Disciple to Master, Master to Disciple (6)
Disciple to Master, Master to Disciple (6)
The currents of electricity flickering across the training ground subsided in an instant. Melina gathered the magical power at her fingertips and turned her head back.
"Do you have any other questions?"
At Melina's words, Olivia nodded and answered.
"No, I don't have any now."
"Then we shall finish here for today."
"Yes."
Olivia repaired the scorched walls and secretly sighed in relief.
[Remaining Time: 23:00]
Honestly, she'd panicked at first. It was a good thing she had possessed the body only near the end of the lesson. Otherwise it would seriously have been a disaster.
'That was genuinely dangerous.'
She had nearly shown herself "changing."
Olivia glanced at Melina, who was tidying up the magic books.
[Melina Diviae]
- Level: 95
- Favorability: 45
- Class: Archmage of Time and Space
- Titles: Guardian of the Empire, Gold Tower Lord, The Emperor's Drinking Companion
By now, a total of twelve days had passed within the Clue's time, and in that time, Melina's Favorability had risen to 45.
The Favorability Grinding was going smoothly.
Everything was fine, except...
[Remaining Time: 19:32]
Because Melina was nearby, the Timer simply refused to stop.
Normally, tidying up and everything else would have been finished long ago with time to spare, but whatever lesson they'd had, the training ground was literally a complete wreck.
This was the downside of the Clues. She had absolutely no way of knowing what the Olivia of the Genocide Run had been up to.
[Remaining Time: 17:21]
'...Why does it show no sign of ending?'
Her lips were going dry.
'I need to stop by the Black Market.'
It was to confirm the information that could suppress the war with the Eastern Alliance.
In truth, she could get to the Black Market even if she had only one minute left. As long as Melina wasn't beside her, the Timer's time wouldn't deplete.
But if she did that, she wouldn't be able to handle a situation where Melina was waiting at the main gate, like last time.
She had to leave at least ten minutes to prepare for that kind of variable.
[Remaining Time: 15:37]
Wary of rousing Melina's suspicion, Olivia operated her magical power and repaired the walls while feigning composure.
Whoooosh.
Of course, that didn't mean she intended to slow down the speed at which the walls were being repaired. As if stains were being peeled away, the massive wall returned to its original state in an instant.
Melina spoke in a voice tinged with admiration.
"Oh, that was considerably faster than usual."
"Haha..."
Olivia laughed awkwardly.
She felt sorry to say this to Melina, but she hadn't used this Clue just to sit through a lesson like this.
Of course, the ultimate reason for using the Clues was to grind Melina's Favorability, but at least right now, getting information about the eastern front took priority over Favorability Grinding.
Why?
How much could Favorability possibly go up just from sitting through one lesson like this? It wasn't as if she took a lesson once a month.
Since the number of times she could use the Clues was limited, she always had to keep in mind how to achieve maximum efficiency.
And right now, getting information was the most efficient play.
'When I come in next time, it'll pass 50.'
From the very moment Favorability exceeded 50, she would begin the process of genuinely overwriting memories.
Having finished tidying up, Olivia pattered over to Melina.
"Thank you for teaching me again today."
And as she always did, she bowed her head. Once Melina accepted this greeting, their daily routine together would be concluded.
Of course, Melina still had to finish her backlogged work, and Olivia was supposed to review what she'd learned today as well.
But all that, well, the Genocide Run would handle it on her own.
That day, however, something was different.
"..."
No answer came back.
Olivia, who had been waiting for quite some time, cautiously lifted her head and asked.
"Um, well... Master?"
"What is it?"
"...Are you not going to accept my greeting?"
"I intend to accept it. It is my disciple's greeting, so of course I must accept it."
But Melina's eyes, as she said this, were narrowed.
"However, tell me... is it that you want me to leave?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked if you want me to leave."
Melina was clearly smiling. But the air she gave off was somehow strange.
It was tangible enough that she felt one wrong word here and she'd be dead on the spot.
Olivia spoke with the most innocent face she could manage.
"That's not it. Master, you've had a lot of work to do lately. Even if lessons need you, I can self-study on my own. I meant it in that sense..."
"I am grateful for your concern. But today is fine. I finished my work in advance."
"..."
Melina's pupils were still silently asking, 'Do you not want me here?'
Olivia didn't dare open her mouth carelessly. Even though she knew what the model answer was.
'I want to stay with you longer too, Master' was the correct answer. Normally, she would have chosen that route without a moment's hesitation.
But...
'Something feels off.'
