Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 429 Unchanging Scene

It was springtime.

A few fallen green leaves swayed in the gentle breeze.

Amidst the shade of towering trees, a woman with brown hair, facing the road, wore a gentle smile.

The Goddess of Bath hadn't expected that, at the very beginning of her third academic year, she would already encounter two new teachers who forced her to choose between two options. Of course, that's assuming "Faith" is involved.

What she didn't expect was that, unlike the real Faith Behemoth, Ritas clearly knew Phoebe O'Sien, yet showed nothing of it.

Why should I tell you if you didn't ask?
The goddess of bathing could easily picture Ritas's face. And to take such things to such an extreme, the goddess of bathing began to admire Ritas somewhat.

Looking back now, when Phoebe Osien was mentioned, Ritas's somewhat abrupt introduction of "the Duke" was probably an attempt to divert her attention and prevent her from dwelling on Phoebe's situation any longer.

"Long time no see, Phoebe"

Because it had indeed been a long time since they last met, Ritas hesitated about how he should address Phoebe now.

"Just call me by my name. Unlike you freaks, I can't get a professorship or anything like that at such a young age."

Phoebe responded with a smile.

Her slightly curly long hair fell over the shoulders of her light brown sweater.

Whether it's a sweater, a dark-colored fitted long skirt, or wide-soled flat shoes, Phoebe's outfit is somewhat dowdy. However, these dowdy combinations, set against her beautiful face, don't evoke any thoughts of ugliness. She seems to be proving that whether an item of clothing looks good or suits you actually depends on the person wearing it.

"Compared to before, Ritas, you really don't look any different. The only change might be what you're holding in your hand?"

Phoebe looked at the white disc with some curiosity.

Normally, if her "wife" were paying attention to her, the Bath Goddess would be overjoyed. But now, the fact that Ritas and Phoebe were acquaintances had a greater impact on her, leaving her no time to think about anything else.

"I've changed quite a bit, and so have you. When I saw the list of new lecturers, I wondered if it would be you. I never expected to run into you so soon. It's quite a coincidence."

Ritas showed the documents in his other hand and said this.

"There probably won't be any other 'Phoebe O'Sien' besides me, right? Also, you know how I'll react when you use the word 'coincidence' in front of me~"

Phoebe spoke, deliberately adopting a solemn expression, and said in a very serious tone,
"There is no such thing as chance in this world, only inevitability disguised as coincidence."

After saying that, Phoebe smiled knowingly, perhaps realizing she had been a bit too pretentious.

"I thought I was past that age and would never hear that phrase again."

"You're really bold! You guys were much more 'sick' than me back then. However, it's no coincidence that we met here. This place leads to any area of ​​the academy, and I've been waiting here for over two hours."

As Phoebe spoke, she made a slight movement to hug herself.
"So, when will Professor Doug, Professor Sirin, and John be passing by? It's colder than I expected. If I wait any longer, I might catch a cold and miss tomorrow's opening ceremony."

It wasn't that Phoebe was exaggerating; even in early spring, the weather at Earls College remained cold.

Originally, the treehouse belonging to the Tree Witch served to some extent in regulating the surrounding weather. Unfortunately, that treehouse is now...
"Professor Doug and Professor Sirin both injured their backs and are currently recuperating at their home in Spring City. They won't be back for about two weeks, so if you want to wait for them, you might need to pitch a tent here."

"They both injured their backs? Hey~ They're both so old, and they still get hurt by something like that."

Phoebe was surprised.

"Although I don't know exactly what you're thinking, I still need to add something for their reputation. Their injuries were caused by using too much force when they were using magic."

"Hey~ These days in the academy, people call that kind of thing 'using magic'."

"I'm sure if we continue this topic, you'll be the one who regrets it."

"Yes, that's true."

Phoebe dropped her teasing tone and pressed for details about the last person she had mentioned.
"What about John? When will we 'bump into' each other? If you don't want me to wait too long, you can go find him and subtly lure him here."

