Meeting the Headmistress
The moment I laid eyes on the headmistress, I froze in place, stunned by her appearance.
“Why are you so tense?”
She spoke in a calm, mature tone—but no matter how you looked at her, she appeared to be nothing more than a girl around ten years old.
“Um, uh…”
“Is something the matter?”
Heather looked at me with a perfectly composed expression, as if everything were totally normal.
Wait… this girl really is the headmistress?
She might even be younger than Amira, for crying out loud!
“Well, I understand why you’re surprised. Anyone would be, upon seeing the head of a prestigious academy looking this young.”
“Ah! That’s true! I’ve gotten so used to it, I didn’t even think about how odd it might seem to others!”
So she really is the headmistress, then.
The girl—no, the headmistress—cleared her throat with a polite “ahem” and continued.
“Allow me to formally welcome you to the academy. I’m Lyla Laptis, the headmistress.”
“J-Justin Foyle, from Curtis Village. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
We exchanged greetings as usual… but the dissonance was too much.
It felt like I was talking to one of the village kids, yet her speech and mannerisms were so refined, my brain was struggling to reconcile the difference.
And then, Heather dropped a shocking piece of information:
“By the way, the headmistress turned seventy this year.”
“S-Seventy!?”
No, no, no, no, no!
How is that even possible!?
Could it be… some kind of magic keeping her appearance youthful?
Even then, this seems way too young.
“Oh dear, I suppose the secret’s out. I was hoping to enjoy playing the part of a little girl a while longer.”
“But either way, you’ll stay in your youthful form around Justin, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Of course,” she says.
Honestly, I’d prefer if she reverted to her true form—it’s hard to take things seriously like this—but according to Heather, even she’s never seen what the headmistress really looks like.
Apparently, she’s looked like this ever since Heather started working here.
“Well, does it really matter what I actually look like?”
I mean… it does, kind of—but she’s right, we’re here for a different reason. I should focus on that instead.
At least, that’s what I told myself—until the headmistress suddenly brought up something unexpected.
“There’s a job I’d like you to take on. Specifically, as a Holy Knight.”
“A job… as a Holy Knight?”
So there’s a reason she emphasized that title.
I’ll need to hear the details—whatever this is, it’s more than just a casual favor.
-(Hiatus - last chapter in raws)-
What do you think about this chapter?
