The Outcome

Volume Two

Title: Chapter 48: The Outcome

“Is it over?”

In the sunlit classroom, Ewan stared blankly at Professor Planck.

It felt as though he had woken from a long dream. The exam questions, fleeting like movie credits, had already blurred into indistinctness. Yet, a profound sense of lightness settled within him, as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart.

“Yes, it’s over, Ewan Campbell. You did very well, better than I expected.”

Professor Planck’s gaze swept over the test paper before Ewan. His expression remained unreadable, but his words seemed noticeably gentler.

He patted Ewan’s shoulder, urging him, “Hurry along now, stop spacing out.”

“Oh.”

Ewan nodded blankly, then rose sluggishly.

Ewan had no recollection of how he left the classroom, navigated the curious onlookers, or even returned to his dormitory.

By the time he regained his senses, he was already seated at his desk, staring at his reflection in the mirror for a very long time.

‘What should I do next?’

With a goal he had pursued so intensely now briefly concluded, Ewan found himself plunged into an immense void.

His heart felt empty, as if something vital was missing.

But he quickly snapped out of it.

‘Does this question even need an answer?’

Ewan murmured softly to himself.

In his gem-like, azure eyes, an old flame had died, only for a new one to ignite.

‘My objective is still far from achieved, isn’t it?’

With that thought, his consciousness plunged into darkness.

In the oppressive gloom, the assassin clad in a maid’s uniform and the naked man materialized together.

“A month apart, and I actually missed you.”

Ewan snapped his fingers. “How about we choose a more festive setting for this long-awaited reunion?”

Instantly, the darkness dissipated, replaced by brilliant sunshine.

Ewan stood bathed in an endless glow, twin blades clutched in his hands.

He grinned, a wide smile spreading across his face. “Come, let’s see how much I’ve regressed in this past month!”

****

“Is the exam finished? Let me see it, quickly!”

After the exam concluded, Professor Planck returned to his office with the test papers, only to find it packed with a throng of curious teachers.

Even Teacher Cade, who usually scoffed at anything related to magic, was lurking in a corner, waiting with a look of intense curiosity for the results.

Gossip and a love for drama were not exclusive to the students in this academy.

Professor Glen, upon seeing Professor Planck, immediately abandoned all decorum and lunged to snatch the test papers from his hands.

“Can’t any of you act like proper teachers!”

Professor Planck slapped Professor Glen’s hand away, exasperated. “The students are one thing, but for you all to be so gossipy, what kind of behavior is that?”

“Someone personally went to proctor the exam, and now you have the nerve to lecture us?”

“I merely wanted to ensure the fairness of the exam!”

“Oh, so will you personally proctor every exam from now on?”

Professor Glen whistled, entirely unfazed by Professor Planck’s indignation. He seized the opportunity to snatch the test papers when Professor Planck wasn’t looking.

“Let’s see, Ewan Campbell, Campbell…”

Glen rapidly scanned the papers, then expertly pulled out Ewan’s and handed it to Teacher Fran, who appeared robust and energetic, standing nearby.

“Teacher Fran, quick, grade it! I want to see the result!”

“This… this might not be appropriate.”

Teacher Fran hesitated, her gaze flicking towards Professor Planck.

While grading early wouldn’t affect the final outcome, it still went against protocol.

And Professor Planck was notoriously rigid; such a breach of rules…

“Go ahead and grade it.”

To everyone’s surprise, Professor Planck relented.

“There’s no need to fuss over such a minor matter.”

“Hmm?”

Even Professor Glen was taken aback. He stared suspiciously at Professor Planck for a long moment. “You’ve been acting strangely since proctoring the exam. Are you in a bad mood? Did that Ewan kid provoke you again?”

“Did I?”

Professor Planck cast him a blank look.

“Of course you did. Would the old you be this agreeable?”

“And if I weren’t agreeable, would you listen to me?”

“Heh heh, that’s true.”

Professor Glen didn’t press further, as his attention was quickly drawn to Ewan’s test paper.

“Quick, Teacher Fran, grade it! Planck has already agreed.”

“Oh, alright!”

Seeing Professor Planck relent, Teacher Fran no longer hesitated. She immediately picked up Ewan’s paper and began grading.

The other teachers also crowded around, their curiosity piqued.

Professor Glen, in particular, kept exclaiming loudly as the grading progressed.

