Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 238: A Chance Encounter (5)

Without realizing it, Ludger reached out and caught the darkness spirit as it flew straight at his face.

The sensation in his fingertips was soft and fluffy, and while he found that curious, what puzzled him more was the spirit’s unexpected behavior.

A spirit doesn’t fear me?

As someone who wielded divine power, Ludger was usually avoided by spirits.

Of course, their attitude varied depending on the spirit’s rank.

Intermediate spirits could cooperate if they were of the right temperament.

But in general, intermediate spirits either avoided or outright rejected Ludger.

And yet this one ran straight toward me the moment it saw me.

Was it brave? Or simply fearless?

Or perhaps, despite its appearance, it was actually a high-grade spirit.

“Ah!”

Selina cried out belatedly when she realized her spirit had charged at Ludger and ended up in his grasp.

“M-Mr. Ludger! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Here.”

Ludger held out the spirit in his hand.

Even while being held, the little thing glared fiercely up at him, refusing to look away.

Selina quickly took the black fluffball back and cradled it tightly in her arms.

“Hey, you can’t just go around jumping at people.”

The spirit squirmed in protest, clearly displeased, but Selina didn’t let go and kept a firm expression on her face.

She looked just like a mother scolding her misbehaving child.

“Astonishing. I didn’t think it would actually be a spirit of darkness.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve only ever heard about them. This is my first time actually seeing one.”

“What was the reaction from the other Spirit Studies professors?”

“Excuse me? I haven’t shown this to anyone else yet. You’re the first, Mr. Ludger.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Ludger stroked his chin as he studied the spirit of darkness.

Remarkable.

Even within his extensive knowledge, the rarity and potential of a darkness spirit were beyond estimation.

Yet Selina didn’t seem to grasp the significance of the spirit she had contracted with.

It would be better to explain now before she became overwhelmed later.

“Miss Selina. Do you understand what kind of spirit a darkness spirit truly is?”

“Um?”

That reaction confirmed it—she didn’t.

“Isn’t it just a rare elemental type?”

“It’s not that simple. Miss Selina, what do you think ‘darkness’ is?”

“Uh... am I supposed to answer that now?”

Selina was startled by how Ludger had suddenly slipped into teacher mode like flipping a switch.

“What’s your opinion?”

It didn’t feel like she could dodge the question, so she gave it some thought and answered seriously.

“Well, darkness is just pitch-black emptiness, right? The opposite of light?”

“That’s what most people think, yes, but...”

“Oh. So I was wrong...”

Selina drooped at the sound of Ludger’s noncommittal response.

“Miss Selina. What would the world be like if absolutely nothing existed?”

“Nothing?”

“Yes. No grass, no trees, no land, no wind, no water. Not even light. A state of complete nothingness—utter void. What form do you imagine that takes?”

“Well...”

Selina instinctively looked down at the spirit she was holding.

“Don’t tell me... this little one?”

“Exactly. That is darkness.”

Ludger pointed to a narrow path nearby—more specifically, to the shadows cast in the alley.

“A state of total absence. That is what darkness is. It is not the opposite of light. Darkness is the state in which light, and everything else, is absent.”

“Then...”

“What I mean is: darkness is far more fundamental and vast than what you may have thought.”

Take nighttime, for example.

Even on the darkest night, complete darkness doesn’t exist.

In a forest at midnight where no artificial light reaches, your eyes can still see something.

There is always some form of starlight or moonlight—no matter how faint.

Even clouds that cover the sky can’t completely block light.

All objects reflect light, however minuscule the amount.

This is why scholars refer to darkness not as an entity, but as a minimization of light.

The complete nonexistence of light is, in reality, impossible.

The same goes for darkness-attribute magic.

In the end, magic of darkness is simply an imitation of true darkness made through mana.

[Ater Nocturnus], the shadow magic Ludger used, was no exception.

Though it took the form of pitch-black shadow, it could never be considered pure darkness.

Even in the Mage Tower, elemental attributes were associated with colors—but the seat for darkness, black, was always left blank.

