How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 108

Several days later…

The light of two magic arrays flickered in turn, one on the left and one on the right. Aisha concentrated intensely, her brow furrowed. The spell remained exceptionally difficult for her to operate, and she was not yet proficient. She had to grip her wand with both hands, one clasped tightly around the other, to keep herself from trembling with nervousness. The work was still at the experimental stage. She had to use the wand to control the magical power in both arrays and maintain it in a manageable balance, allowing her to sense every subtle change in their magic.

After maintaining the arrays for a while, Aisha judged their condition and decided the time had come. She freed one hand, took out water and a measuring cup for the experiment, then raised the square sheet of magical paper bearing the input array and positioned it over the cup. Finally, she slowly poured the water onto the output array on the other side…

Almost the instant the water touched the array, Aisha felt a change in its magical fluctuations. The water vanished from the output array, then rapidly filled the measuring cup beneath the input array. Using one hand, Aisha hurriedly recorded the magical fluctuation data she sensed. Since her other hand still had to hold the wand and control the arrays, she had nothing with which to steady the paper, and her writing inevitably became somewhat careless. Suddenly—

Bang!

After a small explosion, the light of both arrays dimmed. Their outlines vanished immediately afterward without leaving a trace. The unexpected loss of control made Aisha flinch, and her pen jumped, leaving an irregular mark in her record. But she quickly calmed down. Despite the accident at the end, the experiment had been a success overall. She had probably relaxed after completing her notes and momentarily failed to control the magic. She would need to pay closer attention to that next time. In that case…

Aisha began leafing through the notes she had made during her recent research. Continual experiments had already revealed far more information about this darkfolk magic than she had possessed before. For example, the environment in which it functioned had specific requirements. The two arrays had to be the same size. The spaces on the two sides could differ, but any difference caused problems during transfer. A solid object could only be moved while preserving its original state. The position from which it vanished within the output array was the same position in which it appeared on the other array. Thus, if the spaces on the two sides differed, the transfer could not produce completely identical results.

In addition, transfer was almost instantaneous. Timing revealed no delay whatsoever. Both solids and liquids could be transferred. And furthermore…

Aisha read the markings on the measuring cup and added the result to her notebook after the long row of existing data. According to every experiment so far, nothing was lost during transfer.

After writing this down, Aisha breathed out softly. She intended to organize everything properly and send it all to Elizabeth. But once she made the decision, worry appeared on her face again.

In truth, two matters had troubled her greatly of late.

The first concerned Elizabeth. Even though they now understood the array’s principle and function, they still had no way to remove the magic from her wrist. Because it was transfer magic composed of a paired set of arrays, a counterspell could not break it. There were other ways to stop it, but… both arrays had to be handled simultaneously. Under the current circumstances, one array was certainly inside Elizabeth’s wrist. The other might be on Brandon, or it might not. They possessed no definite evidence showing where he had placed it. Unless they found the second array, they could not end the magic.

And judging by the way Brandon had fled the post-tournament ball, persuading him to cooperate would probably not be easy.

As for the other matter…

Aisha’s pen paused.

Graduation…

When Eric mentioned it several days earlier, she had truly been startled. Something she had believed remained far in the future had suddenly been placed directly before her. Aisha had never expected to graduate so soon. Her parents had each spent four years at military school. Even her boyfriend, Major General Les Wolf, who still held Wold’s record for fastest graduation, had required three years. Aisha had only been studying in Wold for a little more than a year and a half.

“The graduation requirements for mages with unusual abilities differ from those for other mages. For my previous students… the standard was whether they could perceive the shape of a hidden magic array. Since that is so… you are no exception. I do not mean that you must graduate immediately. But you should begin considering the topic of your graduation thesis and gradually search for the direction you wish to study independently, as… Thorne did. Among my previous students, some spent half a year on their graduation thesis, while others spent two years. You may decide for yourself.”

Eric’s words from that day surfaced in her mind once more, filling Aisha with unease.

On reflection, she had indeed learned all the foundational magic. More advanced magic could not be improved solely through a teacher’s instruction. Most mages explored and researched it for themselves after graduation, progressing gradually over time. From now on, Eric would also shorten and reduce her lesson hours, giving her more time to consider what direction she wished to pursue for graduation.

