「Nice to meet you, Rei. I am Erinde Exilia, the headmaster.」
The person who smiled and as they spoke to Rei and Samarun, who were seated on a sofa, had pointed ears on the sides of their head.
Seeing those ears, Rei could tell that the person before him was an Elf.
Their green hair that reached down past their ears also emphasised their Elven appearance.
However, there was one thing he could not tell. That was……
(A man? A woman? ……Which one is it?)
Namely, the gender of the Elf smiling in front of him.
To Rei’s eyes, the Elf was best described as androgynous, and he could not tell at all whether they were male or female.
If someone said they were a man, he would believe it, and if told they were a woman, he would accept it. That was the kind of person the headmaster was.
「Umm……I’m Rei. I’ll be in your care for a short time until spring, Headmaster Erinde Exilia.」
After saying that, Rei turned his gaze toward the person before him once more.
Erinde Exilia. Having a family name indicated that the Elf before him was a noble.
Rei had been surprised by Erinde’s appearance, which could pass for either a man or a woman, only just noticing the family name.
Erinde seemed to understand what Rei was thinking, who was looking over with a bewildered expression, and smiled before speaking.
「Are you curious about my gender?」
「……Well, to put it simply, yes.」
「Fufu, I’ll tell you once we get a bit closer. You can think about it until then.」
The way Erinde spoke while smiling was truly deserving the description of androgynous.
(I see, so someone with a mischievous personality. Well, they sent a bird familiar over, so there’s no doubt they’re quite curious as well. Even so, it’s usually not this hard to tell by appearance.)
Rei’s gaze drifted toward Erinde’s chest for a split second.
If Erinde was a woman, there should be a noticeable swelling on their chest.
However, even to Rei’s eyes, their chest did not appear to have swelling of any sort.
Even so, he could not rule out the possibility, since he had previously read in a book that many Elves were slender.
(On the other hand, Dark Elves are quite well-endowed compared to normal Elves.)
What crossed Rei’s mind was Gilm’s Guild Master, who looked as if the word alluring had taken physical form.
The Dark Elf Marina radiated a sensuality capable of drawing in any man.
It would not do to lump a normal Elf together with someone like her. As Rei thought that, he was unaware that Erinde harboured similar thoughts about him.
(With his hood down, he doesn’t look like a man at all. Of course, his gender is already well known, so there’s no need to worry about it.)
Erinde wore a bright smile that hid their inner thoughts before speaking.
「Now then, as for why I had you come all the way to the headmaster’s office, it was partly because I wanted to see you for myself. ……I must say, I’m amazed. Just by looking at you, I can tell……how many magic items are you carrying? It has been a very long time since I last saw someone with that many magic items.」
Erinde spoke with admiration, turning their gaze toward Rei’s body.
Looking at all the places where he was wearing magic items, such as his hands, feet, and torso.
「Not just an item box?」
Probably because he had not noticed it himself, Samarun looked toward Erinde before turning his gaze back to Rei.
He did not possess eyes that could see magic power, and since he was not an alchemist, he could not sense whether something was a magic item either.
To Samarun, looking at Rei gave no hint as to where the magic items were equipped.
……If Samarun had seen Set, he might have noticed the magic items on his forelegs, but unfortunately, Rei had already parted with Set when he met Samarun at the staff dormitory.
「Yes. Of course, I don’t know what kind of magic items they are, but just by looking at him, I can tell he’s wearing quite a few. ……Even so, you have an awful lot of magic items. It must have been quite difficult to obtain them, is that not so?」
「I won’t deny that. In fact, many of them were rewards from requests. There are also a few that I found for a bargin while walking around the city.」
「To think you managed to collect so many…… Magic items are expensive no matter where you go.」
Leaving aside magic items for daily use, the combat magic items Rei had collected were extremely expensive.
Thinking about how long it would take to gather this many on their own, Erinde could not help but voice their admiration.
Samarun felt the same way.
Rather, Samarun, who was even more devoted to magic, directed an even hotter gaze toward Rei than Erinde did.
(I get that he’s favourable toward me because he’s devoted to magic, but I use magic through instinct rather than theory. It’d be troublesome if he wants to debate about it.)
Feeling a slight sense of foreboding at the gaze directed his way, Rei spoke without showing any outward concern.
「That’s just how hobbies work, right? In my case, I received many magic items from my master as well.」
Deciding this was the perfect time to make use of his fabricated background, he explained about his master as he always did.
(Thinking about it like this, I came up with quite a convenient background. Thank you, master in my head. Please keep working hard for my sake.)
Having no idea that Rei was thinking such things to himself, Erinde and Samarun nodded, deeply impressed by his words.
「I see, a master giving such magic items to their disciple…… That isn’t something just anyone could do.」
「Yes. Normally, most people would try to keep magic items for themselves…… No, it would be more accurate to say most people would do so.」
「Indeed. To give such gifts for a disciple’s independence…… To be honest, I’m not sure if I could do the same. Rei’s master must be a truly wonderful mage.」
「Eh? Ah……Yeah, that’s right. I’m grateful to my master too.」
Rei’s cheek twitched as his master received far higher praise than he expected.
