Looking down at the Headmistress, who had collapsed to the ground and was staring blankly at him, Yujin gave a bitter smile.
“Headmistress, shall we have an honest conversation for a moment?”
Despite the fact that the Headmistress had tried to kill him, Yujin decided to at least attempt a conversation.
He had no choice. If he were to kill her in retaliation for her attempt to kill him, the consequences would be difficult to manage.
Besides, the Headmistress wasn’t someone who could actually harm Yujin in any meaningful way. As a mage, she was utterly powerless in the presence of a dragon, one of the masters of magic.
Just as it had been with Mirien, there was no need to overreact to something that wasn’t truly dangerous.
“Wh-What? What did you say?”
The Headmistress, on the other hand, stammered back in confusion.
She had clearly used magic with the intent to kill him, and yet, in response, he suggested they have a conversation.
And this wasn’t just anyone saying it. This was a dragon, one of the great masters of magic.
She had heard that dragons were lofty and arrogant creatures, utterly merciless to anyone who dared to challenge their authority.
“A-Are you not going to punish me…?”
“Punish you? Hmm… well, let’s think about that later. For now, it seems like there’s some sort of misunderstanding about me. Why don’t we clear that up first?”
As Yujin spoke, he smiled faintly with his narrow eyes.
“To start with, Headmistress, I truly did not harm Her Highness the Princess. I simply sealed her demonic power, nothing more.”
“What? Ah, no, more importantly…”
“Hmm? Is there something more important you’d like to discuss?”
“Th-That is…”
The Headmistress stammered, struggling to form her words. To her, the matter of whether he had sealed the princess’s demonic power or not was far less significant than the fact that there was a dragon standing right before her eyes.
“A-Are you truly a dragon?”
“Ah, you mean that.”
At her question, Yujin gave a bitter smile and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
A dragon, huh… Well, as long as she could be silenced, it wouldn’t be a problem to tell her. But still, wasn’t this secret being revealed a bit too easily? It had been the same with Mirien as well.
Of course, Yujin didn’t realize just how oblivious Mirien had been. So much so that even after experiencing the dragon fear, she had failed to notice he was a dragon.
In any case, Yujin decided to just come clean with the Headmistress. Judging by the look in her eyes, she already seemed nearly certain that he was a dragon, so there was no point in trying to hide it.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“.……!!!”
The Headmistress’s eyes widened in shock. While she had been almost sure after hearing the Dragon Word, hearing it confirmed by the dragon himself made it feel entirely different.
A real dragon! Really, really a dragon!
Thump, thump!
Her heart pounded wildly with excitement. The sheer fact that the dragon she had so long admired stood before her left her mind blank.
What should she do? What was she supposed to do now? What if he was angry because she dared to attack him? And more importantly, how was he freely walking around on the surface like this?
“H-How is this possible? Surely, all Transcendents other than the gods either perished or were sealed away in the labyrinth…”
“Perished or sealed away, you say… Then, Headmistress, let me ask you something.”
Yujin raised one eyebrow slightly as he asked her a question.
“What do you believe to be the truth? What you see right before your eyes? Or the history you’ve never personally experienced?”
“That’s…”
“There’s no need to think too deeply about it. After all, Headmistress, you already seem convinced that I’m a dragon, so there’s no reason to deny the truth standing right in front of you, is there?”
“……”
“So, there’s no need to think too hard about why I’m alive and walking freely outside the labyrinth. History might have been mistaken, or perhaps there was some unforeseen anomaly. Either way, it’s something unrelated to you.”
Yujin drew a firm line, making it clear that the matter had nothing to do with her. The Headmistress understood his meaning, closed her mouth for a moment, then bowed her head and spoke.
“I-I will keep that in mind. My deepest apologies for my insolence.”
“It wasn’t insolence. There’s no need to belittle yourself so much.”
