Double Reunion (3)
"...I see. So that's what happened."
I briefly explained why I'd been avoiding Yustina. After hearing me out, she didn't blame or curse me—instead, she seemed almost embarrassed.
"To think that dagger had such a function... This Yustina had no idea..."
"Ancient magic must be something else, huh? Even you didn't know about it."
"Urgh... But of all the moments, why did it have to capture that one? Urrrgh..."
It was time for compromise now. No matter that it was 500 years ago, the Yustina I'd seen in the dagger's memory didn't look like someone to take lightly. She seemed the type who wouldn't change her mind even after a thousand years.
Since we'd truly reunited, we needed to clear the air on this once and for all.
"Back then... well, think of it as an emotional overflow."
"Not anymore?"
"Compared to 500 years ago, some feelings have diluted a bit, but others have only grown stronger with time."
"So... you'll let me go?"
Yustina's face twisted in ambiguity as she lowered her head.
"I won't lock you in a tiny room and keep you like a pet, as you said. But if you start talking about heading somewhere dangerous or pulling some reckless stunt again, I'll have no choice but to stop you."
"Uh... ummm..."
"You've been honest, so this Yustina will be honest too. Denebergen Academy is the ultimate sanctuary to protect Dane—you. It's practically a world unto itself."
"Protect me from what?"
"...From everything out there."
Yustina's answer was still a bit vague to me. It sounded like she'd block me if I tried to leave the school to search for Elfin, Liwin, or the others.
But at least I'd be here for the three years until graduation. Once I graduated, I wouldn't be a student anymore, so she'd have no justification to keep me tied down.
'She wouldn't try to keep me here as a grad student or professor, would she?'
Just a wild thought, but with Yustina, it felt entirely possible.
"Fine. But call me Deneb from now on. Anyway, any idea what's up with this python beast?"
"Who knows."
Meanwhile, the python beast we'd set aside amid our reunion. More precisely, I picked up the magitech collar it had been wearing and showed it to Yustina.
She stared at it for a moment, then soothed the bewildered beast and sent it deep into the forest.
"Phew. What in the world happened?"
"Does this sort of thing happen often?"
"As if. If something like that had happened during class, it would've been a total disaster. No ordinary student could handle a beast like that alone."
I nodded in agreement. No brag, but it was definitely something only I could pull off. And if I'd had to kill it outright instead of just cutting the collar, I might've needed a sharp blade or two.
"This collar's obviously suspicious. Hmm..."
"Hand it over."
"You know something?"
"...No clue."
She yelped at my skeptical look.
"Not fair! M-magitech is a new field! Does this Yustina have to know every trivial discipline inside out?!"
"I get it. Old folks have a hard time learning new tricks."
"That's not it! It's really not! Stop teasing me!"
I chuckled as I kept poking fun at her, but my senses stayed sharp, scanning for any lurking threats. There was no guarantee only one beast had broken free. And if someone had deliberately collared it, the culprit might still be nearby.
'Definitely around here...'
Found it.
My instincts nailed it. Someone was keeping pace with us from the bushes. A beast wouldn't stalk so cautiously—it'd charge in bloodthirsty. So, not a beast.
That left the one who'd collared it: the mastermind.
'Tried to camouflage, but what a sloppy job.'
No idea who taught them, but their teacher had done a poor job. I could've muffled my footsteps and hidden my presence better. My senses were sharp, sure, but their shadow stealth and camouflage were just mediocre. Unless they were intentionally projecting presence to intimidate—which would mean they rivaled Yustina. No ordinary human could pull that off.
I held my breath and signaled Yustina to stop. Oblivious, she froze with wide eyes. As we halted, the lurker in the bushes did too.
In this pointless standoff, as I debated throwing my dagger, someone emerged from the bushes with arms raised high.
"I surrender! Nice catch spotting me."
"Why are you tailing us? Connected to the collar on that beast?"
I eyed the woman who'd stepped out.
'An elf?'
Blonde hair, pointed ears—definitely an elf. But her outfit stood out more than her racial traits. The kind that felt awkward to stare at in front of Yustina.
Topless except for bandages wrapped around her chest, her toned abs and navel fully exposed. She wore a cloak-like overcoat on top, but oddly, her arms weren't through the sleeves.
'For style points?'
Her lower half was practical: loose-fitting long pants for mobility. The real standout was the scars crisscrossing her nearly bare upper body—sword cuts, arrow wounds, all varieties. Her body told tales of a brutal life.
'Wonder if her legs have 'em too.'
As pure curiosity bubbled up, Yustina tapped my shoulder from behind and whispered,
"No threat. You're safe."
"Why should I believe you? She looks plenty dangerous!"
"No, trust her. Deneb, please believe this Yustina..."
"...Who is she?"
I shot Yustina a suspicious glare as she hemmed and hawed without answering. Was this payback for fooling me? Teaching me a lesson?!
Just then, the blonde elf spoke up for her.
"Long time no see, Yustina. That one's a Denebergen student?"
"...Yes."
"Then drop the formalities. I'm a professor at Denebergen Academy."
"A professor?"
I gave Yustina another dubious look. She kept her lips sealed but nodded confirmation.
"You might've heard. There's a visiting professor from outside. Didn't catch that?"
"I did, but... Wait, the elf professor?"
