Chapter 41

Rodesha tilted her head and continued speaking.

“Recently, he seemed to be attending classes diligently, but is he planning to skip today?”

“Is that so?”

If Chase were to miss a class, I thought he would at least give me a heads-up.

Thinking that way made me feel a bit disappointed. Judith mumbled while looking at the empty seat.

“Or maybe he’s just running late? He might be tardy.”

But even when the bell signaling the start of class rang and Professor Karel entered the classroom to begin the lecture, the seat to Judith’s right remained empty.

Strangely, she couldn’t concentrate on the lecture.

It seemed she was more distracted now than when Chase sat next to her, nodding off. It was odd since there were no distractions.

Judith kept glancing at the empty seat while busily taking notes with her pen.

Chase had been diligently attending classes lately; was he already feeling overwhelmed?

In the end, he didn’t come to class until it was over. It was a complete skip.

After class, Judith saw Professor Karel walking towards her with a displeased expression.

Professor Karel clicked his tongue as he looked at the empty seat next to Judith with a murky gaze.

“So Chase ended up skipping class.”

“Could he be sick? To miss without saying anything.”

Judith found herself defending Chase without realizing it.

“He might have caught a cold.”

Only after the words left her mouth did she realize her mistake.

No one would catch a cold in this summer weather unless they were a fool. Judith’s earlobes reddened slightly at her flimsy excuse.

Professor Karel stared at Judith intently.

“Hmm… Judith. You don’t know why Chase skipped class?”

Chase hadn’t told her anything, so of course, Judith had no way of knowing.

But why was Professor Karel asking me this? Did he know why Chase had skipped class?

“Well, judging by your expression, you seem unaware. Was he too embarrassed to tell you? Chase is currently being punished.”

“What? Punished?”

It was even more surprising than the idea of him catching a cold.

Could Chase have gotten into some trouble in the meantime?

Judith blinked in confusion, and Professor Karel shrugged as if he expected that reaction.

“You didn’t know? I heard in the professor’s meeting this morning that Chase abused his authority as a department head without permission.”

“…Abused his authority?”

“Yes, it was supposed to end with just a written apology, but he had accumulated so many demerits that he ended up doing cleaning duties and being on probation for a few days.”

“…No way.”

Abusing his authority as a department head?

A sense of foreboding crept in. Judith’s golden eyes wavered uncertainly.

“Is it the kind of abuse where he accepts new members into the department at his discretion, even outside the application period?”

“Yes. How did you know that? Why do you know about the abuse but not the punishment?”

Professor Karel made a thoughtful noise and lightly stroked his chin.

“Just to be sure, you aren’t that new member, are you?”

“…”

“…It was you.”

Professor Karel frowned in disbelief, then let out a deflated laugh.

But Judith, who was feeling very troubled, didn’t hear that sound.

When she had asked if she could join the swordsmanship club, Chase had answered as if it were no big deal.

When she asked if it wouldn’t cause him any trouble, he had confidently smiled, saying it wasn’t a difficult thing.

Yet now, he was on probation and doing cleaning duties alone. Chase must be a fool.

If she had known he would be punished, Judith wouldn’t have bothered trying to change departments.

She preferred facing awkward situations with Axel over causing trouble for others.

Her mind became complicated in an instant.

Why had Chase lied, saying it was an easy task for me?

He even volunteered to teach swordsmanship to a beginner like Judith.

Chase, who valued training, had lost his own training time because of her. And now he was even being punished.

Yet he hadn’t mentioned a word about it.

Judith, with a gloomy expression, lowered her head, and Professor Karel spoke as if to comfort her.

“Judith, you don’t feel guilty, do you? The main reason he’s on probation is the accumulated demerits, so you don’t need to worry.”

But even with his words, Judith couldn’t relax her expression. So Professor Karel added.

“And maybe he even thinks it’s a good thing. Now he has an excuse to skip boring classes. He might be happily humming to himself.”

Despite Professor Karel’s earnest attempts to console her, Judith’s sagging shoulders showed no sign of recovery.

“But isn’t probation too harsh at this time?”

Even knowing it wasn’t good for her to argue about Chase’s situation, Judith couldn’t stop herself.

“Chase is on the verge of not graduating due to insufficient attendance.”

As she spoke, she felt her emotions welling up even more.

“He’s been studying diligently and attending classes without skipping lately, but if this happens, Chase’s graduation…”

Judith trailed off, stumbling over her words.

Would he scold me for being impudent?

She looked up nervously, but Professor Karel merely gazed down at her quietly.

Then, something surprising happened. Professor Karel placed his palm on Judith’s pink head and began to gently stroke it.

“Gasp…!”

Rodesha, who had been watching them from the side, gasped audibly. Her face seemed to say, “This can’t be happening.”

Of course, Judith, the one being patted, was just as surprised, her eyes wide open.

Professor Karel then smiled kindly and spoke.

“Don’t worry about that, Judith. From what I hear, Chase’s attendance issue is only with this accounting class, and participating in the remedial class will count towards his attendance.”

Judith looked up at Professor Karel with surprised eyes.

So that’s why he suggested the remedial class to her.

She realized it belatedly. While Judith was inwardly admiring Professor Karel’s thoughtfulness, his gaze turned stern again.

“Actually, the professors have been plotting. Some argued that Chase Cardandy shouldn’t graduate this year.”

Why is that? 

Judith had many guesses as to why.

“Using bonus points from the martial arts tournament isn’t against the rules, but many find it underhanded.”

Professor Karel swallowed before continuing.

“Many professors find it distasteful for students to use unusual methods instead of attending classes.”

“I see.”

Judith thought there was some truth to it.

Honestly, if she were in the professors’ position, she wouldn’t want to graduate a student who skipped classes as if it were nothing.

He must have really gotten on their bad side.

For Judith, who had been favored by professors since her freshman year, it was just unfortunate.

Finally, Professor Karel removed his hand from Judith’s head. Judith slowly lifted her head and asked.

“Then, where is Chase doing his cleaning duties?”

* * *

As soon as she opened the door and entered, she saw gray dust swirling in the air. Her throat itched.

Feeling a cough coming on, Judith quickly covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve.

The place where Chase was doing his cleaning duties was the alchemy lab.

She knew there were many dangerous chemicals that could explode if mishandled, yet they left him to clean such a hazardous place alone.

As Professor Karel had said, Chase must have really gotten on their bad side.

Judith looked at the red stains stuck to the floor with a grimace and stepped further inside.

She carefully searched for Chase with her eyes, trying not to bump into or knock over any mysterious bottles.

Just then, she saw someone diligently sweeping the floor with a large broom.

Judging by the large back, it was definitely Chase. Judith called his name happily.

“Chase.”

At the sudden call, Chase flinched and looked up quickly. He looked around and finally turned around.

Even though it was broad daylight, the alchemy lab was so dark that she could barely make out his shape.

Chase, who made eye contact with her, tilted his head and asked.

“…Judith? Are you Judith? You’re not a ghost, are you?”

Judith initially thought he was joking. But Chase looked nothing but serious.

He must have thought no one else would come here, so he suspected she was a ghost.

He narrowed his red eyes and observed Judith with a wary expression. Yet he was slowly approaching her.

“Since you’re not saying anything… Are you really a ghost?”