Inside the headmaster's office in the main administrative building of Arks Royal Academy, Lucia was currently sitting down on a couch drinking tea made from the world tree's leaves. The leaves had a nourishing effect and with every sip, Lucia could feel her mana circulating faster as her mana circuits warmed up and subtly expanded with each completed circulation. It wasn't only that, she also felt that with every full circulation, the mana inside of her mana point also grew ever so slightly.
'Oh! It's like a week's worth of meditation!' Lucia's eyes brightened and she felt it was regrettable since she had already finished the tea she was drinking.
"Haha, here you go!" The headmaster, who was sitting in front of her, laughed gently seeing her expression. He then started pouring her another cup.
Lucia's face brightened at this, but then she started frowning, "Uhm... I'm pretty sure you didn't call me here just so that we could drink tea, right?"
The headmaster only chuckled in response to this before saying, "No rush, no rush. Let me take a good look at you."
The headmaster then gave her a long hard glance. It was only after Lucia began to feel uneasy did the headmaster chuckle and took away his gaze. He stood up and walked to a cabinet and began rummaging through the contents, looking for something.
"How's your mother, Lucia?"
Lucia was surprised hearing this, she halted her hands that were about to reach for the cup of tea on the table.
"...she's doing well. Do you know her?"
"Well...knowing her is somewhat of an understatement," The headmaster turned around and walked back to sit down in front of her again after saying that. Hearing his words caused Lucia to become confused. Just what was her mother to this elf?
"Anna Yukihime, I'm actually her disciple! She's my master hahaha~"
"..."
'What the?'
Lucia's eyes widened hearing this revelation. The headmaster's master...was actually her mother?
Lucia put a hand on her forehead, she was desperately trying to digest the bombshell news that the headmaster just dropped on her.
"Ah, I can recognize master's research anywhere, but wow, she actually got to this point already, huh? She actually cracked the question of whether or not Mana existed in our plane in a ethereal or corporeal state!"
Lucia's head started to ache when she saw the headmaster start acting all familiar with her. Here she was trying to find a good way to react to the fact that her academy's headmaster was actually a student of her mother...
'How is HE, mama's student? I mean mama...well...she's just mama!'
Lucia tried to think back at how her mother was like... she was just so carefree and at home... she was basically just a housewife! Her father doted on her, and whenever Lucia came back home from playing with her friends, she would sometimes catch her mother acting all spoiled to her father, clinging onto him like a child and whining. Other than the occasional times when she would head into her research room for a day or two, there weren't any indications of her mother being any sort of illustrious character, especially not Elufied Crescentia's master, the headmaster of Arks Royal Academy.
"...you're not playing games with me are you, headmaster?"
"Oh? Haha, what makes you say that?"
"Uhm...well...it's just..."
Lucia took a deep breath before yelling, "There's no way that MY MOM could be YOUR master!"
"Ahahahaha~" The headmaster only laughed in response. "Oh, little one, do you know what your mother was called back when she was still the headmaster of the academy some years ago?"
Another bomb was dropped once again onto Lucia which caused her to pause for a moment before responding, "...my mom was what?"
"Ahaha, I guess your parents never told you~ You see, your mom was the previous headmaster of the academy before me! I only succeeded her because I was the strongest disciple under her and that made me the strongest candidate to be the academy's next head after her term was over!"
"..."
"Anyway, your mother was a really powerful person... it's just that no one would have expected that only after 4 years of staying in office as the academy's head would she suddenly drop it all and abandon her position even before her 10 year term was over! She went ahead and eloped with the Aurielle clan's first young master and disappeared together with him."
Bombshell after bombshell, Lucia was too stupefied at the news regarding her parents' illustrious past that she no longer cared whether to be surprised or not. The headmaster, for some reason, broke character and kept on chatting and chatting about her mother's feats and legends. The tirade seemed endless to the point where Lucia was now beginning to get annoyed.
"Just so you know Lucia, your mother–"
"Enough."
"Eh?"
"If all you're going to do is boast about my mother's past then can I go now?"
"Hah? Don't you want to know more about your mother?"
"Not really. Mama is mama," Lucia said with a slight tinge of annoyance. The elf in front of her seemed to have more feelings for her mother other than just admiration even though he was just her student in the past. Lucia didn't like how he was talking about her a little too...intimately.
