5. Coffee Comes Back
5. Coffee will come back
A quiet cafe in the afternoon.
Lisbeth enjoyed the subtle scent that spreads when she grinds her coffee beans. In the past, she hadn’t even thought of a life like this, but once she started, nothing made her feel more comfortable than this. There was a time when she clicked her tongue as she watched her co-workers start knitting or gardening. It seems to be getting old.
She deftly transferred the finely ground beans to her filter paper, transferred the boiling water to a new bowl, and passed it through her filter paper.
In no time, two straight cups of coffee were ready. Lisbeth took it and went out alone.
In the hall, a long-awaited friend sat neatly.
“Sui.”
The woman with her brown braid laughed as she called the name.
“Ah, are you done?”
“You waited a long time~”
Sui took the mug from Lisbeth and opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit you for a while. Suddenly, something extraordinary happened… “
“I only heard about it. Not long ago, Wins worked part-time here. When are you going to accept the next disciplinary action, work has been comfortable for a while… “
Sui widened her eyes at Lisbeth’s joke and giggled.
“Really?”
“Did you say Alem? She’s already been here once, what.”
“Ah.”
Sui suddenly trembled in her hand holding her mug. Worse than that, she had a pupillary earthquake.
Lisbeth smiled as she glanced at her like that. They are all acquaintances who know their old self, so they are worried. Said Lisbeth, sipping her coffee as if she was no big deal.
“It’s okay. If it was her old personality, she might have turned it upside down, but now I don’t even think about it. What could she have done wrong as a freshly enlisted warrior? I don’t know what people do… “
“Good job.”
From noble mtl dot com
Sui let out a sigh of relief.
“That student is not having a normal mental problem right now. She was simply hurt a lot, not enough to talk about.”
“How bad is that?”
“I lost so many things I loved. Maybe she even herself.”
It was a plain description, but Lisbeth somehow felt the various implications contained in it. It seemed that the large and small awls could not bear to pierce the hard outer skin and were making the surface rough.
If you see him mentioning this, he probably means that his skin is on the verge of being pierced by an awl.
Lisbeth asked in a hint.
“Why are you talking about this?”
There must be a reason why she came to visit Lisbeth, who had no relation to Academia, and told her important things.
Sui, who was conflicted for a moment, opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
“Are you still thinking about returning? Lisbeth.”
“Aha.”
Lizbeth smiled bitterly.
“Do you think there are not enough workers?”
“Not now, but definitely in the future.”
Sui continued with a stiff expression.
“The fearless warriors are targeting Alem.”
Upon hearing her words, Lisbeth’s mind went blank for a moment. What is the creepiest word she hears after a while?
“…What?”
“That’s literally it. A letter like this arrived at the faculty meeting this morning.”
Sui handed over an envelope from her bosom. Receiving it straight away, Lisbeth opened her letter. And she stopped breathing for a moment.
“This is… “
“It’s bizarre, isn’t it?”
The letters that made up the sentences were all crooked and of different sizes. In the first place, it was not written with a pen, but only the necessary letters were cut and pasted from the newspaper. It was the pinnacle of inefficiency and was terribly aesthetically pleasing. It was clear that the work was simply created to offend the reader.
The contents were as follows.
Send Alem to the old school in the outskirts of District 37. I will give you one month considering Alem’s complete recovery.’
“Location 37… “
Lisbeth fell silent after reciting the words.
“This is the Non-Magic Zone.”
The non-magic zone literally refers to an area where magical energy in the air is extremely rare. There were often such areas on the outskirts of the middle dimension, and even professors tended to be reluctant to visit the Non-Magic Zone.
No matter how strong he is, from the moment his mana is limited, he has to rely solely on the physical part. Therefore, in the first place, fighting-type warriors who had been using only their bodies were often dispatched to non-magic zones.
“Yes, there was a war of words on the part of the professors this morning about what the peer was hiding.”
“If they don’t have magical powers, they would be helpless as well, but what do they believe in luring them to the non-magic zone….”
Lisbeth rubbed her forehead and muttered annoyedly. Sui, who stared at her, smiled bitterly.
