The next day, the private lesson with Astromelicus was a one on one. The other students were downstairs babysitting Dawn and doing something that might be recognizable as physical therapy if anyone that knew what physical therapy was saw it.
But Pearl was not in the mood for studying or practicing her wizardry. There was a pressing matter that required some secrecy she had to tend to regard the Headmaster, and she never got the opportunity to talk to him alone until now.
"Archmage Astromelicus, can we pause our lesson today to have a little chat? I was waiting until my colleagues were away to broach a very sensitive subject," Asked Pearl from her desk.
The headmaster closed his book and looked at the princess with a smile, "Of course, student Pearl. What is on your mind?"
"I'll ask to keep what we are going to discuss in a few moments confidential, Headmaster."
"Of course." Astromelicus chuckled and then opened a mischievous smile, "What sort of conspiracy are we dealing with today?"
"I have this wild theory, that the lost, incomplete diagram for Aidan's soul swap spell, it could be nearby." She spoke staring straight at him.
What she really meant was 'You got that diagram, didn't you old man?' Pearl's request was calculated. Unless Astromelicus declared with all the words that he indeed had the diagram, she could deny knowing. And unless she asked directly, Astromelicus could deny answering. What followed was a sequence of double-talking and hidden meanings.
Astromelicus wove a spell. Telepathy, of the Mind element.
The smile on the old wizard's face changed to a smirk, "As you will. What makes you think so?" — 'We can focus our thoughts on this channel. You can deny anything we say in here, but let's keep the actual conversation going.' He sent her.
"Kazuya told me he sold the diagrams he stole from Aidan to a 'grandfather merchant' in his own words. One that could speak Japanese." — 'And of course, merchants that speak Japanese are as rare as toothless dragons. It was you, disguised.'
Astromelicus crossed his arms and his smile faded. He answered, pretending to be hurt, "it is not absurd to think that an old, traveled, and well-schooled merchant can speak exotic languages," He pointed out noncommittally — 'My disguise was perfect, Pearl. Nobody can put me there.'
"Yes, my thoughts exactly," She blatantly lied — 'Don't think for a moment you fooled me' — "But then I recall that you said it would take three years to finish that spell. You even mentioned what might be lacking to finish the spell. You know, when we discussed 'Forbidden Magic'." Pearl's explicit reference to how the previous lesson came to be known made the man chuckle. "That is an awfully precise figure for someone that had only vague mention to the spell description and effect."
"Indeed, it was strange, but it was more of a rough estimate than a real figure. It is not a fair assumption that a very skilled archmage with the incomplete diagram in his hands could estimate how long it would take the author to finish the spell, but he would have to know intimately about the spellcraft skills of the designer." Astromelicus proposed with no small amount of hubris.
"I might think that as well. But for all those conditions to occur at the same time, it would be really difficult."
"Indeed. Unfortunately, if someone saw that grandfather merchant in the day Kazuya sold the diagrams, they would find his corpse among the ones slaughtered by the otherworlder in the merchant camp. What unfortunate fate. By now it could be assumed that his fragile merchandise whithered and vanished under the torrential Spring rains, forever lost." — 'I even went through the trouble of planting a body to cover my tracks, young lady. Don't think I was careless.'
"That is plausible. I pray for that merchant's soul, that he may be fair in all his dealings, especially regarding close friends and associates." — 'I am onto you, Astromelicus. And I would like a guarantee that you are not trying to screw us.'
"I have total confidence that that merchant is very trustworthy and a man of his word. Can I ask your opinion on that spell, student Pearl?" — 'I'll grant you this small victory. I assure you I have no ill will toward you or your friends.'
"Of course you can, Headmaster. However, I'd be hard pressed to answer, given that I have no idea of the circle of the finished spell."
"For the sake of this mental exercise, we can assume it is more than ten and less than a couple circles above the first figure." — 'It is an eleventh circle spell.'
