The Tower Master's Personal Disciple?
Leon tilted his head as he made his way toward the Central Magic Tower where Raidra awaited him. A bronze-colored structure was under construction on one side of the central plaza. Only the upper body had been completed so far, yet something about it felt strangely familiar—especially the clothing.
'...Isn't that the regular disciple uniform? They're building a statue of a regular disciple this massive?'
No matter how he looked at it, none of it made sense. Still puzzling over the sight, Leon entered the Central Magic Tower. Inside a conference room furnished with a long table, he finally came face to face with Raidra.
The muscular old man with long white hair sat with his arms crossed, staring intently at Leon. The boy had meant to hide his nervousness, but he quickly realized that letting some of it show would actually appear more natural. Raidra regarded him with an expressionless face before speaking bluntly.
"Tell me what you want."
"...Pardon?"
The words were surprisingly generous coming from that indifferent expression.
"You rescued the tower's most promising talents. It's only right that you receive a proper reward."
'He's not going to ask how I survived?'
Leon studied the man's face for a moment before replying.
"That isn't necessary... Simply surviving and returning is reward enough..."
Raidra raised a hand, cutting him off.
"Before that. Did you awaken your mana because you obtained some fortuitous encounter in the lair?"
"Yes... and then I was captured by the witch..."
"I've already heard that part. But why didn't she kill you?"
Leon finally understood why Raidra hadn't asked about his survival. The Tower Master assumed that being taken by the witch was precisely what had allowed Leon to escape the lair alive.
'Verford must have reported it.'
He'd thought Verford's attention had been entirely on the witch, but apparently the man had noticed more. 'So he knew but pretended not to?'
That was exactly how a normal mage would behave, so Leon felt no disappointment.
"While I was fleeing from the scorpion, I got caught up in a teleportation magic circle..." Leon began recounting the story he'd prepared in advance. "I discovered some spiritual elixirs there and consumed them. I lost consciousness, and when I came to and made it outside, I immediately encountered the witch."
"Spiritual elixirs? Hmm..."
Raidra's eyes swept over Leon's body. He was using a scanning spell. Leon continued his tale as if he hadn't noticed.
No matter how thoroughly he was examined, the fact that Leon was still at the Apprentice 1st Class stage wouldn't change. The B+ grade Bracelet of Concealment was an artifact effective even against beginner Insight-class mages. C-grade corresponded to Secret Magic. B-grade to Mystery. A-grade to Insight. S-grade to Transcendence. However, the addition of a plus made it potent enough to affect the next rank's beginner level as well. And Leon was merely first-class. That was what mattered. It was at a level an Insight-class mage could easily dismiss as insignificant.
"Was there only one spiritual elixir that you consumed?"
"There were actually several... but the witch took them from me when she captured me. They were far too valuable for someone like me."
"Then why didn't that witch kill you?"
"It's embarrassing, but the moment I saw her, I immediately took out the elixirs and begged for my life. Then a vibration echoed through the cave, so the witch dragged me deeper inside..."
Leon continued speaking as if unaware of how flimsy his explanation for why the witch had spared him sounded.
"She simply took you with her?"
As expected, Raidra interrupted him again.
"Yes... I don't really understand why she didn't kill me either."
Leon played dumb. 'The witch would know the real reason.'
Of course, Leon himself knew the true reason—the Chrono Orb. But there was no way Raidra could know that. He continued speaking with a perfectly calm expression.
"In any case, after the other mages who had been caught in the teleportation circle disappeared, a highly sophisticated magic formation was revealed in the lair."
Raidra gave a small nod, seemingly already aware of the teleportation circle.
"When she saw it, the witch tried to kill me, but I got caught up in the formation as well and managed to survive."
Raidra's gaze fell on Leon's burned arm.
"You were hit by the witch's magic yet only lost one arm? That's quite fortunate."
"The teleportation circle activated suddenly, and the other mages had warned us not to use powerful magic in there..."
"Hmm..."
Raidra's eyes deepened. Leon maintained the most innocent expression he could muster. Even if his excuse about why the witch hadn't killed him was weak, every detail about the teleportation circle and the spiritual elixirs was true. If Verford had reported about the witch, he would have mentioned the magic circle as well.
'It would be problematic if he suddenly thinks to check my constitution...'
A constitution check would be an entirely separate topic from the flow of this conversation. Raidra would have no natural opening to bring it up. There had never been a case of someone's constitution changing after consuming spiritual elixirs. If he suggested a constitution test in this situation, it would mean he'd already been suspicious of Leon for quite some time.
"There shouldn't be anyone who has survived an encounter with that witch. Well, other mages have already faced her and lived... You were especially lucky."
"Hearing it from you, Tower Master, I realize just how fortunate I truly was."