“It seems like I can see a little bit of my old self. I brought this topic for no reason… Sorry.”
“In the end, seeing that the non-magic zone was even mentioned, is that where they are calling me?”
“Among all previous professors, Lisbeth is the only one who has been judged as a master only for martial arts. Everyone didn’t say anything, but they noticed me. Come see Lisbeth.”
Sui laughed bitterly.
“But I don’t want Lisbeth to be forced back to her old job. Instead, she wants to ask you one really shameless favor.”
“Tell me.”
Sui lowered her eyes and touched her mug. With her good nature, she seemed very ashamed to ask her friend for such a favor.
“If, really, if…” If Alem is endangered by the peers, then how can she not help for once?”
Because he is a professor who is not bound by magical powers, he can fully use his powers without being incapacitated in the face of sabotage than anyone else. Among the students there might be several such cases, but among the professors Lisbeth was the only one.
Even with her Sui, she couldn’t help it.
As a member in charge of the safety of Academia, she had to prepare for the worst case scenario.
Because it was unknown when and in what bizarre way the peers would launch a terror attack. Even the head of the board had been wandering around the outskirts of the city without being able to find out where they were going.
Lisbeth, who had been agonizing with her mouth shut for a long time, finally opened her mouth.
“…For me.”
Then the entrance to the cafe opened. The two of them turned their heads at the sound of the bell ringing.
“I’m here, sister.”
Winds was coming in with a tired face calling out to Lisbeth.
**
“Is it a cafe latte today?”
“Yes, both cups are takeaway…” ”
Wins, who was sitting on the table as if collapsing, answered Lisbeth’s question helplessly.
“Hello, Professor Sui… “
“Miss Winds, why are you so weak?”
Winds rolled her eyes at Sui’s kind question.
“That… I have a lot of work. It’s not even a fuss.”
“Mmm. The vigilante must also have a hard time.”
Even Sui thought, the work of the vigilantes these days was overflowing and they were about to run out of control. Instead of offering comforting words, she gently stroked the small back of the girl who was carrying a heavy burden.
“Oh, and I met the chairman today.”
Winds, who was stretched out like slime on the table, said in a flat tone, as if she were talking about the lunch menu she ate today.
Sui’s hand, which had been stroking her back, stopped and stiffened.
“Uh… What did you say?”
“I heard that there was something important, so I heard it… “
Winds spoke her words in a tone out of her soul.
“They said they would approve my magical release. Up to step 4. But how did that man know that I could go up to level 4? Well, since I was caught using a fictitious day illegally, I was immediately caught and punished… I’m going to do it coolly, I’ll do it in 5 steps just like Orien… In a mean way… “
She held on to Winds, who had turned limp, and Sui shook it around.
“That, is that real? Hey, Miss Winds?”
“Yes… It’s been less than an hour since I heard this news. I just met you.”
Winds asked with his cheek pressed against the table. Only her eyes were cold.
“What’s wrong with Academia? It’s not something that can be approved so easily.”
“Emergency, yes… “
Sui wondered if she should take out her stationery that she had put back in her arms.
Well, if you’re at the level of a vigilante, like it or not, you’ll get a warning about terrorism from peers in due time. It would be more efficient in many ways to tell them right here.
“What is that?”
“This is a blackmail letter from a peer. Read it.”
“Peer is… ?”
Soon after receiving the letter from her, Winds had blood vessels at his temples.
“….. Ha? Send Alem to the Non-Magic Zone? Otherwise terrorism… ?”
To the point of absurdity beyond her absurdity, Winds snorted at her.
“Who are you going to terrorize against, you bastard!”
“Winds?”
When Lisbeth appeared, Winds shut her mouth.
“Huh, sister?”
“Ugh… When are you going to grow up?”
Lisbeth handed over two cups of her caffe latte that Winds had ordered, she said.
“Go ahead and have a good meal with your boyfriend~”
At those words, Wins jumped out of place.
“Oh, oh, no?!”
After a while, Winds, who sat down in his place, muttered blankly.
“…For me, something like that…”
Soon, Winds started to get depressed rapidly.
Lizbeth and Sui faced each other and tilted their heads.