Become My Squire (6): The Predator's Gaze

“You. Become my squire.”

The Headmistress stared at me, her golden eyes glittering with a pressure that made me want to shrink away. She remained expressionless, yet her eyes shone with a brilliance far greater than when she had questioned me about the Dawn Star Academia. It was as if the talk of the academy had been a mere afterthought, and this—this right here—was her true intent.

The cold, professional interrogator from moments ago was gone, replaced by the look of a child who had just discovered a brand-new toy.

But, Headmistress.

That’s not because of what you think it is.

She seemed to be under the grand misunderstanding that I had dispelled the magic through some incredible feat of arcane knowledge, but… it wasn’t some profound magical deconstruction. I had simply erased it using a magical tool.

I felt I needed to speak up before this misunderstanding spiraled out of control… but if I played this wrong, I was going to be dragged off to become a graduate student.

However.

“No, no, no, no.”

Before I could clear the air, something intervened between the Headmistress and me.

“What do you think you’re doing, Headmistress?”

It was Professor Luke, the blue flames burning even more fiercely within his eye sockets. “To think you’d suddenly try to take our Ian away.”

Our Ian?

Was I close enough with that professor to be called “ours”? We had barely known each other for a week, hadn’t we? This was unsettling. Usually, this was the exact route that led to being forced into graduate school. Besides, in the game, the only person Professor Luke ever recommended for graduate studies was Angelica. What on earth did he see in me?

He seemed to be trying to protect me from the Headmistress’s clutches, but to my eyes, this was just another minefield.

Still, the Headmistress showed no signs of giving up. She crossed her arms and looked me up and down.

“To be a star that guides a lost cadet onto the right path. Isn’t that the duty of our Lumia?”

She pushed her own agenda as if the skeleton’s opinion didn’t matter in the slightest. But the skeleton was no pushover either.

“Have you finally gone senile after living for 500 years? Or are your eyes just decorative knots in wood?”

The skeleton, who usually spoke with gentlemanly honorifics, let out a string of curses from his jawbone. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠To think he had the guts to talk back to that 90-level old hag who had been around for five centuries. I couldn’t even fathom how much he didn’t want to let me go.

However, the Headmistress didn’t seem to appreciate his defiance. Cracks began to slowly form on her previously expressionless face. As her eyes narrowed, an immense, suffocating pressure radiated from her center.

Kafka turned deathly pale, cold sweat dripping down her face, and Professor Silves stared at the Headmistress in sheer horror. I was no different.

It was only natural, given what was being unleashed right now.

It was Dragon Fear. An ability possessed by dragons. One of the most powerful abilities, often revered as a divine authority. The power to overwhelm all things and force them to their knees.

It felt exactly like that time. The same feeling as when my family head’s Swordmaster aura had crushed my body. But the aura I felt now seemed to be on a level far beyond that. And she was going to use it here?

This crazy woman—did she turn on Dragon Fear just because she was sulking? This is insane.

But the suffocating atmosphere lasted only a moment.

The aura that had been radiating from the Headmistress vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed. No, to be precise, it hadn’t disappeared. My Insight Eye showed that the Headmistress was now directing her Dragon Fear exclusively at Professor Luke, carefully steering it away from me, Kafka, and Professor Silves. She was focusing the entirety of her Dragon Fear onto a single person. Dragon Fear—was that something you could control? That pattern didn’t exist in the game….

Anyway, was this okay? For a normal person, just being in the range of Dragon Fear would be enough to cause fatal shock.

However.

Clack.

“In what world is Ian a mage type? Look at that physique and those muscles. He’s clearly a swordsman.”

Professor Luke rattled his jawbone as if nothing had happened. He acted like it was no big deal. What on earth was that man’s identity?

The Headmistress didn’t react, perhaps having expected as much from him. “Aren’t those muscles you speak of mostly composed of mana? It’s so inefficient. If only you would use that delicate mana control for magic instead….”

“Whether Ian is a natural or a juicer is none of my business. I will never hand our Ian over to a gloomy magic-wielder like you.”

Hearing the word “gloomy” come out of a skeleton’s mouth felt… strange. At that moment, the index finger of the Headmistress’s right hand, which had been gripping her elbow, twitched. In response, the blue flames in Professor Luke’s eye sockets flared violently.

A hair-trigger situation. My back was soaked in cold sweat, far more than when Isabella and Dornesia had clashed. The tension of a professor’s battle of wills was truly terrifying.

In that suffocating tension, it was the Headmistress who backed down first. I could tell she was extinguishing the Dragon Fear she had been emitting.

“We shall discuss this matter later.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll never let you take him.”

First, I had to end this fight.

“Um, Headmistress.”

As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠soon as their clash of wills subsided, I pulled Carnwennan from my inventory and showed it to her. I needed to clear up this misunderstanding as soon as possible to end this damn war. Besides, I really didn’t want to be a graduate student.

“Actually, I dispelled that magic with this dagger.”

Perhaps because it was a magical tool, it caught her interest. Her golden eyes immediately locked onto Carnwennan.

“This is….”

“I obtained it in a dungeon. It can nullify any magic of 6th Circle or lower, which is how I was able to dispel that spell.”

