Chapter 35

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Translated by Sylph

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net.
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In the meantime, Evi had already organized her books and neatly put her notebook into her bag.

Then she asked him a question.

“Professor, is there no assignment today?”

It wasn’t a worried look, but an expectant one.

“There is! There certainly is!”

Malles, who was opening a book with the thought that he couldn’t disappoint that expectation, hesitated for a moment.

He wanted to give a huge amount like last time.

‘But she shouldn’t get worn out by doing that.’

Whether she had made an effort to do the absurd assignment he gave, fatigue was visible on her face.

What if he gave a lot again and she got tired of it?

What if she then decided that Professor Malles’s class was indeed not for her and went to another professor’s class?

‘That won’t do!’

Malles hurriedly rummaged through the front part and pointed to a problem he thought had an appropriate level of difficulty.

“Here, this one, solve just this one.”

“Just this one?”

“Yes. It’s not good to overdo it from the beginning. A person must do things systematically and step by step.”

It wasn’t something for the person who had given an absurd assignment on the first day to say, but Malles shamelessly pretended not to know and handed her the book.

“Can I take the book today as well?”

“Of course. Didn’t I say that the Gifted Center doesn’t give books until the classes officially begin? How are you going to solve the problem without even looking at the book?”

“I memorized it! It’s just one problem.”

At the sight of Evi looking as if such a thing was natural, Malles felt a surge of emotion.

To think she wasn’t just fast at understanding but also had such excellent memorization.

‘It seems I was misunderstanding the Gifted Center.’

He had heard that because it was the first year of recruiting students after the war, those who wanted to somehow catch the Emperor’s eye for the position of his adoptee pushed in all their children and relatives.

So he had thought there would be nothing to see, but to think there was a child worthy of the name Gifted Center.

“No. Take it anyway. If you have time left, look at other things too.”

“Then what about you, Professor?”

“As if I wouldn’t have my own book. Take it without worry.”

Malles spoke with the voice of a more than benevolent grandfather.

At those words, Evi carefully held the book and gave a bow.

“Thank you. I’ll bring prettier flowers to the next class.”

“Eh? Flowers?”

Professor Malles’s eyes widened at Evi’s words.

“Could it be that you were the one who brought those flowers?”

Evi nodded her head as if it were natural.

There is a huge garden and a greenhouse on one side of the Gifted Center.

If one goes there in the morning, the staff in charge there cut the flowers they grew to decorate various places in the Gifted Center.

As they do so, slightly damaged flowers are bound to come out.

Evi, who found out that she could take those freely, stopped by there before coming to class today and received flowers that were as least damaged as possible.

‘The classroom looked too empty.’

Moreover, since it seemed cleaning was also a bit lacking, she came early today and opened the windows to ventilate.

She even found cleaning tools to sweep and wipe clean, and she also put flowers on the professor’s desk, where only a few books were.

She didn’t have a particular purpose. She just thought it would be better if this place where she would study was a bit prettier and cleaner.

“Then could it be… even the cleaning here?”

“Yes. I did it.”

At those words, Malles ended up at a loss for words.

“Who told you to clean?”

“No one. I just did it because I wanted to. I worked as a cleaner at the upper school before coming here. I’m good at cleaning.”

Malles shut his mouth again at the sight of Evi clenching her fists as if she were truly confident.

Even though she wore a uniform, there was a roughness that couldn’t be hidden, and a very quiet and polite attitude.

So he had thought she might not be a noble child, but…

Then a short bell rang again to signal the 15-minute interval.

“I’ll be going now! Because I have the next class. Thank you for the book. I’ll do my assignment diligently!”

Evi gave another bow and went out of the classroom.

Malles stared at the closed door for a long time and then approached the window.

As soon as she left the building, he saw Evi running along.

Then he saw her fall flat on her face as if she had tripped over something.

“Oh dear!”

While the surprised Malles was about to run out, Evi jumped up, dusted off her clothes, took her bag again, and ran to the building.

