Chapter 21

As I thought about it, the words came naturally: "But next time, I'll try fighting him."

Reynold's eyes widened, and he drew a sharp breath.

"Ah, no!" I said. "I mean I'll spar with him."

Reynold's expression as he looked at me was already full of guilt...

"Don't you believe I'm sincere?" he said urgently. "Ciprins, I know you're strong, so really, even if it's just for your own sake, don't go looking for Mephistopheles again. Think about it: if you two fought, even setting Mephistopheles's skill in magic aside... who do you think the federal government would side with?"

Oh no. Looking at Reynold's angry face, I silently reproached myself. How had I let it slip that I wanted to spar with Mel? Given Reynold's way of thinking, which was so unlike a mage's and so lacking in a mage's self-awareness, I doubted he would believe me now, no matter what I said. I really wasn't fighting Mel because of him...

Alas... I couldn't help sighing.

I didn't think I'd been wrong about Reynold. He really did need to do something about his conceit. Though I could understand it-some occasional overinflation was excusable for a promising young council chairman—that didn't mean the problem should be left unchecked forever.

"Reynold, forget it. You should go," I said. "Really, there's no chance we can go back to being lovers. I told you, since it isn't true love, being together is just a waste of time. Neither of us needs someone at our side to get through life, so let's not force ourselves to stay together."

Explaining things to him was exhausting. I'd be better off spending that time practicing Shadow Dance!

"I don't need you to pay my bail, either," I continued. "Thank you, but there's no need. And thank you for looking after me all these years. We're only ordinary friends now, and under prison rules, you can't pay my bail for me."

"Ciprins..." Reynold looked at me helplessly, pressing a hand against the transparent wall. He seemed to want me to come over, but I stood by the table without moving, so he could only say, "What do I have to do for you to forgive me?"

"...Reynold." I felt helpless too. "Reynold, you clearly don't love me, so why do you insist on holding on to me?"

Reynold fell silent for a moment, and I decided to press my advantage. "You admitted it yourself: you love Mel... Mephistopheles. If you worked up the courage to pursue him, even if you didn't succeed, I'd admire you more."

Well, I had faith in Mel. He knew where to draw the line. He knew the chairman of the Magic Council wasn't a beastman, and that he couldn't just snap the chairman's neck.

Ah, speaking of Mel, he'd been absolutely magnificent when he cast Shadow Dance. When I fought alongside him that day, his spellcasting had been even more fluid and elegant than it looked in the video. It made sense: that widely circulated video was ten years old. Mel had been younger then, and he certainly hadn't been as experienced as he was now. To be honest, he hadn't appeared in public much over the past ten years, and the footage of him casting spells from back then was still the most widely circulated. Seeing Mel in person now had impressed me even more.

I couldn't help picturing him casting Shadow Dance that night. The battle had been complicated, and the space relatively small. Our opponents had been highly agile cyborgs who fought at close quarters. That kind of nimble, close-range combatant was a serious disadvantage for us mages. As everyone knew, spellcasters were generally rather pathetic in terms of physical strength, so Mel and I had actually been at a disadvantage that night.

Yet Mel, facing so many cyborgs, had been able to control all those shadows with precision. Not only had he protected his own body, he'd also attacked steadily and accurately in unfavorable conditions. His control had truly made a qualitative leap compared to ten years ago.

When I came back to my senses, I found Reynold pounding on the glass wall. He seemed to have said quite a lot more, but I'd been distracted and hadn't paid attention.

So I had to ask, "Sorry, what did you say?"

Reynold gave me a searching look, then shook his head after a long pause.

"Calm down," Reynold said. "All right, since you're so unwilling to see me, it's fine for you to relax here for a few days. In any case, while you're locked up here, you won't... Well, let's leave it at that. We'll talk when you get out."

With that, Reynold looked at me a few times, then turned and left.

Phew... I could finally have some peace and quiet again. I sat back down at the table and cast Shadow Dance, making a shadow pour me a glass of water. The spell Mel had invented really was extremely useful. Take right now, for example: my hands were cuffed together, and without a shadow to help, drinking water would have been a real nuisance. In the past, when I was writing notes at home and too busy to get up and pour water, I would form a ball of water and bring it to my mouth to drink. But that was nowhere near as convenient as Shadow Dance, because drinking from a ball of water easily left my whole face wet, and if I made it too small, it wouldn't quench my thirst.

Just as I was thinking, I heard another commotion outside the door. This time there was only one person again, but she made more of a racket on her own than that whole crowd just now.

She'd come to see me again-

The girl, her made-up face still looking remarkably like a little demon's, came rushing over. I couldn't help smiling. From the far end of the corridor, Moli waved at me and shouted, "Teacher-don't be scared, Teacher—I'm here to save you!"

Chapter 21

"Moli! Don't shout!" I couldn't help putting on a stern face and scolding her. "You're a mage. Shouting like that is utterly unbecoming!"

"Oh, sorry, Teacher!" Moli obediently stood still in front of the glass wall.

"And another thing," I continued. "Moli, your teacher isn't trapped in enemy territory and being tortured, nor have I been captured by an evil dragon like a princess, much less become a wanted demon king besieged by heroes. So there's no need for you to come rushing to the rescue. Besides, at your level, if even I were in danger, what you should do is turn around and run immediately, as fast as you can. In fact, I'm doing quite well in this cell."

Moli stuck out her tongue, and I noticed she'd gotten a new piercing in it, with a gold ring that looked painful.

Alas... It seemed I really had no way to correct the way she dressed.

At that, Moli froze for a moment, then suddenly jumped up and shouted even louder than before, "What did you say? You've finally agreed to take me as your apprentice?"

Huh? I froze too. Had I just called myself her teacher?

...When did I start thinking of Moli as my apprentice?

Before I could deny it, Moli cheered loudly again. "Wow! That's wonderful! I'm finally your real apprentice!"

She shouted so loudly that my ears rang, and even the guards at the other end of the corridor couldn't help coming over to look. With all the commotion she was making, the girl really did look like she'd come to stage a jailbreak.

If I gave her an amplification spell, she could do more damage than that giant mech had the other day.

"Moli." Now that things had come to this, I gave it careful thought before speaking. "The reason I've never agreed actually has nothing to do with you. It's because I don't think I have what it takes to be a teacher yet. As you know, I become very strict when it comes to magic, and sometimes my temper isn't especially good. I might not be particularly patient, either, and I don't know how to do things that make money. Besides, I'm still studying my own spells. I don't think I'd be a qualified teacher... But since you're so determined, all right. You need to be prepared: I'll be a hundred times stricter with an apprentice than with an assistant."

"I know, I know." Moli nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, Teacher. I'll definitely be a good apprentice!"

"Just being a good apprentice isn't enough," I corrected her. "You have to be a good mage."

Moli immediately changed her answer. "Yes! I'll work hard to be a good mage!"

That was more like it. I'd always thought Moli was quite talented; she was just a little lazy at times and didn't work hard enough.

Moli pressed herself against the wall and stared at me with her big, shining eyes. "So I really am your apprentice from now on, right?"

...Uh, there really was nothing I could do.

"All right, yes." I smiled and gave her an affirmative answer. Come to think of it, I seemed to have told Mel that Moli was my apprentice too. Before, the girl had always declared it herself, and no matter how many times I denied it, she'd insisted on calling me Teacher. Now... well, all right. It wasn't as though I disliked Moli, and her persistence had been very effective. Apparently, without realizing it, I'd already come to regard her as my apprentice. Now it was official.