"That is a far fetched estimate. There were no new spells of this circle for centuries. But what might be the Element of such a spell?" — 'Nonsense. Are you telling me that Aidan created an 11th circle spell?'
"And so it will remain for the foreseeable future. I know of no mages working on a diagram of that magnitude. Regarding your last question, the Underworld Element would fail to provide the required concepts. It would be an elevated Element, Death. But back to my entirely theoretical exercise. Do you think that spell should be completed? That magic that allows you to not only steal a person's body but also merge and devour another mage's soul should be allowed to exist?" — 'Guard your thoughts, young Princess. I am putting an effort to not see more than you send, but you are too unguarded. And no, he didn't. What he made in the spur of a moment was to create a spontaneous effect that would require an 11th circle spell to safely imitate.'
"Well, my answer takes into consideration your famous speech that 'there is no evil magic, only evil mages', professor." She paused to let him reply.
"Go ahead."
"If I imagine a best-case scenario where this spell is used to save an important figure of state, even in this scenario the amount of trouble caused would be so big the costs would only be marginally offset by the benefits. And in the worst-case scenario, we would have an insanely powerful dark mage that could threaten the world." — 'Saving Lumina is already this big of a headache. Aidan could take over the world if he devoured Lumina. Any other Underworld mage in his situation would.'
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"And what would be your conclusion?"
"I'm glad the lost diagram will remain lost and not ever again see the light of day or more important, get completed. But I am concerned for the creator of the unfinished spell. I think he deserves fair treatment and compensation for his loss and his sacrifice –" She trailed off and resumed with a whispered voice, "And I don't see it happening. I was thinking that the esteemed Archmage could do something about it."
Astromelicus waited for a moment after Pearl delivered her line, and opened his broad, grandfatherly smile. He clapped his hands and stood up.
"Fair enough, I'll see what I can do. You gave me a lot to think about, student Pearl. Our study session is adjourned. Have a nice day."
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Over the entire day and the next, they worked on re-training Dawn to function as an adult human being. Astromelicus visited them and used a Life magic spell to stimulate head hair growth on her. He only grew the hair up to the shoulders, however, claiming it would force her system too much. Another issue they noticed was the severely lower body muscle strength. Dawn was way weaker than before and her reaction speed was also hindered. Gone was the girl that could duck it out with a third evolution Orc Leader.
Her headache was just a mild annoyance at the back of her head now. While she was not entirely recovered, she could already move and talk on her own.
And the most dreaded moment came. on the evening of the fourth day after the procedure, everyone was gathered again to remove Dawn's mana-sealing bracelets and measure her aptitudes. She kept these on for fear of having uncontrolled magic destroying her body, a fact that claims a few very magically gifted babies every year.
"Before I remove my bracelets," Dawn announced to the gathered group, "I'd like to thank everyone for their support. We are one step away from getting Lumina back." – 'And from me being finally free.' She added in silence.
She received sympathetic and encouraging smiles from everyone. Aidan was behind her and he had a glob of Ether mana ready to drop on and absorb any wild magic emanating from Dawn. The girl undid the clasp of the bracelets as she concentrated on controlling her magic. She could recall the feeling of the mana unsealing from when Aidan removed his own bracelets. That strange feeling was like having blood flow back into a limb whose supply was cut for a few minutes. It tingled and pricked every cell of her being but she was able to hold control.
Aidan dismissed the Ether blob, already half-corroded from canceling out the ambient mana. If Ether was to be used as an Element for spells, it would have to use some sort of containment to avoid it entering contact with ambient mana. Might increase the spell complexity by one or two circles, Dawn and her male counterpart mused as they digressed. The sound of the old wizard clearing his throat would bring them back moments later.
"Yes?" She asked with a coy face.
"Is there anything wrong with your magic, student Dawn?" She shook her head and checked her internal mana. It was capped, after all, mana-sealing bracelets did not block mana regeneration. "Then please use this device to measure your affinities."
