Ep 32. You're A What? (2)

  It was supposed to be aful afternoon. Karas busily flipped through the small pile of assigs he’d issued earlier: an individual refle on the roots of magic.

  Most of the assigs were just as expected, and thus, easy to grade. A signifit majority of the students discussed the deity of mana, and the various ways magic was used during early eras of civilization. The critical few poio historical roots in magical development, but even those were within the realms of what he’d taught, and iably, unsurprising.

  The professor swiftly graded the assigs without pause – until he’d e up on a hat now stood out all too well.

  ‘…Zion. he least surprising, I see.’

  The peculiar student’s handwriting was a strange amalgamation of a messy child’s scribbles and an elderly individual’s antique carvings; in a way, it seemed like two different people fighting to write in their own ways. Although the dragonlord’s life experieeo overshadow the human boy’s, dragons had little reason to write anything, if at all; what few handwriting experiehe dragonlord had were clearly g against the handwriting Zion had practiced for his entire life in that body.

  “Hmm…”

  When the professor moved onto the assig’s tents, his eyes would begin to s every word aer for the first time. The dragonlord’s responses were always intriguing; in fact, what he collected from her every assig was another piece of history he had yet to discover. As an academic, the dragonlord’s memories were practically a treasure trove, and she proved herself no different in this response.

  ‘The ins of mankind’s magic lie in mimicry of the demonkind. It is a mockery to their owage tet its roots and cim the discipline as a gift from the divine.’

  “Hmmmm…”

  Any other student and the professor would’ve thought this response nonsensical, or eveical. To attribute the ins of one of their greatest disciplio a mere mimicry of demons was an unthinkable process of thought.

  But Karas khat this response enpassed a history far surpassing his lecture. While the professor could not teaything beyond the past millennium, the dragonlord’s response enpassed a long-fotten history of their star.

  In appreciation of his new knowledge, Karas would grade the respoh what he felt it deserved most. Not like anyone else will know the response’s tents anyways.

  But before he could tinue his marking, a familiar voice called his name beyond the office door, apanied by several knocks.

  “Professor? I see you for a minute?”

  Karas pushed the pile of assigs aside as he answered the door.

  “e in.”

  The door swung open – a little faster, and a little more violently than he’d normally expect – as his neighbor cat half walked in. The dragonlord was apanying her, which was a weling surprise. At first, anyways.

  “Light. I see Zion’s with you as well. Did you two have something to ask?”

  In respohe half girl walked up to his office desk and smmed down a familiar piece of paper – the one Karas had given Serenis a while ago. It was the renewed schedule after her sudden adva into senior years.

  Karas had known Light for long enough; she’d pick up on his weird little antics every siime.

  “Pro-fes-orrr? you expin what happened here?”

  And he’d pretend i every time, with small hopes of getting away with it.

  “…Expin what, exactly?”

  “Four of his five csses are the exact same as mihe only ohat doesn’t overp is your history css…which I already took! You really don’t have anything to say?”

  “…I simply reended my own csses.”

  “Your csses aren’t the only ohat overp.”

  “…An odd ce, that.”

  “Really? If you’re lying, I’m gonna tell mom to never give you any coffee beans again.”

  Karas visibly fli the threat. He awkwardly cleared his throat, but the cat half’s gre wasn’t growing any lighter.

  “…Really, it’s a ce. The csses I reended just so happeo be the ones you’re in.”

  “He had no clue what mana biology was, and he wasn’t even ied in biology. Why the heck would you reend that to him?”

  “He didn’t know and wasn’t ied, so…I ree in hopes that he’d know aerested.”

  “…That’s…wait, that kinda…makes sense? I think?”

  A quiet ughter escaped Serenis as she listeo the exge between the half girl and the professor. She looked towards her questioning peer, beaming in delight.

  “Simple-minded, aren’t you, child.”

  “Huh? Is that an insult?”

  “No. It’s a pliment.”

  For hatgs. It bees an insult when you grow up.

  “Why the heck do you keep calling me ‘child’? I have a ’s Light! And you’re not even older than me!”

  “I apologize. Light.”

  Light pted for a moment whether her peer was being serious or not, but she soon discarded the thought. A short sigh escaped her small lips as she hahe schedule back to the dragonlord, theurned her gaze back to the half crow sitting in his office chair.