Just in case, Olivia checked Melina's Status Window once more.
[Melina Diviae]
- Level: 95
- Favorability: 45
- Class: Archmage of Time and Space
- Titles: Guardian of the Empire, Gold Tower Lord, The Emperor's Drinking Companion
As expected, the Favorability wasn't split. That meant Melina still couldn't distinguish between Olivia and the Olivia of the Genocide Run.
'...Is she saying she genuinely wants to stay with me a little longer?'
No, there was no way it was that. If that had truly been her intention, she wouldn't have spoken with such a meaningful nuance.
Olivia took a moment to think.
She soon drew a conclusion.
'...Is this the suspicion stage?'
The suspicion that Olivia might have two selves.
It was entirely plausible if it was still the stage where there was no physical evidence, only a gut feeling.
After all, Kiel's Favorability hadn't split either, until he became certain that Olivia had two selves.
"My disciple, do you not wish to be with me?"
That was why she was asking in such a roundabout way. To try and find out the exact point when the self changed.
'...I don't think I did anything suspicious, though.'
With the exception of when she had handed over the Fragment of Truth, she had truly acted just like Melina's disciple—that is, just like the Olivia of the Genocide Run.
'...Is it not about my actions?'
Come to think of it, Kiel had also distinguished the Genocide Run's Olivia from herself based on a simple difference in atmosphere. If Kiel could do it, there was no reason Melina couldn't.
Words and actions could be imitated, but atmosphere could not.
But even that wasn't enough. She could be suspicious, certainly, but there was no need for her to go so far as to confirm that her self was changing.
Because to Melina, Olivia was already a mage who had reached the Truth.
Truth was an unknown domain to Melina.
There was no need for her to pay any particular attention to such a mage playing the role of a disciple, even going so far as to change selves...
Wait, could it be...?
****
Melina looked down at Olivia, who was lost in thought, with a bitter expression.
She hadn't let it show, but for the past several weeks, Melina had lived in a state of questioning.
Why in the world a mage who had already reached the Truth would want to become the disciple of someone like her.
Touching the Truth, and becoming Melina's disciple.
Even aspiring mages from some backwater village knew that the Equivalence between those two things didn't hold up.
And Melina knew that fact better than anyone.
That was why she had sincerely resolved to become Olivia's teacher.
Because only by doing that could she somehow balance the Equivalence.
One might ask why she was so obsessed with Equivalence. But for a mage, there was no helping it.
Equivalence.
Because that was the foundation of all magic.
The power of a spell was determined by how much magical power one used. Use a little, and the power was weak; use a lot, and the power was strong.
The same principle applied to using magic beyond one's means and losing life force in return.
To balance the Equivalence, a mage was subjected to a corresponding burden.
This was Equivalent Exchange, and this was magic.
And Olivia was also a mage.
A mage who had reached the Truth would surely understand this principle of Equivalence better than anyone.
There was no way she wouldn't know the simple principle that as much as the scales tipped, a burden was applied to the opposite side.
Before, knowing this hadn't particularly bothered her. But recently, after glimpsing the third Fragment of Truth, she had realized something.
Because it was only a Fragment, the realization was hazy, like it was shrouded in fog, but even so, she could feel it.
The value of the Truth.
It was joyful. It was ecstatic. The wonderment at how such a realm could exist never ceased.
And at the same time, she had realized one terrible fact.
That no matter how wholeheartedly she fulfilled her role as a teacher, the scales would be forever tipped toward the other side.
Even if she offered up all her organs and body parts, all her emotions, even her very soul.
No matter what Melina did, the Equivalence could never be established.
And yet Melina had received no burden whatsoever.
Because everything she had to offer wasn't even worth the value of a single Fragment of Truth.
The person who should have received the burden did not receive it.
This could only mean one thing.
"..."
Olivia, her disciple, was receiving it in her stead.
'Why?'
Melina had tried to deduce the reason on her own.
Because no matter how she thought about it, Olivia had no reason to shoulder that burden in her place.
And at last, she had been able to arrive at a single answer.
- Please take me as your disciple.
Come to think of it, Olivia had never spoken informally to her, not even for a moment.
'...Really.'
A surge of emotion welled up inside her chest.
She already knew that Olivia typically kept her aspect as a Sage sealed away. She also knew that aspect only awakened when she passed on the Fragments of Truth.
Today was that day.
That was why she wanted to stick right by her side and confirm it with her own eyes.
'...Were you truly my disciple?'
Melina's eyes shone with a bright golden light.