Why Go This Far?
Yohan opened his eyes and immediately heard someone’s voice.
…Huh? That voice sounds familiar.
As Yohan rubbed his eyes, still trying to get his bearings, Zeno spoke.
‘…Professor?’
The moment Yohan identified the voice, he sat up at once. Aria let out a small chuckle at the sight.
“Take your time. There’s no need to rush.”
Yohan simply nodded.
‘Where is the assistant?’
When he lightly brushed the bed beside him, it seemed no one was lying there. Since Professor Aria’s voice had come from a short distance away, it was safe to assume the two of them were alone in the room.
Zeno added briefly, confirming Yohan’s suspicion.
“How’s your condition?”
Aria rose from her chair and perched on the edge of the bed where Yohan sat. The mattress sank ever so slightly with a soft poof. He realized she was right beside him.
‘The magic tool…’
He still had uses left on the magic tool. And since it didn’t look like Professor Aria intended to transfer mana, Yohan reached for it.
Just as his hand carefully extended toward the bedside table—
Tap. Aria’s hand stopped his.
“Do it the usual way.”
Yohan nodded awkwardly.
Aria took his hand.
…No mana was transferred.
‘…What?’
Just now, the professor’s voice…
Yohan sensed a subtle dissonance in Aria’s tone. It felt like she was holding something back.
He tilted his head, puzzled by that strange feeling, but only for a moment.
“So, how’s your condition?”
Aria asked again. Yohan quickly moved his hand.
…It felt like something bad would happen if he didn’t answer soon.
There are no particular issues. Ah, there is one thing I would like to ask.
“Go ahead.”
Yohan nodded and calmly continued.
I’ve been hearing often lately that I look tired, and I’ve been feeling fatigue myself. Could this be related to mana?
“It is.”
Aria nodded, confirming his guess.
“It was never your mana to begin with, was it?”
She poked a finger right at the center of Yohan’s chest. Startled by the sudden action, he leaned back slightly.
“Where are you going?”
Aria pulled him close again, as if telling him not to run away. Yohan noticed her breath was much nearer now.
‘……’
“It’s only natural for the body to need time to adapt to someone else’s mana. That’s exactly what you’ve been going through.”
It wasn’t just about receiving the mana. The body required time to adjust to it. That was how Aria explained it.
Yohan listened carefully.
‘So that’s why it was so hard to use at first.’
Yohan slowly recalled the first time he had received mana. He had been able to contain it, but using it had been difficult. Now he understood why it only became usable after some time had passed.
He carefully filed that fact away in his mind.
…It was something he needed to remember for future research.
“Well, looking at you now, it seems your body has mostly finished adapting. You used mana when you activated the magic tool, right?”
Yohan nodded.
“That means the adaptation is complete. From now on, I can increase the amount I give you.”
May I ask one more thing?
“What is it?”
Aria withdrew the finger that had been poking at his heart. Her attitude said he could ask anything.
Yohan moved his hand slowly.
Why are you going this far for me?
Aria’s breath caught for a moment.
To Yohan, Professor Aria had never seemed like a particularly special person.
‘To be honest, she was simply the professor who acknowledged me.’
…In truth, it had been difficult to define what kind of existence she was to him. She was the professor who acknowledged him, yet she had also been the starting point of his torment.
‘Of course, that wasn’t her fault…’
When he thought back on the events after the incident, it was true that he had felt a bit of resentment at the time. That was why everything that had happened this time felt so bewildering to him.
…Of course, every single thing—receiving mana, gaining information about the Giants—had been beneficial. Even so, Yohan deliberately asked her.
‘Because the grace received in that moment must be repaid in that moment.’
It was one of his firm beliefs.
…After all, it was the kind of memory that would eventually be erased for everyone else.
Why are you going this far for me?
Having posed the question, Yohan calmly waited for the answer that would follow.
But.
He never got the reply he was waiting for.
Because tap—Aria flicked his forehead first.
“Who do you think you are, acting all cool?”
…Ouch.
‘That hurt.’
It really hurt. Yohan lowered his head and rubbed his forehead with his other hand.
“Lift your head.”
Yohan immediately raised it. He couldn’t see properly, but since her voice and breath were coming from so close, he could roughly guess the situation.
‘…When I lowered my head, our faces must have gotten really close.’
Yohan leaned back slightly.
“…Haa.”
Aria let out a long sigh.
“Anyway, I wanted to talk about what happens next.”
Yohan listened attentively to her explanation.
…It sounded like it would be important.
“Delmar and Serafina will return tomorrow morning. There’s more to prepare than expected, so I told them to take their time.”
