Caught Red-Handed
Life's all about connections, huh. If this keeps going, Aris is gonna give me an earful. Better deny everything for now!
"I didn't go there!!"
The moment I said it, Karnaroph let out a dark chuckle.
"Yumia, that data from the Western Forest was truly impressive. No idea how you even got in there, though."
Aris's glare turned downright murderous. At this rate, a lecture was inevitable!!
"I-I copied it!"
"Hahaha. As far as I recall, this assignment was given only once, twenty years ago—as a special task to the top student."
"...What."
"How could you copy something that's only in Karnaroph's treasure vault, nested in a subspace within a subspace?"
No. This is bad! There's no escape!
I clung to my last shred of hope.
"D-Data manipulation..."
"Does this look like data manipulation anyone could fake with that level of precision?"
Damn you, past me. Why'd you have to work so hard for no reason!
"Wait, but how'd you even know about that?"
"High mana density mixed with alien natural mana. Impossible to miss."
Oh no...
"Impressive. I never even thought to go there."
Lenia said, looking right at me.
"You went into the Western Forest too, Yumia? You always exceed my expectations!"
"Robert, don't even think about going there."
"Pardon? Isn't it used for practical training anyway?"
"True, but we always stick to designated routes, with professors escorting us. To handle any problems that arise."
"What kind of problems...?"
Lenia asked. She seemed intrigued by the Western Forest too.
Karnaroph's expression soured the instant she did—like even thinking about it exhausted him.
"It's the lair of the King of Wings."
"...The King of Wings? You mean that one from the rumors?"
"Professor Shila mentioned it too."
Robert looked shocked, while Aris's face lit up with recognition.
Ah. If it's what I'm thinking of, maybe I'm in the clear. I'd figured it was some monster, but even that's sorted thanks to Adrian. With my affinity for nature, I could escape anything C-grade or higher.
"That one's no pro—"
Karnaroph cut me off.
"She's dangerous. Incredibly powerful, hostile to humans, always taking something from them."
Huh? Hehe. Sis, you're here! I recalled Adrian, always greeting me in her elegant dress.
"Why think that? She might be nice."
Karnaroph spoke as if determined to shatter my illusions about dragons.
"Hahaha... I've never once seen that dragon bitch act peaceful or friendly toward humans."
"Pardon?"
"Her temper is a work of art."
Hmm. I thought back to our chats when I'd gone to the forest for homework.
Sis, I dug up some elixirs from the eternal snowfields—want some?
I scored some good booze this time...
"Always strong-arming trades for one-sided gains... Damn. Even now..."
Karnaroph clenched his fist, anger flashing across his face.
"And that's not all. Arrogant, sky-high pride. Humans aren't even allowed to approach, let alone touch her."
Another memory surfaced.
Lap pillow? Of course! You're always welcome, sis.
Her lap had been cool and comfy, by the way. She was the one always initiating the skinship.
"Of course, pass her trials and you might get a handful of mana. It's like a rule set by pact. But even that chance isn't given lightly..."
Need natural mana? Just take mine! I'll squeeze some out for you! How much?
I have better magic circles than that one! With your talent... this should do!
Mana? It's overflowing like trash anyway—here.
She's talking about us, right? Feels like not...
What if there's another King of Wings living in the Western Forest?
Robert shuddered.
"To think a dragon lives so close. Approach would be impossible, then..."
"The pact keeps her from outright expulsion on the first offense, but no second chances."
"... enough."
"...I'll have to build up enough strength first, then."
Robert bit his lip, clearly unaware of the danger.
Out of Karnaroph's sight, I stuck out my tongue at just the right angle.
Bleh. I could go anytime.
"Wise words. If you need high mana density, I recommend the Central Library."
I chimed in. Gotta at least pretend to listen.
"Whoa, real. ly. dan. ger. ous." I said, spacing it out dramatically.
"Never thought you'd actually listen for once."
Karnaroph nodded.
"Abso. lute. ly. not. go. ing." I continued.
Aris didn't scold me, so she must think I'd reflected. Perfect. I could still go.
