Master and Disciples (1)
“Well then... It seems there’s a lot I need to teach you two, so take me as your master.”
“Master...?”
“M-me too?”
Arthur and Vivian looked at me with uneasy eyes.
Hm. Well, that’s not so strange. It’s only natural to feel anxious about taking a self-proclaimed sage draped in a ragged sackcloth as your master.
In that case... I have no choice but to show you.
“Follow me.”
I led the two outside the dilapidated stone house. First things first, they’d need a place to stay. And food to eat, clothes to wear.
This sage’s body was made of stone, requiring nothing of the sort... but those two had living human bodies. Shelter, food, and clothing were essentials for any living being.
So.
I lightly tapped the ground with the sage’s hand. At the same moment, a tiny sprout emerged from the soil—a small tree sapling.
“What’s...?”
The boy and girl peered down at the sprout poking its head out of the earth with puzzled eyes.
RUMBLE!!
With a earth-shaking roar, the tiny sprout suddenly shot up into a massive tree. Arthur and Vivian gasped in shock and stumbled back.
“Wh-what is this...?”
“A tree just appeared out of nowhere...”
“Just a minor parlor trick.”
The tree, having devoured the mana I scattered, grew rapidly into the form I desired. It first expanded into a massive trunk, then hollowed out a large space inside. Holes connected the interior to the outside, widening enough to accommodate doors and windows. Hm. While I’m at it, let’s make it two stories. I grew the tree taller, expanded the hollow interior to sufficient height, then erected walls and ceilings to divide it into floors.
I’d have to make doors separately later—cut a suitable tree branch and hang it on hinges.
And just like that, a wooden house fit for living took shape—sans doors and furniture. Not a house built from wood, but one grown from the tree itself.
“Is this... magic...?”
“No, brother. No mage could do something like this. It’s more like spirit arts, don’t you think?”
Arthur and Vivian couldn’t hide their awe as the tree grew in an instant, shaping itself into a house. Of course. You’d only see something like this in the Great Forest of Elves.
Well, the elves didn’t make trees grow this abruptly. They planted seeds, nurtured sprouts, then used tree spirits to guide slow growth into the desired house shape over time. For the tree, it meant safety and ample nutrients via the elves; for the elves, a cherished home. A symbiotic relationship.
The only downside? It took ages. But elves had plenty of time anyway—a thousand-year lifespan left them with nothing but.
Of course, not all elves built this way. Some used stone, and certain sub-species carved caves from rock. The one material they probably never used for construction was lumber from felled trees.
Anyway, leaving elven architecture aside for now.
“It’s a slight adaptation of how elves build homes. They treat trees like kin, so they can’t chop them down for houses. Instead, they grow trees into the desired shape and live in them.”
“Elves... Yeah, I’ve heard they get furious even if you snap a single twig.”
These days, they overlooked naturally falling leaves or fruit, but breaking branches was still taboo.
Honestly, leaves were no different from shed hair! What’s the big deal about going bald?
“I’m no elf, so I could chop trees for houses if I wanted... but I wanted to show you two what kind of being I am.”
People believe what they see and experience firsthand above all else. No matter how many dozens or hundreds of times others tell them something, it pales against personal proof. That’s why I showed them this—the power of the Deep Forest Sage.
“I can do far more than this. Among those who walk the earth on two legs, I’d rank among the most capable.”
No lie there. Lies were, after all, something you could count on one hand.
“So, don’t doubt me just because of this appearance.”
“Ah, y-yes.”
Good. Shall we begin, then? Princess Maker... No, the endgame’s emperor, so Emperor Maker it is.
But first.
“Vivian. Become the Dragon Maiden.”
I eased the pain in her chest as she clutched it weakly and spoke.
“The Dragon Maiden...? From the Legend of the Hero?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t the Dragon Maiden the nameless hero’s companion, the proxy who carries out the Life Goddess’s will?”
“The Dragon Maiden isn’t a specific person. Anyone who can hear the Life Goddess’s voice directly is a Dragon Maiden.”
The most famous one was the hero’s partner, so people equated Dragon Maiden with hero’s sidekick.
“Can you just become a Dragon Maiden if you want to?”
I shook my head slightly. As if it were that easy?
Her bloodline was so mixed it hardly mattered anyway. Even picking only those with hero’s blood, you’d have hundreds of thousands.
The key was mana. The vast mana sealed within her body. Without it, impossible.
“I’m saying this because you have the aptitude, Vivian. Becoming the Dragon Maiden will reconstruct your poison-weakened body and heal it.”
“Reconstruct...?”
“Your appearance might change a bit in the process. But it’ll be fine. Just some horns growing, that’s all.”
“Horns?”
Vivian raised two index fingers beside her head, mimicking horns, and I nodded slightly.
Precisely, the ones I’d attach. A Dragon Maiden without horns isn’t a Dragon Maiden!
“Do I... have to?”
“Hm. If you don’t want to, that’s fine... but you’d die before reaching adulthood.”
“What?”
Her face stiffened at my words. What? I thought she’d steeled herself for death after eating poisoned food, but she was still a child.
“C-can’t... you, Sage, heal me with your power?”
“Easier to die and revive. Though that’d make you a Dragon Maiden inevitably.”
Dying would unseal her mana, transform her body, and turn her into one automatically.
“No other way?”
I could meticulously replace her body with a new one. Possible, sure. But why bother with that hassle when I could overhaul it all at once into a Dragon Maiden?
“You don’t want to be a Dragon Maiden?”
“N-no... It’s just, if I accept... I feel like I won’t be me anymore. That scares me.”
“Won’t be you...”
Not wrong. New looks, renewed body. Add my horns, and she’d feel like a total stranger.
“Your appearance will change, but your soul won’t.”
The soul stays the same. No matter the body.
“And as a Dragon Maiden, you’ll gain great power. That could help Arthur immensely.”
“Help... brother?”
“Yes. You could even use resurrection magic on someone who hasn’t been dead long.”
Not exactly magic. Just asking the reapers in my name.
“Resurrection magic... on the dead!”
“Arthur’s path ahead will be treacherous. With someone at his side who can reverse death once... you get the rest, right?”
Reversing death meant reclaiming lost chances, erasing failures. A clever girl like Vivian would grasp it instantly.
“I-I’ll do it... Become the Dragon Maiden. I’ll do it.”
“Good choice, Vivian.”
“Vi-Vivi’s fine. Call me Vivi, Master.”
Hm. Master. Being called that felt refreshingly novel.
“Alright. Then let’s do it now that you’ve decided, Vivi. It might hurt and be tough... but endure it. You’ve got no choice but to tough it out anyway.”
“What?!”
With that, I released the seal within Vivi’s body.
That day, a revelation came to the Church of Life.
“A child who can hear My voice has appeared. Regard that child as My incarnation and serve them. Welcome the new Dragon Maiden.”