But Selina’s darkness spirit was something else entirely.

It was pure darkness, untainted by any noise or impurity.

Spirits are born from pure natural elements—spiritual in origin.

That meant her darkness spirit wasn’t just some artificial imitation formed through magic.

It was true darkness.

“It may be a truly extraordinary spirit.”

“Huh? This little one?”

Selina didn’t quite understand why Ludger was saying something so grand.

Of course she didn’t—she was hugging what looked like a tiny, adorable fluffball.

Even if she was told it was amazing, it didn’t hit her intuitively. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Ludger rubbed his chin again and asked with some hesitation:

“This may seem like an odd question, but... Miss Selina, do you believe in the existence of gods?”

“Uh, well... probably? I guess if I had to choose, I’d say I do.”

“And why do you believe?”

Why?

Selina found the question a bit strange but answered calmly.

“Well, lots of people believe in gods, and there are historical records of divine miracles and such, right?”

“Then let me ask something else. Do you believe demons exist?”

“Eh? No way. Even though I like rumors and ghost stories, I don’t believe in things like that.”

Selina assumed Ludger was joking—but he asked again, this time more seriously.

“And why don’t you believe they exist?”

“W-what? Because... they don’t? I mean, I’m just saying that because there’s no proof.”

“Can you prove to me that demons don’t exist?”

Selina’s mouth fell open.

By definition, proof is applied to things that do exist.

How could one prove something didn’t exist?

Ludger watched her confused expression and gave a faint smile.

“Miss Selina. It’s easy to prove that something exists. You just need a single piece of evidence to show it.”

“Right...”

“But if you want to prove that something doesn’t exist, you must prove that it’s nowhere in the world.”

At the word nowhere, Selina’s eyes widened.

She finally understood what Ludger was getting at.

“That’s true. Even if I say demons don’t exist, there might be one /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ hiding somewhere that no one’s ever discovered.”

Selina wasn’t a teacher at Seorn for nothing. She quickly grasped the implications.

“Exactly. It’s easy to prove existence, but impossible to prove absence. And that spirit...”

Ludger gestured toward the darkness spirit nestled in her arms.

“That spirit is a being born from pure absence. From true darkness. The complete absence of light. It is a spirit that proves that absence.”

“I see...”

Selina nodded slowly, finally understanding why Ludger had spoken about the spirit in such a way.

Then, as something dawned on her, she flinched and asked:

“Uh, wait... you’re not planning to experiment on it or anything like that, are you?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Huh? So you’re not?”

“I only said all this because I thought you might not fully understand the value of the spirit you’ve just contracted.”

Ludger had never had any particular interest in spirits to begin with.

“To research spirits seriously, you need to be able to connect with them. And I’m not suited for that.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Selina recalled that Ludger had a natural constitution that made spirits avoid him.

In fact, low-grade spirits were so afraid of him they would flee on sight.

“But then why did this one charge straight at you?”

“That... I’m not sure.”

As Ludger said this, he glanced toward the puffball in her arms.

It was still glaring at him with a look that said I won’t lose.

Though he couldn’t explain the spirit’s animosity, something about it gave him a strange sense of déjà vu.

“What name did you give this spirit?”

“Oh, this little one?”

Selina smiled brightly and said,

“Esmeralda.”

* * *

In the midst of the commotion caused by the water explosion and the crowd gathering noisily around it, Merilda and Sheryl both realized something important.

‘We lost Selina!’

‘Mr. Ludger disappeared!’

Amid the unexpected chaos, Ludger and Selina had vanished.

Though Merilda and Sheryl had opposite reasons for concern, the unease was mutual.

Merilda was anxious because she didn’t believe Selina could handle things on her own.

Sheryl, on the other hand, was worried something might happen now that the two were alone together.

‘What do I do? I can’t search for them by myself.’

‘No—if I don’t act fast, they might finish their date peacefully!’

Both troubled in their own thoughts, the two exchanged glances.

“...Until we find them.”

“Let’s work together.”

Thus formed a temporary alliance.

