Chapter 19: Teaching the upcoming hero

The next morning, Lucas woke Roland up so that he could go and teach the classes that were coming in an hour. Roland just quietly followed Lucas when he was going to eat, and the two then ate breakfast. Roland didn't seem to know how to use cutlery very well, even though he was a six year old, so Lucas could imagine how Roland was treated before. Lucas taught how to eat with cutlery and the boy learned fast.

After the breakfast, they went to look for clothes that looked more proper than the rags that Roland was wearing.

After some time in the city, Lucas and Roland had to go so Lucas could go teach his classes. Lucas figured that it was alright for Roland to be in the academy even though he wasn't a student. He even called Lucy during their trip when they were buying clothes to see if it was okay. Lucy gave Roland permission to be in academy grounds as long as Lucas was present.

The student obviously had some questions for Lucas, as well did the teachers. Lucas explained that Roland was a former slave that he was now taking care of.

The reason why Lucas could say that Roland was a "former" slave, was because Lucas broke the enslavement mark off of Roland when the boy was sleeping. Usually this was near impossible to do without a cursebreaker item, but since Lucas had used a complicated spell from the Inertia theorem, he was able to remove the enslavement entirely. Normally even the owner of the slave can't do that, but thanks to the spell Lucas knew, it was possible.

The girls were mostly of the opinion that Roland was a cute boy and the boys thought mostly that Roland was going to grow up to be a handsome boy, so the boys had to act before Roland could grow to the point where he could steal the hearts of women.

Teachers were split between whether or not Roland should be in the academy at all since the youngest students start at the age of ten. Most teachers let it go since the principal said it was okay, but some did go to complain to her later.

During class, Roland was listening silently as Lucas went through the material. He did not understand even half of it, but it was clear that he was listening all the time.

When the combat training began, Lucas gave Roland a practice sword and told him "Try to take in as much knowledge and skills as you can during this session. If you want, we can practice together when there is no longer a class for me to attend.

Roland looked closely as the students practiced their fighting skills. He even tried to swing the sword a few times as he followed the other students' movement. Lucas noticed this and asked if Roland would like to train together with Lucas, and Roland nodded yes and the two began training.

Lucas kept an eye out for the entire class when he was training with Roland so as to not neglect his duties. From time to time, Lucas would pause the training between him and Roland and give a few pointers to the other students.

Roland absorbed every bit of knowledge he could even as Lucas was giving pointers to other students. In his mind "He is my master, so I must not disappoint him."

The combat training ended and Roland followed Lucas as if it was his sole purpose in life. Roland made sure to not miss a single thing in his eyes as he walked behind Lucas.

A week went by and Roland had not said a word. Lucas was starting to worry if Roland had somehow lost his ability to speak in this circle.

In terms of learning, Roland was a beast. Even as a six year old, he was able to do movements that were expected from children twice his age. Lucas was still confused as to how Roland was able to grow so exponentially. It was the same with Ronan of his time. Lucas deducted three possibilities. First was that his determination was so great, it made him grow faster than his peers. The second was that Roland had some natural talent for fighting. The third one was that there was a skill or ability that Roland had that even Lucas couldn't see it. There was also the possibility that Roland was just a fast learner, but that could be taken into all three other possibilities.

Lucas would train Roland as much as humanly possible, but there was so much he could teach him now since Roland was only a six year old.

Lucas was stopped one day by Professor Hansel, who told Lucas "He is just a child. Let him also do things that childs usually do." Lucas' answer to this was "But when I was his age, I trained even harder." Hansel says "You are a mimic, aren't you? Won't age act a little differently for you than it does for a human?" To which Lucas said "Fair enough. I… see what I can do."

But this was for naught. It seemed that Roland wanted to train as much as possible by picking up the practice sword and continuing to do swings. Lucas had to put his foot down, so he confiscated the sword and said to Roland "I admire your drive to improve your swordsmanship. But you need to do other things in order to be the best version of yourself." Roland looked down for a moment, until Lucas put his hand on Roland's head and said "It is alright. There are times when we have to let loose, you know. If we work too hard, then we will eventually break. Even if you don't care that you might break, know that I care about it. I care about you. Just… Hell, what I'm saying is kind of awkward for me to say, but don't push yourself all the time. Do that only when it truly matters."

For some reason Roland felt something in him. He did not know what it was, but it compelled him to say with a quiet voice "Okay master". This was the first time Lucas had heard Roland's voice besides grunts. Lucas could not help but to smile a little and ruffle the boy's hair a little. Then Lucas says "Come on. Let's go and try to do something fun."

As the boys were leaving, Lucy was looking at them from the scry glass that she bought from the auction. She said to Sylviana who was speaking telepathically "Leave it to the musclebrained men to only know how to have fun through swords." Sylvi says "Well, at least Lucas had taken a bit different approach than one would usually expect."

There is a small pause for a moment. Then Lucy asks Sylvi "So even you didn't know about Ronan's background?" Sylvi says "No. I only knew that Lucas would be a mentor to a white haired kid in the future, but I never even considered that the boy was Ronan."

Lucy says in a condescending tone "So how does it feel to know that your loyal pet has been hiding something from you all this time?" Sylvi says "I feel irritated. And he is not my pet. He is my loyal husband."

Lucy then says "Yes yes. But I'm honestly surprised that he actually had the capability to hide something from you." Sylvi says "Agreed. He would destroy the world for me if I just asked him to, but it would appear that he would not tell me everything. That or I simply didn't ask the right question."

Lucy says "So far did you trust go that you thought that he would tell you everything from the moment he knew." Sylvi says "There is also the possibility that he assumed that I knew and didn't bring it up because of it."