John is no longer in this college.

Ritas, whose expression inevitably darkened slightly, answered calmly.

"Well, although there's no real basis for it, I still think he'll stay at Earls Academy forever. After all, he seems to really like it here."

Phoebe, who hadn't misunderstood that John was "no longer alive," said with a hint of regret.

Later, after parting ways with Phoebe, who still had things to do at the teaching building, Ritas continued on his way to the third dormitory area.

Although the special dormitory area remained even after the academy exchange meeting, the academy staff, preoccupied with even bigger and more pressing matters, didn't have the time to deal with the dormitory area, which was supposed to be disbanded. However, Ritas could no longer share a dormitory room with any student in that area.
"It's about time you confessed, Xiao Li!"

"Explain."

The goddess of the bath, who had been silent for so long, finally began to make her move. Ritas wasn't pretending to be stupid; he knew what the goddess of the bath meant. However, he truly didn't know what he had to say.

"You clearly knew Phoebe all along, why didn't you say so! Is there something fishy going on between you two?!"

"The Goddess of Bath only mentioned Phoebe's name before. And a name like Phoebe is incredibly common, not just in the kingdom, but even in Spring City alone. As for when the Goddess of Bath mentioned Phoebe's full name a few days ago, I confirmed that she was someone I knew. But, like today, since we'll meet again in a few days, it'll be a surprise for the Goddess of Bath."

"What kind of surprise is this!"

"Besides, Phoebe and I don't really have any special relationship. We were just classmates. When I skipped a grade and transferred to the senior division, Phoebe was a student there."

Ritas briefly recounted the interpersonal relationships he had during his college years.

During his enrollment, he was in the "Orange" department's elementary school, where Livis served as a class tutor (though only seriously for six months). His good friend and roommate in the elementary school was John.

He then attended classes in the elementary school for only two months before moving on to the advanced school, and transferred directly to the advanced school the following year.

He transferred to the "Green" faculty, where Associate Professor Doug served as his class advisor. It was during that time that he met Phoebe.

"Oh, so that's how it is! No, no, no! You almost fooled me again. What normal classmate would plant a tree together and then reunite under that tree more than ten years later!"

Even now, the goddess of bathing, who is somewhat suspicious even when Ritas tells the truth, quickly noticed something was amiss.

“That tree wasn’t just planted by Phoebe and me. It was planted by me, Phoebe, John, Professor Doug, and Professor Sirin Boyer. At the time, graduation was approaching, and Phoebe wanted to leave it as a memento. However, as you know, John and I both have a phobia of time capsules. Coincidentally, during a heavy rainstorm, lightning struck and felled several trees in that area. So, with Phoebe’s help, we planted new saplings there.” Ritas said with a sigh.

"Oh, no wonder Phoebe was waiting for several other people besides you. The time capsule thing also makes sense, since you all went through that 'legendary lesson'."

Although she still felt a little uneasy, the goddess of bathing was persuaded again.

"But what kind of group are you, John, Phoebe, old man Doug, and that teacher named Law from Sirin?"

"This should actually be considered a group centered around Phoebe. I was her classmate, John became her friend through my connections, Professor Doug was her class advisor, and Professor Sirin was the advisor for the seminar Phoebe attended at the time."

"Hey~"

Hearing Ritas's answer, the goddess of bathing sensed that Phoebe, who was still a young girl at the time, was not simple.

Even though it feels a bit like hindsight, the people who were able to gather around her are clearly not ordinary individuals.

Realizing that the goddess of bathing no longer intended to investigate further, Ritas breathed a sigh of relief.

Over the course of more than a year, some things happened between him and the girl whose top spot he had taken away. And after graduation, Phoebe, who had worked as a researcher at Earls College, transferred to another college after only six months, which could also be said to be related to him.

However, Ritas wasn't deliberately hiding it. Rather, these were rather private matters, and since they hadn't actually been discussed openly—at most, they were just speculations or rumors—there was no need to share them with the goddess of bathing.

