༺ Mentor Isaac (3) ༻
“U-until now… I’ve been training the wrong way…”
On the way back after two hours of hellish training.
I lent White Zhonya’s staff. She held it with both hands, leaning on it to steady herself as she staggered forward.
“Princess, I think it’s better if you let me support you…”
“No, don’t… Ugh. If I don’t get through this on my own… there’s no point…”
Merlin offered to help her several times, but White, determined to develop self-reliance, quickly refused.
An admirable attitude.
“Senior… Isaac.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be in your care… tomorrow as well… Ugh.”
Suddenly, I was reminded of the time right after my possession into this world. I received hellish personal training from the Knight Department students every single day. Back then, I had to constantly crawl to my dorm.
It seemed like I was looking at myself from that time, and a smirk appeared on my face.
Certainly, I understood their feelings. It was quite endearing.
***
“As you repeatedly gather and release mana, the mana circuit is reconstructed into a more robust form. Gradually the flow of mana accelerates, and the mana circuit adapts, thus being able to withstand it, resulting in the gradual increase of both the quality and the quantity of mana.”
“I-I’m aware of that, but oh…”
“Let’s do this part again… No, that’s not it. The magic circle should be like this. Three strokes are wrong. The stroke here should be ‘Geummu’, but what you drew is ‘Jeya’. ‘Geummu’ has a more twisted form like this… Draw it this way. It’s better to keep the intensity of the mana release at this level. Now, follow along.”
“I-I feel like I’m going to die, Senior Isaac…”
The next day, at a corner of the Hydrangea Garden.
As I lifted my round glasses and explained, White made a distressed face.
“One more time like this. Try to create wind one more time.”
“Huaaah…!”
Whooooosh─!
“Good. Now, another one.”
“Huah!”
“Good, do it again just like that.”
“Huek…!”
“That’s the spirit. One more time.”
“Hyaah…!”
Despite struggling, White followed my instructions without complaint.
I also repeatedly casted rock magic, so it seemed that White didn’t even feel like picking a fight with me.
For your information, my repetition of the magic wasn’t just for demonstration. Even while teaching White, I didn’t want to neglect my own training.
“Huuh…! Ah!”
Blood trickled from White’s nose.
I knew this would happen. I quickly approached White, gently grabbed the back of her head, and pressed a handkerchief that I had prepared earlier to her nose.
“Are you okay?”
“…!”
White shuddered and looked at me with wide eyes.
Merlin, who had been leaning against a tree, started to come over with a shocked face but stopped when White extended her arm to stop her.
“…It’s like you were prepared for this in advance.”
Because of the handkerchief pressed against her nose, White’s voice sounded nasal.
“Senior Isaac, you’ve also been through a lot of this, haven’t you?”
“That happens when you overuse mana. It’s unavoidable. But doing this improves skills quickly, got it? If you overdo it, the mana circuit can break, but I can gauge it until just before that point, so don’t worry.”
I know the limit quite well, having broken it a few times myself.
“Senior…”
White gazed at me with a look of pity.
“You… must have struggled a lot…”
It was an unexpected reaction. I had expected her to be panicking and disoriented from the nosebleed, but instead, White appeared calm.
“It’s all part of the process.”
I smirked and passed the handkerchief to White. She firmly pressed the handkerchief against her upper lip.
“Let’s take a little break.”
“Yesss…!”
“Wanna have one? It’s good for mana recovery.”
“Oh! Mana Pudding Bar…! I’d love to…!”
I unwrapped the Mana Pudding Bar and handed it to White. It was a pudding-textured snack effective for mana recovery.
It was released this semester and it was quite famous among students, as stores prominently advertised it as being good for mana recovery.
However, its effect was minimal for someone with a low mana amount like White. In other words, it was false advertising. So, the claim that it helps with mana recovery was a scam.
However, this kind of lie might lead White to believe that ‘my mana is rapidly recovering,’ which could aid her mental stability and potentially motivate her to train even harder, much like the placebo effect.
Above all, it was very tasty. I didn’t particularly favor it because eating too many sweets could make the body sluggish and interfere with training.
Despite her exhaustion, White seemed to be quite delighted with the sweet snack, smiling happily as she was about to take a bite of the Mana Pudding Bar.
“Princess.”
“…!”
Then, Merlin stepped forward to take the first bite, as a precaution in case it contained anything poisonous.
No matter who the other person was, caution was necessary.
With a disappointed expression, White handed over the pudding bar, and Merlin gobbled up almost half of it in one bite.
“Waaaah…!!”
A cry tinged with tears erupted from White’s mouth, but Merlin, unfazed, simply said, “No problem here,” and walked away nonchalantly.
Tears welled up in White’s eyes. She made a sad face as she nibbled on the remains of the pudding bar.
“It’s tasty…”
Her expression was dazed and her voice sad.
The sweet but brief rest period ended, and we resumed our training.
“White, one more time!”
“Kraaah…!”
Thud.
A moment later, White collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
***
The spring sky was luminous with the hues of sunset.
After finishing the hellish magic PT, White, again using the Zhonya’s staff I lent her, walked out limping like a person with a slipped disc.
Thus, we were leaving the Hydrangea Garden. It had been our routine for several days.
Today, as well, she had fallen several times; her uniform was dirty, and some dirt had clung to her pure white hair.
Passing students glanced at us and whispered. Her appearance at the moment would have one question whether she was actually a princess or not.
Maintaining the dignity of a princess was important too, but it seemed that White lacked the capacity to do so at this time.
