Chapter 208
"Help? What do you mean...?"
Ottbo's expression was perplexed.
At that, Luca Traverse fell silent for a moment.
'I can't go on like this.'
He'd been thinking this for quite some time.
In every crucial moment, it was always Luca who played the hero and sacrificed himself.
Luca Traverse could only act after everything was over.
'There's no point in showing up after everything has finished.'
Situations like this kept repeating.
After Luca pushed himself too hard and eventually collapsed, he would come out to tidy up the mess.
It was deeply inefficient.
Luca Traverse, who succeeded in forging his own swordsmanship by infusing Kryphi's style with the Pioneer's Will.
He had reached a level that would be unattainable under ordinary circumstances, but ultimately, he only had one body to use.
Luca and Luca Traverse.
Two people each possessing great power of different kinds, yet with only one body, it was hard to fully utilize both their strengths.
'If I could fight alongside him...'
That would undoubtedly be a great help.
At the very least, there wouldn't be as many instances of Luca collapsing during battle like now.
'But creating a spirit body is impossible.'
No matter how powerful he had become, he still hadn't reached such a special realm as to create a spirit body.
He needed a physical body that actually existed.
'Among the information I have now, there's only one way.'
Luca Traverse shares memories with Luca.
That is, he possesses some degree of future knowledge.
And for someone without a body to obtain one, there's only one method.
"Take me to Professor Srettle Magus. Ottbo Gress."
* * *
Srettle Magus, S-class Professor of the Arcane Science Department at Hernan Academy.
She is an Ain.
Ains are races similar to humans, such as elves and dwarves, but with distinctive traits.
There are only a tiny handful on the continent nowadays.
Among Ains, Srettle Magus is a rare dragonkin.
She isn't a true dragon hybrid, but rather a distant descendant, with strongly manifested dragonborn traits.
Since a dragonkin appearing in a regular human line is unheard of, her mother was branded as a monster by her family and driven out.
Fortunately, Srettle Magus's mother was a magus.
Though she was driven out, she could raise Srettle and pass down her arcane knowledge.
Her mother always told her:
― Don't ever let anyone find out you're dragonkin. It's extremely dangerous.
The body of a dragonkin is highly valued as a special magic material, and also prized for display—there's almost no price too high.
Knowing this, her mother disguised Srettle's appearance with magical tools to hide her identity.
Luckily, mother and daughter lived quietly in the forest, so they didn't have to worry about being tracked down by hunters or encountering trouble.
Her mother simply passed away in peace from natural causes.
When her mother died, Srettle Magus left the forest.
'I wonder what the world outside the forest is like?'
She was simply curious about the life beyond, which she'd only heard about from her mother.
With plenty of power, hunters didn't scare her.
"Nice to meet you, mage."
"This magical tool is amazing! Did you make it yourself?"
"It was a fun trip, wasn't it?"
Srettle Magus had many experiences.
Thrilling adventures, life-and-death crises, poignant love—
everything she'd ever dreamed of experiencing.
"Thank you for everything... Srettle..."
"I hope your next journey is just as enjoyable."
"Goodbye, Srettle."
But she remained lonely.
The dragonkin blood within her meant she experienced time differently from humans.
"Big sis, are you dragonkin too?"
"!"
Then one day, a young girl appeared before her.
Dangerously enough, the dragonkin girl wasn't even hiding her scales and horns.
As Srettle Magus gazed at her, a deeply hidden emotion surged within her heart.
'Someone like me!'
A sense of kinship.
She had been alone her whole life, with no one else of her kind on the continent.
No one could understand her, nor live in the same flow of time.
'There really is someone like me!'
Someone of her kind had appeared.
Her name was Manago.
"How did you know I was dragonkin?"
"I just knew."
"Just...?"
Srettle Magus couldn't understand Manago, but it was true she was dragonkin.
So Srettle Magus decided to take Manago as her younger sister.
"But big sis, why don't you have scales or horns?"
"I'm hiding them."
"You can hide them?"
Unlike Srettle Magus, who was protected by her mother, Manago grew up wild with no protection.
Thanks to kind villagers, her childhood wasn't too harsh, but when some other villagers discovered her secret, they reported her.
Hunters came to the village and burned it, trying to take her away, but Manago barely managed to escape.
Afterward, she wandered from village to village, using her dragonkin abilities to hunt monsters or wild animals for food, all the while fleeing from hunters.
It was during this wandering that she met Srettle Magus.
"From now on, I'll protect you. I'm your family."
"You're my family, big sis?"
"That's right. We're... the only family each other has on this continent."
From then on, Srettle Magus, who had been wandering, decided to settle down.
Using the wealth and knowledge she'd gained from her adventures, she created a village.
There, she gathered Ains.
Her goal was to build a village where Ains wouldn't suffer at the hands of hunters.
