“No, what is this…?”
The vivid scenery of the jungle vanished, and in the testing room, Tia sat alone, crying her heart out.
It was different from the whiny cries of frustration that came when things didn’t go well.
At the sound of her sobs, I almost felt tears welling up myself.
My body moved reflexively.
Before I knew it, I rushed inside and embraced Tia.
“It’s okay, Tia. It’s okay.”
“Uuuh…! Huuh, uuu!”
“The scary things are gone. You can relax.”
“Uuuhhh…!”
Desperately, I stroked the back of Tia’s head, trying to calm her down.
Tia was completely in panic, unable to collect herself.
After all, she had encountered those bizarre monsters without any warning…
Someone should have explained in advance that such things would appear.
Suddenly getting angry, I turned around, and the principal averted his gaze, beads of cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
“Mommy…!”
“I’m here, sweetheart. Everything is going to be fine.”
Tia grabbed my clothing and buried herself into my arms.
Now that her breathing began to stabilize, it seemed she was recovering from the panic, but the aftermath of the shock still lingered.
With no choice, I gently stroked Tia’s back, waiting for her to stop crying.
Tia’s pitiful sobs echoed against the dome walls for quite some time.
It felt as if it were just Tia and me, alone in that large room.
“Kuh…!”
“Are you okay? Are you not scared anymore?”
“I… I wasn’t scared at all! Tia wasn’t scared one bit!”
“Uh…?”
As soon as her crying stopped, she tried to act tough.
I wiped Tia’s tear-streaked eyes once more before pulling her tightly to me.
Even if there was no real danger, just hearing Tia’s scream-like cries ruptured my heart.
I thought that when I became a father later, I would be indifferent when my children cried.
It seems that one cannot predict how one will react to such things.
“What in the world just happened, Principal?”
“Indeed. It’s very strange. Why did the entire system malfunction…?”
“Principal, that’s not what we’re asking right now.”
As I held tightly onto Tia’s hand and turned back, irritation surged within me.
Tia seemed to be out of his mind, only fiddling with the control panel, and there was no way I couldn’t be angry.
By the way, what kind of school uses such a test to have students face monsters before they enroll?
Unless one is Superman, any kid would just sit down and scream in that situation.
What kind of foolishness is this, testing coping abilities and causing such a mess…?
“I’m very sorry. It seems the difficulty was set incorrectly…”
Is he really saying that as an excuse right now?
I couldn’t help but bite my lip in anger.
Feeling the metallic taste of blood in my mouth, I pulled Tia’s hand.
“My Duke, I’m truly sorry. May I withdraw my child’s enrollment?”
“That is up to Lady Julia.”
“Excuse me? What did you just say?”
“Seeing the principal’s attitude makes me see the level of the school. My desire to enroll my child has completely disappeared. I must thank you for preparing such a situation. Now, if you will, I shall excuse myself.”
Though I wanted to slap him across the face, I decided to just convey my feelings with as much courtesy as I could.
I cannot allow Tia to be enrolled in such a school.
If the principal has no consideration for the children, how will this school teach its students well?
I grasped Tia, who was still confused, and exited the testing room.
To my surprise, the principal followed us, dripping with cold sweat.
“Excuse me, guardian! Please wait a moment! Do you know what ability Lady Tiamat just used?”
“I have no idea.”
“It’s a magical dismantling technique. In that brief time, she dismantled the magic that was being activated in the testing facility and nullified its functions. It’s a remarkable ability. It also indicates a profound understanding of magic. In that regard, St. Sophia prides itself on being the best in the world. There’s no better school than St. Sophia for nurturing Lady Tiamat’s talent. So, about the withdrawal of enrollment…”
“I’m not interested. What does it matter how advanced a school is if it’s run by someone who can’t even be called an educator?”
From the frantic clinging, it seemed Tia had exceptional talent.
However, my mind had already left that place.
As I heard the footsteps behind me halt, I thought they had given up.
But when I looked back, the principal was bowing at a 90-degree angle.
“I’m truly sorry. My excessive ambition has caused significant harm to the child. I have no excuses. I sincerely apologize to both the child and the guardian. This will never happen again. If you decide to enroll, we, including myself and the faculty, will do everything in our power to help Lady Tiamat cultivate her abilities.”
“…”
It seems the principal had finally grasped the situation and was delivering a proper apology.
Indeed, it was different from his usual stuck-up noble demeanor.
There are shameless people out there who don’t even apologize after harming others…
“Hm?”
When I glanced at the duke, he gave me a brief smirk, making me turn my gaze away in disgust.
