Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 39, Psychology
Said, the guard of the third dormitory area, was the person who had the most frequent contact with the victim a few days before the incident.
"It seems to be John."

"Oh, anyway, the criminal shouldn't be him."

Not only Ritas, but even the Bathing Goddess felt so.

The labels of "a high-quality character who has never appeared before", "can be a friend of Ritas", and "Levith's second student" make the Bathing Goddess obviously more interested in the character of John than in others.

Of course, she is still not as good as her "wives".

As for the reason why Ritas thought John should not be the one, it was similar to that of Sayid.

They were old friends, and if John really wanted to harm him, he didn't need to wait until this time. Moreover, during the days when Ritas's mansion was destroyed, he lived in John's dormitory. If John was really an assassin, he should be attending Ritas' funeral in formal attire.

Speaking of which, the reason why Ritas met and became familiar with Sayid was because John first became a close friend of the security guard.

"Maybe the unexpected thing is that John and Thad have been planning to get rid of you for years!"

"It's not impossible."

"Eh? I said this specifically for you to complain about, how come you accepted it! You should trust your few friends more, Xiao Li."

"."

How did it become like he was being lectured?

However, Ritas does feel that the possibility of John and Sayid working together is not zero. After all, Ritas's current speculation is mostly based on speculation, logic and other aspects, and there is no substantial evidence.

Even if it is one in ten thousand, it is still a possibility.

"Then, the one I see more frequently is Professor Dodge."

"Dodge? I think I've heard of this name before."

"He is the current Green Ivy class mentor, and he used to be my mentor as well."

Ritas briefly introduced Associate Professor Dodge, and the Bathing Goddess made a sound of realization.

It seems that Dodge also appears in the game world.

Rather, among the prominent figures in the academy, those like John who have never appeared in the "Star Mark" world are a minority.

"Hey, old man Dodge has a good personality. He can even get along well with the security guard. Before, when I heard Levis say that he mocked you, I thought he was a villain who existed just to be slapped in the face."

Ritas listened to the words of the Bathing Goddess and sighed softly.

In a way, this is the terrifying part about the "Tree Witch". She can weave lies without actually telling them.

There is a "chess friend" relationship between Dodge and Sayid. Over the years, Ritas has always seen the two playing chess together. So it is not surprising that Dodge appears on the list.

"Maybe Dodge, who is only an associate professor and is about to retire, is jealous of you, a young full professor, so he has been holding a grudge against you!"

"It's not impossible."

Ritas nodded again.

"So - why don't you explain yourself? Doesn't this make me look like a bad person who is trying to sow discord?"

Ritas still didn't respond and felt that the Bathing Goddess was quite clear about her position.

"Among the more familiar names, there is also Professor Barbara."

".Who is that?"

Ritas briefly introduced Associate Professor Barbara.

She is also a senior instructor who has served in Earls College for more than 20 years. However, unlike Associate Professor Dodge who does not take things like professional titles seriously, she is still working hard to "impact" the position of full professor.

For this reason, she did not teach any students this year. In addition to focusing on academic research, she also worked part-time as a subject teacher.

In the curriculum of Earls College, the subdivided subjects will gradually increase in the second year. Therefore, in the first year, the teachers of these subdivided subjects will be very idle.

However, since Ritas had to recuperate for about half a month due to "force majeure", it was Babasha who took over as a substitute teacher in the Yew Fir class during this period.

"In general, there are many suspicious aspects of Professor Barbara. For example, on the day of the incident, she was one of the few people who knew that Mercie would come to visit me. After all, it was she who asked Mercie to deliver the teaching materials. However, strictly speaking, this behavior cannot be considered as 'manipulation' of Mercie, because Mercie could have chosen not to deliver the teaching materials, or she didn't have to be so obedient as to deliver them right after school."

Ritas analyzed:

"Also, it is rumored that Professor Barbara's temperament has become a little strange in the past two years. She is quite moody. The reason why she contacted Sayde was not because of their close relationship. Instead, she reprimanded Sayde and complained to him about many things. But this behavior is not limited to Sayde. Professor Barbara seems to have a tendency to complain and blame everything."

"It's menopause."

The Bathing Goddess concluded briefly.

In short, at the moment, the most suspicious person is Barbara.

After Barbara, Ritas listed four more names.

Although Ritas was also suspicious of these people, it was basically just out of caution. In particular, the two passers-by who seemed to have come into contact with Sayid by chance were not as suspicious as Dodge and John.

"Finally, it's Instructor Ai Zan."

"Um?"

Although the Bathing Goddess couldn't remember people's names, especially their surnames, she still responded in a hysterical way.

After giving the Bathing Goddess some time and finding that she really couldn't remember, Ritas gave her a hint.

"Big Yellow Hair"

"Ah! It's the big yellow-haired guy! There's actually another one! What's the point of investigating this suspect? He must be the assassin!"

