Chapter 5: 005 Academy (2)

Ariane was taller than most women, almost reaching six feet. She was not one who you call a wise-ass wizard. One would expect a few wrinkles from an old being like her, but she had none.

Golden hair tied up on her head while a few strands lay on the sides of her almost perfect oval-shaped face. An office gown in black and purple held her body, sleeved up to her elbows. Even though it was plain, she was emitting a demeanour that would ask for respect and revere from even kings and queens.

Walking around a little more, she came back to her seat, dropping the documents on the table. She looked at me once, but said nothing and started preparing tea, pouring from the pot into the cup. She put the tea next, and then it started to warm up, as smoke came out of it. Magic makes mundane work quite convenient, after all.

After preparing one cup, she stopped, and she didn't give me that cup, instead stared at me, sipping in the tea.

Well, I didn't mind, especially when it's from one of the most powerful individuals in the current world. Well, there was no official ranking, but I could easily say she was in the top five.

"How are you feeling?" the head of the academy asked.

"Alive," I said.

"Alive," she repeated. "I reckon you wanted to keep it that way. So you better stop whatever screw-up things you have in your head."

"Well, I intend to have breakfast after this. Should I not then?"

The Defender of the Realm clicked her tongue.

"My head is perfectly fine." I sucked in a deep breath, preparing for what was to come.

Ariane stared at me carefully. "You're lying," she said, "but you do seem saner than usual. I guess a good hit to the head did the trick."

"Madam Ariane," I said, "I have been thinking--"

"You start thinking?" She raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you start doing that?"

"Perhaps after I got hit in the head," I said, giving a dry laugh.

"Then you should have thanked Aria for that," she laughed, and her laugh had more of the liveliness in it. "If I knew this, I would've done that already."

What's up with everyone wanting to hurt my head? Didn't Anne say something like that? I was not sure of the exact words, but my dear sister said something similar to me.

I gave her a flat look. Am I missing something? She seemed somewhat familiar with Ian. Well, Locksmith was once a great house and amassed a lot of wealth, but all of that is past now. As far as I'm concerned, Ian's mother and Ariane had some rivalry between them on becoming the head of the academy. Well, let's see where this goes.

"I've been thinking," I started again. "I think it would be better for me if I take a leave for a couple of months from the academy."

"No," Ariane didn't waste any time.

"No?"

"No," Ariane shook her head. "I need to keep you close to my eyes for some time, and besides, I have a task for you, not to mention the Tower would open after some time. I was still wondering about exterminating your chance to enter the tower this time around, but you look better. Perhaps I'll let you in. You wanted in, right? So you better keep your head steady and your heart ready."

Well, there were still like two and a half months for the tower to open. I figured I would need some time to collect a few things that would be helpful to my growth, but it seemed I won't be able to do that in peace. More importantly, she could stop my entry into the tower. Even though it was mostly fake, there were still a few things there that couldn't be found anywhere else.

Looks like I have to do some bootlicking. Man, I hate that stuff.

"Madam, you're talking about a task?" I asked. This was going where, I suppose it would be, but the talk about the task was something I had not anticipated. Well, I knew I wouldn't get the leave in the first place. It was just a minor trick to make her think, I don't like to stay in the Academy. There are two small benefits to that. First, it would be me being considerate of her orders, which I was not before, so I would gain a little of her trust. Second, as she denied it, she was likely would be slightly less brash about my other proposal if I came with one at a later day.

Also, she mentioned a task. A task straight from a Defender, it got to be meant for something. If I succeed in it, perhaps the trust would rise further.

Ariane said nothing. She finished her tea and stood up. I felt uncomfortable sitting on the chair. I tried to stand up, but my body didn't budge, not even a little. I don't like how she was looking at me right now.

"Sit tide," she said and came before me. Her sapphire eyes stared at me. "You, dear, have inherited too much power."

I frowned. "From my father?" I don't like where this was going.

"And your mother," Ariane continued, and drew her hand to take my arm.

"What?" I asked, acting confusingly, and scared. I didn't have to act, because I'm pretty scared. "What do you mean?"

"Ari and Asi, they're all connected," she said, and a power sparked inside me, surging through me. "You can blame me if you want, but I see it as a necessity now."

I closed my eyes and shook deliberately. I understood what she was trying to do. "Why are you doing this?"

"Someone I owe asked me to do it."

I gulped an uncomfortable breath. "What are you doing to me?" I yelled, knowing exactly what she was doing.

