The New Elf Professor (2)
Thanks to Yustina's magic, which had barely restored my body, I followed Elfin without hesitation. She strode ahead confidently, but every so often, she'd glance back at me in disbelief, blinking in surprise. Watching her back, I could feel that compared to 500 years ago, at least her body had matured—not just as a warrior, but as a woman. It was hard to keep my gaze from drifting downward.
This isn't right, Dane… Deneb Lehinar…!
I alternated between my old name and my current one, squeezing my eyes shut. Forcing myself to recall Elfin as the teenage girl she once was, I averted my eyes and took deep breaths to steady my composure. My mind was definitely that of a fifty-year-old, but this body was a vigorous seventeen-year-old boy. In any case, I was still a hormonal teenager.
"Is your body… okay?"
"Ah, yeah. Thanks to Yuz healing me."
"I see."
Even our brief exchange left me breathless. Elfin's demeanor was different from when she'd reunited with Yustina. Five hundred years had passed, sure, but Yustina was still Yustina. From the first time I'd seen her in basic magic class, her speech, appearance… even her personality hadn't changed much, though it had gained a scary edge somewhere along the way.
But Elfin's changed a lot, hasn't she?
For starters, her looks had transformed dramatically. Her lively vibe, golden hair, and that elven beauty were mostly unchanged. But perhaps from all the imperial intrigue, she came off a bit more curt now.
And the most striking thing? Countless scars. They weren't just any scars— from their shapes, it was clear she'd been stabbed, slashed, and shot with swords, spears, arrows, you name it. How many battles had she fought to end up covered in those? How many times had she danced on the edge of death? I couldn't even begin to imagine the long, tumultuous five centuries Elfin must have endured.
"This should be far enough, Deneb Lehinar."
"Pardon?"
"There's something… I want to ask you."
Even as Elfin set a serious tone, I was fixated on her speech. The Elfin from 500 years ago had that hot-blooded, snappy way of talking—chattering nonstop whenever she was around, assaulting my eardrums. But now? She sounded like a battle-hardened veteran soldier.
Even if she's maintaining a professor persona… the Elfin I knew wouldn't fit in some imperial shadow ops.
Maybe it wasn't time that changes people, but the world. The same centuries had passed, yet Yustina—who'd locked herself in her lair, waiting for me—remained the same, while Elfin, who'd roamed the empire and the world, had transformed. That made me wonder about Liwin, but right now, it was time to clear up the misunderstanding with Elfin.
"Deneb Lehinar, who taught you your swordsmanship?"
"Since childhood, I've learned from the finest knights in my family. But my sister and I both have such talent that we've comprehended more on our own than what we were taught."
I didn't dive straight in with "It's me, Dane! What a reunion!" Figured the conversation would naturally lead her to realize it. Pushing it might just seem suspicious.
"Self-taught, hmm… Was there an assassin among those knights, by any chance?"
"No way. The Lehinar knights are all true knights who've honed the way of the sword their entire lives."
"Ah, right. Knights… their pride is sky-high. But that's not why I asked you this, Deneb."
Surprisingly calmly, Elfin continued.
"The sword techniques, footwork, and entire combat style you just showed—they're an assassin's. I wanted to know if you learned them knowingly, or if your master taught them without you realizing."
"Is an assassin's style something you shouldn't use?"
"Huh? No, not that. It's just… someone I know gives off a vibe eerily similar to yours…."
Seemed like the timing was right. I sighed, watching Elfin touch her dry lips.
"……Dane?"
"Y-Yeah! Dane! How do you know of my master…."
"Can you believe the story I'm about to tell?"
Elfin stared at me, her face a mix of shock and fear. Fair enough—a seventeen-year-old noble boy knowing her master from 500 years ago would rattle anyone.
"W-What's going on?! A descendant of Master? Wait, is the Lehinar family his bloodline? But Master couldn't have had a wife and kids!"
"……That's a bit harsh."
"Not like that! How do you even know the guy who lived with us three for ten years and then died?!"
Hold up—this trajectory was dangerous. If it kept going, I'd go from the assassin who sacrificed himself in the kingdom's coup after those ten years with Liwin, Elfin, and Yustina, to some deadbeat who ditched his kids for a new family.
"Spill your identity, Deneb Lehinar! How do you know Dane?"
"……Because I am Dane."
Finally, those words. How long had I awaited this day? Yustina's reunion had been a messy accident, so this was the first time revealing it directly to someone who had no clue.
"You're… Dane? Master? The Master who died 500 years ago?"
"……Yeah. No idea why, but after dying in the Drelin Kingdom's capital that day, I came to in the Lehinar count's family as their youngest son."
"No way. Reincarnation? Actual… reincarnation exists…?"
Elfin's eyes widened, her body trembling. I decided to give her time to calm down. But an uninvited guest had no patience. Right then, bushes rustled—someone toddling toward us, like they'd followed.
