Dragonlord

Ep 31. You’re A What? (1)

Ep 31. You're A What? (1)

A student leisurely seated herself in class, listening to the ongoing lecture. Her blank stare and powerless expression were trying to filter out all the quiet chatter going on in the background as she comfortably rested her chin on one hand, but the kitten ears poking out of her long, grey hair would perk up every so often when she heard the name of her peer. She’d then uncomfortably shift her gaze to the seat on her left, where a strange white-haired individual was soundly sleeping in.

‘…My name is Light Torin. It’s a little embarrassing to say this myself, but I’m pretty talented. I have naturally high affinities in three whole elements to begin with, and because I learn things quickly, everyone said that I was a gifted child. A professor at the institute’s always lived next door, so I learned a lot ever since I could, and enrolled at the Magic Institute when I was only…how old was I supposed to be again back then? Thirteen? And now I’m already going through my third-year classes.’

Once again, her ears would pick up the familiar name being spoken behind her: Zion this, Zion that. And the occasional headmaster this, headmaster that.

‘But ever since yesterday, some crazy student has been the talk of the school. Everyone’s been saying his name: ‘Zion.’ No last name, no well-known family, just…some weird person that apparently skipped their entire first and second years. And Twelve bless my dear soul, because it turns out he’s the person sitting beside me right now.’

“Zzz…”

“…”

‘Seriously, all these seats and this is the one he picked?! And I thought the rumored student was supposed to be a boy, but this person hardly looks like one, he just looks like a chestless girl! And he’s sleeping in class. Aren’t smart kids supposed to be the ones that never sleep? What’s wrong with him? And the weirder thing is, the professor doesn’t even seem to care that he’s asleep.’

Light slowly brought her finger to her sleeping peer, poking at their pillowed arm.

“Hey…hey, you. Wake up.”

The dragonlord stirred awake, faster than she had before. Hardly anyone had dared to wake her up in her previous classes, and when they did, it was for one reason only.

“…Mnh?...Is it another exam?”

“Exam? No, I just wanted to ask you something…you are Zion, right? That student who passed that weird advancement exam?”

“…That would be me, yes.”

“Did you really beat the headmaster in a duel? That’s just a rumor, right?”

“If that outcome was only a rumor, how would I be here, child? I’m here because it’s true.”

“…Eh?”

“Was that your only question?”

“Wait, you actually…won? What circle are you?”

Serenis scoffed at the follow-up question. She’d been asked this question by practically every student that had struck a conversation with her since the outcome of her mock duel against the archmage; humans really did like putting a rank to everything.

“50.”

Light’s ears drooped down. She squinted her eyes in confusion, wondering where that response was even coming from.

‘How is he BS’ing with such a straight face?’

The cat half rolled her eyes. Clearly, her neighbor wasn’t too keen on telling her what circle they actually were.

“…Sure. I guess you did somehow win in the end.”

“I did not ‘somehow win in the end’, I simply won. It isn’t a difficult task.”

Light beamed back a bright smile at the dragonlord. She could feel her sanity letting go of something important, but it was probably wiser not to dwell on it too much.

‘Mmk, so he’s a total dick. But that’s normal for a genius, right?...Can’t hurt to be nice, sheesh.’

“Right, right…um, I’m Light! Light Torin. Nice to meet you.”

“Zion. Now, good night.”

After her short, redundant introduction, the dragon simply folded her arms, buried her head, and went back to sleep. Light was about to chat up her peer, but her plans were instantly foiled as the odd student went straight back to dreamland, preventing her from conversing or asking about their day or anything of that sort.

The half girl was still smiling, but she could almost hear something snapping inside her head. Then, Light raised her hand into the air, which the instructor would soon take notice of.

“Oh? Have a question there, Ms. Torin?”

“Professor, the person beside me is sleeping.”

“…”

The instructor uncomfortably shifted his gaze to the seat beside Light’s. True to her words, the student beside her was fast asleep – and truth be told, the instructor had noticed it a long, long time ago. He’d done nothing about it until now, and he wasn’t about to do anything starting now, either.

‘What in hell’s name am I supposed to do against someone who bests Gio in a fight? I watched the entire thing, that student shouldn’t even be in a school.’

“…Let’s just leave him be, shall we? We’ve lots of material to cover. Now, focus.”

“…”

As the instructor continued his lecture, Light once again scanned the strange student sitting beside her.

Then, she crossed her arms on the desk in a similar fashion and buried her head in her arms, mimicking what he was doing.

