She stared blankly at the giant sphere in front of her.
The sphere that was slightly larger than her own body floated in midair and was radiating an ominous dark purple light.
…Hmm, did I overdo it?
In the blink of an eye, the child who had been facing her just moments ago had been sucked into the sphere.
Annoyed that she had just given herself more work, she had ended up using more force than necessary.
She fixed her gaze on the unexpectedly large sphere. She stared for a moment before losing interest and sinking back into the sofa.
Then, she pondered.
Would that child be able to escape from her temporary domain?
Judging by the magical power in his body, he must have some level of expertise in magic.
He also seemed to possess aura. But just how skilled was he?
A magic swordsman, huh… Quite rare.
She had seen plenty of fools recklessly trying to train both mana and aura at the same time out of sheer bravado.
But among them, the ones she deemed truly strong were few and far between.
It was a grueling path, after all.
Crunch.
She bit down on the remaining candy stick, shattering it between her teeth.
Then, without hesitation, she pulled out another piece of candy and popped it into her mouth.
As the sweetness replenished her weary mind, her thoughts finally began to clear again.
Will he manage to escape?
She had only been joking about killing him, but realistically speaking, the chances of him breaking out were slim to none.
The temporary domain she had created was far from easy to overcome.
Dispelling it through mana reversal was impossible.
That sphere wasn’t magic. It was simply one of the innate powers of her race.
If anything, using mana would only serve to feed her domain.
And cutting through it with aura? Even more impossible.
Even among Master warriors, those who could break through her temporary domain were rare.
Judging by the amount of aura she had seen earlier, that boy’s level was, at best, Expert rank.
In other words, at his current ability, there was absolutely no way for him to escape the domain through conventional means.
She had known that from the start. That was precisely why she had trapped him there. To her, it was only natural.
Capturing a dragon’s interest was far more difficult than one might imagine.
A miracle that made the impossible possible. Something even a dragon deemed unachievable.
Only something of that magnitude could spark her curiosity.
Five minutes… I hope they pass quickly—
Crunch!
“…..?”
Her tongue, which had been lazily licking the candy, came to a sudden stop.
At first, she thought she had misheard. She had just heard a sound that absolutely shouldn’t be coming from beside her.
Crack—!
She turned her head toward the sphere.
The once-flawless surface of the sphere was beginning to crack.
And at an alarmingly fast rate.
One minute? No, even faster than that.
The situation had veered far beyond her expectations.
Yet, despite that, a deep smile spread across her lips.
Crunch! Crack! Craaack—!
.
.
.
Crash!
Thud.
A man emerged from within the shattered sphere.
His rough, ragged breaths made it clear just how exhausted he was.
“Hah… Haaah…! Seriously… this is just… crazy…!”
“Wow, I really didn’t think you’d actually make it out.”
“I thought I was going to die, you know?!”
“But you didn’t. That’s what matters.”
“…I swear, all you dragons are completely out of your minds…”
As she watched the child plop down on the sofa, grumbling about something, she let out a small chuckle.
For the first time in a while, her dull and uneventful life….or rather, her dragon life had brought her something truly interesting.
***
“…What’s so funny?”
“Hmm~ Who knows?”
She kept smirking at me. She was clearly amused by how exhausted I looked.
Ignoring her as best as I could, I took a deep breath and slowly composed myself.
I had used every last ounce of strength I had just to escape that damned space.
Both my mana and aura were completely drained.
I never thought she would actually lock me away in a Nest…
A Nest.
People often referred to the academy as a dragon’s nest in a figurative sense.
But the place she had just trapped me in? That was the real thing.
Even though it was only a temporary Nest, the overwhelming mana and crushing pressure inside had been staggering.
I had nearly passed out before I could even attempt anything.
“Whew…”
“You seem a bit better now. Your recovery is insanely fast, too~”
“……”
Her previously indifferent expression had vanished. It was replaced by a relaxed yet intrigued look.
It was only natural. A boy who had barely passed the age of puberty had just shattered her temporary Nest and escaped.
I had succeeded in capturing her interest.
“So, does this mean… you’re granting me admission?”
“…Who knows?”
“…What?”
“I don’t know… You still seem a little lacking.”
“….…”
What the hell is this crazy dragon scheming now?
She was probably lying.
Her expression had already given away the truth.
But what was I supposed to do now?
“Isn’t this enough to meet the requirements?”
“That was just a substitute for the entrance exam. Even for a special admission, you still need to take a test, don’t you think?”
“Wait….”
If she made the other freshmen do what I just did, not a single one of them would pass.
No matter how skilled this year’s students were on average, not one of them could have escaped from a Nest.
…Well, maybe the Hero could.
“Was the bar for special admissions always this high?”
“It’s up to me.”
“…Unbelievable.”
I hadn’t realized it when I saw her in the game, but she had quite a nasty side to her.
