༺ Mentor Isaac (5) ༻
“L-lady Miya!!”
In the end… today was no different.
The escort wizard from the Land of Fire Blossoms suddenly saw Priestess Miya turn into a fox fire and felt her heart sink.
She felt a sense of despair, thinking, ‘Here we go again’.
“Lady Miyaaaa!! Where are youuuu!!”
If anything were to happen to Miya’s well-being, she knew her head would be detached from her neck.
The escort wizard, terrified, sweated profusely as she tirelessly searched for Miya.
* * *
Luce and I sat side by side on a small rock I made using [Rock Generation].
The lunchbox Luce brought was packed from a restaurant, so the taste was guaranteed to be good.
“Isaac, open your mouth right now.”
“Don’t people usually say ‘say aah’ at times like these?”
Her smile was there, but the choice of words made it sound like she was issuing a command.
Regardless, when Luce offered food with her fork, I quickly accepted and ate it.
Then she smiled broadly, her cheeks slightly flushed as if she was pleased.
Apparently, she had recently learned from a novel that feeding someone was a gesture of endearment.
“Luce.”
“Yes?”
“How did you know about this place?”
“…”
Luce, while picking up a piece of chicken with her fork, suddenly paused.
After a brief, awkward silence, she moved her adorable lips.
“I happened to “coincidentally” see Isaac coming this way.”
Luce emphasized the word “coincidentally”.
Still, she maintained a gentle smile on her lips.
“Coincidentally?”
“Yes. You know I have good eyesight. I spotted Isaac from afar.”
“…Is that so.”
Luce nodded vigorously, saying “Yes, yes,” in a way that didn’t quite match her faint smile, leaving almost an afterimage.
What a lie… it’s so clumsy, all I can do is laugh.
With [Psychological Insight], I could tell that she had been following me from afar for days because she wanted to see me.
Using [Clairvoyance] to constantly monitor from a distance was bothersome, so I rarely did it, but it seemed Luce was right in its blind spot.
“We haven’t been spending much time together lately. You have mentoring duties, and with the remaining time, you need to focus on training, and then it’s time to sleep…”
“That’s right.”
So, that’s why she has been stalking me
To be more precise, it seemed she came all this way wanting to be with me, mentoring or not. To Luce, being a princess or anything else was of no interest.
“Even so, you didn’t eat dinner? You know that upsets me, right?”
“I had a piece of bread… Hey, this is delicious, you know?”
“You were hungry, after all. Wait, let me feed you. Open your mouth.”
“Can’t you just tell me to ‘say aah’?”
I realized I couldn’t let Luce leave until we finished eating, so I decided to explain everything thoroughly to White upon her arrival.
I must have been really hungry. The food Luce brought was delicious, especially the seasoned chicken, which I loved.
We made some jokes and played around while feeding each other.
“You braided your hair, didn’t you?”
“Does it suit me?”
“Of course. Can I twist it with my finger just once?”
“Only if I can twist Isaac’s hair too. Tousled hair~.”
We giggled as we playfully twisted each other’s hair with our fingers.
Suddenly, a playful voice that wouldn’t leave my memories came to mind.
─’Aren’t you a little sad? You didn’t get to marry me.’
Indeed, Luce was unbearably adorable.
* * *
“Ehehe. It’s perfect, Merlin! This magic tool will surely make me stronger!”
Snow White exhaled sharply through her nose. Her face had a smile filled with hope.
Merlin was walking through the Hydrangea Garden with the princess, who had been tricked by a merchant’s smooth talk.
After being overwhelmed and fainting from Luce Eltania’s immense mana, White began to burn with enthusiasm, wishing to become like her.
Thus, she impulsively purchased an expensive magic tool and now held it in her hand.
─‘Merlin! This is a famous magic tool known to greatly improve mana mastery! It’s said to significantly enhance mana! It cost two weeks’ worth of meals, but it must be worth it, right?’
White declared confidently that she would cultivate self-reliance at the academy and take responsibility for her own life.
In this land, a unique currency named ‘gel’ facilitates the circulation of a small economy, so the gel in White’s wallet would be her only available asset…
She did receive a substantial amount of gel as an admission reward, but the problem was that White’s grades were exceedingly low.
The only means to earn ‘gel’ were through ‘performance evaluations’ and ‘exams’. Since it was during the semester, it was not possible to earn gel through labor. Naturally, this meant that the gel she could acquire would be limited for a while.
