Chapter 55 : An Unexpected Matter (2)

Chapter 55: An Unexpected Matter (2)

For a magician and a priest, the most important thing was none other than restraint and control over themselves.

This was such an obvious fact that no one could dispute it, even considered a kind of truth.

It was something repeatedly emphasized by all the people in history who had achieved great accomplishments.

And I agreed with that as well.

A magician or priest who could not even govern themselves properly.

How could the spells and prayers of such people ever hold power?

That was why magicians and priests first learned how to maintain and regain their own flow, honing it in their own ways.

Reciting spells and prayers aloud could also be seen as stemming from that reason.

At a glance, it could seem utterly inefficient.

Yet paradoxically, through such an act, magicians and priests could recover their flow faster than by any other method.

And for them, that was more important than anything else.

…In fact, most of what I taught Cecilia, who half-jokingly, half-seriously called me her teacher, was about such matters.

After all, having lived my previous life as a priest, that was a field I was reasonably confident in.

‘Still…’

How should I describe this situation?

I wordlessly watched Cecilia, eyes closed, as small glowing lights circled around her.

Hadn’t it been said that a magician who reached a certain level could control and gather the surrounding mana to a visible degree, simply by meditating?

Even for me, this was the first time seeing it with my own eyes instead of merely hearing about it.

‘Does this even make sense?’

Surely Cecilia wasn’t the only one capable of such a thing.

Professor Windy May, for example, or Dean Yeriel Helmont, most likely to be the next Archmage, and a few other professors could do it as well.

Not only them—if one searched through the academy, more names could surely be added.

‘Yes, that makes sense. But…’

But.

If one were to ask how many people had achieved this after just a few days—how many names could be given?

‘…It’s clear again just how overwhelming the difference in class is.’

It was a sight that didn’t spark jealousy, nor even discouragement.

Looking at her, it seemed more like I should be asking her to teach me instead.

Honestly speaking, wouldn’t she be able to achieve greatness even without anyone’s help or instruction?

…But life never went according to plan.

― I couldn’t even succeed in a proper summoning, let alone a contract with a spirit.

Professor Windy May’s words still lingered in my ears.

Perhaps because they had been so shocking.

For several days, she had watched over Cecilia in my stead. She shrugged her shoulders and added:

― No motivation, no focus, poor condition.

― She can’t control either the mana within herself or the mana outside. Even if you sat a child in her place, they’d show a deeper achievement than she does right now.

― Lian Gwendil.

― You know the reason, don’t you?

Seeing Cecilia like this now, it was hard to believe such a story.

But looking back, several things clearly pointed that way.

For the past few days, I had been spending my time training with Allen.

Naturally, that meant I had neglected Cecilia.

Unable to explain the details, I had brushed it off with vague excuses. She accepted them at first, but as time went on, I remembered how she had visibly become discouraged.

At the time, I had thought she was just feeling unwell….

But now, I realized I had been far too careless.

…Yes, by now I couldn’t ignore it any longer, even if I tried.

“Phew.”

The reason her condition had been poor these days.

The reason her state and attitude had changed so drastically overnight.

That was undoubtedly because of me.

‘It’s not that becoming close is a bad thing…’

The problem was that she had started showing signs of not just relying on me, but becoming dependent on me.

In truth, even though it had only been a few days, just because I had been spending time alone with Allen, she had lost all motivation and even grown dejected.

And unlike the earlier matters, that was not something I could dismiss lightly no matter how I tried to think positively.

‘If she were already somewhat established as a Spirit Sorcerer, it might be different. But at the very start of her path, for her to begin depending on someone isn’t a good sign.’

That meant I had to take action as soon as possible.

I gathered my thoughts as I looked at Cecilia, still meditating silently.

Considering the circumstances, a sudden shock like distancing myself would only backfire.

The best way would be to gradually maintain some distance, making sure no lines were crossed.

At the same time, I would have to lessen her dependence on me, guiding her instead toward a healthier bond, like that of friends or colleagues.

The only problem was that I had no experience whatsoever in such matters.

“Hmm.”

In the end, I concluded that I could not solve this problem smoothly on my own.

The next thought that came to me was to seek advice from someone else.

The one who came to mind was Sister Roberta, who had never hesitated to give me advice.

Yes, she was there.

‘It’s not something that can be solved in just a day or two… I’ll have to ask her for advice sometime.’

