Even the Infamous Nibuer Can't Handle That? Pfft.
Even the Infamous Nibuer Can't Handle That? Pfft.
"It has been an honor to teach such a gifted young master all this time."
"Likewise. If he weren't a noble son, I'd have snatched him up as my sole disciple right away...."
"You, stay out of this. Hmph. If you'd only focused on ice magic, you would have achieved far greater things. That's what you get for teaching him with such glee. Typical of those who handle that fiery, selfish, barbaric element."
"Pfft. The young master knows perfectly well that focusing on a vulgar and inferior element like ice has clear limits. Have you seen the latest published paper? The current trend in the academic world is fire...."
"There they go again. Fighting on the very last day?"
My magic instructors, whose contracts ended today.
I had meant to thank them for their hard work, but watching the two of them bicker only made me sigh before I could say a word.
"Really now. Learn something from a manly man like me. Grown adults, and all you do is fight."
"...Pfft. Ah, my apologies, young master."
"Oh dear. We're sorry, young master."
When I placed my hands on my hips and chided them, the pair finally ceased their quarrel as if they'd just realized their mistake.
I then bowed deeply from the waist to them.
"Thank you for teaching me magic all this time!"
"...!"
"Y-young master? What are you doing? Please straighten up at once. Oh dear. I can't even physically stop you."
They flustered and waved their hands when I gave them a full ninety-degree bow, but I kept my head lowered for a solid ten seconds to express my gratitude.
A mark of a manly man: he always expresses his thanks properly.
* * * * * *
The magic instructors departed, saying, "If you ever come to the Magic Tower, be sure to contact us!" as if parting with me was truly a shame.
Having grown rather fond of them, I felt a brief emptiness in a corner of my heart... but if I become an adventurer, I can see them anytime.
So, like the manly man I am, I saw them off with refreshing ease.
"U-until we meet again, definitely... Sniff, I'll absolutely come see you...."
"Young master, please do not weep. I've told you that composure is vital for ice element magic, have I not?"
"Have you no heart? Oh dear, young master. Don't cry. Here's a handkerchief."
"Put away that filthy rag. Young master, here is a handkerchief of the highest quality. Please, dry your tears with this."
...Alright, perhaps it wasn't entirely manly, but anyway.
Having sent them off like that.
After sniffling awhile longer as I composed myself, I stared up blankly at the ceiling and muttered.
"Status window."
-Ding.
[Status: Strength 0.8/10 (+0) | Agility 1.5/10 (+0.5) | Intelligence 4.2/10 (+0.2) | Luck 9/10 (+1) | Magic Power 7.9/10 (+2.9) | Divine Power 0/10 (+0)]
The status window appeared before my eyes the moment I spoke those words.
Unlike when I first recalled Ryu Si-u's memories, the magic power stat now looked reasonably decent, but I still pursed my lips in dissatisfaction.
'Not even 8 magic power. A bit disappointing.'
I'd gathered quite a few elixirs, but the stat was still sorely lacking. This was largely because the types of elixirs I knew were heavily skewed.
Ryu Si-u had mainly raised female units in the game, and aside from a few exceptions like Flare, most female units were front-line vanguards.
As a result, the elixirs Ryu Si-u knew about mostly boosted stats like strength or agility.
Since those were meaningless stats for a future archmage like myself, I'd handed all of them over to my sisters and mother.
Because I'd given them all away, despite the sheer number of elixirs that passed through my hands, I'd barely grown in terms of actual stats.
Thanks to that, Mar, Charl, and Mother's combat prowess had improved dazzlingly, but... I can't just go adventuring with my mother or sisters. That defeats the whole point.
So I steeled my determination to work even harder at the academy.
A vow to monopolize every fortuitous encounter for myself, become the mightiest archmage, and set out adventuring with Flare.
Some of those fortuitous encounters are in fairly dangerous places, so avoiding the interference of those around me to obtain them will be tough...
