Chapter 47 Return
Nova stared blankly at the lines extending towards his chest. Although the God's Blessed One claimed it was a useless wound, the lines depicting the storm lacked the unevenness of scar tissue. Instead, they powerfully outlined the clean, clear lines of chest texture, reminiscent of the strange and mysterious painted totems on the bodies of great creatures in ancient legends.
The hallucinatory song that had once drawn him in the darkness also disappeared. The great creature opened its eyes, lowered its light golden eyelashes that were almost transparent in the moonlight, and looked at him quietly and gently, its pupils like a murmuring, melting ocean.
Nova blinked slowly, and his stagnant brain finally began to work slowly.
"...Why are you in my bed?"
He asked darkly, his tone like he was questioning a cat that had snuck into bed in the middle of the night.
As night fell on Port Morris, they boarded the return ship smoothly. Before leaving, the professor burned the paper filled with the incomprehensible scribbles—actually Chinese characters—that he had painstakingly compiled over a long period of time without hesitation.
Seeing that people were a little surprised, the black-haired young man casually tapped his solar plexus: "It's all in my brain. Leaving traces is a hidden danger."
The professor wanted to chat with the other person for a few more words, but the other person said very firmly that he needed to rest, and then they went back to their own rooms and went to their own beds - yes, the savior finally didn't have to share a room with him anymore - although Nova didn't care where the other person had rested before, it didn't mean that he could tolerate being suddenly confronted by someone in the middle of the night.
Even if someone used it and threw it away, the God-favored One wouldn't be upset. He half-raised his body carelessly, his scattered golden hair brushing against Nova's neck, causing him to subconsciously frown at the subtle tickling sensation.
"You were struggling hard just now, and your breathing was very rapid... Did you have a nightmare?" Azuka touched the back of his enemy's neck, which was soaked with cold sweat, as if nothing had happened. The messy pajamas on his chest, full of creases from being squeezed, showed that the culprit of the night attack was clearly someone else.
The other person was silent for a moment, then replied coldly, "I can't remember."
The black-haired young man yawned lightly and closed his eyes again in annoyance. Anyone who often stays up late knows that the most uncomfortable thing is not having to carry out daily activities after pulling an all-nighter, but falling asleep again and being awakened again. He now has a splitting headache.
"Go away," he said tiredly with his eyes closed, "You're not a child who's afraid of sleeping alone..."
The other person seemed to chuckle softly. Cool fingers pressed into his hair, kneading it gently with just the right amount of pressure. His aching brain gradually relaxed. Nova was now torn between an impatience to push the other person off and a seemingly comfortable laziness. By the time he opened his eyes again, it was already daylight, and the other person had vanished without a trace, just as if the magnificent existence he had seen in the moonlight had been a dream.
...Is that guy becoming more and more presumptuous in front of him?
He stared at the shaky ceiling in the cabin, thinking expressionlessly.
The professor labeled the protagonist himself as "a huge puzzle", "a useful partner and tool", "an incomprehensible psychopath" and other impolite annotations. Now he should probably add "an insatiable skin-hungry patient".
The other party invaded his living habits bit by bit in a soft and gentle manner, taking over trivial matters without making a sound, like a careful and considerate assistant. In a sense, it was very useful - but also weirdly creepy, reminiscent of those strange creatures in the deep sea that would drill into the host's body, devour and replace the other's internal organs.
…but it doesn’t matter.
He lowered his eyes indifferently. If this could make the other person let down their guard, gradually reveal those thrilling secrets hidden in his past, and seek the possibility of returning home... then all the hypocrisy, insensitivity, mistakes, and impulsiveness would be worth it. After all, humans have always been like this: taming and being tamed always complement each other.
The voyage later became monotonous, with no crazy pagans or crazy sea creatures - of course everyone on the ship was grateful for this.
After leaving Port Morris, the Cardinal's slightly aloof attitude was like a wind vane, causing the overly enthusiastic and meaningless conversation to subside, but the professor was relieved. No one stopped him, so during the relatively short time at sea, he almost copied the entire diagram of the ship's magic circle structure. Perhaps because he was used to sketching flora and fauna for years, he was actually quite good at it. If he didn't do this, he could even make a living as an artist. He completely ignored the complicated glances that Cardinal Miller occasionally gave him.
As for the other chosen one, he had successfully conquered all the professor's colleagues with his gentle and bright smile, which belonged to a young man. Some people even secretly persuaded him not to become Professor Brody's assistant - the other party had a cold and strange temper, could not pay much, and was very strict and serious. Working under him was not a good thing.
What's more, as a commoner, this child has only attended a church school and probably has no knowledge of academic majors. In addition, he has a very eye-catching face, so it is inevitable that there will be some unpleasant rumors.
