Chapter 151: Each Their Own Stance (2)
“……Right. It really would be cleaner to just kill them.”
Windy May repeated what she had said moments ago, as if it were nothing.
Her voice was cold as ice, devoid of the slightest emotion.
“No, no. It would be even better to literally make them disappear. If you erased them from the world without leaving behind a single scrap of flesh or drop of blood, wouldn’t that solve everything? The most surefire solution to a troublesome problem is to remove the problem itself.”
“……!”
Professor Shagas’ face quickly turned rigid.
Between his lips, which trembled in fury, a faint voice barely leaked out.
“What… what nonsense are you spouting…!”
“Nonsense? Why? What part of it?”
Windy May looked at Professor Shagas as if she truly didn’t understand.
She even let out a derisive snort, as if mocking his impassioned reaction.
“You’ve truly done something impressive, Professor Shagas. Admirable, even.”
“Professor Windy May…!”
“I don’t think I said anything that’s entirely out of line.”
She leaned back deeply in her chair and spoke in a mocking tone.
“If it’s about Garusol’s ‘Dragon’s Blood’, I know a bit too. That the Empire’s army was literally wiped out because of that power. And that even they themselves are extremely reluctant to let it out of the sanctuary, practically imprisoning it and refusing to send it outside.”
Windy May let out a sigh.
Then, glaring at Shagas, she spoke in a sharpened tone.
“And you spent all that time building trust with them, finally dragging that child into the outside world under the pretense of accepting her as your disciple. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s…”
“Why did you do it?”
Windy May asked.
Her usual relaxed and gentle demeanor had completely vanished.
Even Lian was subdued by her momentum and quietly listened to the two of them talk.
“Why did you bring that child out into the world? What was your real intention behind braving all that opposition and danger to bring her here to the Academy?”
“That’s…”
Professor Shagas opened his mouth with difficulty.
It wasn’t just Lian who was overwhelmed by Windy May’s pressure.
“Yuran… it was that child’s wish. She wanted to see the wider world.”
“Really?”
A blatant sneer formed at the corner of Windy May’s mouth.
“You’re saying it was really her wish?”
“……”
“Professor Shagas, are you sure it wasn’t your wish?”
Though her lips formed a smile, her eyes didn’t smile at all.
In her coldly sunken gaze, emotions far deeper than contempt burned.
“Dragon’s Blood isn’t just about lineage or legacy. I know that much, too.”
Windy May spoke in a quiet, whispering voice.
“It is, in itself, a source of immense magical power and strength… and faith. Especially if one bears the power of the ancients, even more so. There’s no way *you*, who’s fought against the filth of demons and evil gods for ages, wouldn’t know that it’s a treasure sought after with glowing eyes by those lowlifes.”
Her words, honed as sharp as daggers, flew relentlessly.
Shagas simply stood still and endured, even as his whole being was slashed apart.
“When a child like that comes out into the world, it’s only natural that all sorts of pests would swarm like flies to filth. Don’t even try to say you didn’t calculate that.”
“……”
“……Why don’t we be a little more honest with each other?”
Windy May whispered softly.
“A long time ago, the one who took your family as sacrifices and stole your life… weren’t you trying to lure him in using that child as bait, to kill him with your own hands and get your revenge?”
“……No!”
Professor Shagas burst out, almost shouting.
A storm of fury, sorrow, deep regret, and self-loathing swept across his face.
His body trembled as if seized by emotions he couldn’t name.
How much time had passed like that?
Finally, breaking the long silence, Professor Shagas lowered his head and whispered.
“……Yes, I admit it. At first… I can’t say I didn’t have such thoughts.”
His voice was dry and cracked, quivering faintly with deep guilt.
“Blinded by revenge… I tried to use that child. Yes, I won’t deny it. You’re right.”
“……”
“But.”
He slowly lifted his head and looked at Windy May.
In his eyes was a completely different emotion from before.
A trembling gaze.
Yet paradoxically, within it flickered a clear and resolute light.
“But not anymore. This is my truth now. After spending time with that child… those foolish feelings have long since disappeared. Yuran… she is no longer just a disciple to me.”
He spoke as if sobbing.
“I see her as family. She is a child no different from the granddaughter I never had.”
Then, his body collapsed with a thud.
He had fallen to his knees.
The old man hailed as a hero knelt before the great mage who looked like a young girl, and began to plead.
It was a plea devoid of pride or dignity.
“Please… please, help me, Professor Windy May. Yuran… I can’t just leave her like this. I have to find her. If we don’t stop this now… something truly irreversible may happen. If that happens, I…”
“……”
“Please… I beg of you……”
Despite his tearful appeal, Windy May’s expression didn’t change at all.
She shook her head slightly.
“……Regrettable, but we must distinguish public from private matters. We’re not children.”
She drew a firm line with her words.
“I do feel sorry, but that child is clearly in a dangerous state right now. She’s rampaging in a frenzy, isn’t she? There’s no guarantee a terrible disaster won’t happen somewhere today. Above all, how can you be certain that she wasn’t the one who killed the Guard Captain and the guards? You even said she’s already killed a demon.”
