Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 260 Self
Misri Latras loves the feeling of having everything under her control. And in fact, since standing out at the Latras Training Institute, Misri has indeed gradually mastered "everything."

But it is precisely because Misley is extremely obsessed with controlling everything that she dislikes the feeling of things going out of control and not going as expected.

Misley, who has always had everything go smoothly and even had some wishes fulfilled, has only experienced one major loss of control in the past.

She was too impatient, too greedy, and too confident. This led to the failure of the "artificial star pattern" experiment, leaving an indelible mark on her body.

Even now, Misley sometimes wonders what would have happened if she had succeeded back then.

If those unexpected events hadn't occurred, could she have truly obtained everything? And could she have also pulled that woman down from her position as the "eldest daughter"?

But reality doesn't offer "what ifs." That failed experiment will forever remain a stain on her life, haunting her like a nightmare and robbing her of the chance to become the "Star Goddess."

Misley's entry into the Brasche Royal Magic Academy was partly driven by a desire to find a way to heal herself. She also yearned for the "Hall of Wisdom," which was said to gather all the wisdom in the world.

Besides that major loss of control, Misley has recently felt a gradual "collapse" approaching her.

The collapse may have begun when Platina reported that a strange church was attempting to make contact with the "Star People".

That church seems to originate from a different lineage of the stars than the "Star People," and possesses many ancient traditions that are different from theirs.

More importantly, that church actually had a "goddess".

Initially, Misri didn't take this church seriously. She simply thought that if their words were even 30% credible, then she might as well make them subordinates of the "Star People" and use them for their purposes. After all, putting aside others, the apparent church representative's background and abilities were impeccable.

As a household servant, he would be an excellent choice.

Then, just as she symbolically investigated the authenticity of the "goddess" and vaguely sensed that things might not be as simple as she had imagined.
Without any warning or preparation, the "goddess" appeared right in front of her.

Are you kidding me?
On that night of the family dinner, Misley was completely bewildered as she faced the somewhat comical-looking white disc in front of her.

Are deities so easily accessible?
Moreover, what should she do, and what can she do, when faced with a deity?
No matter how proud she was, she would never imagine having a god under her control and at her beck and call.

Becoming a "Star Goddess" was already the limit of her imagination.

Even though that goddess, who was as strange as the church, never displayed any great power or exerted the pressure of a high position, her very existence was like cheating.
When the goddess pointed out the mark left on her body by her attempt to peek into the power of the gods, Misri felt a deep-seated fear.

So, she ran away.

That was probably the first time in her life that she fled in a simple and panicked state, without any other thoughts in her mind.

Next, we come to the recent past.

After several months of rest and recovery, Misri felt that she could now face the church and goddess, who had no rules and did not follow any common sense, with a calm mind.

Furthermore, after careful analysis, she saw even more.

Besides the goddess, there are other figures in that church whom she likely cannot control. And like the goddess, they are not the type you can simply hide from if you can't afford to offend them.

Professor Ritas Elsen.

Misri could clearly sense that Ritas was interested in the Star People. However, unlike the gradual encroachment, whether it was contempt for the Star People or simply an insatiable appetite, he seemed to want to devour them all at once.

If there's anything more unacceptable to Misri than losing control of what she holds in her hands, it's becoming an appendage, a plaything controlled by others.

Therefore, Misley was much more cautious in all her actions upon arriving at Erles Academy this time. She also regarded Ritas and the Church of the Bathing Goddess as potential "rivals." Even the timing and location of their meetings were carefully considered, in an effort to gain the initiative and advantage in every aspect.

then
Then one day, the professor "sent" the goddess directly to her.

Looking at the white disc that reappeared in front of him, which was described as an "invitation" and "discussion," but left no room for refusal.

Misri genuinely felt that both Ritas and the Goddess of Bath were utterly unreasonable.
"I don't know if the surgery has started yet."

The voice of the goddess of bathing pulled Misri back to reality.

Although she didn't know what Ritas's purpose was that day, Misley had made up her mind that she would never let them lead her by the nose again, nor would she be "suppressed" again.

Guided by the goddess of bathing, Misri knocked on the door of a treatment room.

