Passing Like a Dog (3)
Passing Like a Dog (3)
Ten days and another three had passed since I became the Duke's dog.
Snowstorms continued to rage day after day, but unlike the stable, the inside of the mansion was comfortably warm. It would have been strange if it weren't, given that this was the home of a Duke equipped with the finest facilities and top-grade heating.
I rose at five in the morning to research Flare, and Professor Haspelt would bring me breakfast.
"Pay me no mind and focus on what you were doing."
...Something was off.
Unlike two weeks ago, when we had fought bitterly enough for her to slap an Iron Collar on me, the lack of sanctions was beyond anything I had imagined. If there was one restriction, it was that she kept me at her side all day long.
Her definition of "all day" was rather strict. She watched me during meals, of course, and continued to observe me even when I went to the bathroom or turned in for the night.
At this point, it was giving me the creeps. Just hit me a few times instead...
Haspelt's bizarre behavior did not end there. I didn't know if it was a hobby of hers, but she had ordered me to conduct Magic Arts research while she herself sat around doing something else entirely.
I skimmed the titles of the books Haspelt was reading out of the corner of my eye.
[Aristocracy and Monarchy]
[101 Ways to Properly Manage the Sovereign-Subject Relationship]
[Introduction to Rhetoric and the Art of Handling People]
Had she finally lost her mind...?
Judging from her track record up to now, the probability that Haspelt would read such books converged to zero. It was the same principle that made it difficult for a nerd who was STEM to the bone to fall in love with classical poetry.
Yet, as if some whim had seized her, she had stopped doing her daily scroll-writing and only sought out and read materials like these from the academy's academic library.
"How far have you gotten?"
Haspelt, who had been glancing my way from time to time, snatched up the paper I had been writing on.
It had only been an hour since I started work today. What was the rush?
They say that when someone is pressed, it shows on their face. Even from an objective standpoint, Haspelt's complexion had not been particularly good these past few days.
I asked, as a polite inquiry.
"Couldn't sleep?"
"Because of the Drakes."
"......?"
When I waited, eyes demanding further explanation, Haspelt continued her answer.
"There's been turmoil within the Board of Directors for the past three months because of the Iron Drakes proliferating in the academy's back mountain. Several faculty meetings were convened over several days to deal with it, so I'm a little tired."
Wow, I'd love to get to know the people on that Board.
"If it's that much of a problem, you could just sweep away the mid-grade Magic Beasts on that mountain."
"It's not your concern. Focus on completing Flare."
The demand to finish the top-grade Fire Magic as soon as possible did suggest she was in a hurry. But if that was the case, wasn't it normal for her to lend a hand too?
In the first place, ordering a slave to develop a top-grade magic that she, the established authority, couldn't complete and was racking her brains over was a contradiction in itself.
The time remaining was two weeks at most. If I missed that golden window, the difficulty of returning to Earth—along with the rest of my life—would skyrocket. I was at the point of praying with water offered up to prevent that disaster from happening.
Until I brought it up, not once had Haspelt ever said she would sell me to the Imperial Household. By my standards, that attitude was harder to forgive than lying.
Knock knock.
"Mail."
At Professor Haspelt's jerk of the chin, I set down my spoon and headed for the front door.
The letter I received was lavishly gilded. This was a letter format I had seen somewhere many times before.
The moment I had been dreading had finally arrived.
The gilding meant it was a letter from the Imperial Household or an equivalent institution. Without any need to confirm the sender, I scurried back to Haspelt.
"It appears to be from the Imperial Household."
"...From the Imperial Household?"
Haspelt's eyes filled halfway with determination and the other half with unease.
She opened the letter and began to read it silently.
It took only a few seconds for her eyebrows to arch like bows.
Knock knock knock.
"Quite a lot of visitors this morning."
Ah, seriously, what am I, a trained mutt?
I returned to the front door and asked who it was. A familiar voice sounded from the other side. I recognized the owner of that voice instantly and flung the door open, my heart fluttering.
"Hello, have you been well?"
"Professor Herlein!"
The exchange was brief, but it was enough to draw Haspelt's attention. At her colleague's sudden house call, Haspelt sprang from her seat and walked toward us.
"What brings you here on a holiday morning?"
"I came bearing good news."
"What do you mean?"
Herlein answered Haspelt's question with a faint smile.
It was right after that that she noticed the gold envelope in Haspelt's hand and expressed interest.
"Oh my, a letter from the Imperial Household, I see. Could His Majesty the Emperor be sending year-end greetings to the nobles?"
"It's nothing like that."
"Or a party, then? If it's a social gathering or a tea party, I'd love to attend."
"I said it's nothing like that, so you needn't concern yourself. More importantly, I've asked you twice what brings you here."
"What do you think? I came to see my darling student."
"...My, student?"
At Herlein's words, Haspelt's face went blank.
My body was suddenly tilted backward. For the briefest moment, the Iron Collar clinked, but only for a moment. A soft sensation pressed against the back of my head.
Professor Herlein draped her arm over my shoulder, the gesture linking one clause to the next.
"Who else lives here besides you and Aether? Naturally, I came to see her."
"That child is my exclusive assistant. If you're looking for your student, kindly do so during class hours."
"What do a classroom's walls matter in the business of teaching and learning? Where there is one who learns and one who imparts learning, there lies the teacher-student bond, and that place is the classroom."
"Meri, even from you, this behavior is rude. What are you saying, showing up out of nowhere with no context?"
