The Academy's Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter

Chapter 309: Attachment

the students returned to märchen academy.

it seemed that news of the incident that occurred in aldreque had already spread to the academy.

the students who had gone to aldreque shared vivid stories with those who had stayed at the academy.

“senior isaac used 9-star ice magic! and he did it three times, all at once!”

“how many people do you think have seen 9-star magic in their lifetime?”

“then, an iron gate appeared in the sky! from it, a colossally huge magic beast burst forth...!”

to anyone who heard it, it would just sound like an exaggerated tale.

however, all the students’ accounts matched, and since there wasn’t anyone in märchen academy who didn’t know who i was, everyone believed it to be true and was amazed.

being human, it was natural for me to feel a sense of pride. but i didn’t like the growing psychological distance between me and the students.

i also met and spoke with priestess miya. since i already knew about mei’s punishment, i didn’t dwell on it.

─ i have something i need to accomplish. i need more support, even if it’s just one more person. it’s for horan, too, so i hope you can help.

─ i owe senior isaac a lot, so of course i will!

the conversation went smoothly without any issues.

i decided to discuss the details later with the rest of the group. until then, i asked her to focus on getting stronger.

miya was a tremendous genius, and she even handled the nine-tailed fox as her familiar, so she was surely going to be a great asset.

“do you feel proud of yourself when people praise you?”

“not really.”

a week after returning to märchen academy, in the evening.

inside a storage shed away from the academy grounds, i met aria lilias, hegel tower master. she had secretly sent me a letter asking to meet here.

it was a makeshift storage shed prepared for patrols, filled with spare magic tools needed for the task. however, it was rarely ever used.

we were leaning against the wall side by side. with the magic tool in my hand, i practiced my mana control and brought up the main topic.

“you came to talk about how to widen the rift, right?”

aria nodded.

“it’s impossible to arbitrarily adjust the timing of widening the rift.”

“then what?”

“we have no choice but to aim for the conditions that will allow us to widen the rift.”

“and what is that?”

aria slightly raised her clenched left hand.

“we are nothing but dust. no matter how much dust stirs up a fuss, it can’t open my fist.”

aria extended that hand toward me.

“try opening it up.”

“...”

i opened aria’s hand.

aria tried to resist by tightening her grip, but since her physical strength was very weak, it was easy to force her hand open.

“if something with immense pressure intervenes like this, it can open the rift.”

with a metaphor this simple, she could have just said it outright...nôv(el)b\\jnn

i didn’t bother saying anything.

“in this case, that force is the ‘netherstorm’.”

“netherstorm?”

“observations indicate that large storms frequently sweep through the nether. most humans would be torn to shreds and killed in less than a second if caught in one, but there’s no doubt that when these storms occur, it’s an opportunity to widen the rift.”

aria looked up into my eyes.

“the storm carries such a massive amount of mana that it can distort space-time, making it possible to weaken and loosen the rift.”

“so, you’re saying the rift can be widened when the netherstorms blow... what about the timing?”

“according to the calculations, the timing is...”

aria’s response left me in a daze for a while.

i instinctively furrowed my brow, and my mouth opened slightly.

“are you okay?”

“...only at that time, right?”

“without a doubt, only then.”

reaching the icy lake was a condition to defeat the evil god without sacrificing dorothy.

if there was a major disruption in the scenario, we’d lose before the evil god even appeared. it was unlikely for round 1 dorothy to not have noticed this.

no matter how full of uncertainty the nether was, as long as i could return properly, the scenario issues could somehow be resolved.

“in other words, the key is whether i can make it back safely.

“i’ll be fine, somehow.”

let’s believe that.

i smiled kindly.

“thank you, teacher.”

“this is research i’m conducting because i want to. it’s not about helping you; it’s just a transaction.”

aria closed her eyes.

“after you’ve been to the depths of the nether, you will tell me everything you saw, heard, and experienced, in full detail”

“of course.”

aria’s desires and my goals aligned, and with our mutual interests matching, there was no better ally than her.

“then, i’ll be on my way.”

“not yet.”

“do you have more to say?”

“not planning to say hello?”

“i’m planning to do my own training soon. if i meet her, all we’ll do is chat, and i don’t have the time to mentor white right now.”

“still, you came to see princess white.”

“yes, well.”

“i heard you looked for princess white and me when you were in aldreque. thank you for your consideration.”

“i don’t think it’s something to be thanked for...”

“no, it is. absolutely.”

her tone was firm as if insisting that i just accept the gratitude.

i just replied, “ah, yes...”

“...though princess white was teary, asking why no one woke her up when lord isaac came, my colleagues were quite troubled.”

“is that so?”

i could imagine it. i felt kind of sorry.

merlin glanced at me with a calm expression.

“as you can see, princess white has awakened a new power. i heard it was you who told her about it. it’s a fairy power, correct?”

“yes, the power of her magic is definitely far beyond what it was before, and it will continue to grow stronger.”

“princess white has vowed that once she can wield that power proficiently, she’ll proudly show it to you, lord isaac. she wants to become even stronger.”

merlin smiled.

“...”

“princess white understands lord isaac in her own way. that’s why, unless you come to see her yourself, she’s trying hard to hold back even if she misses you.”

merlin looked at me.

“so please remember this. princess white has a deep attachment to you, lord isaac.”

i planned to focus on my training to endure the journey to the nether.

that was why i told white, who had just awakened her power, that i no longer had the time to mentor her.

i didn’t consider any self-serving calculations because she wasn’t someone i could bring myself to calculate for. i only said it because i felt guilty.

in such a situation, i thought it would be shameless of me to comfort or encourage her.

indeed...

attachment, huh?

i felt it too.

i felt a deep attachment to the sight of white, focusing intently on her target and sweating with effort.

at first, i was just mentoring her to clear the scenario.

the harder she tried and the stronger she got, the more i ended up feeling proud and affectionate toward her.

“i have something important coming up soon. that’s why i’m focusing on my training.”

i said to merlin.

“today will be the last time i come. i don’t want to break white’s concentration, and i’d feel sorry to interrupt. please tell her i’m looking forward to seeing how much stronger she’ll become next time. right now, i’m not in a position to face her with a clear conscience.”

“...understood. i will respect your wishes.”

as i took a step forward, merlin bowed his head.

“take care.”

and just as i was about to start running again.

“...princess white?”

“senior isaac!”

ah, looks like i got caught.

she must have noticed while looking around when merlin wasn’t there.

i stopped and turned my head. i saw white, her face serious but on the verge of tears.

without hesitation, she ran over and hugged me tightly.

“white...?”

what should i say?

cold sweat trickled down my cheek.

“uh, are we both aware that we smell all sweaty?”

i tried to throw out an awkward joke that came to mind, but white didn’t respond.

i gently tried to pull her away, but she clung to me like glue, finally looking up at me.

her clear eyes were filled with tears, snot ran like a child’s, and her lips quivered.

“whaaaa...! senior isaac...!”

just like before, white whimpered. her sobs sounded awkward and almost comical.

my heart skipped a beat. a rush of emotions welled up inside me.

it didn’t take long to understand the feeling tugging at my heart.

only then did i realize with certainty... i truly cherished this girl.

and before i knew it, my honest feelings slipped out.

“i’m sorry. i should’ve treated you better... i wasn’t enough...”

“w-what kind of ridiculous nonsense is that...? hic...! i m, m-missed you...!”

the chirping of the crickets was drowned out by white’s cries.

white cried out in a stammering voice and fell back into my arms

i gently patted her back.

it might seem quite pitiful to others, but at that point, all i felt was a desire to treat white with even more care.

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