Become My Squire (7): The Dragon's Shadow and the Hidden Piece
Oh, for the love of— I’ve really done it now. I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. Who could have guessed that the Magic Circle itself was a trap? I mean, a magic circle is supposed to be like a gateway that appears before a spell is cast. Who would have thought she could just rewrite it on a whim?
"Cadet Ian."
The Headmistress’s voice, low and resonant, made me shiver involuntarily.
"Would you not consider learning magic?"
It seemed she wasn’t going to give up. At her reaction, the blue flames of Professor Luke began to flare violently, his jaw clattering as if he were struggling to spit out a retort.
"Headmistress..."
"I heard you are aiming to become a knight."
She cut him off as if his opinion were entirely irrelevant. But wait—only my family head, Elder Alfredo, and my brother knew about my dreams. How on earth does this woman know?
Whether she sensed my internal turmoil or not, the Headmistress simply continued to list her points with a blank expression.
"Magic is not a poor choice for one aiming to be a knight."
...Is that really true?
"There are many knights who have studied magic, and there is even a knight who reached the realm of a Grand Mage in the Frankish Knights of the Kingdom of Karl. Magic is by no means a bad option for a knight's path."
Hmm. She wasn’t wrong. It was true that there was a Magic Swordsman in the Frankish Knights. Magic, magic... it wasn't a bad idea. Especially if I were to learn it from the Headmistress herself.
In truth, this was a "happy problem" to have. She was someone who could be called the pinnacle of all mages. Every mage in existence admired her and hoped to wield her magic. While she did teach classes at Lumia, unlike Professor Luke, who had produced countless disciples, she hadn't taken on a single personal student in 500 years. In a way, her offer was an unprecedented privilege.
Even in the game, her only personal students were Iris and Isabella. In short, this was another Hidden Piece. If any other mage saw me right now, they’d probably collapse from shock. Or they’d curse me out for being insane.
Besides, I have the Insight Eye. A cheat-like trait that allows me to perfectly mimic any skill I see once. If I were to create a Circle right now and copy the Headmistress’s magic, I would only grow stronger, never weaker.
But...
My heart hesitated at the thought of chasing two rabbits at once. Kafka was different from other spirits and wasn't affected by my spirit power, so that was fine, but creating a Circle was a different matter. Unlike spirit power, which I could ignore, I would have to invest in Mental Strength and mage-specific stats. Even if I could ignore the physical toll because of the Orlando-style muscle training, I still had to invest in Aura to make a living as a swordsman.
A Magic Swordsman might look cool on the surface, but if you mess it up, you end up being a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. There’s a reason people call that a "trash build." If I followed the wrong tech tree, I could ruin my character entirely.
And I am not the protagonist. I can't do everything like they can. I don't have the aptitude for everything like Dante or Iris. And just because I focus on one path doesn't mean I can catch up to the geniuses. I’m not a sword genius like Angelica, a magic genius like Isabella, or beloved by spirits like Dolnesia. I’m just barely keeping up with the power inflation thanks to the system.
If I can't even master one path, how could I possibly get stronger by trying to absorb everything like a "jack-of-all-trades"? Sure, with the Insight Eye, I *could* become a Magic Swordsman, but if you asked me if that was the right answer, I could only shake my head.
Besides, the gifts thrown at me by those voyeurs were more related to knights than mages. It would be better to leave her personal student position to Isabella.
"I am truly grateful for your offer, but for now, I wish to focus solely on my current path."
"Is that so..."
At my refusal, the Headmistress merely nodded, her expression blank, while Professor Luke’s jaw dropped wide. Was he trying to express a smile? Given the atmosphere, he didn't laugh out loud, but it was clear what he was thinking.
"Well, if you ever change your mind, let me know."
With that, the Headmistress stood up.
"You haven't fully recovered yet; I think you've spent too long in the infirmary."
"No, I'm fine. But..."
I looked at Kafka. She was standing there blankly, wearing the academy uniform. Why was she wearing the academy uniform? I pointed at her and opened my mouth.
"Why is Kafka wearing... the academy uniform?"
"Kafka will be accompanying Cadet Ian. Even if she was once human, she is now your contracted spirit."
I stared at her with a blank expression. Is that allowed? Just like that? As if my thoughts didn't matter, she continued in her monotone voice.
"Since she is no longer a spiritual entity, she cannot return to the Spirit Realm, but she is a spirit nonetheless. However, since she is not a cadet, she will not receive any of the benefits afforded to one."
"Then, the uniform?"
"I couldn't exactly leave her naked."
No benefits meant no dormitory assignment. Where was she supposed to stay?
"It's okay, Ian."
Kafka approached me slowly and spoke.
"I can enter your shadow."
As if to demonstrate, she placed her foot on my shadow. Her body was absorbed into it as if she were stepping into water.
"The housing issue is resolved as well."
The Headmistress shrugged, as if it were nothing. But was it really okay to do this?
"Do I not have to pay her tuition?"
