Disciple to Master, Master to Disciple (1)
Disciple to Master, Master to Disciple (1)
"What I will teach you today is ice-element magic. The most important thing when handling the ice attribute is..."
As Melina continued her explanation, she still couldn't understand why she was going through with this pointless charade. Setting aside the fact that she had agreed to play along with this "showing the Truth" arrangement, she couldn't fathom what meaning this "disciple game" was supposed to hold.
"Like this?"
"...Yes. That's exactly right."
As was only natural, Olivia followed Melina's instruction to perfection.
Teach her one thing, and she understood ten. Show her the basics, and she worked out the applications on her own.
Melina, of course, felt not the slightest emotion over any of it. After all, the feeling of teaching magic to someone who had already realized the Truth was truly a peculiar one.
How to put it... If she had to express it, it felt like she was the one being deceived.
"Olivia."
"Yes, Master."
"That... No, never mind."
Melina sighed softly.
'I can't exactly ask her when she's going to show me the Truth.'
At this point, she couldn't even tell if this was an act or not.
Well, what else could she do? She simply had to play the part of a master properly.
Melina dredged up her memories from a century ago. The memories of teaching Galdur—the current Red Tower Lord.
If she just modernized that old curriculum, she figured she could manage a decent imitation of a teacher.
But Melina was forced to retract that idea after only a single day.
"Master, I've finished everything."
"Already?"
The reply came from beside her. While Melina had been away at the Imperial Palace, she had left Olivia in the care of the First Elder.
"Yes, I watched carefully from the side. Not only did she complete every task the Tower Lord assigned, but she went on to finish three entire stages of advanced application."
"...Did she, now?"
"As expected, the Tower Lord's judgment is truly remarkable! The other elders who opposed your decision will surely be reminded of their ignorance by this! If a talent like this is not taught by the Tower Lord herself, then who else could possibly teach her?"
The contract between Melina and Olivia was a secret known only to the two of them. So the First Elder's reaction was hardly unusual.
From the perspective of an outsider who knew nothing, Olivia was quite literally a heaven-sent prodigy.
She was more brilliant than the Red Tower Lord, Galdur—even more brilliant than Melina herself had been at a young age.
"With a child like her, the Truth truly could..."
The First Elder, who had been speaking with an excited face, suddenly stopped and glanced at Melina. It seemed he realized the mistake he had just made.
'Agh, I messed up!'
The Truth—that single word was practically Melina's berserk button.
Anyone would be angry if their efforts yielded no results in proportion to their labor. How much more so when that time spanned hundreds of years.
The First Elder visibly tensed up. Considering Melina's temperament, he was looking at a minimum of one month of disciplinary confinement, and if his luck was truly rotten, even exile.
"M-my humblest apologies. I misspoke..."
"That's enough."
"It's a sin worthy of death... Excuse me?"
"I said that's enough. Do not concern yourself with it."
The First Elder's eyes widened even more than before. Melina had been about to scold him for his pathetic display, but upon seeing Olivia beside her, she stopped.
Olivia had asked Melina to take her as a disciple. And over the past three days, she had carried out the role of a disciple with absolute diligence. She treated Melina with the utmost respect, and followed her instructions without fail.
In other words, this was an unspoken pressure.
'I am acting properly as a disciple, so you act properly as a master'—that kind of silent message.
So she held back. Because the "master" Olivia spoke of was probably not a mere hollow title, but a demand to truly be one.
'...What on earth am I even doing?'
It would have been so much better if Olivia just openly revealed her ulterior motive.
One thing was certain, however: Melina could no longer afford to merely pretend to be a teacher.
She had to become a genuine master. If she could satisfy Olivia that way, she would be able to obtain the next Clue to the Truth.
The moment Melina stepped outside the training ground, she summoned every elder of the Magic Tower. The elders were plainly flustered by the sudden summons.
It took only a single minute for all ten elders to gather in the conference room. That alone demonstrated just how absolute Melina's authority was within the Gold Tower.
Some had even been dragged in wearing their nightclothes.
"Wh-what is the matter?"
"Has that accursed Kingdom of Roel finally declared war?"
Melina raised a hand and silenced the elders in an instant. She swept her gaze across the room, then slowly opened her mouth.
"If there is an elder here who considers themselves skilled at teaching disciples, raise your hand."
"..."
Unable to withstand the scrutiny, a few elders raised their hands. Melina jerked her chin toward the highest-ranking among them, the Fourth Elder.
"I wish to ask for your advice."
"When you say advice..."
"I mean quite literally that. How does one become a true master? Though your levels may be low, you all have far more experience teaching disciples than I do."
At those words, the Fourth Elder's mouth fell open. It was hardly appropriate conduct before the Tower Lord, but no one could reprimand her.
Because every single person present felt exactly the same way.
'Wh-what did I just hear?'
'This is a dream. This must definitely be a dream.'
