The Azuin university: Professor’s exam

Prologue

Footsteps were heard in the gallery outside the door, and the heart stopped for a moment. The fear of being caught right at the scene of the crime responded with a tingling sensation in the spine and a whole horde of goosebumps on the back. Now, in the next moment, the round brass knob will turn and…

No, it’s gone… Whoever it was, he passed by, glory to the Dark One!

Wait a few more seconds and you’re ready to get down to business.

A tiny light flashed on the fingertips, illuminating a piece of the surrounding space. It’s hard to see, of course, but the Guards can react to something more serious. If they’re on display here at all. Meadowill was an old asshole, he could have lied.

Never mind, step by step…

Over there, in that corner, in the center of the map…

Closer… And a little more…

There is so much rubbish here: not the office of the vice-rector, but some kind of warehouse! You’ll catch something, you’ll knock it down… Everybody will run in at once.

A speck of light danced on the wall. The hand went higher, almost touching Lake Sol, so realistically depicted on the oak panel. Yes! It is here!

A small voice began to weave incantations, their ornate, sparkling paths following the movements of fingers over the glass waves.

After a few minutes, which seemed like hours, as usual, a shimmering greenish spot began to loom beneath the blue surface. With each word spoken, it took on a more pronounced form, and soon it lit up in an even pattern of tangled spirals and angles. The Stamp of Rennes! Here it is! So, it’s all true…

The heart skipped a beat.

The last sentence slipped from the lips almost inaudibly.

The Stamp flickered and went out, leaving a black hole the width of a fist in its place.

Damn it, what if there’s a guard inside?!

The palms were sweating, but there was no time for fear.

The hand quickly sank into the hole and immediately came back. The fingers gripped the small figure tightly, its sharp curves ready to cut through the skin.

However, the pain didn’t matter.

Got it…

Chapter 1

The second semester at Azuin-up-Farinech promised to be hot.

Yes, I knew very well that it was already the first month of winter, but for some reason I was sure that I would not notice the cold.

Hah! For some reason… We know why. More precisely, from whom…

Erchin Mavinus is our new professor of monstrology.

Cold, arrogant, snarky ass…

Yes… ass… His ass is what you need…

Here we go again!

I shook my head, pushing away the obsessive thoughts about the professor’s figure.

And why is the world so unfair?! Why couldn’t this guy be a lousy old man or a nice aunt like Ginnessa?

He walks around the faculty, smiling. The girls are just admired him. I wouldn’t be surprised if some guys are too…

I remembered our first meeting. It was impossible to imagine that it would have turned out worse than it actually was three months ago.

***

The noise outside the door caught my attention, and I went out to see who was making a mess on the first day of the school year. Jerry, the devil would have taken him away. Jerry missed the swinech again.

And, of course, who did this drooling and slime monster rush to? Naturally, to the owner of the chotta. To me, that is. What is it that attracts so many different animals to each other that even the smell makes them lose their heads? Who would have known? But the result is always the same.

With a screech and an excited grunt, the swinech flew straight at me, knocking down the gaping students.

I pressed myself against the wall, bracing myself for the inevitable. I was saved from the miserable fate of being licked from head to toe by someone’s brief call. The beast stopped dead in its tracks, just half a meter from my knees. It snorted and twitched loudly, looking annoyed, but it didn’t move.

Looking up from the blunt-eared gray muzzle staring at me, I finally got a look at my savior. My mouth parted, but I couldn’t get a sound out and just stared silently at the man approaching.

Saint Ignalia! I think I have a fever… overheated by the fireplace, no less…

Gray, no, silvery eyes under the whimsically curved arches of the eyebrows looked straight into the soul… And, I wouldn’t be surprised, they saw all my thoughts… very, very dirty thoughts, so that their…

His blue-black hair, styled in a smooth wave, and day-old stubble framed his chin and cheekbones. Broad shoulders, slim waist and endless legs. A well-tailored gray suit is also a rare phenomenon within the walls of our university. In general, I think I was not the only one whose mouth watered.