But even with two pairs of hands instead of one, finding the missing pair still felt like an impossible task.

“Where could they have gone?”

“They probably headed for the most likely spot nearby.”

“Like where, exactly...?”

“A date spot, maybe...?”

Royal Street was lined with all sorts of attractions, but if they had to pick the most likely destination for a romantic outing—

The musical theater!

A venue rumored to be a must-visit for anyone coming to Royal Street at least once.

Even if Ludger himself might not have suggested it, Selina almost certainly would have urged him to go.

However, there was a problem: neither of them was very familiar with the geography of the area.

Even finding a signpost was difficult with the crowds packed this densely.

Wasting time was not an option for them—they needed to catch up as quickly as possible.

That meant finding someone who knew the area well.

But no matter where they looked, all they saw were out-of-town visitors.

‘At this rate, we’ll lose them completely.’

Just then, someone caught Merilda and Sheryl’s eyes.

“Mmm. I sense the presence of a beautiful lady in distress...”

“......”

“......”

A blond man with tanned, exotic skin appeared, dressed casually as if out for a stroll.

There was no doubt he was a local—but the problem was the unmistakable frivolous energy radiating from him.

‘He seems... like trouble.’

‘He looks like the kind of guy who’d be a hassle to get involved with.’

Under normal circumstances, they would have avoided him—but given the situation, Merilda, as the older of the two, took the initiative and stepped forward.

“Excuse me. Could I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course, beautiful lady. Would you care to join me for a cup of tea? My, you have excellent taste.”

To say such a thing upon first meeting—he clearly wasn’t a normal person.

‘Seriously? Does he think I’m that easy?’

Hmph.

With that thought, Merilda crossed her arms.

“Oh my. Forgive me. I tend to act like this when I see someone pretty.”

“...Well, I’ll let it slide this time.”

Merilda was promptly won over by his smooth compliments.

‘...Professor Merilda... Your guard is way too low.’

Sheryl watched the interaction beside her, her expression increasingly dubious.

Meanwhile, Merilda and the man continued talking.

“Ah, looking for the musical theater, are we? I know the place well. Allow me to guide you.”

“Oh my! Thank you so much!”

He didn’t exactly seem trustworthy, but Sheryl had no choice but to follow along too.

* * *

“...Esmeralda, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you choose that name?”

“I don’t know... It just felt right. I kept hearing that name in my dreams, over and over. I felt like there had to be a reason this little one ended up forming a contract with me.”

“...I see.”

Ludger recalled Esmeralda.

The one who should have been Selina’s true self.

A soul that had been shackled and puppeteered by Quasimodo—until she was finally freed and ascended into the sky.

The spirit in Selina’s arms likely had no real connection to that Esmeralda.

At most, it shared her hair color—black.

Even so...

“It’s a good name.”

Selina’s face lit up at his words.

If she could just keep the mood going like this, she thought she might be able to casually suggest their next destination.

Just as Selina was nervously figuring out how to bring it up—

──!

The spirit of darkness in her arms, Esmeralda, suddenly shuddered and vanished in retreat, as if escaping.

“H-huh? Esmeralda?”

And that wasn’t the end of it.

Ludger’s face, previously calm, turned deathly serious.

“Mr. Ludger?”

Selina called out, but he didn’t respond.

His gaze was locked on the end of the narrow, empty alleyway.

Ludger was always composed—but not this time.

‘Is he... afraid? Of what?’

Ludger Cherish, afraid—just the thought of it was shocking.

Selina’s gaze naturally followed his.

There stood a girl.

A blonde girl so beautiful she looked like a porcelain doll.

She wore a wine-colored dress adorned with layers of frills, and held a parasol in one hand to block the sun.

She looked exactly like the daughter of some noble family out for a walk alone.

No one knew when she had arrived—but there she stood, still as stone, staring straight at them.

And when Selina met her ruby-like red eyes, a chill ran down her spine.

‘Something about her... feels wrong...’

Then, the girl’s pale pink lips moved.

“It’s been a while... my student.”