A Foreseen Encounter (2)
For a long time now, a single thought had refused to leave Senia's mind.
Among the scattered fragments of memory she carried, what had been her gravest mistake?
It was hesitating and letting things slide. It was second-guessing herself and failing to act.
Because of that hesitation, her feelings had never reached him; because of that indecision, an even greater tragedy had unfolded.
So this time, determined not to repeat the past, she hadn't hesitated.
Believing her immediate priority was simply keeping Junon far away from Tembris, she had answered bluntly when Goden asked about his identity. And yet...
"Wouldn't it be a different story if I went to see him myself? Heh heh."
Goden's reckless declaration had made her heart plummet.
In an instant, a creeping, shapeless dread seized her.
Again? Even now?
Was Junon really going to be dragged into Tembris all over again?
By the time she realized how horribly awry things were turning and tried to stop Goden, they were already at the hospital room door. The door swung open before she could do a thing, revealing Junon's face.
Her brain, usually so sharp, seemed to freeze entirely; she couldn't formulate a single thought.
All Senia could do was clasp her hands together, bitterly reproaching herself and bracing for his contempt, desperately mouthing an apology to Junon.
Yet her panic proved entirely unfounded.
"Nope. Not joining."
Even without her intervention, he had maintained his distance from Tembris.
Their exchange hadn't lasted long. Junon deflected Goden as if he had rehearsed the encounter beforehand; though there was a slight contradiction in his reasoning, it wasn't something Goden could pick apart.
Then he simply brushed past them to complete his discharge paperwork.
Only then had she been able to breathe a sigh of relief and turn back.
"Haa..."
She should have been thrilled that Junon hadn't joined Tembris, but she felt nothing of the sort.
Why did a lingering sense of disappointment take precedence instead? For reasons she couldn't fathom, a strange emptiness gnawed at her. It felt so unsettlingly alien.
She had felt this alien sensation once before—back at Dubhe Hall, when she cut down the rubble blocking the entrance.
Then the answer...
"Must be tied to the past I still can't remember."
She was someone who always demanded clear evidence and definitive clues before drawing conclusions. Relying on such hazy, intangible impressions was bitterly ironic for her.
It was deeply tormenting.
Knowing that someone else understood her past while she remained entirely in the dark.
Could she ever confront that ticking time bomb head-on? Fear was already beginning to overshadow her resolve.
"Ugh... I finally get to rest. At my age, I never want to put up with that kind of misery again."
Denise pounded lightly on her aching lower back with a fist.
How many days had she spent deciphering that text at the Grand Temple?
Shrouded beneath layer upon layer of divine power and magical wards, the oracle had been an utter nightmare to read. And just when she finished unraveling the magic circle, it demanded yet another layer of divine decryption. The mere memory made her stomach churn.
"Did the academy change while I was gone...?"
It had never felt this vibrant before.
Strolling through the campus paths, she could visibly tell the students' faces had brightened. Still, for students their age, this was how it ought to be. That gloom-ridden, walking-on-eggshells atmosphere from before was bizarre, not healthy.
"Come to think of it, I've got someone to meet, too."
A certain student she was supposed to mentor in Muniherr's stead.
Having put it off for so long, she was genuinely excited to see how much he'd grown—especially since he'd recently taken the Magic Armament aptitude test.
"Now let's see... Junon's schedule today..."
He'd just wrapped up a lecture, leaving only a required course on Mana Typology later. There was a decent gap before the next class.
Knowing Junon's relentless discipline, he was probably working his body to the bone again today. Or if not that, he was likely brooding over how to manifest his Magic Armament.
"He hasn't taken Mana Typology yet, so he probably hasn't figured it out. Heheh."
Denise chuckled under her breath.
Just imagining the kid racking his brain over how to manifest an armament with his meager mana was enough to bring a smirk to her lips. She could practically picture him clutching his hair, grimly gritting his teeth as he tried to force a breakthrough through sheer spite.
When she made her way toward the lecture hall that had just let out, sure enough, Junon was there.
Oh...? He's with another student?!
When she had tutored him previously, the one thing she noticed was that he had virtually no one he could call a friend.
With so many students at the academy—seniors, juniors, peers—there wasn't a single person he seemed close with. Watching him bottle everything up without asking for help had always elicited a twinge of pity.
To see someone who had completely abandoned his social life in favor of solitary training talking to someone else sparked a strange flicker of anticipation.
Naturally, she had to eavesdrop. Denise concealed herself within earshot.
"Um, please... take this."
"...? What's this?"
"...so... I wanted to give you this in return..."
Junon was being handed something by a female student around his age. Peeking inside revealed a box brimming with chocolates, each piece meticulously crafted with unmistakable care.
The girl was too shy to meet his eyes, but Denise could clearly see the bright crimson blush spreading across her cheeks.
No matter how you look at it...
Spring had finally arrived for the boy! The time had come for him to experience the sweet, youthful romance befitting his age.
His academy days would no longer be consumed solely by study and grueling training, but brushed with the delicate hues of cherry blossoms.
And yet... a cold pang of dread struck Denise: what if he said something utterly stupid?
