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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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11:00 am.
Before me was the course registration counter, strangely deserted.
‘…Did I get the time wrong?’
I furrowed my brow instinctively…
Not that it mattered since my face was covered with bandages anyway.
I scanned my surroundings.
There was no one.
I checked my watch again.
It was 10:57 am.
Considering the counter opened at 11:00 sharp, it was strange that there wasn’t a crowd already.
There should have been one.
‘What’s going on? Did they finish registration without me knowing? Am I supposed to beg for leftover courses?’
‘…Well, if that’s the case, I’ll just ditch everything and go have fun.’
Another minute passed.
Still no one.
‘Seriously, what’s happening?
Did I hear wrong?
Am I under some kind of hypnosis?’
And then, 11:00 am.
The counter opened, and the female staff member peeked outside, looking puzzled.
It seemed I hadn’t made a mistake.
“What’s this?” she muttered to herself.
“Hello.” I greeted her.
“Ah, yes. Are you here for course registration?”
“Yes.”
Well, it didn’t matter now.
The counter was open.
My goal was to register for courses, so I might as well get it over with quickly.
I picked out the tokens I wanted – there were as many as the class capacity – and brought them to the counter to complete my registration.
As soon as I left the counter, a surprisingly large crowd began to swarm the area.
I checked my watch.
11:05 am.
‘Did they all get the time wrong?’
It didn’t matter to me anymore since I had already finished registering.
There was no need to dwell on it, so I carefully folded the schedule the staff had given me and put it in my pocket.
Then I headed out of the academy.
Students were allowed to freely leave the premises, and I had nothing else to do today, so I planned to explore the town.
As I stood before the school gate, I was suddenly pulled by an unknown force, dragged into the bushes next to it.
“What the… Sora?”
Waiting for me there was Sora, now an instructor at the academy.
She was wearing the faculty uniform instead of her usual spotless white robe, confirming her new role.
“You… you…”
Sora trembled with what seemed like anger the moment she saw me.
She grabbed me by the collar and shouted, “Why didn’t you register for my class!?”
“Oh, I don’t want to learn magic.”
I didn’t bother asking how she knew.
This little archmage was always surprisingly well-informed.
At my casual reply, her grip on my collar loosened.
Since she was a mage, I hadn’t felt any real pressure or difficulty breathing, but I was still grateful she let go.
“…Why? You said you liked magic. You said it was cool.”
“Ah, back then?”
I sensed something strange.
With Sora’s abilities, she should have already noticed something.
“Didn’t you use magic sight?”
Magic sight.
The ability to sense the flow of magic power within another person.
Sora shook her head at my question and spoke in a slightly sad voice.
“…I did. Rain noticed it too.”
Sora started to say something like, “If that’s the reason…”
“You can use magic even without magic power. If I teach you…”
“It’s fine. I’m too old to learn new things, and you probably don’t want to teach a blockhead like me anyway.”
“No! Absolutely not! Absolutely not!”
Sora, who had been shouting just moments ago, was now cautiously observing my reaction.
‘What’s going on? Was this her true personality all along?’
The Sora I knew was the type to push her own agenda, even when she was in the wrong.
‘Actually, come to think of it, her attitude had changed quite a bit during our adventure. I guess I was just stuck on my initial impression of her.’
“Anyway, I’m going out to have some fun. Oh, wait. I should use honorifics since you’re a professor now, right? I’ll be going out to have some fun.”
I bowed politely, acknowledging our student-teacher relationship, and then walked out the gate.
Sora seemed to be standing there, speechless.
I couldn’t see her expression.
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Your voice wasn’t cold.
It was the same pleasant voice as always.
But the message it conveyed was clear: ‘You are no longer needed’.
I hadn’t disliked those moments when I taught you magic.
At first, I had been annoyed, wondering why you would even bother trying to learn magic.
But I soon relented and taught you everything I knew about magic.
You weren’t as naturally gifted as I was, so you couldn’t grasp everything instantly.
But you weren’t slow either.
You listened attentively to everything I said, applied it diligently, and eventually, you, who had started from scratch, were able to use magic.
The total amount of magic power you possessed wasn’t that impressive.
But perhaps it was your effort…
At some point, your magic power began to blossom, increasing in volume.
It was almost like a latent talent.
That’s how passionate you were about magic, how much you enjoyed learning from me.
And I, too, had enjoyed teaching you.
But you were so different when we met again.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what had happened.
There was no magic power emanating from you.
Just in case, I asked Rain about it.
It seemed she had noticed the same thing.
Not a single point, not even a fraction.
It was simply… nothing.
There was absolutely nothing there.
Even a weed on the roadside possessed a tiny amount of magic power.
Magic was inherent in everything in this world, so this was simply incomprehensible.
But I soon realized it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that we had reunited.
What did some measly mana matter?
This was a first, but I could do this.
I would make it so that you could use magic again, the magic you had loved so much.
With that intention, I urged you to attend my class.
But Ron, you didn’t register.
I had anticipated the flood of students eager to learn from me, my reputation preceding me.
However, secretly handing you a registration token was risky.
Rain, with her strictness, might catch me, and you might perceive it as coercion.
So I devised another plan.
I chanted a long incantation, something I hadn’t done in a while.
Grand Magic.
A total of 853 verses.
A magic that interfered with the flow of time, the truth of the world, even more powerful than the one I had used against the Demon King in our final battle.
A magic that could unravel everything if it failed.
A magic that no one in this generation had attempted, I cast it.
All for you.
Because I wanted to find a connection to our past, a connection forged through teaching you my knowledge.
And my efforts were in vain.
As the spell dissipated, I watched the minute hand spinning rapidly, my gaze fixed on the spot you had vanished from.
Why won’t you look at me?
What are you looking at?
Is my desire to be with you merely a selfish delusion?
Countless questions swirled in my mind.
My magical thoughts, usually buzzing with activity, were now completely still.
It was as if my mind was filled with only you.
It had only been half a year.
Or perhaps it had been a long half year.
You, who had been gone without a word, yet never forgotten, you who had brought warmth to my life.
“…It’s okay,” I muttered to myself, a desperate attempt to reassure myself.
“There’s still time…”
I didn’t say ‘a lot’ because I didn’t know when you might disappear again.
You might vanish from my sight without a trace, wearing that innocent expression, perhaps hiding your true intentions, just like you had before.
I tried to maintain a facade of composure, pretending to be understanding and indifferent.
But with your eyes covered, I couldn’t see your expression.
And without your magic power, I couldn’t even sense your emotional fluctuations.
That’s why I was afraid.
Because I didn’t know what you were thinking, how you were feeling as you faced me.
I had always thought I was right, but in this situation, I had no idea what to do.
What would you do if you were in my position?
Would you let me go, telling me to forget about you and fly freely?
Or would you cling to me, demanding an explanation?
Or would you create an environment where I was completely dependent on you, monitoring my every move?
Or… would you sever my limbs and lock me away, making sure I could never escape?
I was still unsure.
So for now, I would just observe.
I took out a ring-shaped magical tool from my pocket.
An image appeared in the center of the ring.
It was you.
I had cast a tracking spell on you without your knowledge, ensuring that I would never lose you again.
Yes, to make sure I never lost you again…
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Ayoo. Yandere women. Im in