The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

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Looking at the man who had always seemed so imposing and invincible before when he had been in his position, Harlan couldn't help but chuckle. "I may not know her as well as you do, Lord Hyperion, but to be honest… I think I understand your frustrations."

Secretly though, Harlan definitely preferred this change of position, and even gloated over the previous headmaster's misfortune. Being a little stronger wasn't always so good, was it?

Anyway, for him, it was far better to relax and do things at his own pace as the headmaster than it had been to teach those brats in the 'Maker's Mansion'.

And this wasn't even counting all those extra resources and allotments he got with his new position, nor his expanded authority.

The dark haired man blinked in surprise before turning a doubtful gaze at the new headmaster. "Do you, really? Kaling and Kaizen believe I'm being a man-child for crying over a so-called 'promotion'."

He scoffed at the word 'promotion', just in case his disdain for the position of a pillar hadn't been clear enough.

Harlan nodded solemnly. "Believe it or not, I agree that those two aren't taking this situation as seriously as they should. Dane used to be a good friend of mine, and even as a senior professor, Aurora expelled him without a proper trial. Even his lover is missing now, though she could have left on her own, there is no way to tell, is there? How can this be allowed?"

Hyperion frowned. Although that was a bit bothersome too, he had more or less tacitly overlooked it as a 'small matter' at that time. And to be honest, he still didn't see it as a big deal.

The biggest issue he had with Aurora expelling two senior professors was that she did it not only without consulting him first, but also didn't even try to make any excuses or give him an explanation. It was a complete undermining of his authority!

But thinking about it, since Dane was his friend, of course Harlan would think differently. Hyperion nodded, deciding it wasn't worth arguing over. "That's true, though—"

Harlan chuckled and interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "Don't misunderstand, Lord Hyperion. I didn't bring this up just because I knew Dane better than Mantis. What I'm trying to say is… didn't you notice her strange behavior started right after she took in a student?"

The dark haired man blinked as he tried to make sense of Harlan's words. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Y-You're saying…?!"

Harlan nodded solemnly. "Right. Instead of looking just at Aurora, I think we should consider where the problem actually 'stems' from. Should we not?"

Hyperion loosened his collar as he shifted in his seat, feeling a little uncomfortable all of a sudden.

The way this conversation was going, he really felt like they were plotting against Aurora's student. He may hate her, but her ability was truly terrifying, and he had very little interest in being her enemy.

However, thinking about it all over again, he wasn't doing anything, was he? Just having a civil conversation with the headmaster. There's no way she could blame him for just this.

The dark haired man nodded to himself. 'As long as I myself don't do anything, even she wouldn't do anything. After all, she needs me to fill that fourth position. Who else will take my place?'

Clearing his throat, Hyperion straightened up before nodding to the new headmaster. "Now that I think about it, what you said holds some truth. And… there's something even stranger."

Harlan gave him an interested look as he raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Hoh?"

The dark-haired man ran a hand through his hair nervously as he thought over his words, internally debating revealing them before he grit his teeth. 'Fuck it! I'm just putting my thoughts out there, what's so wrong about that?!'

He clenched his fist, eyes turning red as he looked the new headmaster in the eyes. "Aurora… has stopped spouting the destiny nonsense since she took in her student!"

There was a moment of pin-drop silence in the room before Hyperion let out a sigh of relief, as if a huge burden had been lifted of his shoulders, and leaned back in his chair as he took another sip of Harlan's prized tea. "Isn't it strange?"

Harlan's brows furrowed, his expression looking extremely disturbed. "You mean the way she talks… changed? Are you certain, Lord Hyperion? This is no joking matter."

The dark haired man nodded. "Yeah. For as long as I've known her, she seldom used to talk, but when she did, it was always some form of cryptic roundabout dialog involving destiny this, fate that… but now…"

The man chuckled, recalling how she had dismissed him so often these days. "Now she's almost brusque and to the point."

Harlan couldn't help but rub his forehead as he tried to wrap his head around the possibilities. "It's definitely not something we can ignore. Lord Hyperion… do you have any idea what could have happened?"

The dark haired man frowned. "I… haven't really thought about it…"

The new headmaster tapped the table in thought. "Could it be some form of mind control? Possession?"

Hyperion gave him a deadpan look before he shook his head. "No… think about who we're talking about here. If that little girl could control Aurora, she might as well control us too and take over the academy, no?"

  Harlan felt as if he was being made fun of, and couldn't help but refute the old headmaster, even though he somewhat agreed with his point. "But it could be that whatever method she used has some restriction. It's not impossible."

The dark haired man sighed as he shook his head. "You're saying this because you haven't seen that monster in action, Harlan. I don't think Aurora can be controlled in any way. But I think… I now understand what could have happened."

The new headmaster immediately straightened up in his seat. "What?"

Hyperion gave him a grim look. "Aurora has always been obsessed with one thing, do you know what it is?"

Harlan frowned as he nodded. "That stupid lake behind her tower, wasn't it?"

The dark haired man shook his head in denial. "No… although she wasted most of her time on that in the past, I think it was more of something she found of interest than an obsession. What she's really been obsessed with… is 'Thrones'. Just like her mother, from what I heard."

Harlan's mind chilled as his pupils shrunk and his heart clenched in terror. There was not a single person on this continent who dared to have any 'ideas' on a throne, not for the last ten thousand years, at least. Merely thinking about it could be considered blasphemy. "Y-You're saying…"

Hyperion nodded solemnly. Although he considered himself to be a grand figure as the ex-leader of one of the strongest forces on the continent, in front of a throne, he knew he was but an insignificant insect. 

Normally, he wouldn't even dare to put such an idea out loud, and would snuff it out even from his mind. After all, if a throne wanted to erase him from this world, it wouldn't take them much effort at all, even if he had the whole academy protecting him.

If anything, it would also get the academy wiped out as well.

But perhaps he really had been too frustrated recently, so he couldn't keep the thought to himself. "There are… three moons, and only two thrones."

Immediately afterwards, however, the dark haired man frowned as he stood up with a sigh. "I-I don't feel quite right today, and there is still that practice tomorrow. I shall bid you farewell then, Harlan. I need to rest. Let's continue this discussion some other day, and please don't mind my mindless blabber."

When he really thought it over, Hyperion couldn't help but shake his head in annoyance. How could he say such things out loud?

Not to mention, how could that pink haired little girl be a throne? Was a throne something one could buy in a market? Did they start growing on trees?

There had only been two thrones long before his time, and he had lived a long time with that never-changing fact. Even in the future, Hyperion believed that this would remain true. 

He refused to accept otherwise. Because the consequences… would be disastrous.

The new headmaster graciously nodded after smoothing out his expression and escorted the dark haired man to the door. "… Farewell, Lord Hyperion."

It was only a few minutes after Hyperion left, that Harlan chuckled after arriving back in his chamber. 'This tea… is really quite effective, isn't it? All those spirit cores didn't go to waste, after all.'

It was indisputable that the things he had managed to get out of the old master today truly far exceeded his expectations. How useful they would prove to be, however, still remained to be seen.

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