She knew about my and Cecilia’s situation, and more than that, her position as a nun made her the perfect person to seek advice from.

Just as I was reaching that conclusion—

“Phew.”

Cecilia quietly exhaled as she finished her meditation.

Her tightly closed eyes slowly opened, and the cluster of lights circling her dissolved into the air.

She turned her head and stared at me blankly.

As I was gathering my words, she spoke first.

“How was it?”

“Excellent. I can say nothing else.”

At my awed reply, she slowly nodded.

Her expression was still stiff, but I could easily see the slight twitch at the corner of her lips.

“I heard from the professor that you struggled to focus on training these past few days.”

She tilted her head slightly, pretending not to hear me.

Seeing that, I checked again that no one else was around us before speaking.

“…Cecilia.”

“Yes.”

Only then did she nod lightly, satisfied.

“So I was a little worried, but fortunately you seem in good condition today.”

“Mm. Seems so.”

Unlike how she had urged me to speak casually to her, Cecilia still answered me with formal speech.

According to her, although we had agreed to speak openly as friends, since I was her teacher right now, it was only proper for her to show respect.

But for me, that was not something I could easily accept.

If she spoke formally to me while I spoke casually to her?

If someone overheard such an exchange…

I didn’t even want to imagine what might follow.

In the end, we compromised: I would continue calling her by name, but also speak formally to her.

Far from being disappointed, Cecilia seemed satisfied with that.

But anyway, that wasn’t the important part.

“Then, shall we move on to the next stage now?”

Cecilia frowned slightly at my question and shook her head.

“It still feels too soon to try summoning or contracting a new spirit. I think it would be better to focus for a few more days…”

“Of course. You know yourself better than I do. It’s best to do as you think.”

“Mm, then I’ll spend a few more days sharpening my focus and steadying my mind. It’s not urgent, and if I rush and make a mistake, that would be disastrous.”

It was sound reasoning.

When I answered that her way was better, Cecilia in turn asked me,

“How have you been these days, Lian?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you’ve been with Amiel often lately, haven’t you? You two have been training together, right?”

“That’s right.”

I couldn’t explain the truth, so I gave her the excuse I had prepared.

“After the Dungeon Field Class incident, I thought it would be wise to strengthen myself in many ways.”

“Ah.”

At my words, Cecilia nodded slightly.

It wasn’t a complete fabrication.

The need to train more was genuine.

The problem was, there was far too much I had to do, and far too little time to do it.

‘Just off the top of my head: controlling Divine Power, combat training, and investigating the Brand…’

On top of that, I had to get information from Yuran about the Sky Guide, and also figure out the book I had obtained a few days ago, written in ancient Garusol language.

And above all, I had to deal with matters concerning Cecilia, Allen, and the others right in front of me….

It felt as though no number of bodies would ever be enough.

‘Did I really come to the academy?’

There wasn’t a single moment to rest.

In this situation, making ordinary friends or catching a breath felt like a luxury.

I had to struggle not to let my fatigue show.

“Has training with Amiel helped you much?”

“Well, we’re both working hard, hoping to help each other.”

“That sounds like it hasn’t helped as much as you’d hoped.”

“Ha ha.”

For the past few days, I had spent nearly all my time sparring with Allen.

At first, he couldn’t beat me no matter what he tried. But now, it was the opposite—I had to struggle to withstand him.

More specifically, my win rate, which had barely reached one in ten, had shot up to nearly half in just a few days.

Put that way, it sounded as though his skill had skyrocketed—but the truth was a little different.

‘I’m simply overpowering him with raw strength.’

Allen Amiel.

To be precise, the Allen Amiel I knew from my past life had been renowned for his tremendous physical strength.

But that was not what made him one of the Seven Heroes.

What had made him a hero was his cunning, relentless, and flawless swordsmanship—so precise it seemed ghostly.

To master such swordsmanship, he would have needed not only talent but also bone-grinding effort.

‘Yes, talent.’

But I saw no sign of that talent in him yet.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, he was clearly behind me.

‘…I don’t know.’

It was different from with Cecilia, whose background I knew well.

I had no idea what chance might have made him strong, or whether he was cleverly hiding his skill even now.

…Or whether he really was the culprit behind the attack.

For now, it was best to stick to the plan: calmly gather information and watch.

Not knowing the full story, I had no need to rashly create unnecessary variables.

