Chapter 74: Opportunity (1)
At Arpentia Academy, there was one peculiar regulation.
It was that a professor could select a specific student and make them their direct disciple.
Of course, from a broader perspective, all academy students could be said to be disciples of the professors.
However, what was meant here by disciple was not just a student who received teachings, but one who inherited everything from their master, including their vision.
Naturally, professors did not take just any student as a disciple, and students, even if they received such an offer, did not blindly accept it either.
As I said earlier, it was only natural that both sides had to be cautious—very cautious.
Professors sought to accept the more outstanding students as their disciples, while students, conversely, wished to have a more renowned professor as their master if they could.
‘That’s why, in my past life, I never received such an offer even once.’
……Anyway, it was said that unpopular professors sometimes found it difficult not only to take a disciple but even to recruit a teaching assistant to help with their classes.
Competition and teaching under the name of survival of the fittest applied not only to students but to professors as well.
In that sense, the person in front of me now was undoubtedly the most popular professor here at Arpentia Academy.
I could bet my entire fortune on the fact that if she, Professor Windy May Maddown, said she would take a disciple, not only the academy’s students but most of those who called themselves magicians would flock to her like clouds.
“……Kuul.”
And that very Professor Windy May was now sound asleep—so much so that she wouldn’t notice even if someone carried her away.
“……”
“……”
I sat on the chair and stared straight at the professor who was fast asleep, oblivious to the world.
It was a chilling thought, but it almost made me wonder if she might be dead.
“Ssseup…….”
Watching her like that, I unknowingly let out the sound of swallowing my saliva.
Of course, I had arrived a little earlier than our appointed time……
But seeing her sleeping so deeply made me worry if today’s lesson could really proceed as scheduled.
However, my worry was, literally, useless.
“Mmm!”
The very moment the clock’s hand ticked right on the hour, she snapped her eyes open and woke up as if she had been waiting for it.
Exactly at the promised time.
She turned her head toward me and asked.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“……No, I just arrived.”
“That’s fortunate then.”
As if her deep sleep moments ago had only been an act, she suddenly leapt up from her seat.
Then, stretching her body long, she loosened up with a few yawns and stretches.
“Well then, before we begin this memorable first lesson…….”
Suppressing a yawn, Professor Windy May floated into the air, as always, and looked at me.
“First of all, do you perhaps know why I called only you, Lian Gwendil?”
“I don’t know.”
“Mhm.”
Professor Windy May crossed her arms, letting out a dissatisfied sound.
“That’s not the answer I wanted.”
“……”
“From now on, in my class, saying you don’t know won’t count as an answer~”
After finishing her words, she plugged her ears with both hands and stared right at me.
At her urging gaze, I paused for a moment, hesitating in thought.
“I think it’s because of the white flame that appeared in my mana, which I showed you before.”
“And?”
“I also believe it has something to do with the matter of the Sky Guide.”
Hearing my reply, Professor Windy May let out a sly smile.
“You did your homework well. I never imagined I’d hear the words Sky Guide from a student’s mouth.”
How commendable.
Saying that, Professor Windy May pulled something from her bosom and grabbed my hand.
“Here, as a reward, I’ll give you a praise stamp.”
With a firm press, she stamped the back of my hand, then looked up at me with a bright smile.
Even though she was floating in the air, there was still at least a head’s difference in our height.
“Ah…… Yes. Thank you.”
As I stared at the clumsily stamped mark on the back of my hand, she added.
“If you collect ten, I’ll grant you one wish. Collect five along the way and I’ll give you a gift. Well? Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Heheh.”
With a giggle, Professor Windy May tucked the stamp away again.
“Alright, then…… let’s begin.”
Then, in a quiet whisper, she murmured as she raised her head to look at me.
Her expression was completely different from what she had shown just moments ago.
“The reason I called only you, Lian, is more or less as you guessed.”
Her voice was like a song, and if I lost focus even for a moment, I would unknowingly let her words slip past me.
