The Dark Fantasy Doctor Was Mistaken for a Saint - Chapter 45

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

◈ The Dark Fantasy Doctor Was Mistaken for a Saint ◈

Chapter 45: Mistaken for Daddy Long-Legs (4)

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A few days after the priestess and her daughter signed the scholarship recommendation letter.

Before the ink had even dried, an invitation arrived at the family home.

[You are invited to the welcome dinner for scholarship recipients of the Merkuer Trading Company Talent Development Scholarship Foundation.]

The invitees were the elder daughter, Valeria, and Ayla.

The sender was, naturally, the scholarship officer, “Director Schun.”

The venue was Au Temps Perdu.

It was the finest restaurant in the Civitas Square shopping district.

‘Good heavens...’

Even the priestess knew the restaurant.

It was famous for charging a mid-level healer’s weekly income for a single meal.

The thought of someone inviting her daughters there merely for dinner made the priestess’s hands tremble slightly.

The terms were too generous.

The treatment was too kind.

Ominous thoughts kept multiplying in her mind.

‘Could it be...?’

She recalled the few reasons nobles and wealthy people in this world sponsored the poor.

To turn a child into their future servant, or to claim the child’s research achievements as their own.

And if not...

‘Could he be trying to take them as concubines?!’

The priestess did not know Director Schun’s age.

Everything about him had been kept secret, apart from the fact that he was a genius.

Still, judging by his genius and accomplishments, he was likely an older man of at least thirty.

‘A scholarship officer personally meets them and has regular meals with them? He even rented out an entire restaurant this extravagant?’

Before she knew it, Director Schun had transformed in the priestess’s imagination into a lecherous old man with a bloated belly, greedily preying on young girls’ chastity.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Those in power never set their sights on just one thing at a time.

As if generously giving her an enormous scholarship to buy her silence were not enough, he was surely plotting to target both her beautiful daughters as well!

The priestess unconsciously raised a hand to her mouth.

Ayla, the younger daughter, tilted her head as she watched her mother bite her nails.

‘What’s wrong with Mom?’

* * *

And so, the priestess’s misunderstanding only deepened.

The day of the promised dinner arrived.

The priestess was straightening her two daughters’ clothes as they prepared to leave.

“Mom, it’s fine.”

Valeria, the elder daughter, took a step back to avoid her mother’s hands.

“Raise your collar. The restaurant might be cold.”

“I’ll handle it.”

It was a blunt answer, but the priestess did not back down.

“And your belt is crooked. Come here.”

“Seriously...”

Valeria sighed and reluctantly stepped closer.

Sixteen.

With a hormonal storm upon her, the elder daughter had grown noticeably more difficult.

Ayla, on the other hand, obediently accepted her mother’s attention.

“Mom, how do I look? Is anything strange?”

The fourteen-year-old looked up with bright eyes.

“Yes, Ayla. You look lovely.”

“Hehe.”

Ayla spun around in place.

The hem of her slightly worn but neatly pressed dress fluttered.

After finishing with both daughters’ clothes, the priestess silently looked at her treasures for a long while.

They were already talented and beautiful girls.

So much so that it was hard to believe they had come from her womb.

And now that they wore pretty clothes, they looked like two angels descended upon the mortal world. At least, that was how they looked through their mother’s eyes.

‘...’

But the more beautiful her daughters appeared, the greater the priestess’s anxiety became.

Unable to bear it any longer, she tightly grasped both girls’ hands.

Then she spoke with a serious expression.

“Girls. Listen carefully to your mother.”

“What are you getting worked up about now?”

“Remember this. If that scholarship officer makes any strange demands of you, you must politely refuse. All right?”

Valeria’s expression twisted at those words.

Ayla tilted her head.

But the priestess continued with a solemn expression.

“And no matter what excuse he gives, if he asks either of you to meet him alone, never go with him. Even when you go to the bathroom, hold hands and go together.”

“O-Okay...”

“Under no circumstances are you to drink alcohol, especially not an aperitif. Remember that.”

Under their mother’s suffocating instructions, Ayla could only blink, while Valeria let out a long sigh as though she could not believe this.

She thought she understood what her mother was worried about.

Of course, Valeria had some concerns herself.

It was not uncommon to hear stories of benefactors who seemed kind but had actually been after a girl’s chastity.

Perhaps Director Schun might be that sort of person too.

But Valeria was not worried.

She was sixteen.

In three years, she would be a proper adult.

She was long past the age of knowing nothing about the world, and old enough to endure its hardships.

At least, Valeria herself believed so.

Even if Director Schun tried something, Valeria was confident she could get herself and her younger sister out safely.

“I get it. We’re leaving now. We can’t be late.”

“Bye, Mom!”

“We’ll be back.”

“Make sure you look after Ayla!”