Well, it'll be fine. I've prepared plenty of methods to shake off the people around me, after all.
Thinking of the numerous items I'd acquired thanks to Nibuer, I grinned with ambition.
'Flare! Just wait! I'll graduate soon and come see you!'
* * * * * *
While Yune was recalling the items Nibuer had procured and plotting his plans, Nibuer was also making preparations for the academy's start of term. More precisely, not for admission itself, but for the days she would spend with Yune after he entered.
Nibuer had been frequenting the Northern Estate nearly every day, secretly educating Yune during his formative years to ensure his character wasn't warped. Whether because of her efforts or not, Yune had, in any case, grown up as kind and pure as in his childhood.
Nibuer intended to complete him as her liege at the academy.
For his sake, she was advancing numerous plans, including entering the academy herself.
Her current visit to the Fire Magic Tower was likewise part of that plan.
The mages stirred as they watched her enter the Fire Magic Tower.
-...Golden-Ear, Nibuer.
-That's the Nibuer? The one called the Dagger of Nordkirchen?
-Isn't she just a fox hiding behind the tiger that is the Northern Grand Duchess, throwing her weight around? What's there to be so afraid of?
-You're not wrong, but keep your voice down. You're new, so you might not know, but a few years ago the tower was... because of her.
Nibuer eavesdropped on every one of those hushed conversations with her elven hearing.
But befitting an old Monster of the Upper Realm, instead of displaying any displeasure, she wore an exceedingly serene smile.
Those who'd spoken ill of her were mere underlings she could expel from the Fire Magic Tower with a snap of her fingers.
Resolving that the moment her business here was done, she'd immediately relegate those who insulted her to the most idle of idle posts in the tower and teach them some 'manners.'
She strode on, still smiling.
-First time seeing one in person, but elves really do have small chests, huh? Even the almighty Golden-Eared Nibuer can't do anything about a flat chest, I guess? Pfft.
-Hey, hey. Don't make fun of her chest. How pitiful. ...Though, honestly, if I had a chest like that, I might not be able to leave the house. Pfft.
-True. Really pitiful. ...The man who ends up being held by a flat-chested girl like that.
-Pwahaha. She'd cry if she heard this.
'...I've memorized your faces clearly. You there, green-haired one. And the purple-haired one.'
But her expression very nearly twisted for a moment, thanks to certain individuals who had insulted her feminine pride along the way.
* * * * * *
She strode purposefully on, up to the tower's upper floors, which were forbidden to ordinary visitors.
People in obviously high-grade robes began to appear here and there, but rather than stopping her from walking through a restricted area, those around her greeted her courteously instead.
A reaction befitting high-ranking officials who knew the influence Nibuer had gained by turning the Magic Tower upside down during the Solar Fire Carp inner core incident.
But there was no room in her mind to respond to their greetings.
The word "flat-chested" she had just heard was filling her head entirely.
'What's wrong with a small chest, anyway? The texture is far better; men will clearly prefer it. Honestly. These youngsters who still have milk on their breath.'
Nibuer was pulling off a pitiful mental victory, lording her meager years of age over others despite having zero experience with men herself.
So occupied was she that she soon reached her destination, a door labeled: 'High-Grade Appraisal Room.'
-Knock, knock.
"Yes, come in."
An answer came immediately after her knock.
When she opened the door and entered, a woman whose red hair was accentuated by a pair of horns came into view.
Had it been Yune in this room instead of Nibuer, he'd have recognized her identity instantly, shouting 'Flare!' and lunging in for a hug.
Actually, identifying her wouldn't be difficult even for someone who wasn't Yune.
The desk she was sitting at had a nameplate on top: 'High-ranking Appraiser: Flare.'
The mercenary with whom Yune had signed a year-long contract to cure his Nine Yin Severed Meridians. The dragonkin woman who had inspired Yune to dream of becoming a mage, an adventurer. Flare.