Time was astonishing. Many of the mage apprentices who had entered the Tower alongside her had already left school, including Thorne. Pal, who had first escorted her to enroll, passed both his graduation examination and warrior examination before the end of term after competing in the World Tournament. He had left Wold the previous week to return to his homeland of Beast, and Aisha and Les had gone to see him off. Pal had looked delighted. His World Tournament result had been respectable, and he reportedly intended to join the army. He would enter the military selection process immediately after graduation, and his performance in the tournament would be greatly advantageous.

At the thought, Aisha’s heart sank again…

In truth, she had always hoped to graduate early. She wanted to become a daughter her parents could be proud of and, ideally, leave school at nineteen just as the mother she admired had. But after her earlier conversation with Tina, graduation had begun to worry her somewhat, because…

…

…Les.

Several hours later, Aisha lay across her boyfriend’s furry back. A trace of worry remained between her brows, but she tried not to show it and continued talking and laughing with him as usual. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the little grove and scattered mottled patches of gold around them.

The summer had been too hot to remain outdoors for long, even in the relatively cool shade of the woods. Aisha had not wanted to bury herself in Les’s fur for extended periods, and the World Tournament had kept them busy besides. They had spent nearly the entire summer escaping the heat indoors. But autumn arrived in the blink of an eye, bringing weather suitable for burying oneself in fur again. They could once more date frequently in the grove, with Aisha napping or reading against Les while Les either slept or watched her.

Now that there was no need to hide his identity, Les sometimes brought work with him when he was busy and sent the completed documents back to Beast. Today, however, was an ordinary date. Aisha held the notes she had made that morning while Les turned his head to watch her. When she failed to turn a page for a long time and appeared distracted, he tentatively shifted closer and rubbed his forehead against her cheek.

Aisha paused and returned from her daze with a blank expression that Les found adorable. Although they often sat quietly together, he sometimes wanted to draw closer to Aisha and play with her—to disturb her, even if no one could tell from his face or temperament. After a pause, he leaned in and rubbed against her more insistently. It tickled so much that Aisha could not help laughing and tried to lean away. Instead, she pressed more firmly against Les and found herself trapped with nowhere to escape. She could only wrap her arms around the wolf’s head that was tickling her and give him a quick, soothing kiss.

The next instant, Les changed into human form.

The young officer possessed a handsome, stern face and deep, intent eyes. Whenever Aisha looked into those blue-gray depths, she could feel the devotion within them.

Only then did she realize she was sitting on his lap. Major General Wolf’s arms rested lightly around her. Her own arms remained in the position in which she had hugged his head and were now looped around his neck, leaving them in an intimate pose. Embarrassed beneath his unblinking gaze, Aisha’s cheeks reddened. She reflexively tried to cover his eyes, but Major General Wolf easily caught her wrist, naturally drew it toward himself, and kissed it. They embraced. The air grew heated and sweet, and neither wished to let go.

Les possessed the strength of a beastfolk warrior, while Aisha was very light. He could easily support her waist and bring them closer still. When they finally separated several minutes later, Aisha’s face was scarlet from both lack of air and embarrassment. She pressed her lips together and looked at him with a deeply conflicted expression. Les leaned forward and kissed her gently once more. Only then did he pause and ask in concern, “What is it? Lately, you have seemed… troubled.”

After asking, Les fell silent for several seconds, unsure what else to say. He knew he was clumsy with emotions. Though dating Aisha for some time had allowed him to instinctively discover certain affectionate gestures and ways of touching her, his skill with words had not improved.

After thinking, his throat shifted, and he did his best to sound caring. “Is it… Princess Elizabeth’s situation?”

Les remembered the incident at the post-tournament ball and knew Aisha was studying the related magic array. If he had to guess, that would be the first thing that came to mind.

Aisha hesitated, then gave a small nod. A moment later, however, she uncertainly stroked the long hair at the back of his head. Only after a while did she say, “It’s not only that. There’s also… the fact that I may be graduating soon.”