WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 112

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Professor Irian was a dragon. She had admitted it herself, so it was probably safe to call it a fact. A month had passed since Professor revealed her identity to me. In that time, another treasure held its lecture.

It still did not feel real that Professor was a dragon. The others probably would not believe it easily either. That was how shocking, and how astonishing, the secret she had carried was.

But just as she had said, nothing much changed in the tower. The secret that she was a dragon was known only to me and Mira. I had no reason to go out of my way to tell anyone else.

The people wTo knew this secret had to be extremely few. Professor Heisen suddenly came to mind, along with the way he had warned me over and over. The things he had told me still lingered faintly in my head.

Carve Professor Irian’s grace into your soul, and devote yourself to her with absolute sincerity. Even if it costs your life, move and live only for her sake.

Back then, I had not known why he was telling me such things. But now, I understood the warning, no, the advice he had given me.

A chance to remain beside a higher species like a dragon would not come easily. Professor Heisen clearly knew about her identity too.

Gratitude toward him rose in me. Thinking back, Professor Heisen had helped me quite a lot as well. Someday, I would have to repay that grace too.

Then how had he learned Professor’s identity? Had Professor Heisen also received help from Professor Irian? That was something I could not know. It was also something I did not need to know.

I simply had to do as Professor Heisen advised and devote myself to her alone with all sincerity. With that thought, I looked at Professor Irian and steadied my heart.

She was staring blankly out the window. Beyond that wide window, the first thing I saw was the sun hanging in the very center of the sky. As if announcing the current time, it poured bright light and magical power in every direction.

Bathed in that light, Professor seemed to have a dazzling halo around her. I looked at her and quietly nodded. As expected, she overflowed with a dignity worthy of a dragon. I watched her and quietly cleared the table.

Had today’s meal satisfied her as well? I looked at the empty dishes and smiled. When I picked one up, a cool chill climbed up my hand. It was a dish made solely to hold this particular meal.

What I had prepared this time was yukhoe made from frost serpent. To preserve the texture, I had shaved ice into thin sheets and made a dish from them, then carved circuits into it so the cold would linger even more strongly on the plate.

It seemed that effort had paid off. She had emptied several plates like this and enjoyed the taste. Then it was time to bring out the dessert.

I quietly placed a teacup in front of her. After pouring in the tea, I placed a small pudding on top. It had been made by processing magical power extracted from a frost serpent at a low temperature.

The pudding loosened like a serpent and stirred through the teacup. Then, along with an intense fragrance, cool magical power began rising from the cup. Professor’s gaze naturally turned toward the teacup.

I looked at Professor and smiled. Just as she had said, nothing had changed in the tower. But there was one thing that had changed. My state of mind.

As I knew, and as she knew, the attraction we felt toward each other had originally come from the treasure’s magical power. But what filled my chest now could be called natural loyalty toward her.

When I thought about it, she had quite literally taken care of everything for me. Thanks to her, I came to the university, climbed floors, and even received the position of storehouse keeper. They were all far more than a wandering mage deserved.

No wonder my affection for Professor had grown so vigorously from the first time I met her. Yes, from the moment I first saw her, I had noticed she was an existence completely different from other mages. That was right. Mm. I nodded to myself.

So I had to put that gratitude into my actions. I opened my eyes wide and watched Professor’s every move, just in case there was anything that made her uncomfortable.

Professor quietly lifted the teacup. Then she sipped the tea. A small smile appeared on her face. At the same time, her foot tapped the floor with a light little bounce. She seemed to like the tea.

It was a gesture so cute that it was hard to believe she was a dragon. I quietly imagined her true body. I had never seen it, but perhaps it boasted a size as enormous as this tower. Such an existence was contained inside that body.

Of course, from the outside, she was only an extremely cute girl. That flesh was identical to that of a human girl. Because of that, I could not know what the true body inside her looked like either.

I had wondered if that was a kind of avatar, and her true body was somewhere else. But I soon learned that was not the case.

After hearing that she was a dragon, I had collected all kinds of traces from her. hhings like saliva and hair. How could I resist an opportunity to obtain dragon byproducts?

But that was an ordinary human body. In a way, it was the same as that of weeds. There were no foreign materials like a tree. That body itself was wholly her flesh, and it was her very self.

She had undergone a kind of metamorphosis. It was extremely surprising too. Changing the nature of a dragon into the nature of a human was practically a kind of transformation.

As expected of a dragon. I had no choice but to follow her. And while I was following her, I could pick up a few crumbs as well.

