Chapter 40: Elective Class (3)
To begin with the conclusion, Cecilia’s request was not all that difficult.
What she meant by her request to “accept me as your disciple” was simply that she wanted to learn from me and gain help.
Perhaps because of her family background, she seemed to have been strictly taught that receiving instruction from someone was no different from honoring that person as a teacher.
I wondered if the future had changed because of me, if the future where Cecilia Everglenn had been one of the two disciples of the Archmage might disappear.
Trying to calm my racing heart, I let out a sigh of relief.
“One, two. One, two.”
She and I were in a small garden located inside the infirmary.
It was thanks to the old professor, who had given us the space especially for the two of us after hearing our story.
In one corner of that garden, Cecilia was diligently stretching, loosening up her body with long, extended motions.
‘But now that I think about what to actually do, I feel stuck.’
Her request was none other than that she wanted to establish a “reference point.”
The reference point she spoke of was the most crucial concept to establish when communicating with otherworldly beings, mental bodies, spirits, or beings from other realms—it was the first anchor that had to be set.
She had not forgotten, and remembered clearly, what I had told her when we had met earlier at the library.
In that sense, her decision was right many times over.
If only she hadn’t chosen me as the one to give her instruction.
“……”
Even just thinking of the problems that came to mind right away, there were many……
‘Seriously, what do I do.’
The biggest problem among them was that I was completely ignorant in that area.
No, if I were to be exact, I wasn’t entirely ignorant.
As a child, I had heard many stories from my mother, and in addition, I had read multiple times the book “Spirits,” written by Cecilia in my previous life.
But that was still nothing more than just a little more knowledge than the average person—just the basics.
It was never at a level where I could teach or guide someone.
“Then.”
At some point, Cecilia had finished stretching and turned her head quickly to look at me.
She had changed into clothes easy to move in, with her platinum-blonde hair tied back into a single strand.
From her figure, which peeked out here and there, I could tell she had been steadily training herself no less than any knight cadet.
“What should I do now, Teacher?”
“First……”
I answered in a voice drained of energy.
“Let’s fix the title first. Don’t call me Teacher, just call me Lian like you always did.”
“Understood, Lian.”
“And don’t use formal speech either.”
“Got it, Lian.”
Watching her nodding lightly, I spoke again.
“Cecilia, I’ve said this many times, but I don’t know anything about that field. Honestly speaking, I’m not much different from you. The only thing I can tell you are theoretical things……”
“I know.”
Cecilia nodded.
Her sea-blue eyes were staring straight at me.
“I know that well.”
“Then why……”
“Well.”
Why indeed.
She tilted her head slightly and spoke almost like a whisper.
“Lian, you said it, right? That to establish a reference point, one needs something precious or intense to them, something unforgettable… in short, a powerful memory.”
“Yes.”
When I nodded, she nodded back as if copying me.
“I hate to admit this, but I don’t have many memories I could call powerful. Since I was young, I lived separated from my family, practically confined in the villa.”
Cecilia continued speaking in a calm tone.
“The only things I can barely recall when I squeeze my memory are childhood moments. And when I looked into related texts, I found a passage saying that the vaguer the memory, the weaker its magical power becomes. Am I right?”
“That should be the case.”
I nodded again this time.
“In that case, the only powerful memory I can use as a reference point is what happened a few days ago.”
……If it was a few days ago, then it was the incident when Rahma attacked.
In other words, it was when she had nearly been sacrificed as a human offering.
“And at that time, the only person with me, the one who saved me, was you, Lian.”
She blinked her eyes slowly.
“Maybe that’s why. It’s hard to find a memory as powerful as that.”
After saying that, she slowly raised her hand.
She was wearing thin black leather gloves on her hands.
Pulling them aside, I saw that inside was an engraved brand, similar yet different from the one carved on me.
“You have one too, don’t you, Lian?”
“……”
“Show me.”
