How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 42

Thorne had good reason to be astonished.

He had never expected Aisha to possess any outstanding magical ability. He had not even expected her to reach an ordinary standard.

His teacher’s madness over the past few days had made it abundantly clear that the “Aisha Byrd” Thorne met at the briefing session was actually “Aisha Killott.” She was Tina Killott’s daughter—the child Eric had waited for all these years.

To put it bluntly… this new student had not been accepted because of her magical ability. She had been accepted because her mother had once been the object of their teacher’s affection.

No—perhaps she still was.

Thorne knew something of the history between Eric Green and Tina Killott.

This was already his fourth year studying under Eric. His teacher had a difficult temperament, few friends, and lived in seclusion. Apart from the tower staff who brought ingredients and daily necessities every Monday, and his paternal aunt Claudia Green, who lived on the floor above and occasionally came to visit, Eric had almost no contact with anyone outside.

That made Thorne the person closest to him. Under such circumstances, it was almost inevitable that he would gradually piece together a vague version of the truth from small clues in daily life.

Eric, born in Wold, had known Tina, who came from Helman, since they were students. Thorne did not know how they met or what had happened between them. But he was certain that Eric had been madly in love with Tina Killott since his teens.

His appearance might suggest a man utterly devoid of romance, but Thorne knew Eric kept many portraits of Tina Killott in his room. He had painted every one himself.

Unfortunately, his skill was poor enough that Thorne still had no idea what Tina Killott actually looked like. That was why he failed to recognize Aisha when he first saw her and only felt that she seemed vaguely familiar.

Whatever the case, painting so many portraits was more than enough to prove Eric’s obsession.

He had simply never expressed his feelings. And when he finally decided to confess, his choice of timing could hardly have been worse—

It was the day before Tina secretly married her husband.

Naturally, Eric was rejected.

Tina never mentioned the incident to others, preserving Eric’s pride and dignity. But in reality, she distanced herself and stopped contacting him.

That was entirely understandable. On one hand, given Tina’s character, maintaining a “pure friendship” with a known suitor after marriage violated her principles. On the other, Tina had already been promoted to first lieutenant. Her workload left her no time to concern herself with an awkward friendship from her school days.

Even so, Eric unilaterally believed that one final connection remained between them: the promise he made at their last meeting.

“If your future child has magical talent, leave them to me.”

In truth, the possibility that Tina and her husband, who knew no magic, would have a child with magical aptitude was very small. Yet Eric had waited stubbornly all the same.

That was why Thorne had confidently told Aisha at the briefing session that she could never be accepted. Anyone who knew the truth understood that the one place Eric had kept open all these years was reserved for someone bearing the surname Killott, regardless of their actual level.

Accordingly, Thorne had long prepared himself for the newcomer to be poor at magic.

Ordinarily, even when the child of two non-mages could use magic, their talent was unlikely to be exceptional. Most genius mages therefore came from magical families—Thorne himself, Eric, and the Great Claudia among them.

But Aisha’s spell overturned Thorne’s expectations.

It was not that her general magic exceeded that of ordinary mages. In fact, judged by an ordinary mage’s standard, Thorne would have scoffed at this unremarkable Blast Spell with its below-average power.

The problem was—Aisha was a mage with unusual abilities!

The strength of a mage with unusual abilities in general magic was directly related to the strength of their innate magic. In other words, the better such a mage performed general magic, the more powerful their innate magic would be.

General magic would always be more difficult for them than for other mages. But their innate magic could be several times stronger than other mages’ spells.

Aisha’s Blast Spell could not be compared with that of an ordinary mage. But among newly admitted mages with unusual abilities, she was unquestionably among the finest of the finest.

That meant her innate magic would be… exceptionally powerful!

Thorne found himself looking forward to it. After testing Aisha’s general magic, Eric Green would certainly ask her to demonstrate her innate magic.

Thorne had seen the most recent mage with unusual abilities to graduate under Eric. This was his teacher’s standard process for teaching such mages. There could be no mistake.

He waited in silence, even forgetting the handouts Eric would inspect later. At last, Eric spoke again—

“Well done.”

He seemed to freeze at the sight of Aisha’s magic, but quickly returned to normal. In a nostalgic tone, he said, “If Tina had been a mage, she would certainly have chosen an aggressive spell like this to show me too.”

