Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 362 The Undead with No Future

"Did I invest too much emotion? Perhaps without realizing it, I did indeed superimpose the shadows of Wayne and Charlotte."

Sophia's smile faded slightly, and she sighed softly.

"After Charlotte was born, my health suddenly deteriorated. So, the total time I could spend caring for and being close to Charlotte was very limited. Especially in the last two years. You know, my strange illness caused all parts of my body to slowly melt away. And how could I let my child see such a scene? No, I should say, no one should see it. So, I may have left Charlotte with many lonely memories. Not only that, she also became very ill because of me. So, I kept thinking, am I a very unqualified mother? And then, I just transferred this guilt onto Wayne."

Sofia said frankly.

Her voice remained calm, but the bitterness within it was undeniable.

Although Sophia has always displayed a positive attitude since her appearance, it's as if she's only been absent for a short period. She remains the witch's disciple who travels the world with her teacher.

But in reality, she knew better than anyone that she was just a ghost who had appeared in this world by chance.

"However, this might not be a bad thing. Wayne is a special case. So, the typical scenario where you appear as a savior after she suffered so much in her family of origin might not work. In that case, you can try submitting it to me. Although it may take a different turn than you expect, I will try my best to produce results that will satisfy you."

Sofia indicated that she was not merely immersed in "role-playing".

Since the other party had already said so, Ritas did not raise any further objections.

"From the moment you start reflecting on whether you are a good mother, I think you have already surpassed many parents. At least, you are much better than the kind of mother who only treats her child as a tool."

After receiving the response he expected, Ritas then started talking about some trivial matters.

"Oh? Our Professor Ritas can praise people after all. Well, he is a mentor after all. A teacher who only criticizes is probably the worst kind of teacher in the world. 'He can speak human language occasionally.'"

"."

How could there be such a huge difference between what is said and what is recorded?
While he was internally complaining, Ritas also felt a pang of unease.

Because, in the notebooks left behind by Sofia, although a considerable amount of space was occupied by unimportant words, there were also many records of things like inspiration and wisdom.

But now, almost everything she records is just her own feelings.

As expected, it was because of that.
"Since you still have many lingering feelings about Xia Luoluo, why not take some time to meet up with her and the others? Although time is limited, it should still be enough for a proper meeting."

"No no no no."

Sofia waved her hands repeatedly.
"Although I don't think that Xia Luoluo is old enough to have any psychological problems because of me, it's still better for us not to meet in this world until the very end."

Sofia didn't seem to want to see her daughter, nor did she seem to be acting out of fear or anything like that.

However, he resolutely refused to do so.

"Then you can also come up with a solution based on all the information we have now. A better solution than what we are currently implementing."

Ritas proposed again.

Sofia just kept shaking her head.

"It's too late to turn back now—that's just a joke, of course. As I said before, no matter how much information I acquire, nothing can be created from me anymore. My essence is a 'record' based on a special kind of magic. It shouldn't possess any kind of spirituality. It should only be a dull, instrumental existence that can only respond to specific situations. The reason it's like this now is because Charlotte became the regional leader, and even though I didn't actually appear in her region, she still accumulated a lot of 'memories' about me."

After thinking for a moment, Sofia made an analogy.

“I am like a book now. You can read anything that is already recorded in this book, but you can’t expect the book to fill in the parts that were not recorded before.”

At this point, Sophia gazed at Ritas, whose face had been somewhat gloomy, and a smile returned to her lips.

"As a 'book' that was never meant to have a future, I am pleased with the additional stories that have been added, and I am also pleased with the 'ending' you are about to give it. So, there is no need to be swayed by me or by anyone else, Ritas. You have chosen the right path, and it is the only path to face the current situation."

Everywhere my eyes fell, there was familiarity.
"Wait! Where am I?!"

In the stronghold where Ritas had hidden, the goddess of bathing opened her eyes and looked around in confusion.

"Roar--!"

Before finding her companion, the goddess of bathing saw "Livis Flower" in a pot, constantly yelling at her.

"What the hell is this thing?"

The goddess of the bath, who couldn't help but shrink back, saw a watering can-like object not far from the potted plant, with a note next to it.

"Hmm. So watering it regularly will stop the noise? Just watering it is enough?"

After glancing at the contents of the note, the goddess carefully picked up the watering can and watered the potted plant.

Sure enough, the bonsai soon stopped making that beast-like roar.

"Yay! Wait, what am I doing?"

By acting foolishly, the goddess of the bath dispelled her discomfort with the unfamiliar scenery.

It wasn't that the Goddess of Bath was complacent; she felt that her ability to withstand pressure in all aspects was becoming stronger and stronger.

After a quick glance around the room and finding only a pile of incomprehensible books scattered everywhere, the goddess of the bath pushed open the door and went out.

A vast, empty space filled with the feeling of sand and dust.
The scene outside looked somewhat familiar to the Bathing Goddess.

Soon, she saw a corner of the large, empty space, where Xia Luoluo was sitting on a stone stool she had picked up from somewhere, looking both confused and questioning the meaning of life.

"what!"

Seeing the goddess of bathing emerge from the room, Charlotte raised her head and spoke in a wise voice.

Soon, Millie, who had also come out of another room, joined them.

Seeing her companions gather, the goddess of bathing breathed a sigh of relief.

Although, Millie seems to be getting stuck on some new obsession.
"Have we been here before?"

Xia Luoluo was still staring at the somewhat familiar-looking large hollow. "Back in the snow mountain area, after you and Sister Yu fainted, you've been lying here ever since."