Silently, I loosened my collar and revealed the brand carved on my collarbone.
Cecilia stared at it intently, almost as if entranced.
Even after a long time, she only continued to gaze at the brand in silence.
‘……This feels a bit strange.’
At first, it wasn’t much, but soon enough, embarrassment started to flush my face.
Just when I was about to decide that it would be best to stop, Cecilia tilted her head first.
“No matter how I look at it, it seems similar.”
“Hm?”
“The brand engraved on your body, Lian.”
Then she suddenly said something I couldn’t dismiss lightly.
“I see similarities and even identical parts compared to that person’s.”
“What?”
At her words, something flickered in my mind.
With the thought of “Could it be,” I immediately tried to check the brand engraved on my collarbone.
“I’ll help you.”
Noticing my action, Cecilia handed me a hand mirror she had been holding.
Using the hand mirror she gave me, I carefully examined the part on my collarbone.
“This is……”
She was right.
The pattern of the brand had indeed changed a little, but certainly.
‘When on earth did this happen……’
While I was still bewildered by the sudden discovery, Cecilia had quietly stepped up next to me and whispered softly.
“And I don’t know if this is unnecessary to say, but.”
Hoo.
With a faint breath, she continued in a slow voice.
“That person told me many things about this. And I haven’t told anyone yet about the conversations I had with him.”
And I won’t tell anyone in the future either.
She spoke, staring straight at me.
“I don’t mean to boast, but I have a rather good memory. Thanks to that, I could recite his words here and now without a single mistake. Like I said before, it was one of my intense memories, so I’m confident I won’t be wrong.”
And if Lian wishes, I could even draw the brand’s pattern that had been engraved in his eyes.
After adding those last words, Cecilia simply stared at me.
At her attitude, as if demanding my answer, I could not open my mouth.
“Well……”
I wet my dry lips with my tongue and spoke.
“……Would it be alright if I asked for that favor?”
Cecilia stared at me for a moment before asking.
“Then will Lian sincerely teach me as well?”
“Yes, of course.”
I nodded quickly.
“As I said before, I don’t know the details, but I will do everything I can to help you, Cecilia.”
Yet, for some reason, she remained silent.
A chill ran down the back of my neck.
“If I ask you for a few more things, Lian, you’ll agree, right?”
……And ominous premonitions always proved right.
“……Or will you refuse?”
Cecilia asked again, staring at me intently.
In that instant, I was reminded once more that she, though it was from a past life, was one of the Seven Heroes, praised as the Second Coming of Legend, and the very one who had subdued the Spirit Kings.
In other words, she was absolutely not someone easy to deal with.
There was only one answer I could give in this situation.
“I…… have to agree.”
When I slowly nodded, she finally gave a faint smile.
“Then this is my first request.”
“Yes. Please, go ahead.”
“In the upcoming elective class.”
She gave a small cough and asked.
“Would it be alright if I asked which classes you plan to take?”
Time passed quickly.
As soon as I was discharged from the infirmary, I was able to finish course registration without any problems, just as I had planned beforehand.
Professor Deiare, Professor Windy May, Sister Roberta, Professor Shagas.
And lastly, even a liberal arts course taught by a professor whose name I had never seen before.
……As a side note, choosing this liberal arts course had been Cecilia’s suggestion.
And so the first day of elective classes finally arrived.
The first class I attended was Professor Deiare’s.
“Hoo.”
At the training ground, many students had already gathered in groups, chatting or warming up.
But unlike them, I stood in a corner, deep in thought.
It was about the brand.
“……”
I recalled again the things Cecilia had told me.
First, each brand had its own unique shape.
Second, each brand was engraved in a different location.
Third, each brand granted a different power to its owner.
Fourth, as long as the conditions were met, a brand could be extracted.
Fifth, an individual could engrave multiple brands.
Sixth, there was no way to detect a brand except for the method of owners being drawn to and sensing each other.