Whatever the case, the fact remained that he was destined to be a future hero.

“Lian?”

“Ah.”

Had I been too lost in thought?

Startled, I lifted my head at Cecilia’s call.

“So, what do you think?”

“Sorry. I was distracted. What did you say?”

Biting her lip, Cecilia said,

“I asked if it would be alright for me to join the training too.”

She quickly added, before I could refuse,

“I’m not trying to boast, but when I entered the academy, my swordsmanship grades were among the top. Even as a child, if nothing else, I was rigorously trained in that field… So yes, I have quite a bit of knowledge too.”

“Mm.”

I had been about to politely decline, but then changed my mind and nodded.

“I have no reason to refuse. I think Allen will like the idea too.”

“Then does that mean we’ll start tomorrow?”

“No. He said he wanted to train alone for a few days. Once we set a date, I’ll let you know right away.”

At that, she nodded, then looked at me again.

“By the way, Lian. There’s one more thing I wanted to ask you.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“What will you do about Professor Windy May’s proposal?”

Ah, yes. Professor Windy May’s proposal.

Her offer to take me as her disciple was tempting, but with things as they were, trying to handle magic on top of everything else would be sheer greed.

So I had planned to refuse. But before I could say it, Cecilia spoke first.

“In truth, I had planned to refuse her proposal at first.”

“Is that so?”

My heart sank for a moment, but I calmly went along with her words.

She continued in a gentle voice.

“Yes. Because my family’s founder was none other than the Dragon Knight Siren Everglenn. So as members of our family, we were naturally expected to grow up as knights. It wasn’t that no one honed magic, but… those who did were mostly from branch families, or else treated as half-forgotten within the family.”

Indeed, among the three families, none had produced more warriors and knights than the Everglenn family.

I knew her talent, but from her position and circumstances, refusing Professor Windy May’s offer had certainly been the right choice.

“But if you say you ‘planned to refuse,’ does that mean you decided to accept after all?”

“Yes.”

She nodded.

“In fact, I went to see her directly to refuse. I told her my situation, that I was grateful, but that even focusing on one thing was overwhelming, so I didn’t think I could handle more. That it would be difficult… something along those lines.”

Cecilia spoke in an even voice.

It seemed she had been wrestling with worries similar to mine.

“But then she made an offer I couldn’t refuse. So I thought, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to try.”

“A proposal that’s hard to refuse?”

“Yes, and she told me to pass the message on to you as well, Lian.”

Then, unusually unable to hide her excitement, she asked me,

“Lian, you know of the Wolpen Knights, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“That’s it.”

She took a breath, hoo, to calm herself.

And when her next words came out, I understood why she had been so excited.

“She said she would let me meet the Wolpen Knights.”

“…Good.”

On her way back to the dormitory, Cecilia clenched her fist slightly after confirming that no one else was around.

It was a small gesture of joy, a sign of victory.

‘Just as my sister advised.’

The result of preparing in her own way, following her sister’s advice, was more than satisfactory.

Not only had she gained the chance to train together, but perhaps she might gain an even greater chance to be with him.

And above all…

‘To think that story was actually true.’

It was something she had once overheard in her family.

But because she had always been an outsider in her family, it had only ever reached her ears as passing gossip.

So she had thought it was probably just a rumor…

‘What on earth could it be?’

When she asked her sister just in case, she received a reply saying it was true, and that she herself had once had such an opportunity.

Her sister, overjoyed that her younger sibling had received the same chance, had added in her letter: Don’t expect too much, or you might end up disappointed. Just think of it as a unique experience.

What in the world could it be, for her to say such a thing?

Curious, Cecilia soon shook her head.

‘I’ll know when the time comes.’

Fortunately, Lian’s response had also been very positive.

It would be enough for the two of them to check it out together when the time came.

Recalling the promise they had made to visit Professor Windy May as soon as she returned, Cecilia smiled in satisfaction and quickened her pace again.

How long had she walked like that?

Her quiet steps suddenly stopped, and she stared blankly at a certain spot.

There was nothing there.

No—more precisely, it only seemed as though nothing was there.

For in her eyes, something was clearly visible.

“Shh.”

She raised her finger to her lips and whispered.

“Not yet.”

She would keep it a secret a little longer.

At her words, something wavered in the empty air.

For a brief moment.

It looked like a small but vivid flame had flared up.