CHAPTER 55: THE APPRENTICE

"But Sir, the soul technology is still too incipient. If we keep developing it, I’m sure we’ll be able to reach some interes-"

The vaguely humanoid creature called Taal’ith was arguing, his voice reaching a pitch so high a human ear wouldn’t be able to catch it. The circuit-like patterns on his body were waving and tilting in exasperation.

But the creature he was talking to didn’t let him finish the phrase.

"Do you know some other expression, peasant? All I ever hear from you is ’if,’ ’if,’ ’if.’ I want results. And I want them now."

If Taal’ith could gulp like humans do, he would have done it at that moment.

The person in front of him was an aristocrat, a noble. Even though Taal’ith wasn’t a literal ’peasant’ by any means, the usage of the archaic word was deliberate to emphasize the abysm in their social status.

Research in the T’karin Continuum worked by patronage. Without the sponsorship of a noble, no research project could ever go forward. And that man, Veyr’uun Varn Raahl, was the sponsor of the project in which Taal’ith worked.

"I... have something. The data is still incomplete, so I haven’t submitted it for publication yet, but let me show you..."

:::

"Master, welcome back."

Mina received Cecilia and Marya as they arrived, opening the door for them.

"Hello, Mina. Yes, we did. It was a fruitful morning."

"Mina, it was incredible! The ritual was so beautiful!!!"

Marya was even more cheerful than ever, while Cecilia showed signs of tiredness and the burden of a heavy emotional weight.

"Master, is something the matter?"

"No, no... I’m just tired. I’ll go to the bath now and rest. Please, make company to Marya."

"Understood, Master."

Mina stood there, listening to Marya tell the story of everything they did in the morning. Sometimes she asked a question or made an interjection. It was clear that she was enjoying it, though underneath she was still worried about her master.

:::

Cecilia was in the bathtub, relaxing and ruminating on all that had transpired in the forest. She was still ’hearing’ that low-frequency, rhythmic ’sound,’ and that made her feel very uncomfortable.

"I guess the next step will be to try that communion spell to talk to Ephemerys herself... Huh?"

A notification of a message received flashed. It was from the French guy he helped the other day in the capital.

[Cecilia, are you on?]

[Hi, Jules. Yes, I am. Is something the matter?]

[Oh, nothing serious. Just the queen passed here and asked me to send you a message. She asked you to come over for dinner tonight.]

((Aelindra did? I see, she can’t send me a message directly. But she could’ve just dropped by via teleportation. Well, she’s inviting me to dinner, I bet she has something planned.))

In the game, there wasn’t a direct message system to talk with NPCs. The ’system’ they had access to was limited and didn’t have the ’friends’ and ’chat’ capabilities.

[Okay. Tell her that I’ll go.]

((Now that I think about it, I haven’t met my other followers yet... Maybe it’s time to meet Siraaeniel and Ephyrael, then go check on Aenoth. I also need to find a way to give them all a way to message me directly.))

[She said that she’ll be waiting for you, then.]

Cecilia dismissed the chat window and closed her eyes.

((Should I present Marya to them? Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Marya is just studying part-time with me.))

Cecilia remembered what Gertrude asked of her.

((Should I really take her as an apprentice? The girl really has talent and the will to go through with it. She is smart and learns quickly.))

In the life on Earth, she was never the dependable person. As one would expect, given her situation, she was the one who depended on others. To have someone depend on her was a bit frightening, but also a welcome change.

((I never had strong ties to that world. But here... I think that I should create ties here. Lay down some roots. It wouldn’t be a bad thing. I’m just not confident enough in my abilities to teach anything to anyone.))

She sighed, splashing a bit of the bathwater with her hands.

((I’ve never had a bath in a bathtub before coming to this world. In some senses, I’m still just a child. I’m not in a position to guide or teach others...))

The thoughts were coming and going in her mind, wavering.

((But I see where Gertrude is coming from. If I don’t do it, who will? What other chance will she ever have, living here at the forest’s border?))

There was a sober undercurrent in her thoughts, giving her a bolster of resolve. She remembered all those memes about ’there are two wolves inside me.’ One was the teenager disabled with low self-esteem; the other was the mature priestess as powerful as a demigod.

((Is this the effect of that Wisdom stat? Or is it just the world trying to overwrite my personality with the one of my character that I wrote? Ugh, whatever. Let’s just accept it for now and move forward. Time to get out the bath.))

She stood up, water dripping from her naked body. There was a big mirror near the wall at the other side of the room, and she glimpsed her own form in it.

((Whoa... that woman is so pretty I would get crazy about her if I met her IRL... It’s so insane that I’m the one living in this body. No matter how many times I see my own reflection, I still get awed every single time. But it’s not time to dwell on it.))

:::

After some time, Cecilia was with Marya at the dining table, while Mina served lunch.

"Marya, do you want to become my apprentice? Not just study part-time, but become a full-time one?"

"YES!!! Yes, I want it, Miss Cecilia! I’ll ask Mom, but I think she’ll allow it."

"Hehe. She was the one who asked me about it in the first place, so we already have her approval. Of course, we’ll still talk with her. But I need you to think deeply about it. You’ll come live here, and will go with me on travels, but there will be danger."

"I’m not afraid of any danger when I’m with you, Miss Cecilia. Or should I say... Sensei?"

((Huh? Where did she learn that word? It’s a fitting one, though. Better than ’master.’))

"Sensei is good. Then let’s head to the inn after lunch and talk with Gertrude. You’ll use the afternoon to move in, and in the evening we’ll have dinner in Drakenhof."

"I will prepare a bedroom for the young mistress, then."

Mina joined the conversation. She was behaving very professionally, but her eyes betrayed her excitement about the idea of having Marya with them.

But Marya was baffled by something Cecilia said.

"Wait, wait. What do you mean by ’have a dinner in Drakenhof’? Isn’t it very far away?"

That was a very normal question. The idea of the existence of teleporting had faded from public knowledge and memory several generations ago.

"It’s one of my secrets. I have several of them, and, if you are to be my apprentice, you must keep all those secrets and never allow anyone to discover them."

"I will. I swear!"