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‘Hmm… This is strange indeed.’
That’s what Oliver thought as he arrived at the Elemental Tower, located within the grounds of the Magic Tower after passing the main gate.
Somehow, it seemed like people were increasingly watching him. About one or two out of ten people were doing so.
Of course, it might not be a significant number, but the Magic Tower was the size of a small city.
As such, there were many people, and one or two out of ten would amount to quite a lot when combined.
In other words, it wasn’t something he could just ignore.
“That person? They say he’s a personal employee of the Red Skin Professor.”
“Right.”
“He tied with Derick? He doesn’t look like anything special.”
“I agree.”
“It was just a practice match, so maybe Derick didn’t take him seriously?”
“Who would go easy on someone here?”
“I heard he toyed with Derick.”
“No, I heard he was barely able to block the attacks.”
“I heard it was a close match.”
“Whatever it was, he tied with someone who has mana infertility, right?”
“Hehe, that must hurt his pride.”
Oliver thought he might be mistaken, but the piercing gaze of the wizards and the surrounding murmurs told him it wasn’t a mistake.
Some of the academy’s students were watching him.
For some, it was just curiosity and interest, while for others, it was discomfort and suspicion.
Fortunately, the depth and seriousness of these emotions were shallow.
Though he couldn’t be sure, he thought that if he stayed quiet for a few days, everyone would forget.
He considered finishing his business and applying for vacation again, but he gave up when he heard more murmurs.
“But why haven’t we seen him until now?”
“He applied for vacation and didn’t come for days.”
“Days? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. What’s important is that Kevin, that filthy man, hasn’t said anything.”
“Isn’t his personality as fierce as his skin color? I’ve heard professors complain about him several times.”
“That’s right… I heard he’s some sort of noble. I don’t know why a noble would be under a professor like Kevin.”
It didn’t seem like things would quiet down if he took a break for a few more days. In fact, even stranger rumors might spread.
A noble, Oliver couldn’t help but wonder what had happened at the Magic Tower while he hadn’t been around.
‘Was it not a good choice to have a match with a student from the academy after all?’
It wasn’t too surprising. Oliver had expressed concern about this just before the match.
Kevin had only said that it would be slightly better to have something noticeable, but he never said there wouldn’t be any problems.
Taking frequent vacations, regardless of the match, was also a noticeable factor.
Moreover, Oliver hadn’t officially applied for leave and had taken unauthorized time off, making him even more conspicuous.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely unfair. He took the unauthorized vacation because Kevin had told him to do so.
However, Oliver shook his head after a moment of thought.
Regardless of the reasons, he was the one who made the choice, and although he had received some consideration, he hadn’t been harmed by Kevin.
He wasn’t in a position to blame anyone.
In the first place, if he was going to worry about every little thing like this, he shouldn’t have entered the Magic Tower.
No matter what anyone said, the primary responsibility lay with Oliver himself.
‘First, I should visit the professor and ask what’s going on. I don’t understand the situation.’
With that thought, Oliver got into the elevator.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had contact.”
Kevin, neatly dressed with well-groomed black hair and a high-quality suit that didn’t fall short of the other professors, greeted Oliver with a flawless attitude.
However, it would be more accurate to say that he didn’t actually greet him.
He seemed too busy to greet anyone. Even without the slightly roughened skin, newly formed dark circles under his eyes, and the fading Life-force from fatigue, the piled-up documents and textbooks on his desk made it clear.
“Are you very busy?”
“A bit.”
Kevin didn’t deny it.
“Taking on three classes and not properly allocating time for research makes it feel about 1.5 times busier.”
It was a fact, not an exaggeration. Oliver could tell from his emotional state and the character he had observed so far.
He wasn’t the type to show off or exaggerate.
“The additional work that comes with each new class also contributes.”
“Ah…”
Oliver apologized the moment he heard that. He should be the one to share the burden of that extra work.
However, Kevin’s reaction was completely different.
“Apologize? Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to think like that.”
It wasn’t just a polite phrase but sincere words. Kevin soon explained the reason himself.
“Initially, I didn’t have any staff. In other words, the work I’m doing now is what I should have been doing in the first place. It’s not something you need to worry about.”
Oliver finally understood what he meant.
As Kevin said, he originally didn’t have any staff. Both Merlin and Kevin, as well as the Magic Tower people, had mentioned it at least once.
As a Red Man, Kevin had difficulty finding staff, and he didn’t bother looking for staff either.
Oliver becoming Kevin’s staff member was a sudden decision made by Merlin.
In other words, as Kevin said, Oliver didn’t need to feel sorry for taking a vacation. Frankly, this work was originally something Kevin had to handle.
But for some reason, Oliver felt a little uneasy just letting it go. After all, he was Kevin’s staff member, and he said he would help with the work.
“Still, I’m sorry. I’ll help with the work again until I can take another vacation.”
Apologizing for taking a vacation, but then saying he would take another one, Kevin, who had been working non-stop on the documents, stopped for a moment to look at Oliver.
He showed more of a dumbfounded emotion than discomfort.
“That’s quite a self-centered statement. Well, I don’t plan to argue about it since it was agreed upon in the first place, but then, wouldn’t it be better not to apologize?”
“Even so, I still feel sorry.”
“So, your priority is to apologize rather than consider my feelings?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Oliver hesitated. He hadn’t heard or thought about such a thing before… It certainly did seem wrong.
