At Least It's a Dragon
Yohan had barely finished explaining his eye condition to Aria when she seized his hand and whisked him away somewhere.
“There’s a sofa right behind you. Sit down.”
The location was the Magic Tower Master’s office.
At Aria’s words, Yohan nodded and slowly felt his way to the sofa behind him before taking a seat.
‘What is it, Sir Zeno?’
At Zeno’s sudden voice, Yohan asked what the matter was, but no reply came.
As he sat with his head raised forward, another voice reached him.
“⋯⋯Ahem. Have you been well, Student Yohan? It seems we meet again sooner than expected.”
⋯⋯Hmm?
That voice sounded familiar⋯⋯.
What?
⋯⋯Why is the President here?
Yohan froze, unable to answer through his obvious bewilderment. Aria dropped into her own seat with a sigh and casually relayed his condition.
“Delmar says he still can’t see properly.”
The soft clink of a teacup being set down echoed, followed by Kassian’s apologetic tone.
“I see. I’m sorry for startling you, Student Yohan.”
Yohan waved his hands and shook his head, trying to convey his meaning as clearly as possible. Given that recovery was just around the corner, the concern felt far too excessive.
⋯⋯Still.
Why is he here?
He’s someone who never steps foot outside the academy.
“⋯⋯Ahem. You must be wondering why I’m here, yes?”
Kassian spoke as though he had pinpointed Yohan’s exact curiosity. Without hesitation, Yohan nodded.
⋯⋯Truthfully, it had been eating at him.
After that, Kassian slowly stroked his chin and glanced at Aria. She let out a sigh before speaking.
“I originally planned to ask once his eyes had fully healed. But Delmar insisted he wanted to ask first.”
I don’t like it, but we need the help, so it can’t be helped.
Aria shook her head in clear displeasure and looked toward Kassian. The meaning was obvious: ask it yourself.
“⋯⋯Ahem.”
Kassian cleared his throat and turned to Yohan.
“To speak plainly, I wanted to ask about that corpse. It may be difficult to explain, but would you indulge me?”
“⋯⋯.”
⋯⋯This was bad.
The sudden question felt like an ambush. To escape the situation, Yohan chose the safest answer: he didn’t know.
“You mean you don’t know the details?”
⋯Precisely, he had answered that he didn’t know in detail.
- Yes.
Yohan wrote the words calmly across the back of Aria’s hand.
“I see.”
Aria relayed it to Kassian in a rather indifferent tone.
Kassian tilted his head, staring at Yohan as if his doubts remained unresolved. His gaze was both sharp and puzzled. At Aria’s subsequent look, he quietly averted his eyes.
A brief silence settled over the three. Seizing the moment, Yohan asked Zeno,
‘What is their reaction, Sir Zeno?’
‘I see. It can’t be helped.’
Zeno had read the atmosphere and conveyed it, yet there was nothing to be done.
‘This is the only way I can answer.’
⋯⋯It would be better if he could speak the truth.
But for both Zeno and Yohan, that option had long since been discarded. The only remaining path was to insist he knew nothing.
After all, the Giants were a race whose information could not be found anywhere. A single careless slip could lead to any number of accusations.
‘Even though both of them treat me kindly.’
⋯⋯Even if they were friendly at this stage, considering everything Yohan had experienced, he could not view them as perfect allies.
And in this world, it was safe to say there were no perfect allies to begin with.
Besides, now was the time he needed to continue researching mana transference. He still had to remain here a little longer.
So when Kassian asked once more what had happened, Yohan answered that the creature had tried to kill him, so he had killed it to survive.
After several rounds of questions and answers, Kassian closed his eyes and reviewed the conversation that had just taken place.
⋯⋯The only useful pieces were that the creature had recovered from its wounds and died after being stabbed in the neck. Both facts could have been inferred from the corpse itself.
Kassian opened his eyes and looked at Yohan. Aria glanced between them before asking,
“So? Did you get the answers you wanted?”
Kassian looked back and forth between Yohan and Aria, then let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the sofa.
⋯⋯From Zeno’s perspective, it seemed less like he was focused on the conversation and more on the hand they were holding, but that could be considered later.
What mattered now were the Headmaster’s next words.
