Basic Magic Class (3)
The moment I heard the question, I had to swallow the answer that was about to spill from my lips. Instead, I canceled my original response and gave a completely different one—one that was practically the opposite of the truth.
"No."
If someone asked me whether I'd ever raised children, the me from my past life would have nodded without hesitation. I'd turned the snot-nosed six-year-old Liwin into a sixteen-year-old girl, and I'd tamed the wild teenage Elfin during her rebellious phase, raising her into a young woman who could survive on her own anywhere. Yustina was older than me, so I couldn't really say I'd raised her... We'd just lived together, that was all.
But right now, I can't say I raised those girls.
There was no grand reason. It wasn't like I hadn't raised them in this life or anything like that. It was purely a matter of conscience.
Before setting my plan in motion in my past life—right before leaving for the capital of the Drelin Kingdom—I'd made up my mind. I hadn't raised Liwin and Elfin; I'd merely lived with them.
If I'd raised them, that would mean I'd been their guardian—or even played the role of father.
But I... ran away.
I couldn't count how many times I'd cursed myself for that day after reincarnating. I'd regretted it endlessly, wishing I could turn back time. It felt like I was still a ghost trapped five hundred years in the past.
If I could go back to that day, I'd confess everything—tell them I was leaving and would never return. But having already experienced the miracle of reincarnation once, there was no way I'd get another of regression.
Why did I do it?
Why hadn't I told the children the full truth? Why hadn't I said I was never coming back?
They'd grown into adults, so I figured they'd be fine without me—but had I thought they couldn't handle the truth that I was about to die?
No, that's not it. Not at all.
The reason I hadn't spoken was simple. It wasn't out of consideration for them. I just lacked the courage to tell them. I was scared, overwhelmed... I'd shirked my responsibility and fled.
Like a kid who skips out without warning to avoid a scolding for being late, even if a quick heads-up would only earn a brief lecture.
Raising children means taking responsibility for their lives. And the person who carries that responsibility on their shoulders for life is called a parent or guardian.
At least, that's how I saw it, having grown up an orphan. And since I'd failed to fulfill that duty, botching the ending in the worst possible way, I had no right to call myself their guardian—or even to claim with my own mouth that I'd raised them.
"......Haha."
Looking at the girl who resembled Yustina, a hollow laugh escaped me. It felt like all the sins I'd desperately averted my eyes from were being laid bare through her blue eyes.
Yet at the same time, answering that inexplicable question from her moments ago seemed to have cleared my mind, unraveling the knot of anguish born from my trials.
Hold on.
Once I'd sorted out my response, conviction began to form. I'd found it odd whether she was Yustina or just someone who looked like her. But asking a question like that... No matter how I looked at it, she was probing.
......Yeah, it's Yustina.
Of course, there were reasons she couldn't be. A dragon over five hundred years old wouldn't enroll as a first-year freshman. And given the current situation, the chairman of Denebergen Academy was Yustina.
A door that never opens—surely it's connected to someone with dominion over the school, like the chairman.
Besides, a magic-proficient dragon like Yustina had no reason to attend a basic magic class. But both pieces of evidence lost their weight under one hypothesis.
If Yustina had come to meet me while hiding her identity, everything fit perfectly.
That seals it. Yustina doesn't know about the dagger's memory storage function.
If she'd truly wanted to hide, she'd have changed her speech and appearance completely. But Yustina had found me yet was hoping I'd recognize her first. Her speech and looks being so similar to five hundred years ago was proof.
And if she were certain I was Dane, she'd have charged in and locked me down on the spot—so she probably wasn't fully convinced I was Dane's reincarnation yet.
Between instinct and reason, I'll trust my instincts.
Even as I thought that, my reason kept yelling that it was impossible. But no matter what anyone said, my keen senses insisted the girl before me was Yustina.
Even after five hundred years apart from the dragon I'd lived with for ten years, my senses hadn't forgotten. This girl was Yustina.
At least, I was convinced of it.
"......I see. My guess was wrong, then."
The moment I reached my conviction, the white-haired girl—no, Yustina—turned away with a disappointed look. But when she blinked and opened her eyes again, her demeanor had returned to normal.
If I scrutinized it... The faint glimmer of expectation in her gaze toward me had dimmed just a touch?
"You've pried into my personal affairs, so may this Yustina ask one in return?"
"Personal affairs? How does asking if I've ever raised kids qualify as that?"
"What if I really did have a kid? Wouldn't it be weird for someone my age?"
"Hmph, so sly... Fine, ask your question. I may or may not answer."
I pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Tell me your name."
"......Th-this Yustina's name, you say?"
Her calm expression flipped in an instant. Her already large blue eyes widened round, radiating a gaze so intense it felt scorching.
I met those eyes squarely and enunciated clearly.
"Yeah. I'm new to school, so I'm trying hard to make friends these days."