There was no one who didn't know that Melina had taken a new disciple. But they hadn't imagined she was this serious.
The Melina they knew was a person with no interest in others. And in truth, that assessment was correct.
But she had changed—in just three short days since taking a disciple.
The Fourth Elder barely managed to find her voice.
"May I ask what kind of master the Tower Lord aspires to be?"
"Explain in more detail."
"The types of masters are countless. To narrow it down and name just a few: the kindly, warm master; the stern, strict master..."
"Which type do ordinary disciples generally prefer?"
The Fourth Elder could answer that question without the slightest hesitation.
"The kindly, warm master, naturally."
"Is that so..."
Melina fell into thought for a moment.
Kindly? Warm?
'...Damn it all.'
Annihilating the Empire honestly seemed like it would be easier.
Those soft, fluffy words didn't suit her at all.
Indifference. Neglect. Condemnation...
If she had to pick words that fit, those were the ones.
But she had no other options.
"Fourth Elder, you will accompany me for the next week. And... teach me in real time, by my side, how to become a kindly, warm master. Point out anything I do incorrectly."
No sooner had Melina finished speaking than the Third Elder slapped his own cheek. The Seventh Elder fell backward off her chair, and the Ninth Elder began drooling from her mouth.
The Fourth Elder also couldn't pull herself together. Even she, famous for her composure and broad popularity, could do nothing but pinch her own thigh in this moment.
It hurt.
This was no dream.
"...Yes, I understand. I shall do as you command."
"Good. Fourth Elder, follow me. The rest of you may disperse."
Until Melina and the Fourth Elder vanished from the conference hall, not a single person rose from their seat.
"...Huh."
Was the world about to end?
*****
Melina hurried toward the training ground. She couldn't leave Olivia unattended for long.
'This is a test. Let's just consider it a test.'
Melina attempted to somehow impose a justification upon the situation—a kind of test to determine whether Olivia was worthy of receiving enlightenment.
"If I do anything wrong, inform me immediately. You need not concern yourself with my feelings."
"...Yes."
The Fourth Elder's face was one of total bewilderment. By now, she had given up trying to think.
"When you enter a disciple's private training ground, it is generally best to give notice beforehand."
"...Is that so?"
Melina's expression was one of utter incomprehension. The Fourth Elder, who had been quietly observing, elaborated.
"No matter how much lower in rank they may be than oneself, they are still an individual. No one dislikes being respected."
It was a highly veiled criticism, but Melina didn't catch on.
They soon arrived in front of the private training ground.
Melina looked at the Fourth Elder with eyes that seemed to ask: 'Do I really have to do this?'
"This is the simplest step."
Melina sighed deeply enough to crack the floor and knocked. The instant Olivia answered from inside, Melina threw open the door and entered.
"You've come, Master?"
Olivia greeted her. She looked back and forth between Melina and the Fourth Elder, then smiled faintly.
"I have something urgent to tell you, Master. Could you spare me a moment?"
Sensing the subtle nuance, the Fourth Elder tactfully withdrew outside. Olivia abruptly approached Melina, who was staring at the door with a dumbfounded expression.
"Master, please take this."
It was a familiar piece of paper.
...Already?
By the time she had that thought, the paper was already in her hand. Olivia spoke to Melina, who stood fidgeting, unable to bring herself to unfold it.
"You may look at it. It's my thanks for teaching me these past three days."
"W-well, then. I shall accept it gratefully..."
Melina began to write, continuing the formula that had been cut off three days prior.
'It's working, it's working!'
Even as she frantically proved the formula, Melina couldn't stop marveling inwardly.
How could she approach it like this? How was such an idea even possible?
How much time passed like that?
"Ah..."
A lament slipped from Melina's lips. The emotion contained within was pure regret.
It was over. This was as far as she was allowed to go.
"Please don't be too disappointed. I'll show you more next time, too."
Olivia simply smiled.
It was a kind of smile Melina had never seen before. A smile born from pure satisfaction, without a trace of pretense.
The moment she saw that smile, Melina felt something stir inside her heart.
It was a truly unfamiliar emotion.
One she had never felt before.
"...Thank you."
"What is there to thank me for? I told you just now. It's repayment for teaching me so well these past three days."
"..."
Melina at least possessed a sense of shame. The word 'repayment' was only valid when both sides had given and received something.
She had given nothing.
Yet the one smiling, the one satisfied, was Olivia.
And that made it all the more incomprehensible.
"Master."
"...Yes."
"I'll let you know the next one six days from now. Until then, I look forward to your guidance."
"..."
Melina merely nodded. Olivia, who had been gazing quietly at her, took a step closer.
"What did I tell you?"
"...I shall raise my head. Straighten my shoulders as well."
"And while you're at it, smile. There, yes, that looks much better."
Beyond Olivia's eyes, which were smiling brightly, Melina's own reflection was visible.
Still a little awkward, admittedly, but—
She was undeniably smiling.