"Welcome, Miss Misley. I invited you here at this inconvenient time because I hope you can witness something."

The treatment room presented a bizarre scene.

Among them, Ritas, who was greeting Misri at the door, was dressed in waterproof clothing like a raincoat, wearing goggles, a mask, and gloves, with almost no skin exposed. He was probably the more normal one.

"Since I am about to undergo surgery, I hope that Miss Misley will accept my 'cleansing magic' if it is convenient."

"Witnessing the surgery?"

Misley looked around again, somewhat confused.

Through a thin, gauze-like barrier, Misri could vaguely see a figure lying on the operating table.

"I won't bother Professor Elson. I'm also a student in the advanced division of the magic academy, so I've studied purification magic."

As if acting on instinct, Misri took a wand from her waist and, amidst the splashing of tiny water droplets around her, cast a cleansing spell on herself, a spell belonging to the enhancement magic category.

During the casting of the spell, Misri wondered if it was really necessary to go through all this trouble.

Because this strange operating room was filled with a sense of "uncleanliness".

What appeared to be tree roots had almost completely covered the walls of the operating room. At some nodes of the branches grew man-eating flowers with gaping maws, which dripped dark green sap downwards from time to time.

It's only because Misri has seen so much that an ordinary person might not have the courage to step into the operating room, which is practically a hellish place.

"Don't worry too much about your surroundings, Miss Misley. Our surgeon doesn't really enjoy socializing."

"Understandable."

Adopting a businessman's professional smile, Misri replied with a smile.

In reality, she still didn't quite understand what Ritas was talking about.

"That's about it, dear Ritas. Oh dear, there are other guests."

The figure who had been busy in the corner of the operating room swayed her supple waist and came to Ritas's side.

Although dressed in the same clothes as Ritas, Professor Kenny, the head chef of the academy, still maintained his usual alluring figure.

"By the way, this is a rare opportunity, would you like to try some of my newly developed cookies?"

Kenny didn't ask about Misley's identity; he simply produced a plate from behind him as if by magic.

Even Misri, who has a strong mental fortitude, looked troubled when she saw the "cookies" on the plate that looked like they had been held in someone's mouth for a long time and then spat out, and that were also very discolored.

"No, thank you. My family has a tradition of not eating after dinner."

Misri resolutely refused.

"What a pity, it could have been delicious!"

"Clearly" and "possibly" are words that can appear together? Only when she saw Ritas and Kenny starting to discuss things by the operating table did Misri breathe a sigh of relief.

I should have brought a few adventurers to bolster the scene.

With that thought in mind, Misri found a seat and sat down.

Although Misley was curious about the content of Ritas and Kenny's conversation, unfortunately, a voice completely drowned them out.

"Misri~ How was the academy exchange meeting this time? What projects did you participate in? Did you achieve good results? Sigh, it's all my fault, Ritas was just too busy, which made me miss a lot of interesting projects."

"Aha."

Misley is still not very good at dealing with a "goddess".

Because she had sent people to investigate carefully, she was more certain than most that the Bathing Goddess definitely did not belong to this world. However, the image of the Bathing Goddess as a deity was far different from Misri's previous understanding and imagination.

Although somewhat uncomfortable, Misri still satisfied the goddess of bathing's curiosity by telling her about the academy exchange meeting from the perspective of a student at Blasche Academy.

While the two were talking, the preparations on the other side seemed to have finally been completed.

First, Kenny comforted the carnivorous plants on the wall by hugging and kissing them for a while, and then he saw that the carnivorous plants began to fall asleep, and their bodies visibly withered.

Immediately, the branches, vines, and other things on the surrounding walls and ceiling began to sway wildly.

At Ritas's request, everyone on the operating table faced the wall for a period of time.

When Ritas indicated that it was okay, everyone saw that Ritas's whole body was entangled by the branches, vines and other things from before, as if he had been parasitized by the plants in the house.

"The patient lying before us now suffers from a condition called 'Crystal Lung Disease.' If you are familiar with the history of magic, this should be a name you've heard of to some extent."

On the operating table, the surgery officially began.

The "patient," who had been subjected to an unknown act, lay motionless on the operating table like a dead man, allowing Ritas's surgical instruments to cut through his body.