“It isn’t fully resolved. However, from the moment he stated the creature rushed to kill him, it became clear we need to investigate further.”
Kassian had already seen the corpse with his own eyes. The sense of unfamiliarity he felt facing the body, combined with the strange disconnect during their conversation, only strengthened his conviction that this incident required deeper digging.
“How? You said the forbidden archives turned up nothing.”
Aria’s tone was curt. She was asking if there was any method at all. Kassian gave a small smile.
“Isn’t the Magic Tower in the same position?”
“⋯⋯Sigh. That’s true.”
Aria tightened her grip on Yohan’s hand slightly and shot him a sharp look. Unaware of the reason, Yohan merely tilted his head at the sudden sting. Soon after he felt something poking at him insistently, but he did his best to ignore the sensation.
“That doesn’t mean we have no options left.”
⋯⋯Hmm?
Is there something?
At Kassian’s unexpected remark, Yohan turned his head without thinking.
⋯Information on the Giants couldn’t be found anywhere⋯.
“We still have the ‘Nest’ and your ‘Haven,’ don’t we?”
Kassian spoke as if those places remained. Yohan could only sink deeper into confusion.
‘Nest? Haven? What is he talking about?’
⋯⋯It was completely new.
And it was unmistakably different from anything he had encountered before. Yohan held his breath and focused entirely on their conversation. This was critically important information.
‘I don’t know if I should be listening, but they’re saying it openly⋯⋯.’
There was no reason to refuse. Aria and Kassian continued speaking as though they didn’t mind Yohan overhearing.
“⋯⋯So you were thinking the same place.”
“It seems we had the same idea.”
“What else can we do? Human information is useless, so we have to gather what we can from the other races. We can’t even identify what this thing is in the first place.”
Aria sighed, resting her chin on her free hand as she looked at Yohan.
⋯⋯How adorable, answering “I don’t know” right in front of us. Just wait until your eyes recover.
Yohan glanced toward Aria at the intense stare he felt from beside him. Of course he couldn’t actually see anything, yet somehow he could still sense it.
Aria and Kassian continued exchanging opinions about the Giant. To Yohan, it seemed like a conversation that had been ongoing even before he arrived.
After a while, Kassian looked at Aria and asked,
“With that said, could I ask for your help reaching the ‘Nest’?”
“You’re asking for protection along with transportation?”
Aria sighed and clarified the full meaning behind his request.
“Correct.”
Kassian nodded.
Yohan couldn’t decide whether this was good or bad.
- Um⋯⋯, may I ask just one thing?
With Zeno’s help observing the situation, Yohan wrote across Aria’s hand.
“What is it?”
Aria looked at him and added that he could speak freely.
- What exactly are the ‘Nest’ and the ‘Haven’?
“Ah, that?”
Aria smiled as though it were nothing important.
“Would you mind telling me as well, Celestia?”
Kassian was curious what Yohan had written. Aria answered lightly,
“Oh, he’s asking what the ‘Nest’ and ‘Haven’ are.”
“I see. You mentioned Celestia is an elf, correct?”
Yohan nodded. He couldn’t confirm it with his own eyes, but Zeno had verified it, so there was no reason to doubt.
“The Haven is short for the sanctuary of the ancient elves. It refers to the place where they once gathered and lived. Now only one remains.”
“And the Nest⋯⋯.”
“Is short for the dragons’ nest,” Aria finished.
⋯⋯The dragons’ nest.
Wait.
Dragons?
I thought dragons had gone extinct as well?
“Ah, did I forget to mention it?”
Yohan nodded immediately.
⋯⋯He still didn’t know what she had forgotten to mention⋯.
“At least it’s definitely a dragon. Though the circumstances differ from mine.”
What? Who?
Yohan tilted his head. Aria smiled and said,
“Delmar is a dragon. Of course, the situation is different from mine.”
At those words, Yohan froze completely.
⋯⋯What did “different situation” mean?
The professor had said she was the last remaining elf. If she said the Headmaster was different, then⋯⋯.
⋯⋯That guess seemed the closest to the truth.
‘I see.’
Yohan’s hand stiffened slightly.
⋯So the dragons hadn’t gone extinct after all.
⋯⋯Just what on earth was going on?