‘It makes sense.’
She must have never struggled this much before. The elites who taught White would have gone easy on her, while mindful of power dynamics.
Merlin was fidgety, worrying that White might fall. I might as well have felt pity for her too.
“Senior Isaac.”
“Hmm?”
“Developing skills like yours… though I expected it, it’s really tough… But these days, thanks to you, my mana is flowing much better. I feel like I’m getting stronger…!”
“You’re doing well. Just keep it up.”
White looked at me and bit her lip. It seemed like she was trying to hold back a smile that wanted to burst out from my praise.
As the training continued, I saw through [Psychological Insight] that White was filled with ‘admiration’. It seems I looked impressive to her for rapidly growing through such repeated hardships.
‘Though I rely on Status Window.’
Without the Status Window, I would have certainly hit my limits. I don’t deserve such admiration.
On the other hand, White had not yet undergone proper training. Once she really got rolling, she had ample potential to grow to great heights.
After all, the blood of royalty was not in vain.
Moreover, White’s hidden power was also a key that could sway the 「Fairy War」. There was a reason why her death directly led to a bad ending.
‘I can’t do this without White.’
I intended to grow White, protect her, and defeat any enemy to prevent a bad ending at all costs.
Additionally, I could benefit from exposure to the mana she emanated, like a plant photosynthesizing in the sunlight. To become stronger more efficiently, I needed her.
“Um, Senior Isaac. Is there anything you want?”
“Anything I want? Why are you asking all of a sudden?”
That’s unexpected.
“I’m in a position where I have to rely on gel, so I can’t give much right now… but I still want to repay you someday. Thanks to you, I’m getting stronger!”
“Oh, if that’s the case, there’s something I’d like to ask for.”
“Puhuh! You didn’t hesitate at all…!”
There was no need to refuse. I too had to take what I could get.
“Go ahead and ask. I’ll grant what I can. What is it?”
“Just occasionally.”
I pointed at Merlin Astrea, White’s escort knight.
“Lend me this person for a while.”
Merlin Astrea.
She was the daughter of the Sword Saint and a genius in weaponry. As mentioned earlier, if I were to receive swordsmanship training from her, I could freely handle the Obsidian Blade’s skill. Truly the best teacher.
Ah, it would be good to learn some basic scythe skills during this opportunity. I should focus on magic training, so I couldn’t invest much in weaponry, but still.
“Ah, Merlin? Of course… What? Wait, you can’t do that…!!”
White was horrified, and Merlin looked at me with a contemptuous expression.
…It’s not what you’re thinking. Please don’t misunderstand.
* * *
“He seems to be having fun…”
Atop the Märchen Academy building, a girl wearing a witch’s hat perched precariously on the railing. Pressing down her hat, she grumbled while looking towards the Hydrangea Garden.
Her long, violet hair, tied only at the ends, fluttered in the spring breeze, reflecting the hues of the sunset.
It was Dorothy Heartnova.
[Why don’t you just go and talk to him?]
When Ella, a white cat familiar lying beside her, asked this, Dorothy shook her head and dangled her legs.
“A mentoring system? I’ve heard they have something like that. I can’t disturb the President. Moreover, with the mentee being a princess, how can I… mess with her”
[You’ve become too timid. Just ask him, ‘Mentee or me?’ and it would be over.]
“Hey cat, if I cause trouble for the President, wouldn’t that be bad?”
[More importantly, since when do you care about status? Isn’t your style more like a headstrong boar?]
Dorothy huffed in derision and smugly placed her hand on her chest.
“How silly, where would you find a lady as demure as me? If you want a metaphor to truly encapsulate my essence, use an elegant swan, not a boar.”
[How fitting. But really, you did become more cautious lately, huh?]
“I’ve always been like that.”
[Full penalty points.]
“Let’s not sweat the small stuff.”
[Not so easily swayed, are you? What, did you have a change of heart because you have to plan a future with Isaac and can’t afford to make any more mistakes?]
“…Nyahaha! Well, wow, what an imagination! To amaze me like that, you’re amazing, Ella!”
I hit the nail on the head. The way she denied it out of embarrassment was nothing short of adorable.
Ella chuckled, and then her face became serious as she got to the main point.
[…But really, what’s the true reason? The reason you’ve been secretly watching Isaac lately.]
Dorothy turned her head again towards Isaac.
He was walking out of the Hydrangea Garden, chatting amiably with Princess Snow White and the escort knight Merlin Astrea.
“I sense something strange going on around the President.”
A prodigy said to have received the blessings of the Supreme Lord Manhalla. The chosen girl who made a contract with Stella, the fairy of the stars.
Dorothy’s mana perception was far superior to that of most geniuses.
She possessed an extraordinarily keen sense that allowed her to detect unknown dangers to a certain extent. It was similar to how she had intuitively sensed the arrival of The Floating Island last semester.
“I have a feeling that something is targeting the President. If it’s dangerous… I’ll have to deal with it.”
Isaac was a very special existence to Dorothy.
She even owed him her life, so she was prepared to face death for him.
If there indeed was a being intending to harm him as she sensed.
Dorothy was ready to overturn anything, whether it be the academy, authority, or the world, to prioritize protecting Isaac.
Ella sighed.
[You’re such a romanticist.]
“Puhuh! S-such a funny thing to say, really!”
At Ella’s words, Dorothy blushed and was greatly flustered. Her serious demeanor didn’t last even 30 seconds.
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