“Oh, the first five questions are all correct? That kid’s got some skills.”

“Ah, how could he get such a simple sixth question wrong…”

“The thirteenth question seems a bit difficult for him; it must have taken a lot of time.”

“Hmph, he actually skipped the last major question entirely. Smart.”

A hundred-point exam didn’t contain much content, so the grading quickly concluded.

The score, naturally, soon appeared before all the teachers.

A hush fell over the office.

Everyone was silent.

They stared at the score, speechless.

After a long while, a teacher finally sighed and shook their head.

“It’s… seventy-nine points. What a pity.”

Indeed.

Seventy-nine.

That was the number now emblazoned on the top of the test paper.

Vivid red and strikingly clear, yet so undeniably real.

Just one point shy of the passing mark, yet ultimately, it remained out of reach.

Such a minute difference often evoked more regret than a vast disparity.

Even Professor Glen’s smile faded as he looked at the number.

“Can we only say… it was bad luck?”

For a score of seventy-nine could hardly be attributed to a lack of ability.

From three to seventy-nine.

From the sheer magnitude of this difference alone, every teacher present could clearly perceive the arduous effort and dedication the young man had poured in during that single month.

With his diligence and sweat, he had forged a miracle that almost everyone had deemed impossible.

But the more remarkable it was, the more regrettable it felt.

A single point’s difference felt like a cruel jest played by the god of fate upon the young man.

“Give me the test paper.”

Just as everyone was lost in pity for the young man, Professor Planck suddenly reached out and took the test paper.

His gaze swept quickly over the paper, then, as if confirming something.

He pointed to a spot on the paper and declared, “This part was graded incorrectly.”

“Eh?”

Teacher Fran blinked, her eyes following Professor Planck’s finger.

Her beautiful eyes widened, and her pretty face flushed crimson.

“Ah, truly, I… I’m so sorry, it really was graded incorrectly. Perhaps I was a bit nervous, being watched by so many people while grading for the first time…”

“Correct it.”

Professor Planck remained expressionless, seemingly harboring no blame.

He simply watched silently as Teacher Fran re-graded that particular question, then re-calculated the score.

In truth, no calculation was needed.

Seventy-nine plus one – even a street vagrant could figure out that result.

Eighty.

An excellent score.

The office fell silent once more.

They had just been lamenting, yet when that number truly appeared before their eyes, they couldn’t help but feel a profound shock.

As teachers at Saint Mary’s, they were elites in the field of education. What kind of students hadn’t they encountered?

Some shone brightly like stars, only to be struck by misfortune or to succumb to self-indulgence, their grades plummeting.

Others were wayward youths from good backgrounds who suddenly saw the light, turned their lives around, and steadily climbed to the peak of success.

However, a student like the blond young man, who, in just one month, brutally surged from three points to an excellent eighty points…

To be honest, it was unheard of.

“It could truly be called a miracle in education,” a teacher couldn’t help but exclaim.

“He truly lives up to his name, Ewan Campbell. For better or worse, he always leaves people astonished.”

“So, Ewan Campbell actually did it, those words he spoke a month ago.” Another teacher realized, clicking their tongue in wonder. “I heard the odds were twenty to one. Tsk, tsk, there’ll probably be a lot of students standing on the rooftop now. Do we need to install barbed wire on the railings in time?”

“No—”

Another teacher wailed in anguish, “My bonus, without you, how can I live!”

“…” Professor Planck glanced at the wailing Teacher Cade, his expression blank. “Tomorrow, submit a hundred-thousand-word self-reflection to me. And your bonus for this semester is gone too.”

The wailing grew even more mournful.

However, after a brief clamor, everyone fell silent again.

A dozen pairs of eyes subtly glanced at Professor Planck.

Professor Planck disliked Ewan Campbell so much; at this moment… surely he wasn’t angry.

No, he might already be angry, judging by how miserable Teacher Cade was for crossing him!

If they continued to stay here…

“Um… I’m feeling a bit unwell, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Teacher Fran was the first to excuse herself.

“Yes, yes, I’m also feeling a bit under the weather…”

“I forgot to turn off the gas at home…”

“My wife is about to give birth…”

A whole group of teachers, as if their memories had suddenly improved, abruptly recalled urgent matters at home and quickly slipped away.