Overspending was a quick path to ruin. Merlin worried whether White would be able to make sensible purchases with the remaining gel she had remaining.
“Senior Isaac will surely praise me for being so commendable, won’t he? Ehehe~.”
“Yes… he surely will.”
But Merlin wasn’t brave enough to say anything against that bright smile, which seemed to make flowers bloom around her. Especially since it was a purchase for her own development…
Merlin could only nod in response to White’s words.
Eventually, they reached a secluded path, nearly arriving at a corner of the Hydrangea Garden.
“Ah, there’s Senior Isaac~. Who is he with… Freeze!”
White suddenly stopped and quickly stretched her arm out to the side to block Merlin. She had an urgent expression.
Then she pushed Merlin’s back, grunting, and hid behind a nearby tree.
White peered out from behind the tree, glancing toward Isaac.
“Why are you doing this, Princess Whi-?”
Merlin also peered out and, upon seeing Isaac, her eyes widened in surprise.
She saw a female student with rose-gold hair feeding Isaac.
“L-Luce Eltania…! It’s Senior Luce…!”
White’s voice trembled.
Luce Eltania. The top seat of the second year of the Magic Department?
Hadn’t she mentioned her admiration for Luce? Merlin wondered why White sounded so terrified.
“Are you talking about the famous Ice Princess’?”
“Yes, yess…!”
“But she’s personally feeding Sir Isaac. Seeing how happy they are, they might be in a relationship.”
“Is she… Senior Isaac’s girlfriend?”
Isaac was indeed a commendable senior with rapid progress, but Luce Eltania was a being of a different caliber.
White recalled the intimidating aura Luce had displayed in the previous class. The memory of her smiling brightly at Isaac was in stark contrast, giving an unfamiliar feeling.
Meanwhile, Merlin casted a look of skepticism.
Luce was a formidable figure, known for having a legendary familiar and even thwarting the attacks of the Floating Island.
Moreover, having received elite training at Märchen Academy, she would have mastered the efficient and systematic handling of her abundant mana.
She was an exceptional student famous for her cold demeanor towards others and her overwhelming talent.
Is her heart uniquely softened towards only Isaac?
Did Isaac possess something special?
Such was the doubt that crossed Merlin’s mind.
“Senior Isaac… must be an incredibly capable man!”
White, filled with admiration. Respect for Isaac seemed to have bloomed even further in her heart.
“He’s truly my mentor…!”
A sigh escaped Merlin’s lips. How could this Princess’s mind be so pure, she wondered.
Meanwhile,
‘What’s this?’
The beautiful girl with pearl-black hair, Priestess Miya, was greatly startled upon seeing Isaac and Luce together.
Suspecting that she would definitely be caught by Luce if accompanied by her escort wizard, Miya had secretly followed her on her own.
So she had made her way to a corner of the Hydrangea Garden.
But there, she witnessed an unexpected scene.
‘She’s smiling…?’
Luce Eltania.
The Luce Eltania, who seemed cold and unapproachable to everyone as if she had no blood or tears, whom Miya believed to be a fellow cold-hearted individual, was showing a pure smile and seemed to be enjoying herself with just one man.
‘That man…’
Miya remembered seeing the man, whom Luce was looking at so affectionately, before.
He was the silver-blue-haired senior she encountered in the corner of the Butterfly Garden on the day of the entrance exam while searching for the Nameless Hero.
She didn’t know his name. What interest could there be in a man whose mana seemed so insignificant?
But… why was Luce Eltania, of all people, smiling so happily at that man? Miya couldn’t understand.
Miya frowned.
Irritation surged within her.
Soon, a student fitting the description of pure white and a knight with a dark green ponytail approached Isaac and Luce. It was White and Merlin.
White approached Isaac awkwardly, humming a tune and looking away. It was then that Isaac and Luce stood up.
“I-I didn’t mean to interrupt, you know…! I need to train too…!”
“…”
Luce glared coldly at White, who was fumbling over her words.
White, sweating profusely and with tears welling up in her eyes due to fear, sent a pleading look to Merlin for help.
Merlin sighed and stepped forward to assist White.
“Are you two, by any chance, an item?”
Luce shook her head, then blushed slightly and timidly replied, “Just friends…”
Isaac also responded with a similar answer, smiling awkwardly.
‘This is…?’
Merlin’s eyes sparkled as she grasped the nature of their relationship.
‘Perhaps the stage before becoming a couple…!’
