And now.
The human standing before her.
One of the very few humans Aura had once respected. Not for his birth, nor his manners, but for his stubborn, unyielding pursuit of magic. He had been a boy who devoured grimoires as if they were bread, who spent sleepless nights scrawling formulas that no one else bothered with. She remembered the ink stains on his hands, the way he nearly collapsed in class but forced himself upright, declaring that "magic is the only thing that deserves my life."
For the rest of his life, he would only practice generic offensive magic. No longer would he pursue the true end of magic, but instead rely on common spells already perfected by others—spells that real mages wouldn't even bother to glance at.
Aura truly could not understand humans.
She had long said that old woman Serie was senile, her wisdom decayed. It was likely that only a tiny remnant of the intelligence of the mage from Mythical Era remained. It was hard to say whether she had Alzheimer's disease - otherwise, why did she feel that Aura could understand humans better than her?
It's impossible! Humans are all a bunch of idiots! Just seeing a human standing in front of her made Aura feel sick to her stomach!
Andro, meanwhile, stood stiff, his hands trembling against his sides. He knew. Deep down, he knew what crime he had committed against her expectations. Yet he lacked the courage to speak it aloud.
If he admitted it, the guilt would crush him.
But he had no way back. From the moment he signed his name under Großherzog Atto's contract, from the day he walked away from Kribi without a word, the road behind him had turned to ashes.
He told himself there was no choice.
Kribi Academy would never admit a student who had voluntarily dropped out.
Yes, he knew that last time, when Aura had pulled strings for him, she had shown some influence in Kribi.
But that was Kribi! Even a minister dispatched to some backwater town wielded far more authority than anything Aura could reach. How much weight could her so-called "connections" carry?
Could Andro expect the dean to personally approach the current president of the Continental Mage Association and beg for favors?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible. The Kribi Academy was directly overseen by the Association's highest council. For Aura to reach that level of authority... he could not imagine the price.
Even if, by some miracle, she managed it—what would she have to sell, to sacrifice, to sway such powers?
Andro's eyes grew moist, but he held back his tears. With reddened eyes, he bowed deeply to Dean Aura and the others behind her.
"I thank you. You gave me the chance to step out of the mountains. Now that I have found my road, I no longer dare ask for the dean's help. This may be my last time here. Before I leave, I can only leave behind this wealth. My final offering to you."
"This is how you chose to leave the mountains?"
Aura's calm gaze fell upon him—not with the sharpness she used when teaching, but with a softer expression. And yet, this gentleness chilled Andro to his bones.
She had abandoned him.
"Go now, and don't come back. Do not say you are a student of Hohenburg Academy, and do not say that Aura once taught you. Since you've accepted the nobles' leash, stop dreaming of being a great mage. Go serve them as their dog—for life."
She gestured at the chest of money with disdain. She had not sunk so low that she needed such pity.
Even if she truly reached the point of ruin, she would never beg for charity.
And never would she sell away her pursuit of magic in exchange.
"Take the money with you. Hohenburg can endure. The Academy can endure. Andro—you no longer belong to Hohenburg, nor to this Academy."
"Go find where you belong."
With that, Aura turned to leave, not sparing him another glance.
"Dean… Dean! Teacher Aura!!"
Suddenly she felt a pull at her leg. Looking down, she saw Andro kneeling, clutching at her ankle with desperate hands.
He looked up, his face smeared with tears and snot.
"I was wrong! I was wrong, Dean!! I've failed you! I've failed Hohenburg!!"
"I betrayed everyone's hopes. I actually gave up my most precious treasure... But... But it's gone. hiks hiks hiks... Even if I wanted to go back, I can't go back to Kribi. I don't have a chance anymore. Wahah... sniff sniff sniff..."
Behind her calm expression, Aura's lips curled into a sly, victorious smile.
But when she turned back, she wore the face of a benevolent teacher, filled with compassion.
She approached the trembling boy kneeling before her slowly.
Aura's voice flowed like a gentle stream, soft enough to soothe, steady enough to command:
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Andro."
The boy flinched at his name, tears streaking his flushed cheeks. His lips trembled, but no words came. He only bowed lower, as if his shame might swallow him whole.
Aura bent down, her shadow falling over him, and lifted him with surprising gentleness. Her small hands deceptively fragile—settled upon his shoulders. She tilted her head, her expression one of endless patience.
"So long as you wish to return, your dean will always support you."
Andro gasped softly, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"It's all right. You still have a chance."
Her words fell upon him like cool rain on scorched earth.
"Here." With the elegance of a stage actress, Aura reached into the folds of her skirt. From the hidden pocket she drew out a sealed letter, stamped with the sigil of Kribi.
"I have prepared this for you. With it, you may return to Kribi. Everything is arranged. Your re-enrollment, even the matter with the Principality of Atto. You will not need to fear their judgment."
The boy stared blankly at the parchment in her hand, as though it were a holy relic.
"Take it," she urged, pressing it firmly into his palms. "Study well. Become an excellent mage. Do not rush yourself. Hohenburg has raised you for so many years already. What is a little more time? When you succeed, the prestige of a First-Class Mage will bring Hohenburg far more honor than any petty court mage serving some minor duchy."
Far more benefit to Aura herself as well.
After all, the prestige of producing a First-Class Mage far eclipsed that of raising a mere court mage.
—Of course, this part Aura kept to herself.
"Thank you, thank you, Dean… I… you…"
His tears fell faster, splattering onto the parchment. To him, the paper burned hot in his hands, as though it had been purchased with her very blood.
To defy a Großherzog, to stand against the rules of the Continental Mage Association… what had Dean Aura sacrificed for his sake?
For the sake of one wayward student? Could it possibly be worth it?
Andro shook his head weakly. His chest heaved with sobs.
"Such a teachable child~" Aura murmured, resting her cool palm upon his head. She smoothed his hair, her touch featherlight, almost motherly. Though she wore only plain cloth, while Andro was robed in silk, not a soul watching found it unfitting.
No—if anything, the plainness of her garb only magnified her majesty.
From the gates of Hohenburg, dozens of apprentices, servants, and fellow teachers gazed on. The petite figure in purple radiated a brilliance that no jewel or brocade could rival.
"Lady Aura…"
Behind her, the ragged apprentices of the Academy gazed with shining admiration.
A dean who was incorruptible, who scorned wealth, who would rather sacrifice herself than let her students sell their souls to nobility—such a person was the very hope of Hohenburg.
No, the hope of all humanity.
"As long as such deans exist," one young apprentice whispered, "mankind will never perish."
"Yes," another agreed, eyes wet with fervor. "Dean Aura is proof! Proof that we are above demons! That we can never be defeated!"
The murmurs spread like wildfire through the gathered crowd. To them, Aura was no longer just a teacher—she was a symbol, a living embodiment of humanity's noblest spirit.
Aura, however, ignored the glowing gazes. She lowered her eyes, continuing to stroke Andro's hair slowly, almost absentmindedly. To her, the boy was no more than a loyal hound pressing his head into her palm.
And while he wept at her feet, Aura's lips twitched in the faintest of mocking smiles.
'Humans were so easy to deceive.'
'Just give up your wealth, your bright futures, your freedom of choice—become a part of my accomplishments.'
Her eyes narrowed slightly, gleaming with cruel delight.
Aura couldn't help but laugh in her heart, feeling proud of her wisdom that surpassed that of humans.
'Heh~ humans really are so easy to fool~~'