Finally, only Professor Glen remained in the quiet office, staring at the perpetually expressionless Professor Planck for a long time before he finally couldn’t help but say, “I think, as a professor, you don’t need to get angry with a child.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Nonsense, looking like that.”

“I’m not angry.”

Professor Planck emphasized, then abruptly raised his hand. To Professor Glen’s shock, he slammed his palm down, shattering his beloved antique desk.

Glen was stunned into silence. After a long moment, he recovered and said, trembling, “A-actually, at that time, I thought you were joking.”

“But I wasn’t joking.”

Professor Planck picked up a splinter of wood, hesitated for a moment, then put it into his mouth.

He chewed.

Then swallowed.

“I never joke.”

Then, he picked up another piece and put it into his mouth.

With his crowned physique, he was certainly capable of eating a little wood.

However, although this expensive mahogany carried a natural fragrance, it tasted very bitter.

And it was heartbreaking.

“I’m not angry.”

Professor Planck reiterated, as if emphasizing his point. “How could I be angry?

As an educator, as a teacher, witnessing one’s student find their way back, a prodigal son returning—isn’t that the most joyous thing?”

“I’m merely ashamed. Ashamed of my own inadequacy, ashamed of my limited foresight. I prided myself on being a seasoned educator, yet only during the previous exam did I truly see what lay hidden in that young man’s eyes.”

“—What an ardent flame it was, like a lion roaring under the sunset!”

Professor Planck clenched his fist abruptly, crushing a corner of the office desk, and continued to stuff it into his mouth.

He gnashed his teeth, chewing forcefully on the mahogany, as if trying to squeeze out tears to cleanse his own clouded, unseeing eyes. “That young man, Ewan Campbell, he is not the profligate we believed him to be. He is truly the duke’s son who can inherit the Campbell name!”

“No, I have a premonition that his future achievements will even surpass his father’s!”

“Surpass Duke Campbell? The Lion King?”

Professor Glen’s eyes widened at this. He hadn’t expected Professor Planck to suddenly hold Ewan Campbell in such high regard.

It was well-known that Duke Ewan Campbell was among the most outstanding of all the Campbell dukes throughout history.

“That seems a bit too difficult.”

“Difficult?”

Professor Planck didn’t refute him, merely countered, “Do you know who else I saw that kind of gaze in, last time?”

“Who?” Professor Glen was taken aback.

“Someone you’ve met before.”

Professor Planck lowered his eyelids, his voice sinking. “My other foolish student… the one controlled by the God of Love.”

The Pure Maiden.

That great saintess who disappeared twenty years ago, yet whose numerous statues still stood, and whose many followers still revered her.

That strong girl who never yielded to the God of Love, even unto death.

“…” Professor Glen fell silent, even more stunned.

After a moment, he asked with a serious expression, “Are you saying… Ewan Campbell will also become a Saintess in the future?”

“…” Professor Planck’s face stiffened, nearly choking.

Professor Glen, however, playfully patted his shoulder. “Alright, alright, stop blaming yourself. Even the most excellent teacher can’t understand every student.

At least, you didn’t hinder him, did you?”

“Yet, a genius who can score eighty points in one month, only learned one illumination spell in my class last semester,” Professor Planck replied mournfully.

“…” Professor Glen’s face also stiffened, then he said, annoyed, “Fine, you’re still saying you’re not angry!”

“I’m not.”

Professor Planck continued vigorously gnawing on the desk corner, saying, “And even if Ewan Campbell hadn’t scored eighty this time, I would still honor my promise.”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve forgotten. At the beginning of the semester, I said the same thing: if Ewan Campbell truly changed, I would eat my desk.”

Professor Planck sighed. “So, from the moment the exam ended, I knew that no matter the score, this desk, I had no choice but to eat it.”

****

After truly eating an entire desk, Professor Planck hurried off, his destination unknown.

Only Professor Glen remained alone in the office.

As if something occurred to him, he picked up Ewan’s test paper again and examined it closely.

Finally, on the question that Professor Planck had just pointed out as incorrectly graded, he faintly discerned a trace of weak magical aura.

“Hmph, I knew it. Teacher Fran’s cultivation isn’t low; no matter how nervous she was, she wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake, especially with so many eyes watching.”

Professor Glen stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing in a pleased smile. “That rigid old geezer, Planck, actually resorts to such little tricks sometimes.”