…Prepare?
Yohan kept listening.
“We brought one more dragon from the Nest. She’ll be going to the academy with Delmar.”
…Excuse me?
Yohan’s mouth fell open.
It was an appearance he had never anticipated.
“You can greet her later. She already knows roughly about your condition, so she won’t come to say hello.”
Aria lightly tapped his chin, telling him it would be better to close his mouth. Yohan shut it.
‘Yes, it looks that way.’
…It was probably because of the other dragon’s presence.
‘To the people inside the Magic Tower, she would be a being who appeared out of nowhere.’
She must have anticipated the commotion it would cause.
‘On the other hand, the academy doesn’t know much about the Magic Tower.’
So that was the decision she could make.
“And about the books we brought from the Nest this time.”
Yohan nodded.
Books that likely contained crucial information.
‘…I don’t know what kind of books they are, though.’
The choice had been left to the two of them. No matter which books they had brought, he should be grateful. Thinking that, Yohan waited for Aria to continue.
“Well, I talked my way through it and managed to get all three.”
…What?
Yohan’s eyes widened.
It was something he had never expected.
Before returning to the Magic Tower with Kassian and Rania, Aria had gone to see the Dragon Lord. She wanted to greet him and also had something she wished to say.
“You want to take all three books?”
What Aria had conveyed was her desire to take all three volumes.
“That’s right.”
Aria made the demand to the Dragon Lord without hesitation.
‘…Normally, I wouldn’t have made such a request.’
She knew this was an excessive demand. That was why she had originally planned to take only one book.
But.
After resting at Kassian’s suggestion, her thoughts had changed.
‘This isn’t the time to worry about etiquette.’
The instincts that had grown dull over the years kept stirring. They told her this wasn’t the moment to be calculating, that she had to use every means available.
‘To be honest, they’re not always right.’
Such instincts weren’t always accurate. Still, there was nothing to gain by ignoring them. That was why Aria had made the unreasonable request.
Of course, Kassian, standing behind her, looked stunned by her actions.
…Because this hadn’t been discussed beforehand.
“Celestia. That’s enough.”
Kassian placed a hand on Aria’s shoulder. He felt the need to restrain her.
“Hahaha.”
At that moment, the Dragon Lord’s laughter rang out. A great booming laugh echoed through the Nest, unable to hide his delight.
“Kassian, there is no need for that.”
“Yes, Lord.”
Kassian withdrew his hand and stepped back.
The Dragon Lord looked at Aria. Their eyes met in the air.
“In that case, I will set one condition.”
“What is it?”
Aria tilted her head.
…She couldn’t easily predict what condition he would impose.
Then.
The Dragon Lord turned his gaze to Rania, who stood beside him.
“Do you know how many dragons are still breathing in this world?”
Aria shook her head. She didn’t know the exact number of remaining dragons.
“They are scattered here and there, but their total does not even reach twenty.”
…Of course, that number included the elderly dragons. In reality, almost no young dragons remained.
“In truth, the dragons capable of continuing the lineage, including Rania Delmar, are very few.”
It was true that dragons lived long lives, but if things continued this way, the dragon race would truly go extinct.
“So that was why you told us to take Rania.”
Aria frowned.
“In the old days, we might have chosen extinction instead. In fact, if Kassian had not come here, there would have been no way for Rania to go outside.”
It was correct to say there was no dragon willing to leave the Nest with Rania. And sending Rania alone carried too great a risk.
“I am grateful that you two came here.”
But if it was these two, he could entrust Rania to them without worry.
…Of course, they would first have to stop the threat to the world.
The Lord smiled as he looked at Aria.
“Of course, Rania may not find anyone to her liking. I will not force that.”
With those words, the Lord finished speaking.
Aria turned her gaze to Kassian. Since Rania was his child, his opinion mattered as well.
“I may have known it would come to this someday.”
Kassian nodded.
“The decision has always rested with Rania.”
He added that he would not interfere.
“Aria Celestia, what will you do?”
Aria turned back toward the Lord.
“Did Rania’s opinion go into this as well?”
“It did. Of course, no obligation has been forced upon Rania. Isn’t that right, Rania?”
Rania nodded in agreement.
…It was a choice to prevent the extinction of their race.
But it was not coercion. This was Rania’s own decision.
“…Haa.”
Aria let out a sigh.
“I’ll accept it. But if Rania refuses, that’s the end of it.”
“That is more than enough.”
The Lord smiled with satisfaction.
Of course, Aria still felt a faint sense of unease.
“Take all three books. Rania, we will see each other again.”
“Yes, Lord. I will be going now.”
And that was how it happened.