Professor stopped drinking her tea and glanced at me. Then she let out a small sigh. She put the teacup down, rested her chin lightly on her hand, and frowned. I could see a bit of annoyance in her eyes.

“I always tell you this, but don’t stare at me like that.”

At those words, I placed a hand on my chest and lowered my head. Apology filled me. How could this be? I had not noticed. To think I had been staring at her that much.

“I apologize. Just looking at Professor like this makes me happy, so I could not help myself.”

“I’m sure I fixed your head properly, so why are you like this...?”

Professor let out an even deeper sigh. Then she shook her head slightly and lifted the teacup again.

I quietly felt around my head. I could sense golden magical power wavering inside it. It had settled on one side of my head and was loosely woven like a net.

It was a sealing spell Professor had engraved. When I kept worshiping her because I had been contaminated by the treasure’s magical power, she had left it in my head in annoyance.

The magic created that way blocked the magical power digging into my brain. Thanks to that, my mind was cleaner than before. The attraction toward her no longer had much effect.

This too could be called a fortunate encounter. The effects of this golden net and the key now fully protected my mind and strengthened that barrier. And that fortunate encounter had come from Professor.

That was why I followed her even more. When she had engraved such rare magic for me, how could I not follow her? Naturally, I had no choice but to worship her.

“Since we are on the topic of heads, I will tidy Professor’s hair a little. Please relax again today.”

I said that and smiled brightly at her. Professor glared at me with a sour look.

“Lately, I feel like you’ve been treating me too casually.”

At those words, the magical power around her rippled faintly. A little suspicion leaked out from within it. I hurriedly bowed deeply.

“What do you mean? I simply respect and follow Professor from the depths of my heart.”

“...You’re really strange. Something feels suspicious.”

Professor muttered that while touching the teacup. Even so, she was naturally leaning back in her chair. It was the result of steadily working for her sake all this time. I quietly approached her.

“Then please excuse me for a moment.”

Saying that, I took a comb from my chest. Professor glanced at it, then closed her eyes. I carefully touched her hair. Golden light flowed down like silk from my fingertips.

With a reverent heart, I slowly arranged it. The magic from the comb seeped into her hair and began bringing out its luster even more. Professor quietly entrusted herself to my touch.

Today, I planned to braid her hair. I would do it in a neat style that suited her well. Like that, I slowly tidied her hair.

This was something Butler had done before. But right now, he had something to do in my place. I glanced at him. I saw him quietly close his eyes and raise magical power.

The first thing that caught my eye was that face resembling a dragon. I had simply thought it was Professor’s taste, but now I understood his appearance too. Mm, because she was a dragon.

Butler approached Professor and began resonating with her magical power. That resonance gradually grew, and soon he gathered magical power that originated from her.

In that state, he began gently guiding the flow of magical power. Within it, Professor’s magical power flowed calmly. I saw Professor’s face relax in comfort.

This was a way of relieving magical power fatigue. And it was something only he could do. It had become possible because he was filled with so much of Professor’s magical power.

Within that flow of magical power, I lightly stroked Professor’s hair. The magical power born from that flowed softly along her body.

With it came a soft, low rumble from deep in her throat. It sounded like a cat purring in satisfaction.

Like that, he and I delicately adjusted her with one heart and one mind. Within it, the fatigue lingering in her body and magical power melted away. The suspicion that had lingered on her face melted away with it as well.

In its place, an extremely satisfied look appeared on her face. It was a relief. It meant the service we performed had pleased her.

But my work was not over yet. I moved even more carefully and used various magic to massage her body gently. Then, after wTo knew how much time had passed, Professor snored quietly. She seemed to have fallen asleep.

And that meant today’s schedule with Professor had come to an end. I gave Butler a small nod and slowly left my place. The rest could be left to him.

The moment I left Professor’s room, a smile slipped out on its own.

It was only natural. Today’s harvest had been fairly large too. I lightly tapped the things inside my chest and went down the stairs. I was heading to the workshop on the fourth floor.

When I entered the workshop, one thing caught my eye first. It was the huge cylinder located in the center of the workshop. The moment I saw it, my chest began to flutter.

Inside the glass cylinder, a gray liquid filled it about halfway. It was magical power fluid I had created over the past month by dissolving almost all the magical power I could use.

I quietly checked its level. The amount had decreased quite a bit compared to before I left. I would have to fill it more. That meant the thing inside had absorbed that much.

At that moment, someone softly wrapped around my arm. Before I turned my head, I sensed a deep rose fragrance. Just from that scent, I knew wTo it was right away.

“Hehe, you’re here. How was today?”