"Isn't the wench beside you enough? What need have you for this Yustina's name......"
"You won't tell me?"
I pressed on, masking my tension with a steady expression. I was curious what identity Yustina had fabricated. If she was going to keep following me, it was better to keep her in sight anyway.
......Though thanks to the dagger's memories, I'd decided to hold off on revealing I was Dane.
"This Yustina is... Y-Yuz. Yuz Denebergen."
"Denebergen? Oh, isn't the academy chairman from the Denebergen family?"
"Y-yes! I heard the heads of the Denebergen family have been chairmen of Denebergen Academy for generations. They say the academy's name comes from the family... Are you the chairman's daughter?!"
As Yustina gave her obviously made-up fake name, Charlotte jumped in with sparkling eyes. She usually only met Lehinar folks, so maybe meeting the imperial prince yesterday and the chairman's daughter today was exciting.
But at Charlotte's question, Yustina merely glanced away.
"......For now, let's leave it at that."
"You probably already know, but I'm Deneb. Deneb Lehinar. Let's get along."
I extended my hand first. I needed to observe before deciding whether to tell Yustina about my reincarnation, but even so—this was a reunion with someone from my past life who'd desperately chased my traces for seventeen years.
If I hadn't read the dagger's memories, I might have joyfully reunited without a second thought. The realization made my chest ache.
No, what if she'd caught me?
I did want to see Yustina, but not just her. Besides, getting trapped in her academy and learning too late about Elfin or Liwin only to be unable to meet them? No thanks.
Unaware or not of my inner turmoil, Yustina stared at my hand, then crossed her arms and pouted.
"......No handshake needed."
That gesture felt so quintessentially the Yustina I knew that I nearly burst out laughing.
"Um, student? This is hands-on magic practice time. If you just lie there doing nothing, your grade will......"
"Hah, how truly bothersome."
Having finished our conversation and sunk into contemplation, Yustina cast the basic spell from the textbook in response to Professor Danei's approach—assuming she was doing nothing—with far greater precision than he could manage.
"H-hiiiieek......"
Professor Danei, nearly fainting for the second time today from sheer awe.
Yustina ignored him and sank back into thought.
I just can't figure it out...!
No matter how many times she replayed her conversation with Deneb, it baffled her. She'd thought meeting him face-to-face would let her tell immediately if he was Dane or not, but reality proved otherwise.
He had no reason to lie about not raising kids, so I thought he wasn't Dane—but his speech feels so much like Dane's...?!
Before approaching, her mind had been split: half certain he was Dane, half doubting. It remained the same now—or perhaps even more chaotic.
He'd solved the ancient script, so he must have memories and reincarnated—yet he denied raising kids, and his speech matched Dane's perfectly.
What if some memories remain and others don't...?!
She ran through guesses, but having never witnessed reincarnation herself, Yustina had no way to know. She'd only heard tales of humans rarely reincarnating with memories intact.
Though that source was a fairy tale from her parents' nest as a hatchling... She still firmly believed it.
After agonizing, Yustina reached two conclusions.
First: He's not Dane.
Then no need to investigate further. Just another Dane lookalike, and done. Time to quit this foolish student charade at her age.
Second: He is Dane, but pretending not to be on purpose.
The problem was this possibility tormenting her relentlessly.
Just in case, she'd thrown on the fake identity as the chairman's daughter at the end, but honestly, Yustina thought she'd dropped plenty of hints before that.
I didn't hide my speech, kept my looks almost exactly as back then—just a bit more mature! I even showed magic!
The Dane she knew wouldn't miss it. So he'd recognized her but was feigning ignorance for some reason—or stubbornly denying it.
If there were just a bit more proof that Deneb Lehinar is Dane, this Yustina would reveal herself outright and ask directly... Ngh...
With possibilities at fifty-fifty, her only option was to stick around as a student and watch.
What if he already knows but is pretending not to? Why?
Yustina couldn't fathom the reason. True, Dane had a free spirit, so if he'd sensed her "protection," he might play dumb to avoid entanglement—seeing it as an imprisonment plot.
But how could Dane know that?
She'd never told a soul—not even Headmaster Zerniel. It had been secret since founding Denebergen Academy three hundred years ago; no human could know.
At least, not as far as she knew—no leaks anywhere. In five hundred years, no one close enough for accidental slips. She'd built no family; the school was solely to carry on Dane's dream while awaiting his reincarnation.
Dane... Have you truly returned...?
The ghost truly bound to the past from five hundred years ago wasn't Deneb—it was Yustina.
But after five hundred years of waiting, what were an extra day, two, or a few weeks? Besides, there was basic combat class tomorrow. Watching him fight would confirm if Deneb was Dane.
An assassin's style wasn't something easily concealed.
This time, without fail...!
Yustina clenched her small fist, steeling her resolve.