Academy’s Genius Swordsman

11. Lion and Dreambird (1)

#11

The boys did not arrive at Marbas until late at night. I could see a dark shadow rising from the ground covering half of the eastern sky.

It was the gateway to the islands, the Romaira Mountains that separated the central and western parts of the continent.

At dawn the next day they entered the Romaira mountain road. They did not bring horses or wagons, so there was almost no toll.

“It kills me.”

“yes.”

Every time I opened my mouth, white breath came out. Like a folding screen, the top of the surrounding rocky mountains could not be seen. The boys bowed their heads and admired the scenery that could only be called spectacular.

“Asher, look at that.”

Not far away, a herd of goats was climbing up a sheer cliff. Asher, seeing the goat for the first time, exclaimed in admiration. Ronan said while pointing at the goats with his index finger.

“Just swipe one. with telekinesis.”

“Si, I hate it.”

“That’s it, Asher. Seeing that you have become a leader, you are also becoming a man. Put someone behind there.”

“That’s… good.”

Asher followed Ronan’s instructions and stretched out her staff. The body of the goat, which was the most lagging behind, floated in the air and reached the top in an instant.

Ronan smiled contentedly. I liked Asher’s more advanced skills and the goat’s appearance that was pleasing to the flock that had just arrived.

“Is Marya already here?”

“You will be doing very well. Why do you want to see me?”

“Wow, what! It’s not like that! I have to return the book…!”

“It’s okay, Asher, I understand. It’s definitely rare to see a nipple like that. I was surprised too.”

“Because it’s not!”

The road was much better polished than Ronan had expected. The paved road was wide enough for four wagons to pass at the same time, and guards with swords patrolled the streets day and night.

“you worked hard. Traveler.”

“It’s also a lot of trouble. When my military life is like a beggar, I energize myself thinking about the gangsters of the punitive unit. Those bastards don’t even corrode properly.”

“Go, thank you.”

The rest areas built at certain distances were also a great help to travelers who crossed the mountain range. It was a possible welfare for the Empire and the Merchant Union to manage together.

‘I also like money.’

However, due to the nature of the mountain road, if only a few important roads were blocked, the trade routes of the Empire would be completely paralyzed.

The Witch of Winter, who will appear in a few years now, was not called the Empire’s worst criminal for nothing.

He remembered the people who had died to wipe out the Winter Witch and her splendid end.

“Maybe… we can meet those two too.”

It was the sword castle Schlieffen who killed the Witch of Winter. And both of them were from Phileon. For a brief moment, I thought that if I met them, I might be able to change the future.

‘I hope that will happen.’

But Ronan immediately shook his head. It was a busy time for me to focus only on my own work.

They passed through Rome in four days. After leaving the mountain range, the season returned to spring.

After a short walk, a city stretched out to the horizon in the distance caught my eye.

institutional speech.

It was the capital of a thousand-year-old empire.

****

The two were able to pass through Balon’s east gate before noon. Thanks to getting a citizenship card from Marbas in advance, the checkpoint was almost skipped.

Today, as I passed the guards who were sucking their poop, the view of the city that was arranged like a chessboard caught my eye.

invited emperor. Designed by the greatest genius since creation, this millennial city itself was a work of art.

“Wow ah ah ah ···.”

“Ugh, just write a villager on your forehead and go.”

Asher looked around and admired the system like a little child.

Ronan reached out and pointed to the north of the city. Dozens of large and small spires could be seen in the distance.

“That’s Phileon.”

“Are you going to go straight to the small town of Hundred Pagodas?”

“no. Is it possible to get hit by a person and die?”

They moved to the market, not Phileon. There are still two days left until the practical exam begins.

Reception was done by mail in advance, so there was no need to stop by Phileon, where people were going crazy.

“Hey, what happened to that feather?”

“feather···? Oh, that strange bird. Come to think of it, did you say you live in that yangban system?”

Ronan took off his backpack and opened the innermost pocket. Blue feathers that still did not lose their luster caught my eye.

If it had not been pressed down with another load, it seemed like it would have come out of the backpack right away.