"Speaking of which, the two people you're forced to choose between this school year are both people you know. What's going on? Is the world revolving around you?"

The bathing woman said in a magical way.

"I don't know either of the two people I had to choose between before and after. Does that mean the world suddenly doesn't want to revolve around me anymore?"

Ritas asked, somewhat speechless.

Not to mention anything far back, even that guy who "failed" last semester still doesn't know what the "Shrimp Emperor" is.
"That's true. The world really does revolve around Millie!"

"That's true."

After all that has happened, the changes and continuities in the selection of the two candidates for the forced choice have caught Ritas's attention.

On Faith's side, the candidate may seem unchanged, but in reality, the candidate has changed.

Ritas believes the main reason lies with Livis. Only Livis would hire Valentine, a walking problem-maker. Therefore, with Livis missing in the "Star Emblem" game, Valentine naturally cannot take up his post.

As for Phoebe Oshine, the reason she came to Ers no matter how the timeline changed is probably because she has always been the career-oriented type.

Not just anyone is qualified to work at Erles Academy. And a resume from Erles Academy is considered quite valuable in the entire magical world.

Therefore, only during special periods would Earls Academy make an exception and admit Phoebe as a lecturer. And only someone as ambitious as Phoebe would seize such an opportunity, regardless of whether Earls was dangerous or chaotic, to make her teaching career at Earls Academy a stepping stone for advancement.

In other words, Ritas's existence cannot actually influence Phoebe's choice, whether he lives or dies.

Around noon, Ritas arrived at the long-missed third dormitory area.

Seeing that the gatekeeper of the third dormitory area was still the same bald, burly man with brown skin, Seyde, Ritas breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had been worried that Seyde would choose to leave because of the dangerous incident that had occurred at the academy.

It wasn't that Ritas and the gatekeeper had a particularly good relationship. It was just that, while not to the extent of Livis's relationship, Ritas was also someone who disliked "change."

Good afternoon, Mr. Saide.

"Haha, good afternoon. What's that saying again? Right, it's been a long time since I've greeted you, Professor Ritas."

Perhaps because of his appearance, Said, who has not aged much over the years, still greeted Ritas cheerfully.

However, after exchanging greetings, Saide's expression became subtle.

"Although I'm glad Professor Ritas is back in this dormitory area, well... I'll probably know the truth once the professor sees it for himself."

Hearing Said's words, Ritas felt a sense of foreboding and immediately hurried towards the location of his dormitory mansion.

Then he saw a ruin.

"?"

"Ah, it was just last month, or the month before last, when a sudden hurricane struck the college and accidentally destroyed the professor's residence. The professor knows this; the college is in this state, and manpower is needed everywhere. So, the construction team hasn't been assigned to repair this dormitory residence yet."

"Hmm~ Where's the hurricane~"

Listening to the explanation from the following Saide, even the Goddess of Bath sensed something was wrong, and Ritas naturally couldn't help but notice as well.

It's definitely not some tree witch who, in order to get revenge on her disciple for destroying her treehouse, deliberately created a sudden hurricane that only swept away her disciple's dormitory and residence, and then refused to repair it.

Absolutely not!

In the afternoon, Ritas, who had gone to the Crown Council to protest, returned to the special dormitory area with no other choice.

Standing at the door of his familiar "home," Ritas sighed and felt that the situation was actually not so bad.

At least, Miriam had moved back to the male student dormitory where he had always lived alone. So, aside from his teacher's unstable condition and his slight displeasure, it didn't pose a major problem.
With that thought in mind, Ritas placed his hand on the doorknob.

When Ritas discovered that the door was unlocked, he already felt uneasy.

I forced myself to open the door, suppressing my emotions.
really!

Ritas nearly bumped into a familiar figure who had come to investigate what was going on because someone had been lurking suspiciously at the dormitory entrance.

"Huh? Professor?"

"."

Looking at Miriam, Ritas clicked his tongue inwardly.

(End of this chapter)