The Slippery Mage

"Julian, it's about time. You've done well today. Start reading these books in your free time. Even a few words a day will be helpful for you to learn how to read. It's time we meet your sister," I say as I finish teaching Julian how to read for the day. Will I teach him again in the future or not? It depends on this meeting.

It's already afternoon and someone told me that Sabine will return sooner or later with Cornelia. All of the staffs here seem to be our allies. At least they should be Felix's or maybe Duchess Johanna's people. I don't think a mere librarian has enough power to get everyone on his side so maybe they're people Duchess Johanna sent.

There are two libraries in Dahlia. One is in the academy while the other is here. The one in the academy is mainly focused on for the students to learn from while the library here is for everyone including children. But this library is more complete than the one in the academy.

The reason? I don't know. It's not in the game and I didn't bother to ask Felix who was boasting about this library proudly.

We return to the office and after the staff serves us with some snacks and tea, the door is opened by Sabine.

"She's here," Sabine says as she guides the person behind her. It's Cornelia.

A teenage girl with brown hair. The only thing I know about her appearance from the game was the hair color. Because it's an old game and the sprite is not big, I couldn't find her based on appearance. It's too common and it's just pixelated graphic on the screen.

Based on the game, she was supposed to be an extreme beauty. I guess the game was right. Though I had no interest with her because of her beauty that can be the source of problem in the future.

"You're Cornelia? I'm Miroslav, the one who sent the message to you," I say.

"So you're the—"

"Stop right there. Before that, you have to resolve your family trouble first," I cut her off before she could say anything else.

Only then she realizes that there's a kid sitting next to me. It's a kid she's familiar with. Julian.

"Julian! You come to visit me? Where's Mom or Dad? You're not alone, right?" Cornelia asks as she rushes toward her brother not knowing that her brother is afraid of her. So before she can get any closer to him, I block her way.

"I bought Julian from a slave trader. Your parents sold him away to get money to pay for your tuition and allowance for living here. Seems like my guess is right. Your excitement about your new life made you ignore everything else. Talk with your brother first before we go to the main topic later," I say.

"What!? Julian, you were sold as a slave!?"

Cornelia tries to touch Julian but Julian slaps her away. I guess I have to intervene.

"Julian, do you want to talk with your sister or should I do it for you?" I ask Julian.

He nods without saying anything as he makes himself appear smaller and hugs my arm.

"Fine. So, I'll speak for him. When Julian was born, did your parents care for him?" I ask.

"Of course they did! They're his parents!" Cornelia replies angrily.

"But they're your parents as well. Did they raise you or leave you be most of the time because you're totally different than other babies? For example, you understood many things that babies don't so your parents didn't have to care much about you and they believed that babies were like that so they expected the same when Julian was born?" I ask again.

"That's… I was… different."

"Right. I had some people helped me to investigate your family because of our similarities. After some investigation, I learned that once they found out that raising Julian was different, they believed you to be a genius. And that's what made them ignore Julian even more. Tell me, was Julian raised and feed properly if you weren't there?" I ask.

Cornelia is speechless. She's looking down trying to find out more from her memories.

"Isn't that what parents should normally do?" Cornelia asks.

"Exactly. But after talking this much, do you still believe that your parents are normal? I'm sorry to say this but your family is poor. They have to sell everything to pay for your tuition because you selfishly said you wanted to attend the academy without thinking of your family's financial status. And your parents must have believed that once you graduated from the academy you will be able to bring prosperity for them. Or more like you will be the one getting them out of their poor life," I say.

She's living a happy life. A very positive way of life. It's like she wants to live the life she knew from the novel she read without thinking about the consequences. At least she should look around her more closely before she makes her decision.

It's normal for parents to do this. It's normal for parents to do that. But that doesn't mean every parent is the same. There are always those who are abnormal.

"…Julian?"

Cornelia wants to ask Julian if what I say is true. But Julian is too afraid to look at her in the eye as he hugs my arm tighter.

"For him, you're the reason for his misfortune. It's not his parents he's afraid of. But you. He kept listening how everything is for you from his parents," I say.

Maybe I'm not right. I'm not even a psychiatrist. I don't know how someone should feel. But I know this event. Not in the game. Something like this happened in the past with my student.

A student of mine was labeled as a stupid just because his older sibling was smarter than him. It wasn't supposed to be my job but the counseling teacher at the time was on a vacation and I ended up being forced to do something. Though it ended well. The younger sibling was no longer being compared by his parents. I heard that he became a professional football player for a small club but still a professional one in my country. Not amazing but it's not bad either. It's the second division team so he should be paid well enough.

I think my turn is over. It's time for the siblings to reconcile.

"Julian, I don't know anything about it. I… I'm sorry. I was too selfish to care about my surrounding," Cornelia apologizes.

Seems like she's mature enough to admit her mistake. Even though she doesn't know about Julian's suffering, it doesn't mean she's not responsible.

"…You're not going to sell me?" Julian asks.

"Never! I was wrong. My sight was narrowed because of… things. I should have treated you better. I should have helped our family," Cornelia says.

Have they reconciled? Julian stops hugging me and he finally sees Cornelia's eyes directly. But it's still not over yet since they still have their parents to talk to. They're the real reason for Julian's misfortune.

Their parents are the real reason why Julian is suffering. Whether they will cut off their relationship with their parents or not, I don't know. It will be up to them.

After a long chat, Julian is finally fallen asleep. Sabine carried him to an empty room for rest and it's finally just the two of us. With Felix as an extra.

"…This is my office but why do I feel like I'm an extra?" Felix asks.

"You are an extra at the moment. Well, we don't know where else we can go to have a private conversation other than here. Don't forget that I just arrived here yesterday," I say.

"But you should know about this city more than anyone," Felix says.

It's true. It's all thanks to the knowledge from the game though. And yes, there are some places I can use for a private conversation. I'm too lazy to move or do anything right now.

"Cornelia, about the main topic that we share. Should we talk about it now or later after you take care of your situation first?"

I ask Cornelia who is in tears after realizing that this world isn't as great as she expected. I'm sure she knew about the demons from the novel but I don't think she knew about her family.

Things have changed now. She knew about her brother's misfortune earlier. But because of me, I don't think she will grow as well as how she was in the game if I leave her alone. But if I get involved more with her, I'm sure she can be stronger than in the game.

"…Yeah. I think I should go back home and talk with my parents first. But I don't have enough free time to go between Dahlia to my home because I have classes," Cornelia says.

"Don't worry about it. We'll go tomorrow after your class is over and we'll return back tomorrow as well. By the way, have you ever skate before? Ice-skating, rollerblade, skateboard, ski, or snowboarding?" I ask.

"Well, I once played rollerblade and got invited by my friends for ice-skating a few times. Why ask?"

"It means that you won't have any trouble with movement tomorrow. Go back to your dorm and rest. Or maybe you should find an inn and sleep with your brother before returning to the academy tomorrow morning," I say.

"… I don't—"

"Unlike you I think things thoroughly so I have a lot of money already. Because of our situation, I don't mind giving you some or even pay for your tuition right away. We'll talk more about it once you're done with your business but for now, don't worry about money," I say.

And so we look for an inn for her to stay with her brother while I get another room at the inn. It's not like all students have to stay in the dorm. If they have a place to stay outside of the academy and as long as they can take classes, it's fine for them to stay anywhere.

But finally, I found Cornelia. There will be a lot to talk about. Including the Goddess.