Word of this reached Eltima at Hernan Academy.
Eltima summoned her and made an offer.
"If you become a teacher at the academy, I'll gather patrons to help your village prosper and become even safer."
"!"
Though Srettle Magus considered Eltima's offer, she soon shook her head.
"I appreciate the thought, but I will protect my village myself."
"Is that so? Be careful. I've heard there are those targeting your village."
"Such scum have always existed, and always will. I've gotten used to handling them."
Shortly after Srettle Magus had confidently declined Eltima's offer,
hunters really did attack her village.
The problem was, these weren't ordinary hunters, but a special group accompanied by armored soldiers.
"Manago! No!"
She succeeded in fending off the hunters, but her younger sister Manago was captured.
Srettle Magus fell into despair.
But she couldn't allow herself to give up.
'... Eltima Cross.'
She suddenly remembered that Eltima had mentioned there were those targeting her village.
So she sought Eltima out.
"Please tell me who those targeting our village were."
"... Even if you knew, there's nothing you could do. They're a group that controls the whole empire."
"It doesn't matter. If I can save Manago, I'll do anything."
Upon hearing this, Eltima hesitated before finally speaking.
"It's the Kimberly ducal family."
"...!"
The Duke of the Hernan Empire, Duke Kimberly.
There was nothing she could do against them.
But Srettle Magus refused to give up.
"Thank you."
"If only you were a teacher at the academy, I could help you..."
"..."
Srettle Magus looked at Eltima, then turned away.
"It's fine."
Eltima was, after all, human.
She didn't need kindness that demanded a price.
Afterward, Srettle Magus prepared as fast as she could, gathered information on the Kimberly ducal family, and tracked down where the other races were being held.
She attacked, and succeeded in finding her younger sister, Manago.
But—
"Manago...!"
"Big sis..."
Manago had already had all her scales, claws, and even her horns removed.
Because she was such a rare dragonkin, they didn't kill her, but kept her alive, just waiting for them to regenerate.
"You... wretched humans...!"
Srettle Magus boiled with rage, but there was no time to waste.
She had to save Manago as soon as possible.
"Big sis... I'm sorry..."
"No, you've done nothing wrong. It's the humans who are evil!"
"I'm sorry..."
Manago was sorry to leave her behind.
Srettle Magus desperately wanted to save her, but the situation was too dire.
Though her life was being artificially maintained, Manago's mind was dying from excruciating pain.
'There's only one way to save her.'
Srettle Magus induced a coma in Manago.
It was the only way to prevent her mind from total collapse.
'But I still have to save her body...'
She'd suffered far too many injuries for natural healing.
They'd destroyed all the tendons in her body to prevent resistance, shattered her magic circuits, and even removed her heart, replacing it with an artificial organ.
They had literally turned her into a device for harvesting materials.
'It's impossible to use this body again.'
Srettle Magus ground her teeth.
'Nor can she live on in this body again.'
The body itself was too weak.
She needed something much stronger.
'I have to make a perfect body. One that's strong and durable enough for Manago and me to live together for the rest of our lives!'
With that resolve, Srettle Magus went to see Eltima again.
She agreed to become a professor at the academy.
"In return, support the research I want to conduct—even if it involves taboos."
"... Anything you wish, if you want it."
Thus, Srettle Magus became a teacher at the academy.
* * *
'Everything's progressing smoothly. That new student is truly a great help.'
Srettle Magus succeeded in crafting a living armored soldier, almost identical to the ideal body she wanted.
Yet, to power it, tremendous vitality was required—something impossible by ordinary means.
So she devised a way to revive ancient drive magic, converting mana into life force.
But students with excellent drive magic skills rarely entered the arcane science department.
As she was still pondering this problem, Ottbo appeared.
'Now, all that's left is transferring the mind. But how to do that...'
While Srettle Magus worried over this, a commotion broke out outside.
"Lu, Luca! What on earth are you doing?"
"It's nothing."
"This does NOT seem like nothing!"
Hearing the voices from outside, Srettle Magus tilted her head.
"That voice..."
It was Ottbo.
Knowing how quiet he usually was, this ruckus was baffling.
Bang!
"?!"
Someone burst through the door.
"You are..."
Mysterious dark green hair, blue eyes shining as clear as a lake.
Features so beautiful, they could be described as divine.
"Luca Traverse?"
Even Srettle Magus could recognize the renowned Luca Traverse.
She felt a sense of wonder at his appearance.
'Why is this boy here?'
They had no connection.
He had no reason to be interested in magic, and she had no reason to be interested in him.
"You're Srettle Magus, right?"
Luca Traverse spoke in a calm voice as he approached her.
Standing in front of her, he stared directly at her and said,
"Give me the ultimate body, ain."
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Oh, Luca Traverse wants to have his own body?
(ㆆ.ㆆ )