Good night.

✧   ✧   ✧

“…I can’t believe I got penalty points for sleeping in class.”

“…”

“…And I can’t believe YOU didn’t get penalty points for sleeping in class.”

“…”

“Oh come on, say something!”

“Would you like me to respond? I wasn’t certain.”

The cat half was angrily trailing after Serenis who was trying her hardest not to pay any attention to the stalking student.

After being advanced into senior classes, Karas had practically remade the dragonlord’s schedule; she was merely attending classes according to what the professor had written out for her on paper. But Light steadily followed along, even when Serenis arrived at her next class.

And the half girl seemed rather perplexed about it.

“Wait…you’re in this class too?”

“Apparently so. I’m only going to classes I was told to go to.”

“Eh? You didn’t pick your own classes?”

“No.”

“Who did then?”

“An instructor. I believe his name is Karas.”

As the dragonlord seated herself once again into an empty corner, Light followed after her, sitting right by the dragon’s side. The evident stress in her expression was mostly gone, now replaced with curiosity and interest.

“Really? You know Professor Karas too? Personally?”

“Somewhat.”

“Huh…if you’re his friend, then I guess you can’t be all that bad after all. He lives next door to me! I knew him for a really long time.”

“…I see.”

“Did you know I actually thought he was a monster when I first saw him? Like, how can someone look like that? I’m a half too, but I’ve never seen someone with an animal HEAD! And a long time ago, he actually used to…”

As the kitten began to chat on and on and on about her past troubles and memories with the crow professor, Serenis’ ears began to filter out a majority of what she was hearing. Most of it were idle chitchat, and while she would gladly listen to a hatchling’s fervent chatter, she could hardly bring herself to do the same with non-dragonkin. She was still nodding along as social customs would dictate, but that was the dragonlord’s limit.

“…You seem to know a lot, clearly.”

“Of course I do! A bunch of people say I’m gifted, you know!”

“That isn’t exactly what I meant to say…ah, then perhaps you know this story as well. Do you know anything about the deity of mana hiding amongst the students?”

“Huh? Ohh, so you’re into those types of stories! Sure I do! The seniors told me a while back, but they say that the deity only reveals their true self to the super-exceptional students to test their skills. I heard that the deity either blesses or curses you depending on how you do on that test.”

“Sounds like the deity is rather ill-tempered.”

“Haha, I know, right? When this story used to go around, the top-ranking students were actually trying NOT to stand out. Speaking of, I guess you’re in a bit of a pinch if this is true. You stand out more than, like, anyone right now.”

“…I do? Why?”

“Why? What do you mean ‘why’…? It hasn’t even been a month since you enrolled, and you’re in your third year already. Everyone’s talking about how you bested the headmaster in a duel. And you sleep in class…kinda look like a girl, to be honest…you talk funny…gee, I could go on forever.”

“So this wasn’t the norm?”

“…? Of course not.”

“…I see.”

As their conversation drew to a close, the lecture hall’s door opened to reveal a familiar professor walking in, his pitch-black feathers lightly fluttering in his steps. Light immediately shifted her attention over to the professor and waved her arms, to which Karas returned a brief nod to.

“Now now, settle down. Time to begin class.”

And another day, at another class…

“Huh? You’re in this class too?”

“Apparently so.”

“Really? Huh, that’s three classes in a row.”

And yet another class…

“Hm.”

“Seriously? Again? You said Professor Karas made your schedule, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“That’s your schedule, right? Gimme that for a sec.”

Light snatched the piece of paper Serenis was holding, briefly skimming the classes marked on it. She didn’t need to stare at it long; it was quite a familiar schedule, anyways.

“What the heck…four of your classes are same as mine? The only one that’s different is your elective. I took History of Magic already.”

“I apologize if you find it bothersome. I’ll stay away if I can.”

“Huh? No no, it’s nothing like that! I just…find it a tad…weird…oh, professor’s here.”

Once again, the lecture hall’s door would open to as Karas walked in once more. He scanned the room to find Light and Serenis sitting together still, which was a pleasant surprise – it was nice to have his two closest students get along.

‘Hm, they seem to be getting along. I suppose that was to be expected, though it’s a pleasant finding nonetheless. But…’

Karas’ eyes looked away as he felt two pairs of intangible lasers shooting straight through his head. The two students were staring at him in unison; if eyes could talk, they would probably be saying ‘What’s wrong with you?’ to the professor right about now.

‘…Surely I’m imagining things.’

Or maybe they’re just getting along that well.