Anyway, with homework submitted, my workload dropped big time. Magic practice hadn't changed much.
Aris and I headed to one of the practice rooms inside the Grand Auditorium building.
"It's been a while since we've been here."
The building had personal practice rooms assigned one per student. Casting attack or elemental magic on school grounds would've been insane. So everyone used these.
I had the Western Forest, so no big deal for me.
No other students, open spaces, plenty of magic beasts for targets.
Perfect training ground.
Sometimes when bored, I'd hunt easy-looking beasts and sell the magic stones at the School Market. Enough to cover a meal a day.
But can't go during the day. Biggest downside. And no one would believe my connection to Adrian anyway. Even I'd doubt an S-rank hunter friendship. She looked even stronger. Winning odds against either were nil, but Adrian was on another level entirely.
"Let's wrap up quick and grab food."
We were in a reserved two-person room. Single rooms were spacious; doubles were a bit bigger than two combined. Good for light sparring.
I fired at the wall-mounted targets.
"Casting, Bullet, Triple."
Added a stanza and an extra small magic circle in the casting. Fired three shots at once.
Glowing white mana bullets nailed the target centers.
Aris raised her staff.
"Casting, Bullet, Double."
One hit dead center; the other grazed off.
"Ah..."
"Casting, Bullet, Triple."
I shot at moving targets.
—Crack, crack... pop.
"Ah, one just missed a bit."
I sighed, shutting off the artifact that moved the targets. Misses meant less data for the report. Karnaroph's orders—no skipping.
Good thing I hit them.
"Whoa! Amazing! How do you hit moving targets!?"
Aris gushed. Her reactions were the best.
"Just using Dragon Eye."
I switched my eyes.
"...Pardon?"
"Oh, never showed you? My eyes are like this."
"Such unique eyes. A magic eye?"
"Magic eye?"
"Eyes with special powers. Used for casting spells and stuff."
Mine were just telescope zoom and enhanced dynamic vision.
Oh, night vision too. More abilities than I thought.
"Not a magic eye—it's Dragon Eye."
"Dragon Eye? Hehe, good one. You're human, Yumia."
"For real... Anyway, boosts dynamic vision, so easy to hit. Plus intuition."
Comes from lots of fights—gut sense of where and when to shoot.
I kept at the homework. My staff beeped with light bursts. Minimized power, maximized stability.
By the tenth, I fired four in a row, piercing four targets.
Checked spent mana, room density, target states, then flopped down.
"Scary how routine this is getting..."
"Your skills have skyrocketed too."
Definitely. Aris was firing mana bullets at combat-ready speeds now. Her mana pool beat mine. A bit more real experience, and she'd take a D-rank hunter.
Healer potential was huge too—with minimal training, she'd excel.
But obstacles remained.
Healing needs knowledge.
Anatomy knowledge made huge differences in efficiency and speed.
Hmm. Kidnap a healer for lessons? No evidence in this world.
Chanting as I thought.
"Casting, Shield."
A transparent barrier formed around me. Tried spells inside it. My attacks passed through; incoming ones blocked. Wild.
"You mastered that already!?"
"Similar to attack magic."
"How!?"
"Mana patterns."
"Everything else is different... You're a freak learner, Yumia. No idea how to keep up later."
"No need to? Pace yourself."
"True. Time's up anyway. Down to the auditorium."
Aris grabbed her backpack. We headed down the stairs.
I watched her tiny frame haul that huge bag.
"That's a big one."
Before afternoon magic biology, we needed tomorrow's potion materials and tools. Looked like a ton—hadn't checked volume, but obvious.
No issue for me. Inventory emptied.
Students bustled inside the Grand Auditorium. Piles of materials and gear everywhere.
All this to carry?
"Line up there! Take one by one! Careful with materials!"
Staff yelled—probably usual guards.
Grabbed a cauldron first.
"Whoa!"
Heavy as hell. Maybe stat up strength. Stunned by the big, heavy iron pot, a guard said:
"No bag? We announced to bring one..."
"Forgot."
"Tch, fine. Take that old bag over—"
"Nah, no need."
The iron cauldron vanished from my hand without a trace.