Speaking of drooling…

The handsome man held out his hand to me and said:

«Erchin Mavinus.»

…He took a step, slipped and fell under my feet, burying his face straight… right to me… In general, lower than the abdomen… ahem…

At the same moment, he abruptly pulled away and jumped up, leaving me with trembling knees and wet panties.

His convulsive apologies, as well as the laughter of those around us, I remember very vaguely. At that moment, all I could see was his head between my legs. Damn, this is something I’ll never forget.

To make a long story short, Jerry’s beast had a puddle of drool all around him. A puddle, leather boots, marble… Well, that’s how it happened. There’s nothing to blame my savior for. Except for my sexual dissatisfaction, yes.

It’s time to ban the keeping of swinechs as pets.

***

Yes, he apologized then. But it turned out that this was an exception to his usual behavior.

After that, he became a real headache with all his self-confidence and «I know how to do best».

However, despite his constant nitpicking and acrimony, condescending treatment of one and all, the university fell in love with him immediately.

Monster science has been chosen by many, but it has never been so popular. The auditoriums were now packed to the brim.

No, we have to give Mavinus his due: he was a genius in his field, and he delivered the material quite well. But he infuriated with his stardom nobly.

And also, by the fact that he paid almost no attention to me. Apart from my mistakes, he never missed an opportunity to poke fun at me.

Of course, I snapped, but let’s be honest, not too much. In fact, half of his remarks turned out to be quite relevant. And what are the remarks compared to the images that filled my mind every time we met. Very sinful images.

In itself, such enthusiasm for the professor did not bode well.

To make matters worse, I was a teacher just like him.

And even worse, I was his boss.

***

So, I’m Zulina Chimer, Dean of the Faculty of zoo-botany at the Azuin University of Magic. I’m twenty-eight, and a lot of people think I got this job at what they say was because of my great tits and cornflower-blue eyes. For some reason, everyone prefers to forget my almost decade-long contribution to the greenhouse cultivation of agmarats and «dragonbone». The fact that teleportation no longer turns the traveler inside out, and therefore has become very common, in fact, opening the borders, is also my merit. What would they do if the agmarats continued to be found only in the farthest thickets, eh? I deserve this place, period.

But what I didn’t deserve was frustrated nerves because of some guy, even if he was so amazing.

I turned the page of the log, made a few notes, compared the entries with the data entered into the system. The graph on the screen floating in the air above the table rose gently upwards. Not too intense, but at least no slumps. This means that our chances for the requested increase in the funding of the faculty have strengthened.

I needed at least a fifteen percent increase in the budget to launch the botanical garden project. The one that the university had now did not stand up to criticism: for example, it was more of a park for walking than a field for science. If we had annexed and cultivated the whole of Meadow, built greenhouses, put the existing collections in order, we could have competed with the Bergar Royal Garden in seven or ten years. I visited that reserve last year… No, "visited " – is too inaccurate a word… I admired, envied terribly, thought of chaining myself in a grove of Murney oaks in the center of the park…

We needed that money.

And some of them, by the way, I intended to earn by inviting Erchin Mavinus to join us. His arrival was supposed to attract new students to our faculty, as well as external listeners. For a fee, of course. And attendance is advertising, popularity. Rector Tahoni adored fame. Sometimes he went too far with this business, but when I look at his management as a whole, the university has gained a lot, and the town has also come to life.

In general, fame is a useful thing, and Erchin uses it to the fullest. As a result, not a day goes by that I don’t see him or hear about him.

So, what do you tell a girl with a vibrant libido to do in such a situation, who hasn’t had even the worst relationship for almost a year?!

