Chapter 43: Rowene Dungeon(3)

“So, you know what happened to Lucy in front of Sophie? She slipped and fell flat on her face in front of everyone. Lucy’s so clumsy.”
“That must have hurt. Do you still have a bruise, Lucy?”
“Show us, Senior Lucy!”
“…No.”

The dark-haired girl giggled, while Lucy responded curtly, clearly annoyed. The tension between them was palpable, but Gish, oblivious, just chuckled.

“Senior Lucy still has a nasty temper. Outside the Tower, she wouldn’t even dare to look me in the eye… Oops, Senior Gish doesn’t like it when we talk about these things, does he?”
“How many times do I have to tell you, Sophia? As fellow mages of the Tower, social standing is irrelevant. I’ve told you before that this kind of thinking is harmful.”
“I know, but Senior Lucy has left the Tower, hasn’t she? So, there’s no reason to consider her a colleague anymore.”

Sophia continued her taunts. It was an open challenge, but Lucy saw no reason to engage. They weren’t relevant to each other anymore.

“…That’s true. I won’t be returning to the Tower for a while, or perhaps… ever.”

Gish’s eyes widened in surprise at Lucy’s words.

“Lucy, what are you talking about? Why?”
“A change of heart.”
“…What happened? Tell me honestly—”
“Now, now, Senior Gish,”

Sophia interrupted, smiling sweetly. She believed her bullying was the reason Lucy had left the Tower. She couldn’t let her beloved senior discover her misdeeds, so she steered the conversation elsewhere.

“I’m sure Senior Lucy has her reasons. Personal, ladylike reasons she can’t share, right?”
“…Yes. As I said, it’s personal. None of your business, Gish.”

Their opinions aligned for once. Lucy was uncomfortable and just wanted the conversation to end, even if it meant agreeing with a flimsy excuse.

“…Still…”
“Come on, Senior Gish. There’s no need to waste time with outsiders, especially now that she’s not a ‘colleague’ anymore.”

Sophia’s words stung. Lucy felt a surge of anger. She wanted to retort, but the words wouldn’t come. Deep down, she believed she could never win against Sophia. The years of subtle bullying had taken their toll.

“Bye, Gish.”

Giving up on fighting back, Lucy said goodbye to her old friend. Just as Sophia, standing behind Gish, smirked, about to deliver a final, parting insult—

“…That smells nice.”

Avalli reached out and grabbed a lock of Sophia’s glossy hair, sniffing it appreciatively.

“What perfume do you use, Sophia?”
“W…What are you doing?”
“It smells nice.”
“Who are you to be sniffing my hair?!”

Sophia yelled, taken aback by the stranger’s forwardness. But Avalli continued her appraisal, unfazed.

“…It’s not entirely pleasant, though. There’s a strange, musty scent mixed in… like you’re using perfume to mask something—”
“Kyaaaaaak!”

Sophia shrieked and clamped a hand over Avalli’s mouth, her composure crumbling as her secret was about to be revealed in front of Gish. The haughty mask fell away, revealing a rather cute, age-appropriate expression.

“S…Senior Lucy! What is wrong with her?!”

As always, her anger was directed at Lucy, who, unlike before, replied calmly.

“She’s my student.”
“…Your student? Yours?”

Sophia’s expression turned scornful. It was understandable. The student of a mediocre, obscure mage stuck on the fourth floor wasn’t someone worthy of her attention.

“…Yes, my exceptionally talented student.”

Lucy’s tone was serious, directly challenging Sophia’s dismissive attitude.

“Exceptionally talented?”

Gish asked, surprised, and Lucy nodded confidently.

“She’s a genius.”

She could tolerate insults directed at herself, but she wouldn’t stand for anyone belittling Avalli.

A while later, inside the tent, after Gish and Sophia left.

“…Why did that happen?”

Lucy pulled her pointed hat down over her eyes and groaned, looking nothing like the mage who had just been engaged in a heated argument.

“Because Teacher overreacted.”
“Overreacted…?”
“You got too worked up.”

Avalli’s casual tone made Lucy lift her hat slightly. Her student was looking at her with her usual playful expression.

“…But that little brat was insulting you, Avalli.”

Sophia, upon hearing the word “genius”, had scoffed,

‘Senior Lucy’s student, a genius?’
‘Aren’t your standards a bit low, Senior? She looks like an ordinary child to me.’
‘…What did you just say, you little…?’
‘Hey! Lucy Ignis! Apologize! Apologize right now!’

Their argument had escalated quickly, culminating in a hair-pulling, shouting match. If Avalli and Gish hadn’t intervened, it would have turned into a full-blown brawl.

“Take off your hat, Teacher.”

Lucy nodded and obeyed. Avalli took out a comb and glanced at Hans.

“…I’ll… just take a walk.”

Hans, catching her eye, excused himself and left.

‘He’s gotten so perceptive.’

He was a different person from the lazy boy from just a few months ago. Having a mentor had accelerated his growth.

“So, Teacher, what should I have done?”

Avalli asked softly, brushing Lucy’s tangled red hair. Her demeanor was different, more mature, almost sisterly.

“We should just go back to Asha Village.”
“But then you’d be a liar, wouldn’t you?”
“…I don’t mind. I don’t want you getting involved in something troublesome because of me.”

Lucy replied dejectedly, recalling Sophia’s parting shot,

‘Hmph, like teacher, like student. Liar Lucy.’

She wanted to reveal Avalli’s true genius, to shut Sophia up. But that would mean dragging Avalli into her personal squabbles. She was already ashamed of losing her temper; she couldn’t stoop to using her student’s power to win a fight.

“Let’s pack up. If we leave today, we’ll arrive in three days—”

Lucy was willing to endure the mockery and return to Asha Village.

“I don’t want to go back.”
“…What?”

But Avalli disagreed.

“You were insulted.”
“I… it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine with me. I’ll be too angry to sleep.”

Avalli’s voice was calm, unusually so, and Lucy knew she was furious.

“…Shouldn’t we keep your identity a secret?”
“Because of the Chief’s request? It’s alright. I was planning to go to the Holy Kingdom soon anyway.”
“Go… yourself?”
“I can’t wait for that paladin to send someone. Something came up.”

Avalli muttered something cryptic that Lucy couldn’t understand and continued brushing her hair.

“I was trying to keep a low profile, but…”

Her voice was laced with a venomous tone Lucy had never heard before.

“It can’t be helped, can it? They started it.”
“M…Maybe you should calm down a little…”
“I am calm. I don’t intend to hurt anyone. But… I want to crush her pride. She doesn’t seem like the type to refuse a challenge… I wonder if making her crawl between my legs would be enough?”

Avalli’s words were chilling, the kind of threat uttered by a villain.

‘…This isn’t good.’

The thought flashed through Lucy’s mind, but it was too late.

“Heeheeheehee…”

Avalli’s chilling laughter echoed through the small tent.