Chapter 96. < 38. I am the Best Disciple (2) >
"……That's how it happened."
"Mhm, mhm! That's how it happened!"
"......."
Lumian's explanation ended. The baby dragon that had been flying around distractingly nearby repeated his words exactly.
Tania still wore a dazed expression as she processed Lumian's words.
'So Lumian also thought this guy was just a parrot, and then after that incident, the kid revealed his identity and apologized?'
Lumian accepted the apology, and they became friends after that.
And now the dragon wanted to be friends with her too?
"What, so it's really a dragon?"
"It is a dragon! For real!"
"No, what dragon reveals its identity so easily? Isn't it a legendary creature?"
"It is! I'm a legendary creature!"
BOOM!
Semu, who had shouted loudly, enlarged his body.
He had grown about a handspan taller than when he was foal-sized. The creature stood on two legs with arms crossed, wearing what he thought was his most dignified expression.
Of course, to Tania's eyes, he only looked cute.
She looked at Lumian.
"What other creature besides a dragon can change its appearance so freely?"
"......."
"It can speak human language too. I even went to its home last weekend. It's really a dragon."
"Haa, I'm not dreaming, am I? Me?"
"No, you're not."
Lumian said. But Tania still felt disconnected from reality.
The lingering emotions from breaking through the Lower Gate at age 16 hadn't even faded yet, when something even more absurd happened.
It was so preposterous that she even felt a sense of wariness.
She asked the dragon,
"W-well. I understand you're a dragon."
"Thanks for understanding, Tania!"
"But why did you reveal your identity? Weren't dragons originally a race that lived hidden without showing themselves to humans?"
"Yeah. There are lots of scary humans. I don't show my form to just anyone."
Semu, having said this much, shrank his body again.
Then he shouted in a spirited voice,
"But I trust Tania, so it's okay!"
"……You trust me?"
"Yeah! Tania is a good person. It's dragon intuition! You can trust me! You won't hurt me, right? You'll play with me often, right? You'll be my friend, right?"
The chattering creature suddenly plunged into Tania's chest.
And immediately slipped down and fell between her legs.
It was because her chest was lacking. If there had been curves, it wouldn't have fallen.
Her expression hardened slightly.
Lumian was the same, but he didn't show it. He quickly said,
"The legendary creature says it trusts you, Senior. Don't you feel more confident?"
"Hmm......."
Tania thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
She couldn't say no.
Still confused, not understanding what was happening, too sudden—but somehow it didn't feel bad.
It felt like she had become the protagonist of a novel, or perhaps a myth.
'If a dragon is pestering me to be friends, doesn't that mean I'm quite amazing?'
Suddenly, breaking through the Lower Gate felt like nothing special.
Not in a negative sense.
It felt like this much was nothing, so instead of stopping here, she could climb much higher. It was a childish thought, but that's how it felt.
"Well, if I'm a dragon's friend, I should be at least Expert level in my teens? Should hit Swordmaster in my twenties?"
"That's how it should be."
"Alright. Let's be friends."
"Hehe, I made a friend!"
Semu, who had been wiggling between Tania's crossed legs, beamed.
Despite looking like a lizard, his actions were like a cat's. That made him even cuter. Tania stroked his head.
Lumian watched the scene with a pleased expression.
Until she broke through the Gate, some anxiety had remained, but now Tania's face showed none of that. She looked much brighter, more determined.
He thought it was good he hadn't stopped Semu when the creature had thrown a tantrum about wanting to be friends with Tania. The dragon's utterly guileless innocence seemed like it would be a great help in the future too.
'But let's separate them for now.'
Lumian took out a magic sword from his spatial backpack.
It was the very sword Semu had gifted.
Tania was flustered seeing Lumian suddenly take out a sword. But Semu wasn't.
The creature shouted with an excited expression.
"Wow! It's Flower!"
Swish—
At the same time, a rain of flowers truly fell from the sky.
Tania's face filled with surprise as she murmured,
"It, it really is a dragon. To cast such elaborate illusion magic with just words……."
"……Hmm. That's not it. I did that."
"You did?"
"Yes. It's the magic sword's effect. Semu—oh, Semu is this one's name. Anyway, Semu really likes the flower rain, so to separate him for a moment......"
It was exactly as Lumian said. The creature had escaped from Tania's embrace and was busily moving between the flowers.
"Let's talk while he's distracted."
"About what?"
"Various things. The method of aura manipulation when breaking through the Lower Gate, the interaction between aura and the body……."
"Ah!"
"He'll be distracted for about two hours."
"Alright, wait a moment."
Tania stood up and brought a notebook and pen.
With an expression overflowing with enthusiasm, she said to Lumian,
"Your disciple is ready, Master."
"……What's with this concept?"
"S-shut up. I just wanted to try it once."
Tania's face reddened.
Lumian chuckled and began his explanation. The two moved past the playful atmosphere into a serious one.
"Hehe. So pretty. There are so many kinds too!"
Semu occasionally interjected comments that diverged from their atmosphere, but it didn't matter. Their concentration wasn't shallow enough to be disrupted by that.
But after about an hour passed, trouble was inevitable.
Semu, having grown bored of playing with flower petals, started pestering Lumian.
"Lumian-nim, Lumian-nim!"
"When will you be done?"
"Will 10 minutes work? Or 20 minutes?"
"Tania, can't I play with you while doing this?"
But the two didn't budge.
Semu, getting sulky, poked at Tania's side, but when Lumian made a stern expression, the creature backed away with a dejected look.
With no other choice, Semu had to find something to play with alone.
'Wow, it's really different from Lumian-nim's room!'
Fortunately, this was Tania's room, not Lumian's.
Lumian's room, which the creature had been constantly going in and out of, was now boring. But this place, filled with completely different objects despite having the same spatial structure, was enough to pique his interest.