Adiree suggests that we go to the Dark World, pick up an incubus. Young and inexperienced, so that you can get rid of him without any problems. Or she laughs and says that I can’t waste time on trifles and approach Saul himself, because he has had his eye on me for a long time. Really? Only the sex demon was that I miss, hah! And about Saul… he and I are friends, if we look for a definition of this, and nothing more. He’s an interesting man, in his own way. It’s only Sunny who flinches at the mention of him, as if the guy is the quintessence of evil. Well, not an angel, but not that scary. But in bed… No, no, no. I’m not suicidal.

However, the one I dream of is no safer.

Erchin is a monster tamer. Everyone knows him as such person. But for some reason, it seems to me, the main monster is hiding inside him. So why don’t I mind feeling his claws on my neck?

Maybe Adiree isn’t so wrong. We should get out as girls, have a party. There seems to be no shortage of men in the world.

There was a loud knock on the door, and it swung open before I could say a word.

«How’s my beloved dean?»

Well, of course, who else could break in so unceremoniously.

«Hello, Professor Mavinus,» I muttered, trying to sound a little friendly. «Both I and the faculty are fine, thank you for your interest.»

He grinned and, without waiting for an invitation, sat down in the chair across from me, unbuttoning his dark blue striped jacket and stretching out his long legs.

«There’s a conversation, I don’t know if I’ve interfered…»

I sighed: when Erchin looked at me like that – when he looked at me at all – I was ready to find time, no matter what nonsense he came with.

«Go ahead.»

«I have some idea for the project of a botanical garden. As I understand it, this is your brainchild?»

I nodded, but didn’t comment.

«Very well,» he moved closer, resting his elbows on the table separating us, as if to make the conversation more intimate, «I think there is something that needs to be reconsidered in it…»

I didn’t have time to hear what exactly he wanted to fix in my precious project, and I didn’t have time to be outraged by his impudence.

The half-closed door swung open again, hitting the wall, letting in a disheveled, panting Sunny.

Already huge, her eyes were almost popping out of their sockets, her cheeks were burning. To be honest, I’ve never seen her so thrilled. Bewilderment and horror were evident on her pretty face.

«The Emerald Azuin has been stolen!» My friend exclaimed, rushing towards me. «He’s free, Zulina!»

Chapter 2

«Holy God! Sunny!» I jumped up to meet her and hit my hip as I rounded the table, but I barely noticed the pain. «Calm down! You’re going to get sick now,» I wrapped my arms around her, forcing her to stop and catch her breath. «Here, sit down.»

We walked over to a couch against the wall of the office, squeezed between huge cabinets, and plopped down on it.

A moment later, a glass of water appeared in front of my eyes, held out by a man’s hand.

Erchin. For a moment, I completely forgot about him. But he was still there, and he was so calm.

Taking the glass, I pushed away my friend, who had already come to her senses a little.

«Here, dear, have a drink, you’ll feel better.»

Sunny drained the glass in two large gulps, not caring how she looked in front of us. Setting it aside, she exhaled, straightened, folded her hands in her lap in her usual manner, and looked at me.

«I’m sorry, Zu! I must have scared you. Maybe I was too worried, but you know… Azuin… I can’t believe it!»

I narrowed my eyes. No, she had no doubt about what she was saying.

«Are you sure, Sunny?»

«Do you think anyone would dare to make a joke like that?!»

«No, I don’t. I have no idea. Probably not. But how do you know?»

«Roginis and Tahoni are there… I mean, in his office, at the Vice-Rector’s. Tahoni is shocked: I’ve never seen him so shocked. And John just tears his hair out and screams all over the west wing. A crowd had already gathered there. Soon the wave will come here too, it’s just that I was the first to run to you… as soon as I heard it.»

«I mean… Did someone remove the protection installed by Roginis? The Stamp of Rennes?» I shook my head in disbelief. «It’s crazy! I didn’t think it was even possible. To open it, and even to extinguish the recoil… It has to be someone very skilled.»

«Level five or even level four, not lower,» Sunny nodded in agreement.

«So, someone with that kind of power infiltrated the university and the Guards were silent? But how?»

