Meanwhile, in the rector's office, the rector himself, his granddaughter Feris, our two guilds, and Aileen were present.
"Tomorrow, I will inform the students that Aileen is now an exchange student, and her safety will be supported by the peace between our countries," said the guardswoman with a businesslike tone, making her demands to the rector about the history as portrayed in their books and any information about mages, if possible. In the Empire, no one uses magic, except for dragons, but even they usually fight hand-to-hand, so I would be interested to learn about it," she continued.
"No, no, no. Lady Aileen, you didn't understand. Now you are a student of the Academy, and you will receive general knowledge like all students during classes. Moreover, if you start gathering information so abruptly, you will be seen as a spy. And then your safety, as well as the safety of the peace treaty, will be at risk," the rector explained.
"What? Do you want to stop me? I didn't come here to play games!"
"But the emperor told you to learn about the history of our land, about customs and culture. Why don't you try living a somewhat normal life?" he suggested.
"I am primarily a soldier of the Empire, one of the best! I have obligations to my homeland, and don't think that I'll forget them just because of your words melting me."
"I'm not preventing you from fulfilling your duty, but I ask you to be cautious. Attend the classes, try to befriend our students, and they will tell you whatever they consider necessary. There's no need to spend all your time in the library gathering information. Besides, you are unlikely to find all the information you are interested in there."
"Well, whatever, I'll decide how to behave myself."
"Katrina, Asura, Krito, and all your comrades, I am grateful to you for saving my students. Tomorrow, I will also announce that your two guilds fought against the best warriors of the Empire, and the emperor recognized your strength, agreeing to release everyone. Of course, I cannot reveal all the details; I will only inform the king about everything."
"But Krito did most of the work!" Kurone stood up for me.
"I agree, but if I tell everything, how many students do you think will want to measure their strength against the one who defeated the emperor? Especially considering that he didn't have any particular merits in the past," the rector looked at the girl, and she lowered her head.
"It's all right; the main thing is that everyone is safe. I'll manage somehow."
"Hah, a hero... Get your laurels as the great savior. Hahaha," the guardswoman smirked and headed toward the exit. "No matter what you do, whatever deeds you accomplish, in their eyes, you'll always be a pitiful commoner who got lucky once to defeat a strong opponent. Goodbye, heroes. Hah."
The girl reached the door, and the rector called out to her from behind.
"Wait, you still need to choose the faculty you'll be enrolling in. I suppose you'll be a warrior?"
"Hmm," the girl pondered for a moment, "no, I think I'll choose something myself. I'll tell you everything tomorrow."
Aileen left, slamming the door loudly.
"But still, I can't leave you without a reward. If there's something you want, within my power, just say it. Let it be my gift to you for the New Year."
I looked at the others, but it seemed like no one could come up with anything worthwhile.
"Rector, have you seen our guild building?" I asked.
"Hmm, yes, such an ancient building. It probably holds many secrets," the rector replied.
"I'm afraid it's not the case anymore," Rumy sadly lowered her head. "When we were fending off the empire's soldiers, they caused some damage to the structure."
"What? Ru-Ru-Rumy, what happened to our home?!" Katrina exclaimed with horror, looking at the golem.
"Well, well, it's still standing. However, one wall is missing, the windows are broken, and there are some traces of fire in the main room. But your cards, thankfully, didn't suffer," Rumy reassured her.
"Our ho-ho-home!" Katrina slumped to the floor, sobbing softly.
"So, would you like a new house? That can be arranged. Choose any house on the academy grounds, and I'll take care of everything," the rector tried to comfort Katrina, but it only saddened her further.
"Um, Rector, I don't think we need a new house," I proposed a gift that would please everyone. "If you could rebuild our old house, maybe with some improvements, that would be sufficient for all of us."
"Rebuilding such an old house won't be easy, but I think I have a contact who can handle it. All right, let it be so."
"Thank you so much! We'll clear the space for repairs tomorrow," Katrina's spirits lifted, and we all headed for the exit.
Just before reaching the door, I stopped and bid farewell to everyone before returning to the rector.
"I have a few requests regarding the new house. If possible, could you include them in the design?"
"If it's not too complicated, I'll ask the builders to do their best."
I suggested preserving some details of the interior, particularly the basement door. I also wanted to make a small gift for Rumy, for all that she had done for us.
As I was leaving, the rector stopped me.
"Krito, you did well. Your victory over the emperor was incredible."
"Hmm, well, thank you, I'm not sure if it's praise or criticism."
"And try not to use that power anymore. If you do, it won't only be you who will suffer."
I left, pondering the rector's words. Sometimes this old man seemed crazy, but why was he so serious when he said that? Lost in thoughts, I didn't notice the shadow flying behind me at a short distance. When I stepped away from the building, it dove towards me, lifting high above the academy. The creature had black, scaly wings, curved horns, and yellow eyes.
"Ragni! What are you doing? Put me down on the ground!" I looked down, realizing that we were suspended twenty meters above the ground. If she dropped me, I'd end up with a couple of bruises at best.
"First, you'll answer my questions, and then I'll decide," Ragni grabbed my throat with her huge paw.
"What's gotten into you? You know I can force you with the contract! Just ask what you want!"
"You won't be able to force me if you can't speak. Otherwise, you'll have to reveal the whole truth! How did you manage to use the power of the Dark God?"
"Wait! What do you mean by that? I don't understand!"
"Black Flame! How could you summon it?! You used it in the battle with the emperor and with Asura! A human can't summon it! Who are you?!"
