Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 623: A lot

Contessa stared at Vermil in surprise for nearly a second before she managed to pick her jaw up off the floor. Not a single piece of the scene before her made even the slightest amount of sense.

Vermil was dead. He had to be. She’d struggled to believe it a while, but it had been so long since he’d vanished during an operation with the Enforcers that there could have been no other solution.

There had been a small part of her that suspected he’d just cut his ties with the school and ran. But that wasn’t the Vermil that she’d come to know. She knew all too well just how much he cared about his students.

He’d never have left them in Arbitage voluntarily. Contessa had been certain he’d just end up showing back up at some point, but days had turned to weeks passed since his disappearance and he still hadn’t returned. She’d been forced to admit that there was no way he was anything but dead.

And now he stood before her, flanked by two of the greatest mages in the kingdom and a small horde of demons.

Contessa’s ears rang and she reached out for the wall to support herself. She wasn’t deluded enough to think this was some sort of trick or a play by someone with Shift Runes trying to put her off guard.

Nobody could encapsulate Vermil other than the real one. This was him.

He’d made it out of the Damned Plains.

“You don’t look too pleased,” Vermil observed as he stepped past her and into the room. He glanced around, then frowned. “Huh. Doesn’t feel like my place much anymore. Have you changed something?”

“We — we put some decoration up,” Contessa said weakly. And, just in case he’d somehow failed to notice, she added, “You have demons with you, Vermil. A lot of them.”

“Hm?” Vermil glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, yes. Don’t worry about them. I picked up some friends in the Damned Plains — and you’ve met Lee. I’m pretty sure you have. Have you?”

Karina stared in mute shock. She’d still yet to manage to muster up a single word, and Contessa couldn’t blame her. She wasn’t entirely sure she hadn’t somehow gotten stuck in the world’s strangest nightmare.

“She’s a demon?” Contessa asked, aghast. “I don’t understand what’s happening. I — didn’t you die? How did you survive the Damned Plains? You know the school thinks you’re dead, right?”

“Moxie is back too,” Karina pointed out somewhat unhelpfully, finally finding her voice.

“We had a bit of an involuntary vacation,” Moxie said. She joined Vermil in entering the room and cast a critical eye over it before giving Contessa a small nod. “I like what you’ve done with the place. N— Vermil is a horrible interior decorator. This place was depressing. You can keep the room, by the way. Don’t worry. He’s not going to try to move back in.”

Lee ambled past Vermil and right over to the desk. She pulled a drawer open, plucking a tarp bag of dried jerky that Karina had bought a few days ago in the market. Lee popped the entire bag into her mouth, tarp and all.

“Can I eat this?” Lee asked as she chewed.

At least she hasn’t changed.

“I… sure,” Contessa said. She flopped down in a chair before she tripped over her own feet and fell on her face. There had been a time when the mere sight of a demon would have probably given her a heart attack.

Now, she couldn’t even bring herself to be scared. She was just stunned. If there was one thing in the world she could thank Vermil for, it was repeatedly shattering everything she thought possible. Ever since she’d had the misfortune of drawing his ire, he’d managed to execute the impossible.

She was absolutely certain that Vermil had been responsible for Evergreen’s death. The old woman had put out the order for Moxie’s death and been killed in a supposed usurping no more than a few days later.

He has to be some form of Linwick agent intentionally sabotaging his public image to go undercover… but frankly, I don’t care anymore. I just can’t bring myself to. The best thing that happened to me was him killing Evergreen. Maybe he’s even a demon himself. I don’t know.

In the end, it struck Contessa that she didn’t care. Vermil was back. That meant two things.

First, she would probably get to keep her room.

Second, somebody was going to die.

Nobody brought a horde of demons with them because they thought that horns were the new fashionable style.

“My chin itches,” one of the demons — one who notably had no arms — said. She had long, silver hair that wrapped around her neck several times like a scarf.

“I’ll help!” A tiny female demon that strongly resembled a child said, reaching up to aid the former demon.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“The soup we had for breakfast may have been bad,” Karina said. She pinched the bridge of her nose and supported herself against the back of the chair Contessa sat in. “Are you also seeing this? Should we call for Richard?”

“Richard is dead,” Contessa said. “And yes. I am also watching this.”

“Oh, cheer up,” Jalen said. He clapped Contessa on the shoulder. “Say, do you think we could fit a few of our friends into this room? That bed has room for a few more. We could stack you up on top of each other. You don’t have any problems with demons, do you?”

“Demons. No. I love demons,” Contessa said, no emotion left to muster up. “They’re my favorite.”

“Leave them alone,” Moxie said with a roll of her eyes. “Nobody here wants to be stuffed into a small room. Contessa and Karina are enough, and I doubt Mascot would much appreciate his personal space getting invaded.”

The cat nodded sagely. That was a rather impressive feat, considering he was still cleaning his rear end.

“Bah. You figure out where to stuff a bunch of demons, then,” Jalen said. “We can’t just parade them around the school, you know.”

