Bear School Astartes

After dinner, Margaret waved her hand, and the dishes and table disappeared.

Lann went into the washroom, saying he needed a bath because things had been too tense on the other side of the celestial sphere rift, leaving little time for cleanliness.

Tishaya didn’t even wave a hand, yet the previously messy dean’s bedroom began to tidy itself up automatically.

By the way, she placed Lann’s armor on the armor display stand that Margaret had bought.

He said he hadn’t cleaned in a long time, but it didn’t seem to smell.

As the armor passed by, Tishaya instinctively wrinkled her nose, then paused.

Suddenly realizing her behavior was inappropriate.

She turned around and waved her hand, using gestures to seamlessly combine Chaos Magic Power for smoother magic use.

Within a few minutes, the whole bedroom was newly organized.

A covered plate hovered behind Margaret as she walked toward the room’s exit.

”I’m going to give this to that little cat. Tishaya... you seem a bit flushed, did you drink too much?”

”No, it’s nothing.” Tishaya’s proud and chaste face remained calm. ”I’ll go with you, Rita.”

”Oh?”

Margaret chuckled teasingly.

Women often make more bawdy jokes than men, and such a trend is particularly exaggerated among female warlocks known for their open-mindedness.

Even the old men, frequent patrons of ’special services’ at inns, would probably blush like novices if they overheard the nighttime talks in the Airetusa apprentice dormitory.

The two powerful female warlocks exited the room, followed by Rong Buqiu’s dinner floating behind them.

”Your flushed face is quite remarkable, Tishaya.”

Margaret teased her teacher.

Tishaya had once taken Margaret’s great-grandmother as an apprentice, but the age gap was imperceptible on their skin and bodies due to supernatural forces.

Margaret chuckled as she leaned on Tishaya’s shoulder.

Tishaya, meanwhile, continued to walk with her hands clasped in front of her abdomen, dignified and proper.

”No need to be shy, teacher.”

To better tease Tishaya, Margaret specifically chose an old title she hadn’t used in a long time.

”The sound of water in the washroom is entrancing, right? Just imagine, as warm water flows over that face, caressing that silver-like long hair and strong arms...”

”You’ve had too much to drink, Rita.”

Before Margaret could continue with her teasing tone, Tishaya interrupted her sternly, as usual.

The overwhelming magic power and skill instantly made Margaret walk properly.

Gone was the seductive, drunken rose-like allure and ambiguity.

”Tishaya! No need to be so serious!”

The former dean turned a deaf ear, completely using magic to take over the current dean’s actions.

If it were before, Margaret had no reluctance to chat about bawdy jokes with Tishaya, Yennefer, and other close friends.

But before was before, and now is now.

If Tishaya truly felt nothing when she faced Lann’s face and character, she could easily spend hours chatting with Margaret without blinking, until she was parched.

But lies don’t hurt, truth is the sharp knife.

Someone tells jokes, someone looks in the mirror.

As for who tells the jokes and who looks in the mirror, everyone has an idea in their hearts.

Tishaya walked ahead of Margaret, whose actions were controlled, she couldn’t even tell if it was due to her strong desire to control or her unwillingness for Margaret to see the blush on her face.

Overall, Tishaya controlled her tone excellently, always calm and wise.

”Before you tell bawdy jokes, Rita. Look at this first.”

Without turning her head, Tishaya simply raised two fingers, placing them by her cheek.

Behind her, Margaret could only see the golden glow emanating from those fingers.

Just looking at it felt like basking in warm sunlight.

”What is this...?”

Under the golden sunlight, Margaret felt the alcohol content in her blood decreasing significantly.

She tilted her head, questioning her teacher.

”Do you remember earlier at dinner when my hand brushed against Lann’s hand?”

Tishaya rubbed her fingers, and the warm sunlight on them disappeared.

”That’s what I managed to glean at that moment.”

”From Lann’s hand?” Margaret still didn’t understand, ”What exactly is this? Are you suggesting his hand has undergone some kind of magic?”

Tishaya glanced at Margaret, a look she was quite familiar with.

Back during her apprenticeship, despite her extraordinary talent, Margaret’s careless nature often led her astray on basic issues.

And whenever Tishaya taught her, she’d always wear that expression.

——How did I end up teaching such a slacker like you?

