21 – Interacting with Disciples

「Even so, Master noticed me right away!」Xenovia says happily.

「How did you come to that conclusion?」

「Because even though I hugged you from behind, you didn’t put up your guard」

「I see」

I guess she is trying to say, my disciples are the only ones who can hug me without me being wary.

Though now, Saria is also part of that list.

「Xenovia hasn’t changed at all」

「Saying I still look so young, Master is still such a flatterer」

I never said ‘young’ and it wasn’t intended to be a compliment either.

Since she is an elf, looking young isn’t exactly a special thing.

Nevertheless, Xenovia is so happy that she even begins to shed tears.

When Xenovia was a child, I used to pat her head.

Now that our positions are reversed, I have to stand on my tiptoes.

「Oooh…, this is so nostalgic, oooh…」

I pat her thinking she would stop crying but she started wailing instead.

「Yes, this does feel nostalgic」 I say and continue to pat Xenovia.

「Brings back old memories」 says Milt.

「Milt has grown old too」

「Yes, it has been one hundred years since then」

One ages slowly when their magic is of high quality and abundant in amount.

That’s why, even though Milt is nearing the one hundred twenty years mark, he looks closer to being in the seventies or maybe even the sixties.

In other words, the aging rate of Milt is about half of normal.

「You look almost the same as I did in my last years」

「…Hearing that from you makes me happy, Master」

「It’s the results of your efforts, Milt. I can clearly see that you have persevered since then」

「…Thank you very much」

「Moreover, the idea of a love-value measuring device is wonderful」

「…yes…yes, thank you very much」

Milt also began to cry out and shed tears.

Well I can’t help it, so I pat Milt’s head too.

While patting them both, I recall the memories from when they were kids.

They were both crybabies, and used to cry all the time.

I continue to gently pat them till they both calm down.

In the meantime, RunRun and Fluffy seems to have put down their guard.

After crying for a while, Xenovia says embarrassed,

「Master, I have acted unbefitting of my age」

「No, don’t worry. It brought back old memories」

「That is embarrassing」 says Xenovia while blushing.

「Oh yeah, I want to hear all about your present-day circumstances!」

「Ah please, I only know as much as an ordinary eight year old about the present era」

「It would be a good tea time story …」

Xenovia prompts me to sit on the couch. It is a very comfortable couch.

RunRun sits at my feet while Fluffy is still on my shoulder.

「Let me serve you tea and sweets」

「It’s alright, you don’t have to」

「I want to have tea with my Master」

It’s hard to refuse when she puts it that way. After all, it’s our first reunion in a hundred years.

I want to reconnect with my disciples too.

I eat the sweets while drinking the tea prepared by Xenovia and Milt.

「Sniff—Sniff—」, RunRun imperiously raises his chin to the top of the table.

「Pigipi」

Fluffy also starts to wiggle incessantly on my shoulder.

「Well, will you guys be alright?」

It is said that, feeding human food to dogs is unwise.

However, since RunRun is a god-beast, he will probably be alright.

And Fluffy is a slime, so it’s basically alright for it to eat anything organic.

「Xenovia, Milt. Can I share the sweets with RunRun and Fluffy?」

「Yes of course」

「May as well」

I got their approval, so I share the sweets with RunRun and Fluffy.

They both ate the sweets seeming overjoyed.

「I shall prepare souvenirs for Master’s sister too」

「I’m grateful」

At the same time, I ask about something I was worried about.

「Arti is Xenovia’s disciple right?」

「Yes, she is a very talented girl」

「Well, even if she is your disciple, it’s a pity to let her dispose of all the filth alone」

「No Master, you are mistaken about that」

「Mistaken?」

When I tried to clean the mess made by the scions, Xenovia said it was unnecessary.

「I have developed and deployed many personal cleaning golems in this academy」

「So Arti merely has to push a switch to take care of the cleaning」

That’s good to hear. It seems that my disciples do not burden Arti with all the miscellaneous chores such as filth disposal.

「I see. I guess I did something unnecessary」

「Not at all, I am so glad to see Master’s magic after so long」

Both Xenovia and Milt seem happy.

「By the way, what are Regina and Dion doing now?」

Regina the Hero, and Dion the Healer, are also my disciples.

「Regina and Dion are currently far away at work」

「I will report about Master’s reincarnation right after this, so you should be able to meet them soon」

「I’m looking forward to it」

And then, I remember something important.

「Oh, I almost forgot that I was a candidate too. Is it almost time for the written exam to end?」

「Yes, it’s about time to move on to the practical exam」

「I heard writing is not that important, but… it would be bad to skip practical too」

There is a candidate from a rural village who can’t read a word, but is an expert marksman.

So writing is hardly considered for passing.

Arti said the written exam is used as a reference for the teaching plan after passing the entrance exam.

「Ah, no need to worry. Master has already passed the exams」 Xenovia says with a smile.

Apparently, I have already passed.