I Became a Mythical-Tier Tamer Due To A System Error Chapter 87
Late at night.
Royal Academy Yggdrasil Main Building.
A young man crossed his arms and paced around.
He looked as though he was waiting for someone.
Before long, the sound of an engine came from afar.
Vroom… screech!
Beneath the large statue displayed in front of the main building, a car came to a stop.
The man who had been waiting ran hastily toward the car.
Clack!
As the door opened, someone stepped out of the car.
Even in the dark of night, the woman’s skin was pale enough to be noticeable.
Her long hair concealed her face, leaving only one eye visible, and that eye shone like a beautiful piece of obsidian.
‘This person is….’
Yes.
She was so beautiful and young that she hardly suited the image of a ‘professor.’
As he stared blankly at her, the man belatedly bowed his head.
“Welcome, Professor Hilda. This is our first meeting. As you know, I’ll be serving as your temporary assistant….”
“Nice to meet you.”
Hilda cut him off as if uninterested and looked around.
“……This place is always the same. Nothing has changed.”
When Hilda murmured to herself, the assistant blinked.
“Isn’t this your first appointment? If you’ve been here before… then you must also be a Yggdrasil graduate, Professor.”
Hilda turned her head toward the assistant and spoke.
“Mmm~ to be precise, I’m not a graduate.”
“Then…?”
“There’s such a thing.”
…So she must have dropped out.
It could be a sensitive subject.
The assistant did not press further.
“This is the key to the research lab Professor Belzrover used. Before you arrived, I had it cleaned up thoroughly.”
He pulled out a key from his pocket and handed it over. Hilda smiled and accepted it.
“Well done.”
“Then, I’ll guide you to your research lab. Please follow me.”
The assistant took the lead.
It was when Hilda was about to follow after him.
“……”
Hilda paused for a moment.
She raised her head toward the statue before her.
At the statue’s feet, a cat made of lead was playfully leaping about.
A tall man stood there holding a staff as tall as himself.
He wore a hood attached to his robe, and because of the darkness, his face could not be seen clearly.
It looked somewhat worn, as though it had aged with time.
“This too… unchanged….”
As Hilda placed her hand on the statue, her eyes filled with nostalgia, as though she had sunk into deep thought.
“Professor?”
When the assistant, who had gone ahead, tilted his head and approached, Hilda immediately spoke.
“Let’s decide now.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ll appoint you as my official assistant.”
“Whaaat?!”
The assistant shouted.
He was dumbfounded.
To think such an important decision was made so abruptly and carelessly.
He knew well how much effort one had to pour in to become an official assistant, so he couldn’t help but be more surprised.
Not just effort, but also flattery toward the professor and even luck played a big role.
…And yet it was decided this easily?
“P-please, I sincerely beg you!”
“But, there is a condition.”
The assistant’s face twisted instantly at those words, and seeing his fear, Hilda smiled softly before continuing.
“It’s simple. Never, under any circumstances, enter my research lab. That’s the only condition.”
“……”
It was a little suspicious, but there had indeed been professors who despised interference from others.
Hilda seemed to be one of them.
Moreover, Yggdrasil professors were required to hire at least one official assistant.
It was likely just to meet that requirement.
‘As long as I don’t enter the professor’s lab….’
It was practically laissez-faire.
Even as an official assistant, his contact with the professor would be minimal.
He would still receive the benefits and salary of an official assistant, yet not even have to fully carry out the duties.
Since I didn’t have to worry about the professor’s work, I could focus on my own research.
No matter how I thought about it, wasn’t this unconditionally a situation where I could only benefit?
“……Are you saying I don’t even need to do the cleaning or organizing?”
“My assigned cleaner will take care of that. Well then, I’ll be in your care, Assistant.”
Assigned cleaner, who could that be?
Well, since I didn’t have to do it, there was no need to ask further.
The man had no choice but to grasp the hand Hilda offered.
I opened my eyes.
Arowell stirred awake from sleep and lifted her head with a yawn.
Her gaze naturally drifted to the window, the only place where light seeped in.
The still and cold dawn was coming to an end.
The rising sun embraced all shivering life with its warmth.
‘But… where is this?’
It wasn’t the window she was used to seeing. Not just the window.
From the curtains, to the bed, to the wooden ceiling and the structure of the room.
…Right. That’s it.
This was the new dormitory where she would be living starting today.
