Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#21 It Seems I’m Mimicking You

Lacrina’s transformation had been sudden.

But Enoch was not flustered.

Having already experienced the impossible phenomenon of possession.

Compared to that, Lacrina’s change felt relatively minor.

‘Even so, I can’t just stand by and watch.’

Enoch led Lacrina down to the first floor.

Thankfully, Lacrina obeyed Enoch’s words without resistance.

The earlier utterance, seeking praise, amongst other things, hinted at a certain deference to Enoch.

Enoch surmised, judging by the circumstances, that it was a ‘side effect of the magic’.

‘The more mages hone their skills, the more they assimilate to its nature. Lachryma is likely such a case.’

It wasn’t solely Lachryma’s affliction, either.

The mages who appeared in Eoen were, without exception, mad.

The more one learned the Ice attribute, the more frigid their thinking became, and the more one cultivated the Earth attribute, the more easygoing their temperament shifted.

Be it an attribute or phenomenon, it mattered not.

Anyone who polished magic was eventually consumed by it.

The moment one peers into magic, magic, too, peers back.

‘To prevent that, the mage must possess a strong will. The Lightning Magetower Lord, Vergo, is a prime example, perhaps.’

Vergo Tessa, the Lightning Magetower Lord.

As one could gather even from the Pankratos incident, he always prioritized rational and reasonable thought.

Yet, the inherent nature of lightning was anything but.

They were swift and potent, yet fleeting and momentary.

The personalities of Lightning mages mirrored this.

Regardless of their skill, they invariably clung to transient, singular pleasures.

However, Magetower Lord Vergo suppressed such a nature himself.

Solely through his own will and formidable effort.

Lachryma, before him, had to become like that, too.

Enoch steeled his resolve and opened his mouth.

“Lachryma.”

“Yes.”

Lachryma answered at once.

The two were currently seated side-by-side at the counter bar on the first floor.

The master, wiping cups nearby, glanced their way intermittently.

A decidedly uncomfortable atmosphere, in many ways.

Enoch sighed and began.

“Praise must come first, I suppose. To awaken magic through self-study alone… Truly, an achievement worthy of being called that of talent.”

“Thank you.”

“However, I cannot simply offer unqualified praise. Look at your current state. You have been consumed by the Ice attribute, from studying magic alone, haven’t you.”

Enoch added, as if scolding her.

Lacrimosa shook her head resolutely at her teacher’s words.

“It’s alright. On the contrary, I like it even more.”

“Like it? You, in this state?”

“Yes. Unlike before, no agitation arises. Right now, I am in a state of absolute perfection. I think that, rather than my immature self of the past, this present is better.”

Lacrimosa stared directly at Enoch.

Her attitude conveyed there was not a shred of falsehood in what she said.

Enoch’s head throbbed.

When the one who was consumed was like this, nothing he said would get through.

“Look, Miss.”

The master, who had been watching, interjected.

He opened his mouth as if lodging a complaint.

“Couldn’t you at least consider my feelings a little? The entire second floor is frozen over, what am I, the owner, supposed to do?”

“It’s alright. My teacher has already paid the money. Isn’t receiving money for things like this precisely why you’re here?”

“…Look. Even so, magic is a separate matter. Anyway, remember this. If you continue like this, I will have no choice but to kick you out.”

“I don’t care. I, Lacrimosa, someday will be the proud mistress of the Ice Crystal Magic Tower. I will not engage in humiliating pleas. Kick me out or don’t, as you please. Only the master will suffer a loss from it.”

Lacrimosa spoke confidently.

Her attitude was utterly devoid of shame.

The master, without realizing it, grabbed onto Enoch who was standing beside him.

“…Look, Enoch. As you can see, her condition is serious. That ice-doll girl has completely lost it.”

“Hmm…”

“If this continues, the second floor will become permafrost. You have to do something about it. Aren’t you her teacher?”

The master appealed to Enoch.

Now, he was his only hope.

‘I need to change my way of thinking. In the first place, why did Lacrimosa have to turn out like this?’

Enoch pondered deeply.