Oliver felt that his own remorse was more important than Kevin’s situation or feelings.
“Um… I think you’re right. I hadn’t thought about it from that perspective… I’m sorry.”
At the continuous apologies, Kevin frowned as if he had encountered a riddle.
“If I could, I would lock you in a lab and observe you for ten years. I genuinely don’t understand your way of apologizing… Well, you’re not the only one with a unique personality around here.”
Kevin mixed his emotions into his words and went back to his paperwork.
“Alright… If you want, I’ll assign you more work again. However, I won’t give you any more paperwork related to classes. If you take another vacation, the workload will only increase due to handovers.”
Work related to classes involved reading books or papers to find materials needed for class content, which was a task that Oliver personally enjoyed.
He could work and study at the same time.
“From now on, I’ll only assign you simple tasks. Any complaints? Speak up. You can quit if you want.”
“No, not at all.”
“….Well, fine. For now, I left class schedule and materials in your office, so read and familiarize yourself with them today. Luckily, there are no classes today. From tomorrow, you’ll handle miscellaneous class preparations, like gathering necessary materials or setting up magical combat practice sessions. Any questions?”
Having sorted everything in Kevin’s head, Oliver shook his head.
“No, not about what you mentioned.”
The pen that was busily moving stopped for a moment and then started moving again.
“…So you’re saying you have other questions?”
“Yes. Would you mind if I ask?”
“I’d like to tell you to buzz off since I’m busy, but for the sake of work morale, I’ll allow just one question. Go ahead.”
Originally, he planned to ask about the clock apocalypse, but considering Kevin’s workload, the atmosphere, and the situation, he decided to postpone that question.
It seemed much better to ask when he could get a more detailed answer.
“During my arrival today, some students whispered about me.”
“Really?”
It wasn’t a surprised voice. Rather, it sounded more like a reaction from someone who already knew.
“Do you happen to know why that is? I don’t understand. When I first arrived, nobody even gave me a glance… Is it really that noteworthy that I fought a magic tower student and tied?”
“Well, if a mere employee with mana deficiency didn’t lose to the promising heir of the Redhill family, that could be a possibility.”
“The promising heir of the Redhill family?”
“Yeah, just so you know, the Redhill family is a prestigious family with quite a reputation in the Agni School. Derick Redhill is part of that family. He’s receiving quite a lot of expectations.”
Oliver knew that the quality and quantity of mana Derick possessed were different from other students, but he didn’t know it was to that extent.
“Then, was it a mistake to fight?”
“It’s not necessarily like that. The buzz will die down in less than a week. It was noisy for a day or two after you went on vacation, but it soon became quiet. It’s just a temporary fuss because they saw you again. If you stay quiet for a few days, it will subside. It’s not easy to maintain interest in a single incident here.”
“Um… I see?” replied Oliver.
The explanation matched exactly with the emotional state he had observed—shallow and fleeting interest.
“To be honest, the interest in you isn’t that great. To be even more honest, it’s not so much interest in you as it is in Derick’s humiliation.”
“Why is that?”
“The magic tower is a place where competition and politics prevail, and the only things to be happy about are one’s own achievements or the misfortune of others. Do you want to know more?”
Oliver nodded his head. He was interested because he had read stories about it in the diaries or records of fallen wizards.
“Then, I’ll tell you later. Not now, I’m busy. You should go to your seat and start doing what I asked you to do.”
Kevin stopped the conversation at the most interesting part. Oliver felt disappointed, but he decided to follow Kevin’s words.
It was true that they were busy, and as Kevin said, he could hear the story later. For now, Oliver decided to focus on his own work.
Kevin’s words were not wrong.
On his first day back at work after the vacation, people showed interest in Oliver, but the next day, the number of people halved. After three or four days, everyone seemed to forget about Oliver and no longer paid attention to him.
It was the moment that proved Kevin’s statement that it was difficult to maintain continuous attention at the Magic Tower.
Oliver realized he had been worrying unnecessarily and focused on his assigned tasks.
It wasn’t particularly difficult.
Thanks to Kevin’s kindness, he left the week’s class lessons in Oliver’s office, which allowed Oliver to easily catch up on the lessons he missed during his vacation.
The necessary supplies and textbooks were always neatly informed, so all Oliver had to do was prepare them when he had some free time.
Other tasks consisted of simple errands and miscellaneous chores that occasionally came up.
There was no significant hardship compared to before… In fact, one could say it had become a bit easier.
Whether it was thanks to the match with Derick or not, the way the Magic Tower’s students and other employees treated Oliver had become much softer.
Before, he was an outsider who was reluctantly dealt with, but now he was acknowledged as an insider to some extent.
As a result, he no longer had to take on work pushed away by others and could receive tasks fairly distributed among other employees.
Personally, the time wasn’t too bad for Oliver.
He could build rapport with other employees and exchange a few words. As time passed, he was able to greet students as well.
Most of these students attended Kevin’s classes and were mostly students who did not receive much attention at the Magic Tower. However, occasionally, high-achieving students would also talk to him.
Most of those students had some ulterior motives, but what mattered was exchanging conversations.
That’s how Oliver was adapting smoothly to the Magic Tower after returning from his vacation.
At least until the administration department of the Magic Tower requested support.
“Why are you telling me to go to some countryside in Northland?”
Kevin asked the official from the Magic Tower’s administration department.