How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 88

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Tower of Magic examinations officially ended.

Eric retained the ninth-floor position he had occupied for years. Unexpectedly, Thorne also achieved an excellent result in the ranking tournament.

Because he usually kept such a low profile, few people outside the Tower of Magic knew much about him. The ranking tournament, however, drew many spectators, with larger crowds attending each successive round. A mage as young and talented as Thorne naturally attracted attention. His fame rose sharply throughout Wold.

Aisha and Eric attended several of his matches. Eric looked little different from usual and offered no particular praise, but Aisha saw his satisfaction in the faint lift at the corners of his mouth.

At the end of April, Thorne successfully passed the intermediate-mage examination, and Eric accepted his graduation thesis. When spring reached its glorious height and flowers of every kind opened together, Thorne formally left the ninth floor of the upper section and joined the Tower of Magic’s intermediate mages.

If he wished, he could even begin accepting students during the next admissions season.

And yet he was only seventeen—the same age Aisha had been when she first entered the Tower of Magic.

“Congratulations, Thorne!”

Standing at the door of the ninth floor, Aisha smiled as she said goodbye.

After the incident with Les, the previously lukewarm relationship between Aisha and Thorne unexpectedly improved. Perhaps it was because they shared a secret, or because the concern on Thorne’s face that day had made him seem warmer and more approachable.

Unfortunately, he was graduating now.

Aisha glanced through the doorway and smiled helplessly.

“I’m sorry about Teacher. He… he must not want to watch you leave, so…”

“It’s fine. He has always been like this. He did the same thing with Noel. Besides, I’ll still visit the lower section occasionally. I’m not leaving Wold.”

Thorne spoke quietly and did not appear bothered. Instead, he looked at Aisha with concern.

“More importantly… will you be all right here alone after I leave?”

At that, Aisha looked troubled, but she still smiled.

“I think so. Teacher… probably won’t cause too many difficulties.”

“…I hope you’re right.”

“…Yes.”

They met each other’s eyes and shared a dry laugh. Much of the heaviness of parting disappeared.

In truth, responsibility for Eric’s daily care had begun shifting to Aisha around the start of the examinations. Thorne had his own events, which often overlapped with Eric’s schedule. Whenever he could not attend, preparing Eric’s things and arranging his movements fell to Aisha.

At first, she had been overwhelmed. Once she adjusted, it became manageable. Remembering that Thorne had cared for Eric while maintaining his own studies made Aisha admire him.

“What do you plan to do after graduation?” she asked.

The Tower of Magic remained a relatively free and loosely organized institution. Mages belonging to it had countless possible paths, and Thorne was no exception.

At the question, he frowned slightly.

“…I haven’t made any particular decision. I may look for work that accepts newly qualified mages. Mm, I won’t starve for the moment. I can decide later.”

His face scrunched slightly as he spoke. To Aisha, it was a rare expression. Thorne usually looked mature beyond his years; only now did a trace of boyishness appear.

She could not help smiling, which made Thorne glance at her.

“Speaking of you…”

He hesitated, but after a pause, he continued.

“So you and that wolf are now…”

Aisha’s face turned violently red. Thorne was the only person who knew Les was the giant wolf she had once kept. Even Aisha herself could not remember living in the same room with Major General Wolf without blushing. Hearing Thorne mention it was worse.

At her expression, Thorne sighed. After hesitating, he said, “I don’t understand love, but your races and countries are different, aren’t they? That may create trouble later… Mm, never mind. It has nothing to do with me. I’m leaving now.”

Aisha had still been absorbing his words when the sudden change in direction confused her. By the time she recovered, the blush remained on her face. She waved quickly.

“All right. Goodbye.”

Thorne nodded one last farewell and walked several steps away. Then he considered something and turned back.

“Do your best, Aisha.”

His gaze shifted away in discomfort. Then he turned, quickened his steps, and descended. His figure soon vanished into the stairwell.

Aisha stared. She could not tell whether “do your best” referred to caring for Eric alone or maintaining an international romance with Major General Wolf.

When Thorne’s footsteps finally disappeared, she pressed her lips together, turned, and walked back into the Tower.

Les no longer lived there, and Thorne had graduated. The spacious ninth floor suddenly felt empty.

Aisha sighed and started toward her room, only to see a black figure flash through the corridor and dart into the laboratory like a squirrel escaping into its burrow.

She smiled bitterly.

After studying with Eric for a year, she understood her teacher’s temper. He truly did hate seeing Thorne leave, but he could not lower his pride enough to say goodbye. All he could do was hide.

Eric usually seemed interested only in research and indifferent to everything else, but he cared deeply for his students. He prepared lessons seriously every day and graded their work with great attention. Perhaps Thorne understood that, which was why Eric’s absence did not upset him.

In fact, Eric and his students shared an unusual relationship. They needed him, and he needed them. Aisha could hardly imagine how a reclusive mage like Eric would live if no student remained to care for him.