Haspelt had no idea that Herlein had been helping me from behind the scenes. In fact, this was the first time the three of us had ever faced each other like this.
Be that as it may, from the master's perspective, it had to be awkward.
No—was it 'former' master now?
I had long since caught on to why Professor Herlein had appeared here. That was why, in this situation that felt as if something was about to erupt at any moment, I paradoxically felt a sense of comfort.
It was unfortunate to witness a scene that would crack the friendship between two professors, but that was beyond my control. I decided to quietly sit back and munch popcorn.
"Right. It's the height of rudeness. For a mere Count to barge in at the residence of a Great Duke like this."
"That isn't what I—!"
"And it must also feel rude that a former commoner... no, a penniless vagrant worse than a slave, was appointed as an academy professor and is now walking the exact same path as you."
"...Meri, what are you trying to say?"
To a third party, Professor Herlein's words seemed to carry an edge.
But I knew full well that this was merely Herlein's characteristic way of speaking.
Her emotional agitation was a mere drop in the bucket compared to Haspelt's. Spoken language was different from simply reading and writing; a person's mental state could invariably be grasped through tone and volume.
And so, it was possible to infer the next exchange from Herlein's playful tone. According to the big data of my life collected through machine learning, the probability that Herlein was about to build Professor Haspelt up was 95 percent.
"I know, Kleis. That you harbor no such thoughts whatsoever. I know that you're a good person at your core, even if you misstep from time to time. I've watched you for close to ten years."
"......"
"But see, putting everything else aside, you don't seem to handle your graduate student very well. When looking after a student, you shouldn't think of it as handling lab equipment. What do you think we left the front lines to become professors for?"
"Aether is not a student. She's my assistant."
"The Fire Magic you taught her probably exceeds eight hundred techniques, and you claim she's not your disciple?"
"I can't listen to any more of this. Stop beating around the bush and get to the point."
"Fine. In consideration of our long-standing friendship, I'll overlook the breach of decorum and tell you just one thing."
Herlein gently pushed me aside and produced a gilded envelope from her sleeve. It was the same color as the one Haspelt had received from the postman, but the detailed design was different.
In particular, the center of the envelope bore an emblem of crossed holy flame, symbolizing scholarship, and a staff, symbolizing the Magic Arts. It was the same mark imprinted on both Herlein's and Haspelt's robes.
"The Tillet Seal...?"
"This arrived addressed to me this morning."
####
[Letter of Acceptance]
[Name: Aether]
[Exam Number: 108128]
[The above student is hereby granted admission, having been deemed to possess sufficient ability to pursue studies at our academy.]
[Furthermore, upon receipt of this notice, the student is selected as a member of the 1024th entering class of Tillet Magic Academy, granted a Third Status, and this notice hereby declares all prior status and rank legally null and void.]
[◇ Score: 440/500 points (Written 400, Practical 40) → Direct any score inquiries to the Talent Discovery Department.]
[◆ Class Rank Notification: Second in Class (Salutatorian) (Eligible for first-semester half-tuition scholarship)]
[President of Tillet Magic Academy, Yakob Robespierre (Seal)]
####
"Oh."
I had expected to be so happy I'd jump for joy upon seeing the acceptance letter, but my mind was surprisingly calm.
As expected, entering Professor Herlein's home address on the application form for the acceptance letter to be sent there had been the right call. Simply having a guardian had already averted what amounted to three bad endings.
I had escaped slave status after three years, I no longer had to be sold off to the Imperial Household as a servant, and above all, I could finally quit a doctoral program that wasn't even granting a degree—shedding tears of joy would have been the appropriate response, but...
I had no leisure to focus on myself at the moment. No, there was no reason to.
"Wha, what is...?"
"Just think about it. How could a girl who doesn't earn a single coin, apart from the pittance of meal expenses she gets from you, possibly afford such an expensive entrance examination fee?"
"Don't tell me you were behind this? Meri...!!"
I learned for the first time in my life that Professor Haspelt could make such an expression. It was the spitting image of the face my older sister had made when I took both chicken drumsticks.
"It was truly a jackpot. Who would have thought that the first perfect score on the written exam in a thousand years would finally appear now? Her practical was relatively lacking, of course, but so what? The fact that a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe surpassed the minimum passing threshold is already a testament to extraordinary ability. That deserves some bonus points."
Before a mere frontier count who fired off words in staccato bursts, the person who stood as the pillar of a Great Ducal house simply trembled feebly.
"Wh, what... h-how...? Why on earth did you...?"
No matter the words, they were blocked by the air and refused to emerge properly. Haspelt only moved her lips, utterly incapable of responding to Herlein's relentless offensive.
Her mind must have been racing by now.
Even if she had known that I applied to the academy, the fact that my guardian was the friend she had long trusted could never be an easy thing to accept.
"Right. So, what I want to say is just this one thing."
Herlein, grinning as she stroked my head, recited an incantation in a low voice, and a small key materialized. Herlein inserted that key near the nape of my neck and turned it.
With a clunk, the Iron Collar came undone. Its jaw hanging limp, the collar slid powerlessly along my shoulder and tumbled down onto the carpet.
Professor Haspelt's fury gauge had already exceeded 100 percent. Her face looked as if something would explode if pushed any further, but Professor Herlein paid it no mind and delivered the final blow.
"Kleis. Your assistant's kind of amazing, no?"
The mansion heating worked especially well today.