Disciple (2)
Disciple (2)
Sean Connery.
Master of the Clock Tower, a madman obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge to its furthest extremes.
If Claire is the flawless Sword of Vuar, then the man who collapsed before me is a turncoat who has swapped bodies time and again to sate his own desires.
'He always had a hand in the troublesome incidents.'
The refined Demon God Bullets. The force field that seals abilities.
He lent his aid to those tools and many others besides.
Using those presumptuous eyes that once tried to peer into my depths.
"I'm rather curious myself. Just how appetizing a morsel am I to you?"
Whatever he glimpsed within me,
if I can use it to control him, then that is enough.
Of course, betrayal here means death.
Useful if present, irrelevant if gone—that sums up the value of a character named Sean to me. Nothing more.
I channeled the innate mana that had pooled around my heart once more and let it flow into his.
If his hostile feelings toward me ever reach a certain threshold, the mana now seeping through his heart will tear the organ to shreds.
With the shackle in place, I rose and pulled out my smartphone.
The recipient was a newly added contact: Lee Ye-sol.
-Yes. Professor.
"Apologies, but I need you to come to the old alchemy workshop."
-I shall arrive within three minutes.
I ended the call and turned, walking back toward the moonlit window.
The fool won't die if I leave him like that, but it could impair his ability manifestation later. Now that I've decided to make use of him, I'd rather have him intact—better to heal him before it's too late.
Knock. Knock.
Instead of answering, I moved my mana and opened the door.
"Is this the one who requires healing?"
"Perfection isn't necessary. Just enough to regain consciousness will do—don't overexert yourself."
"Yes. I shall do so."
Holy power began to emanate softly.
In the radiance that swallowed the moonlight, I turned to look at Lee Ye-sol.
A subordinate who enjoys teasing her superior, yet a responsible officer who keeps public and private matters strictly separate.
'As expected. She only reacts to those two.'
By human standards, Lee Ye-sol is undoubtedly an attractive woman. But no matter how long I observe her, she never stirs that wanting, that desire—the way Baek Ha-na and Claire do.
'...Ridiculous.'
Ironic, then, that the human woman I can deal with most comfortably right now is the one standing before me.
After a while longer, the glow began to fade.
"...It is done."
"Thank you."
"Not at all."
Lee Ye-sol rose to her feet, offering me a gentle smile. I moved my mana and restored the bloodstained hem of her garment to pristine white.
She didn't voice her thanks, merely smiled once more and dipped her head.
"Lee Ye-sol."
"Yes, Professor."
"I hear Baek Ha-na caused you trouble."
"Ah... No. If anything, the root cause was Idni running her mouth."
"You're strict."
"Oh my, I'd say I'm being rather generous, actually?"
She wore the kind of expression she'd normally reserve for her own superior.
I looked at Lee Ye-sol's eyes, curved as though slightly sulking, and spoke.
"If you judge that you need my help, don't hesitate to contact me. You've earned that right."
"Oh dear. Saying something like that out of nowhere is a little... awkward for me."
"That doesn't mean I'll indulge your pranks."
"...Ahem."
Lee Ye-sol coughed quietly.
"If you have no further instructions, I shall take my leave."
"On your way out, tell the one waiting below to come up."
"Yes. Then."
Lee Ye-sol departed the workshop in silence, and I sent a pulse of mana at the head of the turncoat sprawled out like a corpse.
"Gahk?!"
He rolled across the floor, body twitching.
I stared down at him as he trembled like an insect.
"If you're awake, stop lying there like a slug and get up."
"Grrnn..."
Rubbing the back of his head where it had been struck, he slowly rose.
"Ahem..."
Standing, he used a utility spell to erase the red stains from his clothes. Only once he was presentable again did he lift his gaze to my face.
"First, my apologies. And my thanks."
With stiff formality, he bowed at the waist, his body forming a right angle—apology and gratitude both.
The former likely for activating his ability without permission. The latter for restoring his eyes.
-Knock, knock.
Unlike Lee Ye-sol's, this knock carried an edge of urgency. I opened the door a little more roughly.
"Excuse... me."
Jaden stepped inside, his face an open display of tension and excitement he couldn't hide, and took his place behind his master.
I raised my right hand slightly, palm upward. Then I moved my mana.
"Ohh...!!"
"A-at last."
The moment the storage artifact I'd placed in the loft drifted down into my hand, both of them lit up, eyes gleaming with near-identical fervor. I opened the pouch and withdrew the Crystal that had bound itself to me.
Wooong—
The arrogant thing radiated a serene blue glow, flaunting its presence.
Crrk—
A little pressure, and the blue light dimmed significantly. I tossed it upward, almost lazily.
Defying gravity—the same gravity that even I cannot escape—the Crystal floated into the air and fixed itself in place. I looked at the two of them staring up at it, mouths agape like idiots.