Ronan picked up the feather.

“Then shall we go now? I have a lot of time left.”

The rich tail feathers were curved toward the north. The two of them moved forward with hopeful feelings and eventually reached Phileon.

Ronan, who could not even move in the wave of humans, muttered with a grin on his teeth.

“You make me suffer until the very end.”

***

– Crap! Beep!

“Ummm…why are you Marpez?”

I woke up to the sound of birdsong. Varen Panasir muttered in a sleepy voice.

His eyelids were heavy and his head was tired, and he seemed to have fallen asleep.

In front of him sat a blue and fiery bird. It was the dream bird ‘Marpez’, a fantasy species that Baren raised.

“Did you have any good dreams…?”

Baren, who yawned his mouth, got up from his chair. The pile of documents piled up like a mountain on the desk and the scenery outside the window caught my eye at the same time.

Baren sighed, clutching his forehead.

“Uhhh… it won’t be easy this time either.”

His office was located at the top of the 13th Tower of Phileon. From the top of the spire, you could see the campus and the northern district of the island at a glance. The people who showed up for the exam were bustling like ants.

– Crap!

“Why can’t I get used to being a professor… I have to go back to being an explorer again.”

It has been three years since I was invited by the imperial family to work in Phileon, but working with humans was still tiring.

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marpez, who had suddenly risen above his shoulder, rubbed his head against his dark brown mane. It felt good to play a lot of foolishness today.

“Yeah, you have to be strong. Even to meet your benefactor.”

Baren recalled an incident that had taken place a month ago. He almost lost Marpez, whom he thought had gone out for a short walk. Even after quite a while, just thinking about it made my heart sink.

The benefactor who saved Marpez has not yet been met. Every time I remembered the conversation I had with him, my heart ached.

Did you say you didn’t want to campaign for saving a beast? It was unbelievably kind-hearted.

“It would be nice if it weren’t for the loss of feathers…”

It was the car that Baren looked out the window with thoughtful eyes. Suddenly, two shadows appeared from below.

One of them knocked on the window.

“Hey.”

“Kuh-huh!”

Baren flew backwards like a man hit by a wagon. He was banging his buttocks and stepping backwards, banging his head against the opposite wall before stopping.

Baren shouted, raising the hairs all over his body.

“Everyone, what are you?”

A boy with dark hair and a child with red hair were floating in the air. Seeing Baren’s appearance, the child screamed.

“Aww! Buy, buy!”

A neatly dressed lion sat in the corner of the room, roaring. At the same time as the mana was disturbed, the bodies of the two fell down.

The boy hastily reached out and grabbed the window sill and the child’s hood at the same time.

“You asshole! Magic!!”

keek! The sound of strangulation came from the mouth of the strangled child. Accidentally looking down, he screamed again.

Far below, waves of human beings were flowing. The boy who climbed up with superhuman strength kicked the window. Wow!

“Hey, hey, what the hell is this…!”

Baren looked at the humans as they rushed into the office, forgetting to say anything. The boy, carrying the child on his shoulders like a bag of rice, looked around and threw him on the comfy sofa.

“Keck! keek! Kek!”

The child grabbed his neck and began to cough violently. The boy strode over and clasped his head.

“Ouch!”

“Yamma, you almost lost everything! Nimi is a lion, is this your first time seeing a beast?”

“Um, I’m sorry…”

The child snickered, grabbing the seat. The boy caught his breath and turned his head to Baren.

“…who, is that Professor Baren?”

“Yeah, yes, but…”

“I haven’t seen Wear Lion in a very long time… Damn it, I’m sorry about the window.”

The boy approached and held out his hand. Baren’s eyes widened. A familiar blue feather protruded through the front pocket of his shirt.

****

“Professor, are you really okay?”

“yes. Both are guests I have invited. Don’t worry.”

Phileon’s security was thorough. Less than three minutes after the two appeared splendidly, the janitors who arrived proved that fact.

The guards armed with heavy armor and polearms surrounded Ronan and Asher in an instant. Professor Baren had to sweat a lot to explain what he was doing to them.