“N-No! If anything, please lower your speech when addressing me. I am nothing more than a mere mortal who happens to carry a fraction of dragon blood. There’s no reason for a supreme transcendent like a dragon to speak so respectfully to someone so insignificant as me…”
“It’s fine. This is simply how I prefer to speak. More importantly, has the misunderstanding about me been resolved?”
“What? …Oh, yes! O-Of course. So, you merely sealed the princess’s demonic power…”
The Headmistress recalled Yujin’s earlier explanation. He had indeed said he only sealed the princess’s magic.
Yujin asked,
“Do you need proof of that?”
“N-No, it’s fine! A dragon wouldn’t have any reason to lie to someone like me!”
“…I see. In that case, I’m glad to hear it.”
Yujin felt a strange sensation as he watched the Headmistress speak.
How should he put it…? Even though the other party was a dragon, he couldn’t help but feel that she was being far too respectful toward him. And this was a woman who had likely spent her entire life standing above others.
Of course, Yujin quickly understood the reason. The two eyes looking at him were filled with admiration and reverence. Perhaps, being someone who carried the blood of dragons herself, she instinctively held a deep respect for dragons.
In any case, her demeanor made things easier for Yujin. He spoke.
“However, even though it’s a seal, it’s only a temporary measure. The Second Imperial Princess has already become closer to a demon than a human. Now that her demonic power has been sealed, she will only continue to grow weaker.”
Yujin relayed exactly what he had heard from Tiamat to the Headmistress. Upon hearing this, her expression stiffened for a moment.
After all, the Headmistress was someone who deeply cared for her students. To hear that one of her students was in poor condition was something she couldn’t take lightly.
“Then what should we do?”
“There is a way. While it’s impossible to turn her back into a human, there is a method to at least allow her to maintain her sense of self.”
“…….”
At those words, the Headmistress’s expression became complicated for a moment. She asked,
“Is it truly impossible for her to return to being fully human? Even with the power of a dragon?”
“Just because a dragon’s power is almost omnipotent doesn’t mean that it’s truly omnipotent. If the Second Imperial Princess had just recently been consumed by the demon’s seed, it might have been possible… but she has already become one with the demon’s seed. In other words, the princess has already been reborn as a Transcendent being. And once a Transcendent is born, it is no easy task to bring her back to her original state.
Hearing this, the Headmistress’s eyes widened in shock. She asked again.
“A transcendent being… Are you saying the princess has become a Transcendent?”
“She is still closer to being a half-transcendent, but even so, she is definitely a Transcendent. And if the opponent is a Transcendent, even the power of a dragon cannot exert truly omnipotent force.”
“…….”
The Headmistress fell silent and her face darkened. Yujin who was watching her decided to ask something to lighten the mood.
“More importantly, may I also ask a few questions?”
“…Huh? Oh, yes! Of course! Please ask me anything! If it’s something I can answer, I’ll do my best to respond!”
At those words, Yujin asked a question about something that had been bothering him for a while.
“It’s nothing major… but from the very beginning, you seemed to be extremely wary of me. Is there a specific reason for that?”
“…Huh?”
Yujin had been curious from the start. When the Headmistress and Professor Reina first sought him out, they had shown such wariness and hostility toward him that it was as if they thought he was their enemy.
Of course, standing idly over a collapsed girl might have looked suspicious enough on its own… but even taking that into account, their wariness and hostility had been excessive. It was only natural for Yujin to wonder if there was some other reason behind their behavior.
However, upon hearing his question, the Headmistress froze on the spot.
…Wh-What should I do?
How could she possibly explain? How could she tell the dragon she had so admired and revered that she had mistaken him for a mere dark mage and been wary of him the entire time?
She was already agonizing over whether she might have earned his hatred for attacking him earlier. How could she confess to that on top of everything else?
“Th-That’s… well…”
Still, the Headmistress decided that it was better to confess and face the consequences rather than risk earning an even greater punishment by hiding the truth.
