mbers equipped with materials began decorating the villa in earnest.
Maya also ca out for the first ti in a long ti.
She glanced at Ella, who was holding the arm with a displeased look.
She was in the midst of intense research…
Two weeks had passed since returning from the hotel.
Since that day, she had more ti alone.
Except for occasional visits from Karen, she hardly t anyone.
The new research topic she was pursuing was puzzling yet intriguing.
Debulroots.
Its identity had long been a mystery in the academic world.
Maya had read all the papers on it in her room over the past two weeks.
So far, not much had been discovered despite many attempts to uncover its identity.
Or even if she was as smart as she claid to be, it was impossible for her to decipher all the accumulated data in just a few days.
"Start here, please. I'd like one mber dressed in Halloween costus for each wall."
Ella instructed her to paint murals.
She wanted to decorate the villa with eerie pictures for the festival.
While working, Maya didn't stop thinking about her research.
She reviewed the information she had organized over the past few days.
Debulroots the substance behind the Curse Plague. Its structure is in the form of a quadruple helix. The Alchemy Guild possesses a substance called 'Galaxy' that can destroy Debulroots. It began spreading after the appearance of the 'Plague Lord'. A person nad Victor defeated that demon and received the title of Saint.
Up to this point, it was information known to the public.
And the next fact was known only to her and the Director.
The morial left by Saint Victor at the Tettromino Plaza was made to resemble the form of Debulroots an encryption containing Debulroots structure remains on the square's floor.
And finally, although not a research institution, there was one recent news from the Orthodox Church.
Debulroot is associated with the 'The Black Magician.'
Maya clenched her fist as she recalled that na.
Her mory was exceptionally sharp.
It wasn't like having a perfect mory as rumored, but once she rembered sothing, even if it was old, she could vividly recall it.
It was when she was six months old.
She cried in her father's arms, saying there was no mom anymore.
Her father, who had always been cheerful to the point of being frivolous, had never made such a despairing expression before or after that.
To her, her father's expression was more tragic than the fact that her mother had died.
She pushed those mories into the corner.
What she needed was not her emotions about the Black Magician but information about him.
Unfortunately, there was nothing more to find out about the Black Magician.
He had eluded pursuit worldwide for over a decade.
It was recently revealed that he was associated with the Curse Plague.
But for Maya, there was a more accessible subject to investigate.
Saint Victor and the Plague Lord.
There were official records about them as well as many circulating rumors.
Many scholars had surely investigated them, but Maya had the 'structural formula of Debulroots' that others didn't.
With this, she wondered if she could see things that others couldn't, like the morial at Tettromino Plaza.
Maya rembered Wonderstein explaining it.
Would he have known what it was, after all?
Actually, it was a needless question.
Of course, he would have known.
Maya had seen him cure the Curse Plague in Dvallchep using it.
It was a thod more effective than the Alchemy Guild's Galaxy and had fewer side effects than the stakes of the Orthodox priests.
The Director must have found a way to control Debulroots through repeated research.
He even used it to treat people.
Surely he had used it when she was attacked by Zakanuba, or rather, when Karen was practically dead.
Of course, sacrifices were also involved.
He suffered from absorbing Debulroots into his body and endured agony.
So she had monitored his health for a while after that.
Maya realized that her knowledge of the subject was much more extensive than others'.
She had to use it wisely.
Fortunately, it seed there were no major issues, so she felt relieved.
However, perhaps because she had read too much about the curse plague over the past two weeks, buried anxiety resurfaced.
Phrases from papers describing the potency and danger of Debulroots flashed before her eyes.
Many researchers who believed they could control Debulroot had beco its victims.
There were scholars who suffered unknowingly from the new plague and died with their bodies deteriorating, and areas that beca desolate due to its accidental leakage from the research lab.
The Director had contained such a dangerous thing within himself.
He jokingly packaged it as fixing Papiflux, but he already knew it was Debulroots at that point.
The reason he taught it to her.
Perhaps he didn't know it would backfire.
Maybe he hoped she would discover what he found on his own.
"It wasn't what I asked for, but is this pattern okay?"
Maya stopped her thoughts at Ella's words.
She looked to the side.
There, Wonderstein and Ella had approached without her noticing and were standing side by side, watching her work.
Maya looked at the picture she had just painted on the wall.
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There were countless depictions of double helices filling the walls, created and erased thousands of tis over the past two weeks.