Leaving her mother’s instructions behind, Valeria headed for the front door.

A gleaming black carriage was waiting outside their home.

The Merkuer Trading Company crest was engraved in gold leaf upon its door.

“Wow!”

‘Wow...’

Ayla’s eyes shone with innocent wonder.

Valeria tried to maintain an expressionless face and act composed.

“Then we’re leaving.”

“You understand? Be careful...”

“I said I understand.”

Valeria shut the door with an exasperated look.

“We’ll be back!”

Ayla stuck her head out of the carriage and cheerfully waved.

Soon, its luxurious wheels began to roll smoothly.

The carriage quickly left the alley and vanished toward the dazzling center of the capital.

In the alleyway beneath choking smog, the priestess stood alone, nervously rubbing her hands as she watched the dust left in the carriage’s wake.

“Please protect my children...”

Amid the great tide of events, the priestess earnestly prayed that the mysterious scholarship officer her daughters were about to meet, “Director Schun,” would not be a lecher.

* * *

Clatter, clatter. Swish.

On the way to the restaurant.

As they rode in the ebony carriage, Valeria and Ayla could only marvel at its overwhelming comfort.

‘So this is the power of money...’

‘Wow, Director Schun must be rich.’

At last, the luxurious wheels came to a smooth stop.

“We have arrived, young ladies. Please watch your step.”

The coachman opened the door with a respectful bow.

Valeria cautiously extended the tip of her shoe first.

Ayla followed her sister and hopped down from the carriage.

The moment the sisters stepped outside, they could not help gasping.

The bustling district of Civitas Square lay under the night sky.

Among the countless buildings, an enormous white structure of overwhelming grandeur loomed above them.

Au Temps Perdu.

The finest restaurant, visited only by major trading companies and knights.

The magnificent golden chandelier at its entrance brightly illuminated even the street outside.

Doormen in gold-trimmed uniforms stood guard at the entrance above a red-carpeted staircase.

Overwhelmed by its grandeur, Valeria unconsciously swallowed.

The girl who had considered herself an adult until moments ago, fueled by adolescent confidence, suddenly found herself feeling very small.

“Wow...”

Ayla, meanwhile, stood with her mouth hanging open, too busy admiring the magnificent building that looked as though it had come straight from a fairy tale.

Luxurious carriages like their own continued arriving in front of the restaurant.

Boys and girls their age stepped out of them. They appeared to be scholarship recipients receiving support from the Merkuer Trading Company as well.

Most looked like commoners.

Intimidated by the splendid building, they exchanged only awkward nods with one another.

There were a little over ten students in total.

“This way, please. The others are waiting in the private room.”

Upon spotting the students, the manager approached them.

Under the manager’s polite guidance, the students began walking down a marble hallway.

“Our restaurant dates back one hundred and fifty years, with Arlemond as its first manager...”

Numerous artworks lined the hallway on their way to Director Schun.

A fine restaurant was not merely a place for eating.

The meal began with taking in art and preparing oneself emotionally before picking up the cutlery.

The students, who did not know that, merely thought that even the hallways of an expensive restaurant were on another level.

The manager introduced each artwork to them as they slowly made their way deeper into the restaurant.

After spending around thirty minutes introducing the art pieces, the manager glanced sideways at the clock on the wall.

“It is time. I hope you have a wonderful evening.”

When the door opened, polished silverware came into view atop a long table.

The students stiffly sat in their assigned seats, barely daring to breathe.

After the manager respectfully bowed and left, a suffocating silence settled over the tightly closed private room.

No one could bring themself to speak first. They could only stare blankly at their crystal glasses and swallow.

Valeria tightly held Ayla’s hand, glancing toward the door so they could run at any moment.

How long did that suffocating silence last?

“Everyone seems really tense. Before Director Schun gets here, why don’t we at least introduce ourselves?”

Unable to endure it any longer, one boy broke the silence.

It was Kal, a fifteen-year-old genius who had distinguished himself in the Academy Middle Division’s Swordsmanship Department.

A few students cautiously nodded at his suggestion.

“I’m Kal, from the Swordsmanship Department. Nice to meet you.”

Kal smiled as though he were at ease and picked up the silver steak knife on the table.

“To lighten the mood, I’ll show you something interesting.”

The silver steak knife in his hand became enveloped in a crimson aura.

Battle aura.

An ability for knights and warriors, different from magical power and divine power.

It had even worse energy efficiency than magical power or divine power. Even professors could not maintain it for more than a few minutes a day.

But battle aura had one advantage.

Unlike magic or divine power, you could use it even if you were not smart.

That was why battle aura had another nickname: the miracle of idiots.

In any case.

Kal intended to use that battle aura here and now, even though he could barely maintain it for a few seconds a day.