Which reminded her…

Aisha drifted into thought.

This year’s Tower of Magic admissions had already ended. Eric had never applied to recruit anyone and apparently had no intention of accepting a new student soon. Then, when Aisha graduated as well…

No. Even Les, the holder of Wold’s record for fastest graduation, had required three full years to finish school. Aisha wanted to follow her mother’s example and become a proper graduate at nineteen, but she had enrolled too late. Earning her teacher’s approval and graduating from the Tower of Magic in two years seemed impossible. More than a year had already passed.

Aisha smiled helplessly. There was no reason to think so far ahead.

…

The uneventful days passed quickly. Aisha studied according to schedule and spent her free time with Les. She also had to reserve some time for her parents and, ordinarily, for Elizabeth.

After encountering Prince Brandon, however, Elizabeth clearly became frightened of leaving the hotel. She rested for several days, giving Aisha more time with Les. Since her mother’s arrival, every meeting with him carried a strange sense of danger. To avoid certain situations, they sometimes had to meet in the middle of the night.

April ended, and May arrived.

For several embarrassing reasons, Aisha had never told Eric that her parents were in Wold. Fortunately, Eric rarely left the Tower. With Thorne gone, he delegated every outside task to Aisha. Even though Tina and Hock lived directly across the street, the chance of them meeting remained small.

But once May arrived, concealing the matter became impossible.

The World Tournament formally opened in June, while registration and preparations began in May. When the identities of this year’s invited guests leaked, the entire Heart of the World exploded overnight. Everyone descended into frenzy.

There were two invited guests—an unprecedented arrangement. And although no one seemed to know who Princess Elizabeth Brown was, the other guest was Tina Killott, whose fame had soared the previous year.

Tina Killott!

The human residents of Wold and students from Helman erupted with excitement. The beastfolk regarded her favorably too. Some darkfolk probably held complicated feelings toward her, but that did nothing to halt the celebration consuming the Heart of the World.

As an iconic female general, Tina naturally inspired women of every race, giving her extraordinary power as a role model.

Black-market ticket prices rose more than tenfold. The number of competitors exploded and was rumored to be more than double that of an ordinary year. Many people from other regions decided to travel to Wold and enter only after hearing Tina Killott would attend. According to the statistics, the number of women competitors also increased dramatically.

Before the tournament even began, the entire Heart of the World was obsessed with the event and Tina Killott. The sight reminded Aisha of Philray after Tina’s great battlefield victory, except Wold was a more fashionable, prosperous, and populous metropolis.

Under such circumstances, hoping Eric would remain unaware of Tina’s arrival was impossible.

One day, after Aisha finished her lesson and began putting away her things, Eric stood rigidly for a long moment before finally speaking.

“Aisha…”

“Yes, Teacher?”

Aisha looked up.

Since Thorne’s departure, Eric’s morning lessons had become somewhat shorter, giving Aisha a little breathing room in her busy schedule. Without the time Eric had once spent teaching Thorne as a buffer, however, Aisha’s classes became more concentrated. The pace occasionally felt too fast, and she was still adjusting.

She could guess what Eric wished to ask and watched him nervously with wide hazel eyes.

Eric pressed his lips together and struggled for several seconds.

“I heard… is it true that… your…”

“Hm?”

“…No. Forget it. It’s nothing. Remember to complete your assignment.”

After forcing the words for so long, Eric still failed to ask. Regret crossed his face. He rapidly gathered everything before him, picked it up, and fled into the laboratory.

Only when the laboratory door slammed did Aisha blink. Remembering the way her teacher had tried and failed to ask, she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

…

Eric was not the only person troubled by Tina Killott.

“Hahahaha! I see. So the girl’s mother doesn’t like you.”

Carter III’s hearty laughter reached Les directly through magic. His Majesty rarely laughed with so little restraint, even if ministers had recently remarked upon his inexplicably good mood.

Les did not know how to answer. He stood awkwardly inside his current residence and remained silent.

Night surrounded him in stillness, while moonlight streamed through the window.

“Hahaha, forgive me.”

Carter III’s voice sounded again. He coughed lightly, stopping his laughter, and attempted to recover his customary composure.

“I have never experienced such a situation and never will, but I can understand and imagine your predicament, Les.”

Les pressed his lips together. “Your Majesty…”

“Yes, I understand.”

The cat emperor’s steady voice remained as reassuring as ever, though this time an inexplicable thread of teasing ran through it. He fell silent for several seconds, apparently thinking.

Then he asked, “I hear Tina Killott is an invited guest at this World Tournament?”

Les froze.

As expected, Carter III continued.

“Enter the tournament, my child. You are a soldier. You should win what you desire upon the battlefield. I grant you special permission to compete in your capacity as a major general of Beast.

“Mm… Truthfully, I am rather interested in this tournament myself. And come to think of it, we have not seen each other for a long time…”

After a pause, he said, “Then let us meet in Wold.”