Chapter 277: A Plan

Mid Evening - Mid Winter : Home | Atlas, Bahamut

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*Vwowowoom* Mana rippled throughout my room as I worked on and adjusted my new outfit.

It was nothing serious, but no matter what I changed, the outfit didn't quite look right on me. -It doesn't really fit my frame...-

Thankfully though, Chloe had a much better eye for clothing than I did. "What if instead of doing that overhanging coat, you wore it like a robe, tightened the sleeves, then opened up the bottom?"

Having her walk me through what to do, I eventually landed on something decent.

"Hmm... Now try using a bit of gold thread here on the waist, and fold this up here like the collar of the coat..." She was truly like a clothing designer. "If you would like, you can add some gold detailing to it, with some matching gold on the shoulders and forearms... However, that may be too much to create every time you change forms..." She looked a little nervous as she suggested it, but I tried it anyway.

And sure enough, it looked great, even with gold rather than silver. -But she is right... It's a tad expensive for some clothing...- However, I did manage to think of a solution. -If I stored the gold somewhere, I could solely use mana to change its form...-

After a bit of thought, I decided that I would indeed just carry the gold, running it through the area between my scales on the base of my wing. -Perfect...-

Quickly testing it, I swapped back into my dragon form before changing back, and it worked flawlessly. -Wow.. that works really well...- "Any other input?"

I quickly looked at Chloe to see if there was anything else, but she just shook her head with a smile. "You look great, my lord!"

Before I knew it, I was smiling as well. The new outfit was much more comfortable than my previous one, and I couldn't lie that although it was a little extravagant, I liked it. [1] -It makes me feel a little more noble. Now I just need to make a new sword...-

However, I got a little carried away without realizing it and spent several hours creating it.

But it was worth it.

Using my own scales for a majority of the frame and blade before using a bit of silver and gold to fill in the texturing, I was left with a truly beautiful sword.

As the material used to make it used to be a part of me as well, it had an insane amount of mana conduction and truly felt like an extension of myself. -It's incredibly well-balanced as well...-

And then, to top it off, I made the edge of the blade out of mana-strengthened diamond, so there were very few things I was worried it wouldn't cut. -And even if I hit something I can't slice through, the edge shouldn't dull much...-

I was honestly quite proud of it.

Chloe was still watching in horror, though. "M-My Lord.. did you really have to use your own scales to create a sword?!" Although she spoke like it was horrible, she seemed to be unable to take her eyes off it.

"Well, it gives it some personality and makes it feel like an extension of my body when I hold it... It's not like those scales will take more than a few hours to regrow anyway." After holding it out to double-check for any imperfections, I tossed it up in the air and used my aura to move it into its new, nearly invisible, sheath. "In any case, do you know where Mother is?" Although I woke up in the afternoon, I had spent so long on the clothes and sword that it was already after dark outside.

"She is likely in her office. Her lessons with Krystallo have typically ended a few hours before sundown. Would you like to go see her?"

"Yeah, I still need to ask about some things for tomorrow. Would you mind leading me there?"

She quickly nodded with a slightly anxious smile. "O-Of course!"

Quickly changing to my dragon form again, I followed Chloe out into the hall and hastily made my way to the opposite end of the estate, where we were met with a large double door.

*knock-knock* Chloe knocked without much hesitation. "My Lady, the Young Lord has awoken."

Mother responded immediately. "Ah, please send him in!"

*Click* Quickly walking into the spacious room, I met eyes with Mother lying on a large cushion while surrounded by hundreds of papers.

She looked like she could use a nap more than anything, but regardless of that, her face was washed with pure joy and pride. "How was your nap, sweetie?"

Quickly walking up and laying on one of the massive cushions, I stretched out a bit. "Really good. I could have slept for another week though." Her delightful mood felt like it had healing powers. 

"Hoho, well, you are welcome to take a nap there if you wish to. Although I can't guarantee Krystallo won't find her way in."

"Haha, I'm sure she's grown out of that by now."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." She momentarily gave me a smug smile before turning away to continue sorting her things. "In any case, I can't believe how heavy your aura has gotten... Are you sure you didn't enter another dragon sleep like you did in Kaelallan?"

I quickly shook my head. "Definitely not."

She still struggled to believe me though. "Are you sure? Your aura practically multiplied itself, and your body.. well, I don't think I need to say much about that."

She wasn't wrong. Not only had I put on about 9 meters in height, but I had also filled out that frame significantly. 

To put it bluntly, I definitely didn't look like a kid or even a young adult now. "I'm not sure, myself. I'm even out-pacing Ilios by quite a margin, so I'm not sure if I can totally attribute my growth to my change in species anymore."