Merlin’s heart softened in an instant as if witnessing a sweet moment of youth.
To Merlin, who still harbored the heart of a young girl, the relationship between Isaac and Luce appeared very endearing.
“Merlin…?”
White couldn’t understand why Merlin suddenly had sparkling eyes.
Soon after, Isaac looked at White and smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry about that. I was waiting until you arrived. I didn’t mean to make you feel awkward.”
“No no no! That’s not it at all!”
“Luce, the meal was great. Thank you. See you later.”
Isaac smiled and patted Luce’s shoulder.
“…Alright.”
Luce replied with a voice tinged with reluctance.
If she tried to stay with Isaac even at the cost of disrupting the mentoring session, it could have the opposite effect and distance them. She had learned this the hard way during last semester’s social gathering.
Still, having achieved her goal of having fed Isaac, Luce decided to leave, content with how things went.
“I’ll get going. See you later, Isaac.”
“Take care.”
Luce gave Isaac a quick smile and gathered her things.
As she was leaving, she casted a brief glance at White.
“…!”
A shiver ran down White’s spine.
Luce… was glaring at her.
White immediately realized why. She had been receiving one-on-one training from Isaac, so Senior Luce must have been feeling jealous.
White wanted to assure Senior Luce that there was nothing to worry about, but she couldn’t find the words.
Luce silently left the corner of the Hydrangea Garden.
A brief, awkward silence followed.
“S-se-senior Isaaaac, s-shall we s-start the t-training…?!”
Feeling as though Luce’s hostility still lingered, White stammered like a broken clock.
“Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
“No, no… Just feeling a bit stiff. Let’s get on with the training…!”
“Oh, you bought a magic tool. I have one of those too.”
“Ah… Eheheh. Exactly! Seems like I made a good choice!”
As Isaac smiled kindly and changed the topic, White quickly became more cheerful.
The two chatted happily about the magic tool.
***
“I saw it.”
Colorful hydrangeas were in full bloom along the path.
As Luce passed through the Hydrangea Garden, a girl with pearl-black hair suddenly emerged and spoke to her. It was Priestess Miya.
Luce looked at her with an indifferent expression, then turned her head forward and hastened her steps, showing no interest.
Miya blurted out words towards the back of Luce as she was leaving.
“I didn’t know Senior Luce could smile like that.”
Luce ignored her.
“You look really beautiful when you smile, Senior. Enough for me to get entrances, even if for a moment.”
Luce continued to ignore her.
“Why would someone like you only smile for such an unremarkable man?”
Luce stopped in her tracks.
Realizing she had struck a nerve, Miya smirked, teasing Luce.
“Is that senior your type, Senior Luce? Well, his face isn’t too bad. But you two… don’t seem to be on the same level.”
“…”
“I think you’re smiling at the wrong person. How about smiling for someone more on your level? You are truly amazing, Senior Luce.”
Luce turned her head back and glared at Miya.
Her eyes, deep like the ocean, held no light within them. That cynical look gave Miya the chilling sensation of walking on thin ice.
Yes, that was Luce Eltania. Miya gladly accepted the hostility emanating from Luce.
“You aim to be an exalted Tower Master, don’t you? But honestly, you can’t achieve that dream alone, can you? It’s not something you can become just with some money and talent.”
“…”
“But you know, Senior Luce~ I have wealth, fame, power, everything. I can grant you everything you desire.”
“…”
Miya, with her hands behind her back and a fox-like grin, slowly approached Luce.
“Let me reintroduce myself. I am Miya, the Priestess of the Land of the Fire Blossoms. If you’re going to smile, it’d be better to smile at me instead of that insect…”
[Miya, run!!]
Suddenly, blue and purple magic circles conjured around Luce in multiple directions.
Fzzzzzzt───────!!!
Whoooosh────────!!!
The powerful water magic, imbued with the purple lightning of Thunderbird, shot toward Miya like a cannon, with no place for her to escape.
Miya’s eyes widened as she instinctively calculated the summoning spell for the Nine-tailed Fox in her head.
Soon, the Nine-tailed Fox’s mana cloaked her, creating nine red fiery tails to form a robust protective shield.
However.
Bzzzt─────!!
Boom─────!!
“Gahh!!”
The purple lightning collided with the flames, causing a mana-induced explosion, and a massive wave of water swept Miya away.
The upper hand of elemental advantage, the disparity in power.
In every aspect, Luce overwhelmed Miya.