“R-really? Thank you.”

Aisha felt a little pleased by the approval. Apart from her appearance, few people ever said she resembled her mother in any deeper way.

Before learning Tina was her mother, Aisha had admired the accomplished female general just like every other girl. To her, any comparison with her mother was unquestionably praise.

Eric nodded faintly. “Mm. Do you know any other offensive spells? Show me…”

For the rest of the lesson, Aisha demonstrated the few offensive spells she knew.

She had no particular preference for this kind of magic and had learned very little. None of the other spells were as polished as her basic Blast Spell. She had barely practiced one or two of them, and merely managing to cast them made Aisha blush with shame.

Yet… Eric Green said nothing critical. Instead, he praised her. Only when her performance was genuinely poor did his brow tighten slightly before he showed her how to increase the spell’s power.

While Aisha practiced offensive magic, Eric turned back to instruct Thorne. For some reason, from Aisha’s second offensive demonstration onward, Thorne looked increasingly uneasy.

Several hours later, the morning ended, and so did the day’s lesson.

Aisha breathed softly in relief. She had never practiced offensive magic for so long. It was not an area in which she excelled. Maintaining concentration for several hours and repeatedly expending magical power left her physically tired.

Her mind, however, was extraordinarily excited.

She was truly studying magic under a teacher!

Aisha did not know why Eric Green had chosen to begin with these spells. But she trusted the second-ranked mage in the Tower of Magic, an advanced mage with proven accomplishments. She believed there must be a purpose.

Energized, Aisha joined Thorne in thanking Eric for the day’s guidance.

After Eric left, she began putting away her things. Thorne packed up from the seat opposite her. Neither spoke. Only the soft rustle of books and writing materials disturbed the quiet.

Suddenly, Thorne could no longer hold back.

“Hey, Aisha… don’t you think…”

“What?” Aisha looked up amicably.

Thorne opened his mouth. His grave expression puzzled her, but in the end, he looked away.

“…Never mind. It’s nothing.”

Perhaps Teacher had simply changed his instructional method. There was no need for Thorne to become suspicious merely because Eric had not asked Aisha to use her innate magic during one lesson.

Besides… what if Aisha felt this approach suited her?

After a pause, Thorne still offered a warning.

“If something feels wrong later, you should tell Teacher directly. He’s stubborn, so convincing him may be difficult… A mage with unusual abilities is still strongest when using their innate magic. If I remember correctly, yours has nothing to do with offensive spells, does it? Tch… I’m only saying it. Whether you listen is up to you.”

“What?”

Before Aisha could ask further, Thorne raked a hand through his hair in irritation, gathered his things, and left.

…

It did not take Aisha long to understand what he meant.

Whether intentionally or not, Eric never guided her innate magic. He did not even ask her to demonstrate its current level as he had with her general magic.

After beginning with offensive magic, he taught her several practical combat spells and the most basic household magic needed for life in the Tower of Magic.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed. Aisha received her Tower of Magic uniform and was due to begin general lectures for new students three times a week.

Eric still had not mentioned her innate magic.

Even Aisha could not help growing anxious.

She tried stopping Eric after class. Since he had explicitly forbidden both Aisha and Thorne from disturbing him while he worked, the brief period after lessons was the only time she could catch him for a conversation.

But when she tactfully asked why he was not guiding her innate magic, Eric merely answered, “We’ll discuss that later.” The following day, everything continued as before.

At the same time, Aisha gradually reached a bottleneck with general magic. Her progress slowed, then nearly stopped. Without positive feedback for so long, she became discouraged.

Her teacher said nothing, but Aisha could not stop herself from worrying. After each day’s magical practice, something in her chest seemed to swell further without any means of release. The sensation was deeply uncomfortable, and Aisha wanted to find a way to ease it.

This did not seem to be what she wanted to learn.

And…

Perhaps it was her imagination, but Eric always praised her in the same way: “Your choice is very much like your mother’s.”

Whenever he said such things, his gaze became especially gentle, far more than usual, like living starlight suddenly gleaming in an empty soul.

Aisha did not object to being praised by comparison with her mother. But hearing the same pattern repeated for so long inevitably began to feel wrong.

