48
Studying with another professor?
Professor Mallis's eyes widened in astonishment. What nonsense is being said?
Suddenly, he felt as if the sky was collapsing and the earth was swallowing him. His hands are shaking, and his breath is tightening in his chest.
At that moment, Mallis realized a very important truth.
“That's not Evie's voice.”
Yes, this was undoubtedly the voice of another student.
“Did someone lose their way into this classroom?”
If so, it makes sense.
A female student, due to some misunderstanding, must have arrived here, and now he hesitates, realizing that this is not the right place.
“I have to fire her immediately.”
How could Evie, who was in the classroom, be allowed to hear this and be shaken?
Mallis gathered his breath, then opened the door forcefully and entered.
As he expected, Evie was sitting behind her desk.
Beside her, a student he had never seen before.
Rather, she was sitting right next to Evie.
“Is it possible that this student was convincing Evie to change her studies to another class?”
His eyes burned with the fire of anger.
Effie was the student who inspired him so much that he thought of publishing a new mathematics book decades later.
She is a child who seeks to understand the beauty of the world of numbers and laws that humans have not yet discovered, and even enjoys it, and follows his instructions faithfully and precisely!
However, they want to take Eppie to another professor?
“Do they think I'll just stand by?”
No matter what happened, he would make her his student, and make her a shining star in the mathematics sky of this empire.
Mallis made up his mind, and opened the door violently again.
“Go away, you succubus!”
Stay away from my student!
With these feelings, Mallis entered the classroom.
Among the few desks, Evie was sitting in the seat closest to the blackboard.
Even this looked wonderful in Malice's eyes.
Anyway, he would be by her side teaching her intimately, so her sitting in front didn't make much sense.
However, even the adult students of the academy, who are elite, avoid the eyes of the professors and prefer to sit in the corners… And yet, here was Evie sitting nearby, thirsty for knowledge!
“Hello, Professor!”
As soon as Evie saw him, she stood up.
“Oh, baby, good morning!”
For a moment, Mallis forgot the reason for his rush, and smiled warmly as he received her greeting.
“Did you eat breakfast? Did you have difficulty with the assignment I gave you? No, let’s talk about today’s lesson...”
While he was unpacking his thoughts, the girl stood up next to Evie.
"So, this is it. Hello, Professor Mallis. I'm Irene Terrence."
"Yes."
Hearing this voice, Mallis regained his composure.
Then he looked at Irene with wary eyes.
"Who are you?"
“I am a student.”
“No, I didn't ask about that.”
As Malice and Irene exchanged intense glances, Evie quickly interjected:
“Professor, Irene is… my friend!”
Evie hesitated for a moment before saying that, taking Irene's hand.
Upon hearing the word “girlfriend,” Irene smiled softly.
"Yes, as you heard. I'm Evie's friend. Best friend."
Irene emphasized the word “girlfriend” as if she wanted to confirm it to everyone.
“Okay, I get that… but I heard from outside, why are you urging Evie to take other lessons? What’s wrong with my lesson?!”
“I've never taken your classes before, so I can't judge.”
“So, why...”
While Mallis was questioning her, Irene looked at him firmly and said:
“It's too far away.”
Mallis swallowed his words.
This was indeed what constantly worried him.
“Evie, stand up for a moment.”
At Irene's request, Evie jumped out of her chair and stood next to her.
"Look, here. Do you see the scratch on Evie's knee? And here, her injured palm. I asked her, and she said she was injured because this class was so far away, so she was running."
“But, if she was careful…”
"Besides, the math book is heavy. And the books will get bigger with time. How can a little girl like Evie carry all that and walk with it?"
“Okay, but...”
Her words made sense, each sentence hitting the mark.
Malice's face frowned, like someone who had been hit in the chest by an arrow.
But he suddenly remembered something important.
“But, the schedule cannot be changed now. The registration deadline has ended.”
But Irene responded calmly:
“This morning, I saw an announcement on the bulletin board in the dormitory. They said the new students weren't used to the academy's rules yet, so they allowed an extra period to adjust schedules. Right, Evie?”
Evie nodded, taking Irene's hand.
Mallis tried to recall his memories. There was indeed something new on the Office of Academic Affairs bulletin board… was that what it was?
Mallis bit his lips.
Irene looked at him and muttered:
“Anyway, I'm satisfied that we're the only two students here...but couldn't you, Professor, find a classroom closer to the main building?”
"I was really going to do that! But, wait. I never said I would teach you. Can't you just go take another lesson?"
“What? Is there such a thing? If a student applies, he has the right to study!”
“Of course, but do you think you can keep up with my lesson like Evie?”
Irene's features froze slightly.
In fact, when I got to class, I asked Evie how she was progressing in her math lessons.
Evie proudly took out a book from her bag.
“This is… an advanced mathematics book, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Professor Mallis teaches us it.”
"With this book? To teach mathematics? Directly?"
This cannot be true. From what Irene saw, they were supposed to be taking an intermediate math book.
But advanced? In fact, from what Ivey said, it seemed that the curriculum had actually advanced a lot.
Even more surprisingly, Evie was keeping up with this progress with ease.
“Even I, who studied like crazy at home, found it difficult...”
You may be able to keep up with the first parts now, but if the curriculum continues at this pace, you will definitely find it difficult.
“It seems like it's going to be difficult, so why don't you go take another lesson on your own?”
“What? Isn’t it the teacher’s duty to teach the student if he doesn’t understand? I came here to learn!”
“Well, if there are other students, I can adjust the curriculum to suit everyone. But if you're alone, wouldn't it be better if you switch to a lesson that suits your level?”
When Mallis reached this point, the sound of loud footsteps was suddenly heard approaching the corridor.
“?”
Mallis, Evie, and Irene looked at the door in surprise.
This building isn't even frequented by employees, so who could be coming, with this noise?
The steps approached the classroom, then...
Squeak!
The door opened violently, and a person entered, shouting a loud greeting:
“Hey, Evie!”
It was Lusca, the red-haired one.
Behind him, Arcel stood with a resigned face.
Malice then realized...
His dream of teaching Evie face to face in a quiet class is quickly fading.
—
“What nonsense?”
As Arcel watched Lusca greet Evie excitedly, he secretly sighed.
Since yesterday, Lusca had been insisting on attending this lesson, and he pleaded with Arcel, saying that it would be a betrayal for him to attend another mathematics lesson alone.
Honestly, this was a foolish decision.
The gym class they originally signed up for was good, even excellent.
The professor was nice, the curriculum was relevant, and the class was full of students eager to learn.
There were also old friends whom they had met many times since childhood.
But changing the lesson because of a little girl they've only met a few times?
Although he realized it was an unwise move, Arcel and Lusca applied to modify the schedule.
“Why, on earth?”
As he watched Luska run excitedly, Arcel wondered why he and Luska felt such weakness towards Evie.
Not because she is small or weak.
Because she was a commoner chosen by the emperor?
If so, perhaps it would be best to avoid it.
However, as interested as Lusca was in her, Arcel couldn't take his eyes off Evie Alden.
Suddenly, an image of someone else passed through his mind.
Someone who looks like Ivy Alden's eyes...
“Lillian.”
In a strange way, whenever he saw Evie, he remembered her.
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