Leon let out a sigh of relief. This, at least, was completely sincere. After all, he'd managed to escape from an Insight-class witch who killed anyone she laid eyes on.
'If I meet her again later...'
Leon quickly pushed away the ominous thought that made his skin crawl just to imagine.
"Then stop being so modest and tell me what you want."
Leon decided he needed to say something or the conversation would never end.
"In that case... I would like to begin training in earnest. Though my talent is meager, since I've received this opportunity, I want to devote myself seriously to the path of magic."
"Kuhahahahaha!"
Raidra suddenly burst into laughter. Leon, who had been about to ask for an extended period of intensive training, simply stared at him, unsure how to respond. The old man waved his hand dismissively.
"Ah, I'm not mocking you. I just didn't expect you to ask for something as simple as wanting to focus on training when I asked what you desired. I thought you'd at least ask me to heal that arm of yours."
Raidra broke off with a sly grin. Leon couldn't understand why the expression looked so sinister.
"Well, that little Mardelia girl will take care of it anyway."
"..."
"Don't you have any grander wishes?"
Leon tried to discern Raidra's true intentions. Was he genuinely telling him to ask for more, or was this a hint to know his place and stop here?
"For someone like me..."
"Hmm. A man should have some ambition."
He was even applying subtle pressure. It really seemed like he wanted Leon to ask for more. But Leon had nothing else to request. He didn't want to make a bigger demand and arouse Raidra's suspicion.
"My experience is still too limited to know what I should ask for."
"You're quite good at telling me to decide for you."
"That's not what I meant..."
Raidra held up two fingers in front of Leon. The boy's mouth clamped shut.
'This person really... never lets anyone finish their sentence.'
Hiding his slightly sour expression, Leon listened carefully to Raidra's words.
"I'll give you two options."
"..."
"The first is to shed your status as a regular disciple and become my personal disciple."
"Personal... disciple, sir?"
Leon hid his complicated feelings and outwardly displayed an expression of surprise and joy. He couldn't genuinely rejoice when he had no idea what motives lay behind Raidra's decision to take him as a personal disciple.
"Happy? But it's not as good as you might think. I've never taken a personal disciple before, nor did I ever intend to."
"Then..."
"Do you understand the other meaning behind those words?"
Once again cut off mid-sentence, Leon forced a smile and shook his head.
"I'm not sure."
"It means I'm not particularly interested in your talent. I have no great ambitions regarding disciples. In return, there will be no support whatsoever. You won't gain any special authority either. It's literally just a matter of adding your name. However, no one will complain even if you train all day long. You could consider it me granting the wish you mentioned."
Leon was genuinely surprised by the offer. While it was true he would gain no authority, as Raidra said, the fact that no one would interfere even if he trained all day was itself an enormous privilege that came with being the Tower Master's personal disciple.
"The other option is to receive compensation in mana stones for your actions. However, I wouldn't recommend that one."
Leon immediately understood the implication. If rumors spread that a mere regular disciple had obtained a large quantity of mana stones, the consequences would be obvious. Raidra wasn't the type to meticulously handle such troubles. Given that he was only adding Leon's name as a personal disciple with no actual support, it was clear he would pay no attention to his disciple and focus solely on his own training.
"Then ultimately there's only one choice?"
"You don't like it?"
"Not at all. Being able to have my name listed as the Tower Master's personal disciple would be an excessive honor for someone like me."
Leon had no intention of mentioning that he wanted to learn Raidra's magic. Glory of Lightning was a spell he could make good use of even at the Secret Magic stage. The man surely possessed higher-level magic. But expressing interest in learning it would give Raidra an opening to suggest a constitution check. Having the Tower Master show no particular interest was actually better for Leon.
"Hmm... You're really satisfied with just that?"
"Yes, I am completely sincere."
"Then you may go."
Leon bowed deeply and rose from his seat.
"Whether that's what you truly want, we'll see with time."
"...I will devote myself to my training."
Leon turned and left the conference room.
'...Something feels off.'
He wondered if that last remark had been necessary, but it wasn't particularly strange either. The important thing was that he'd gotten through the meeting without any major issues. Even if Raidra had sensed something suspicious and decided to watch him, by the time the old man realized anything, Leon would be in a completely different state.
'As long as it's not right now, when I've lost so much of my strength escaping the witch.'
Upon returning to his personal room, Leon pretended to recuperate for a day before heading to the training room. He intended to seriously elevate his consciousness to the Secret Magic stage. Or rather, he had intended to.
If only someone hadn't appeared at his door.
"When I told you to become my disciple, you said you didn't want to."
"...When did you return, Master?"
Arpina stared at him with her crimson eyes.
"So what now? The Tower Master's disciple?"