“A dagger with such an ability actually exists…?”

Even she, having lived for 500 years, seemed to have never seen such a weapon, her expression one of disbelief. And why wouldn’t she? Even I, who had cleared the Dawn Star Academia 29 times, had never heard of such a weapon. It wasn’t something obtained in the game, but a gift bestowed upon me by the Knight King, the benefactor above.

Regardless, the Headmistress took Carnwennan and gazed at it for a moment.

“Would you mind if I verified its effects?” she asked, seeking my permission.

“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t like it would wear out, so I nodded.

Hum—hum——hum.

As soon as she received permission, the Headmistress created a magic circle with one hand. With a humming sound, lines were drawn within the circle, and the edges began to fill with runic characters. Suddenly, despite the infirmary being closed, a wind began to blow.

Are you insane? I barely swallowed the curse rising in my throat when I saw the nature of the spell she was about to use. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mana Storm? That was a 6th Circle spell. And one of the most destructive ones at that. Was she out of her mind? Using that inside the infirmary?

Whether she knew it or not, the Headmistress brought Carnwennan toward the magic circle. At that moment, her magic circle shattered and was nullified. Seeing the broken circle, her eyes widened.

“It truly is real. And it appears to operate on a concept different from Dispel.”

She seemed genuinely flustered. She hadn’t expected it to actually be nullified. Then, she drew another magic circle.

Wait, hold on.

This time, it was a 4th Circle spell—Dispel, which had the ability to nullify magic. In truth, while it was called a 4th Circle spell, it was a magic that could nullify higher circles depending on the caster’s level; someone like the Headmistress could even nullify an 8th Circle spell. Was this crazy Headmistress trying to destroy Carnwennan?

I barely suppressed the urge to scream curses again. But just like the Mana Storm circle before, this one shattered exactly the same way. I had been terrified when she suddenly used Dispel, but it seemed Carnwennan’s principle wasn’t magic, so it was her magic that shattered.

“A dagger that nullifies any magic of 6th Circle or lower, regardless of the caster….”

Muttering to herself, she said, “Well used, Cadet Ian.” She returned Carnwennan to me. A magical tool that nullified any magic 6th Circle or lower—it was something anyone would covet, yet she returned it with an indifferent expression. Did someone at level 90 not need an item like Carnwennan? I was just thankful I didn’t have to haggle for it. I bowed my head slightly after receiving the dagger.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but this power that dispelled the magic is not my own.”

At least I had proven it to her. I wasn’t the great genius she thought I was. Now that she knew it was a fluke, she’d give up, right? If she was disappointed, even better—that meant I wouldn’t have to go to graduate school.

But.

“I see.”

I didn’t know why. Why were her eyes sparkling even more brightly? As if she had found something better than Carnwennan. Perhaps because she was expressionless, her golden eyes looked even brighter.

“This is a first.”

Excuse me? What was?

“Being found out like this.”

Found out about what?

“Cadet Ian. You were looking straight at the Dragon Fear.”

Yes, what about that Dragon Fear?

Why? The Dragon Fear had been off for a long time. Yet, every time she spoke, my back grew damp. What on earth was she about to say?

“Dragon Fear may look similar to mana, but it is different. Thus, while there are those who can see the flow of mana, there has never been anyone who could see the flow of Dragon Fear.”

She twitched her index finger once, twice, and continued. “You are the first person to ever see the flow of my Dragon Fear.”

“Excuse me?”

“And that is not all.”

She then brought out the Dispel magic circle again. “When I cast this magic on that dagger, you had a very surprised expression. As if you knew exactly what magic I was about to use.”

“Of course. The magic you were about to use was Dispel, wasn’t it?” Anyone would be surprised if someone of her caliber cast Dispel on a magical tool.

“How did you know this was Dispel?”

Her eyes narrowed. Meeting that gaze, the cold sweat I’d felt earlier poured out like a waterfall. Damn it, I shouldn’t have brought up Dispel. I must have been too reckless. Think. Turn this around. Otherwise, it’s straight to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠graduate school. Look at that face. Isn’t that the face of a predator savoring the sight of its prey?

“…I saw a similar magic circle in a book I read a long time ago.”

“That is strange.”

At my answer, her golden eyes began to curve like crescent moons. What? Where did I mess up the answer?

“This magic circle is not Dispel.”

“………?”

What did she mean? My Insight Eye had clearly said it was a Dispel spell…. As I thought that, I looked at her face and froze. Her eyes, curved like crescent moons, had returned to their original state, and her expressionless face had returned, but her golden eyes were saying this:

I caught you.

The eyes of a lion looking at a rabbit. She was clearly wearing that look. She tore apart the magic circle, rearranged the runes and lines, and drew it again.

“This is the real Dispel, Cadet Ian.”

She then showed me the rearranged magic circle.

It was true. It looked different from the previous circle, but my Insight Eye told me it was the real thing.

“I am truly curious how you were so certain that was Dispel, Cadet Ian.”

As she stared at me with that blank expression, cold sweat poured down my back like a waterfall, enough to make me wonder if I’d die of dehydration today. Damn it. I’m screwed.