Guter's First Flight

"Is that breakfast you're carrying, prepared for me?"

"Of course," Guter affirmed.

"Then let's go. We'll talk somewhere else."

Serie said this, rose from the throne, and walked over to the dining table at home.

Taking the no-longer-warm bread and the completely cooled lunchbox from her disciple Guter, she set them on the table.

With a shimmer of magical light, the food on the table was restored to an edible state.

"Sit down and eat with me. This amount isn't something I can finish alone."

Guter sat down with a smile, his face showing an embarrassed expression.

But whether he had prepared so much food intentionally or accidentally, and whether he had anticipated this shared meal at the time, only Guter could say for sure.

At the table, Serie sliced the bread with a knife, picked up some dishes from the lunchbox to place inside, and took a bite. A hint of surprise flickered in her otherwise calm eyes.

"This restaurant has good flavor. Bring me some more tomorrow."

"No problem," Guter nodded in agreement.

Then, like a normal teacher, Serie used the free time during the meal to quiz Guter on a few recent questions from his study of the Magic Book.

But to Serie's surprise, this disciple Guter answered exceptionally well.

He had even grasped something deeper from the magical formulas in the book, something closer to the essence of magic.

"Your talent is even more terrifying than I expected, Guter."

"Geniuses among humans really are an unreasonable existence."

Even Serie, who had seen countless geniuses, couldn't help but sigh.

"Teacher, my talent isn't actually that great." Guter, who had cheated using props, scratched his head a little sheepishly. "I just had a sudden epiphany last night."

"So that's why you didn't sleep all night?"

"Mm," Guter nodded. Though a bit surprised, it could roughly be explained that way.

"What humans call 'epiphany' is just a release of latent talent. You'll have this feeling again. It seems you, who dared to make the [Three Year Period] agreement, do have some confidence after all."

"But that makes me dislike you a bit more."

"Huh?"

Guter was stunned. "Why, Teacher?"

"Shouldn't a teacher be pleased when a disciple has talent?"

"It's precisely because your talent is better than I expected that seeing you waste such precious talent on meaningless things makes me even more displeased."

Serie said this with a somewhat sullen tone.

"But how disciples choose to spend their short lives is your own business. I've never interfered with my disciples' decisions—I just feel annoyed."

"Then, Teacher, you don't have to feel that way about me as a disciple." Guter smiled meaningfully.

"Because I'm special. I'll live a long time."

"Is that so."

Serie took a bite of bread and chewed it silently for a long time.

This disciple named Guter was indeed special enough. She, who rarely revealed her feelings to her disciples, had unknowingly spoken so much with him.

Truly strange.

This feeling of conversation didn't seem like that between teacher and disciple, but rather like a very, very long time ago, in the early days of Serie's memory, when she talked with peers of her own generation.

Though her understanding of humans back then was far less profound than it was now, that feeling had always stayed with Serie.

Her current conversation with Guter was almost exactly the same.

Really, this disciple of hers.

What did he even think of her as his teacher?

Forget it.

She was probably tired of the usual teacher-disciple conversation style anyway. Having a "special" disciple like this to talk with felt pretty good.

And saying he could live a long time...

She hoped so.

Before she knew it, a feeling of fullness came from her stomach.

After sending the last bit of bread into her mouth, Serie ended her breakfast.

Seeing that his teacher had already left the table, Guter sped up his pace. In no time, he had cleaned everything up without wasting a single bite, and even tidied the dining table.

On one side of the home, Serie sat before a vanity, using a comb to straighten her sleep-mussed hair. She cast a [Spell to Make Hair Clean and Silky] on her long locks.

Having finished cleaning the table, Guter didn't take his leave. Instead, he found a stool, sat down nearby, and silently watched Serie as she combed her hair.

Mm, the "old thing" was cute.

After fixing her hair, Serie turned to look at Guter, who was still lingering in her home. She initially intended to order this disciple out, but suddenly thought of something and asked him a question.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I do."

Serie's sudden question caught Guter off guard, but he still answered honestly.

After all, it was a daily routine that doubled his training gains—there was no way Guter would let it go to waste.

"Good. Wait here for me."

With that, Serie turned and walked into the library, emerging shortly with a stack of notes in hand.

"What's this?" Guter asked, puzzled.

"The cultivation insights left by a former disciple of mine. He walked the same path as you."

Serie explained, gazing at the familiar handwriting on the notes, recalling that disciple's face and ideals.

Exploring a way to make a mage's physique as formidable as a warrior's?

A good idea, but destined to be a dead end.

Even if a method existed to use magic power to enhance physical strength, the requirements for both magic reserves and physical toughness were too high.

Mages lacked that kind of physical resilience, and warriors couldn't reach that level of magic power.

Perhaps for long-lived races, this could be a viable path, but splitting one's focus between two disciplines was less effective than concentrating all effort on a single one.

Thus, after that disciple passed away, this research was shelved for a long time.

But this peculiar anomaly before her—

Serie could sense that this disciple, Guter, had somehow found a way to simultaneously strengthen both his magic power and physical fitness, and at a pace no slower than normal cultivation.

As a teacher, Serie wouldn't pry into her disciple's secrets, but from Guter, she saw a path to carry on the ideals of her deceased disciple.

So, Serie handed the notes to Guter and briefly explained what kind of cultivation path this was.

After hearing his teacher's explanation, Guter accepted the notes like a treasure, carefully tucking them into his robe.

Once he had stored them away, Guter looked at Serie and asked.

"Teacher, I've accepted the reward. By procedure, shouldn't you be assigning me some tasks?"

Serie raised an eyebrow, surprised that Guter was so proactive.

"Of course."

"After the Continental Magic Association's assessment in Oysaster ends, I require you, as the current chief disciple, to accompany me to the Holy City—Hutrall—to organize another exam there."

"Since you've also trained in a warrior's physique, be prepared to act as a vanguard along the journey."

"Hisss—"

After Teacher Serie finished speaking, Guter sucked in a sharp breath.

"Teacher, you've covered the bonus reward. So, what about the task?"

Serie: "?"

Then, with a ripple of magic power, Guter's figure flew out of Serie's residence.