It was only natural, considering the imaginary master he invented was being treated as a paragon of virtue.
「So, could you tell me why I was called here in the end?」
As Rei asked in an attempt to change the subject, Erinde spoke as if finally remembering.
「There wasn’t any particular business. I simply wanted to meet you. After all, you are the adventurer known as Crimson. Besides, you will be staying at my academy until spring, so I also wanted to know your personality as soon as possible.」
「……And? What are your impressions after meeting me?」
「A bit different from what I expected……something like that? Though rumours about people are generally exaggerated, so considering that, it might be only natural.」
「Indeed. Rumours about severing the limbs of nobles who opposed him are surely going too far.」
Samarun nodded in agreement with Erinde’s words……but Rei found it difficult to say that half of that rumour was actually true.
In truth, Keep, who caused the entire incident, had both arms severed from the shoulders.
Although he was still alive, after causing such a huge commotion, the Earl Eliel family would undoubtedly abandon him, meaning he would never be able to obtain prosthetic arms.
Or rather, obtaining prosthetic arms created through alchemy would be practically impossible.
「I don’t really care about rumours. That said, quite a bit of truth gets mixed in with them too.」
Rei had no choice but to say that.
「Heh, quite humble, aren’t you? Normally, people would want to deny unpleasant rumours about themselves.」
「That’s just like Rei, Headmaster. He’s likely one of the foremost mages in this world. This broad-minded nature is wonderful. I ought to follow his example.」
「……It’s really nothing to praise that much.」
He felt slightly uncomfortable at how Samarun’s opinion of him was skyrocketing for some reason.
Under normal circumstances, someone genuinely respecting a person younger than themselves might be praiseworthy.
However……facing that gaze, Rei could only sigh internally.
(I rarely get looked at like this under normal circumstances. ……Ah, there was Baslero. But in Baslero’s case, he is much younger than me.)
Samarun’s behaviour reminded Rei of Baslero, who was around ten years old.
To an outsider, Rei was officially in his mid-teens, which was hardly any different, but Rei showed no sign of minding that at all.
「Looking at me like that makes things a bit awkward. Just treat me normally.」
「Even if you say that……to me, Rei seems like someone standing at the very pinnacle of mages. As a fellow mage, having someone I can view that way makes me very happy.」
At the gaze directed by Samarun, Rei looked toward Erinde as if asking for help.
Understanding the meaning of that gaze, Erinde spoke with a wry smile.
「Samarun, leave it at that. Isn’t Rei troubled by it? Whatever thoughts you have about Rei are your own, but there are people who don’t like having that shown outwardly.」
Being told that by Erinde, the headmaster, Samarun could not press any further.
To Samarun, Rei was someone he respected, but at the same time, he also respected Erinde, as an Elf and a mage superior to himself.
「If the headmaster says so…… However, Rei, if possible, could you tell me about your magic in the near future?」
「Hmm……I understand how you feel, but you might find it disappointing. In my case, I use magic by instinct rather than theory. I do mess with with the structure of spells, but even that isn’t properly based on theory.」
「……I-Is that so? Using magic without any theory…… Geniuses really do exist.」
Rei’s words must have been quite surprising. Samarun wore an expression that said he could not believe it……or rather, did not want to believe it.
Seeing Samarun like that, Erinde gave a wry smile.
Samarun was an instructor popular among students who used magic at the officer academy, but at times he went too far just like this.
(If not for this, he would be a fine instructor. ……No, researchers are naturally curious. If Samarun’s actions lead to the development of magic, that is something to be welcomed on our part as well.)
As Erinde sighed in a torn manner, Rei still could not tell whether they were a man or a woman.
Being an Elf likely had something to do with it, but it was extremely difficult to judge.
(Even among Elves, it’d be nice if they dressed in a way that made it obvious they were a woman, like Marina.)
The figure of the Guild Master, who was also an Elf, crossed Rei’s mind.
「Now then, ordinarily I would like to speak a bit longer, but unfortunately, my duties as headmaster don’t permit it. Let us wrap up our first meeting here. ……Rei, could you come here again tomorrow morning? There are various matters to inform you about.」
Nodding at Erinde’s words, Rei stood up from the sofa he had been sitting on.
「Well then, it’ll be a short time until spring, but I’ll be in your care from tomorrow. ……I might end up causing some trouble though.」
「Hahaha. The students here are all young. Saying there’s trouble every day might be a bit of an exaggeration, but disturbances aren’t rare either. Please do your best with that in mind. ……Well then, Samarun. Take care of him.」
「Yes. Leave it to me.」
Those words served as the cue. Erinde stood up and headed toward the office desk.
Samarun did the same, urging Rei along as they left the headmaster’s office.
(Well, in any case, I’ve arrived at the officer academy. That means until around spring, I’ll likely be spending busy and noisy days here.)
Muttering internally, Rei looked around the headmaster’s office once more before leaving the room.
Noticing Rei’s gaze, Erinde looked up and directed a smile toward him.