Time flew by, and soon it was late afternoon. Remembering his, appointment, with his teacher, Takson gathered up the armful of food he had bought, including a few special treats he hoped she would like, and headed for their designated meeting spot.
Like an excited husky, he bounded towards the city's central square, the place his teacher always went to when they arrived in a new town.
"Hehe, I might have bought a little too much," he thought, "but I can finish whatever she doesn't want. Nothing will go to waste." Thanks to Stell's training, Takson had developed a massive appetite.
The amount of food he was carrying, enough to feed a normal person for three days, was just a light dinner for him.
He arrived at the square, his heart full of cheerful anticipation, and saw his beloved teacher sitting on a bench.
But she wasn't alone.
A little girl was sitting beside her, chattering away happily. And even more surprisingly, his teacher, who never spoke to strangers, was actually talking back.
"Huh? Who's that?" was the only thought in Takson's mind.
….
"Teacher, whose kid is this?"
A hearty male voice interrupted Stell and Flamme's conversation.
"You're back, Takson," Stell said, unsurprised. As mentioned, his apprentice's movements were always tracked.
"Query: How was your day?"
"It was fine," Takson replied, walking over. "Same as usual. I brought you some snacks. Hope you like them." He held out a bag, a friendly, disarming smile on his face.
"Acknowledged. Thank you."
"Do we really need to say 'thank you' to each other?"
"Rebuttal: It is a necessary courtesy."
Takson didn't argue. His teacher could be strangely formal about certain things. He was used to it. Just as he had grown accustomed to her boisterous apprentice, Takson had grown accustomed to her cold, and sometimes rigid, personality.
Stell took a small, bread-like pastry from the bag and took a bite. "Affirmative. The taste is acceptable."
"See? I told you so! Hehe."
As the two of them bantered, Flamme watched the newcomer with curiosity. From the way they interacted, they were clearly familiar with each other.
And the big brother had called Stell "Teacher."
So Stell-neechan is a teacher? she thought. She doesn't look that old. And this brother... he looks more like a warrior than a mage. Is Stell a warrior, too? She doesn't look like one.
While Flamme was lost in her own wild speculations, Takson finally noticed her. A cookie appeared in her line of sight.
"Hm?" She followed the arm up to its owner.
Takson was smiling down at her, a gentle, brotherly expression on his face. "Want to try one? I recommend these cookies."
"Ah, thank you," she said, taking the treat. In her small hands, the cookie, a normal size for Takson, looked enormous.
She took a small bite of the cookie and chewed thoughtfully.
"Mmm, yummy!"
"Heh heh, told you so."
"Uh-huh!"
Normally, Flamme was not the kind of child to accept gifts from strangers; her parents had raised her well.
But this friendly-looking big brother was with Stell-neechan, and her own gut feeling told her he couldn't be a bad person.
As she nibbled on her cookie, Takson watched her, a thoughtful expression on his face.
What's so special about this kid?he wondered. What made Teacher break her own rules and talk to a stranger? He knew his teacher. She never did anything without a reason.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Me? My name is Flamme."
"Flamme..." Takson searched his memory. The name meant nothing to me.
While the two of them chatted, I sat in silence, observing the girl. My face was a blank slate, but my eyes, flickering with streams of data, betrayed my inner turmoil.
Flamme was still a child. Her parents were still alive. Her hometown was still standing. I knew, with the perfect clarity of my database, what that meant.
Soon, the demons would come. This prosperous, peaceful city would become a hell of blood and fire.
And of all its inhabitants, only Flamme would survive. It was this tragedy that would set her on the path to becoming humanity's greatest mage, the apprentice of Serie.
….
That was the future my analysis had predicted, based on the information I'd gathered from my conversation with the girl. And in that moment, I made a decision.
We would be staying in this city for a while.
"Takson."
"Yeah, Teacher?" he replied, pulled from his conversation with Flamme.
"Announcement: We will be residing in this city for an indeterminate period of time."
"Huh. That's a first," he said, surprised but not displeased. A change of plans didn't matter to him; he could continue his training anywhere.
As long as he was with his teacher, he was content. And staying in a city was certainly more convenient than camping in the wilderness.
"Wait, Stell-neechan, you're staying here for a while?" Flamme asked, her eyes lighting up. She had a strange feeling that this weird-talking big sister was an incredible mage. And Flamme loved magic.
"Affirmative. We will be staying. Duration, unknown."
"Can I come and play with you, then?"
"Of course you can," Takson answered for me.
"Query: Why?" was my response.
"Because I want to learn magic," Flamme said, her answer simple and direct.
"Huh? What?" Takson blinked, taken aback by her blunt request.
"Query: What makes you so certain that I am a mage?" I asked.
"Um... well..." Flamme wracked her brain for a good reason. "It's just a feeling?"
"A feeling..." I repeated the word, processing its implications.
Takson leaned in close, whispering in my ear. "Teacher, you're not actually thinking of taking her on, are you?"
I neither confirmed nor denied his assumption. Flamme, seeing my hesitation, grew a little nervous.
To be honest, she didn't really care if I taught her magic or not. In the short time we had been talking, I had told her stories of my travels, and she was captivated.
She just wanted to be friends, to hear more stories. The request to learn magic had just been an excuse to see me again.
"Agreement: Request granted," I stated. "For the duration of our stay in this city, you may visit us at any time."
"Really?!"
"But... how do I find you?" The excitement in her voice immediately gave way to disappointment.
"Uh..." That was a question that stumped Takson as well. He had never needed to contact me; I was just... always there.
For me, however, it was a trivial matter.
I reached into my cloak and, to the bewildered expressions of both children, produced a small, strange device. I handed it to Flamme.
"What is this?" she asked, turning the object over in her hands.
"Explanation: That is a 'communication' device. If you wish to see us, press this button," I said, pointing to a small, glowing stud on its surface.
Takson stared at the device, his eyes wide. Teacher has things like this? Why didn't I get one?
I explained the device's functions to Flamme. When I was finished, I stood to leave, taking my still-dazed apprentice with me.
"Bye-bye~" Takson waved.
"Ah, bye-bye," Flamme replied, waving back.
I, of course, said nothing. We left her there and walked back to the inn where we were staying.
….
If you want to read 15+ chapters ahead and unpublished fanfics you can check out my patreon or just take a visit.
[P].[A].[T].[R].[E].[O].[N]
http://patreon.com/Kazuma_trash
&
you can join my discord server: https://discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y
Or in short just click in join via invite link in your discord and enter this code: 5Y7uZ2kN2Y