Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 5 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===

When the lunch break arrived, I went to the principal's office as instructed.

The clock tower was where the Academy's important facilities were gathered. Destroyed by Hekatonkheir at one point, it had been rebuilt during our expedition to take down Basilisk. It was only now that I finally stepped into the restored clock tower for the first time.

I originally thought the principal's office might have been relocated, but the internal layout seemed almost identical to before. The principal's office was still on the clock tower's top level.

"—You came at the right time, Mononobe Yuu."

I knocked and entered the room. Originally doing paperwork at her desk, the young blue-eyed blonde instantly looked up. At first glance, she seemed to be a girl the same age or slightly younger than me, but in fact, she was Midgard's chief administrator, Principal Charlotte B. Lord. The woman standing next to her, dressed as a maid, was the principal's secretary, Mica Stuart-san.

This room was the same as when I visited before. The curtains were tightly shut with a dim interior.

"Umm, I heard you wanted to talk to me about the school festival..."

I brought up the subject while feeling slightly nervous.

"Yes, there is one problem regarding the matter of inviting external visitors to take part in the school festival, but before that—"

The principal narrowed her eyes, stood up from her seat and approached me.

"Show me your left hand."

She turned her gaze to the back of my left hand where a band-aid had been applied, then ordered me.

"—Yes."

Impressed by how observant she was, I obediently extended my left hand.

"Is there any change in the dragon mark?"

"Actually, just like last time, a swelling appeared—Oh, hold on, I'll peel it myself."

I stopped the principal who was about to tear it off, and removed the band-aid carefully. To avoid causing Mitsuki unnecessary worry, I intended to put it back on later.

The principal stared at the exposed wound on my left hand then as before, extended her little red tongue and licked my wound.

"...I-I was curious since last time. What do you learn by licking like this?"

I felt a bit of a sting from the wound along with a tickling sense of pleasure, forcing me to shudder.

"This is my personal method of diagnosis, don't mind it."

"Method of diagnosis..."

Ignoring my puzzlement, the principal stared at the wound, moistened by saliva.

"—Just as expected, it doesn't disappear. Perhaps the fundamental properties themselves changed. Looks like it's a wound of the same nature as last time."

The principal muttered words which I could not quite understand. Despite merely licking with her tongue, the principal seemed to have conducted many analyses.

"Umm, Principal...?"

I called to her, hoping she could explain and help me understand. She looked up and glared at me.

"So—Have you tried it?"

"Tried it? Tried what?"

I asked in puzzlement, but the principal went "how dense" and sighed.

"Of course I'm asking if you tried to see whether you can perform new transmutations."

"...No, not yet."

Because I thought trying randomly might be dangerous, I wanted to confer with the principal first.

"Really? Then try it here."

"Eh? Are you sure? Shouldn't I go to a training site..."

"Don't worry, as long as you control the dark matter generated to a very small amount, even if there's an accident, effects will be minor."

"I-I understand."

I nodded then generated a sphere of dark matter on my left hand with a radius of one centimeter.

"—Great, what will it be this time? Speaking of which, so-called Ds are the rare people who wield the same ability as 'Black' Vritra. And among them, Mononobe Mitsuki even obtained the antimatter controlled by 'Purple' Kraken' whereas you have reproduced 'White' Leviathan's ability through antigravitational matter..."

The principal stared at the small sphere of dark matter hovering over my palm, then continued with excitement on her face:

"Although I did not receive any report when Mononobe Mitsuki gained a new ability, your dragon mark went through an unusual change before you created antigravitational matter. If the current wound near the dragon mark has a causal link to obtaining new abilities, then you should have obtained a dragon's power. Come, try it out quickly and show me."

Like a child, the principal tugged my clothing and urged.

"Uh... Now that I think about it closely, how do I test it?"

Generated dark matter was transmuted according to transmitted thoughts, hence I could not create something I did not know about.

"First try recalling the powers exhibited by the dragons you fought and defeated. Either 'Red' Basilisk or 'Yellow' Hraesvelgr. Considering past precedents, these two dragon's powers might very well have been inherited by Ds."

"—Got it."

I listened to the principal's instructions and started to concentrate.

I first pictured the red light fired from "Red" Basilisk's eyes. The terrifying ability known as "Catastrophe," capable of speeding up time.

However, the dark matter on my left hand did not change

Okay—Next one.