She gave me a confused look, then averted her eyes, bit her lower lip, crumpled the fabric of her dress in her lap, as if hesitating to answer.

«Sunny? What? You know something?!»

«No! No, of cause. Just… just… What if no one infiltrated here, huh? That’s why the Guards… While I was running… anyway, that’s the thought, you know?»

I stared at her, beginning to guess what she was afraid to say.

A deep male voice interrupted our silent glances.

«If it’s not someone else, then it’s a local, from university, that’s obvious.»

As if on cue, we turned to Mavinus, who was relaxed in his chair, and he continued.

«This, by the way, is more likely: to steal, you need to know about the object of the theft, where it is, how it is protected, at least approximately. A lot of people in Azuin know this. A symbol, after all.

«But then,» I met Erchin’s gray eyes, blinked, clearing my disheveled thoughts, ran my hand through my hair, brushing back a strand of golden-brown hair that had fallen on my forehead, «then… if he’s one of our colleagues and he was able to break the stamp, then he’s definitely not a student. Really, not all teachers have a fifth level! Sunny and I got ours just recently and…»

«And I have a third, as you know,» added the professor.

«Took the time to brag,» I snorted, and strangely calmed down.

«Ours…» Sunny’s voice trembled, «I can’t believe… it would be terrible,» she threw up her hands, nearly knocking the books off a nearby open shelf. «But, Zu, we don’t care who did it, as long as Azuin is free.»

I shook my head.

«No, no, no. Hang on. It was stolen, but what makes you think they let it go?»

«But why, then…» she wondered. «It’s too much effort for a simple statuette if you don’t release it.»

«For emerald statuette,» Erchin interjected again.

He managed to pull the chair a little closer, and now our company looked almost intimate.

«Not at all,» I said, glad to see the change in his face: I liked to besiege him, even if it was in small ways. «It’s just the name, The Emerald Azuin. Well, yes, it’s green, but it’s just ceramic icing on a stone. Nothing special in terms of self-worth. And from the point of view of art, it is an ordinary craft without frills, to tell the truth.»

The professor raised an eyebrow and looked at Sunny as if he doubted my words. What a dumbass!

She nodded in acknowledgment. Well, after so many years here, it would be unforgivable not to know.

«I see,» Erchin drawled, «thank you for your explanations, dean. But this means that the figure is not going to be sold…»

«It would be better if they were going to,» I interrupted him, «it would be better if it was an order from some dim-witted collector, yes. It’s much worse if the kidnapper doesn’t want the vault, but the prisoner. The devil himself will not say what this may lead to, or what it threatens us, or all of Enthuaria.»

«So, you think all the legends about Azuin’s serpent are true?!» He leaned forward, his hand touching my shoulder.

Devil! Despite the problem that befell all of us, I could not ignore it. The skin that felt the warmth of his hand through the thin fabric of my blouse prickled, hot sparks running all over my body. I suddenly found myself staring at his lips. I wonder how they would feel. I shook his hand off my shoulder, forced a wry smile and responded, trying not to look him in the face.

«Of course. How can you think otherwise?»

«We grew up here,» Sunny said, «and we all know it’s not a legend, it’s a reality, just a very old one. You’re new here, that’s why you’re hesitating yet,» she smiled softly and gently.

Erchin smiled back at her, making me twitch in anger. Well, of course! Everyone is glad to see our blonde darling. Who wouldn’t fall in those turquoise, lagoon-like eyes?! Okay, wait. What’s that… jealousy?!

I even turned away from the couple across from me.

What nonsense! Did I just get mad at my best friend because of some male?! Ugh, idiot. Jinx, we need to listen to Adiree and go to the Dark World. Wait a minute… A Dark World?

I coughed and they both stared at me.

«What is it?» Sunny was worried about me now, and she got up and went to fetch water.

