Chapter 47

“…I am Marquess Seraphina.”

“I am Liriska Seraphina.”

In the principal’s office, I greeted Isabella’s parents together with Anon.

Isabella’s father, Count Marquess, was a portly man who looked every bit the part of an aristocrat. He glared at me with an intense expression. Though it was all a lie, if he had heard that his daughter had been assaulted by a teacher, it would be understandable for him to feel murderous rage.

Not only was Count Marquess present, but so was Countess Marquess, along with two others accompanying them. Normally, no guards or escorts were allowed into this academy, but given the circumstances and the fact that they were parents, one guard and a butler were permitted to accompany them. As expected from a count’s household, the guard appeared quite capable at first glance.

And as for Isabella herself—the one at the center of this commotion—she was nowhere to be seen.

“I am Anon, the principal of Bounce National Magic Academy.”

Anon bowed beside me. Judging by the lack of surprise on the faces of Count Marquess and Countess Marquess when they saw Anon’s small, youthful appearance, they must have already known about her role as principal, likely from the entrance ceremony or some other occasion.

Anon, true to form, spoke with proper decorum in this formal setting.

“My name is Geek, and I serve as a temporary teacher at this academy.”

I also bowed, just like Anon.

“You… you defiled my daughter’s purity!!”

“D-Dear, please calm down!”

“Please, hear us out!”

As Count Marquess turned red with anger and tried to lunge at me, both the butler and the guard held him back. Understandably, he seemed extremely agitated.

“Count Marquess, this matter is entirely a misunderstanding. Please allow me to explain in detail—”

“A misunderstanding!? Are you saying that my daughter being assaulted is a ‘misunderstanding’!?”

“D-Dear!”

Interrupting Anon, the Count’s voice thundered through the principal’s office.

“…I apologize deeply. However, I humbly request that you allow me to explain further. Please take your seats.”

For a while, the Count remained visibly agitated, but thanks to the calming efforts of both the Countess and the others, he eventually sat down as Anon suggested.

Whether or not he would calmly listen to our explanation remained uncertain…

“Our daughter has suffered abuse at the hands of that male teacher over there and has become withdrawn. Naturally, she refuses to return to the academy until that criminal receives proper punishment. How does the academy intend to take responsibility for this?”

“Execution, obviously! I’ll kill that man right now!!”

Though the Countess spoke calmly, her inner fury was palpable. Meanwhile, Count Marquess pounded the desk in a fit of rage.

Having been a teacher in my previous life, I understood the sentiment—if I had seen news of a teacher assaulting a student, I’d probably think they deserved the death penalty too. And for the actual victims and their parents, their anger would be far greater than mine. That said, this time it was a false accusation.

“Regarding this matter, I can firmly state that I did not lay a hand on Isabella. She confessed her feelings to me in the lab and hugged me, but I clearly rejected her advances.”

“H-How dare you! To claim that my daughter confessed to someone like you, a commoner! Do you really think such an excuse will work!?”

“…Are you telling me that the academy believes the desperate lies of that criminal? To begin with, my daughter has never thought highly of that man. We’ve submitted numerous complaints to the academy, but none were ever addressed. Is this retaliation? Or is the entire academy conspiring to slander my daughter and bring shame upon the Seraphina family?”

It was clear that our side of the story alone wouldn’t be enough to convince them. While the Countess was maintaining a semblance of rationality, she brought up the family’s status, and internally, she was absolutely furious.

It would be faster to show them the evidence.

“This is the evidence. Please take a look at this.”

“What… is this?”

“This is a special magical device called a ‘surveillance camera,’ which records and stores images. For security purposes, I had it installed in my laboratory.”

Indeed, I had consulted Anon before about wanting to observe other teachers’ classes, but she had refused. Still, I decided to install it in my own lab.

I hadn’t anticipated something like this happening, but I was aware that I had earned some resentment from others. I installed it because I suspected someone might try to vandalize my lab while I wasn’t around.

The students who participated in study sessions in my lab were already informed and gave their consent. By watching the footage, it would be clear that I didn’t touch Isabella when she came to the lab, and it would also prove that I was in the lab during other times.