Ch.46Into the Master’s Memory (3)

“G-give it to me right now!”

The paper in her pocket disappeared.

By the time Olivia noticed the strange flow of magical power, the paper was already in Melina’s hand. But Olivia didn’t try to take it back.

She just quietly watched.

“……”

Melina hurriedly checked the contents. She kept alternating her gaze between the paper and the air, scribbling something. Golden formulas drawn in the air gradually increased. The formulas continued endlessly. The golden light grew brighter, illuminating the surroundings like a lighthouse.

Then suddenly, Melina’s hand stopped.

That was the extent of knowledge permitted to her.

“More…”

Melina started to speak but stopped. Her throat was parched.

“Show me just a little more. This, this isn’t enough. I can finally see it. Just a little more and I could see…”

Her golden eyes trembled madly.

“You, no. I won’t ask how you know this. I won’t ask who you are. So, so please…”

“Just a little, show me just a little more.”

Melina’s hands trembled. Her posture lowered further. She was someone who would kneel before even an apprentice magician if it meant she could know the truth.

Now her head was almost touching the ground.

A demon disguised as a girl? No, demons cannot reach the truth. Made of desire, they could offer everything else but never the truth.

If demons could show the truth, she would have fallen without a moment’s hesitation.

“Pl-please…”

Thud.

“Stand up.”

Olivia grabbed Melina’s shoulders and lifted her up. Though Melina normally didn’t allow any physical contact, at that moment she had no choice.

Olivia met Melina’s eyes. Melina was slightly taller.

“There, that’s better. Now our eyes are level. From now on when you talk to me, don’t bow your head.”

Olivia gave Melina a reassuring smile. She didn’t know how Melina would interpret this smile, but at least she could infer something about Olivia’s personality.

“Wh-what do you want? I’ll do anything…”

“And stop using formal speech with me. What will others think of me?”

“B-but…”

“Please be comfortable with me. That makes me comfortable too.”

“I under, I underst—I mean, I understand.”

Olivia slowly opened her mouth.

“I have a condition.”

“Y-yes. I’ll agree to anything.”

Melina nodded frantically. She was literally ready to agree to everything. If it was something she could give, she would give it; if it was something she couldn’t give, she would somehow acquire it and offer it.

“I’ll somehow, somehow get it…”

“Stop.”

Olivia lifted Melina’s increasingly lowering head. She straightened her shoulders and posture.

“Act like you normally do. Your expression would be better with a smile, but… we can work on changing that slowly.”

Olivia stroked her own chin.

“Anyway, I have only one condition. Accept me as your disciple.”

“O-of course I accept! Not a slave but a disciple, I can certainly…”

Melina, who was about to grab Olivia’s hand, paused.

And slowly, she recalled what Olivia had said.

Melina’s expression became strange.

“Just now… what did you say…?”

“I said, accept me as your disciple.”

Melina’s eyes widened. As if saying, ‘Why?’

“You can’t do it?”

“N-no! Of course I can!”

Whether the request to become her disciple was meant as mockery or a roundabout way of saying she wanted to use her like a slave, it didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered.

“Then right now I’ll make you my disciple…”

“Not now, a little later.”

Why bother…?

Melina was bewildered but nodded anyway.

Olivia sat on the edge of the roof. She patted the spot beside her, as if telling Melina to come sit.

Outside, it had grown completely dark. Melina did as instructed and sat down, but she couldn’t focus on the scenery at all.

‘…Why?’

No matter how she thought about it, the girl before her was no mere apprentice magician. Even she, who had lived for hundreds of years, had never dared to glimpse the truth. Not even a fragment of it.

But the girl before her was different.

‘She’s connected to it.’

Though she might appear weaker than herself, she was clearly connected to the truth.

She considered whether the girl might be a polymorphed dragon, but that didn’t make sense either.

Having met dragons who had earned the title of Lord, she knew. They were certainly powerful and could kill hundreds of thousands with a single spell, but they weren’t vessels capable of connecting to the truth.

Dragons were inherently lazy and indolent. A species that devoted most of their lives to sleep and such, they fundamentally lacked purpose. Naturally, they also lacked the will to see the truth.

Not a demon, not a dragon.

That left only human.

But no matter how she thought about it, that was impossible. It wasn’t a matter of talent. The truth wasn’t something granted to someone who had only lived for a day or two.