”I remember, before I stepped down, I already recommended you to read my book, ’On a Different Kind of Caster Apart from Warlocks’.”

At this mention, Margaret’s eyes flickered.

While Tishaya narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone unfriendly.

”Are you trying to tell me that you haven’t even glanced at it?”

”No! How could I? Ha, haha! I remember, you discussed Meretelli’s priests in that book, also Freyja’s high priests, Cliff’s...”

”Cliff’s what?”

Tishaya pressed on relentlessly.

Yet, despite her harsh tone, she could maintain a calm expression while nodding in greeting to the female sorcerer apprentices passing by.

The apprentices were clearly accustomed to the sight of the current and former school deans appearing together.

Margaret’s lips mused for a long time before she finally sighed in resignation.

”Alright, I didn’t read it carefully. You know, Tishaya. I’m skilled at researching spells, not at analyzing theoretical papers.”

”Cliff’s bishop.”

Tishaya filled in the missing knowledge for her student before continuing.

”That was one of my early works, exploring the source of magical powers in individuals who serve the gods. It also further speculates on the existence of gods.”

Margaret was well aware that in Tishaya’s context of ’early years,’ the time span must be upwards of two hundred years ago.

Humans landed on this continent and discovered chaos magic power only a few hundred years ago.

It was evident that Tishaya’s theoretical book did not stir much interest at that time.

Among the new generation of humans and warlocks, even fewer had heard of it.

If it weren’t for Tishaya’s reading assignment, Margaret might not have known the book existed.

The book might have continued to gather dust in the library of Airetusa.

Although now, through Lann’s experiences, Airetusa has clarified the existence of gods, changing the atmosphere is not so easy.

Humans have been the dominant race on this continent for a long time and naturally have a ’the world revolves around me’ mindset.

Warlocks, as the upper echelon among humans, feel this even more strongly.

In the eyes of Tishaya’s older generation of warlocks, there are forces stronger than magic, because they lived through a time when humans had not yet established a foothold on the continent.

To the new generation of warlocks, they are the ones exploring magic and supernatural forces with rigorous logic and endless wisdom.

Druids and priests were seen as a bunch of eccentric or fanatical lunatics, or a mix of both, who ’accidentally’ harnessed magic power through their delusional thoughts.

Village witch doctors or shamans were even less respected, with the most skilled among them only able to make contact with chaos magic power by consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms or sniffing herbal incense.

Most did nothing more than deceive ignorant and simple-minded farmers with mystical talk to sell amulets or straw dolls with only psychological comfort effects.

”Are you saying... this is some sort of divine power?”

But Margaret, who had an understanding of the existence of Lady of the Lake, was clearly more accepting than other new-generation warlocks.

”Yes, divine power.” Tishaya spoke casually, ”A kind of divine power with a solar nature. Completely different from Lady of the Lake’s, except that both are golden.”

As she spoke, Tishaya suddenly sighed.

”You new-generation warlocks are too young and haven’t seen true grand spectacles. So much that when you encounter new powers, you dare to instinctively assume it’s some sort of magic.”

”In our time, things weren’t that absolute.”

”Don’t say such old-fashioned things, Tishaya. It makes you seem old.”

Although Margaret admitted that in terms of experience, she wasn’t as good as her mentor, she didn’t think the gap was that wide.

It’s like a child who hasn’t been to school yet facing adults who have been battered by society, complaining about the difficulties in life.

Therefore, she spoke without much concern.

Tishaya’s earlier words made her feel as if she was speaking to an old demon hunter—Vesemir described by Lann.

Compared to warlocks who use various means to maintain youth and passion, it was evident that demon hunters, who relied entirely on physical mutations to withstand the erosion of time, had more of an old-age mentality.

But Tishaya suddenly turned around after Margaret spoke.

Margaret felt uneasy under Tishaya’s strange gaze.

She would have been less nervous if Tishaya had continued to suppress her with magic, as she’d been disciplined like that since her student days.

But if Tishaya suddenly revoked the magic and appeared ready to ’have a serious discussion,’ Margaret realized—

She must have committed a ’big mistake’ in her teacher’s eyes.

”Let me confirm something first, Rita.”

Tishaya did not respond to Margaret’s question, instead, she observed Margaret, who felt awkward all over, with her characteristically restrained and meticulous manner, pacing around her, scrutinizing her.