  “Well…if you say so, professor. I thought you were doing something stupid again. Like you wao introduce him to me, but you didn’t know a better way to do it.”

  Karas once again flinched. Visibly.

  Fortunately, Light didn’t catch it; unfortunately, Serenis did. Though, she didn’t bother to ent, simply letting the professor struggle to return a coherent reply.

  “Of…course. No such thing.”

  “Oh, before I go – dad told me to invite you over for dier. He said he needed your help making a new dish or something.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll be right by in the evening then.”

  “Okay. See you ter!”

  After asking what she wanted and delivering the message she was asked, Light turo leave the office with her new friend. Serenis was about to apany Light outside, but was stopped when Karas called the dragonlord by her human name.

  “Ah, Zion. If you could stay a while longer, I’ve more things to discuss with you.”

  The dragonlord returned a brief nod. Light looked betweewo with a quizzical face, w what her new friend and neighbor were up to.

  “…Did he fail his assig or something?”

  The dragonlord couldn’t answer her; it’s not like Serenis knew what happeo those assigs either. It was Karas who immediately shook his head.

  “Hm? No, no. Nothing of that sort.”

  “Then what else are you two up to?”

  “Hm. You see, Zion’s been helping out with a study of mine.”

  “Eh? A study? How e you old me? I help too.”

  “That’s…”

  Karas’ beak momentarily froze up as he realized he’d dug his own grave. The entire research he was doing was something he’d kept secret for a very long time; researto the soul, or reination in general, would cause an uproar amongst academics. Keeping it secret was of utmost importance – even from the person he was doing the research for.

  “Well…the reason why I old you…is…”

  The professor’s eyes rolled over towards the dragonlord. She was staring back at him, but it was clear Serenis wasn’t going to help him out.

  ‘Think, Karas! What’s a discriminatory variable betweewo that could justify my reasons?!’

  A million thoughts brushed past the professor’s mind in split seds as he formuted his response.

  “…Because it’s a study that girls ot help in.”

  Light’s expression crumpled into a ge; even Serenis was grimag at the ued answer.

  “…What?”

  “…”

  Karas maintained silence. Light slowly walked away from the professor in slow steps, and when she reached the door, the half girl abruptly turned around and waved goodbye.

  “Uh…um, have fun with your study! Bye!”

  The door smmed behind her, leaving an awkward silen the air within the office. It was Serenis who broke it after Light was fully gone.

  “Karas.”

  “…Yes?”

  “If this research requires a genuine male, I ot help you.”

  “…”

  ? ? ?

  Light was quietly mung on her pastries while on her way home. After stopping by the markets for a number of ingredients her parents had asked her to buy on the way back, the sun had already begun to set across the e horizons. It was getting te and she was only halfway to home, but it definitely wasn’t because she made unnecessary stops to buy donuts. Nope.

  On another he events from earlier at the institute was still bugging her mind. Even though she’d rushed out of the crow professor’s office herself, Light found herself stantly thinking about what Karas was doing in there with her oddest peer.

  ‘What kind of study are they doing in there? And what does he mean, girls ’t help?!’

  Light’s eyes were glued to the floor as the half girl lost herself in strange(?) hypotheses about what such studies could entail. Her body walked on autopilot for a while until her head bumped into another person, f her ideas to scatter as she backed away.

  “Ow!...Sorry, I wasn’t looking…”

  “Oh, it, it’s no problem. A, as long as you’re, a, a, alive.”

  “Huh?”

  When the half girl raised her gaze, she could see a sy, green-haired man standing before her. He was wearing a dusty b coat caked in dirt, and his u hair and face were clear signs of just how long it’d been since he’d st looked at a mirror. A twisted smile curved his lips beh his crooked gsses, and behind them, a pair of bulging eyes were studying Light like one would an iing toy.

  “H, h, h, hi…have you b, b, been well? D, d, daughter?”

  An ominous shadow crept up Light’s expression as she grimaced at the sight of the man before her. A ditioned fear response began to make her entire body tremble. Her fingers gave away, dropping the groceries onto the floor.

  Light couldn’t even bring herself to shriek. She simply turned around and bolted iher dire, never looking back for a sed.

  “I was j, j, just saying h, hello…”

  The man zily scratched the back of his hair, watg the half girl disappear out of sight. His eyes then fell down to the groceries she’d left, pig them up himself.

  “I…I, I guess I could f, feed this to the…the p, pups…”