'Falnirr lore?' Azel thought, tapping his chin as he listened.

Falnirr was such a powerful dragon that was a whole calamity but the developers hadn't done much lore building around it… If he had heard all of this before facing it in the game, he would be much more afraid of the damned thing.

'So it's capable of destroying two whole Empires overnight?' he thought again.

Even for him, that sounded insane… The Empire was so big that not even Steven had been to every city or town in the Empire, and that monster could just destroy two?

If the lore was real, that meant the version in the game wasn't even full power, and it had still taken the combined efforts of Reinhardt as well as the other heroines and side characters to put it down for good.

"Although since you interrupted their operation when you were younger, I doubt they have enough to summon it again. However since they based themselves in Karan town, there's a chance they might be trying to kidnap Naelia again. Even if she's under the protection of a Grand Mage, I won't feel safe anymore. So I'll be bringing her back to the castle."

Azel nodded, hiding his thoughts behind a neutral expression.

"I see…" That explained it.

If she was being recalled, then Nyala would likely return to the Academy soon.

Aldric had always been soft on first daughter… it was only a matter of time before he'd give her guards and let her come to the academy, especially now that her blood had been linked to something this dangerous.

"Does that mean I'm done here?" Azel asked.

"Yes, it is," Aldric said, and reached into his coat pocket. He brought out a small silver storage ring and placed it on the table with a clink. "There's a pile of gold ares inside. Use it to get something nice for yourself."

Azel blinked, then grinned inwardly.

'Now this is what I like to hear!' he thought, keeping his composure as he bowed politely.

He extended both hands, receiving the ring with grace. "Thank you, my Emperor. I'll return to the Academy now."

He turned toward the door, already thinking of what he could buy… he already had a lot of gold, and there was nothing wrong with having more gold.

In the end, he decided to just restock on fish skewers.

But before he could leave, Aldric cleared his throat.

"Wait."

Azel stopped and turned, one eyebrow raised.

"Don't tell anyone of what we spoke of in here," Aldric said seriously.

"Okay." Azel nodded once in understanding.

Then he opened the door and left.

…

A sky ferry flew through the sky, making it's way to the Academy.

However in this ferry, there were only two people seated inside… the young man who'd just returned from Karan town, and the professor who refused to give him peace.

"Come on," Mynes said, leaning forward in her seat. "Tell me what the Emperor said. You can't just come out of a private audience with His Majesty and act all mysterious. It's not fair."

"He didn't say anything apart from what you told me already," Azel replied with a sigh, staring out the window at the passing sky.

He wasn't about to bring up Falnirr… It was like an urban legend, hearing that it could be awakened could probably traumatize the average person. "Should your legs be over mine right now?"

Her lips turned into a mischievous smile. She was sitting across from him, but both her legs were stretched out comfortably on his lap, crossed at the ankle.

In one hand, she held a book titled Arcane Scandals of the Second Age, and she didn't even look up as she spoke.

"Yepp. If you want to suck on my feet, I'll allow it. I heard young men like you have a lot of fetishes."

Azel stared at her blankly. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying," she said, flipping a page. "You've been awfully tense lately. Maybe a little affection would help."

"You're unbelievable," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Thank you. I do try." She grinned without looking up, enjoying herself far too much.

He leaned back in his seat and exhaled through his nose.

The woman had a talent for testing his patience. Still, for all her teasing, her presence made the silence easier to bear.

The sky outside was clear and blue, the ferry gliding smoothly through the air currents. It was peaceful…

After a moment, Azel turned to her again. "Teach me about runes."

Her head jerked up. "Eh?"

He didn't meet her eyes. "I said teach me about runes."

"Sorry," she said, tilting her head and cupping her ear, "I didn't hear that."

He gave her a dead stare. "You heard me."

"I did." She grinned wider, closing her book. "But I wanted to make you say it again. You're always so serious when you ask for help. It's cute."

Azel's patience snapped a little. "Just teach me."

"Fine, fine." She leaned back, resting her chin on her hand. "What do you want to know exactly?"

"I want to be able to create the rune and plant it into the item directly," he said. "Not through a charm or paper seal. I want to inscribe it by hand… with no external medium."

Her teasing expression faded into something thoughtful.

"Oh… rune projection." She blinked, impressed. "You're getting ambitious, huh? That's pretty advanced runic magic, Azel. It might take a lot of time to learn."

"Well we are here now, teach me." he said bluntly. "I need to be able to do it now. During the last mission, I had to rely on paper. That won't work next time."

Mynes folded her arms and looked him over carefully, as if reevaluating him.

Then she smiled.

"So it's about what happened underground, huh?"

Her tone softened, but she didn't press further. "Alright, I'll teach you. You're lucky, you're talking to one of the best rune mages in the Empire."

"I know," he said flatly.

She twitched. "A little enthusiasm would be nice. You could say something like, 'Oh, mighty Professor Mynes, thank you for bestowing your wisdom upon this humble student.'"

"Pass."

"Brat." She stood up, stretching her back, then gestured for him to follow. "Alright, come here."

He raised an eyebrow but did as told.

"I'll teach you how to project runes now… you need to pay fifty thousand gold ares first."

"Scam!"

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