Chapter 38 (continued)

Huh?

This... how do you put it, is it an online rumor? Reynold didn't confess to Mel. If he really did, he wouldn't just turn into a sheep, he'd probably turn into a whole roasted lamb.

I was dumbfounded.

The Five-Star Old Man was clearly amused by my expression. He proudly pulled out his phone, and on it... well, there really was a Reynold sheep.

"Haha, and Lord Madsen rejected him, hahaha, look, the Speaker of the House, turned into a sheep in public! If it were me, I'd jump off a building, hahaha—and you, your Speaker would rather be turned into a sheep by the Archmage Mephistopheles than be with you! Oh, how touching is Speaker Reynold's sincere love! Too bad, it's not with you! Hahahaha!"

Sigh... I'm so sorry, Reynold. I've caused you to turn into a sheep and have your picture taken and uploaded. Movies really do kill people. Otherwise, Mel wouldn't have acted so impulsively. But... I also realized that jumping off a building could kill you. Five-Star Old Man, do you really not know how to Feather Fall?

Good heavens, a mage who can't Feather Fall? A mage who can't Feather Fall?! A mage who can't Feather Fall!!!

Thankfully, this isn't my apprentice, otherwise I would have definitely disinfected him with Hellfire. How dare he use social media when he doesn't even know Feather Fall!

When I came to my senses, the Five-Star Old Man walked away with a smug smile, leaving Moli and me standing there. Moli was trembling from trying to suppress her laughter, like a phone on silent or vibrate. And indeed, she took out her phone, logged into her social media account, and told me that the photos of Reynold turning into a sheep were everywhere, and it was already the second most searched topic. The first place... well, the first place was me.

In the video, the dark mage is surrounded by burning black magic fire, his black robes fluttering, and there are charred electronic figures screaming and convulsing in the flames.

Luckily, I didn't show my face.

"Wow, Speaker's popularity has actually increased after turning into a sheep!" Moli exclaimed. "Everyone says the sheep Speaker is so cute, they want to hug him!"

Hmm... Reynold turned into a sheep is indeed cute.

It was chubby, with soft white fur, and its eyes were wide and round. It was anxiously spinning around in place, opening its mouth and making bleating sounds...

Sigh... where can I buy a sheep?

"Huh?" Moli tilted her head. "If you want to buy sheep, you should go to a farm or a wholesale market for fresh agricultural products."

"No... I didn't mean slaughtered sheep, I meant clean and cute sheep kept as pets."

"Good heavens! Teacher, who keeps sheep as pets these days!" Moli looked at me as if she had seen Five-Star Old Man stripping and dancing.

So, these days you all use magical raw materials as pets? Sheep are cute, but are black widow spiders cute? Although they are also fluffy, fluffy sheep make you want to kiss and hug them, while fluffy giant spiders only make your hair stand on end and make you scream. The difference between these two fluffy creatures is huge.

A little while later, the errand boy brought me a transfer order. Moli took it and thanked him, saying, "Thank you, sir."

The errand runner gave me a sympathetic look and then left.

"Teacher... she's an administrative officer in the department, not an errand runner..."

"But isn't doing things just doing things? So, it's still just running errands," I said.

Moli sighed, "So you mean running errands... Teacher, we're doomed, you've really become an assistant."

I took a look, and... well, I guessed it already. It was full of nonsense, meticulously listing my crimes of blowing up the research institute's laboratory, using particularly harsh language, as if I had blown up half of the Federation, rather than just a mere experimental accident... and an experimental accident in which no one was injured! Then it said that my assistant and I, now assistants, were going to be assistants to a new academician.

The new mage is named Yamosi, and I've heard he's highly regarded by the Five-Star Old Man.

"Oh my god, teacher!" Moli handed me a set of assistant's clothes and whispered, "Please, please don't call me 'Five-Star Old Man' in front of the head mage. What if he tells on us?"

"But isn't he the Five-Star Old Man?"

Moli said in despair, "His position is the vice dean in charge..."

Okay, turns out I haven't been calling him the right person all along. It's not "Five-Star Old Man," it's "Meddlesome Vice Dean." But I think "Five-Star Old Man" sounds better.

I nodded, and soon my other assistants arrived. They looked at me silently, Keweite's eyes clearly swollen from crying.

"Let's go," I said to them.

My assistants obediently followed me to the new lab. No one spoke or played on their phones during that time, making me think I was leading a team to a funeral. What was there for them to be so silent about? I had taught them a lot of useful knowledge before, and they would definitely perform better than the other assistants. The new head mage would surely praise them highly, and they might even get a raise and a promotion.

I heard very soft whispers behind me, it seemed Keweite was talking to the person next to him. "... What high regard? She just slept with that Five-Star Old Man..."

"Good heavens... why are you calling him 'Five-Star Old Man' now? Don't cause His Field any trouble..."

When I turned around, they all smiled—the kind of standard, comforting smiles you only see when trying to console the bereaved family. I couldn't bring myself to scold them.

Upon arriving at the laboratory, we discovered that the mage Yamosi was not there. Soon after, a errand boy from the experimental group... well, the clerk came to inform us that the supervising mage was unavailable and that the assistants could continue processing materials and other tasks in the laboratory.

Keweite remarked sarcastically, "I guess he won't be able to get out of that Five-Star Old Man's bed. It's hard to imagine that fat guy has such good back strength."

This time, I decisively cast a ban. How can a mage view issues with such filthy thoughts?

Because this is a new lab, there aren't many materials to process, so I randomly checked their spells, especially Keweite's. That kid couldn't hold back a single spark while muted, which really angered me. If you can't cast spells while muted, what kind of sorcerer is this? Are you a singer? Making a living with your voice? Should I send you to a talent show?

They failed their spells one by one, but when it came to food, they were all excited, almost dancing with joy. They even dragged me to the research institute's cafeteria for lunch. Before, when I was doing experiments, I didn't have a fixed lunch time, and they always ordered food to eat. I suspect that they dragged me to the cafeteria not because they had finally become more diligent and stopped staying at home ordering food, but because I couldn't test their spells in the cafeteria.

Ha, you really think that means I can't continue the assessment?

I cast a powerful Adhesion Spell on everyone, and their hands are now stuck to their trouser seams, unable to move. If they want to eat, they have to use levitation spells to precisely control their plates to get food, and they also have to use magic to get the food into their mouths. Anyone who dares to get food all over their face will be given extra homework immediately upon returning!

They lined up, sobbing, as if going to their deaths to get food.

Suddenly, the restaurant's large screen began broadcasting the midday news.

Besides the summit concluding successfully (which is great, Mel doesn't have to suffer anymore), the topic of Speaker Reynold being turned into a lamb in public was also discussed. To my surprise, the Speaker being turned into a lamb really boosted Reynold' popularity, and even his approval rating in the polls increased.

See, everyone's aesthetic sense is still normal; fluffy sheep are just adorable.

"... Furthermore, there's another sensational piece of news: Archmage Mephistopheles Madsen recently purchased the entire complex in the capital Holy Light City. Analysts initially thought this outstanding mage was about to enter the real estate industry, but to everyone's surprise, early this morning, residents exercising in the morning discovered that all the buildings in the complex had been demolished, the entire area had been completely transformed, and a tower had appeared out of nowhere. Neither the surrounding residents nor the patrolling guards noticed anything unusual during the night. This tower was nowhere to be seen yesterday evening, and no one knows how this legendary archmage managed to construct such a massive mage tower overnight..."