“If I wrap battle aura around this dull dining knife, I can cut a falling napkin like a razor blade.”

It was a form of intimidation and self-promotion.

Battle aura was generally a power students could only wield freely after graduating from the Academy’s High Division.

Naturally, it was far beyond the reach of middle-division students.

But Kal had awakened battle aura at an early age.

He had not become second in the Swordsmanship Department for nothing.

‘I’ll save the real demonstration of battle aura for Director Schun.’

With that thought, Kal picked up a white napkin with his other hand.

Then he lightly tossed it into the air.

The napkin fluttered as it fell.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Kal’s hand holding the knife.

Kal steeled himself and drew battle aura into the knife.

‘...Huh?’

But there was a problem.

The most important things for battle aura were concentration and willpower.

However, Kal had been so tense from the restaurant’s grandeur and unfamiliar atmosphere that he found it difficult to focus as usual.

Thump.

As a result, the steak knife without battle aura passed uselessly through the napkin.

The students tried to look away from Kal.

“Ahem.”

Kal cleared his throat and picked up the napkin.

“My mistake. Maybe battle aura doesn’t flow well into silver. I’ll show you again.”

He could not make a mistake this time.

Growing desperate, Kal swung the knife with all his strength just before the napkin reached the table.

Even if the battle aura did not form, he intended to shred the napkin through sheer force.

Fortunately, battle aura formed around the knife just in time.

‘Got it!’

Unfortunately, Kal’s palm was sweaty.

Whoosh!

The knife cutting through the air at full force smoothly slipped from his sweat-soaked hand.

“Ah.”

A vacant cry escaped Kal’s lips.

The silver knife flew from his hand at terrifying speed, slicing through the air directly toward the forehead of Eli, the top student in the Alchemy Department seated across the table.

Faced with the suddenly flying blade, Eli froze without even managing to scream.

Valeria too widened her eyes and stopped breathing.

Just as a horrific disaster was about to unfold before them, with someone about to be impaled by a knife.

“Well, well. Is this how kids play these days?”

“...”

“...?”

Everyone in the room rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

A mere inch from Eli’s forehead, a red-haired woman stood before her face, though none of them knew when she had appeared.

The steak knife that had been cutting through the air was calmly caught between the index and middle fingers of Erika, who wore a neatly tailored women’s suit.

‘What... Who is that woman? When did she get here?’

A chill ran down Valeria’s spine.

Kal felt the same.

He may have been in the Middle Division, but his awareness had been honed through childhood sword training.

Yet he had not sensed the woman before him appearing.

The red-haired woman snapped the knife caught in her battle aura-covered hand and spoke.

“Is this how the Swordsmanship Department welcomes people? Surely someone who lives by the blade wouldn’t drop a knife.”

Kal stared at Erika, the red-haired woman, frozen in place.

“W-Who are you, ma’am?”

“Me? I’m the Director’s assistant. Today, I’m acting as his bodyguard and secretary.”

Erika tossed the broken blade into a trash bin and walked to the door.

Creak.

When she opened it, a man appeared on the other side.

“You ran off in such a hurry. Did something happen?”

“No. Nothing. I sensed battle aura where the kids were, so I ran over first just in case, Doctor.”

“What happened?”

“Hmm...”

Erika glanced at Kal for a moment.

“Nothing happened. Just a welcome party.”

She shrugged and let the matter drop.

At Erika’s words, the man nodded.

After his brief exchange with Erika, he walked toward the students.

The first thing they noticed was his immaculate, elegant suit of the finest quality.

A wide-brimmed black fedora was pulled low over his head.

The students realized it was not an ordinary hat.

It seemed to be a magical tool enchanted with perception-obscuring magic. Deep shadows concealed everything beneath its brim except the tip of his nose, his sharp jawline, and lips bearing a faint smile.

The man entered the room with relaxed steps and spoke.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

His low, gentle voice softly resonated throughout the room.

As if those words held some strange magic, the students who had been trembling until moments earlier all straightened their backs and adjusted their posture as though on cue.

Valeria’s eyes widened slightly.

‘He’s not the greedy, potbellied, perverted old man Mom described...?’

She could tell from the line of his jaw, his voice, and the way he walked.

He was much younger than she had expected, and he possessed overwhelming dignity.

He could not have been further from her mother’s ominous fantasies about concubines.

“His voice is really nice...”

Ayla murmured softly, her cheeks slightly red.

This time, Valeria did not bother covering her younger sister’s mouth.

The man in the suit, Julian, naturally took the seat at the head of the table and gave the children a gentle smile.

“You don’t need to be nervous. Please make yourselves comfortable. Today, you are the stars, not me, the scholarship officer. Ah, I haven’t introduced myself.”

“I am Director Schun.”

At the man’s final introduction, the eyes of every student except the sisters became as round as moons.