“If only the professor said so…”

“Yeah, sorry for the untimely fuss. Thank you for always working hard.”

Baren bowed almost in half and apologized. And to the janitors who were not sure what to do, they even took the pie they had made themselves one by one and sent them back.

“her.”

Ronan, who was sitting on the sofa, grinned. It was a very different attitude from the appearance of slaughtering cattle with bare hands.

It was even more surprising for him, who had been fighting a race called Wearlion.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. The people who saved our Marpez, right?”

“···Yes.”

“It is an honor to meet you. This is Professor Baren Panashir, who is in charge of the lecture ‘Communion and Understanding with Phantom Species’ at the Phileon Academy.”

At least 3 m tall. A dignified lion’s head rested on top of a body as strong as a troll. From the well-combed black-brown mane, dignity and wildness were felt at the same time.

“I heard that you made the inevitable choice because you couldn’t find the entrance. I should have informed you in advance of the opening order… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry. What are you so sorry about to those who broke the window all the way in?”

Ronan bowed his head. At the same time, he pressed the head of Asher who was sitting next to him.

“We are very sorry. The poor skit ends with this.”

“Sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Hey, don’t do this! There is no reason for you to apologize!”

“Yeah, not anymore. You said it was over.”

Ronan crossed his legs. He made his intentions clear by putting a cigarette in his mouth from his bosom. Marpez, who had been sitting on Baren’s shoulder all the time, approached Ronan.

“How are you?”

– Beep!

read from n̲o̲b̲l̲e̲m̲t̲l̲.̲c̲o̲m̲

Marpez banged his head on Ronan’s lap. The more beautiful the feathers, the more healthy it seemed.

He returned the feather he had removed from his front pocket to Marpez.

“Thank you so much for saving Marpez.”

“I just did it because I could. By the way, he must have been a professor at Phileon. He was a great man.”

“It is thanks to the emperor who recognized his insignificant talents. Are you two taking the Phileon exam this time?”

“Yeah, what.”

“I want you to pass. I will teach you without missing a single sentence of what I know.”

The three of them gave a brief communiqué and then talked about various things. He insisted that if he entered Phileon, he should take his lectures.

Along with [Basic Spiritual Science], it was the first class that filled up seats, but he said that they would somehow make up for a seat for the two of them.

“By the way, I think you should do better with the new guard. Those thieves belonged to Caribolo’s noose.”

“Is it Caribolo…?”

“Yes, you know that the young people are so persistent.”

When Baren heard the name Caribolo, he growled lowly.

The mane that had been lying down rose, and the claws hidden under the bushy back of his hand were revealed.

“How dare those ugly poachers . . .”

It seemed that the relationship was deeper than expected. A tingling sensation in the throat spread from Baren’s whole body.

Asher, who grew white, dug into the sofa. Ronan exhaled smoke and snapped his fingers.

“Calm down.”

“yes···? Heh, I’m sorry!”

Life quickly faded away. Baren hastily hid his hands behind his back.

He stood up from his seat, bowed at right angles, and apologized.

“I’m really, really sorry. To show your claws in front of guests…”

“No. It was great.”

Ronan was sincere. The aspect of Baren, whom he had just misunderstood, was the true form of the Wear Lion he knew.

It was amazing. A Wear Lion who suppresses his nature almost completely, and an academy where he works as a professor.

Life in Phileon became even more exciting. Baren sat down again and opened his mouth.

“Can I ask you just one thing? There was something I was worried about before.”

“What?”

“What’s in your right pocket…?”

“A pocket? .

Ronan, who was rummaging through his pockets, pulled out a sphere. It was an unidentified substance produced by Marpez.

A month has passed, and there has been no significant change in appearance.

“He was born. Do you know what it is?”

Ronan pointed to Marpez, who was dozing on his lap.

But no answer came. Baren looked at the sphere as if possessed by something.

“What’s wrong?”

“It can be… it can be…”

Varen, the Auror Awakened, immediately noticed that it was Marpez’s egg. Because the dream bird’s unique mana was flowing from the surface.

But there was something else that really puzzled him. The mana felt was not just the dream bird.