"Did not this Yustina tell you? Reincarnation exists."
"Who are you?!"
Elfin barked, but the figure ignored her. Pushing through the foliage wasn't a toddler's waddle so much as a tiny doll's shuffle. Barely reaching my knee, she looked less like a person and more like a life-sized doll—indistinctly resembling Yustina.
"……Yustina?"
"Why'd you shrink like that?"
Forgetting the shock of reunion, Elfin and I gawked at the doll-like Yustina. Hit with twin stares, mini-Yustina hiccuped in surprise.
"Hic! W-Why stare so? 'Tis embarrassing!"
"Sorry, but we're the embarrassed ones. Why'd you shrink?"
"Nay, before that… I told the students to wait, yet thou comest alone, thou old hag! They'll think something's off!"
Elfin and I bombarded the shrunken—not, doll? Anyway, mini-Yustina with questions. Overwhelmed, she shook her head vigorously.
"One at a time! Questions one by one!"
"Me first! What's with that body? Why'd you suddenly change?"
Mini-Yustina nodded at Elfin's impatient query.
"Not shrunken—merely using an avatar to conserve mana. No need to fret over other students; this Yustina remains hale at the gathering spot."
"You've been scarce lately, but I didn't know you'd developed such weird magic…."
"Rarely needed. This form minimizes mana drain, as I said. Boost output, and those demon siblings might notice."
Her logical explanation left Elfin and me nodding like fools. But Elfin wasn't done.
"Anyway, what's with this kid? Claims to be Dane? So thy words about Master reincarnating were true?"
"Heh heh heh, dost thou finally believe this Yustina?"
"Impossible. Utterly absurd—like some fairy tale. Then what was the point of me searching for the Flower Garden for 500 years…."
Flower Garden? As I tilted my head, mini-Yustina explained.
"After thy death in Drelin, this Yustina recovered thy dagger. Elfin secured thy corpse."
"My corpse?"
For a split second, I wondered if Elfin—talented in dark magic—had tried necromancy, but apparently not.
"Necromancy can't fully revive, as thou knowest. But if imperfect revival exists, perfect must too, thought Elfin."
"So…."
"Aye, she learned of the resurrection flower in the Flower Garden that grants full revival. The rest, tell thyself, Elfin."
Snapping from panic, Elfin spoke in a trembling voice.
"So for 500 years, I carried Master's ashes, hunting the Flower Garden. Cooperated with the empire all for reviving Master. And now… reincarnation? You expect me to believe that?"
Elfin's face mixed emotions: joy at my return as Dane, despair that her continent-spanning quest was for naught. Realizing she could've just waited like Yustina—natural chaos.
"Deneb Lehinar, if thou art truly Master… Dane, thou knowest all I'll ask."
"Anything."
Elfin verified 500-year-old memories one by one. The longer we talked, the more I worried the other special class students might notice. How we met, about Dane, Elfin, Liwin, Yustina, our end. She wanted every detail from my lips.
"……Thou knowest all, truly Dane, true Master?"
"Seems so. Why not ask about thy puberty tales? We could talk all night."
"D-Don't bring that up! Embarrassing!"
"Heh heh heh…."
As mini-Yustina chuckled softly, Elfin finally accepted me as Dane's reincarnation. My speech, mannerisms, flawless recall left no room for doubt. Even I wasn't sure I'd remember it all, but once started, memories flowed.
"……Fine, I accept. Deneb Lehinar, thou art Master's reincarnation… or at least inherited all his memories."
"Stubborn as ever, Elfin. Still resisting?"
"I accept! But is this full revival?"
Pouting, Elfin pulled a small bundle from her cloak pocket. Sealed tight, but her callused fingers opened it, revealing a deceptively vast interior.
"Wait, Elfin. Thou meanest to show that to true Dane?"
"As I said I would."
Inside: someone's ashes. No need to ask whose.
"Deneb Lehinar, thou art Master's soul reborn."
"……Probably."
"But not full revival. Master's body remains unrevived, in my bundle."
"You carry this everywhere?"
"Of course. Find the Flower Garden, pluck the resurrection flower, revive Master without hesitation."
Elfin glared, resolute.
"Come with me to the Flower Garden."
"……What?"
"100% complete Master, full Dane revival. Find soul transfer, revive body with flower, transplant soul."
"Soul transfer possible…?"
Chatting with Elfin, I was hyper-aware of mini-Yustina behind me. She'd sworn to block my academy exit. Would she let me go Flower Garden hunting with Elfin? Doubtful.
"We'll… figure it out slowly. And Master dislikes this body, aye? Felt it sparring. Stamina trash!"
"Urk! W-Well, true…."
"Anyway! Answer: wilt thou seek the Flower Garden with me?"
Elfin extended her scar-covered hand. Behind, mini-Yustina tugged my hem gently.
……What do I do?
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.