That was why I had to stay sharply alert and concentrate on engraving every single word she spoke into my mind.
“The white flame you showed me before…… in other words, this is to refine your ability as a Sky Guide. But before that, there is something else that must be done first. That’s also why I called only you ahead of the other two.”
It’s about the matter of the energy meridians.
At her words, I repeated back.
“The energy meridians, you say?”
“Yes, that’s right. Mana, ki, divine power…… anyway, you can understand it as something like veins through which power flows.”
Professor Windy May, floating in the air as if swimming, continued her words.
“Cecilia was born with affinity second to none, and in Mercedes’ case, she had been cultivating her body for magic from the start. Both of them have small issues, but if I direct their flow, they can be solved.”
“But unlike them, since I’m a cleric, you’re saying the problem is a little more complicated. Because I use divine power instead of mana.”
“Bbam-bbam, correct!”
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“Strictly speaking, the issue is that the balance between the paths for divine power and mana is misaligned.”
“So, that means I have to balance the two?”
“Correct. But as you might expect, Lian, it’s not something that can be done overnight.”
She murmured, lips twisting in a wavelike curve.
“Judging from the prayers I feel from you, I’d estimate at least ten years…… no, perhaps closer to fifteen years you must have cultivated divine power. And far more harshly than most. Which means, by simple calculation, you’d need a similar span of years with the same intensity to hone magic and strengthen the channels mana flows through……”
“Um……”
When I cautiously raised my hand, Windy May stopped speaking and looked at me.
“There’s one thing I need to correct from what you just said, Professor.”
“What is it? Ah, about me saying fifteen years? That was just me giving a rough minimum……”
“It hasn’t even been one full year since I entered the Holy Sun Church.”
At that, Professor Windy May blinked.
“Euing?”
She let out a strange sound.
Then she stared at me intently, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
“Lies.”
“It’s true. Why would I lie about something like this?”
“Then, could you lend me your hand for a moment?”
Grabbing my hand, Professor Windy May tried to meet my eyes.
But for some reason.
I suddenly recalled the advice Talia Poas had given me in the Room of Memories, and without thinking, I turned my head to avoid her gaze.
“Ah.”
Just as I realized my mistake and was about to turn back to explain—
“Another praise stamp.”
Before I knew it, Professor Windy May had taken out the stamp and pressed it firmly on the back of my hand once more.
Then, slipping it back into her bosom as if nothing had happened, she continued to hold my hand.
After some time had passed—
“……So it really is true.”
Murmuring as if in disbelief, she quietly nodded.
“Perhaps I’ve stolen away someone who would have become a High Priest in the future. The Holy Sun Church now has one more reason to hate me.”
Whispering softly, she cleared her throat.
“So then…… ahem, where was I in my explanation?”
“You said I needed to strengthen the channels mana flows through.”
“Ah, yes. For you, Lian, that is the first problem that must be resolved. And it is directly tied to the Sky Guide…… the so-called white flame you mentioned earlier.”
Then she gestured slowly, as if telling me to sit.
As I obeyed and sat down, teaware and snacks floated gently, setting themselves before us.
“First, before explaining about the Sky Guide.”
Professor Windy May looked at me and asked.
“This is a simple question, so just answer honestly.”
“Yes, understood.”
“What would happen if you mixed vanilla ice cream with chocolate ice cream?”
“It’d be delicious.”
“Then what if you mixed chocolate ice cream with mint?”
“It’d be awful. Terribly so.”
At my answer, Professor Windy May made a sulky face.
“Looks like you and I won’t get along personally.”
“Haha.”
“Anyway, that was just a joke. What I meant is, no one knows whether it will turn out to be beneficial or harmful.”
It seemed obvious it would be harmful, though.
As I swallowed those words back, she continued speaking.
“In truth, I said I’d explain, but I won’t tell you in detail right now. Because if my thoughts and philosophy were to take root in you and become a wall, that would set your limits.”
