Rise of the Harem King
Chapter 116: The clumsy teacher

Chapter 116: The clumsy teacher

As expected on the first day back to classes, the lessons were pretty simple. And as soon as the class was dismissed, Davi disappeared, not wasting any time chatting with his classmates.

He could make friends another day, for now, he intended to visit the lab that Amalia had assigned him to work in. After all, the woman said it would be advantageous for him.

After walking for a while through the academy campus, Davi finally reached the indicated location: the Alchemy Department.

The first thing that caught his attention was the sheer size of the place. There was a large area set aside just for the department, with several small buildings scattered around, and at the center of it all stood a large, modern five-story building that stood out even from a distance.

Its facade was covered in shiny metallic panels, interspersed with large reinforced glass windows that reflected the afternoon sun in a particularly annoying way.

Inside, there were various specialized laboratories, analysis rooms, storage for rare ingredients, and even containment chambers for more dangerous experiments. And, each floor was dedicated to a specific area of alchemy

Besides the labs, there were also individual workrooms where professors could carry out their own research... or just grade texts while enjoying the air conditioning and internet funded by Enki.

As the name suggested, the building was exclusive to professors specializing in alchemy. There were other similar departments for other specialties, although alchemy was one of the best-funded areas of research.

Ange, the professor Davi had been forced to work with due to Amelia’s insistence, was not only an alchemist but also the head of the Advanced Alchemy with Monsters Laboratory, an area Davi knew little about.

"Who are you?" a man wearing full armor approached Davi and asked in a calm tone upon seeing him near the department.

Only professors and their supervised students were allowed into the Alchemy Department, so it was no surprise that security was tight. The guard at the entrance gave him the typical suspicious look, but followed it with a polite smile.

"My name is Davi," he replied calmly, handing over his letter.

The guard’s expression changed instantly. "Ah, yes. Davi..." he muttered to himself.

That name had already spread through the academy halls, and even beyond. There were both good and bad rumors attached to it. And the man seemed to have only heard the bad ones.

Still, Davi simply showed the registration letter given to him by Amelia, proving that, like it or not, he was officially assigned to work with Professor Ange from that day on.

The guard read the document... reread it... passed a magic light over it... turned it inside out, sniffed it, probably considered licking it too. But in the end, he confirmed its authenticity.

With a resigned sigh, he simply turned around and guided Davi to the reception desk. There, a secretary awaited him. It was a well-groomed young man with perfectly combed blond hair, neatly pressed clothes, and a professional smile plastered on his face.

"Welcome. I’m Finn, it’s a pleasure to meet you," he said, extending his hand enthusiastically.

Davi shook it a bit warily. After all, no one smiles like that on a Monday unless they’re being paid. Well, he was probably being paid to work there...

"The pleasure is mine. My name is Davi," the boy replied in return.

"Never seen you around here. Is this your first time visiting?" The man led the conversation in a professional tone. The name ’Davi’ didn’t seem to trigger any strange reaction in him.

"Yes, I’m starting to assist a professor here," Davi explained quickly, he wasn’t in the mood for small talk. "I need to find the Advanced Alchemy with Monsters Laboratory," he added, getting straight to the point.

Finn’s smile froze on his face, though his eyes had already stopped smiling.

"...Ah. That lab," he said, lowering his voice. A second later, he made a face of pure disgust, as if he had bitten into a rotten fruit. "Did she invite you to be her assistant, by any chance? I know I’m overstepping here, but if I may offer some advice, don’t work with her."

Davi raised an eyebrow. He didn’t like that man’s tone one bit. Besides, as charming as Finn seemed, Davi couldn’t shake the bad feeling he had about him. He looked like the kind of guy who’d betray a friend without blinking.

"Just take me there, Finn," he said flatly.

The secretary let out a deep sigh but began walking with him down the hallways.

"Alright, follow me. I’ll show you the way," he said with a tired voice. "But keep in mind what I said. If you ever need help finding a good professor to work with, just talk to me. I’m always willing to help."

"Thank you so much for your kindness," Davi replied with a fake smile.

The two exchanged a few more polite but cold words until the boy finally arrived at an old door.

"This is the lab," Finn explained quickly. "She’s always inside, so you can just go in if you need to speak to her. I’ve got work to do, so I’ll take my leave." With that, the secretary vanished down the corridor.

Davi turned his attention to the door in front of him. First, he tried knocking out of politeness, but received no answer.

With a sigh, he decided to simply push the door open and step inside.

He quickly noticed how cramped and suffocating the lab was, packed with instruments, tubes, cauldrons, and other contraptions that looked like they’d come straight out of a sci-fi movie.

It was as if someone had tried to cram an entire laboratory into a broom closet. And right in the middle of it all stood her. But Davi didn’t get a chance to notice what she looked like, because...

Boom!

An explosion erupted in the middle of the room.

Flames spread quickly, roaring as if they were trying to claim the lab for themselves. But before they could enjoy their chaos, they were violently stopped by an invisible barrier. The fire died out, leaving behind only the smell of smoke and burnt chemicals in the air.

"It went wrong again," commented the woman responsible for the small disaster, with the calmness of someone who burns their coffee and laughs it off.

She was smiling. Smiling like it was the most fun thing that had happened to her all day. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, already running through a thousand theories about what could’ve caused the unexpected result.

Her green hair was lazily tied back, with loose strands framing her face, partially hidden behind safety goggles.

Her baggy clothes gave her a somewhat sloppy appearance and hid her curves, but they also gave her a special kind of charm.

"You," she said suddenly, noticing Davi for the first time. She pointed straight at him. "Are you available? You arrived at the perfect time, I need help."

Without even asking his name, why he was there, or whether he was a potential assassin, she simply handed him a vial filled with a suspicious-looking green liquid and took a few steps back.

"I think I know what happened. Can you apply mana to this substance for about five minutes? Do it at a low speed. I need to prepare a few things."

Before he could even think about protesting, she had already turned her back to him and dived back into the chaos of her workstation.

Davi looked at the vial like someone staring down a wild animal about to bite. He definitely wasn’t planning to use <Love the King> just to infuse mana into a random vial he knew nothing about.

Of course, he could still use <Mana Manipulation> with just his base stats, it would just take a bit longer than five minutes.

Either way, he did as asked, all the while wondering what exactly he was holding.

He had just seen an explosion, so it was hard to believe that the substance was safe. On top of that, it had a strong, unpleasant smell.

Looking around, he spotted some jars filled with monster organs preserved in some kind of yellowish substance. But the place was so cluttered, it was hard to even guess what this woman’s research focus was.

Besides, she didn’t seem to have any assistants. In fact, the lab was so small, it would’ve been difficult for more than one person to even work there with her.

How is she supposed to help me? Davi wondered, as he glanced at the professor, who was enthusiastically tinkering away at her workstation.

At the very least, she looked passionate about what she did, which was a good sign.

Soon enough, she turned to Davi again with a bright smile and a hopeful look in her eyes. She stepped closer and asked:

"Okay, can you give me the vial now?"

"Sure, just wait one more minute," he replied, as he still wasn’t done with the task.

Ange didn’t protest, but Davi thought it was cute the way she nervously fidgeted with the hem of her clothes. She looked like she couldn’t wait to continue her experiment.

"Here," Davi finally handed the vial back to her.

"Thanks," Ange said with a big, beautiful smile that, for a moment, melted the boy’s heart.

Then she turned back to continue her experiment.