today, nor was he wearing the unsightly belt that held them up.

Furthermore, Ritas regularly gets his hair cut extremely short, and he's currently in the longest period of his hair cycle.

Ritas, whose obsessive-compulsive disorder is now well under control, had his hair styled into a roughly three-seven part at the insistence of the Bathing Goddess. He then swept the "three" part up to near his ear and fixed it, revealing the side of his forehead, finally giving him a more youthful look.

If one had to nitpick, Ritas's most prominent feature, his eyes, did somewhat detract from the overall appearance of his face. The goddess of the bath considered having Ritas wear decorative glasses or something similar. However, upon reflection, she realized that dressing Ritas up for a blind date she disapproved of would be putting the cart before the horse, so she remained silent.

and many more.

If Rita looks beautiful, then Ritas isn't bad either. Doesn't that mean they're quite a good match, at least on the surface?

Although the "encounter" at the VIP room entrance was a good sign for the Bath Goddess, she still inexplicably felt an ominous premonition.

While the goddess of bathing was lost in thought, Ritas and Rita, who had already taken their seats, exchanged a few brief words.

They each filled their teacups with black tea using their own teapots, and then gently stirred the inside of their teacups counterclockwise with small spoons, doing so with remarkable skill that they made no sound whatsoever as the spoon touched the cup.

"Although Professor Elson should be tired of hearing such words, you look... you really are too young."

“Thank you so much for your kind words, Ms. Gabrielle Witte. You are also much younger than I expected.”

"Oh?"

Rita slightly raised one eyebrow.

What do you mean? Did you think I was old before?
The goddess of the bath interpreted Rita's reaction in this way and clenched her fist in celebration.

She became even more convinced that even if they did nothing, Ritas, who showed absolutely no consideration for women, would still ruin the blind date on his own.

"I have read your academic article before. It was the one about 'Mythology Compilation'. In the article, you speculated that the myths circulating in the world today, even though they differ in region, system, and civilization, may depict the same thing. In other words, you believe that all myths are interconnected. Such speculation is very bold and novel. Moreover, the evidence you found proves that such a brilliant article is not just a fantasy after a flash of inspiration, but a path, a path that may find new directions for many archaeology-related undertakings."

"I see. I didn't expect Professor Elson to have paid attention to my research. So, in Professor Elson's mind, Rita Gabrielle, the researcher who produced those results, must be an elderly scholar? Presumably, Professor Elson has also faced a lot of skepticism in academia because of his age. Shouldn't Professor Elson himself abandon his prejudice against age?"

Although Rita's words still sounded somewhat accusatory, her tone no longer carried any hint of confrontation.

"It is because I have experienced so many similar prejudices that I can understand that sometimes, the existence of prejudices is both normal and reasonable."

"Yes, that makes sense. If you consider yourself 'absolutely special,' then the way others treat you is what you call 'common sense.'"

Rita nodded in agreement, then continued to ask,

"So, Professor Elson, what are your thoughts on my speculations? By the way, just call me 'Rita.' After all, I'm not the only 'Gabrielle' in this banquet hall." "In that case, for the same reason, please call me by my name, Ms. Rita."

!

The goddess of bathing was startled.

They can even call each other by their first names! What happened in such a short time? Why does it feel like the distance between them has suddenly shrunk so much?

“I have a different view. I think that while some myths may be recounting the same thing, they certainly are not all or most of them.”

"I didn't expect Professor Ritas to have a different opinion. May I ask what your opinion is on the 'Great Flood,' which is recorded in almost all myths?"

Rita said, somewhat surprised.

After all, Ritas's previous words sounded somewhat complimentary.

“I believe that the ‘Great Flood’ is actually a kind of ‘survivorship’.”

After thinking for a moment, Ritas replied.

"survivor?"

Upon hearing this word, Rita's eyes brightened slightly, and her tone showed considerable interest.

"Imagine a calamity sweeps across the world, bringing terrible destruction. After everything in the world is destroyed, only one thing remains. What would that thing be?"

“Well, I know very well that Professor Ritas isn’t asking a brain teaser, and I actually have some other answers if I’m being honest. But, following the professor’s line of thought, that thing should be ‘water,’ right?”

