historical

“Teacher, I’ve shooed away the annoying vixens—I mean, pests. They didn’t bother you too much, did they?” Cyrena Ashenborn asked with her head lowered in front of Vaan, expecting a pat from him.

Vaan glanced around before rubbing Cyrena Ashenborn’s head as she wished.

“No, they didn’t bother that much, but thank you anyway,” Vaan smiled wryly.

Even if the group of young witches were bothering him, Vaan would have turned the inconvenience into an opportunity if Cyrena Ashenborn hadn’t interrupted.

Nevertheless, Vaan was amused by Sabrina’s concerns over her beauty.

As witches, their bodies were blessed and nourished by mana since birth, allowing them to possess superior qualities compared to ordinary humans.

Their bodies would grow until they hit their prime state. And from then, their appearance will remain unchanged as if they had stopped aging entirely.

Thus, even without beauty care, witches will achieve what would be considered their prime look with time.

That being said, the standard of beauty is so high and normal that witches have also developed their own unique sense of beauty, even if it means looking younger or older than their prime state.

“Hehe,” Cyrena Ashenborn enjoyed Vaan’s head pat before suddenly recalling, “Oh, right. I was meant to give this to you earlier, Teacher.”

Shortly after, a small wooden box was handed over to Vaan. Inside of it was the syringe needle with Cyrena Ashenborn’s blood, which was needed for research.

“Thanks, Cyrena,” Vaan accepted the wooden box before saying, “By the way, do you know where Wise Scholar Sacha usually stays? I will need to visit her if I want to borrow her Atomic Visualizer.”

“Wise Scholar Sacha?” Cyrena Ashenborn paused for a moment before replying, “I believe Wise Scholar Sacha usually stays in her lab on the fifth tower’s top floor, where she carries out most of her research.”

“I see. And what kind of research does Wise Scholar Sacha usually carry out in her lab?” Vaan inquired for further information in better preparation for his visit.

“Wise Scholar Sacha is Master Artificer, so her research is mainly related to magic tools, mineral composition, and enchantment spells,” Cyrena Ashenborn answered.

After hearing that much, Vaan figured out Wise Scholar Sacha’s purpose for the Atomic Visualizer.

Atomic Visualizer’s usefulness wasn’t limited to potioneering and herbal studies. In fact, it covered a wide range of topics, practically anything that required being studied to the microscopic level.

‘Wise Scholar Sacha is most likely using the Atomic Visualizer to deepen her knowledge on mineral compositions and interactions to develop stronger alloys for her magic tools,’ Vaan mused.

..

After checking on Cyrena Ashenborn’s progress with her other studies, Vaan taught her more about potioneering for an hour at a spare table in the library provided for private studies.

“That’s all for today. Cramming too much won’t do you any good. Remember to review what you learned today and not neglect your other studies.”

“Understood, Teacher.”

Knowing Vaan would be visiting Wise Scholar Sacha to research a cure for her inability, Cyrena Ashenborn obediently returned to her dorm room without taking up any more of Vaan’s time.

After Cyrena Ashenborn left, Vaan went over to Dahlia Payne’s desk with the wooden box in his hand.

“Do you need something, Vahn?” Dahlia Payne asked, glancing up and squinting her eyes after noticing Vaan’s shadow loomed over her book.

“I do, Lady Dahlia,” Vaan nodded before mentioning, “Since I am now your assistant, am I provided with a room to stay? Also, do I have a specific attire to wear as a library assistant?”

“I’m just a librarian. Why would I provide you with a room? Are you planning to sleep in the library or something?” Dahlia Payne raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I suppose I might have to if I have no other place to sleep. I haven’t been informed of any salary or accommodation being arranged for this job, Lady Dahlia,” Vaan casually replied before adding, “I was hoping you would know more about it.”

“Since you’ll be working as my assistant, you can be regarded as a person of the academy and indeed entitled to a fixed salary and accommodation,” Dahlia Payne furrowed her brows before saying, “I will have to check with Headmaster Tabitha tomorrow.”

“As for the assistant attire, you can wear whatever you like as my assistant. However, there are some attires for assistants in my office. Follow me,” Dahlia Payne added.

Shortly after, Dahlia Payne led Vaan to the back of the library.

Along the way, Vaan was a little worried when Dahlia Payne walked past the bookshelves, but his concerns were unfounded.

‘It seems Dahlia’s symptoms only flare up when she is in direct contact with the enchanted books of the library,’ Vaan thought.

After Vaan entered the library office with Dahlia Payne, he was slightly surprised by its state.

The library office had been transformed into Dahlia Payne’s personal bedroom, which could be seen by the double-size mattress laying on the ground beside the office desk with piles of books scattered everywhere.

“Ahem, it’s a little messy, but you can sleep here for now until your accommodations are arranged, Vahn,” Dahlia Payne stated.

“But then, where would you sleep, Lady Dahlia?” Vaan asked thoughtfully.

“Naturally, I will also sleep on the bed. There’s enough room to fit the both of us, Vahn. You didn’t think I would give you the whole bed, did you? Or do you have a problem with us sharing a bed?”

Dahlia Payne gave Vaan an answer he was unlikely to hear in his previous life.

“Not at all. It would be my honor to share the bed with beauty like you, my Lady,” Vaan replied flatteringly before furrowing his brows. “However, wouldn’t leaving all these books around cause trouble for you, my Lady?”

“It is,” Dahlia Payne nodded with a helpless smile and said, “But I can’t exactly clean them up, can I? I would just make a bigger mess.”

“Then allow me to tidy up the room for you, my Lady,” Vaan offered and started packing up the scattered books right away.

“By the way, my Lady. Have you not found any Healing Masters to look into your problem and find out why the enchanted books of the library cause you to sneeze?” Vaan casually inquired further into her issue.

“I have seen quite a few masters in the art of healing in the past three weeks. But as I’ve previously mentioned, no one knows the exact cause. None of the Healing Masters could determine the root cause of my problem,” Dahlia Payne mentioned.

“However, they did confirm that it isn’t caused by Curse Magic or any toxic substance that weakens my immunity system or tampers with my mana interactions. It could only be some sort of allergy with an undetermined source.”

“Anyway, you seem quite interested in my matter, Vahn?” Dahlia Payne asked with her curiosity piqued.

‘How can it not was the better question,’ Vaan thought wryly.

He didn’t want to waste time cleaning up any further incidents in the library.

Thus, he had to find a way to resolve Dahlia Payne’s problem or ensure she doesn’t touch any more enchanted books.

“As your assistant, your health is absolutely important to me, my Lady,” Vaan replied with a flattering smile.

“Would you like me to take a look at you and share my insights, my Lady?” Vaan offered shortly after. “I’m not trying to look down on other Healing Masters, but you know, I’m something of a doctor myself.”