Semu began comparing various things while thinking of Lumian's room.
'The bed is against the wall the same way……'
'Lumian-nim has blue bedding, but Tania has white bedding!'
'There's a painting hanging on the wall! Lumian-nim's room doesn't have one!'
'There's a vase too! Real flowers. It's fragrant!'
The creature sniffed at the flowers and smiled brightly.
It was very fun. The disappointment about the two not playing with him was already forgotten.
He continued exploring various parts of the room.
Since the two, absorbed in their conversation, didn't pay attention, Semu could wander here and there as if it were his own world. Still, being somewhat considerate, he didn't chatter noisily.
It was when the creature, having looked everywhere, finally crawled under the bed that he suddenly screamed in surprise.
"Waah!"
"Semu, be a little quiet……."
"Lumian-nim! Lumian-nim!"
"What's wrong?"
Lumian, who had been about to scold Semu, looked puzzled as the creature crawled out from under the bed.
Then he raised something high in a victory pose.
"Here! There's the same thing!"
"......."
"......."
It was a lewd book.
In an instant, the atmosphere froze solid.
Semu didn't care.
After opening the book, his eyes sparkled like a scientist who had made a great discovery.
"Oh, no wait! Lumian-nim's book didn't have candles, but here……."
"Stop!"
Tania screamed and pulled Semu away from the book. Then she quickly threw it back under the bed. To a very deep place where arms couldn't reach.
"......."
"......."
"Heh, I wanted to see more."
"Quiet."
"......."
Silence flowed between Tania and Lumian. Semu also became well-behaved after hearing Lumian's words.
Ahem, hem. Lumian cleared his throat and cautiously spoke.
"Certainly, as you said, Senior, these days…… women also look at such things quite often……."
"I, it's a friend's."
"It's okay. You can be honest."
"Shut up! Be quiet!"
Tania threw a pillow.
Lumian dodged it, and Semu, liking the noisy atmosphere, giggled.
On this day, master and disciple came to share two secrets.
A dragon.
And a lewd book.
Though it wasn't intentional, thanks to this, their bond grew even deeper.
***
The morning after breaking through the Lower Gate.
Tania woke from a nightmare.
The nightmare wasn't about monsters or demons or any such terrible creatures. Rather, the dream began with the family she loved so dearly.
Father, mother, and two older brothers.
All of them looked at her with loving expressions and affectionate eyes.
But the words coming from their mouths were not what she wanted to hear.
'Tania, must you really go to the Knight Division?'
'You don't have to push yourself so hard.'
'You have a good head on your shoulders, there's no need to do something so strenuous……'
'I'm just worried you'll get hurt.'
The family's words were filled entirely with worry and concern.
That was understandable. From the perspective of a literary family for generations, they couldn't help but be anxious when their cherished youngest daughter insisted on walking the path of a knight.
Tania understood. That's why she spoke with an even stronger face.
She would do well. They should have expectations.
But inside, she was deeply hurt and struggling.
The words she had wanted to hear were encouragement and praise.
'It was similar even after coming to the Academy.'
The dream hadn't shown only her family. People from when she first entered the Academy also appeared in turn. None of them had any particular expectations for Tania.
'Why did someone from a literary family apply to the Knight Division?'
'Don't know. What could she be thinking……'
'If she needed a hobby, she should have entered society instead of the Academy.'
'She has a decent face, but if she aims for the upper ranks with a sword, won't she run away in terror?'
Students' prejudices poured out.
Even then, Tania endured. She trained hard to show them, and she displayed her talent to prove them wrong.
Thus she finally rose to the top ranks and made many people close their loose lips.
But even so, the prejudice didn't disappear.
Students from knight families ranked in the upper tier, and even the professors, didn't expect any further achievement from her.
'You're doing well enough.'
'Seems she worked quite hard?'
'No need to overdo it. You might burn out trying to sustain it.'
They were certainly compliments. Yet Tania wasn't happy at all.
Ultimately, it was no different. They praised her current achievements as excellent, but no one praised her potential. No one expected anything beyond her current level from her.
As if to say, this much is good enough for you. As if to say, for someone from a literary family, and a woman at that, achieving this much should be satisfying.
And those words, at some point, began to erode Tania's confidence.
Little by little, without her even realizing it.
'It was hard for me, all this time.'
Tania, reflecting on last night's nightmare, let out a bitter smile.
She felt a little sad. The fact that because of so many people who didn't believe in her, eventually even she couldn't believe in herself. That sank her spirits heavily.
But it was okay.
Reality was different from the nightmare.
If it had been until last semester, the two would have been no different, but now that wasn't the case.
She thought of one person.
'Lumian Callad.'
The person who supported her with a presence as solid as a mountain.
The person who believed in her more intensely than anyone, even more than her family. The person who reached out a hand so she could believe in herself.
"Haha."
A laugh escaped her. She rose from bed and prepared to go to the training grounds.
The swordsmanship midterm evaluation was tomorrow. She didn't have the luxury of sleeping in.
Of course, she also wanted to see Lumian.
Tania smiled again and opened the window curtains.
***
Finally, the day of the midterm evaluation arrived.
The third-year swordsmanship professor, Ben Barrett, looked over the students of Class A in turn.
His expression was much brighter than usual.
The senior professor David Karen, who had always meddled in his work, was away on kingdom business.
That meant he could determine this midterm evaluation's results entirely on his own.
"Hehehe."
Barrett laughed darkly as he looked at two students in order.
They were the second-ranked and top-ranked students of the third year.
When looking at the second-ranked, his gaze held favorable feelings; when looking at the top-ranked, his gaze held dismissive ones.
He thought to himself,
'How dare you ignore my words and practice the middle sword, Tania Eloyse?'