"It's almost done. Don't resist," she said, and the surge of power was lost inside me.

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I can feel them and access them, but it's a lot less than what I was really capable of. She actually sealed the source from me. Well, she did leave a pathway, a tiny hole from where I could manage a trickle, but that's it.

"It's done," she said and walked back. "How do you feel?"

I gasped for breath and drew for the power, the source. I could still touch it, but it's barely a trickle.

"Ian, how do you feel?"

"Weak" I answered and felt a surge of anger undulating inside me.

"I can understand that," Ariane said, returning to her seat, "but you need to get used to it. At least, I find a way."

I jerked in my seat uncomfortably. Could she perhaps know? No, if she know about the Crippled God's power inside me she would absolutely throw me into a dungeon. But perhaps, she found some hints and was not sure. She mentioned someone asked her to do it, who that could be?

"You're wondering who asked me to do this to you," Ariane said. "I don't think you're ready to learn it, but you must know that person doesn't mean to harm you."

"I believe you," I snorted, leaning forward to sit upright. I let out a couple of breaths and calm down. Unconsciously, the respect I showed at first vanished from my voice, and it reduced to scorn with slight anger. "How long are you planning to keep it this way?"

Only after I finished my phrase did I learn the way I spoke those words. Luckily, Ariane didn't seem to care. Just stared at me with . . . a melancholic look?

Now I'm sure I'm missing something. Something big. There was no way such a powerful individual would act like this.

"Madam Ariane," I called, trying to find what I'm missing. "You know my parents personally?"

The defender of the realm raised an eyebrow. "You can say that," she said and sighed without knowing it. "You have much of your father's looks."

I frowned, unsure what to make of this. Looks like I would need to dig it more. Maybe not now.

"About the seal," Ariane opened her lips, "treat it like a test from me and behave well. There is no shortage of people who would like to see your House fall. Again."

"There's not much of it left for it to fall again."

"But there is you," Ariane said and withdrew to her sit. "If you're even half a person of what your father and mother were, you can do great things and even regaining the lost glory of your House is not out of question."

Sounds like mommy and daddy were great people. Well, I knew that, but I wasn't sure she viewed them in such a way.

Anyway, about the seal, it was not permanent, but the one that did this was no less than an Arch Magus, so it's almost permanent. Also, she would know if I somehow managed to break the seal, which was nearly impossible for someone like me.

'Ah, right,' I told, smiling to myself. 'There are plenty of ways to break the seal, but that won't solve the problem. I need to gain her trust first, and I could try to weaken it somehow. Besides, without the contract I had with the great demon, I may really go mad if I keep drawing the power. Gosh, I hate depending on others.'

"I know it's hard for you," Ariane said. "I have seen hundreds of youth like you. They think they lost everything after this, but it's not like that. You can still find greatness. There is a whole world before your eyes."

As she was trying to motivate me, something else was brewing in my head. I guess she was right to call my head screwed, after all. 'Fooling an Arch Magus,' I thought as my eyes were drawn towards Ariane again. Her face showed no wrinkles of age, but this being was more than two hundred years old and who knew how many centuries she would live.

'I guess I'll have fun fooling you.'

"Times are changing," Ariane said, looking at the pendulum clock on the wall. "Civilisation is progressing, and it's progressing fast. Maybe the day was not that far when magic and sorcery would just be the faint remembrances of the past."

I stood up. "Can I go now?" I asked.

"Here, take this," the head of the academy said as an envelope from the document she was reading before flew towards me.

"Is this about the task?" I asked, looking at the envelope.

"Yes," she said. "Don't worry, you won't need to fight, nor you're doing this for free. You know, those newly developed suits that let you manipulate gravity?"

"You mean those Lavis Primacy Knight Suits?" I asked, as my eyes sparkled a little.

"Yes, those," Ariane nodded. "If you do as I say and succeed in the task, perhaps you would be able to fly in one of those soon."

I raised an eyebrow. "This task of yours," I asked, "I'm beginning to think, is not so simple."

"Your part is simple, but not others'," the headmistress said. "Now, leave. Also, I forgot to mention you're demoted to the freshmen year for all your misdeeds."

"What?" I almost shouted. "You cannot do that, I--"

Before I could complete my sentence, the door opened, and my body jerked out of the room. I got out and then the door closed. The message was obvious.

This was her academy. She could literally do whatever the hell she wanted.

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