Millie recognized him and said so, while the other two immediately made an "oh" sound.

"Wasn't that snow mountain region destroyed? How come this place still exists? Or rather, why were we reborn here?"

Because the sacrifice happened relatively early, Xia Luoluo, who was most confused about the current situation, asked a series of questions.

"Right. The entire snow mountain area was gone, wasn't it? But since we were all unconscious at the time, and Millie went somewhere else, it seems that Xiao Li came and did something during that time, or maybe she even possessed me and did something!"

As she said these words, the goddess of bathing suddenly felt that she herself was somewhat unclean.

But upon closer reflection, it seems that her current body originally belonged to Ritas.
"Yeah, there probably isn't anyone else who could do these things. In fact, that guy Ritas is practically doing whatever he wants in this world! To leave such a piece in a destroyed area and to change the location where we respawned... Shouldn't he have been part of the surprise attack we encountered? These things don't seem like something a victim could do. It's more like he's a mastermind behind everything!"

"Haha, that's true."

The goddess of bathing said with a dry laugh.

If I had to pinpoint it, it was during the time she first arrived in this world and spent in the "Carrier Pigeon" area that the Goddess of Bath could vaguely sense the anomalies of the fairy tale world, the power struggles between different factions, and so on.

But ever since she contacted Ritas, she has completely given up thinking. To the point that now, she is utterly unable to comprehend what is happening.

Next, the Bath Goddess and Millie recounted what they encountered and saw after Charlotte left the stage.

Although Millie seemed preoccupied with some thoughts and had a low spirits, she still cooperated with the goddess of the bath to convey the most basic information.

"Corteline."

Soon after hearing about Cortriene's situation, Charlotte, following Millie's lead, also became depressed.
"I had no idea that she had been suppressing those things all this time."

Xia Luoluo looked quite remorseful.

Because she was practically the person closest to Cortriene. And when Cortriene suddenly ran off to the magic academy, she was angry with Cortriene for a long time.

It's as if she never tried to understand the other person, never knew that every choice the other person made required immense awareness.

"Actually, you can't really blame Charlotte. Because...Cortrine is the older sister. Older sisters tend to keep many things to themselves and bear them alone. Their motivation might not be some grand idea like 'I must protect my younger sister no matter what.' It might be something simpler, or perhaps a little more naive, just wanting to show their coolest side to their younger sister."

The goddess of bathing seemed to have some insight into this matter, and unconsciously uttered these words.

Unfortunately, Charlotte and Millie, who were not in a good mood or state, did not seem to listen to what she said at all.

Ugh.
The goddess of bathing sighed silently.

Whether it was when she faced Cortelne at the end, or now.

Normally, shouldn't her verbal attacks be accurate every time?
Why does it keep failing to fire properly, each time?
With this in mind, even the last member of the trio, the Bathing Goddess, seemed to begin to "fall" for him.

time flies.

Although the morale of the trio was quite low, they didn't all remain silent and withdrawn.

They still tried their best to discuss the current situation, what was happening in the fairy tale world, and what the next steps should be.

However, the more we discuss the "air pressure" in the space, the lower it seems to become.

In the current fairy tale world, apart from the "Wanderers" who have never appeared, it seems that only three forces remain.

One of them is Cortriene, who can kill regional leaders, destroy her own region, and even cut down the Golden Apple Tree, seemingly becoming the complete ruler of this world or a "natural disaster".

The other is Ritas, who has been elusive from beginning to end, but is most likely actually solving the problems.

There's another one, which is the three of them.

Compared to Cortriene, who possesses absolute power, and Ritas, who possesses information and wisdom that penetrates to the essence, the three of them seem to have nothing.
Originally, the rules that protected them with the Golden Apple allowed them to collect information at any cost. But now, they've even lost that last bit of "safety net".

What made the three of them even more helpless was that the information they had obtained at the cost of their lives seemed to be nothing of great importance.

They witnessed Cortrinet's life firsthand, learned how she had been struggling with the demons within her, and were outraged by the malice that persisted in this fairytale world, which brought out the demons within her in the worst possible way.

But that's all there is to it.

They didn't know how to use the information they had gained, or even what to do next.

"Perhaps, doing nothing is the best option."

Regardless of the direction they explored, the conversation seemed destined for a dead end, ultimately concluding with Xia Luoluo's words.

"Even if we do nothing, Ritas should be able to solve these problems we face. Before, even though he said almost nothing, he would at least take some guiding actions. But now, he left a note telling us to water the flowers, but didn't provide any further guidance. This probably means that there's absolutely nothing left for us to do. Even this space where we were reborn is like that. It should have been destroyed, but he preserved this hidden space. He sent us here, probably because he doesn't want us to wander around anymore."

As Xia Luoluo spoke, she lowered her head.

Although she cared a lot about Cortrinet, she had been suppressing her desire to rush out and have a serious talk with Cortrinet.

But reason told her that with Cortelene still being manipulated, charging directly at her with her current strength would only be a pointless death.

Even Xia Luoluo, the biggest critic of Ritas, is now saying things like, "From now on, we can only rely on Ritas." This perhaps indicates that the three of them truly have no better options at the moment.

However, when both Charlotte and Millie had already lost hope in their actions...

The goddess of bathing, who hadn't expressed her opinion for a while, was simply accumulating it, and continuing to accumulate it.

Then, when Millie was saying things like "it's better not to cause trouble for the professor," she suddenly stood up.

And with exceptional firmness, he uttered a single word.

"No!"

(End of this chapter)