The principal still kept his head down, waiting for my response.
It was useless to give an apology that came too late.
I had already made my decision.
Just as I was about to say so…
“I’ll waive the tuition as a token of apology!”
“Alright. I’ll enroll her.”
“Eh?”
“Yes?”
Everyone makes mistakes once in a while.
I thought there was no reason not to accept an earnest apology when it was delivered in such a polite manner.
I didn’t truly lose my mind over the tuition waiver.
It wasn’t because I thought I could erase my debt to the duke.
“Tia, how about it? Do you want to go?”
“Uh! There are so many interesting things, and I want to learn while I’m here!”
“……”
It appears so.
Since Tia is expressing this strong desire to learn, I can’t go against that hope.
I couldn’t help but find Tia, who answered so cheerfully with red-rimmed eyes, absolutely adorable.
After leaving the testing room, we received a brief explanation about the school from the vice principal.
Honestly, it didn’t quite sink in.
I couldn’t quite understand the flexible curriculum tailored to each student’s individual characteristics or whatever else.
It was a well-reputed school, and with the duke and heroes praising it as an elite institution, I merely thought it was a good school.
“Then, goodbye. Thank you once again for deciding to enroll.”
“Yes, we’ll be going now. Oh, by the way, you should know that Tia is actually the child of a dragon. I think the staff needs to be made aware of that.”
“Eh…?”
Leaving the pale-faced vice principal and principal behind, we exited the school.
Tia seemed entirely oblivious to what had just occurred and wore a bright smile.
Was I being too hypersensitive?
I felt a little uneasy.
“Tia, how did you use that magical dismantling technique earlier? How did you do it?”
“Um? I don’t really know. I just screamed because I was scared…”
“……”
As I mounted the carriage, listening to Tia’s explanation left me speechless for a moment.
There had been countless times when Tia had cried and kicked up a fuss.
But in all that time, I had never once experienced a blackout situation like today.
Perhaps Tia’s subconscious instinctively countered the giant threat automatically with magic.
If she could use it freely, it would undoubtedly become an extraordinary ability.
“Um, magical dismantling technique…”
“What is it, master? You look like you have something on your mind…”
“No, it’s nothing. I’m just lost in thought.”
Why did he suddenly act like that?
Of course, that wasn’t my concern, so I decided to ignore it.
As soon as Tia settled into her seat in the carriage, she began to doze off.
Was there some kind of sedative in the carriage?
“If you sleep now, you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“Uh… Even so, I’m sleepy.”
“If you fall asleep now, I’ll leave you in the carriage and get off.”
“R-Really?!”
“Just kidding. Don’t worry about it. Mom will wake you when we arrive.”
What a cute girl.
As I gently stroked Tia’s head, a whirlwind of thoughts flooded my mind.
For a long time, I had dreamt of Tia having some remarkable talent, but now that it had become a reality, I felt a bit confused.
Considering that the principal of a prestigious school was begging and waiving tuition, her talent must far exceed expectations…
I wondered if this would only work out positively for Tia, and that concern troubled me.
“The pearl necklace. If it’s uncomfortable, you can take it off and give it back.”
“Oh. Thank you so much. Here.”
“From now on, wear this instead.”
“What is this…?”
As I handed over the pearl necklace, a silver thread settled into my palm.
When I opened my hand, a spherical metallic object was gleaming.
It was a silver pendant.
Given the intricate decorations on it, it didn’t seem cheap at all.
“Master?!”
“That’s a locket.”
Clack.
When the duke pressed the button on the pendant, the lid opened.
Peering inside, I let out a faint sigh.
It was a picture.
A photo of Tia and me standing together.
“What is this?”
“I drew it. What do you think?”
“Eh? You drew this? It’s not a photo?”
“I’ve never taken a picture, so where would a photo come from? Of course, it’s a drawing.”
I was taken aback and had to look inside the locket again.
It was so realistic that, even knowing it was a drawing, it looked like a photograph.
How could such a small drawing be so finely detailed…?
I closed the lid of the pendant and tried to wear it around my neck.
“If you give me something like this, it feels burdensome…”
“You look happy. Don’t think too much about it. Just consider it basic employee welfare.”
“……”
The length was appropriate, and it wasn’t heavy at all, plus it looked quite pretty, so I truly liked it.
It seemed my expression gave that away.
It would be impossible to deceive the duke any further, so I decided to be a bit more honest.
“Thank you…”
I felt that this one phrase might be the most heartfelt thing I had ever said to the duke so far.