"Hold on! I don't know how it happened! I just wanted to gain as much power as possible at that moment to defeat the enemy, and it appeared!"
"Grr," Ragni growled and quickly dived to the ground. "You just wanted to? Don't play dumb! You can't simply want it and summon it! How did you manage to use it?!"
Ragni threw me forward and released a couple of fireballs after me. I barely managed to dodge them.
"Wait! Explain to me first what this flame is, and then maybe I'll understand how I got it!"
"It's the power of the Dark God. Each god-dragon had their own flame: black, crimson, blue, white, and gold. According to legend, this power lives in their descendants, so why can you use it?!"
Ragni continued to fiercely hurl fireballs at me, and I had no choice but to dodge them.
"Then it's clear. When it first appeared, I noticed that the tattoo on my hand began to glow. So it must have been the power of the contract. I simply obtained your power, which allowed me to use this flame!" I explained.
"YOU LIAAAR!!!" Ragni's cry turned into a menacing roar. She gathered an enormous fireball above her head and hurled it at me. "NO ONE can summon the gods' flame!!"
The massive fireball came at me, and I wouldn't have been able to dodge it. So I gathered the mana of the wind in my blades and sent two wind blades forward. My swords indeed amplified my magic, and the two blades sliced the fireball into pieces, scattering it in all directions. I leaped forward and knocked the dragoness down to the ground.
"What nonsense are you talking about? If it's not your power, then whose is it?" I demanded.
"I dooon't knoowwww!!" Ragni sobbed. "None of the dragons can use the power of our ancestors. Even mom couldn't do it, and neither could I. I'm just a failure! I've been trying to summon the power of Nihelim for many years, but it never worked. And you, you simply wanted it, and there it was... Sniffle-sniffle."
Ragni covered her eyes with her hand, but she couldn't hide her tears.
"Then I don't know, it could only have been your power. Perhaps you just don't know how to use it?" I suggested.
"It's pointless. When I saw your battle with Asura, I repeatedly tried to recreate the black flame, but it was all in vain. I'm just a worthless daughter of a great queen. I only hope that I'll never have to rule," Ragni said sadly.
"Oh, Ragni, you're thinking too much! I don't know how it happened to me, but I'm sure it was your power. And if that's the case, then you should keep trying to summon it. You'll get it right," I encouraged.
"Hello, my old friend, are you still working as the rector? It must be nice to be surrounded by so many young beauties," said a voice over the communication device.
"You're the same as always! Teaching was not what interested me, by the way," the rector replied.
In the rector's office, there was only the rector himself, talking to someone over the communication device, but the other person was not physically present there.
"You contacted me so unexpectedly; I was quite surprised. What did you want to ask or explain?" the rector inquired.
"Hm? What do you want to know?" the voice on the other end replied.
"Well, how did I feel a blow that almost broke the seal? And why do I have to explain its danger to you?" the rector questioned.
"Don't be foolish, if the seal were broken, I wouldn't be talking to you now! It's just that one of my students turned out to be stronger than I thought," the voice explained.
"Oh-oh, are you trying to tell me that all of that was done by one pitiful student!? I thought a hundred archmages had committed ritual suicide in there!" the rector exclaimed.
"No, it's just that one young lad awakened the power of the black god. Nothing special," the voice said nonchalantly.
"NOTHING SPECIAL!?" the voice on the other end shouted in indignation. "Do you have an ancient dragon studying there?"
"No, actually, he's contracted with the ancient power with the daughter of our black friend," the rector clarified.
"A real contract?! You mean, a real contract, concluded following all the rules?" the voice asked.
"Yes, it's possible that this is the reason for his power surge, and this is not the first time he has used the black flame. But this time, the strike hit the heart of the seal, and it almost broke," the rector explained.
"What do you plan to do?" the voice inquired.
"I'll replenish the seal with new power soon. I hope it will hold until then. Won't you help me with this?" the rector asked.
"I'm afraid I won't have enough strength for that. Your seal is not the only one that was threatened because of that blow. Several powerful monsters were also set free," the voice said.
"You're scaring me, and will my students have to deal with them again?" the rector sighed.
"Well, it's not up to us old folks to do it," the voice chuckled.
"By the way, I have a request for you. This young lad helped me a lot, and in return, I promised to rebuild his guild's house," the rector said.
"Hmm. I'm too lazy to come to you; with each passing day, it's getting harder for me to move. Just tell me where and what to put, and I'll help you from here," the voice offered.
"I think the place is familiar to you; it's our former hideout. Although there's little left of it after the attack, the hole in the roof and the gate you left as a memory are still visible," the rector replied.
"Huh? What kind of place is that? It seems to attract interesting people," the voice commented.
"Perhaps you're right. There are many good people in his guild, and one of them reminds me of you in your youth; he also wants to learn to use his magic in battle," the rector explained.
"Maybe I'm getting old, or maybe it's just nostalgia, but maybe you could send them to me under some pretext," the voice suggested.
"WHAT?! You haven't taken students under your wing for two thousand years, and now suddenly you've decided to?" the rector asked in surprise.
"My friend, I just feel that my time is running out. I don't want the only one who still remembers me to be an old man older than me, who also has little time left," the voice explained.
"You also feel that he's getting stronger every day. I'm afraid I won't live for more than a year, so I hope I can prepare the youngsters for the battle," the voice said.
"I'll be waiting, my friend. Let it be my last amusement," the rector replied.