It took less than a second for the Bathing Goddess to pass her final verdict on Malik Azan.

Sometimes, Ritas actually envies the Bathing Goddess's brainless, uh, straightforward personality.

For example, although he felt that Malik was more suspicious than all the others combined, out of rigor, he would never make a conclusion unless there was absolute evidence in front of him.

"Come to think of it, the so-called 'yellow-haired man' who will take away all the heroes in the future is Malik Azan?"

By now, Ritas basically understood the many wonderful words used by the goddess of the bath. He understood that the general meaning of "cow" was "robbery".

Don't know why though.

"No, this clown-like guy is not worthy. I feel so complicated. When I finish speaking, it feels like I am praising the guy in 'Star Mark 2'."

The Bathing Goddess hesitated for a while, then continued,

"Anyway, the real yellow-haired one will only appear four years later, so you won't be able to meet him now."

"Is that right?"

Ritas did not comment.

The goddess of bathing swore that the villain organization that appeared in the third year was almost dancing on his face. After all, the living person "True Yellow Hair" was not suddenly born four years later and then grew up in an instant.

However, the Bathing Goddess did not want to formulate any countermeasures now, and Ritas naturally did not want to get involved in this matter.

"Why is he called 'Yellow Hair'? Doesn't he have a name?"

"Because he's blond?"

".Anyway, please apologize to the roughly 20% of the mainland's population that have blond hair."

Ritas was somewhat thankful that he was the only one who could hear the voice of the goddess of bathing. Otherwise, her words alone might have caused a war.

"To be precise, natural blonde hair is not considered yellow hair, only dyed hair is. However, considering the level of civilization in your country, there shouldn't be any convenient means of dyeing hair, right?"

Before that, Ritas couldn't understand the purpose of "hair dyeing".

In disguise?

Of course, what he couldn't understand even more was the logic of the entire speech of the Bathing Goddess.

"But I'm not wrong to blame the yellow-haired guy, right? The yellow-haired guy just has the bad habit of bullying others, and the yellow-haired guy actually poached students right in front of you."

The Bath Goddess has always been bothered by the fact that Malik poached Miriam.

As for Ritas, he felt a little regretful about discussing these things with the Bathing Goddess, as he was destined not to understand them.

"Bath Goddess, you should be aware that your dislike for Master Ai Zan does not constitute any decisive evidence."

"Tsk tsk tsk ~ That's why you don't understand, Xiaoli. Let me teach you what psychology is!" Originally, Ritas thought that the Bathing Goddess was just expressing her emotions unilaterally, but he didn't expect that she would have something to say.

"I am just guessing what is going on, but it should be pretty close. If I remember correctly, the big yellow-haired guy should have been a tutor for a term, right? So, he has been in this academy for at least five years, right?"

After thinking about it, Ritas nodded.

"But you probably had almost no contact with him before. You probably didn't even nod to him when you met him, right?"

".What kind of divination is this?"

Ritas had a subtle look on his face, but still nodded.

"And since you were attacked, you've run into him more often than in the previous four or five years combined! Right!"

"That is true. But what has this got to do with psychology?"

"Of course. After the assassination attempt on you failed, he must have been thinking about you in his heart, thinking about things related to you, and gritting his teeth at you. From a psychological point of view, if there is a specific person in your heart and you keep thinking about that person, you will have an illusion that you are very close to that person. And if that person is very close to you physically, then you will unconsciously get closer to that person and appear around that person frequently, thinking that it is natural."

Ritas frowned slightly. He felt that the words of the Bathing Goddess were not as reliable as divination.

"Besides, haven't you heard the saying, 'The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime'?"

The Bathing Goddess's long speech continued, but Ritas' mind had drifted away and he had no intention of listening carefully.

Because, just when the Bathing Goddess said "The criminal always returns to the crime scene", Ritas saw it.

Right beside the road of the dormitory building under construction, Malik seemed to maintain his normal posture as he walked towards the gate of the third dormitory area.

From a distance, Malik and Ritas' eyes met.

Malik gave his signature smile and nodded politely.

And Ritas also returned the greeting, but the look he gave Malik became more and more profound.

In the afternoon.

Ritas came to Spring City, to the church of the Church of the Bathing Goddess.

"Tsk, I've seen it in the slices, but actually this place is really too broken."

In the church where even the last piece of stained glass was naturally shattered, the goddess of bathing couldn't help but sigh.

However, despite her feelings, the Bathing Goddess did not feel like complaining much.

I can only say that the Bathing Goddess is really a very strange god.

It can be said that she doesn't care at all about the church, the chapel, the believers, the scope of faith, and so on.

But to a certain extent, the carefree attitude of not caring about the material elements of this world at all, and the feeling of being truly detached from the world itself, seem to explain what "divinity" is.