"...ahahaha~ I guess you're right! Anyway, let's get to the main reason why I called you here."
After nearly a quarter of an hour of the endless 'your mother' stories, the headmaster was finally going to bring up the main topic.
"This research, the Foundations of Mana...this was obviously something done by your mother. The principles of mana that the school teaches in the classes are based off of all her past research materials. Hmm, I'm surprised that she changed the name though."
"Yeah, I could see that. They were practically the same things that my mother taught to me, but the new materials she sent to Cecil made these so far outdated."
"Cecil? Oh! Your little boyfriend, huh?" the headmaster teased.
"W-w-w-what?!" Lucia immediately blushed while raising her voice at the headmaster.
"Oh, was I wrong?"
Lucia wanted to deny it, but she didn't want to. She felt happy and embarrassed at the same time. She began fidgeting shyly and she lowered her head, not daring to eye the headmaster.
"Ohohoho~"
The laugh was pretty annoying that Lucia forgot about her embarrassment for a moment. She raised her head and began glaring at the headmaster.
"Haha, I'll stop teasing you~ anyway, this maybe an obvious question, but he is also under your mother's tutelage, yes?"
"Yes."
"Alright, but what does her research have to do with Cecil?"
"Well..."
Lucia frowned when the headmaster began talking seriously again. If she told him that all the new research material results were with Cecil, wouldn't that drag him in here with her. Although Lucia did want to bring Cecil here, she didn't want to cause him any trouble. Cecil wanted to stay inconspicuous and his recent actions had already earned him too much attention which he, of course, did not like. If people found out that the two were called in by the headmaster, then the spot light will once again shine on him.
'I... I shouldn't trouble him anymore...'
"I-It's nothing... if you want the materials then maybe you should just go ask mom to give them to you?"
The headmaster narrowed his eyes a little after seeing Lucia's odd reaction. He had a little suspicion about what it was so he just let it be.
"Okay, I'll go ask your mother then. Don't worry I won't bother you or your boyfriend any more~"
"H-Headmaster!!!"
"Ahaha, you should hurry and make it clear to him you know~ you never know when someone else might just come and steal him away from you~" When the headmaster said this, there was a tinge of sadness in his eyes as if he had experienced it before. Picking up on that sadness in his eyes, it caused Lucia to immediately take his words rather seriously.
"Ah?"
Before she could think about it any further, the headmaster leaned back on his chair and said, "Okay, I'll go ask master about this. Since master was able to actually prove all this, then it would send the continent's magic world into an uproar. I'm actually looking forward to it!"
Lucia just stared back at him deadpanned. Feeling the gaze the enthusiastic headmaster smiled apologetically at Lucia, "Sorry, sorry. I get excited just thinking about this~ Let me send you back to class now, Lucia. Hrrmmm...If I'm not mistaken your class should be having practical combat class at the fighters ground right now."
The headmaster stood up and waved his hand, summoning a black spatial gate in front of him.
"Off you go, little one."
Lucia took another look at the unfinished tea that she left on top of the table. She quickly took a gulp and finished the entire cup. She bowed down towards the Headmaster who was laughing at her antics, before she ran into the spatial gateway.
"Ahaha, what an interesting lass... just like master!"
The headmaster walked back to his office desk and sat down into his chair, leaning in while closing his eyes.
"...I shouldn't bother the kids anymore."
The headmaster sighed, "Looks like I should pay a small visit to Master... I hope she doesn't kick me out this time..."
The headmaster looked a little worried. Thinking back at his last time's visit that ended with him being blown away from the village made him shudder a little. He had only stepped a foot into Fauxe village's gate before a large force abruptly sent him flying up into the air, shooting faraway from the village. It was clear that his master didn't welcome him the last time.
Elufied gritted his teeth and resolved himself, "The materials are too important... even if I have to grovel on the ground I'll definitely ask master to share her research with me!"
"There's no need for that," A cold voice rang inside the room.
"?!" The headmaster quickly stood up from his seat and looked around the room before quickly finding the source of the cold, but familiar voice.
Standing by the large window on the side was a beautiful woman with silver colored hair, fox ears, and eyes. She was wearing a long, black-colored mage robe that perfectly accentuated her beautiful and sexy figure. She had 3 beautiful tails swaying behind her and she was currently staring down at the academy's grounds.
