My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 31

Professor Natilda's assignment announced yesterday was just the beginning.

Following her resolve from last night, Arina vowed to wake up earlier than usual starting today and begin her day with a morning jog. However, perhaps because she had spent all night practicing with magic tools.

On the very first day of her decision to lose weight, she perfectly mirrored the all-too-common scene of dieters postponing their diet until tomorrow in front of delicious food. She delayed her morning jog to the next day and headed to the Academy, where she was greeted by another assignment from Professor Spencer Magnus.

"The deadline is within this semester."

The assignment he presented was a spell puzzle.

It was a box locked with spell-based mechanisms, as though it were a quiz, with locks hanging here and there.

It was the kind of item that magicians from the Magic Tower carried around like a game or occasionally appeared as questions on quiz shows.

This particular spell puzzle was handcrafted by Professor Magnus himself, and it seemed to reflect his meticulous personality. It was incomparably more complex and had far more locks than the ones Arina had seen on entertainment shows.

So much so that it brought tears to their eyes, touched by the professor’s dedication to his students.

"The questions include material we’ve covered so far and some that we’ll be covering in the future. As you progress, there are also a few problems that lightly apply the content."

From these words, Arina and all of Class A were certain.

The word "lightly" coming from Professor Magnus's mouth was definitely a lie.

They were sure it would be far heavier than the eyelids weighed down after three sleepless nights.

"So make sure to pay close attention in future classes. That’s the only way you’ll be able to solve it."

"......."

"By the way, points will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. I’ve arranged for the puzzles to be distributed to all first-years during the morning assembly today. Anyone who solves the spell puzzle can come to my office anytime."

Solving the spell puzzle and retrieving its contents first would earn high marks.

The later one solved it compared to others, the lower the score.

And failing to solve it by the end of the semester would result in a time-over, leading to an automatic zero.

Unlike Professor Natilda, whose evaluations often included subjective criteria, Professor Magnus's standards were thoroughly objective and crystal clear.

"There have been cases like this before. Some of your seniors hid or damaged someone else’s puzzle, completely sabotaging the test."

"......."

"If yours is lost or broken, I’ll replace it with a new one anytime. In such cases, come to my office. But if anyone is caught doing such things, they’ll receive an automatic zero—no exceptions."

Unbelievable.

Sabotaging others just because they couldn’t pass themselves?

Truly a creative and innovative form of cheating.

If only they used that brainpower for studying instead.

"If someone reports such behavior with evidence, I’ll award that person additional points."

"......."

"Also, stealing someone else’s solved puzzle or profiting by selling an opened puzzle is out as well. When you bring it in, I’ll randomly ask you to explain parts of the puzzle's content."

Professor Spencer Magnus’s extensive teaching career had given him insights into every possible form of cheating.

Who would’ve thought someone had even tried setting up a business around the assignment?

"Hmm, as expected. This is much better than the assignment Professor Scape gave."

At that moment, a small muttering voice came from beside her.

When Arina turned to look, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes in disbelief.

Maril, who had already unlocked five locks on her spell puzzle despite receiving it not long ago.

"As expected of Professor Magnus. His personality might not be great, but his assignments really suit me."

As Maril said that, another lock fell open in her hands.

And she was solving them all mentally, wasn’t she?

It was truly an astonishing sight, one that could only make Arina think, "That’s Maril for you."

Surely it was students like her who had been behind selling solved spell puzzles for profit.

"Haha......."

In contrast, Arina’s outlook was bleak.

She not only had to practice mana manipulation but now couldn’t afford to neglect spell studies either.

It was as if the universe was conspiring to block her resolve to start exercising.

"Come to think of it, I still haven’t finished reading the books I borrowed from the library."

There simply wasn’t enough time.

Why were there only 24 hours in a day?

They should’ve been generous when designing it and made it 100 hours instead.

"That concludes my announcements. Remember, steady daily progress is the only shortcut to becoming an excellent magician. Now, pay attention in today’s class."

With those words of wisdom, Professor Spencer Magnus left the classroom, his back met with resentful glares from the students. Thus, another day of Academy classes began, like a wheel endlessly turning.

* * *

Before enrolling in Benedict Academy, Arina had moved into an apartment located just a 5-10 minute walk away by her pace—a remarkably close distance.

And even closer than that.

Situated precisely between her apartment and the Academy was a large mart, where Arina would stop by on her way home whenever her refrigerator ran out of ingredients.

"Hmm."

As always, Arina stopped by the mart today to buy ingredients for dinner.

Checking the prices of carrots and onions at the vegetable section, she nodded as if making a decision.

"How about curry for dinner today?"

With assignments likely to occupy her for the next few days.

She figured if she made a big batch today and froze the leftovers, she’d have meals sorted for the coming days.

"Times like these make me glad my uncle doesn’t fuss over meals and eats whatever I give him."

Of course, Cain also ate whatever was served without complaint, but even he would get tired of eating curry every day.

If Cain were here, he’d probably frown and suggest they just order delivery instead, while Arina nonchalantly started tossing curry ingredients into her cart.

Occasionally, she added udon noodles to the cart as an alternative to rice and continued browsing the mart.