"But is it okay to come here?"

".I am just following my schedule. Besides, I also think that this church needs to be renovated. Otherwise, anyone can come in without permission, which is not a good thing after all."

Last week's incident made Ritas realize that if this church is not properly managed, it may become a base for criminals and vagrants. If something happens here, it will not affect Ritas, but it is still an extra trouble.

"It's already this late, and you're still talking about the schedule. Your priority right now is to catch the criminal who assassinated you!"

Listening to the words of the Bathing Goddess, Ritas was silent for a while.

"First of all, although I think your statement is absurd and does not match my perception at all, I agree that Malik Ezan is the most suspicious person at the moment. However, I cannot persuade or mobilize others through the use of 'psychology' or something like that. Moreover, even if someone will blindly follow my judgment, is it really meaningful to catch only him?"

Ritas responded seriously.

In their conversation, they frequently used words such as suspect and criminal, which made it easy to forget that the assassination of Ritas was most likely carried out by an organization.

An organization called "The Order of Trickery".

"So, what I should really do now is to collect evidence against Malik Azan, who has revealed some flaws. Also, find a way to start with him and catch as many members of the Dark Rite Society in the academy as possible. As for why I came here in the afternoon according to the schedule, it is to ensure that I can keep a calm mind. At this point, the incident will definitely not be resolved in a day or two. And if I lose my composure and rush forward blindly, I will most likely be like Instructor Azan now, and alert the opponent because of my abnormality. In itself, due to the failure of the assassination and the existence of the dean, the Dark Rite Society should be in a tense state."

"Oh, I see."

Maybe it was because Ritas' tone was too serious, the "arrogance" of the Bathing Goddess was suppressed a lot.

But it soon reignited.

“Although what you said makes some sense. But it’s still very unpleasant to just let that big yellow-haired guy continue to wander around!”

The Bath Goddess and Ritas are like beings at two extremes.

Once a problem is encountered, the Bathing Goddess always wants to solve it immediately, while Ritas wants to see everything clearly, grasp everything, and then slowly deal with it.

"Speaking of which, due to the various suspicious points about Teacher Ai Zan, some clues are connected. That is the 'Magic Ball Seminar'. The teacher has great power in the seminar. So, assuming that he is a member of the Dark Ceremony, then the abnormal irritability shown by some members of the Magic Ball Seminar could be related to him?"

Ritas now regretted that he did not force his unreliable teacher to reveal the specific parts and details of the so-called "Shadow Exorcism Ceremony" a few days ago.

"So, you can find useful evidence in the Magic Ball Seminar? Um. By the way, do you have a potion that can turn you into someone else after drinking it? You drink that thing, sneak in, and everything will be solved!"

".It's impossible, right?"

What kind of potion is that? It sounds weird.

"Eh? Wasn't this supposed to be a magic school?"

"But Bathing Goddess, can't you sneak into the Magic Ball Seminar? Just put the disc in the seminar. With your wide field of vision, you will definitely be able to capture all suspicious activities in the seminar."

Ritas said expectantly.

".No way."

The bathing goddess refused immediately.

"Have you forgotten that I'm a goddess? You actually asked me to help you watch surveillance or something. Besides, you were walking around with the disk before, and there were witnesses."

"I can paint the disc green."

"Wouldn't that be more conspicuous?"

Just as Ritas was talking to the Bathing Goddess, footsteps suddenly sounded in the abandoned church.

After stopping the conversation at the right time, Ritas looked towards the entrance of the nave.

The person who arrived was not what Ritas expected.

"It's been a long time since I last met you, Professor Ritas."

"Good afternoon, Cadet Windsor."

Cecilia Windsor is the only current believer in the Church of the Bath Goddess.

Even though it was the second time, the scene of Cecilia and Ritas alone in the empty and dim nave of the church still looked so abrupt.

After seeing Cecilia, the Bathing Goddess cried out in surprise, "Cecilia dear~".

On this day, Cecilia was carrying a small bag, which seemed to contain some things for decorating the church.

Ritas had noticed before that Cecilia seemed to come to this church often. Some places in the church had been decorated by Cecilia.

It seems that the freshman chief's words about believing in the Bathing Goddess were not just casual remarks.

Before Ritas said something, Cecilia was acting a little strange.

She first looked around every corner of the nave, then put her hands behind her back, hunched over, and slowly walked around the nave.

"How strange. Is Professor Ritas the only one in the church? I seemed to hear a woman's voice."

Cecilia stopped and looked at Ritas, confused and a little nervous.

“She seemed to know me.”

In contrast to Ritas, whose face suddenly became serious and his brows furrowed, the Bathing Goddess, who seemed to be still at a loss, could not help but let out a "Huh?"

"hear"

"She seems to be still responding to me."

(End of this chapter)