"Master!" the headmaster immediately scrambled forward and did a 90 degree bow, but he was only met with a cold reprimand, "Shut it, El. I'm no longer your master. Remember that you're now the Headmaster of Arks Royal Academy. Act like it, you idiot."
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"B-but–"
"I'm just an ordinary housewife now!" The woman replied cutely.
"..."
This woman was Anna Yukihime, Lucia's mother and Cecil's foster mother. The headmaster raised his head and looked up towards the woman after hearing her words.
"It doesn't matter...in my heart you will always be my master," The headmaster said resolutely.
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Anna could only sigh helplessly.
"Whatever. Anyway, I'm here to give you a little warning~" the coldness in her voice dissipated and she said playfully.
"W-What is it, master?"
"Don't go bothering my daughter and son now~"
"Ah! Of course, I won't bother them anymore! The thought never crossed my mind! But...son? I thought you only had a single daughter, master?"
"Ahaha~ well, he's not really my son. Not yet at least, but he soon will be in a couple of years, maybe. For now, he's just my foster son...Cecil, you should know him right?"
"Ah! Lucia's boyfriend!"
"Oh? Boyfriend?" Anna raised an eyebrow at Cecil's new 'title'.
"Well, that's what everyone on campus says anyway~ those two are always stuck to each other like glue so it was pretty obvious? Although the boy in question seems to always have his head up in the clouds and his mind focused on training, Lucia's feelings, however, are painfully obvious to everyone around her."
"Ahaha~ it's just like Cel to be like that. Those two will end up together anyway, so I have no problems, but don't go around bothering them anymore. Here's the stuff you want," Anna placed her hand on top of the headmaster's office table and dropped a pile of documents on top of it.
The giant mound of documents that came out of Anna's spatial ring was enough to fill up almost half of the space on the headmaster's large desk.
"It's the new materials on my research into mana. Just so you know this will be the last time I'm helping the kingdom. Tell the king to make sure he puts his attention away from my children, or I will sell off this info to the Neftersea Empire or even to the folks on Midgard."
"Y-Yes master! Don't worry. I'll make sure I convey your orders to the king..."
"Good, I'm counting on you Elufied."
"Yes, master!"
The headmaster bowed down and hesitated a little, he raised his head and asked, "Do you want me to look after the two?"
"No need. Let the kids find their own path forward. I've already directed them in the right direction and all you people need to do is observe. I don't want you meddling in their growth!" Anna strongly objected.
Anna knew that the current direction of both Cecil and Lucia's growth was the best they could take. Along with her occasional letters of advice and guidance, Lucia's original magic development based on knowledge from Earth that she gained from Cecil was groundbreaking. It was to the point that even she was extremely surprised by the results after hearing about them through the letters they regularly exchanged every month. The output and power would only grow as Lucia kept on developing even stronger and higher tiered original spells.
Meanwhile, Cecil's body constitution and elemental affinity made it hard and nigh impossible for any instructor to teach him. It was better for the boy to find his own path forward. He had his Mana Eyes which would help him greatly and his family's martial arts that was also pretty unique in itself. If he could successfully turn it into a proper mana cultivation manual, then he'd finally be able to properly step onto the path that he wanted.
As a warrior, Cecil was hands down much stronger than people from his generation. His body constitution coupled with his near-perfect mana manipulation made him almost superhuman. The only flaw was that Cecil couldn't yet raise his mana stage and increase his mana quantity inside his body.
Anna didn't know the specifics, but from the letters that Cecil kept on sending back which voiced his worries and thoughts, she knew that she couldn't do anything more but give some superficial advice on how he should proceed with his training. Anymore was all up to Cecil himself to forge a path forward.
The current paths that her children were walking was the best for them. Their fighting prowess alone could help them jump up levels to fight against people on mana stages far above their current stages. Anna wanted to see just where her two children could take their current power and transform that into something better...or something worse. It was all up to those two to figure out their path forward.
It was the same with her and that's also how she taught all her previous disciples. Just look at where Elufied was now. It wasn't just him, Anna's two other disciples were in an equally important position thanks to her teachings.
Finally understanding his master's intentions, Elufied bowed, "Yes, master!"
"I'll be going now. Don't tell my kids that I was here~" Anna waved good bye to Elufied.