"Yes. In this world where the vast majority of areas are covered by water, only the endless water is indestructible. Or rather, it is precisely because water is indestructible that no matter how many times the world is destroyed, new life will be born from the water."

Ritaston paused,

"So, perhaps in the eyes of those who recorded the myths, it was a sudden great flood that submerged everything. But in reality, what happened was the destruction of the world. And in the great destruction of all things, only 'water' survived."

“That makes a lot of sense, Professor Ritas.”

Rita first affirmed Ritas's idea, and then began to explain her own perspective.
"However, following this line of thought, myths, which cannot be regarded as historical records to begin with, become even more difficult to analyze as credible when the perspective is further limited. Moreover, if the 'Great Flood' in the myth survived several times as a survivor, wouldn't that mean that the world is destroyed every once in a while?"

"Sometimes, the most unlikely thing might actually be the truth."

Ritas shook his head and did not continue the discussion with Rita on this matter.

After all, he was probably the only one who had obtained the information from the goddess of bathing.

For example, there's the myth of the "Great Flood" in the world of gods. And in those myths, there are "arks" that existed to preserve the flame of life. There are also arks that have been confirmed to exist at least four times, and so on.

"Speaking of which, as a rising star in academia, why did Ms. Rita choose to give up academic research back then?"

As the discussion about "mythology" came to an end, Ritas asked with some curiosity.

Judging from the light in Rita's eyes when she talked about the topic, she certainly didn't give up because of boredom or something similar.

"That's because there were some problems within the Gabrielle family. The family as a whole was in a precarious situation. So, I had to temporarily abandon my academic research and return to the family to do what I could."

Rita spoke very calmly.

"Although I occasionally have thoughts about returning to academia now that my family's situation has stabilized, the years-long hiatus has proven too much. I lack any talent in magic, which is why I can only access the world of magic through some niche subjects. That's who I am."

"I think that Ms. Rita's return to academia now might bring her completely different feelings and gains than before. There are many examples of experiences gained from other places unexpectedly proving to be very effective in academic research."

Ritas said earnestly. He truly believed that Rita possessed extraordinary talent.

"Thank you for your kind words. Now, if that's about right, we should be able to get down to business, shall we?"

"really."

Although the topic had long since gone astray, Rita clearly hadn't forgotten that she and Ritas were on a blind date.

"Professor Ritas, could you please fill out the questionnaire I've prepared for our future interactions and collaboration? If there's anything else you'd like to know about me, please mark it on the form. I'll provide the answers I've already prepared."

As Rita spoke, she smiled and took out a thick stack of questionnaires from her elegant handbag.

“Of course. It’s a very efficient way to get to know each other. However, it might take me a while to fill out these forms. So, should we have the restaurant staff prepare the food first?”

"No need for a meal. It's actually very inefficient to talk business while eating. Besides, research shows that eating alone can save a lot of time compared to eating with others. So, I will eat alone after this meeting."

“A wise choice.”

Ritas nodded in satisfaction, then began to roughly check the questionnaire.

To be honest, nobody believed Grant's nonsense about "getting young people to know him."

So, Rita clearly knew this was a blind date, a family-arranged marriage. The questionnaire she created covered everything from preferences for rendezvous locations to the proportion of various aspects of married life, as well as parenting strategies.

Rita, whose attention had shifted from Ritas, stared at the white disc containing a stunned goddess.

"Ms. Rita, are you interested in this item?"

"It's not that it just looks familiar. Maybe it's just my imagination."

Rita shook her head and said.

the other side.
No one could see that the goddess of bathing was now holding her head in her hands.

She panicked a little, especially when Ritas, while answering the questionnaire, pointed to one of the items and said, "Oh, I see. I almost overlooked the interval between the engagement and the wedding. We can only get engaged this year and then officially get married next year? It's already late October, and there's not much time left."

This isn't Rita, it's Rita!
Where did Ritas's adoptive father find such a girl whose situation is somewhat similar to Ritas's?

Melcy, Noah, Miriam, and Tabasha, where are you all?!

Come quick, come quick, help!
(End of this chapter)