Chapter 282: Fatalism

The sunset sky was dyed in a distinct pink hue.

I was walking through the Hydrangea Garden, lost in thought.

From what I observed, Vuel led a seemingly normal life. He greeted me warmly and often engaged in light chatter. It was all superficial, though.

The quality of his lectures was excellent. On the surface, he seemed like a perfect part-time instructor.

It seemed unlikely that anything would happen immediately. Given his ultimate goal, doing anything suspicious here would be a bad move.

It looks like Professor Philip is fine too...

Using [Clairvoyance], I confirmed that Professor Philip Meltron was safe. I had a rough idea of where the main NPCs lived in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, which helped.

Anyway, Märchen Academy had hastily brought in a part-time instructor to fill in for Professor Philip. I needed to find out if this was all part of Vuel’s plan or if he just got lucky with the timing.

I must keep the Hegel Magic Tower incident a secret.

I had to thoroughly conceal any potential weaknesses.

The day I spoke with Vuel, I sent a letter to Aria Lilias, the Tower Master of Hegel, explaining my situation and that I wouldn’t be able to visit for a while. I added a note to burn the letter immediately after reading it. Hilde confirmed the letter was delivered safely.

I couldn’t afford to let my guard down until Vuel was defeated.

“Senior Isaac, what brings you here?”

“...What happened to you?”

I arrived at a corner of the Hydrangea Garden.

White, in her uniform, greeted me looking like a drenched rat. She smiled blankly, looking extremely proud.

“Welcome, Sir Isaac. There was a little accident.”

Merlin pulled out a blanket she had prepared and draped it over White’s shoulders.

“An accident?”

I used [Rock Generation] to quickly make a chair and sat down.

White responded confidently, “Listen! I successfully cast [Twin Gale Fang]...! Just a little bit, though!”

“It made a faint breeze, barely noticeable, and then she collapsed from the strain, falling into the lake.”

“Uhh...!”

White blushed and puffed her cheeks in annoyance at Merlin, shaking her fists up and down furiously.

She wanted to protest but couldn’t bring herself to use harsh words.

Merlin calmly responded, “Don’t you think it’s better to tell your mentor the objective truth?”

I, on the other hand, was a bit surprised.

“Already?”

“What?”

[Twin Gale Fang] was essentially a mid-tier 4-star wind spell, very close to the actual 5-star wind spell.

She could already produce a small breeze as faint as a fart.

She’s progressing faster than I thought.

It was good news.

“Can you try it again?”

White replied confidently, “Yes. It doesn’t consume much mana, so I think I can do it!”

If the spell didn’t fully manifest, it would have consumed less mana, but there would have still been some unnecessary mana expenditure.

“Just a moment, Merlin.”

White walked over to the lake, extended her right arm, and gathered her mana.

A magic circle formed in front of her hand.

The composition of the magic circle was decent. Although there were some rough spots, she definitely managed to calculate and deploy the magic circle for [Twin Gale Fang]. �

“Huph!”

White clenched her mouth shut and let out a determined shout.

Pooooong...!

Two streams of light green wind extended from White’s hand,

They attempted to shoot forward sharply like blades but soon lost momentum. Eventually, the wind mana quickly dissipated.

It wasn’t yet at a practical level. However, the fact that she managed to cast [Twin Gale Fang] was clear.

“He

White smiled brightly at me, but she seemed to have strained herself mentally and was about to collapse.

Before Merlin could step forward to support her, I got up from the stone chair and used shadow step.

Thud.

“That’s amazing...!”

White seemed excited, imagining herself using 5-star wind magic.

There was no better motivation than a beautiful demonstration.

“Oh, Senior Isaac, what was it like when you first learned 5-star ice magic? Tell me what you liked about it.”

White seemed to be asking this to better visualize herself using such magic.

What I liked, huh...

“...When I first learned it, I liked that it felt like a finishing move. The power difference compared to 4-star magic is significant.”

“Ohhhh! And now?”

“Now... it’s good for dealing solid hits when I’m fighting someone.”

“Oh... oh?”

White was impressed but then tilted her head in confusion.

***“Are you all dried off?”

“Yes!”

White used wind magic to dry her clothes. By now, the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon.

I approached White and extended my right hand.

“Ugh, I guess we have to do it, huh...?”

White was reluctant but knew it was a practical training method, so she couldn’t refuse.

She wasn’t in a position to complain since it was something we agreed to in exchange for repaying the debt.

White placed her hand against mine.

“What are you doing?”

For some reason, White wasn’t channeling her mana and was just staring at me.

The natural mana lingering over the lake cast a radiant light on White’s serene face.

White cautiously asked a question, “Senior Isaac, if we hadn’t met through mentoring... what would have happened to us? I’m curious what you think since you’re such an amazing person and all...”

It was sudden, but... everyone had such thoughts occasionally. It wasn’t strange.

I didn’t ask why she was asking.

“...If we hadn’t met through mentoring, I think we would have met in some other way.”

“Some other way?”

Anyway, I would have gotten involved with White to clear the scenario.

Explaining that would be difficult, so I concocted a plausible lie.

“I believe that people who are meant to meet will meet somehow. I think we would have crossed paths regardless.”

“...”

“Why do you ask?”

“That’s surprising. I didn’t think you’re a fatalist.”

“I don’t know why that’s surprising... What about you? Are you a fatalist?”

Ah, right.

I regretted saying it. Fate might not be a word White liked.

Considering her past, where her biological mother tried to assassinate her as part of her fate, it would sound quite cruel.

“Well, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to...”

“I wasn’t, but now I’ve changed my mind.”

White began channeling mana into the hand she placed against mine.

I responded by channeling my own mana.

“Fatalism isn’t so bad.”

White smiled brightly.

“...Is that so?”

At that moment, I felt my mana circuits pulsate. It was a strange sensation.

Then, a system window appeared before my eyes.

[You have absorbed a significant amount of the Fairy Nix’s mana!]

[You have acquired the unique trait [Nightfalls’ Edge]!]