By the time Elufied raised his head to bid his master farewell; Anna was no longer inside the room. It's like she wasn't even there to begin with. The only proof that she was ever inside the office was the large mound of documents still present on top of the headmaster's desk.
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At the fighters outdoor training ground Area 3, class S's students were currently listening to the instructor's instructions and were warming up or stretching their bodies. Some were swinging their chosen training weapons and others were even holding mock battles around the field. Their class was interuppted when a black spatial gate formed not far from the training grounds. The students stopped what they were doing and eyed the gate.
A moment later, Lucia stumbled out of the gate alone. She shook her head and looked around the area before quickly finding Cecil practicing his martial arts not far from where she was. Eli, Fina, and Velicia were also not far from where Cecil was.
Ainz was currently running around the perimeter of the entire outdoor training grounds. He was currently out of breath and was panting like a dog, but it was his fault for asking Cecil to help him train his body because the first thing he told Ainz to do was stamina training and it involved running. Ainz had asked Cecil how many laps he had to do and the latter's response was to run until he collapsed.
Cecil wanted to determine what level Ainz's endurance and stamina was as a mage and this was the best and simple-most way of doing it. There were many times when Ainz wanted to stop since he felt that he was about to collapse, but Cecil laughed and kicked him before telling him to keep on running until he TRULY felt like he could go no more. Ainz was still conscious so it wasn't his limit yet.
This was currently his 20th lap around the grounds and the rest of class S began eyeing Ainz with a little bit of sympathy and schadenfreude. Ainz ignored their gazes since he acknowledged Cecil's strength as a fighter, so he didn't give up and kept on going. The only way for him to grow stronger was to accept the guidance of an expert such as Cecil.
As for the girls, they wanted to do the same, but Cecil stopped them. It was better for Lucia to train them instead. He didn't want to take responsibility later when there were 4 corpses collapsed all around him. It was okay for Ainz, however, since...Ainz was Ainz. Cecil felt no guilt at all with pushing him until he collapsed onto the floor like a corpse.
Lucia walked to her friends and greeted them. They wanted to ask about what the headmaster wanted with her, but she said that she would explain later. She then turned her eyes to Cecil who was practicing. He felt her stare and just spoke up without stopping his training, "Wanna join?"
"...Kay"
Cecil stopped his training and took the starting form of his family's martial stances and waited for Lucia. After she took her place beside him, the two began moving together according to Cecil's martial arts forms. The two moved slowly at first with each movement flowing smoothly and gracefully like water down a gentle stream. They were also moving in sync and this caused many to turn an eye towards them. Even the instructor, who was about to stop the class from their activities, couldn't help observing the two's unique way of warming up.
Ainz had finished another lap and stopped to observe the two as well. He walked up to the girls who had stopped stretching and were currently turning a curious and fascinated eye towards the two foxkin. Slowly, their movements began flowing even faster and more powerful as they began putting more force into their punches and kicks. Their mana had even begun to flow involuntarily and it caused their body to be lightly wrapped around by an aura that glowed rather lightly.
Lucia's was a dark red while Cecil's was a gold color. It wasn't noticeable at first, but the more they moved and exerted power in their movements, the more visible this aura became. Cecil and Lucia were oblivious to this change since they were too focused with their movements and after a couple more sets of movements and stances, they finally stopped and the aura that was wrapping around them slowly dissipated.
"Phew, that felt better than usual! Don't ya think Cel?" Lucia said with a smile, she was lightly sweating from their short workout.
"Yeah...how odd..."
"Hey, the instructor wants us to gather. Class is finally going to begin," Ainz called out to the two who had just finished.
"Okay...let's go, Cel?"
"Yeah, right behind ya..."
Cecil was following behind Lucia while deep in thought...he was wondering what that mind-calming, ethereal sensation he had felt just now. It was good and he could feel his body improve at a good rate and even the mana inside his body was stimulated and now the amount of mana had even increased, even if only by a little. It was better than his previous state when his stage and mana cultivation was completely stagnant.
He could also feel that some of the mana that wasn't in his mana point was beginning to condense into a liquid form. This was a good sign so he needed to reflect on what he and Lucia had just done in their workout and why it was so different from their previous ones.
'Whatever it is...I wanna experience it again!'