The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 134

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 134
“Wonderful. Let’s head to my office! And going forward, I’ll tell you about our special curriculum….”
“Pardon? No, I’m fine as long as I can read books in the Ancient Manuscript Archive?”
“I apologize for interrupting this fateful moment, but the Ancient Manuscript Archive will be closed for a while. Fortunately, I have some copies I’ve transcribed myself, so we can start with those….”
“….”
“Miss Rubian?”
Rubian’s lips moved slightly for a moment.
“Hmm, that’s not quite right….”
“What did you say?”
“Oh, it’s nothing!”
“But… what’s that large basket you’ve had beside you this whole time?”
Yuliope asked, gesturing toward the large basket placed next to Rubian.
The girl grunted as she dragged the basket forward and set it down in front of Yuliope with a thud.
“Ah, this is my lunch box! I ordered it from the Student Cafeteria and brought it with me!”
It was packed with shrimp sandwiches, sweet fruits, and beverages.
“So… can I look at the manuscripts while eating this?”
Rubian asked. Yuliope rubbed his eyes, which were marked by deep dark circles, and nodded.
“Sure, do as you like. Just come inside first.”
“Thank you so much!”
* * *
I paused as I stepped inside.
“….”
The Professor’s Office was an absolute disaster—a complete mess.
Objects were scattered everywhere, and the curtains were drawn shut, casting the entire interior in dim darkness.
‘He’s forgotten to even open the curtains.’
Just how busy is he?
This environment is so grim that someone could turn into a ghost without anyone being surprised!
“Professor! It’s so dark and scary! There’s a musty smell too…. Can I open the curtains and let some air in?”
“A… window? There’s no way my office would have such a thing… wait, it does?”
Yuliope slowly approached the window, drew back the curtains, and opened it.
As soft morning sunlight poured in, his sharp brow furrowed slightly.
“Now then, let’s examine the manuscripts while we talk. Starting with that bookshelf over there….”
“Professor!”
I dragged over a random chair and table and sat down.
“I’m hungry! Would you like to eat some of this with me?”
As I dragged the basket over, Yuliope scratched his chin awkwardly.
“I’m not particularly hungry. Just sit over there and eat by yourself. Once you’re done, I’ll show you the books.”
“… I don’t like eating alone. Since I’m the youngest at home, I’m used to eating with my family in a lively, bustling way….”
“Ah….”
“Even though I look like this, I’m quite spoiled….”
“I understand. I understand, so please don’t cry. Let’s eat together.”
Seeing my dejected expression, Uliophe Molton reluctantly sat across from me.
With a reluctant face, he picked up a large shrimp sandwich and took a small bite. Watching him, I ate my sandwich as well.
“It’s delicious! Isn’t it?”
“…Yes, well. I suppose so.”
Uliophe Molton nibbled away and managed to eat about half the sandwich.
Shortly after, I was breathing heavily.
“…For someone who was so hungry, you didn’t eat much, did you?”
“Limit, line, up to my chin, full, gag…”
“You’re not vomiting in my office even if it becomes a garbage dump.”
Ugh. The Professor ate so slowly that I ended up overeating.
As I rubbed my bloated stomach, Uliophe Molton looked at me intently for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh.
“Come to think of it… it feels like I’m having lunch for the first time in a while thanks to you.”
“Why? I told you that you must eat three meals a day…”
“That’s right. Actually, it seems like it’s been a while since I’ve had a meal like this.”
Uliophe Molton cleared the table with a slightly lighter expression.
“Well then, I’ll show you the manuscript now.”
“Yes!”
I swung my legs and watched Uliophe Molton’s back as he moved.
On one side of his desk lay the ancient manuscript I had seen earlier, placed with great care.
Hmm…
‘This should be about right now.’
As I moved my fingertips slightly, a sudden gust of wind blew through the open window.
The curtain billowed greatly, and the papers inside the office fluttered about in the air.
“Oh my.”
Uliophe Molton furrowed his brow and hurried to the window to close it.
“A sudden gust like this… what kind of autumn weather is this…”
“Eeek. You startled me.”
I quietly lowered my hand infused with mana.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes. I’m fine… Wait? Professor!”
I opened my eyes wide and stared straight ahead.
“The ancient manuscript that was on the desk…”
“Gasp, oh no.”
“The wind blew so hard that all the text in the ancient manuscript flew away!”