"Judging by those expressions, I take it the commission fee has settled the balance in full."
"What?! You've examined it already—guhk?!"
The arrogant one who'd shouted at me collapsed, clutching his heart. I'd squeezed it on purpose. His insubordinate attitude rubbed me the wrong way.
"Settle your accounts properly."
I turned to Jaden, who had frozen stiff beside him.
"I said I'd show you something interesting. Did I ever say anything beyond that?"
"...No. You didn't."
"Right."
The boy slumped on the floor, groaning.
The sound grated on my ears more than it should have, so I loosened the mana constricting his heart.
"Haaah...!!"
He exhaled heavily and forced his head up. Cold sweat had formed on his face and was dripping down his jaw.
"I-I got too excited... My apologies..."
"My patience is shallow. Keep that in mind."
"...I shall."
He let out a short groan and, with his disciple's help, pulled himself upright. He brushed off his knees and looked at me.
"What must I do? Whatever is within my power, I will do it. So please—give me the chance to examine that thing. Though I should add, I'm not offering my life. If I die, I can't examine it. After the examination, however... that might be acceptable."
"So you'd stake your life. Is that it?"
The boy who was not a boy stared at me with eyes far too deep for his appearance.
"If I can produce any kind of result regarding that thing."
"Fine."
I turned and asked Jaden the same question.
"I'll accept up to the point of losing an arm or a leg. I can't stake my life the way my master would... What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You raised this worthless fool as your disciple? I'm looking at you because it's pathetic, you little shit."
A gnarled wooden staff materialized from thin air and came flying at Jaden's skull.
"Enough."
"...Tch."
The staff stopped precisely above Jaden's crown, then vanished like a mirage.
His skull intact, Jaden bowed his head toward me.
"Thank you."
"Forget it. More importantly—go back to the lab and bring me the old balance scale."
"......?"
He lifted his head and blinked at me, clueless.
"There should be an old balance scale you took as a bribe and left as decoration in the lab. Unless you'd rather I slice open your—"
"Ah!! Ah, I-I-I remember! I'll go get it right now!!"
He wrapped mana around his legs and bolted out of the workshop in a panic. Watching him flee, the boy who was old beyond his years clicked his tongue.
"My apologies. I shall set aside a day to re-educate him."
"Leave him be. That vacant look suits him better than half-hearted politeness."
I brought my hand to the Crystal, which hung quietly in the air, awaiting my command.
Crrrack—!!
Just then, the Crystal shattered the surrounding space as if it had been waiting all along.
"Wh-what?!"
A vivid blue light bled from the broken space.
Unmistakably, it belonged to a Rift.
I curled my fingers around the Crystal settling into my palm and addressed the wide-eyed man before me.
"I have a great many tasks for you, so come find me again once the Grade Evaluation is over."
"Would it not be acceptable to discuss it now...?"
"This Rift is the site for the students' evaluation. That means no entry for unauthorized personnel."
"Th-then, when I examine it, will the Rift be closed?"
"Obviously."
I stepped one foot into the Rift and continued.
"A word of warning: I would advise against revealing your identity. Most of the tasks you'll be performing for me are things that require your true nature to remain hidden."
"Grr...!!"
The eyes Lee Ye-sol had taken the trouble to heal were already bloodshot.
Maybe I should've left them burst after all.
"Tell Jaden to bring the scale and come inside. And..."
I let the gentle buoyancy carry me upward as I gave him one last warning.
"If you try to enter on your own, your body will be disassembled. Best not attempt anything foolish."
I fixed his eyes, so I ought to use them at least once to break even.
**
"Huff! Huff!!"
Jaden had finally spotted the balance scale Baek Woo-jin mentioned on the lab's display stand. He clutched it tight to his chest and sprinted through the academy in the dead of night.
He covered a distance that should have taken a good ten minutes in just one minute, hurriedly unlocked the workshop, and rushed inside.
"G-got... it... haah...!!"
Panting, he pushed open the workshop door—and the moment he saw the Rift, shimmering with a crystalline light that radiated presence, his eyes flew wide.
"M-Master... this is...?"
Jaden shook his master's shoulder. The man stood before the Rift, his expression deadly serious.
"Master—"
"My disciple."
"......Yes?"
At his master's eerily subdued tone, Jaden swallowed hard.
"Wh-what is it...?"
"You lot."
"...Yes."
His master's face bore the unmistakable marks of tremendous inner turmoil. Jaden straightened his posture, ready to listen intently.
Sean looked at his disciple and said:
"The exchange student slot. It's still open, isn't it?"
"......What?"
"Hand it over, and quickly. Every second is precious."
"What does an exchange—"
Thwack—!!
"...Gahk?!"
Jaden groaned under the tremendous impact to his skull and toppled forward, straight toward the Rift.