"Bingo. Deneb, right? Saw your name on my special class roster. And the girl next to you—Yustina? No... Yuz Denebergen? Puhahaha!"
"......"
Yustina flushed crimson, speechless.
The situation was spiraling beyond me. But with Yustina's vouch, this blonde elf was definitely the special class instructor. Yozef's close friend and loyal imperial knight, right?
'No clue why she's here, though.'
She even knew Yuz was Yustina's student guise. Given they were both long-lived species, maybe they were old acquaintances. Still, this was unexpected...
'Hold on.'
A shocking idea flashed through my mind.
'Elf close to Yustina, elite knight?'
Nah, no way. Couldn't be.
But the blonde elf confirmed it right away, beaming innocently.
"Anyway, nice to meet you, special class students. What a coincidence running into you in this dump. Oh, right—I'm the imperial liaison for the special class..."
"Elfin. Let's get along."
Descending the mountain, dusk was already falling. Having half-figured things out, Deneb was reluctantly sent back to the dorms. Yustina and Elfin headed to the chairman's office.
They needed top-tier security like the Denebergen chairman's office for their talk.
The door creaked shut, and Elfin burst into laughter.
"Wahahahaha! Ahahat! Pfft-haha!"
"...No need to laugh that hard!"
"How could I not? An academy chairman over 500 years old pretending to be a seventeen-year-old girl among students?!"
"Urgh... uurrgh..."
"And who's that boy? Yustina, you aren't planning something with a seventeen-year-old, are you?"
Yustina couldn't even refute. The injustice was that the boy wasn't your average freshman—he was Dane with a mental age of about 50. Though still far short of a tenth of Yustina's years.
"I'd never. Don't worry."
"Whatever. After 500 years of cobwebs, temptations happen. I get it, Yustina."
"W-what vulgar words! By that logic, Elfin, you've got cobwebs too!"
Yustina flushed and yelled. Elfin shrugged cheerfully.
"I was busy. Unlike you, I didn't park my fat duck butt in a chair waiting—I roamed everywhere. Didn't you know exercise burns off urges?"
"Dragons are different! And waiting isn't easy!"
"Sure, sure."
Yustina glared, summoning a chair from the corner with a flick of her finger.
Elfin grimaced upon sitting.
"What? This chair's tiny. Your size?"
"It is."
"Uncomfortable. Anyway, long time no see—how've you been?"
Yustina didn't point out it was Elfin's wide hips that didn't fit. She pondered whether to tell Elfin about Deneb's reincarnation.
"This Yustina asks first. Any progress on the Flower Garden search?"
"Sadly, no. Not even a lead."
"I see. Makes sense—it's eluded us for centuries; no reason it'd appear now."
"You got the gist from the paperwork on why I'm here, so skip that. Any progress on your plan?"
Both sought Dane. But their approaches differed sharply.
Yustina believed he'd reincarnate and founded the academy to draw him in. Elfin actively sought the Flower Garden of resurrection flowers, allying with the empire.
So Elfin was asking:
"Did you find our reincarnated master?"
"And if I did?"
Elfin scoffed at Yustina's calm reply.
"Reincarnation? Come on."
Another key difference.
Yustina believed in Elfin's Flower Garden. Evidence existed, after all.
Elfin dismissed Yustina's reincarnation as fairy-tale nonsense.
"No such thing. If everyone reincarnated with memories, they'd stack up lifetime after lifetime. Ever met anyone like that?"
"No."
"Fine, say memoryless reincarnation. Would that really be our master?"
"Who knows."
"Bottom line: No recorded reincarnations in history, but yours is the first with memories—our master."
Yustina smiled without answering. Despite Elfin's airtight logic—which had left her trembling and speechless last time—she'd held faith and waited.
And succeeded, finding reincarnated Dane—Deneb. Victory made her relaxed now, though she didn't gloat.
'Hoarding Dane?'
Partly, but not entirely. Elfin was her polar opposite.
"Just suppose reincarnation exists."
"It doesn't—how many times?"
"Fine. Say a man with Dane's full memories appears before you. What then, Elfin?"
Elfin scowled at the hypothetical but relented at Yustina's earnestness. She pulled a small bundle from her overcoat pocket.
Small as a fist, but magically expanded inside like a large backpack. A rotten stench filled the office; Yustina wrinkled her nose.
"I'd show him this."
"Gh... That's..."
"Right—master's bones. I recovered them. To any 'reincarnate,' I'd say: His bones are all here—what are you?"
"Then?"
Elfin stowed the bundle.
"Take him along."
"Where?"
"The Flower Garden. I thought reviving his body would bring his soul back. If not, we'll find another way to transfer it there."
Yustina forced a smile.
"His soul returning isn't enough?"
"Of course not."
Elfin was firm.
"Warriors know: Soul's half, body's half. Even if he claims reincarnation, without the body, he's only half our master."
"Warrior this, warrior that... You're impossible..."
Yustina wanted Deneb confined to the academy. Elfin would drag him out upon learning the truth.
Trouble brewing, Yustina held back from spilling it.
'She wouldn't believe without seeing anyway.'
Plus, no need—Deneb wasn't hiding anymore; Elfin would figure it soon.
The worry: Deneb someday declaring he'd leave with Elfin.
'No full war with her, please...'
Hoping that day never came, Yustina closed her eyes.