I had to swallow his words and agree with him. As one who taught so many students back-to-back, it wasn’t easy for him. I had just seen how he taught, not losing vigor in any of his lectures. Asking him to teach me would only be adding to his workload.
“You proffered an interesting theory, and you’ve caught my attention, I’ll admit that much. But, it’s not enough to motivate me yet. I’ll need more than that to say yes and become your master.”
I clenched my teeth. Even after all I had shown, it still wasn’t enough for an immediate answer. Of course, I had realized this. I just had hope that there could a sliver of a chance where he would accept my request.
“I understand. Well, then, what would be enough?” My eyes lit up with a new passion, unwilling to be fazed by Neron’s rejection.
The older man’s eyes sparkled the moment I said this.
I needed to prove myself as soon as possible. With so many things to do, I couldn’t delay my apprenticeship. I wanted to at least reach the level of an Advanced Mage before leaving this institute after my three years here. There was no way I could dawdle.
“The Familiar Selection Ceremony… no, let’s not go with that…” Neron muttered, half talking to himself.
The ceremony was in a month’s time. That was bearable. I could delay my plans with Neron for that long.
“How about the Inter-Class Exchange? Yeah, that’ll work!”
My eyes bulged the moment he said that. The Exchange was in three months! One month was bearable, but in three months, so much would have happened. It was far too long.
“B-but, that is-” I tried protesting.
“Well, that’s my condition. If you feel you can’t do it… that’s fine.” Neron smiled broadly, most likely happy to see me flustered for the first time in our short exchange.
‘Tsk!’ I nearly clicked my tongue in frustration.
Neron was being unreasonable, well, to me. For other students, this would have been an even deal. But, I needed to get way stronger before the Exchange, which meant I needed his tutelage. Without his guidance, it would be very difficult to achieve the state I wanted before then.
Well, lecturers were fond of giving hurdles to students who wanted to be their apprentices, so I had to accept this one as well. However…
“Well, I can’t argue with you. But, professor, is this really the best move?” I asked.
“Hm?”
“You want me to give an acceptable performance during the Exchange, right? Aren’t you worried that other Lecturers will set their eyes on me and approach me? If superior lecturers make me tempting offers… I may rethink becoming your apprentice, you know?”
Just as lecturers could only have one apprentice, apprentices could only have one Master as well. If multiple lecturers had their eyes on one student, that student had the right to choose who he wanted to go with.
There was no way I wouldn’t garner attention during the Exchange. If that happened, I could have other Lecturers who were willing to be my Master.
“Well, the possibility exists…” Neron shrugged a little, then gave me the most confident statement I had ever heard him say.
“… It would be your mistake though.”
He could have meant a lot with what he said, but I chose to interpret it in the most literal way. His eyes told me he wasn’t bluffing, and I could feel it resonate within me.
‘There’s no Lecturer superior to me that will approach you!’ That was what Neron Kaelid was implying.
“We’ll see.” I returned his confidence with mine as well.
“Looks like it’s agreed, then.”
“I’ll have to wait, but I hope you’ll make it worth all the trouble once I become your apprentice.”
“This kid… you’re already talking like it’s a guaranteed win on your part. Despite my personality, my standards are pretty high, you know?”
Of course, they had to be. If they weren’t, I wouldn’t have approached him in the first place. However, it didn’t matter how high his standards were. I intended to trump everything.
“No matter how high your expectations peak, it doesn’t matter. I plan to come out top in the Exchange. That’s more than enough!”
Neron appeared a little fazed, the most flustered I had seen him so far. He quickly reverted to his usual demeanor.
“That’s ambitious… maybe a but conceited.”
Of course, anyone would think that. A Lower Class, White Core Grade student thought he could get the first position in the Inter-Class Exchange. How absurd could that be?
“But, if you manage to get that high… I promise to be your Master, no, not just that… I’ll fulfill any one of your requests.”
I nodded, happy he hadn’t entirely written off my declaration. Usually, even if a student passed the hurdle set before him by the Lecturer he wished to be his master, the Lecturer could still refuse the apprenticeship. However, now that Neron had promised, he would be held bound by his word.
There was also his promise of fulfilling one of my requests. O course, it was implied that the request had to be in his capacity, but it still was a big deal. I already knew what I would ask for.
“Sounds fair enough. I look forward to—”
BZZZZZRRRNNNNGGGGG
A buzzing, ringing sound abruptly interrupted my moment with Neron. For a moment, I was dazed and frankly a little irritated by the sound, until I realized that it was coming from the man I was speaking to—his pocket to be precise.
“Ah, looks like we’ve spent quite a bit of time here already. It’s nearly time for your next Lecture.” Neron mumbled, looking at the pocket watch he pulled out of his pocket.
Time flies when having fun, also when speaking to one’s Lecturer… the latter was due to experience. I didn’t know we had taken so long in discourse.
‘Welp, it was worth it, though!’