Chapter 48
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Arion's Repayment
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Since Isel was attending class, I automatically ended up brewing the tea.
You might wonder why it wasn't Elin, but I remembered her handiwork was abysmal.
She'd turn tea into flavorless hot water with the leaves still in it, or pack it so full of tea leaves it'd be like chunky soup.
It felt a bit like racial discrimination to say it that way, but she was at a level where you had to question if she was really a half-elf.
Rather than fuss over that, it was just easier for me to do it.
I picked up the warmed teapot and poured steaming tea into the cup, glug glug glug.
Arion, who was seated, accepted the teacup as if it were a great honor.
I gave him a lingering sidelong glance before closing my eyes.
'So that blue chitin creature from back then was Arion.'
If asked why I hadn't recognized him, well, Aiden—no, it was because he just looked like some horsefly of a person.
I hadn't cultivated the insight to deduce someone's human form from the appearance of a chitinous insect.
Unless they outright said who they were or there was something obvious enough for me to notice, a fleeting glimpse like that would be impossible to identify.
"So, what brings you here?"
"Ah, I came to offer my thanks. I meant to do it the very next day, but the lab door was shut."
I nodded along.
If he meant last week, I'd been tied up with magic tower business for a while and left the lab empty.
He must have stopped by right then.
"I see."
Arion took a sip of his tea with a slurp, then set the cup down on its saucer.
"Above all, I came to make recompense."
I furrowed my brow.
"Recompense?"
"Exactly that. You saved my life once, so it's only natural I repay you for it."
"You're a student, and I'm a professor. I didn't do it expecting payment, nor do I want any. It was my duty, so I'll politely decline."
Arion pushed back against my words.
"The nomads of the Great Plains don't repay favors like that. Even if you refuse, Professor, I must make my recompense to you in my own way."
Elin, who had been listening quietly, freaked out.
The recipient was refusing, but he was insisting on shoving recompense down their throat anyway.
It wasn't even some malicious gift offensive—he was just forcing it because he absolutely had to.
I rubbed my forehead, sensing a new pattern of headache.
'What the hell do you even call this...'
Persistent.
As I pondered how to refuse, Arion spoke up.
"But because of my ignorance, I have no idea what you might need, Professor."
"I don't particularly need anything from you, so..."
"That's why I'll stay by your side and find something you need!"
How the hell did it connect like that?
I barely swallowed the mental tackle.
'Normally, they'd say they'll repay later or at least bring some modest drink.'
"...It wasn't a big deal for me, so just pick up a simple set of cookies or something."
"No, sir. How could I repay a life-saving grace like that? I'll keep at it until I'm satisfied."
I turned my eyes to Elin.
A silent plea for backup.
'You don't like more people crowding the lab either.'
Elin received that pointed look, drew in a breath, and steeled herself.
She was showing some territorial instinct over what she considered her sanctuary, after all.
I believe in you, Elin!
But before she could act, Arion beat her to it.
"I'm from the Alchemy Department, aren't I? Just in case, I brought some sleeping aids for good rest, powder to add fizz to drinks, and potions that let you get as drowsy as you want."
At those words, Elin's hostility shifted to eyes brimming with curiosity.
"Potions that let you get... as drowsy as you want?"
"Ah, you mean this one? Yes, it's meant to give you that fluffy, dreamy feeling, but people say it just makes you drowsy..."
"And this?"
"Powder to add carbonation to drinks..."
"Professor."
Elin turned to me.
An ominous feeling swept over me.
"What is it... Elin."
"This guy's incredibly useful. I'm fully in favor of him coming to the lab."
"Ooh, you get it? I'll whip up a bunch of these and stock the lab..."
"No need."
I rubbed my forehead.
What am I supposed to do if even you...
My head throbbed, so I let the pause drag on.
"I didn't bring them today, but I can make everything from air fresheners to mosquito repellents, wakefulness potions, and I'm great in the kitchen too."
"Mosquito repellent? Cooking? You're good at cooking?"
"Who am I? A student who came abroad to study after years of nomadic life. In this unfamiliar land, whose help could I rely on?"
With that preface laid out, he puffed out his chest like he was drunk on his own praise.
"I've got eight years of solo-living secret recipes and food service part-time experience. You can take my word for it."
'Uh...'
It was more grounded experience than I'd expected, leaving me speechless.
Somehow... isn't this the moment to trot out something extravagant like training at a fancy hotel?
'Still, eight years solo means he must be good.'
"I'm also top of the Alchemy Department. I can make delicious food with perfect measurements, no errors down to 1mg in the recipes..."
"Delicious... food."
She kept glancing at me, as if she'd latched onto some mouthwatering keyword from the side.
Her expression made it clear she was hoping for something.
'Why the hell are your ears perked up like that?'
Instead, I let out a sigh, laced my fingers together, and asked.
"Is that the nomad way, or just your way?"
Arion answered without a moment's hesitation.
"My life is nomadic life itself—how could I treat them as separate? It's the nomad way, and at the same time, my way."
"...Then do as you please."
If he put it like that, what choice did I have?
For Arion, nomadic life was just as vital as Radia's ironclad self-confidence.