I turned my head slightly and looked down at Mira. I saw her meet my eyes and smile faintly. I lightly nodded.

“I think I became a little closer to Professor again today. It is thanks to you, Mira. And there was a bit of a harvest too.”

Saying that, I took a small bundle from my chest. I opened it slightly and showed it to her. Golden threads shone inside it. It was Professor’s hair.

Aside from that, there were many other things inside the bundle. hhings like fingernails I had trimmed a little this time. They had all come from Professor. I looked down at them and smiled with satisfaction.

“You brought more again....”

Mira clicked her tongue lightly. Then she leaned her head against me. hogether with her, I walked toward the cylinder. Then I carefully untied the bundle over the magic circle carved in front of it.

After waiting a moment, magical power from the magic circle stretched toward the bundle. The magical power containing the things inside the bundle slowly began to vibrate. Within that vibration, they turned to powder and seeped into the container.

At the same time, the magical power fluid in the container began to sway. Within that murky current, I glimpsed a small lump. The powder clung to it, increasing its size.

That would become the result of my current assignment. I was sure no one could deny it. At that thought, I smiled faintly. Mira lightly tapped my shoulder.

“Of course, I won’t say anything, but if Irian sees this, she’ll be truly startled, you know? She might get very angry.”

Mira said that. I raised my hand and quickly covered her mouth. Then I swiftly looked around.

No matter how much security magic covered the workshop, Professor could pierce through it as much as she wanted if she set her mind to it. The tower itself was her territory, after all.

The magical power surrounding the workshop was flowing normally. It meant Professor was not watching this place. That was probably why Mira had brought it up too.

I also checked the magic of the container itself. The things inside were hidden in layers within the magical power fluid so Professor would not notice what was inside unless she examined it closely. hhose were functioning properly as well.

Ahem. Reassured, I gave a small cough.

It was as she said. If Professor found out what I was making, she would definitely spew fire from her mouth. Perhaps my soul might be pulled out for the first time in a while too.

I looked at the enormous cylinder in front of me. The small lump wavering inside it was sucking up magical power. It could be called a kind of replica created by gathering traces of Professor.

I had asked Professor several times before about that metamorphosis magic. That process itself was the direction I had to pursue for my assignment.

But according to Professor, it was engraved into the body. Because of that, she could not teach it to me.

When I heard that, a thought flashed through my head. If it was magic engraved into the body, did that not mean I only had to make another body? Then I could put a puppet inside it.

That was what I had created at the end of that thought. It was a method similar to when I had created a puppet resembling Mira before.

“But no matter how I look at this, I don’t think it’s the direction the assignment was aiming for.”

Mira said that. I glanced at her. I had felt that a little too. Stealing a dragon’s method. Professor On probably had not imagined something like this.

“Ahem. No matter which path I take, isn’t it fine as long as I succeed in the end?”

I quietly scratched my cheek. Mm... Even in my own opinion, I had made this matter a bit too large. But I was a mage too. The desire to know had naturally led me along.

Well, that was probably not a real body, so would it not be fine? It would be more accurate to describe that as a kind of flesh puppet than a human body. Its components were all lacking, after all. So it could not be called human flesh.

Besides, even if that was completed, it could not compare to Professor, wTo was a dragon. It would only contain power inferior even to the human girl Professor was currently taking the form of. It was nothing more than a single shell.

But that kind of shell was exactly what I wanted. I looked at the lump that was gradually growing larger, and my eyes shone.

“No matter how I think about it, I’m worried for Irian.”

Mira said that and leaned her head against my chest.

“Well, I won’t be the one getting scolded. Evron doesn’t seem to have any intention of stopping either, so I’ll just enjoy watching from now on.”

Scolded? Surely that would not happen. Surely. I only needed to create the puppet in an instant before Professor noticed. As long as I did not get caught, it would be fine. As long as I did not get caught. I repeated that while suppressing an ominous feeling.

Like that, another month passed, and the day of Professor On’s lecture arrived.

Standing in front of the platform, I looked at the other students. Their eyes were all filled with great interest.

“Then show me your puppet.”

Professor On said. His eyes were full of boredom. I bowed to him and quietly held the one sleeping in my chest.

“Here it is.”

Saying that, I carefully opened my palm. Inside it lay a small girl about the size of my finger. Feeling the light, she rubbed her eyes and sat up. Then she gave a small yawn.

I sent my will to her. Then she lifted both arms and quietly opened her mouth. A small sound slipped out. It was a bleat that went, meeeng. On her back, a small shell was attached.

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