Double quadruple helices.
Debulroots.
It filled the walls densely, like dozens of them.
Lost in thought, she seed to have moved the brush and paint with telekinesis.
Maya glanced at Wonderstein.
He subtly avoided her gaze.
He clearly saw it, but pretended not to.
And while Ella rambled on about the painting, Wonderstein said nothing.
Was he going to be offering advice or guidance to her to solve it?
Maya felt her sense of challenge burning even more.
Wonderstein avoided her gaze as her eyes sparkled.
Seeing the double helices she had drawn, it seed like being cooped up in her room for two weeks was indeed because of that ti.
It was a problem that even a genius like her had beco deeply absorbed in.
But he didn't offer any guidance or advice, just gave the solution.
He realized how deflating and frustrating it must have been for her as he left the hotel.
It must have felt like playing an exploration ga diligently, only to be given all the hidden places, stories, and endings by soone else.
He understood her feelings, having been on the receiving end himself.
In fact, at first, he didn't plan to give away the answer so blatantly.
He only intended to ntion things like the periodic table.
He thought that would be enough for her to overco it if she was inspired by it.
But then he got excited about knowing sothing after a long ti and blurted it out.
He had seen her passing through the corridor carrying papers and materials so ti ago.
The fact that the double helix was genetic material was not discovered by scientists until the late 20th century.
Even if she was a genius, it was impossible for her to figure out what it was by herself.
However, he couldn't just say, "That's DNA, it contains genetic information!" and avoid her resentnt.
He could only watch.
Wonderstein watched her use telekinesis to lift the brush and paint, creating illusions, modifying the painting according to Ella's demands.
Perhaps it was thanks to overcoming Papiflux.
Her skills seed to have improved compared to before.
Wonderstein stepped aside, relieved, to allow her to focus on the painting.
"Shall we go now?"
While the mbers poured their efforts into decorating the villa, he decided to go to town.
A few days ago, we invited a tailor to the villa, and the mbers were fitted for Halloween costus.
He was going to pick them up.
Although there was a dressing room function in the status window, there was no need to waste Debulroots on sothing that could be done with money.
Above all, the dressing room could only replicate clothes that had been seen once, but it couldn't weave clothes out of ideas sketched out.
"Let's hurry back. We have a lot to do today," Ella tried to follow him.
However, he smiled warmly and shook his head.
"There's so much to do, Ella, you should stay here."
"Uh… th-then, would you just go by yourself…?"
She hesitated in her words.
She knew what he was going to say.
But she didn't like it, so she asked anyway.
Sure enough, the expected answer flowed from his mouth.
"No. I'll go with Clara."
"Director, the carriage has arrived!"
A blue-haired woman who still looked like she hadn't grown up suddenly protruded her head from the villa entrance and shouted.
"Then I'll be off."
She stood still in her place, leaving Ella, who blinked her eyes, I headed out with Clara.
In the past, Ella would have followed him in such situations, but since Clara ca, she took over all the tasks of assisting the Director.
Ella watched dumbfoundedly as the two of them left.
Clara stuck close to Wonderstein, chatting animatedly with him about sothing.
Wonderstein smiled awkwardly at her, looking at her.
Their relationship seed close.
Clara.
Since she ca in, Ella's workload had decreased significantly.
Thanks to that, she was much more comfortable than before.
But there was sothing missing.
In fact, she had taken on too much work.
Passing on ssages to the mbers or assisting the Director's tasks was not sothing that should have been done by the Assistant Director.
It should have been done by soone else.
Clara was an efficient secretary who lived up to those expectations.
Perhaps it was because of her experience serving as a student representative, she knew a lot and had plenty of ideas to deal with various situations.
Above all, she didn't care about the appearance of the mbers at all.
Although she looked like a quiet model student who had never done anything difficult, her personality was completely different.
While she was good at work, there were many sloppy and dishevelled aspects of her daily life.
She would take Sven's nonsense seriously, or answer Womon's questions with completely irrelevant remarks, confusing them.
Moreover, when she first arrived, she was scolded by Yurakne for walking around in just a t-shirt and panties, like she lived in a dormitory in the villa.
Clara beca her second student to receive clothing education.
The first was Maya, who wore the sa clothes all week long.
Thanks to these friendly aspects, she quickly beca close to the mbers.
Assisting the Director and smoothing the atmosphere of the mbers, these were originally Ella's roles.
She did both very well.
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