As the surgery proceeded, no matter how skillfully and rapidly his hands moved, Ritas's face remained turned toward Misri. It was as if his body and mind were separated.

This made the already strange operating room even more eerie.

“In essence, the symptoms of ‘crystal lung disease’ are very similar to the state after ‘artificial star pattern’ fails.”

"!"

Suddenly, Misri fixed her sharp gaze on Ritas.

Only now did she finally understand what Ritas wanted her to "witness".

At the same time, discomfort began to emerge from every corner of her body, making Misri's face look somewhat dangerous.

Previously, the "unknown" and the "fear" that the goddess of bathing represented in Misri's mind had now all been transferred to Ritas.

She was now almost certain that Ritas was the one who truly controlled everything in the Church of the Bathing Goddess.

Not only was the Goddess of Bath completely under the professor's control, but just like at the family banquet, Misley could feel herself being "arranged" according to his plan.

Misley genuinely loathed this feeling, but the professor poured her a glass of poisoned mead.
"Although this is just my personal speculation, I think that, just like how some people make bread from wheat, some make cookies from wheat, and some make... well, laxatives from wheat, magical particles, magic crystals, star-mark power, or other powers, I believe their origins are basically the same. It's just that they have become many different branches for various reasons."

As Ritas spoke, two more "Ritas" appeared beside the operating table.

Although it is still in a somewhat illusory state, Ritas's clone magic is clearly more complete than before.

Having "lent" his main body to the reclusive tree doctor Ritas, his hands continued their work, already making some incisions in Sir Him's affected area. Within, crystal-like objects could be faintly seen.

Meanwhile, Ritas's clone was on Sir Sim's body, using his own blood to outline a complex magic circle.

"The principle is actually quite simple. Or rather, the experiment of 'artificial star marks' cannot be considered a complete failure, but only a 'semi-finished product.' Because even though a 'mark' was left, the experimenter did indeed acquire the power of the star marks. It's just that that power was highly integrated with the experimenter's own body, much like a patient with 'crystal lung disease' caused by magic crystals entering the body. Therefore, using it would lead to the collapse of the body, which is far from the goal and ideal."

"Then, as long as we can construct an 'embroidery' that can divide, concentrate, gather, and control the power that has already mixed together within our bodies."

Since the appearance of the clone, Ritas inevitably needed to focus, so his speaking speed and intervals slowed down significantly.

Even without this, Misri could already feel time passing very slowly, simply gazing at the ongoing peculiar surgery in a rather agonizing state of mind.

She was unsure whether she should have expectations or not.

At one moment, a magic circle the size of a palm briefly lit up on Sir Him's body.

However, it was quickly extinguished.

Just as Misri was feeling disappointed, she also breathed a sigh of relief.

First, a green fluorescent light enveloped Sir Him's body, whose life force was rapidly fading.

Then, Ritas's clone took out a crimson seal-like object from the waist of his main body.

After being stained with Sir Himm's blood, the crimson seal quickly melted into liquid, then slowly flowed into his body, becoming a part of him.

咚.！

In the quiet operating room, everyone seemed to hear Sir Himm's heart pounding powerfully.

"As expected, saving someone who is doomed is not so easy. Fortunately, there are still remedial measures. And the night is long enough."

During the surgery, Chef Kenny, who was not idle, served up a plate of the magic potion he had just developed.

Using the magic potion as a remedy, Ritas's clone began a new round of drawing crests.

Ritas, now more focused, no longer gazed in the direction where Misri was.

But no further explanation is needed.

If "crystal lung disease" is indeed similar to the "mark" left after a failed artificial star pattern.

If this surgery for the patient with "crystal lung disease" can ultimately be successful.

This means that Ritas is also capable of completing the artificial star pattern experiment that he described as "not a complete failure".

So the question now is: how do I get a real "Star Mark Emblem"?

What price will Misri, the leader of the "Star People," have to pay?

The long night passed in the blink of an eye.

Time has come to the tenth day of the college exchange meeting.

With the official opening of the "Mograine Art Appraisal Meeting," Erles Higher Magic Academy is now fully open to the public.

The final dark clouds began to loom over the academy.

(End of this chapter)