A crazy dragon… Definitely living up to her race’s reputation.
“So, what else do I have to do?”
“Hmm, well, I’ll admit what you just did was impressive. So I’ll approve your special admission….if you answer just one question.”
“Wow, how generous of you. I’m truly touched.”
At least she wasn’t going to make me go through another crazy trial. That was a relief.
If it was just a question born out of curiosity, I could answer that easily.
“Alright, here it is. Who… are you, really?”
“…What? I mean, I’m just an ordinary human.”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking.”
…But her curiosity was sharper than I had expected.
“No matter how I look at you, you don’t seem like someone from this world.”
For a brief moment, I felt a chilling sense of killing intent brush against my throat. It was probably just my imagination.
.
.
.
.
.
“…….”
“…….”
An awkward silence hung between us.
She simply waited for my answer, but I found it difficult to respond and remained silent.
…How much does she know?
I was already aware that she wasn’t an ordinary being, but I never imagined she would ask such a question so directly.
Her insight was truly terrifying.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“…It’s just a rather sudden question. Do you have a particular reason for thinking that?”
“A reason? …Hmm.”
Her eyes met mine.
Her sharp blue eyes gleamed for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, her pupils split vertically, revealing the unique violet irises of a dragon.
It seemed she had minimized any outward changes as much as possible, but I already knew about those eyes.
Dragon’s Eyes… Seeing them in person is absolutely terrifying.
The Dragon’s Eyes.
The fact that she was looking at me with those meant she wouldn’t tolerate any lies in my answer.
Dragon’s Eyes observed the very source of mana that was connected to a being’s existence. Through the slightest tremors in mana that were imperceptible to ordinary people, she could easily discern the truth behind one’s words and actions.
…I had to choose my answer carefully.
Her question likely wasn’t just about the fact that I had escaped from the Nest.
The real issue was what those all-seeing eyes had discovered about me.
“I can see the threads connected to living beings.”
“…Threads?”
“Yes. Very fine, long threads.”
Her expression remained indifferent, yet her eyes carried a subtle sadness.
Then, as if to hasten the conversation, she bit into her candy even harder.
Crunch!
…Come to think of it, that was part of her setting, wasn’t it?
“To put it simply… these threads are like predetermined fate. No matter what you do, they will happen.”
“…….”
“Fate differs for every being. It might be something mundane from daily life, or it could be an agonizing death.”
“…And?”
Crunch!
“The threads that hold fate can never be avoided. Any living being in this world carries at least one thread. I am no exception.”
“…….”
Now I understood.
The reason she had asked me that question.
“But in my eyes, I don’t see a single thread connected to you.”
“What exactly are you curious about?”
It wasn’t that she noticed that I was an outsider.
Perhaps—
“How did you escape a predetermined fate? Even I haven’t been able to do that.”
—She might have seen me as the key to solving the desperate wish she had longed for her entire life.
***
“So, this means you’ll grant me special admission now, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“The entrance ceremony is tomorrow. What about my student uniform and dormitory?”
“I’ve already arranged your dorm, so just head there. Your uniform will be sent to your room by the end of the day.”
“You’re surprisingly efficient at handling things.”
“It’s not that I’m lazy. I just don’t like hassle.”
She said that and looked at her watch.
…It’s already this late.
She had spent more time on this than expected.
As the headmistress, she still had work left to do, so she needed to get back to it now.
“I’ll have a maid escort you to the dorm. Just give her your name.”
“Understood. Thank you for approving my admission.”
“…….”
Click!
…And he’s gone.
Yawn.
The Headmistress stretched and let out a long yawn.
Now, she was the only one left in the headmistress’s office.
Guess I should finish up my backlog of work… Ugh, what a pain.
Thud!
As she sat at her desk and looked at the towering stack of documents, a throbbing headache began to set in.
…She wanted to quit everything.
She was already distracted by her conversation with that child a few moments ago, so she couldn’t concentrate on her work at all.
“…….”
And so, she found herself replaying their conversation.
That child had said something quite intriguing.
– I’ve never deliberately avoided a predetermined fate.
– …But you don’t have a thread.
– About that… it’s hard for me to explain.
– Even if I refuse to admit you?
– …….
She had been disappointed by his response, but what he said next was enough to catch her completely off guard.
– There is one thing I can tell you, though. About the thread you mentioned.
– ……?
– If you allow me to enroll, I will make sure that the thread you carry… disappears.
It was an arrogant claim.
Even now, thinking back on it, it was completely absurd.
But when she looked at the mana reflected in her mystical sight, there hadn’t been the slightest tremor in his energy.
In other words, he had meant every word he said.
…Have I finally lost my mind after living so long?
Well, she had already approved his admission. At this point, it would be difficult to take it back.
Whether he had been speaking the truth or not, she would just have to keep an eye on him and find out.
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