So, she revealed everything.
She explained about the recent rise in dark mage activity, the party that had encountered a demon on the fifth floor of the dungeon and faced a trial, the suspicious timing of a mage joining the party, and the fact that the mage’s past actions had been completely untraceable. And now, even today’s incident with the princess…
In hindsight, it had all been based on flimsy circumstantial evidence with no solid proof, but her prejudices and initial impression of him had caused her to jump to conclusions. When she realized this, she was once again consumed with shame.
“I see.”
Still, Yujin understood her. While being mistaken for a dark mage was certainly absurd, well… in the end, there had been suspicious circumstances surrounding him, so it wasn’t entirely unreasonable for them to be cautious.
“Well, I understand. I probably would have investigated if I were in your position too. Though I’d say the misunderstanding may have gone a bit too far…”
“Ugh…”
“But it’s fine. It didn’t escalate into anything serious, and I’m not particularly bothered by it, so raise your head.”
“…Huh? R-Raise my head? But…”
Startled by Yujin’s words, the Headmistress immediately raised her head. However, Yujin simply maintained his calm and unreadable expression that betrayed nothing of his inner thoughts.
At first, the face that had seemed so suspicious now somehow looked merciful.
“Are you… truly okay with this?”
“Yes. I really don’t hold any personal grudges. Of course, that doesn’t mean you won’t have to pay the price, though.”
“Ah…”
Of course. If one dared to harbor hostility and killing intent toward a dragon, they would have to bear the consequences. The Headmistress bowed her head.
“I am willing to accept any punishment. However, would you grant me just one request…?”
“I’ll hear you out first.”
“If you are going to punish someone, please let it end with me. I ask that the people of my family or the academy… be spared.”
When she, not wanting to harm others, said this, Yujin gave her a bitter smile.
“That much is obvious. Is that all you have to say?”
“…Yes.”
The Headmistress felt somewhat relieved by Yujin’s words. She trusted that a great transcendent being like him wouldn’t go back on his word. With that belief, she closed her eyes.
“In that case, I shall now deliver your punishment. Hmm… Yes, this should suffice.”
Yujin muttered to himself and soon turned to the Headmistress.
“From this moment forward, I will place a binding restriction on you using my dragon’s word. You will be unable to disobey what I am about to say.”
“…I am listening.”
The Headmistress swallowed hard and then nodded her head.
And then, Yujin spoke his command. A Dragon Word.
[From this moment on, you are forbidden to reveal that I am a dragon to anyone. Unless I allow it.]
Woooooong!
Along with a sensation as if the entire fabric of space and time trembled, Yujin’s words etched themselves into her mind. It felt as though his words were being engraved upon her very soul.
Upon hearing this, the Headmistress nodded her head inwardly. She thought such a condition was only natural. After all, there would be no benefit to revealing to many that he was a dragon.
However, this couldn’t be the end of it. What would come next…?
[This restriction will remain in effect until I either die or lift it myself.]
“…Huh?”
…Was that it?
…Really?
Surely, that couldn’t be the case. She had shown him hostility, so there was no way her punishment would end so lightly…
“It’s done. That’s all.”
But the voice that followed wasn’t the commanding voice engraved upon her soul: it was just his ordinary, gentle tone. The Headmistress blurted out a question without thinking.
“…Is this really all?”
“Hmm? Is there a problem?”
“N-No… it’s just…”
Far from being excessive, the punishment felt unreasonably light. However, since he himself said it was fine, asking for harsher punishment would only make her seem ridiculous.
The Headmistress was at a loss for words and she stood frozen in place while Yujin glanced at her curiously. Then, as if losing interest, he turned around and began walking off somewhere.
“First… should I head to Professor Reina Sahart? From what I’ve heard, it seems she also has some misunderstandings about me. I should start by clearing those up.”
“……..”
The Headmistress couldn’t say a word. All she could do was watch in a daze as Yujin walked away.
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