It was the ‘Briarflower Monastery’ she had so longed to enter.
“Yaaawn~.”
She stretched, got up from the bed, and looked at the mirror.
There stood Arowell with golden hair shimmering in her pajamas.
Her long rest was over, and starting today, the second semester began.
How long had she waited to return to the place of learning where her friends were?
Thanks to preparing everything in advance last night before going to bed, she didn’t need much time to get ready to leave.
While checking her reflection in her school uniform before the mirror.
Her eyes widened as if she had suddenly remembered something.
“Oh no, I forgot.”
Arowell put the uniform coat back into the wardrobe and pulled out another outfit.
The outfit was calm in tone, based on white and black… a nun’s robe.
Arowell was deeply fond of this garment.
In fact, even that was an understatement.
From her childhood, the nun’s robe had been nothing short of an ‘admiration’ itself.
“So pretty….”
Wearing the nun’s robe, Arowell sparkled with bright eyes as she stood before the mirror.
‘This is the outfit I will wear for the rest of my life, from today onward.’
Arowell had ‘skipped a grade conditionally.’
She had been recommended by the ‘Mother Superior,’ equivalent to a chief professor in other departments.
Her high grades, healing ability, gentle personality, and deep faith had all been evaluated highly.
‘Of course, I still have to attend first-year classes without skipping them.’
Even though it was grade-skipping, it was conditional. She was still technically a first-year student.
It only meant that she was allowed to attend second-year classes in parallel after entering Briarflower Monastery.
Step, step….
Clad in the nun’s robe, Arowell left her room and walked down the hallway.
“……”
Her gaze turned toward one particular door.
On the nameplate of that door was written ‘Adrian Angela.’
After glancing around the hallway and confirming that no one was there.
Arowell slowly opened the door.
Creeeak.
An empty room, with no one inside.
‘…Of course not.’
The blanket and pillow were neatly folded, without a single wrinkle.
‘Angela unnie is always so busy.’
Though Arowell had been living in the dormitory of Briarflower Monastery since yesterday.
She hadn’t seen even a trace of her.
‘I really wanted to see her.’
Her older sister from the same hometown, with whom she had spent her childhood so closely.
It had already been two years since Arowell saw Angela off when she left their hometown to enter Yggdrasil.
‘I want to meet Angela unnie soon.’
Since entering the academy, Arowell hadn’t once met Angela.
If she forced it, she could meet her.
But Arowell preferred a natural meeting.
Besides, she knew that Angela was always busy.
‘…The other nuns told me Angela unnie is one of the leading candidates for ‘Saintess.’’
‘Saintess.’
In simple terms, she was the representative of the student nuns.
That role was also Arowell’s dream, so her heart pounded with excitement.
‘This is such an important time. I mustn’t get in unnie’s way.’
She wanted to show Angela how much she had grown.
But if she clung too much, she might end up being a burden to her.
Arowell closed the door and headed to school.
As she approached the main building, the surroundings were already filled with noisy students in uniforms.
At last, she felt the reality that a new semester had begun.
Amidst that atmosphere, she soon arrived at the main building.
And, as always, Arowell came to a brief stop.
“……”
Before her eyes stood an old statue.
It looked to be about two meters tall.
A kind smile shone on the face hidden beneath the hood of a robe.
A small bird perched on the hand holding a staff bearing fruit.
Around his feet, small animals were playfully running about.
There was no special power imbued in it, just a mere decoration of the school.
Other students paid no attention to the statue.
But whenever Arowell looked at it, her heart swelled.
‘The one who protected this world.’
The statue’s nameplate read ‘Gilley.’
He was the person Arowell respected most.
Three hundred years ago, this man had founded the academy.
It was said that one of his disciples had personally crafted the statue.
‘To think I get to see this moment of history every day!’
With eyes full of emotion, she clasped her hands together and gazed at the statue.
Step, step….
A man as large as the statue itself came into Arowell’s view.
Only, this time, it wasn’t a statue but a real person.
‘……Gilley?’
Someone so similar to Gilley that it could cause confusion was walking toward Arowell.
Early morning, livestock shed storage.
The new semester began today.
I had woken up early and finished all my preparations, but the problem was Lapin, who hadn’t prepared anything.
I wrung out the rag soaked in hot water.
“Are you planning to be late on the very first day of the opening ceremony? Today’s the last time I’ll be taking care of you.”
