The seventh year since the passing of the Hero Himmel.
"Greetings, honored Grand-Master~"
Purple pupils glimmered, a pristine brightness shining within her narrow eyes. The little girl—green hair tied into a single ponytail—chirped out her cheerful greeting. Her small hand gripped an iron-inlaid rosewood staff as she bowed deeply, her ponytail swishing up and down in a single sweep.
Standing behind her, Yuna wore a faintly gentle smile.
Nanoda met the girl's eyes.
This child seemed rather clever, and looked remarkably precocious.
Nanoda set the hand mirror back down on the table, doing her best to soften her stiff, almost cold expression into something a little more peaceable. "So... Yuna, could you explain to me what exactly this is all about?"
Before she'd even realized it, she had somehow crossed the threshold into the ranks of the "grand-master, the old-timer." This disciple's disciple had truly come out of nowhere.
For a moment Nanoda couldn't quite process it—especially this child in front of her. The more she looked, the more familiar the girl seemed.
"Hehe, you weren't expecting this, were you, Lady Nanoda?"
Only then did Yuna step forward to comb Nanoda's hair, explaining as she did: "I met this child a while back when I went out shopping. She seemed to be a runaway, and at the time there was even a magic wolf chasing after her."
"I was quite surprised that a child this small could flee for so long with a magic beast on her heels, so I stepped in and rescued her. I brought her all the way back to Gaderia, and she latched right onto me, going on and on about wanting to learn my magic."
"So that's how I ended up with a grand-disciple?"
Feeling the pleasant sensation of the comb gliding evenly across her scalp, Nanoda narrowed her eyes.
The girl stood obediently to one side, her lively eyes sizing up both her master and her grand-master, the corners of her mouth curling upward without a word.
"Oh, that's right—this child's name is Übel. It really is fate; the first sounds of our names are exactly the same."
Yuna's lively, adorable manner made her seem like that same young girl from all those years ago—or perhaps, in front of Nanoda, Yuna had always been just like this.
"?"
That familiar name struck Nanoda as intimately familiar indeed.
"Rest assured, Lady Nanoda. Aside from being a bit mischievous now and then, she's a clever, well-behaved child."
As Yuna spoke, several words had already leapt into Nanoda's mind.
"Problem child." "Rotten personality." "Loves fighting." "Madness." "A little strange."
She stole another glance at Übel. Even though the girl was still a child, her appearance was already a nine-out-of-ten match.
At that moment, having finished her grooming, Yuna set down the comb in her hand.
"This child is a genius when it comes to magic. I only taught her carefully once, and she'd already mastered the Severance Magic you taught me."
"Is that so."
Nanoda wasn't surprised—after all, Severance Magic was truly quite similar to that spell Übel would one day create herself, the one hailed as "the magic that cuts through anything that can be cut."
She rose from her chair, and that single gray eye peeking out from behind her hair fixed its gaze entirely upon Übel for the first time.
A sudden pressure. Beneath those strands of white hair, a sliver of gold clashed strikingly against the gray before her.
Watching the "grand-master" rise from her chair, feeling the invisible aura released in that instant, Übel almost instinctively tensed her body, seized by the sensation of being stared down by some ancient monster.
Demon Race—Übel had discovered long ago that, from those pair of broken horns, her grand-master was very likely a member of the Demon Race.
An existence that seemed placid and unruffled on the surface, yet now felt so cold and terrifying.
It was the fear one feels before something colossal.
Bold as Übel was, she still swallowed nervously.
"Yuna tells me—why did you run away from home?"
The calm words reached Übel's ears like a cold winter wind, nearly making her tremble. Her fingertips fidgeted restlessly, giving her staff a light twirl, and she pressed her lips together slightly.
Beside her, Yuna was momentarily stunned as well. She knew Übel had unspeakable circumstances, and so had never pried too deeply into her past. After all, this was a disciple she herself had acknowledged, and over these days spent together, Yuna had come to know Übel's character.
This child was fiercely proud—a trait she shared with Yuna herself. At times a bit clumsy, and at other times oddly bashful in strange ways; but on the whole she wasn't bad at all—rather, she was quite well-behaved.
"Do I really have to give a reason?"
"Of course."
After only averting her eyes for a moment, Übel lifted her head again.
"I want to learn magic."
An utterly simple answer—just like Yuna's own, all those years ago.
Nanoda gave no reply, merely regarding little Übel calmly, and the atmosphere grew heavy in an instant.
"Lady Nanoda, she's still just a child."
Yuna couldn't help but speak up.
"I know. But she's also your future disciple, my future grand-disciple. Naturally I have to vet her properly."
In the end, Nanoda's heart still softened. Just as Yuna had said, Übel was still a child, and she hadn't sensed any viciousness or malice in her.
By instinct, this was a child brimming with spirit.
"All right, all right, I'll admit it. You've already taught her magic anyway, so you can educate your own disciple yourself. But—if you run into any trouble down the road, remember to come to me first thing."
Reaching out to pat Übel's head as though stroking a kitten, Nanoda then walked straight out.
"Have Übel stay and eat breakfast with us."
Yuna, still carrying a hint of worry, finally broke into a smile. "Thank you, Lady Nanoda."
Übel held her staff horizontally in front of her, her other hand touching the head that had just been patted. She couldn't quite make out this grand-master's temperament.
It was then that Yuna's hand reached over and clasped hers—so soft, so warm, just like a so-called mother.
"Come on, and I'll introduce you along the way—to Lady Aura, Lady Linie, and Jane."
"Mm... mm."
Übel nodded.
Aside from her grand-master, who perfectly concealed her mana and remained utterly unreadable, this house held two more surges of mana so vast she could scarcely imagine them.
This made Übel all the more curious, and awakened her to the vastness of the magical world—yearning ever more for greater, stronger magic.
She wanted to understand: to understand her master, to understand more of her master's magic, and to understand that grand-master she so admired.
"Another little squirt has shown up?"
Having mingled with humans for so long, Aura still harbored no fondness for them.
Upon learning the news of the Hero's death, she had rushed straight back—only to end up subjected once more to Nanoda's coercive oppression. Aside from the daily housekeeping, she was now also required to clock in on time under Lugner to help manage the territory.
Even though Lugner was weaker than she was, he had become her superior—which was even more unbearable for Aura than cooking and cleaning every single day.
"Food."
Jane sat upright at the table, cradling a book while awaiting the signal that the meal would begin. That hair which had once been severed had grown back a little now.
Linie, meanwhile, sat on a chair swinging her little legs, not saying a word—seemingly displeased that Lady Aura had once again snatched away her chance to do the cooking.
"Welcome to Gaderia, Übel."
Before the meal began, Nanoda gave Übel a faint, Demon Race–style smile.
____
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