“……”
“If, by chance, I get involved and it spirals into a bigger mess, not only I but the Academy and the Magic Tower could be put in a difficult position. Sorry, but I don’t think our relationship is close enough to clean up after each other while bearing such risk.”
Windy May spoke in a firm voice.
It was a clear refusal.
Professor Shagas collapsed, hanging his head in despair.
“……I’m advising you after considering everything. Killing her now is the cleanest option. That would minimize the damage. If you did that, I could at least—”
“Master.”
It was then.
Lian’s voice.
Startled, Windy May quickly turned her head, avoiding his gaze.
“Is there really nothing we can do?”
“……There’s nothing we can do.”
“……”
Windy May didn’t respond further.
But Lian didn’t give up and continued.
“Then at the very least, please help us track her location. I beg you. I’ll deal with the aftermath somehow.”
“……Did you not hear what I’ve been saying?”
“I did.”
Lian answered firmly.
“Master.”
“……”
“Master.”
“……Yes. Speak.”
Windy May let out a small sigh.
“What happened with Rahma, and with Airos… every time, I’ve made choices that defied common sense. Choices that others would clearly call foolish and laughable.”
“……”
“But I’ve made those choices again and again, and come this far.”
And I don’t regret it.
Lian exhaled quietly.
“I understand how you feel, but…”
“If I had made the ‘right’ choices, maybe the outcome would’ve been better.”
He cut in before she could finish.
“But if I had done that, I’m sure at least one person standing beside me now wouldn’t be here.”
“……”
“And I don’t want Yuran to end up that way.”
“Eh—wait a moment.”
Right after, Lian also fell to his knees.
Startled, Windy May sprang to her feet, but Lian simply bowed his head without a word.
“……Ugh, seriously!”
Eventually, Windy May shouted, clearly frustrated.
“Fine, just get up already!”
With that, she suddenly plucked a single strand of her hair, twisted it with her fingers into a knot, then pulled out a small twig from her robe and tied it to the strand, murmuring something softly.
In an instant, she had created an artifact for tracking.
“Here.”
She threw it deliberately toward Lian.
Catching it with ease, Lian's calm reaction only made her pout further.
“It consumes a lot of mana, so it’ll last half a day at most.”
“Master…!”
“Quit whining and get up already, will you!?”
Thud!
Windy May, floating lightly, suddenly kicked Lian’s shoulder with a thump.
“Ow…!”
Her kick, though delivered with visible annoyance, didn’t actually hurt, but Lian still let out a groan.
Hearing it, Windy May flinched slightly and straightened her posture.
Then, with a deep sigh, she murmured in resignation.
“……I don’t know anything about this. I never gave you that. Got it?”
She looked quietly at the two of them and spoke.
“Go already, you idiot. You fools.”
---
“……”
After the two left, Windy May leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment.
‘……Master.’
A figure rose in her mind.
Her master, Archmage Edas.
Someone far more willful than herself,
A free soul, like the wind, like the clouds.
The time she spent with him was, without a doubt, the brightest moment of her life.
The benefactor who took in a half-elf girl who might have died starving in the streets or been beaten to death, and raised her to become a great mage.
And at the same time, the one who got dragged into all kinds of trouble because of his disciple.
‘I thought I’d walk a different path from you.’
Windy May let out a bitter laugh internally.
She’d promised herself that even if she ever took a disciple, she’d never get emotionally entangled like he did and fall into trouble.
But in hindsight, she was no different.
If anything, she might’ve gone even further.
“……Tch.”
She clicked her tongue softly.
But really, what could she do?
Lian Gwendil, Cecilia, even Princess Mercedes…
All three were dangerously fragile, yet genuinely admirable children.
So it couldn’t be helped that she kept caring, kept wanting to help them.
‘…Yeah, can’t be helped.’
Windy May nodded slightly, convincing herself.
A master taking care of their disciple—it’s just inevitable.
Yuran’s matter would be left to those two.
And now it was her turn to clean up behind such disciples.
“……Valdemar.”
Windy May quietly called out a name.
“Come out. I know you’re there.”
Then, from the corner of the room—
A shadow rippled, and someone silently revealed themselves.
Valdemar.
He stared at Windy May and spoke.
“……You knew.”
“Of course I did, Mister Peeping Tom. I’ve known for a while now.”
Windy May flicked her hand dismissively.
“I must be just that charming. Understandable—you keep thinking about me, wanting to sneak peeks and all?”
“……”
“Well, this works out. We’ve got something important to talk about.”
“What do you mean?”
“An excuse.”
Windy May looked at Valdemar.
“Now then, let’s hear your excuse. Try to convince me.”
Valdemar’s red eyes glinted coldly at her words.
He replied, dumbfounded.
“……Someone on *our* side just died. Why exactly am *I* the one being interrogated right now? This is absurd.”
To his sharp reaction, Windy May simply smiled.
Whether it was mockery or something else, the meaning of that smile was unclear.
“Interrogation? I’m just curious, is all.”
“……Curious about what?”
At his oddly defensive tone, Windy May let out a small sigh.
Honestly, this guy, that guy—everyone just kept beating around the bush.
“Then let’s skip the pretense and get to the point.”
She whispered quietly.
“Your wolf friend—the one who lost his arm.”
Where is he right now?