“…Okay.”
Still half-asleep, Lapin rubbed her eyes with a yawn.
‘Didn’t she used to wake up fine in the mornings…?’
I had a small doubt, but the reason wasn’t hard to figure out.
When attending classes at the academy, she had lived a strict and orderly life in the dormitory.
But the moment vacation began, she had fully adapted to the lazy and free lifestyle of living in the livestock shed.
Even if she was late or absent, part of me wanted to just leave her behind and head to school.
‘But there’s a chance the future could change.’
Her absence might cause the proper flow of events to shift.
To prevent that possibility at the root, I was making sure Lapin went to school.
After roughly wiping her face, I tossed her school uniform at her.
“Hurry up and put it on.”
“…Okay.”
Still unable to fully open her eyes as if drowsy, Lapin moved sluggishly.
I spoke as I stepped out of the storage room.
“If you’re not dressed within one minute, you’ll be banned from the livestock shed for a month.”
Lapin’s eyes shot wide open.
“Plus, no hugging Sea Otter for a month either.”
Fwoosh!
Lapin sprang up like a rabbit and immediately got dressed.
After confirming that, I stepped outside the storage room.
“Villed, I’m done.”
It hadn’t even taken a full minute for her to get into uniform.
If she could move that quickly, why had she been lazing around in the first place?
“If you’re ready, then let’s go.”
As I answered, Lapin suddenly stretched her arms out toward me.
“Carry me.”
I looked at her with disbelief at those words.
“Walk on your own two feet.”
“Ugh….”
When I took the lead, Lapin reluctantly followed behind with a sulky sound.
She still seemed tired.
“That’s what you get for staying up late.”
“Sea Otter wanted to play, so I had no choice.”
“Excuses.”
The path to the main building was crowded with countless students.
As we drew closer, I spotted a familiar face.
“Ah, hello! It’s been a while, Villed!”
Arowell, dressed in a nun’s robe, greeted me.
Just as in the proper timeline, her attire had changed.
I nodded and spoke.
“I heard you skipped a grade. The outfit suits you well.”
“Ah, thank you!”
Arowell replied with a bashful smile.
Come to think of it, she had been staring at something for quite some time.
I shifted my gaze to the statue and asked.
“But why were you looking at this? Did it crack somewhere?”
“Oh, no! Just… um, let’s say it’s a simple hobby!”
“Hobby?”
So admiring artworks was her hobby.
There was nothing strange about that.
I lightly nodded as if convinced.
“There’s not much time before the opening ceremony, let’s head in.”
“Yes!”
As I took the lead, Lapin and Arowell followed behind.
‘That aside.’
The statue that Arowell had been gazing at.
‘……The Great Sage Gilley.’
Three hundred years ago.
He was humanity’s savior, who founded Royal Academy Yggdrasil and established peace.
It was the statue of the ‘Great Sage Gilley,’ who sealed the Seven Calamities.
‘Even so, this person is only described in text within the game.
He exists only as part of the setting.’
Stories about heroes who saved the world hundreds of years ago were a common trope.
It seemed the developers didn’t place much importance on this setting either.
After all, he wasn’t even implemented with an illustration or as an in-game character.
‘Right, he wasn’t all that important in the game.’
But that was only in the game.
In this ‘world,’ he was undoubtedly the most important person.
‘Still, he died hundreds of years ago. Which means I’d never have the chance to meet him in person.’
……So it held little meaning.
Thinking that, I stepped into the main building.
‘Come to think of it, I’m a bit thirsty.’
Because I had been looking after Lapin, I had forgotten to drink any water.
‘There is a water bottle in subspace, but….’
With so many students around, it felt awkward to open subspace here.
I spoke to Lapin and Arowell, who had followed behind me.
“I’ll go to the water fountain for a moment. You two go on ahead to the auditorium and save seats.”
“Ah, okay! I’ll be waving from the far left of the first-year section!”
Hearing Arowell’s reply, I headed toward the hallway.
……And not long after.
It happened while I was simply heading to the water fountain for a drink.
It was nothing more than coincidence.
In the hallway, I locked eyes with a woman whose long hair covered one of her eyes.
“……”
Her gaze fixed squarely on me.
I did not avoid her eyes.
After a few seconds, her lips belatedly moved.
“How could you…?”
That was what she said as she looked at me.