Despite returning to my original form, there were a few after-effects that I didn’t quite expect. Of course, the intense soreness was the same, and it was worse around the areas that changed the most… Needless to say, that wasn’t a great feeling. There were a few other things too. My hair didn’t change back with me, like before, although the color did shift again slightly back to orange. My eyes stayed the same as well, glowing white with orange specks like dust, and golden veins. The thing I liked the most though was definitely that my body was tougher. My skin didn’t seem as agitated by things, my nails didn’t chip or scrape, and my hands were smooth enough that I could actually feel the things when I held in them, my calluses having thinned.
After adjusting my clothes more than a little, I made it back to my room and finally got to put on clothes that fit properly again, bringing a certain sense of ease that I had never known I needed. From there I went to the fields outside the city and found the instructors that were in charge of my test results. ‘I double-checked the manna crystal… I actually killed it myself so the last moments seen were me breathing fire in its face and slicing it to pieces, not Lu destroying the remnants, or me almost dying… Honestly speaking she didn’t really do much at all… But she was there, so… ‘I’ll probably have to go hunt something else.’
The look on the instructor's face when she saw the crystal was priceless enough, but when she saw the footage of me tearing it apart it became even more so. It was probably the most smug I had ever felt.
“So… I was told Guild master is the highest temporary rank we could earn on this test. Is that right? This should prove the last demon I killed wasn’t a fluke. So we can probably just use that one for the results right?” ‘even if Lu helped me… The last one really was all me…’
“The… Last one?”
‘Did she not hear about that? I guess my head’s getting a little big…’ “Will this ranking take long? Or… Maybe it’s hard to judge because it’s not a normal crystal?”
She cleared her throat. “Did you really kill this creature by yourself? This crystal rivals that of a Kraken… Or… Maybe something bigger.”
‘Well… Technically I had the help of a dragon and a god… But… That kind of makes it sound like I didn’t do anything…’ “Well… My sister was there too… Although she never actually hit the demon… Technically speaking…”
She sighed. “You’ll receive full marks for this regardless of circumstance. Having friends nearby is normal for more dangerous hunts, and since she didn’t hit it it’s fine. Though… It would have been better to have a teacher as backup…”
‘Sure if I wanted to die… Having a teeher see all that? No thanks…’ “Anyway… I’d appreciate it if as few people as possible saw this…”
Her eyes snapped up. “What? But why! This is amazing!”
“Uhm…” ‘gota think of something…’ “Because… Well…” I slowly looked around. “See, it’s kind of embarrassing to have people see me breathe fire… My family is still new and everyone is trying to be traditional and all that…”
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She slowly nodded. “I understand then… I guess it can’t be helped… “Just wait till class next week, your teacher will give you the results. But know that even if your sister had helped you, you would likely become an exception and still be given full marks.”
‘I can’t believe that actually worked… “Right… Thank you, Ma’am.” I sighed, turning away and scratching my head. ‘I guess even if I failed I would still have next month right? Although… It would honestly bother me to fall behind Lu… Especially now that she like almost kinda looks up to me? Maybe? Or am I reading that wrong?’
As I started heading back towards the city I saw my teacher wave, giving me chills. A while ago I was ready to tell him off… But I wasn’t ready to actually see him and do it… I quickly waved back, but as I raised my hand… All of our prior interactions came to the forefront of my mind. ‘I waved back… So it’s not awkward anymore, right? I… Can just leave now can’t I? No… NO why is he walking this way?’ I took a deep breath. ‘It’s… It’s fine right… Even if I’m not in dragon mode… I can just pretend like I am right. right?’
“Hey-”
“Right!”
He paused for a moment as I covered my mouth. “Siya? I, see you’ve gotten smaller again, but not without new features… Should I be expecting more changes? Are you feeling alright?”
I almost yipped, barely holding it in, knowing I would just stumble over my words and say nothing if I tried to speak right away. ‘It’s fine… Calm down… That was… Dragon me… It’s like not even the same person that wore his clothes… And acted all weird… Who am I kidding I’m acting weird right now!
He slowly crossed his arms, not getting a response. “Well however you look, you’re still you, so I guess it doesn’t matter either way, have you run into any issues during the exam?”
“Wha-what…” I froze time. ‘I get that he was trying to be supportive… But that was NOT what I wanted to hear right now… Honestly… I’m actually so disappointed I’m not even that embarrassed anymore… It’s not me! That’s the problem! How could he think I would ever! Wait… That feels like it should have been the right thing for him to say though, right? This is confusing… Ok… One thing at a time… What would I say here in my other form… Just go on instinct right? Speak what comes to mind… No need to be embarrassed… But… Isn’t it hypocritical to try and act like the form that I don’t want him to see as… This is hurting my head even more…’ I took a deep breath and closed my eyes the moment I resumed. ‘Just say the first thing that comes to mind… If I can just say something we can go from there…’ “Stay away from my sister! She’s way too young for boys!”
He stared blankly at me as I slowly opened my eyes and locked them with his. It was as if his brain didn’t even process a single word I had said. Though, to be honest, mine didn’t either at first…
‘Wha-why would I follow my instincts! My instincts are terrible! That was the whole problem with being in that other form to begin with!’ “U-uh-uhm… S-sorry… What I meant to say was uhm… Geez, what was I trying to say…”
He chuckled. “No, it's fine. I have a little sister too so I get it… Although she certainly doesn’t like me butting into her business… Anyway, You don’t have to worry about me getting close to her. I was helping out a friend and just happened to run into her… Said friend… Who also happened to be her teacher, forced me to awkwardly explain the situation to her so that she would be aware… I think she even slept through most of it…”
“Good… That’s… Fine then…” I slowly looked to the side, my face burning. ‘I can’t believe she’s already doing so well… She’s so young and innocent… But also strong, she really is better than me, maybe not in every way, but a lot of them… No one deserves her.’ “I can’t lose to her…” I muttered, feeling the breeze in my hair chill my skin as my words got confused again.
“By that… You mean…”
I turned back to face him with a jolt. “Th-the competition. Wait, no… I meant the rankings. I can’t let myself fall behind her…” ‘fairy dust… I didn’t just make it sound like we were competing for him did it?’
“Aha… That makes sense.” He said slowly, a bit confused and scratching his head as if he was now feeling just as awkward as me.
‘Does he not believe me? I said it at a weird time didn’t I…’ “That’s what I was thinking, I promise!”
“Of course. I don’t doubt it. Sibling rivalry can be quite intense.”
‘I want to go home…’ “I’m… Just going to leave now…” ‘Oh hey, I actually said what I was thinking that time.’
He smiled as he said goodbye… But I felt worse for wear, just relieved the conversation was finally over. ‘I almost feel like I’m becoming more like an actual child instead of growing up…’ I glanced back at him over my shoulder, turning away and looking at the bright bustling city. ‘Although… Compared to where I was even just last year… Maybe that’s not such a bad thing…’