Book Eater

Chapter 17 - At the Crossroad of Trust (1)

After dinner, Theodore walked toward Professor Vince's laboratory with a troubled expression. He knew why Vince had called him. Vince was the one who knew Theo best in the academy. There was no way he wouldn't realize how abnormal Theo's rate of improvement was, considering where he started from.

Plus, he knows that I don't have the money to buy magic reagents or hire a tutor.

Vince had cared for him more than anyone else in the past three years. Theo had confided in him about his miserable financial situation, which was barely above that of a poor peasant, and his horrible mana sensitivity. Theo also didn't want to lie to Professor Vince, especially since he had always regretted seeing Theo's talent go to waste and tried to open up another path for him.

Above all, there was the problem of coming up with a way of hiding Gluttony's existence.

Damn, there's no way to hide it no matter how I think about it. I can't make up excuses to Professor Vince. It will cause a misunderstanding, and I might not be able to salvage this.

Gluttony had said that there were over a hundred ways to increase magic power, but it had only told him one. In this day and age, only three or four methods were known. There were other purported methods using black magic or fraudulent techniques, but it wasn't rare for the user's magic power to decrease as a result. In a situation like this, there was no way to escape. No matter how he pondered, he couldn't come up with an explanation by the time he arrived at Professor Vince's laboratory.

"... I've arrived."

It was his first visit since coming for the permit. Theo looked at the brown door before him. At that time, he had come out of this room with a happy expression, but he now had new worries. His position had changed a lot. The 2nd Circle dunce now had the best marks in the grade. This was the result of him facing all of his problems head-on.

This is the same thing.

He wouldn't run away. Theo decided he would face it as he raised his hand.

Knock, knock.

"Professor, it is Theodore."

An answer came from behind the door, as if he had been waiting.

"Come in."

Theo turned the doorknob as the familiar scent of coffee washed over him. Professor Vince was reading from a parchment behind a messy desk that was covered in books and parchment. He put down the parchment and looked at Theo with a face that was difficult to read.

"You came right on time. The faculty meeting took longer than I expected, so I just got back."

Deciding Garcia Carter's punishment was difficult for the academy. Viscount Carter was famous, so they didn't want to punish his son and cause a problem. The professors were so concerned that Vince was eventually forced to give up on expulsion or repeating a year. The meeting ran for two or three hours before Viscount Carter personally showed up in a crystal ball and ended their discussion.

- I'm really sorry that my foolish son was such a nuisance.

As an upright and honorable nobleman, Viscount Cater didn't try to make excuses for Garcia. Rather, he asked Vince to punish him strictly. As a result, the principal of Bergen Academy decided to leave the decision to Vince.

"What a farce. The principal was too scared of making the wrong decision."

Vince paused to sip his coffee. He was annoyed at the bureaucrat-like professors who only cared about their own well-being. On the other hand, Theo hadn't expected much from the professors, so his expression was still calm.