"She is not a cadet. There is no reason to collect tuition from her. Think of it like how we don't collect tuition for the Sancho and Rocinante belonging to Cadet Dolnesia."
In other words, she was going to treat her as a spirit, not a person. It left a sour taste in my mouth. Even if spirit mages existed and spirits were on friendly terms with humans, when it came to priority, humans always came first. By letting her stay at the academy but drawing a line by treating her as a familiar, she was making her stance clear. It was a statement that would normally be offensive, but Kafka, seemingly used to such treatment, just stared at the Headmistress and me quietly.
Well, this was likely the best the Headmistress could do. If Kafka were to stay as a cadet, it would be a direct violation of the equality pursued by Lumia Academy. I don't know if it would be different if I used the power of Logres, but... even with the Imperial Prince taking entrance exams, I doubt the students would be happy about Logres guaranteeing her status. Especially in this Lumia Academy, where people of all different backgrounds gathered.
This was the maximum flexibility the Headmistress could exercise. It was practically a special favor. I don't know why she was giving me such treatment, and it was strange that she had suddenly revealed information about the Dawn Theater to me. I couldn't understand her thoughts at all.
Whether she knew my thoughts or not, the Headmistress simply said:
"I have expectations for you, Ian de Logres."
She stared at me quietly with her golden eyes as she spoke.
"I am curious about the reason, Headmistress."
"About what, exactly?"
Professor Luke, who had left the infirmary, asked her.
"Why did you grant Ian such a special favor?"
"Was it not your request that I look after him?"
"What I asked you to look after were his demerits and disciplinary actions, not Kafka."
Even if the Headmistress had exercised maximum flexibility, treating Kafka as a spirit to keep her by Ian's side was bordering on a reckless move. Even if she was a spirit, her essence was undeniably human. And yet, she was forcing her to stay by Ian's side by treating her as a spirit and a familiar? Kafka herself didn't mind, and since she could transform into a wolf and enter Ian's shadow, she could pass as a spirit to some extent, but it was an action that could easily give others a reason to bite back at the Headmistress.
But the Headmistress just glared at Luke with her golden eyes, as if she didn't care.
"When have I ever cared about such things?"
She walked on, as if she were simply doing what needed to be done. Professor Luke clattered his jaw at her back. Judging by the heavy breathing coming from between his teeth, he was likely trying to say he was sighing.
"So," Professor Silves interjected.
"What do you think of Ian?"
Hearing his question, the Headmistress calmly stated her thoughts.
"At the very least, he did not appear to be from the Dawn Theater."
As she answered with a blank expression,
"Isn't that just your wishful thinking, Headmistress?"
Luke's sarcasm spilled from his jaw, but—
"Wasn't that what you wanted most?"
With a cross-uppercut from her, Professor Luke’s jaw snapped shut. Watching the skeleton, the Headmistress maintained her blank expression.
"Well, and I didn't come to see him because of the Dawn Theater, so it doesn't matter. It's just..."
She flicked her index finger once more.
"When someone who had no color suddenly finds their color... I simply wanted to see what color that person would take on, up close."
The Headmistress muttered those cryptic words. Neither Luke nor Silves, who was standing nearby, seemed to understand. But, as if uninterested in their confusion, the Headmistress continued.
"Still, I am glad I got to see you like this. Ian de Logres."
She muttered that, her golden eyes fixed in the direction of the infirmary.
"Though you do not seem to remember me."
She briefly recalled the first time she had met him.
The wings of the dragons that once soared through the heavens were broken in vain. The songs of the dragons that once commanded all things were extinguished in vain. The manifestations of the dragons that once burned the world faded in vain.
It was an era where the existence of dragons had become nothing more than a childish fairy tale. I was born in such a world, standing upon that land as the last and half-blooded dragon.
Inheriting the blood of the Absolute, now left only in stories. To some, it might have looked like a blessing. To me, it was merely a curse.
Reaching the summit was not difficult. That was the nature of the blood left within me. But the blood only brought me to the summit; it did not teach me how to descend.
So I stood at the summit, blankly gazing at the world. Those who climbed with me descended, leaving me behind. Even those who reached the same place as I did looked at the same view and descended. Everyone did so, but I... I was not even permitted to go with them.
I fell for the schemes of a man who wanted to build a nation and became the Red Duke. I built an academy for the future rather than wasting time in vain, but in the stopped time, I was the only one watching the summit. I was left entirely alone.
Two hundred years passed, then five hundred. In the meantime, a skeleton reached the same summit as I did, but I had lost interest. Teaching someone, being taught by someone... In a life where I could no longer feel anything, feeling the emptiness of living a life like a stuffed specimen, watching the empire change, and facing countless graduation ceremonies, just as time flowed without thought—
"I heard there was a dragon here, aged about 500 years."
When I was looking at the distant mountains from the summit, another person climbed up. The Northern Duke, Marshal de Logres. He was the one who set foot on the summit where only I and the skeleton had been.