The real problem was whether dense-as-a-rock Junon would even pick up on it. Denise screamed silently in her head:
Junon... Please, don't say anything weird... You know what this is!
"Sorry. I can't take this."
"...Pardon?"
"I think you have the wrong guy. I'm not the kind of person who deserves gifts like this."
Oh my god.
Denise buried her face in her palms. You utterly clueless fool.
Tears welling in her eyes, the girl wiped her face and bolted without looking back.
"Hey, wait...! Take this back with—oof!"
"Ugh, you thickheaded wooden post!"
"Professor Denise...? Why did you hit me out of nowhere...?"
"Because you were wrong. Just accept that you deserved it and move on."
Junon still wore a face of complete bewilderment. And shortly thereafter, pure terror gripped him.
"Now then, shall we see how much you've improved since we last sparred?"
"Professor...? Right now is a bit... Aaaargh!"
"Aha, if you wanted to be transported like last time, you should've just said so! You're always so direct. Hahaha!"
"Waaaagh!! Professor, this is worse than before! Who teleports someone by throwing them—urrrgh!"
"My, you're brimming with energy today! I suppose I can push you a little harder, then!"
Unlike her usual self, Professor Denise seemed exceptionally irritated today...
This sparring session felt terrifying... She wasn't going to break an arm or a leg, was she...?
People generally spoke of an academy professorship as an honorable post—a coveted position complete with a handsome salary, generous benefits, and prestigious perks.
Yet Denise had never wanted the title of professor. No matter the perks, it clashed with her temperament. Teaching rarely produced results that satisfied her, and with standards as impossibly high as hers, she simply preferred working alone rather than dealing with others.
That was why she refused a formal faculty appointment and spent her days researching in solitude.
And yet...
Snap.
Crack! A vine splintered, collapsing as it lost its form.
He... broke through it?
His method of deflecting and cutting off the vines that lashed at him from every angle looking for an opening was exceptional. Prioritizing the deadlier strikes while parrying and containing the rest passed with flying colors.
When she raised the intensity to pin down his agile, muscular movements, he shattered the core vine clean in half using his Magic Armament.
When she first sought him out upon hearing he was Muniherr's pupil, she had figured he was merely an odd kid burdened by a complicated past. Junon, with his ceaseless training and relentless discipline, would have grown steadily. She had come today to measure that growth.
Yet this outcome was unprecedented. These vines were a wall that even the elites seeking guidance at Hardia had failed to overcome, without exception.
How many cadets could hold their own against her vines mere months into their training, immediately upon manifesting a Magic Armament? Even if she pitted the top honors students of Hardia from the Empire against them, none could guarantee such a feat.
...Fascinating.
It was an emotion she had never felt while teaching anyone before. The genuine thrill of mentorship.
Having severed the pivotal vine, Junon surged forward instantly, as if he had been waiting for this exact opening. She sprouted more vines to intercept him, but even in full sprint, his form never wavered as he batted aside every strike.
Having reclaimed so much ground, he had seized the perfect angle to breach her guard.
As the distance closed, the Magic Armament cloaking Junon's hand caught her eye. Denise watched it, the corners of her lips curling into a grin.
A Mizar Type, huh.
Seeing the nature of his mana brought an unbidden smile to her face—she couldn't help but anticipate just how far this boy could climb.
They exchanged several rapid clashes, his deft, opportunistic maneuvers momentarily pushing Denise onto the back foot. Having closed to point-blank range, Junon seized his chance, mercilessly shattering the final vine before lunging.
At that, Denise smirked and spoke:
"Still a bit soft, though."
Her smirk caught Junon off guard for a fraction of a second, but the match was decided in an instant.
BOOM!!
With a deafening crash.
My decisive strike had landed clean on Professor Denise.
It was a little trick exploiting the extended duration of my Magic Armament. Predicting where her vines would spawn and intercepting them beforehand was near impossible, so I used my Mana Shield to deflect their trajectory until I found a single opening to dive in.
A strategy built entirely around taking advantage of her ignorance regarding my armament.
And yet, I had been stopped cold. I couldn't pierce the final vine she conjured.
"Not bad at all. Hiding your armament, that relentless tenacity waiting for an opening..."
"...I still lost, though."
"Did you honestly think you'd beat me? Heheh."
There was no way in hell I could beat her. That last vine felt completely different from the others—it was on a whole other level.
"What was that last one, anyway?"
"Fufu. Who knows?"
...Which meant "figure it out yourself."
Still, hearing her say I did well was plenty enough for me.
"More importantly, it seems we have a guest who's been watching us."
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
As I pushed myself up off the dirt, the sound of slow applause reached my ears. Except the clapping didn't come from Professor Denise in front of me.
"Impressive. Going toe-to-toe with my wife like that."
It belonged to Professor Jake, who was strolling over from behind.
"Quiet, you. Peeping from the shadows like a creep. You know sparring sessions require permission to observe, don't you?"
"Haha! It was too interesting to look away."
"Whatever. What do you want? You didn't come all the way here just to watch."
Professor Jake paused for a beat, then—
"Sorry, honey. I need to borrow the kid for a bit."
—he clapped a hand on my shoulder and said.