Chapter 749: Master and Student

"Hello, Master Thalruk... it’s been a few years," I say, stopping on the master’s island. I’ve been busy with the kingdom I built and with Azazel, so I couldn’t come, but I always sent letters.

Seeing that he came to meet me as soon as I arrived on the island lifts my spirits—it reminds me of the past. I make these visits every few years; I unfortunately can’t come as often as I’d like.

"Eclipsya, how wonderful to see you here. At least unlike your mother, you remembered to keep in touch. She didn’t need to come—just send letters from time to time—and still, she never bothered..." He speaks in a serious tone while I give a small smile. Despite his attitude, he clearly enjoyed taking care of Pandora.

"Master, you know how Mama Pandora is. Don’t be upset with her," I say as I enter the library with him, and he lets out a sigh.

"I can’t expect anything from that woman anymore... at least you know how to respect the one who helped you grow."

"Indeed, Master, I’m very grateful to you. Thanks to you, I created several spells and learned a great deal. Many of the spells I use to keep my beloved Azazel bound to me, I only learned because of your books and what you taught me," I tell him as he guides me to a room suitable for conversation.

"Would you like something?"

"A bottle of blood sounds good. In the past, I never much cared for raw meat and blood like my sisters did, but Azazel practically forces me to eat it, so... it ended up becoming what I eat."

"Really?" When he asks that, I let out a little laugh.

"Me eating meat and blood changes the taste of my blood—Azazel likes it. But I also eat normal food. Right now, though, I really just want blood. In these more casual situations, I like to eat what helps Azazel like me even more."

"I see. Seems like some things never change..." We enter a room, and he leaves the door open since there’s no one here to disturb us. I sit in a chair while he pulls out a goblet and bottles of blood from a subspace.

"Do you always keep blood with you?"

"...Pandora used to like it when we finished training sessions... you know, your mother was quite different with me. In general, your mother projects this lustful and violent image, but in our day-to-day, she was calm, centered, and even somewhat amusing."

"...Tell me more," I say, intrigued. I love hearing about Mama, and Master never talked much about her before.

"It’s because Pandora had many sides... she’s someone who always claims to be simple, but I find her complex, because she always shifts from one moment to the next whenever a reason arises."

"Though her attitude is ’simple’ in many things, the complexity lies in the transitions and how each of her actions changes. She always asked me for blood or meat whenever she spent at least 20% of her magic in training, and she’d ask for larger meals when she spent at least 40%." I look at the small smile on his face—Mama really left her mark on him.

"She also played games by herself when bored. I have some of the boards she used—if you want, I can give them to you so you can play with your sister."

"Ah, I’d like that, but for now... how about we talk about you? Mama is interesting, but Master, I came to speak with you," I say, picking up the goblet of blood and starting to drink. Even though I love hearing about Mama, I still came to visit Master, so I want to know about him. He lives alone on this island, almost never leaving, so he must obviously be bored.

"...I’m fine. Your letters are something I look forward to eagerly... obviously, my students are important, but there isn’t much I can say about myself—after all, I live in this library and hardly ever get visitors."

"How about you tell me about the books you have here?" This library is immense—talking to him is always a way to discover something interesting.

"...Ah!! That reminds me of something important. Here—I had forgotten to give this to you because I was still... checking a few things. One of the works Pandora set out to build in the past—it’s a thesis on magic, much like the one I also gave you."

"Pandora built this thesis here, and it’s... absurd. At that time, Pandora was quite young and nowhere near as strong as she is now, and yet she produced an extremely precise thesis as a joke."

"She clearly wanted to mock me, but she put so much effort into mocking me that she created a real thesis. Honestly, I hated that work, because it’s realistic yet made with the intent of derision."

"But even though I detested it, the work is marvelous and detailed, and I spent several years creating my own version of it. I’m giving you Pandora’s original version." He hands me a folder. I accept it, setting the goblet aside, and open the folder filled with papers.

"Theory Between Fluids and Magic... what an odd title... ah... I get it..." I understand the title immediately. Honestly, it makes me blush with embarrassment that Mama, when she was young, was so... strange.

"..." I briefly skim through it, but the more I read, the more surprised and shocked I become.

"S-Seriously? No way something like this was meant to be a joke? Mama is terrifying—going that far for a joke is simply madness." I look at him in shock. There are some points to fix here and there, but the theory is too good for a mere joke.

"I can’t believe something like this was just a joke to complain about extra work... but there are several errors... I think I’ll fix it." It’s not perfect—it is indeed well-made, but it’s full of gaps.

"You can take it with you—I have my own copy to fix the errors. Besides, Pandora was young, so it makes sense she made mistakes. But if this is truly taken forward, it’ll be perfect for you and your sisters to learn how to use your true forms."

"And above all, it will greatly increase your control over magic. And if it works out completely, this study would allow for the recovery of permanent damage to the Mana pathway in a simple and easy way," he explains while I put it away to study later.

"Master, this is truly great! But let’s change the subject!! Don’t mention Mama again, okay? Let’s talk about you!! I want you to know that I’d like to visit more, but you know how it is, right? I’m a queen—I have a kingdom to rule and a wife to take care of. I’m even thinking about getting Azazel pregnant—a little grandchild for Mama would be nice." When I say that, he smiles gently at me.

"..." He says nothing, so I decide to speak.

"If I really do have a child with Azazel, I’ll bring him here for you to train."

"...I’m not promising anything." Despite his tone, I know this excited him, and he’s a great master, so I’ll truly trust him with that.