(Ken POV)
"So, you are saying that the previous Magus of Infinity, Vivian Algrande, is currently inside your head?"
After justifying myself as to why I'm not a ward patient with mental illness, Alex inquired as the three of us including his sister now found ourselves leaving the men's dorm and were outside while making our way to the Headmaster's Office.
When I asked Master if it was okay to reveal such sensitive information to the siblings, she gave me her approval since the Dragonhearts are also one of her dear precious allies during the last war against Asmodeus.
From what I knew, Vivian defended the Dragonhearts against the monstrosity of the Dragonslayer Order who allied themselves with the Demon Emperor. As a result, the last surviving family of the proud Dragon race owed and respect her deeply, even going so far as to treat her as if she was their own.
Heh, Master sure was a celebrity back then. A lot of Mages with different backgrounds and ways of life united under her banner as they all battled Asmodeus and his almighty demon army.
I truly wonder if I can do the same?
Dragons, while incredibly arrogant, are also honorable. Once they declare something, they never go back to their word, no matter what the cost. Such was their pride, a testament of their tremendous willpower respected by everyone in the entire land.
Therefore, Vivian was confident that we can trust them.
Plus, it would be beneficial to open up with them and gain their trust. Being allies and connected with the Dragonhearts is going to be an extreme boon over our new battle against the newly reincarnated Demon Emperor.
Going back to my talk with the siblings, I nodded in agreement at Alex's clarification.
"Yup. To sum it up, there's an old hag speaking from inside my mind, offering me advice and crap in one go."
I heard Master giving an indignant growl at my statement.
Alex chuckled in response and was amused by my answer.
"I'm not sure whether to be amazed or disturbed by how easygoing your relationship is with our honorable Magus. Regardless, I'm pleased to hear that the Infinity magic is alive within you. Who would have thought that I'll be speaking with none other than the current Magus of Infinity at this time and age? Aldous surely blessed us Dragons with this grand opportunity. As the next head of the Dragonhearts, I assure you that you'll have our full support in your future endeavors to come."
I merely smiled at his praising remark, quite unsure of what to answer him.
We only just met and he, a noble Dragon, was practically pledging himself at me.
This Magus of Infinity title sure is something...
I then turned my attention to the female redhead sibling who was silent this whole time. As soon as our eyes met, she immediately avoided her gaze and turned her head straight back at the front with a flustered expression.
I could only wonder in confusion at how uncharacteristically she was acting right now. I'm well aware that I haven't known her long enough to be making that kind of judgment about her attitude, but she does not give me the impression of a shy wallflower like how she was behaving this instant.
Of course, all of my character assumptions were based on our first meeting and the Magicka that we last fought with sheer intensity.
Alex seemed to have noticed his sister's strange demeanor and decided to intervene.
"Sister... what's with that awfully timid manner unfitting for someone like you? Conduct yourself accordingly and speak your mind. You do have something to confess to Ken right here if my memory serves me well."
The siblings suddenly stopped on their tracks and I was forced to do so as well.
I wonder what they were up to now?
Alex did mention something about the Dragon lady confessing...
Confess...
Wait... could it be?"
Was this... the fabled love confession that I've been hearing about?
Hold on... I'm mentally unprepared for this!!! Like I mentioned earlier, I knew her for a very short time, and I'm uncertain if this was the right time to be entering into a romantic relationship!!!
Alex gave Anastasia a soft shove to her back and found herself facing directly at me.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw how seemingly embarrassed she was while fidgeting her fingers like a lovely young maiden. Not to mention, her face was red as her hair, and any words that came from that sensual lips of hers accompanied by the stuttering of her voice.
In short, it was quite adorable at seeing the proud and noble Dragon lady acting all cute like this.
"Uhm... Well... I..."
This is it, Ken Bruce. The springtime of my youth came a lot early than I initially expected.
I gulped nervously and I could feel the thundering of my heartbeat, looking forward to the sweet words from her mouth.
Alex could only palm his forehead as he was increasingly annoyed with each passing moment of this awkward dilemma.
In the end, Anastasia rallied her courage and finally convey the words to me while bowing.
"I'm sorry!!!!"
"Eh!?"
That... was definitely not what I have expected.
Wait... she's sorry? For what?
My mind processed for a while at what she said and it came with only a single decisive conclusion.
Oh... Oh, gods.... this was the traumatizing experience of rejection, isn't it?