The side effect of Ice Crystal Magic was none other than the alteration of emotions.

It forcefully calmed the user’s feelings, preventing agitation in any situation.

However, Lacrimosa’s attitude now was somewhat strange.

Let’s say she wasn’t agitated.

Is her confidence not a touch… excessive?

‘Confidence… right, Lacrina herself said she was fine from the start.’

Enoc belatedly grasped the answer.

The biggest reason Lacrina had become like this now.

It was none other than Enoc himself.

‘That explains it. So she was trying to fill her own shortcomings in this way.’

Lacrina’s life had always been cold.

So it was in the slums, and so it was in the orphanage.

At least the head nun had cared for Lacrina.

But that was love dispensed in portions.

With other children around, the nun couldn’t favor her alone.

And then Enoc arrived.

Lavishing support without reservation.

Money and luxury goods.

Above all, an unwavering attention directed solely at her.

None of it was light.

Each and every thing was too much for Lacrina, prematurely wise as she was, to bear.

She was used to living as an adult, but living like a child was a first for her.

The burden of investment.

The responsibility of trust.

The chronic instinct that she had to do something so as not to disappoint.

That was the starting point of this whole affair.

The biggest reason Lacrina had turned out this way was, undeniably, that she didn’t want to disappoint Enoc.

‘Acting confident and like an adult is probably for the same reason. The problem is her emotions burst at some point. Was the timing around when I briefly left?’

Enoc clicked his tongue, surmising the sequence of events.

‘It’s not quite a mistake, but rather a matter of being unlucky. It seems I happened to touch something akin to a trauma.’

Unlucky in many ways.

Enoc sighed softly.

At the same time, he thought of a solution.

‘In the end, the root of the problem is Lacrina’s self-loathing. If so, then affirming her original self, conversely, should make things considerably better.’

At least it would be better than merely standing by, observing.

Enoch thought thus, quietly calling the girl’s name.

“…Lacrimosa.”

“…? Teacher? Why do you look at me like that?”

Lacrimosa tilted her head, as if asking what was wrong.

In that instant, Enoch reached out and grasped Lacrimosa’s shoulder.

-Thunk.

“……?”

“Lacrimosa, listen to me carefully.”

-Lick.

Enoch ran his tongue over his lips.

Now was the time to speak his mind.

“I sincerely hope that you become a great mage. However, I absolutely do not want you to lose yourself in the process.”

“…Yes? But—”

“No. Listen to me first.”

Enoch cut her off, firmly.

In moments like these, the opportunity for rebuttal was a mere luxury.

When delivering truly important words, hesitation, nor deviation, would be permitted.

“Lacrimosa, I liked the original you more than the you of now.”

Lacrimosa kept her mouth shut, staring at Enoch.

A flicker of unease crossed her gaze, but Enoch paid it no mind.

“You were goofy. You were aware of what others thought, and sometimes you even bluffed. But all of that was human. That was precisely you. Those were the moments when you were truly living as yourself.”

“……”

“I still chuckle when I think of the spiced apple wine. There was never a time when I liked you as much as I did then. But what about the current you? It’s as if you’re forcing yourself to kill your emotions and continuing to act, like an actress. Do you think I would want something like that? No, from the beginning, was that kind of appearance truly what you desired?”

Enoch’s voice grew stronger and stronger.

Lacrimosa remained silent, simply listening to his words, blankly.

Enoch thought that wasn’t a bad thing.

What was needed at this moment wasn’t logic or persuasion.

The important thing was the momentum to shake the other person’s heart.

To deliver a more intense resonance than the weight of words, that was the goal.

At long last, Enoch grasped Lacrimna’s hands firmly in his own.

Presently, with a voice that brooked no argument, as if reciting an incantation, he spoke once more.

“I say it again. Magic is but a part of your life, not the entirety of your being. Before mastering the arcane, you must first complete yourself. Before becoming a masterful mage, first become a masterful human. The Lacrimna I taught was such a child.”

“……”

“Lacrimna, I implore you. I need you. I beg you, return to the you that savored Solis Blossom and reveled in the fragrance of Alaria blooms.”