Tap, tap.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

When she turned her head, a finger poked her cheek.

Recreating the exact scene from the Academy library not long ago, Professor Carlson, who had been standing behind her back then as well, grinned widely.

"As I thought, it’s you, Arina."

Even his words were identical to that time.

Back then and now alike.

Was poking someone’s cheek with a finger his way of showing familiarity?

Perhaps it was his attempt to get closer to students through playful gestures, but for the recipient, it was likely annoying.

In Maril’s case, she’d probably show her discomfort outright and distance herself from Professor Carlson.

"Ah, hello."

Of course, Arina wasn’t bothered in the least.

Without a second thought about the cheek poke, she bowed her head and greeted Professor Carlson.

"Are you grocery shopping?"

His tone was low and languid.

His eyes looked tired, with dark circles under them.

From head to toe, he was dressed entirely in black, adding to his dreary appearance.

As usual, Professor Carlson’s eerie demeanor stood out as he suddenly leaned toward Arina’s cart.

"Judging by the ingredients, today’s menu is curry. Or perhaps, something unique like a pristine white cream stew?"

"Curry."

"Ah, as expected!"

The other day, he had correctly guessed she was there for Professor Magnus’s class just by looking at the book she was holding. Now, he deduced her menu from the ingredients alone. His observational skills were impressive.

At the same time, she realized he was oblivious to social cues and driven by an unnecessary curiosity.

Still bent over her cart, he turned his head toward her and gave a sly smile.

Due to his ominous aura, Arina could hear nearby adults whispering as if he were suspicious.

"How admirable."

On the other hand, Professor Carlson’s face was full of genuine goodwill.

Straightening his back, he lightly patted Arina’s head.

"Running errands in place of your parents. I hope to have a daughter like you someday."

Did his words make the whispers around them grow louder?

By now, it seemed the onlookers had completely concluded he was a kidnapper.

Some women even gripped their smartphones tightly, as if ready to call the police.

"Ah, thank you."

Parents, huh.......

Well, from an outsider’s perspective, that was an obvious assumption.

A twelve-year-old child, who had lost both parents at an even younger age, lived with her uncle and took full responsibility for all household chores.

No matter how observant one might be, it was impossible to easily imagine such a setting outside of a drama.

Arina, worried that Professor Carlson might feel awkward, simply smiled and nodded without denying it.

'Is it just cup noodles?'

She subtly shifted her gaze to the shopping bag Professor Carlson was holding.

Inside, there were piles of cup noodles stacked like a mountain.

Basic cup noodles, black bean sauce cup noodles, udon cup noodles, stir-fried cup noodles, curry cup noodles, and so on.

The bag was completely filled with an assortment of cup noodles, and there wasn’t a single other item inside, suggesting that his regular meals consisted solely of cup noodles.

'Judging by how he could make curry with just the ingredients, it doesn’t seem like he’s completely incapable of cooking.'

It seemed more likely that it was due to his preferences or habits rather than his cooking skills.

Like her uncle, who found cooking bothersome.

Or perhaps he simply enjoyed the taste of cup noodles so much that he ate them every day.

Of course, the notion that ramen is inherently unhealthy is just a societal prejudice.

Unlike in the past, ramen companies now fortify their noodles with vitamins and pay considerable attention to nutritional aspects.

However, eating nothing but ramen without any variety was still a bit problematic.

At least, that was what Arina thought.

'Could it be that his body is so thin because he only eats ramen?'

Nutritional imbalance caused by ramen.

Professor Carlson’s frail and sickly-looking body might have been shaped by such habits.

For Arina, who had earned the title of “expert homemaker” from Cain despite being only twelve, such suspicions were inevitable.

'I should make a few side dishes and bring them to him later.'

A professor gaining sympathy and pity from a student.

It was an incident caused by Arina’s kind-hearted nature, but had the strict Professor Ecleus Vivaldi been present, she would have sternly scolded Professor Carlson to maintain his dignity as a professor.

"Ah, you must be tired from attending class today. I’m sorry to have troubled you. I’ll take my leave now. Be careful on your way home, and I’ll see you at the Academy tomorrow."

"Yes, you be careful too, Professor!"

As Arina bowed her head, Professor Carlson walked past her with sluggish, unsteady steps.

People flinched and moved aside as Professor Carlson approached them.

"Hahaha, could it be that something was on sale? There seem to be a lot of people today."

It was all because of him, but he never realized it.

Professor Carlson left without ever noticing the truth.

"……It really is a bit of a problem to eat the same thing over and over again."

Watching Professor Carlson’s retreating figure, Arina, as if realizing something, nodded with a determined look on her face.

It wasn’t just about ramen.

Simply put, curry seemed healthier than ramen, but perhaps seeing the dire consequences of eating only one type of food left an impression on her.

Suddenly worried about her uncle’s health, Arina began returning some of the curry ingredients she had stockpiled back to their original places.

Unaware of the looming crisis on his dining table, Cain was lying in his study, engrossed in reading a book.

And so, unknowingly, Professor Carlson ended up providing immense help to the Death King, whom Arina deeply admired.