The sight of her running along was truly that of a squirrel.

“That fellow, really…”

At that age, it’s natural to cry and look for one’s mother after falling like that, but far from doing so, the sight of her running bravely was both admirable and pitiful.

The thought of playing a trick on the student to make her give up on the class had already vanished from his mind.

‘As a human being, how could one do such a thing?’

Having completely erased that it was what he himself had tried to do, Malles clicked his tongue.

Isn’t it the duty of a professor to cherish even a single student and teach them well until the end?

‘I should contact the parents right away.’

With that much talent, she would be able to leave great achievements in the field of mathematics in the future.

‘I’m sure she’ll do other subjects smartly too.’

He couldn’t lose such talent to other professors.

Malles packed his things and hurriedly headed to the main building of the Gifted Center.

“Oh, aren’t you Professor Malles?”

Professors who recognized him greeted him politely.

Malles was famous for not being close with other professors.

But that was only because Malles himself didn’t want it.

Actually, other professors were anxious to become close with him.

They said he was an eccentric person without sociability, but how great was the influence he had on the mathematics field of the Empire?

Even though it had been decades since he had a top disciple, the students who studied under him in the past became scholars who made a name for themselves in the fields of architecture or accounting.

But he was getting tired of the atmosphere of the academic world that was gradually rotting.

In the midst of that, there was someone who visited him, saying they wanted to learn from him.

He wasn’t a particularly talented person, but he accepted him as a disciple with the intention of valuing that passion.

But it was discovered that he approached Malles’s other disciples, saying he was their last junior, and made unreasonable requests.

Even people who knew about that, far from stopping him, approached to use Professor Malles’s fame just like that person.

Malles, who became fed up with that sight, declared that he would no longer take disciples.

Moreover, he also cut off interaction with others.

As another dozen or so years passed like that, Professor Malles’s name was naturally forgotten little by little.

Because of that, those who didn’t know the past well looked down on him.

As evidence, they said that even if Professor Malles personally conducts a class, there is only one applicant.

It wasn’t that the students weren’t understood.

It’s natural that younger professors who are active in the academic society are more popular than a professor who no longer takes disciples and will retire next year.

‘Still, I wish he would change his mind and take in some disciples… Isn’t he someone who can sway the academic society of the Empire if he makes up his mind?’

While thinking so and approaching a bit closer, the eyes of the professors widened.

The Professor Malles they remembered always had a scowl or a blunt face.

But today, he was beaming as if he had never been like that.

While everyone was surprised and couldn’t close their mouths, Professor Malles said to them.

“Evi Alden will become my disciple, so other mathematics professors, please never covet that child. Well then, I’m off.”

Leaving only those words, Malles vanished quickly to the Director’s office above.

“What did he say?”

“Who knows?”

The professors, who didn’t know the reason, just stared blankly at Professor Malles’s back in bewilderment.

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“Seraphina! Seraphina Reedum!”

Seraphina frowned the moment she heard the voice coming from outside.

Although she is on the younger side compared to other professors, she is a full-fledged Director.

In this Gifted Center where one’s rank is decided by the position they hold rather than age, there is only one person who would call her by name like this.

It was Professor Malles.

Seraphina let out a deep sigh and answered.

“Come in, Professor Malles.”

As soon as she spoke, Professor Malles kicked the door open and entered vigorously.

“Professor Malles? Where in the world is a disciple who calls their teacher that?”

“What are you saying? Who was the old man who said I’m not even his disciple if I’m not going to do only mathematics and told me to get lost!”

“Old man! You insolent thing! That’s why I didn’t think of you as a disciple!”

“You just said I was a disciple a moment ago!”

The teacher and disciple, who had the same argument as long ago, glared at each other.

Seraphina, who was about to say more, sighed after seeing the documents piled like a mountain in front of her.

“I don’t have time to argue with you, Teacher. What is your business that brought you here in person?”