She placed her hand over the crystal orb of the measuring device, and the familiar gray skull of the Underworld Element came into view. The big change were the skull's eyes. One could see a swirling sea of stars hidden inside the sockets upon close inspection.
> Mana: A
>
> Element: Underworld
>
> Darkness: A
>
> Fire: A
>
> Earth: A-
>
> Light: E
>
> Wind: F
>
> Water: F
Her highest affinities took a hit, but it got scrambled. Light magic was higher than before, probably from constant practice. There would be another major change when Lumina was separated from Aidan. Hopefully, it wouldn't plummet. They were still very good numbers.
Astromelicus hummed as he recorded the readings on a notebook, "Weave some mana for us, please," He asked her.
She used a spell she was itching to use.
"Soul Reveal."
Her soul effigy came into being, a glistening metallic brown miniature of her own body. As soul magic affected both of them as one, Aidan's effigy also projected out. Their seven affinity orbs spun around the images and everything else seemed to be as expected. There were small imperfections in Dawn's soul, probably from the lack of synchrony between her body and soul.
"Everything seems to be in good order." The archmage announced as he packed the expensive and borrowed measurement device. "Princess Claire, she is all yours."
The archmage declaration caught them by surprise. All eyes turned to look at Claire and she smiled.
"Since your 'experiment' ended, our father demands your presence for dinner, 'Princess Lumina'. Come with me, there are maids ready to change you into proper attire and a carriage to take you to the castle. Everyone is invited, of course."
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Dawn was dressed in Lumina's clothes, without a corset. After she incinerated the third piece, the maids gave up. Instead, she had a sash wrapped around her waist and tied into a big ribbon around her back. Now that her hair was shorter, it was quite fashionable and way more breathable. Everyone else was very well dressed. Not at the level of the dinner party thrown to welcome Lumina back home though.
The first hint something was wrong came when Pearl stayed behind and didn't take the carriage. The vehicle clopped in the cobblestone street and Dawn couldn't shake this weird feeling there was something wrong. Her instincts were telling her to not go but how could one deny a royal summon? She still had to play the part and pretend to be Lumina. At her side was Claire, the skirt of the two girls and the sheer amount of petticoats underneath more than accounted for the entire bench of the wide carriage. On the other side were Sora, Aidan, Cythrel, and Astromelicus. For some weird reason, Adain and the Archmage were summoned for this event. If that was only a dinner with family, why bring them? But Claire seemed to be able to read minds now.
"Don't worry, Dawn. This is just dinner with the family. Even though we know who you really are," She traded a glance with Aidan, "You are family."
'Yeah, big lie there,' Thought Dawn. 'We are family as well? I can't see where this is going and I don't like it.'
They arrived at the castle and were taken to a secondary dining room in the wing reserved for the royal family. Lucien and Helios were already sitting. Several servants were lined up at the sides of the room, ready to wait on the royal family and guests.
"Please take your seats." The King asked as servants showed everyone their seats. Dawn was conspicuously placed between Lumina's two relatives. "We shall eat first." He rang a bell and the first course was brought in.
Dawn barely touched the food, too queasy and still not used to spicy or too solid food. She ate most of the salad and the soup and only touched the rest. After the full five-course meal dessert was served, a raisin custard.
"Eat, daughter. It is a very good custard I am quite fond of." Helios took a large bite out of his own dessert.
She honestly didn't want to eat it. Her headache was spiking and her mouth was burning from the spices. Through Aidan's eyes she took a look at the rest of the table, everyone was enjoying their custard but Claire was pale. Dawn looked back at the jiggling confection with shriveled purple dots swimming in caramel and thought about slime cores.
> "Didn't you know they are dried slime cores and they enhance your mana?"
The words came to their shared mind like an afterthought. Dawn pushed the dish away, covered her mouth, and gagged, not from an aversion to the raisins but from realizing what was going on.
It was a trap.