“…why do you have a bunch of demons with you?” Karina asked.

“Oh, you know.” Vermil waved his hand dismissively. “It kind of just happened.”

Karina gave him a look that said very much that she did not know. She was also smart enough not to press the topic further. There were some things that simply weren’t worth seeking the answers over.

“To business,” Vermil said after the rest of the demons had filed into the room. “I don’t intend to kick the two of you out, but I do need to figure out where I can house a bunch of demons for a little while. They’re very polite. No need to worry about them.”

Lee nodded empathetically, her mouth still full of jerky.

“How long?” Contessa asked.

“Indeterminate. I don’t suppose you’ve got any ideas? I’m on a bit of a tight schedule. Oh, I’ve also got to get my hands on a mask. There’s a meeting I need to get ready for tonight.”

He’s definitely killing someone.

“I can do that!” Todd volunteered. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

Why are you so excited about helping with a murder? And what in the Damned Plains is wrong with Vermil’s students? Why are they completely comfortable when they’re surrounded by demons? And…

Wait. Isn’t that Yulin? Jakob’s student?

Jakob went missing during the exam. Why is she with Vermil?

Contessa’s mind pulled every puzzle piece before her together against her will, painting a number of different pictures. Not one of them was one she wanted to think about. The consequences were just too significant.

Yeah. I’m done with that. I don’t know what’s going on here and I don’t want to know. The farther away I stay from the Linwicks and the Torrins, the better my life is. I’m more than content just staying here and taking care of Mascot.

“I’ll try to look into some places that would be more suitable,” Contessa offered.

“We spent all your money on cat food,” Karina said.

“Why would you say that now?” Contessa hissed.

“Sorry,” Karina said, wincing. “I was nervous.”

“It’s fine. I don’t really care. Just keep Mascot happy and you can keep the room,” Noah said with a wave of his hand. “But would you mind letting me deposit my friends here for a little while? Just for the day. I don’t want them getting spotted before we find more permanent lodgings.”

“Any property of Spider’s will receive utmost respect from us,” a male demon promised, pressing a hand to his chest. “Though I cannot take responsibility for anything that Lee eats.”

“Of course. It’s your room,” Contessa said. She found herself too tired to bother with any protests. “I’m not going to say otherwise. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Contessa.”

“She used to be my handler,” Moxie provided. “Now she takes care of Mascot.”

“A grand job,” the male demon said, his eyes widening in what appeared to be… respect?

He’s impressed that I’m a cat handler? Why?

“You have been given a great honor,” the armless demon said. “My name is Yoru.”

“I am Aylin. I apologize in advance for any inadvertent bites I take from your soul. I have been practicing control, but I have much to learn,” the male beside her said. He nodded to the two small demons. “These are Torick and Edda.”

“I’m Lee,” Lee said.

“And I am Violet,” one of the female demons said. She nodded to a black-furred demon standing beside her. “This is Vrith. She doesn’t talk much.”

Vrith stared at them and made no move to prove Violet’s words wrong.

“Great. Good introductions,” Vermil said, clapping his hands together. “I’m sure you’ll all get on splendid.”

“How’s that leg treating you?” Jalen asked Karina.

“Stop that,” Vermil said, flicking the Rank 6 mage in the forehead like he was a petulant child.

Contessa’s eyes widened. She scrunched down in her seat, preparing to get flattened by a wall of force as Jalen released his domain, but the impossibly powerful mage just cackled like a deranged old man.

“Let a man have some fun. It was a perfectly normal question. I did make her that leg, after all.”

“She’s suffered enough. There’s no need to be needlessly cruel,” Vermil said. His eyes darkened as he looked back to Karina. “We can save the malice for the nobles who think they can take what does not belong to them.”

Yep. He’s definitely killing someone tonight. Why did he have to make it so obvious? I don’t want to be an accomplice!

“Wait. So you’re just leaving the demons here?” Karina asked.

“Is there a problem with that?” Moxie asked.

“Yes,” Karina said, finally shaking off her stunned disbelief and managing to find proper words. “This is not a good time. Ulya is—”

The door, which nobody had locked, swung open.

A woman stood on the other side, two large bottles of alcohol tucked under each arm, flanked by a hooded puppet bearing a picnic basket in its hands. The advanced track professor stood on one foot, having used the other to push the door.

“Sorry I’m late!” Ulya said. “I got side…”

She trailed off, leaving her mouth hanging open mid-word as everyone turned to look at her.

“Well, this is convenient. I was planning on paying you a visit before tonight. Hullo,” Vermil said. “How are the puppet repairs coming on?”

One of the bottles of wine slipped from Ulya’s hand. Her puppet caught it, but she didn’t even seem to notice. She just stared at Vermil in slack-jawed disbelief.

“I’m getting the feeling you might be getting this a lot,” Moxie said.

“What the fuck?” Ulya breathed. “You’re alive?”