«No, don’t, sit down. Just a thought came,» I tapped my finger on my temple. «If it’s not ours, which I hope it is, it’s most obvious to look for a thief in the Dark World. I can’t imagine that anyone here would decide to contact the power of the Azuin serpent, but over there… There’s a lot of… There are a lot of powerful demons and idiots who want to climb something like that. And it’s easier for a demon to break the Stamp of Rennes: there’s less chance of getting burned. We have to check it out!»

I jumped up, about to continue my tirade, but I was interrupted again. The door opened once more.

The second commandant burst into the room, a short man with a remarkable physical strength that was so incongruous with his cute image of a chubby.

Pulling up the greenish uniform that stretched over his vast belly, he said:

«In connection with an unprecedented event – the alleged theft of the precious artifact The Emerald Azuin – by the will of the Rector Tahoni, the university is declared a temporarily closed territory. Teachers and students are not allowed to leave its walls, meaning the main buildings and the territory of the college’s settlements, until further notice. Each of those present will be called in for an additional interview when competent specialists arrive,» he looked around the three of us, making sure he had been heard, and chuckled. «Sit in your seats, in short, and don’t set foot in the city until the rector and the investigators allow it, okay?»

After waiting for our nods, he left, slamming the door, as always, not commensurate with the effort exerted. Even the glass in the window on the opposite wall rattled with the bang.

Outside, in keeping with our mood, gray clouds crept over the university from behind the Ney Ridge, reflecting like dark shadows in the turbulent waters of the Farinech.

Chapter 3

It was a lousy morning.

More precisely, it was unpleasant: firstly, it was still pouring outside, and since it was already December, it could not be called a warm rain; secondly, we will obviously be interrogated today.

Yesterday, despite the fact that we sat in our offices until late at night, the investigators did not have time to talk to everyone, as well as to inspect the countless premises of the university. So now this confusion threatened to continue, and it did not bode well.

In the evening, Adiree burst in, snorting and growling in annoyance. She was so angry that her scarlet hair, which was so bright beyond belief, was ablaze. Someone had definitely managed to infuriate the Demonology Professor, who was usually quite unflappable.

«How dare he!» She said as she flew into the office. "Who let this bloodhound think he was in charge, huh? As if he thinks I’m some kind of tramp!» She sat down on the couch, snorted again, and said, «I need a drink. Do you have anything?»

I shrugged my shoulders and grinned knowingly: not that I set up a bar here, but I did stash some supplies in case I was in a bad mood. Getting up from the table, I walked over to the book-filled bookcase by the window, pulled out a couple of tomes from the middle shelf, fumbled with my hand in the vacant space, and pulled out a small bottle. A liquid as green as young leaves splashed in the frosted glass.

«Whoa!» Adiree leaned forward at the sight of the bottle and licked her lips in anticipation. «May absinthe? Wow, girl, I didn’t know you were into that.»

I giggled.

«No, not really. It’s just that the whiskey has long since run out. Well, remember, back then, about three months ago, when your Oris had evaporated and we were going to… console ourselves…» I winked at her, and she burst out laughing, remembering her recent follies. «And one autumn I was in the Dark World, hmm…» She stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow in interest. «One word led to another and Saul gave me this as a gift.» I plopped down beside her and poured a few drops of the drink into the small coffee cups on the table: for some reason I didn’t have any glass for shots.

«Yeah, Saul» Adiree’s eyes, green as absinthe, flashed like eyes of a cat scenting a bird. «Of course. Our darling, longing for you incubus…»

«Not at all, I’ve told you a hundred times. Nothing more, just a good buddy… well, as far as a demon of his level can be a buddy.»

«I don’t believe that Saul was just friends with a woman from the Core World! Nope… he’s just waiting for a chance to drag you into bed,» she tipped the glowing liquid into herself in one gulp.

«Ugh… don’t be like that,» I took a sip of absinthe, tart and sweet, gently enveloping my mouth, not feeling strong at all. «He’s not dragging you or Sunny to bed by the way.»