That didn't mean I had to do anything for him, though. He was so free-spirited, drifting like the wind on his own path, that if I left him alone, he'd figure it out and adapt on his own.
'Even if I needed to help, it wouldn't drag on forever.'
He was the low-maintenance type.
Different from Elin or Radia.
'And basically strong to boot.'
In terms of combat level... right now, stronger than Radia.
With Elin, it was still too close to call.
'Normally, I'd keep my distance, but...'
There was that exceptional situation with the tunnel.
If hands were available to borrow, borrow them.
No matter how strong Aiden was, the opponents this time would come prepared knowing I'd join the fray.
'Doesn't mean I'd lose, though.'
I wasn't in any real danger, whatever the situation.
On the contrary, it was the countermeasures and preparations aimed at me that would endanger everyone else.
Unless I could make full use of Aiden's power...
'I've got a track record of botched power control.'
That time I accidentally obliterated the back mountain... really lucky I didn't get in trouble.
Fighting with just fists and magic? No problem.
But if things escalated beyond that.
If it came to drawing my rapier, I'd probably face another tough choice.
Until then, I needed small hands to fend off monsters swarming from all sides.
Up to now, that had been the students in my classroom, but it wasn't enough.
I finished my thoughts and closed my eyes.
"Then you might as well sit in on my class too while you're at it."
"What class is it?"
"There's a technique I was planning to teach Radia. Learn it together."
Seeing Arion's puzzled look, I added one more thing.
"You're stuck on wind control, aren't you?"
Arion flinched for an entirely different reason.
"One's clockwise, the other's counterclockwise, huh. With those two winds just idling pointlessly on the surface, no wonder your control's so great."
"...How do you know that?"
"What do you take me for?"
It was handy in a pinch, but being a master was the ultimate plausibility patch.
Throw in a casual "I'm a master" and even deep suspicions got brushed off with a nod.
'Feels a bit too convenient sometimes...'
Arion, who had been staring at me blankly, relaxed his tension.
"I didn't think you'd see through it so quickly. ...What's the trick?"
"I could say 'let the顺 flow顺 and wrap the逆 around逆,' but from how you've tangled them up, it looks like you're using their repulsion to expand the power. And you've managed it pretty well up till now."
I gave him a bland sidelong glance, and Arion fell silent.
"Too hard to control solo, so you assign a wind spirit to each for tuning? Keeping two mid-level spirits summoned full-time just to use your power properly? That's a huge drain."
"How much do you know, exactly?"
"Learn."
I flashed him a sly smile.
"I'll give you the answer. Don't just struggle alone like an idiot, muttering that it won't work."
A faint curve touched my lips.
As I watched Arion's bewildered reaction, I slipped into a brief reminiscence.
After meeting Elise and returning to the lab, those tiny mana marks I'd spotted in the corridor.
Charlotte, who'd been on the investigation team, missed them while fussing over her report on the demon, but I knew exactly what they were—I'd read the original.
Summoning circles, in a format similar to the ones used in the practical disaster.
They were left scattered throughout the corridor.
'Even other professors would overlook them since they're so small—unless you looked closely, you'd never notice.'
I lowered my eyelids.
'Professors don't keep their senses extended for detection all the time. I only caught them because I'm a master.'
And the fact that the installer was another professor played a role.
Professors did need broad knowledge across fields to qualify, but they usually specialized in one.
The rest? Superficial familiarity at best.
No professor had delved deeply into the formulas used by heretical mages...
I'd considered sneakily erasing a few midway, but if they noticed the circles vanishing and triggered them early, it'd be game over.
Let them prepare to the max, and we'd prepare to the max.
That was how it had to play out.
'Professor Prezel.'
I closed my eyes once and swallowed a groan.
'Might need to pay her another visit.'
The one who'd supplied the magic wolves to Professor Prezel was the beast tamer.
If he showed up personally this time, there'd be traces in Prezel's lab.
'I need to find out.'
What monster the beast tamer brought was entirely random.
Even a small hint would make a feigned casual visit worthwhile.
'One thing's certain: it's deviated a lot from the original.'
That was why I'd rushed to feed Elin the Tear of the Clear Lakeside with a cheat method, and why I was pushing Radia—same goal.
The foundation was the same, but I couldn't be sure the contents would unfold exactly as I'd predicted.
Already, there were quite a few twists from the original.
Just like Isel getting dragged into the practical disaster—bad butterfly effects could pop up anywhere.
'But I can't tolerate even a single failure.'
If the tunnel cleanup failed, the academy would collapse.
To keep the tower I'd built from crumbling...
'Overprepare, that's all there is to it.'
I looked back at Arion.
In his relaxed posture wafted a gentle demeanor.
As the saying goes, the supple conquer the rigid—the soft overcomes the hard.
Arion's softness was perfectly tailored to that proverb.
He'd counter brute force with a soft breeze.
Pair that with Radia's vortex, and it'd be ideal.
Arion scratched the back of his head, looking a touch embarrassed.
"I'm truly grateful. So... um."
'Why's he dragging it out?'
Don't tell me he hates the idea?
I'd never considered refusal, so my expression stiffened for a moment.
Arion let out an awkward cough, as if bashful.
"So, how much for the lesson fee?"
"......"
"......"
Elin and I shut our mouths in unison.