Eric clearly held special feelings for Tina. Aisha simply did not know what sort of special feelings they were.

She desperately wanted to ask her mother what had happened between them. But Tina’s reply to her previous letter had not yet arrived. Sending another letter solely to ask seemed improper. Aisha could only hope her parents’ response would volunteer some information.

And so…

After enduring the pressure of being unable to use her innate magic for so long, Aisha decided to make a change herself.

One day, after the morning lesson ended, she took a tomato and a potato from the kitchen and returned to her bedroom.

Les had gone to the forest alone and was not there. Aisha entered her personal laboratory by herself.

She set the tomato and potato on the laboratory table, drew her wand, and used a blade of magic to slice them cleanly in half. During the past month, at least, she had become considerably more skilled with magic of this kind.

Looking at the halved vegetables, Aisha took a deep breath and calmed herself. She closed her eyes.

As before, she allowed the intangible golden threads in her awareness to sense the vegetables’ positions, the texture of the cut surfaces, and the life force contained within. Then she attempted to connect them—

She felt it!

Joy surged through Aisha.

For an entire month, she had no opportunity to practice her innate magic during lessons. Eric’s assignments—which were “not allowed to disappoint him”—filled so much of her time after class that she rarely practiced her healing ability on her own.

Yet she had not regressed. She could still clearly see what she wanted to see!

After the joy, however, came disappointment.

She had not regressed, but neither had she improved at all. Everything was exactly as it had been.

Composing herself, she tried to restore the vegetables.

First, the potato. Compared with the tomato spilling juice everywhere, the cleanly cut potato seemed easier to handle.

Aisha concentrated and attempted to use her magic to connect every corresponding part of the two halves. Sweat soon gathered on her brow.

Then…

She failed.

The instant the golden threads snapped, the tension left Aisha’s muscles as well. She wiped away the sweat, rested for three minutes, then closed her eyes and tried the tomato.

Her awareness gradually sharpened. The two halves aligned point by point. Aisha did not dare relax in the slightest. It was as though she could once again see the glowing dawn at the end of a long darkness.

Then—

Aisha felt a terrible weakness.

Her magical power was almost exhausted. After a full day of studying magic, adding extra practice naturally brought her to this state. But hope seemed within reach, and Aisha did not want to give up.

She drew a deep breath and held on with the final trace of strength, rushing toward the end of the darkness with everything she had—

Snap!

The golden threads broke again.

Aisha panted in defeat, her body weak. Supporting herself against the wall, she returned to the bedroom in disappointment.

…

When Les returned, he found Aisha sprawled across the bed, looking exhausted.

His heart tightened. He hurried over on all fours, sprang lightly to the bedside, and carefully nudged her with his head.

Fortunately, her breathing was steady. She only seemed somewhat weak.

Les relaxed slightly.

Feeling him return, Aisha stirred and turned her face from the pillow. She smiled happily.

“You’re back? Sorry. I gave myself a little extra work this afternoon, so I’m somewhat… tired…”

Before she finished, Aisha collapsed onto the pillow again and quietly fell asleep, her breathing peaceful and even.

Les: …

After several seconds, Les nudged open the folded quilt and covered her.

He looked at the pale lashes resting against her eyelids and cheeks whiter than usual, deeply worried.

She had clearly exhausted her magical power.

Aisha’s capacity could fill two-thirds of a crystal sphere. That was not an exceptional result among newcomers to the Tower of Magic, but it was still considerable. To exhaust herself, she must have worked far too hard.

…Aisha had never mentioned it directly, but Les knew she had recently reached a bottleneck.

He did not understand the exact situation. When Aisha talked to herself in his presence, she had not explained it clearly enough. But one thing was now certain…

He wanted to help her.

There was far too little he could do in a wolf’s body.

Les stood beside the bed and watched Aisha sleep for several minutes. Then he lowered his head and rubbed his face gently against hers.

Afterward, he rose, turned, and raced from the room.

…

“What?!”

Half an hour later, in a small café near Wold Warrior School, the young black-panther beastfolk, with his brown skin and black hair, wore an expression of utter shock. His exaggerated reaction made the silver-haired man seated opposite him look slightly embarrassed.

Pal stared at him.

“You… really want to use your human form?”