Enoch finished his words with a stern countenance.

All of this discourse transpired within a single breath.

‘Tore it apart.’

Enoch was inwardly pleased.

And in truth, there wasn’t much wrong with what he’d said.

Unsurprisingly. Belatedly, color returned to Lacrimna’s face, which had been frozen in place.

“Th-, um… well…”

Lacrimna averted her gaze and lowered her head.

Her face, shadowed, was subtly flushed.

For some reason, her fingers fidgeted incessantly.

“Th… um… Teacher?”

“What is it?”

“That… what you said just now… is it true? That you truly need me…”

Lacrimna asked haltingly.

Her demeanor seemed to demand assurance.

Very well, if that is what she desires, then that is what he shall provide.

Enoch offered a faint smile, adding quietly.

“Lacrimna.”

“……”

“I have never told you a single lie.”

Enoch’s words pierced her heart like splinters.

The conversation concluded there.

The moment she heard his answer, Lacrimna lowered her head completely.

The tips of her ears were strangely flushed.

She shuddered faintly, as if touched by a sudden chill, avoiding Enoch’s gaze.

‘Success, then?’

‘It would seem so.’

In that brief interval, Enoch exchanged a glance with the Master.

‘Good work.’

‘The same to you, Master.’

Both men inclined their heads in unison.

The commotion, too, subsided in concert.

@

A moment later, Lacrina sprang from her seat and fled towards the second floor.

“I, I need to… go reflect for a bit!”

“There’s really no need to-“

“All the same, I must!”

-Thump thump thump-

Lacrina vanished like a gust of wind.

Truly a speed of some magnitude.

One might suspect she’d unwittingly employed a wind spell.

Before long, only silence lingered in her wake.

The Master chuckled belatedly, as if finally released from tension.

“Well, thank goodness. It seems the matter has resolved itself nicely. I confess, I was growing rather anxious.”

“She’s not a bad child at heart. Perhaps merely experiencing the throes of adolescence.”

“…Enoch, my boy. You need to remove those rose-tinted spectacles of yours. No mere adolescent freezes an entire second floor of a building out of sheer hormonal imbalance.”

The Master advised him, not unkindly.

Enoch merely shrugged.

“Ah, well… You’re in for a trying time, I’d wager. To have a student already emulating you, and so blatantly at that.”

“…Pardon? Emulating me, you say? Me?”

“Didn’t you notice? It was plain as day she was copying you. The way she spoke, the way she carried herself. Rather similar, all things considered.”

“Is that… the impression I give?”

“One couldn’t rightly deny it.”

The Master chuckled softly, turning away.

It was about time to wrap up those lingering tasks.

‘Lacrimosa imitated me, did she…’

Enoch sat at the counter, turning the words over in his mind.

The Master’s words, that Lacrimosa had imitated him.

Was he really just seeing things through rose-tinted glasses?

It wasn’t exactly unpleasant to hear, though.

‘Just a moment ago, Lacrimosa was operating purely on logic. If she imitated me in that state… at least in her eyes, I was the most ideal adult.’

Ultimately, it meant the student respected the teacher.

How could that be something to dislike?

Enoch chuckled softly.

Then he rose from his seat.

‘Time to start making some calls.’

Enoch opened the door and stepped out of the pub.

In his mind, he conjured the code number for the Magic Tower.

He hadn’t exactly intended it, but he had acquired magic through fortunate circumstances.

It was about time to send Lacrimosa to the Academy.

‘First, I need a recommendation. If I contact all the Boundary-Class mages, at least one of them will respond, I’d wager.’

Enoch walked towards the nearby public communicator.

He ran his fingers over the dial, entering the Magic Tower’s code number.

If he asked the Tower Masters for a favor, even the Academy’s administrators would eventually bend the knee.

It was regrettable, but this was the quickest way to get Lacrimosa admitted.

He couldn’t exactly wait until next year, now could he?

‘It’s all for the sake of the world, everyone. I only ask you to endure a little hardship.’

Enoch couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt as he turned the dial.

It was time for the Buster Call.