I recalled the appearance of "Yellow" Hraesvelgr that I had fought in the Principality of Erlia.

Hraesvelgr used golden particles as a medium and possessed a power known as "Ether Wind," capable of manifesting souls.

Then just as I pictured the particles enveloping Hraesvelgr's body, shining with golden light, instantly, the dark matter on my palm changed into tiny glittering particles.

"Oh..."

The particles shone with golden radiance. Flying up lightly into the air, they faded then finally disappeared.

"Wow, so you succeeded! What was that just now? Which dragon's power were you thinking of?"

With reddened cheeks, the principal asked me.

"Uh, just now, that was probably... the particles hanging around Hraesvelgr, capable of manifesting souls."

Amidst the delightful surprise of succeeding in a new transmutation, I answered the principal excitedly.

"Yes, Hraesvelgr's power, that's truly wonderful. Let's run through examinations and tests more concretely in a few days. Please cooperate when the time comes."

"Understood."

I was grateful too for a more definite check. After antigravitational matter, I seemed to have gained the ability to use Hraesvelgr's power, but this further baffled me right now.

Because speaking of which, I still had no idea what was the root reason why I became able to use the powers of dragons. To be honest, I did not feel happy about becoming stronger.

"However, if that was Hraesvelgr's ability just now, then there's a problem."

"Problem?"

Seeing the principal's worried expression, I cocked my head in puzzlement.

"Indeed, you tried to reproduce Basilisk's ability, right?"

"Yeah, but nothing happened."

"In that case, where exactly did Basilisk's ability go? Basilisk was defeated before Hraesvelgr, right?"

"Ah..."

Hearing what the principal said, I understood what worried her.

"You mean that someone else apart from me has already inherited Basilisk's power?"

I asked cautiously and the principal nodded solemnly.

"That's the only natural conclusion. Perhaps she has not noticed or is deliberately hiding it... There are many possibilities. But leave it to me to think about how to handle this."

Saying that, the principal left me and walked to her desk.

After sitting down forcefully on her grand chair, resting her elbows on the desk, she clasped her hands together, fingers crossed, looking extremely impressive. No—In fact, she really was quite impressive.

"Mononobe Yuu, please do not use Hraesvelgr's power lightly before you are examined. I will notify you of the examination time later."

"Got it, then I'll be on my way."

"Okay—No wait, wait! We didn't get to the main point!"

Just as I turned around to leave, the principal called to me frantically.

"Oh right, I was called here about the school festival."

I originally thought the conversation had ended, but scratched my head.

"That's right. Mica, hurry and get it done."

"Affirmative."

Mica had been waiting on standby in a corner of the room. Receiving the principal's order, she approached me.

"W-What's going on?"

Seeing me get nervous and wary involuntarily, Mica-san smiled sweetly.

"Don't worry, it will be over in an instant if you stay still."

Saying that, Mica-san knelt down and suddenly rolled my pants up.

"Uwah, hold on..."

"You have good-looking legs."

Ignoring my distress, Mica-san then rolled up my sleeves as well, staring at me as though confirming something. Then taking out a measuring tape from a pocket in her maid uniform, she started taking various measurements of my body. Due to being so close, Mica-san's massive bust was touching me through our clothing.

"U-Umm..."

Troubled because I had no idea what she was doing to me, combined with repeated contact with that soft bosom, my mind was already blank.

"My apologies, please endure a while longer, next is here and there...... Done, thank you for your cooperation."

Mica-san put away her measuring tape, bowed to me and walked away. Only after the soft sensation left me did I finally come to my senses.

"W-What the heck was that?"

I turned my gaze to the principal and demanded an explanation.

"Hmm, actually—No, I'd better not say for now. I'll tell you once preparations are complete. After all, it'd be a pain if you fled."

"I have a very bad feeling about this... Please tell me clearly."

Seeing the principal make an evil smile, I felt a chill along my back.

"Fufufu, it's best that you don't ask. Because if you found out, you probably won't be able to focus on preparing for the school festival."

"What... the heck are you planning—"

"Secret. Very well, we're done here. Get lost. Mica, show him the way out."

"Yes, thank you for your efforts."

Pushing my back, Mica-san drove me out of the principal's office.

"What the heck was that..."

Although the possibility that someone had inherited Basilisk's dangerous ability was quite unsettling, what gave me an ominous feeling was the principal's smile instead.

Hence, I walked to the classroom while not knowing what the future had in store for me.