Why was she, who had departed saying she would do research at the Magic Tower, now holding the position of high-ranking appraiser?
The cause lay in the personnel vacuum created when Nibuer had turned the tower upside down a few years prior.
A personnel vacuum caused after it was revealed that a black mage had brainwashed the tower's high-ranking mages, leading to a mass, disgraceful resignation of high-level mages from their posts.
Of course, the desirable high-ranking posts were quickly filled with new applicants, but...
The position at the root of it all—high-ranking appraiser—was one that everyone hated, so they had no choice but to appoint a lower-class mage to it.
In that sense, Flare, who had no worries of brainwashing thanks to a dragonkin's characteristically high resistance to mental magic, and whose status was low relative to her skills due to her race's limits, was perfect for the high-ranking appraiser position.
And so, Flare had the title of high-ranking appraiser thrust upon her, 100% against her will.
But she herself loathed the position to death.
She barely had time for the magic research she loved, and dealing with nobles—who, unlike Yune, had absolutely no manners—had driven her to a neurosis so severe the tips of her horns were beginning to crumble slightly.
Perhaps that was why.
"Are all preparations complete, Flare?"
"Any time."
The moment Nibuer asked, 'Are you ready?', she nodded her head without a moment's hesitation.
Thereafter, the two began the very thing that had brought Nibuer on this personal visit to the Fire Magic Tower: reinforcing their mercenary contract.
The two conversed as they drafted the magic contract.
"But is it really okay for someone like me to enter that academy as a professor? I'm obviously happy about it; I get paid and I can escape this tiresome seat. But still."
"Of course. The title of High-ranking Appraiser of the Magic Tower serves as a sufficient pretext. ...Though you will occasionally need to grant me certain favors."
Nibuer intended to plant a pawn among the professors who would be swayed by her influence, all for the smooth development of her liege.
And Flare had readily accepted Nibuer's proposal: 'I'll lay the groundwork; enter as a temporary academy professor and follow my orders.'
Thinking this was a fine contract, beneficial to them both, Flare smiled with satisfaction.
"I don't know the details, but I'll accommodate your requests as much as possible. It's probably just asking me to take extra care of a student's grades."
"Such acts would be difficult now, and I had no intention of asking that in the first place."
"I heard nobles all secretly buy grades with money. Was I wrong? And if it's not that, why push me into a professor's seat at all?"
"Do you have a need to know?"
"Hmph. So a mere mercenary like me doesn't need to know, is that it? Fine."
Oddly, however, Nibuer was being oddly prickly.
Flare dismissed this subtly hostile attitude as nothing more than typical, unpleasant elven haughtiness.
"Anyway, I look forward to working with you. Employer."
Flare flashed a bright smile, trying to get on the good side of her prickly employer.
And... her ample chest, practically visible through her clothes.
-Glance.
Nibuer, having compared that chest with her own.
'What's so good about such a grotesque chest anyway? If it's that big, it's bound to feel horrid to the touch, like waterlogged bread. The true measure of a woman's chest is its firmness and shape, not its size. Therefore, men would surely prefer a properly modest chest like this rather than something excessive like that....'
"...Employer?"
"Address me as Lady Nibuer. You vulgar thing."
"V-vulgar...?"
She began glaring at her, filled with jealousy. And doing so while bringing a hand up to cover her own chest area, inwardly aware of the difference.
Overly provoked by the word 'flat-chested' she'd just heard, Nibuer was acting out, and Flare could only look up at her with eyes that asked what in the world was going on.
"What is this all of a sudden...?"
"A person who deals with nobles, dressing so indecently. You've clearly lost your mind."
"...This is because I'm dragonkin."
"Silence. When at the academy, wear several layers of clothing. That is an order from your employer."
"Huh?! Your first order is something like that?!"
And so, Nibuer began venting her inferiority complex onto the undeserving Flare.
In many ways, it was an ugly spectacle.