She even rejected her own confession for me!!! By the Seven Gods, she apologized before even saying the precious words that I was expecting her to say!!!
Depression took over and I renounced my will to live...
Arkadia's magic balls, am I really that unappealing? Was being a commoner too much of a hurdle in my way of getting a girlfriend!?
Not that I'm 100% sure of accepting her confession or anything should she really decided to say the magic words of "I like you".
But still, the pain of rejection hurt a lot more than being burned by her Dragonfire!!
From my mind, I could hear Master groaning with utter irritation.
"Idiot... My dear student is a huge idiot. *Sigh* What came to my mind at choosing you to be my successor in the first place?"
I ignored any further rants from Master since I was too traumatized to retort her back.
I then also heard Anastasia saying her next statement, further elaborating the apology that she told earlier.
Please, no more!! I'm uncertain if my fragile heart can keep this up any longer.
"I'm sorry... for allowing myself to be manipulated and injured you quite badly during our last Magicka."
Oh... so that's what all this was about.
This was not a love confession at all...
My disappointment was inevitable yet relief washed all over me at the fact that I was not rejected of all things.
"Of course it's not a love confession, you fucking doofus!!! Do you have brain damage for assuming such a bizarre deduction!!??"
Master berated me while screaming like she was at the peak of her rage.
Don't blame me!!! I'm inexperienced in these kinds of things!!! The affairs of romance are not something that I'm knowledgeable about after all.
She merely sighed again back in response and appeared to be at least sympathetic in my reasoning.
"Whatever. Just make sure to answer her properly with genuine sincerity. Show some tact and consider her feelings. It's extremely rare for a proud Dragon like her to admit that she's wrong and even more so when they apologize. Simple words of sorry they may be, but you could only imagine how much courage she has gathered just to say it."
I mentally agreed with her helpful advice and chose my words carefully at how I'm going to convey my sentiments to Anastasia.
Taking a deep breath, I said to her-
"There's no need for an apology, Dragon lady. It was not even your fault in the first place. If there's anyone to blame, then it's probably that dark aura from the Mage who took control over you."
Anastasia looked at me quite seriously for a moment and mulled over the words that she was going to respond to. In the end, she showcased her toothy grin, pleased and deeply relieved by my favorable reply.
"I see. Err... why yes, you got that right, hehehe. It certainly is not my fault!! I'm extremely delighted that you see it that way."
Wow, that's some S-rank level of arrogance right there. Still, she was correct in her statement and there's really no one at fault here except the third party who manipulated her.
Regardless, I admired her iron-clad determination in her attempt of apology. Even if the situation was now as fine as it was, I still decided to express my gratitude in the open with a genuine smile of my own.
"Nevertheless, I deeply appreciated your initial sentiment that you had for me, Dragon lady. I knew it took a lot of courage for you to do so for someone like me. As such... Thank you. It really means a lot to me."
Anastasia's mouth turn narrowly agape and I could have sworn that I saw her eyes twinkling. Although, the latter must be my imagination.
She crossed her arms and gave me a harrumph while tilting her head a bit away from me.
I also saw a slight curve forming on her lips, but when I blink my eyes, it suddenly disappeared like it never happened.
Must be another of my imagination I suppose.
"Hmph!! It is only natural for one to apologize if they were clearly in the wrong. Even we Dragons are capable of lowering ourselves when the situation calls for it, so there's no need for your thanks."
As prideful as ever, huh. I guess it's not necessarily a bad thing.
To be perfectly honest, I found that part of her quite appealing, and it rather suited her image as a dignified noble lady of the Dragon race.
I chuckled lightly at her statement and leave it at that for the time being. My intention was simply to free her from the binds of despair, and as per her attitude returning to her normal arrogant self, I surely fulfilled it, much to my great satisfaction.
As I pondered on what I'm going to say next, Anastasia quickly beat me to it when I realized that she already rejoined by her brother's side and shouted cheerfully at me.
"Well, what are you still standing there for like a stray dog, mongrel? We still have a headmaster to meet up with."
Back to being referred to as mongrel. Yup, the status quo was back to the way it used to be.
Just the way I like it more or less...
As I also rejoined back to the Dragon siblings' side, Anastasia shifted her attention back as she called me.
"And by the way, mongrel..."
"Yes?"
Like what Master did back in mind, an angelic smile came from her and my heart fluttered like a butterfly yet again.
"Call me Ana."