What cannot be imagined cannot be realized through magic.
It was simple and natural, yet the strongest principle.
That was why magicians guarded most against having their thoughts and mental images solidify and becoming aware of their limits.
“So for a while, I’ll keep speaking in vague and puzzling words. At least until your mind becomes unshakable, even after hearing my explanations. You can understand that, can’t you?”
“Yes.”
Naturally, I nodded.
At my response, she smiled in satisfaction.
“Then, let’s begin the real explanation.”
Chorororok.
The sound of hot tea filling cups rang out.
Just from the scent, I could tell it was of the finest quality.
“Since you called it a Sky Guide, Lian, that means the one who taught you must have been someone from Garusol.”
I silently nodded.
Her question was essentially confirmation.
“Mmm, perhaps that child by Professor Shagas’ side……”
Muttering so, she offered me a snack.
“It’s a honey cookie. Sweet.”
“Thank you.”
As I took one, she picked up a cookie herself and popped it into her mouth.
“Well then…… the Sky Guide is, essentially, a talent one is born with. In a sense, it’s similar to Spirit Sorcery. Unfortunately, I had no talent for either.”
Crunch, crunch.
Nibbling on the cookie like a squirrel, she spoke.
“In that sense, you could even say that as a teacher for you as a Sky Guide, that child would be more fitting than me. That child, like you, seems to have been born with it innately. Naturally, being explained from the same perspective would resonate more.”
At that point, Professor Windy May glanced at me and asked in a subtle tone.
“You’re not regretting it now, are you? Thinking maybe it would’ve been better to learn from that child instead of me?”
“How could that be.”
“Ehh, this time it really sounds like you’re lying.”
She chuckled, then suddenly whispered.
“But I won’t hand you over.”
Her ears twitched—rounder than an elf’s, yet sharper than a human’s—as she murmured.
“Do you know how hard it was to find a suitable candidate? To be able to pass on a technique I had thought would vanish in practice to the next generation—what could be more blissful for a magician?”
“……Professor?”
“A beast born without wings doesn’t know how to fly in the sky, and a creature born without gills doesn’t know how to breathe underwater. It may imitate, but only that far. Yet even so…… no, precisely because of that……”
Professor Windy May muttered as she slowly raised her hand.
Upon her open palm, two energies spun around and around.
Then, before long, they intertwined, and at last became one.
A perfectly unified energy.
Seeing it, I couldn’t help but swallow my breath.
Because I knew exactly what that sight unfolding on her hand meant.
“……I rambled on too long. To put it simply, I too am a ‘Sky Guide.’”
At her words, I could only fall silent for a moment.
“……But just now, didn’t you say you lacked the talent?”
“Yes, I did. But that’s something you can cultivate with training. Do you think I ate summer and winter essences for nothing? ……Anyway, that concludes what I wanted to explain.”
With a wave of her hand, she dispersed the swirling energy and shrugged.
“Lian Gwendil. I intend to pass on to you everything about my vision as a Sky Guide that I have cultivated independently. But that doesn’t mean I expect you to blindly believe only in my teachings.”
“You mean……”
“Normally, it would be unthinkable…… but if you ever have a chance to learn about the Sky Guide from someone other than me, you should actively do so.”
Professor Windy May nodded, as though she already knew what I wanted to say.
“As I said earlier, I’ll explain it to you properly later, but since the Sky Guide is a special case, this can’t be helped. That child will surely understand and accept it if you explain the circumstances.”
“……Understood.”
“Good. Then shall we move on to the second main topic?”
With that, Professor Windy May flicked her finger.
Shrrrak!
Suddenly, the curtains closed.
Thud!
Then, the sofa on one side of the training room floated lightly before landing between us.
‘Huh?’
“Lian Gwendil.”
For some reason.
At her call, I felt an inexplicable unease.
“……Yes.”
Grinning.
She smiled at me and said.
“Take it off.”
All of it.
Adding those unnecessary words on top.