Volume 1 Chapter 672

Chapter 672: Lolth’s Old Line of Work!

Upon awakening, Lolth sensed she’d dreamt of something profoundly significant. The lingering vision contained a peculiar figure endlessly reciting odd phrases to her – maxims like "When faced with challenges, sleep them away," words she’d long adopted as her creed. There were also vague admonitions about teachers and students… What could that possibly mean?

What an utterly bizarre individual and unsettling dream!

Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Lolth gazed at the classroom full of youthful vitality where girls exuded springtime radiance. A wistful thought blossomed in her heart. "How lovely… It feels millennia since I last beheld such tranquility and carefree simplicity."

The self-aware humor of her own remark drew a sudden chuckle from her lips. As if she truly possessed thousands of years’ experience! Why, she was merely seventeen winters old. This very scene unfolding before her eyes constituted her ordinary, recurring reality – the comforting continuity of days spent with Isabella, Alu, and their new instructor Tina… all her most familiar companions.

Though their campus frolics might seem mundane to outsiders, these simple pleasures warmed Lolth’s heart. Yet as she contemplated this, an uneasy realization prickled her consciousness. That strange dream-voice whispered through her psyche once more.

"Do foreign exchange students or teachers exist at our school?"

The query hung in her mental space, demanding consideration. Wait… did their institution truly host international visitors? And why did this internal voice mirror her own timbre so precisely? Could the dream’s mysterious figure have been… herself?

Lolth massaged her temples, sensing disquiet’s cold fingers creeping through her mind. An indescribable dissonance began permeating her perception. "Why does this perfectly ‘authentic’ and ‘logical’ world suddenly feel… incongruous?" she murmured, experiencing alien detachment from her surroundings.

The voice resurged with renewed urgency. "Do humans possess elongated ears?"

Her gaze drifted instinctively toward the doorway where substitute teacher Tina stood. The instructor’s exquisite, nearly translucent ears – delicate enough to reveal faint vascular patterns when backlit – quivered slightly in the sunlight.

"This is perplexing…" Lolth muttered. "They’re distinctly different from others’, yet surely just common ‘long ears’… No, wait – humans shouldn’t have elongated ears at all!"

"If only I could use sensing magic—I could determine if she’s truly an elf…"

Lolth contemplated while gathering her magical energy.

The instant before releasing her power…

Her raised fingertip stiffened.

Where did magic exist in this world?!

Since when did elves roam here?!

This was supposed to be a "scientific" realm—one without magic or elves!!

Yet…

How then to explain Teacher Tina’s elongated ears?

Since when did humans possess such features?!

Chaos erupted in Lolth’s mind, each spiraling thought amplifying her torment. An invisible weight seemed to crush her airways, transforming simple cognitive processes into grueling marathons.

"Damnation… Damnation… Damnation!!"

Fingers digging into her temples, she wondered: Had oversleeping fractured her sanity? Was this schizophrenia’s embrace? No—those sensations felt too visceral to be delusions!

What revelations had her dreams held? Could those visions hold truth? Though didn’t all madmen believe their fantasies during episodes?

Stress-induced hallucination? Absurd—when had she ever known stress?!

Mental tsunamis of conjecture battered her consciousness. Lolth’s grip on rationality slipped as her psyche fractured into warring factions.

Reality or illusion?

Hallucination or revelation?

Psychic invasion? Preposterous—except… did arcane forces actually linger here?!

Her pallor turned ashen as internal warfare raged.

Then…

Silken words cut through the tempest.

"Lolth… what troubles you? Are you unwell?"

Turning around, she met Isabella’s concerned gaze.

Though clearly foreign,

nothing about her seemed "artificial."

"Would you like to eat something?"

Isabella whispered. Lolth exhaled slowly before nodding.

"Sure… let’s grab a bite!"

Rising as she spoke, Lolth moved toward the doorway.

During first period’s break, students flowed through the classroom like tidewater. Maintaining her composure, Lolth collected her backpack and exited.

Pausing at the threshold, she rapped knuckles against her friend’s desk.

"Alu, tell the teacher I went to the infirmary if they ask."

The reading girl set down her comic disguised under a cover titled "Solutions to Math Exam Questions."

"Again with skipping?"

But after glimpsing Lolth’s pallid complexion, she relented.

"Fine, make it quick… Not that Mr. Physics would care anyway."

Nodding, Lolth entered the corridor and strode toward stairwell shadows.

Isabella’s footsteps pattered behind.

"Lolth? Where are we—"

"Getting food. Coming?"

The silver-haired girl ascended steps with head tilted in question.

Isabella’s hesitation lasted three heartbeats before she matched pace.

"I’ll… accompany you then."

Their synchronized footsteps echoed upward until Isabella frowned.

"This isn’t the cafeteria route."

"Correct. We’re rooftop-bound."

Clarity returning, Lolth’s voice softened like dawn mist.

"The roof? Do vendors operate there?"

"Hardly. You’ll see."

Lolth’s tone brightened, footsteps gaining spring as they reached the final landing.

At the weathered rooftop door, Lolth produced her school badge. A flick of wrist exposed the pin’s reverse.

Metal screeched as she manipulated the antique padlock.

*Click.*

Lolth, familiar with the routine, ushered them through the protesting hinges.

Wind greeted them, carrying whispers across the concrete expanse littered with forgotten debris and electrical housings.

From one metallic cube, Lolth conjured—

Extension cord. Induction cooker. Wok. Rice steamer.

"Cafeteria slop tastes like regret," she declared, plugging appliances into the jury-rigged outlet. "Convenience store junk’s worse. We feast properly today."