Lucy says "And then there is the possibility that Lucas knows something that he doesn't actually want you to know." Sylvi says "And that is infuriating. I never knew that he would actually cause me to feel such feelings."

Lucy says "Perhaps you aren't as omnipotent as you initially thought." Sylvi says "I was never omnipotent. I just knew more than an average person."

Lucy then says "You say that. But you know that Lucas thinks that you are somewhere near omnipotent." Sylvi says "I did before, but as it was proven, he hid something from me for either selfish reasons or because he thought that I would know. If it's the former rather than the latter, then I start to question his opinion of me. Or it could be both and I'm overthinking things."

Lucy then asks with a serious voice "Do you believe that there is a chance that he has been putting up an act this entire time to fool us?" Sylvi answers "It's unlikely, but not impossible. If he actually has that big of an intellect to trick me, then I applaud him. But still, I think that he is mostly honest with his feelings rather than him putting up a show."

Lucy asks "Is it you speaking from the head or the heart?" Sylvi says "I believe that I'm speaking from a level headed perspective. But who knows, maybe I'm blinded by love at this point."

Lucy then says "To a different topic. You know that you two owe me a lot right?" Sylvi says "Lucas does. I don't"

Lucy then asks "Do you want me to name all the times I have assisted you without me actually needing to do so?" Sylvi just says "Oh my, I believe that it is only natural for a teacher to ask for a helping hand from a student in a project the teacher is doing."

Lucy says "You may have taught me a lot, but I'm starting to think that you are taking advantage of me sometimes." Sylvi then says "How much have you taken advantage of Lucas during his stay at your academy. Not to mention when he offered help to your people."

Lucy then says "I hate that you always have an argument to pull out." Sylvi says "As they say, I keep my cards close to my chest. But I'm not always equipped with a counter argument."

Lucy then changes the topic and asks "So what's the deal with Milla Starlight and you?" Sylvi answers "I require her to do a few things for me that should prove useful in the future."

Lucy says "Do you think that I will just let you use one of my students like they were some sort of pawn?" Sylvi says "It is necessary for my plan. In any case, she is doing this out of her free will. I will keep my end of the deal when the time comes, so there isn't any foul play here."

Lucy says "You say that as if your offer was easy to refuse." Sylvi says "Love is a powerful thing. Why not use that thing for a noble purpose. Ethics? I do feel sympathy for the girl, but she will do a big favor for the one she loves in the end, so what's the issue?"

Lucy then says "I don't exactly know what you offered her in exchange, but I hate that you are using her feelings as a tool for your agenda." Sylvi says "You know that I'm putting everything I have on my plan. I will make sure that me and Lucas will have our dream come true. Even if that dream comes after a path carved by fire."

Lucy is silent for a moment, then Sylvi says "But there is no need to go that far if things go as I originally planned. I wish to not make enemies, as it will hinder the likelihood of the plan succeeding. As such, I will make sure Ms. Starlight is treated fairly. That I promise, so rest assured."

Lucy then says "You making a promise is still a bit weird of a concept to me. You only speak of cause and effect and never actually make any promises. What changed?" Sylvi says "I had time to reconsider my feelings not only for Lucas, but to all things I have previously felt. I may not have as good of a memory as Lucas, but those things that stuck to me are things that I had time to reconsider."

Lucy asks "What part did you reconsider about Lucas?" Sylvi answers "My love for him."

Lucy says "I presume that you came to miss him when he was gone and that is what made you realize your feelings for him." Sylvi says "That is true, though I kind of feel ashamed to admit it."

Lucy asks "How was it when you first became married?" Sylvi answers "I simply thought of indulging in his desire for me and using that indulgence to my benefit. I am in the belief that he knew that I wasn't serious, but let himself drown in my schemes nonetheless. If I had to pick a point in time he realized, it must have been when I ordered him to do the succession ritual. But even after the pain that I caused for him, he still stayed loyal. Back then, your description of him as my loyal pet would have been accurate, but now I feel ashamed to ever have accepted such a description of our relationship."

Lucy then asks "Can you at least tell me if your plan has changed at all after your reconsideration?" Sylvi says "Yes it has. Though the main focus of the plan has shifted, the means to get to it has stayed the same. And speaking of the plan, it would appear that I have to make some minor adjustments now that I know the nature of Ronan's journey to become a hero."

Lucy asks "So what changed?" Sylvi answers "I was skeptical on how to handle the resources of what I will pull towards Roland, but now that I know that the resources that I prepared were to set him back in time, my skepticism has become minor."

Lucy says "So you are saying that it will be you who will send him there." Sylvi says "Yes. I knew that I would cast some sort of spell on Roland in the future with my "clairvoyance" skill, but now I have a clear picture of the nature of the spell that I'll cast."

Lucy says "You sure sound confident in your ability to cast a spell that no one has ever seen." Sylvi says "When you enter the Inertia theorem's ideal, then you will grow to be a bit more open minded for things that defy the laws of this world. And perhaps you even grow, dare I say, a bit more daring."

Lucy says with a bit of a worried tone "I really hope that you won't break the whole world during your daring schemes." Sylvi then says "I am of the same opinion. Yet I will still try. In any case, I suppose this will do for our monthly check in. If you have any further questions, forward them to Ms. Starlight and I will give you an answer in due time. To a later date then."

And so the connection between Lucy and Sylvi was severed. Lucy was still a bit annoyed at how Sylvi had made one of the students part of her grand plan. After finishing that thought, she went and used the scry glass again to see what the boys were up to, and then she saw that they were practicing on how to throw stuff with precision. As it was getting late, Lucy decided to call Lucas and say "Don't keep the boy awake for too long. He still has to get a good amount of sleep." When Lucas heard this, he proceeded to follow Lucy's instruction, but only after a few throws later.