I cried out loudly while looking at the manuscript spread wide open. In that moment, Uliophe Molton’s expression shifted to one of realization.
“Did the Professor’s salary fly away along with it?”
“Hey, Rubian? Could you please not say such chilling things?”
Uliophe Molton shuddered. He approached his desk and examined the ancient manuscript with extremely careful hands.
After gently flipping through the interior, he quietly inserted a bookmark into the pages where content remained.
“…Sigh. I suppose there’s no hiding it now.”
Uliophe Molton’s gaunt shoulders sagged.
“Professor?”
“Yes, well… what’s the point in concealing it further now? The truth is, our Academy’s ancient manuscripts are undergoing a phenomenon where they’re turning blank.”
Uliophe Molton confessed matter-of-factly.
I sat quietly and listened. He rummaged through a basket, inserted a straw into a strawberry soda, and placed it before me.
“For the past several weeks, I’ve exhausted every effort to prevent this phenomenon… but it seems I’ve reached my limit.”
“Why is this happening?”
“I’m not certain. No matter how hard I search for the cause, I cannot find it.”
A bitter smile crossed his composed face.
“I can only say that the mysterious blessing that once protected the Ancient Manuscript Archive has vanished.”
He drank a fatigue recovery tonic with an expression that seemed to have aged a decade in an instant.
After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth again with a heavy countenance.
“I’m sorry, Rubian.”
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
Uliophe Molton smiled faintly.
“I wanted to preserve these ancient manuscripts well and pass them down intact to my students. As my mentor did. As my mentor’s mentors did before him.”
“…”
“It seems I won’t be able to pass this precious legacy on to your generation… I’m sorry.”
Ah, so that was it.
I finally understood why Uliophe Molton had deliberately brought those precarious ancient manuscripts to class.
He wanted to show us the contents while even a fragment remained. One more character. One more illustration.
He was grieved that we would grow up without witnessing the Empire’s heritage, preserved for millennia.
Uliophe Molton added with a forlorn expression.
“I no longer have the face to meet my deceased colleagues. They sacrificed their very lives to protect these records, yet I cannot even preserve them…”
His voice grew increasingly hollow.
I gazed intently at Uliophe Molton.
Though he concealed his true feelings behind words like the work is difficult or salary matters, Uliophe Molton was in fact someone who loved this Academy and the Ancient Manuscript Archive more than anyone else.
‘So that’s why.’
The reason Uliophe Molton dies in the original work.
Unable to bear the weight of life accumulated layer upon layer, he ultimately chooses to end his own life.
‘Though I cannot say with certainty that this is the cause…’
Perhaps he reached a breaking point where he could no longer endure the mounting weight of despair.
For his heart had been so pure, his despair was equally profound.
“Professooooor!”
Ding ding ding ding.
I picked up a spoon and began striking the strawberry soda bottle frantically.
“Are you alright? Come now, perhaps you haven’t eaten enough? Would you like another sandwich? Or shall we move to a different spot? Would you like more sunlight?”
“…Rubian?”
I smiled as I watched the dark aura that had settled over Uliophe Molton’s face.
“Life originally has no particular meaning! The happiest way is to live without thinking about meaning at all!”
“Pardon?”
“Well, that’s what my Grandfather used to say!”
I spoke with a bashful smile.
‘The colleagues who worked alongside me are dead, and I couldn’t protect the ancient manuscripts they guarded either, so the guilt must be tremendous.’
But Professor Yuliope!
There’s no problem in this world without an answer!
‘First, I need to stop the blank page phenomenon.’
There might be secrets about my stigma hidden within it. I couldn’t bear to see any more precious materials vanish.
“Yes… I will remember.”
Yuliope stroked my head as if impressed. Fortunately, Yuliope’s condition didn’t seem too bad.
“And… couldn’t we restore the erased ancient manuscripts? There are so many copies in the Professor’s office!”
He nodded.
“Yes. I was already planning to hire restoration experts from outside. However… stopping the blank page phenomenon first would make the restoration meaningful.”
A long sigh escaped me.
Yuliope forced a smile and cleared the atmosphere.
“Anyway, despite this situation, the Academy is still a good place, so do consider applying next year. Understood?”
“Then will Professor Yuliope be teaching ancient languages?”
“That is…”
A hint of awkwardness crossed Yuliope’s face.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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