Ilios popped his head up as I mentioned him before trotting over and cuddling up against Mother.

She welcomed him right away but remained focused. "Unfortunately, my research into that turned up mostly blank as well. Even the oldest records I can access depict the Ancient Fenrir as complete gods, with essentially no change in the description, even over thousands of years... However, I do believe it could have to do with how their mana and reserve affect your growth as a dragon."

-Huh? I never thought of it like that...- Although I was hastily outgrowing him in size and strength, our mana was a slightly different story.

"In any case, we can discuss that another time..." Mother's serious tone quickly pulled me from my thoughts. "Are you alright with leaving for the academy with Krystallo first thing in the morning?"

I quickly nodded. "Of course."

"Okay, good..." She quickly sifted through some papers before pulling one out and handing it to me with her aura. "As you may have heard from Chloe, I have kept Krystallo here for a few days and given her and her friend some tutoring. As it turns out, her history professor has been teaching dangerously incorrect information to the students."

I quickly skimmed through the paper, reading about several reports from other parents, as well as a note from the headmaster requesting Mother to get Leander to investigate the matter.

"I spoke with the headmaster about it while you were asleep, and he told me the issue seemed a little beyond just a teacher who didn't know what they were talking about, but he doesn't have enough evidence to create any sort of case or launch any formal investigation... As such, I gave him a suggestion." She looked me in the eyes while handing me another paper. "Tomorrow is an exam. How would you feel about pretending to be a new student and investigating it?"

I immediately tilted my head slightly. "Are you sure he can even make a case? The Elder Hall and everything around it is a half-molten wasteland now."

She was quick to nod. "Thankfully, the major players of the Elder Hall weren't present, so while they will have to move to Ampelos or Akri for some time, they will still have their duties."

-Ah, I see...- "In that case, I can do it.. but I don't think I'll exactly fit in as a 'student'."

Mother immediately turned confused. "Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well..." -I guess I should have expected it after seeing how small the clothes she gave me were...- *flash* Quickly changing to my humanoid form, I gave her an awkward look. "I feel like I'd fit in better if I acted like a professor or something..." 

Being a smidge over 180cm now, with a mostly filled-out build, I felt like being with Krystallo's age group, looking only about 12 or 13 in their humanoid forms, would be troublesome. -Maybe I can act as an upperclassman?-

But Mother was shockingly quick to jump on the idea of me being a mock professor though. "Hoho~, to think your humanoid form would grow so much as well. Maybe I should introduce you to some women." She chuckled, seeing me clam up before trying to turn serious again. "In any case, going as an intern professor is even better, although you may have to give a lesson or two to not stand out." 

"That should be fine." -But it depends on the subject, I guess...-

She hastily moved several papers around before pulling out a few to read. "For now, plan to act as a professor whose teaching subject hasn't been decided. For example, if someone asks what you teach, say you are sitting in on classes to see what you prefer." She quickly handed me a few pieces of paper held by a pin as she stood up. "This is Krystallo's class schedule. I will go talk to the headmaster now to see if we can get some more specifics worked out, but for now, if I'm not back before you leave, someone will meet you at Krystallo's first class to give you some extra information."

Finally looking at the schedule, I saw her first class. 'Active Combat: Mid-year Growth Assessment'

There was nothing odd about the class description or anything, but as I was about to flip the paper, it made me realize something. -Wait, that ancient in Akri was also taught how to use the railgun magic... Why would a history professor know that? Unless...-

My expression quickly soured. -This may not be.. so simple...-

Eventually finishing up our chat, I parted ways with Mother and had Chloe bring me to Krystallo's room, where I asked about her professors, what they were teaching, how they acted, etc.

But there was nothing suspicious about anyone but the history professor.

"She did spectate the last combat assessment, but that isn't too odd. However..." She quickly became awkward.

-Huh?- "What's wrong? Did something happen at the last assessment?"

"W..well.. I used your magic because I wanted to show off some.. and I got in a little trouble."

"How so?"

She continued with hesitancy. "Well, later that day, Madam Píso said she had to take the beads you gave me because they were too dangerous even though I knew how to use them safely..."

A nerve was pinched instantly, but I tried not to show it and instead reassured Krystallo that I would make her a new set of beads with another pouch. 

However even while seeing her pure smile come back to her face, my anger was a struggle to keep hidden. -Do they truly have no shame?-

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[1] - This is generally how his new outfit looks, of course using gold as mentioned above: https://ibb.co/p3R9VGj