Among them, the third stood out most to me.
Each brand granted a different power to its owner.
“……”
The power granted to Rahma must have been something like turning his body incorporeal.
Cecilia had said she did not know what power her brand granted her.
Then what in the world was the power of the brand engraved on me?
‘……I thought, of course, it was because of this that I returned to the past.’
Perhaps I needed to reconsider everything from the beginning.
I pressed my fingers against my throbbing head.
“Still……”
The things Cecilia had told me were all precious pieces of information.
Especially what Rahma had said—that there were records related to brands in the underground archives of the Papacy.
‘Now that I think of it.’
Sister Roberta had told me that the Holy Sun Church had asked me to stay silent under the pretense of compensation.
In that case, couldn’t I request permission to access the underground archives as my reward?
I was lost in such thoughts for quite some time when—
“Lian.”
“Ah, Allen.”
Before I knew it, Allen had approached and spoke to me with a worried look.
“Are you alright? I heard you were seriously injured. I wanted to visit you, but I couldn’t get permission……”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
As I answered, I glanced at him.
There were no visible wounds or injuries on his body.
“More importantly, were you really okay? Everyone got separated back then, it was terrifying.”
“Yes, it was.”
He added with a weary smile.
“Not long after we got lost in the mist, a rescue squad came. Fortunately, I was safe.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Yes, it is.”
Then suddenly Allen gave a slight smile.
“Still, I didn’t expect you to choose this class as well, Lian.”
“What, are you that unhappy to be in the same class as me?”
“Unhappy? No, I’m glad. Honestly, I was worried I’d have to take this class all alone.”
“That’s quite a coincidence. I thought the same.”
Watching him let out an embarrassed laugh, I too broke into a smile.
As Allen and I exchanged lighthearted jokes, a commotion broke out in one corner of the training ground.
Even without looking, I could tell who was at the center of it.
“I really didn’t expect a member of the Imperial family to be attending the class as well.”
Only then did I turn my head to look in the same direction as Allen.
There stood a tall man, surrounded by many people.
Silver hair so vivid it was recognizable even from a distance.
An unmistakable sign of imperial blood.
‘Third Prince, Behad Amandine Bestrang.’
The twin sibling of the Fourth Princess.
One of the Seven Heroes, later to be called the Dragon Emperor.
And……
‘Allen Amiel’s rival and adversary.’
It was a well-known story that he and Allen had taken the same classes since their first year and competed with each other.
The Dragon Emperor himself had often mentioned that their rivalry had burned ever since those days.
Perhaps because of that, when Allen Amiel had been expelled from the academy under the charge of murder, Behad had raged in denial, causing a commotion—I remembered that incident even myself.
‘If possible, it would be best to get along with him…….’
He was one of the two members of the Imperial family whom Velita had not dared to touch.
There would be no harm in building goodwill with him.
“And there’s also an Elf over there.”
“An Elf?”
At Allen’s words, I casually looked in the direction he indicated.
But the moment I saw it, I couldn’t help flinching.
‘What is this?’
There indeed stood an Elf, just as Allen had said.
Unlike Professor Windy May, who was a Half-Elf, this one had sharp, long ears.
A beauty so refined it was hard to tell whether he was male or female.
Yet from certain details, it was not difficult to recognize that he was male.
From his posture and presence, it was also easy to tell he had undergone tremendous training and possessed remarkable skill.
Though few in number, other races did attend the Academy, and Elves were among them.
So, seeing an Elf itself was not strange.
Yes, it should not have been strange at all……
‘Have I seen that Elf somewhere before?’
As I stared at him repeatedly with a sense of déjà vu, the Elf suddenly snapped his head in my direction.
‘Yikes.’
Remembering that Elves were sensitive to gazes, I hurriedly lowered my head in apology.
But for some reason, that Elf showed no change in expression and simply stared at me.
“……”
And he just kept staring at me.
Strangely, without stopping.