Ancient Potion Society classroom.

Muen first went to ask the faculty member in charge of clubs, but learned that aside from Anna-sunbae’s own key, there were no spare copies for this room. So he had no choice but to once again unleash his god-tier lockpicking skill—[Lockpicking LV8]—to crack the clearly custom-forged, near-impossible-to-open lock made by sunbae herself.

“Why do I feel like I’m getting more and more used to this kind of thing...”

Muen let out a self-deprecating laugh as he pushed open the classroom door.

There was no wind. The pale curtains were drawn tight, and the entire room was shrouded in a heavy shadow.

Cold and stifling.

In the past, whenever Muen opened the door to the potion classroom, he’d always feel a flutter of anticipation and excitement.

But this time, as he laid eyes on the carefully maintained equipment and ancient books that seemed to still carry the imprint of a delicate, ivory hand...

A dull ache twisted in his chest.

The familiar potion classroom looked exactly the same.

But the mischievous upperclassman with her tied-up hair and soft smile—was nowhere to be seen.

...

Muen walked inside. The delicate potion equipment was spotless, the shelves of ancient texts still neatly organized.

He walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out an old tome at random. Worried he might damage it, he flipped through the pages carefully.

The complex ancient script wriggled across his vision like tadpoles. The symbols were so arcane that even seasoned potion masters would struggle with them—let alone Muen, who hadn’t even begun to study the subject.

“No good. I can’t make sense of any of this. This isn’t going to work.”

“There are so many books. If I have to search them one by one, it could take until the end of time...”

But—

His eyes swept across the neatly arranged layers of books on the shelves, and something clicked.

With sunbae’s personality, she wouldn’t have left anything important lying around this openly.

Then where would she hide it?

Keeping it on her person was impossible—it would’ve been found by the Silencers by now.

Muen slowly backed up until he was near the entrance. From there, he swept his gaze across the entire room.

Club classrooms were usually large.

Even with part of the space set aside for potion experiments and storing materials, the remaining area was still quite spacious.

Still, a classroom was a classroom—square, rigid, with few places to hide anything.

Could it be... it’s not here?

No—that couldn’t be. From both convenience and security standpoints, this was the best hiding place.

Then...

As he pondered, Muen paced the room slowly.

Unconsciously, he ended up near the window. He pulled back the curtain and opened it wide.

A breeze and warm sunlight immediately rushed in, sweeping away the room’s shadows. The space brightened again, just like how it had looked in his memories.

Muen looked outside.

Bare treetops swayed in the wind. Behind them, the indigo silhouette of mountains framed the endless blue sky.

From this window, one could look far beyond the strict, solemn buildings of the academy.

He remembered how sunbae liked to sit by this window and gaze out.

But what was there to see? It was so empty, so vast. Didn’t it only make her loneliness stand out more?

He still didn’t understand the heart of a girl. But even so, he felt an overwhelming pity.

Muen sighed softly, his hand resting on the desk she often sat at—almost as if hoping to feel some lingering ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ warmth.

Wait. Hold on.

Her usual seat?

A sudden thought made his eyes light up.

He spun around and sat at her desk.

But—not to sniff out any lingering scent like some pervert—but to view the classroom from her perspective.

From this angle, the entire room came into full view.

He could even see the white wall at the rear of the classroom through the deliberate gaps in the bookshelves.

The wall tiles, with a sheen like white jade, looked newly installed.

But the rest of the classroom clearly bore signs of age.

That could only mean one thing...

Muen stood up and walked over.

He drew Elizabeth and began tapping gently along the wall tile, inch by inch.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud... Ting.

There it is!

He lit up with excitement and ran his hand over the tile that had produced the odd sound.

Not a seam, not a trace of a mechanism in sight.

And without a keyhole, his lockpicking skill was useless.

In that case...

“Sorry, sunbae.”

Muen murmured a quiet apology in his heart and drew Elizabeth, the pure white blade sliding across the wall.

Like slicing tofu, the blade easily carved through the surface.

Revealing a hidden compartment behind it.

Muen crouched down and peeked inside.

Potions of varying colors were neatly arranged within the space—slightly larger than a safe.

Each vial bore a label.

For suppression.

For suppression.

For suppression.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

...

Aside from the first row, every label read Failure.

There weren’t any detailed notes, but Muen could already guess what they were meant to treat.

“As I thought... Sunbae really was experimenting with this.”

The Ancient Potion Society—this wasn’t just a club for recreating ancient formulas.

It was Anna’s sanctuary.

Her place of self-rescue.

Even if, judging by the results, it hadn’t succeeded...

Still—if she had tried, then somewhere, deep down, she must have seen a flicker of hope.

Muen’s eyes moved lower.

At the very bottom was a thin, unremarkable booklet.

Just seeing it made Muen’s breath catch.

This must be it.

He picked it up with trembling hands and gently flipped it open.

Snake Transformation Disease: Potion Experiment Records.

That was the first line.

He turned the page.

...

Year 1057 of the Lifeline Calendar. First potion experiment after entering Saint Maria Academy.

Materials obtained from second-year student Don Rogede. To impress his girlfriend, he once decorated an entire academic building with a thousand roses.

Result: Failure.

Note: Don Rogede broke up with his girlfriend two months later to chase someone else.

...

Year 1057?

That was four years ago.

So sunbae has been working on this since then?

But snake transformation symptoms typically incubated over one to three years before full manifestation.

“So she really is special... and I have a feeling... she’s more than just special.”

He kept flipping.

...

Third experiment.

Materials obtained from a first-year junior. She often asked me for advice about a boy she liked. Her eyes were pure—I thought there was a chance.

Result: Failure.

Note: They broke up a year later. The girl said she couldn’t stand the boy’s foot odor. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

...

Seventh experiment.

Materials obtained from a childhood friends pair. They’d been together for over ten years.

Result: Failure.

Note: They’re still together. Is it a façade? Or... did I misinterpret something?

...

Eleventh experiment.

The experiment didn’t proceed.

A graduating senior confessed to me. I could see his sincerity.

If I accepted, maybe I could have gotten the materials I needed.

But I refused.

Anna, you’re going to become a monster everyone hates. You have no right to be loved.

Note: That senior talked behind my back afterward. I beat him up.