Perhaps, no. Most likely, the girl before her was not a girl at all.

‘Is she one of the sages not recorded in history?’

No matter how much she thought about it, that was the only possibility left.

Then the question returns to the starting point.

Why would she share such hard-earned enlightenment with a complete stranger like herself?

Melina couldn’t understand it at all.

“Um…”

Just as Melina was about to turn her head to dare ask a question, a voice came from behind.

“I’ll be coming up here in a little while.”

Since when had Olivia been near the ladder leading to the rooftop?

She was already up here, yet she said she would come up again. Melina couldn’t understand what Olivia meant.

‘Is there some hidden meaning?’

Olivia gave a small smile at Melina’s bewildered face. She demonstratively put her foot on the ladder.

“I’m going down to the first floor and coming back up, so please wait a little until then.”

“O-okay…”

“What did I just tell you?”

“…Keep my head up and shoulders straight?”

“That’s right. You know it well. Please try to look as dignified as possible. That suits a master better, after all.”

“……”

The sound of Olivia climbing down the ladder grew fainter. There was a thud as she stepped onto the corridor. The sound of her using Blink was also heard.

Melina listened to the receding sounds.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

Ten minutes passed like that.

Just when she was beginning to think she might have been played with…

Thud.

The sound of someone climbing up the ladder was heard.

‘She’s coming!’

She would swear these were the longest ten minutes in her 200 years of life.

Melina hurriedly composed herself. She magically smoothed her wrinkled robe and even took out her oak staff that she rarely used.

It felt like a farce, but what was a little shame compared to learning the truth?

If she could learn the truth, she would even do forward rolls all the way to the Eastern Port City.

Thud.

Finally, she faced the long-awaited girl again.

Flinch.

Olivia looked at Melina standing before her with a surprised face. As if she hadn’t expected this situation.

‘…Did I make a mistake?’

Though inwardly nervous, Melina maintained the most solemn face she could and waited for Olivia to speak.

“Master of Golden Tower. Please take me as your disciple.”

“Yes. I will take you as my disciple.”

“…?”

“…?”

A moment of silence passed. Olivia was the first to speak.

“Um, you’re just accepting me? Without any conditions?”

Melina’s face became strange.

What the hell was this situation now?

“Conditions?”

“Yes, conditions. Master of Golden Tower, you haven’t taken a single disciple for over a hundred years.”

“…That’s right. Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s just… um…”

Olivia opened and closed her mouth for a while. Melina watched her, wondering what could have possibly upset her.

“So… am I really Melina’s disciple now?”

“Y-yes. That’s right. You are my disciple from now on.”

“……”

“…Would you prefer to be my chief disciple?”

It wouldn’t make much difference anyway.

*****

Melina opened her eyes. Though the blackout curtains blocked the outside view, it was clearly morning.

Exactly two days had passed since that bizarre incident.

And the previous morning, Melina had publicly acknowledged that Olivia had become her disciple.

‘…Ugh.’

Melina frowned as she searched her pocket.

The paper with the fantastic formulas.

This paper completely denied that what happened that night was a dream.

And that made it even more incomprehensible.

What on earth was Olivia thinking?

‘Is she testing me?’

Melina tilted her head as she went outside her office. The secretary who was about to cough at the door flinched.

“A-are you awake?”

“Never mind that. Where is Olivia?”

Looking for her disciple first thing in the morning.

The secretary couldn’t recover from the shock.

“Olivia is in the dining hall now.”

“Has her room been moved upstairs?”

“For now, to the 43rd floor. There was no other space available… I’m sorry.”

From the 40th floor up, rooms were assigned only to elders.

So Olivia’s room being assigned to the 43rd floor meant her authority was already equivalent to that of the elders.

No, as a disciple, her actual rank might be even higher?

‘She’s only been here for three days!’

This was nepotism beyond nepotism.

But no one could object. It wasn’t just anyone’s doing, but the Master of Golden Tower’s appointment.

Objecting would be like saying Melina’s judgment was wrong, so everyone had no choice but to go along with it.

“I understand.”

-Whoosh.

Melina’s form disappeared before their eyes. Watching Melina head straight to her disciple without a moment’s hesitation, the secretary seriously wondered:

‘…Is she dying?’

They say people do unusual things when their time is near.