It would be better to take this opportunity to ask for help from the bigwigs of the Glorious Church, and use the reputation of having saved the distinguished guests of the Church to find an opportunity to enroll in the St. Bartolomeo School of Magic.
"Professor Brody is a good man. I have no family, and I begged him to take me in and give me a job." The blond young man blinked his clear, beautiful blue eyes and spoke in the less fluent Common language. "It was he who did something that day to lure away the people chasing us. I was injured and couldn't walk fast, but he didn't abandon me."
Silly boy, you are a warlock after all, and Brody is just an ordinary person, how could he abandon you?
The other party shook his head in frustration. However, the child had taken some kind of magic potion, and his eyes were full of admiration when he talked about the eccentric scholar.
The priests who could accompany the cardinal on his mission were all prominent figures, so naturally they wouldn't show much favor to a commoner who had nearly been enslaved. The students who accompanied him were also gifted students. Besides admiration and curiosity for this incredibly beautiful yet incredibly weak peer, they felt a mixture of pity and disdain from the strong for the weak.
Especially after the gossip that the other party might take the opportunity to get in through the back door reached the ears of this group of young geniuses, and the second-year head Percy Brody expressed his contempt and disgust for this without any hesitation, Azuka always saw students from St. Bartolomeo's School of Warlocks deliberately looking at him with a strange look, and they would subconsciously blush when he looked at them.
Later, someone even came to him secretly to show his friendship and said that they would protect him in the future. After learning that he would not be admitted to school, they ran away with a sad face - in short, it was not too different from Azuka's experience in his previous life.
The professor had no idea about this chaotic drama that involved "The boss pretends to be a pig to eat the tiger", "When the charming male protagonist maxes out his beauty value", "The domineering school bully falls in love with me", etc. He didn't know which app it should be assigned to. It was not until the ship of the Glorious Church docked at the port of Baita Town that he came back to his senses from those messy subjects.
The seminary scholars, who had finally returned alive, were almost overjoyed when they saw the familiar port. Amidst the cheers, Professor Oswin's expression suddenly changed for a moment.
"...I suddenly remembered something." Nova saw his colleague slowly squeeze next to him, revealing an expression that was difficult to speak.
"That's right, we all thought you were lost at sea..."
Being lost at sea is no different from being dead these days.
Professor Oswin hesitated, his expression as if he was constipated, and Nova suddenly had a bad feeling.
As expected, the other party continued with a grunt, "So, the day before you came back, in the private letter I sent to the teaching assistant, I accidentally mentioned the 'bad news' of your possible death. Calculating the time, it must have been several days ago..."
Nova, who was forced to die: "..."
"...Does Dean Rabelais know about this?" he asked in an extremely calm tone.
"Well, not necessarily," Professor Oswin, who knew very well how difficult it was for his teaching assistant to keep secrets, said feebly, "Although Matthew is a bit of a big mouth, this shouldn't be the case..."
"It seems that he knows."
Nova took a deep breath and gazed at the group of seminarians from White Tower University who had arrived at the dock to greet them, having received advance notice from the Glorious Church. Standing at the front was an elderly man with graying hair and beard. As he drew closer, Nova saw his dean, dressed in black. Compared to his recent memory, he looked visibly older and more haggard.
Then, his mentor's eyes met his own. Suddenly, his eyes widened, his lips trembled, and he collapsed, clutching his chest. Chaos erupted on the shore. The God-Favored One raised an eyebrow, but caught sight of the professor's back out of the corner of his eye.
The other person seemed to be walking in a hurry, and the brief glance on his face revealed a rare nervousness and...guilty conscience?
The seminary was in such a state of chaos that the cardinal was left alone. Mr. Brody, who had come back from the dead, squatted in the crowd, laid the person down, and sternly asked the onlookers to stand further away to keep the air circulating, and then go find a therapist.
While Nova was worried, he suddenly felt someone pulling his sleeve slightly. When he lowered his head, he found that the old man was secretly winking at him.
"Get rid of the Glorious Church," the other party said to him silently.
Worrying so much that the villain couldn't even see through the poor acting immediately: "..."
He pulled something out of the man's chest pocket and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. Then he looked up and said coldly to the bewildered Vice Dean standing nearby, "The Dean brought some quick-acting heart pills—but to be on the safe side, I'll take him to a therapist first. I'll trouble you with this."
The other party naturally agreed, even though he had no idea what the quick-acting heart pills were - even the Glowing Church couldn't say anything, so they could only watch as the other party helped the old man leave quickly. The young man named Azuka hesitated for a moment, said I'll go help, and chased after him.
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