I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 860 – Side Story 133: Qualification for Proof (2)

Rudger's magic was flashy, powerful, and boisterous. Since he usually didn't use magic beyond the standard level, Flora was quite surprised.

However, she soon understood his intention. Rudger had said he would make the spirit beast come directly. This place was presumed to be the spirit beast's territory. What Rudger was doing now was making a noisy scene in front of someone else's house.

A massive wave of mana crossed the sky and a moment of silence arrived.

The sky beyond the western mountains where the sun had set was a cold deep blue.

With the atmosphere unpolluted, vivid starlight was densely embedded in the sky. It was quite a beautiful sight, but that wasn't what mattered to Flora.

"What's this? There's no response."

Even to her eyes, this was magic on a scale large enough to be certain. If this was the spirit beast's territory, and if the spirit beast was sensitive to its domain and had an arrogant personality as Rudger said. It should have already appeared.

"There is a response."

Flora was puzzled by Rudger's answer. Instead of explaining, he raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

"What exactly am I supposed to see? I only see stars... Ah."

Flora belatedly understood as well. The stars in the night sky that Rudger was pointing at. One of them was moving. Like a meteor crossing the sky, a pure white line raced vividly across the night sky.

It approached in the blink of an eye. Its speed was truly like lightning, and the energy it contained was also tremendous.

-Whooooosh!

The wind blew. Flora couldn't even arrange her windswept hair, unable to take her eyes off what she had thought was a star.

It was a giant eagle. Its overall color from beak to talons was white as snow. The fully spread wings and the feathers on its body were a clear deep blue color as if the night sky had been melted into them. With sparse white lights glimpsing between them here and there, it looked as if it held stars within.

'That is the spirit beast that has been with the Lumos family since the time of their founder.'

Not human and not of Lumos blood, yet a being that was given the surname Lumos with reverence in its name.

Aquila Lumos.

Facing that giant majesty before her eyes, Flora unconsciously swallowed. It was enormous. The fully spread wingspan exceeded 12 meters, and the sharp head and piercing eyes seemed to embody intense charisma in themselves.

The image of her father from childhood, who had merely seemed huge and fearsome, overlapped with the current Aquila. Aquila's majesty was that tremendous.

The creature floated loftily in the sky, wrapped in a subtle light. Its blade-like eyes turned toward the intruders who dared cause a disturbance in its territory.

"It finally appeared."

Rudger's eyes gleamed with interest as he looked at Aquila. This creature was indeed worthy of being a spirit beast that had made a pact with the Lumos family for so long.

With a mysterious atmosphere, an intense appearance, and actually possessing power befitting that.

The pure white light emanating from its body contained some unknown energy. Using that as propulsion for flight, its speed easily exceeded the speed of sound. When such a massive body moved at that speed, naturally the aftershock would be no joke. It would create tremendous windstorms throughout the area.

Flying through the sky at such speed, no one would dare try to catch it. Therefore, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the creature the sovereign of the sky in this area, with a little embellishment.

'But it's not the true sovereign of the sky.'

When the Elemental Lord of Wind existed plain as day, how could a spirit beast covet that position?

Still, one thing was certain—it had nearly reached that level.

-Pyoooooo.

Aquila cried out. The sound emanating from its massive body vibrated through the atmosphere. It wasn't an ordinary cry. Like a tiger's infrasound, the cry that finely vibrated the atmosphere had the power to excessively tense a person's body.

Flora found her body stiffening without realizing it. Her legs trembled, and thoughts naturally arose that she should immediately bow her head before that thing.

What stopped that was Rudger.

"Stand up straight, Flora Lumos. Are you thinking of sitting down in a place like this?"

Unlike his usual demeanor, his voice was firm and stern enough to recall their student days.

But strangely, it was a reassuring tone that gave courage. Flora came to her senses and stared at Rudger.

"You are a noble of Lumos. The family head who leads a household. And that spirit beast before your eyes is a divine beast that made a contract with your ancestors in the distant past. Before such a creature, can the head of Lumos be afraid?"

Right. Those words were correct. She hadn't come here to bow her head to the spirit beast and beg it to please be with Lumos again. She had come to prove her qualifications. She had to show that she was a proper noble, that she was a legitimate family head.

A noble never bows their head. Even in the face of mortal danger, they must maintain elegance and stand loftily to the end.

"Don't be afraid. Even if you are afraid, overcome it. You are a noble. The head of Lumos. No matter what anyone says, if you yourself are convinced of it, that is the truth."

Flora regulated her breathing. It felt as if her completely tensed body was releasing with a thud.

The trembling stopped. Like a truly calm water surface, Flora gazed at Aquila in a peaceful state.

Aquila quietly looked down at Flora like that. The creature stopped flapping its wings and descended before her. Even with its massive wings folded, Aquila's size appeared to exceed nearly 5 meters.

Just being looked down upon by the giant eagle felt like being pressed down by a great mountain.

However, Flora didn't back down. She confidently raised her head and met eyes with Aquila.

"Aquila Lumos. It's nice to meet you."

Flora spoke to it. Words wouldn't work on a beast, but a spirit beast was different. Spirit beasts lived long lives, so their intelligence was higher than most humans. Having been closely associated with the Lumos family for generations, it would understand words.

"I am the new head of Lumos. My name is Flora Lumos."

Flora confidently introduced herself while simultaneously paying respect as a noble and greeting Aquila.

Aquila quietly watched Flora. It was hard to understand what it was thinking, but it didn't try to attack immediately.

'It knows too.'

Having been with Lumos for so long, it would instinctively know that Flora was of Lumos blood.

However, at the same time, there would be puzzlement. Why was the child of the previous head, Caiden Lumos, who had unilaterally severed the relationship, now trying to rebuild it?

"The reason I came here is to improve our relationship that went astray due to a past mistake."

Improving a relationship gone astray. Flora clearly acknowledged that it was the previous head's fault. And she reflected on that point while proposing to start anew.

Aquila listened to those words and then flapped its wings greatly. It was a kind of demonstration and expression of dissatisfaction.

Though it didn't speak, Flora felt Aquila's will being conveyed.

"I see. You can't help but be dissatisfied. We arbitrarily cut off the relationship, and now we've come asking to reconnect. But Aquila. Lumos hasn't always moved according to one will. Especially recently, many impurities have been mixed in. The family's crises have been considerable."

Flora calmly explained past events to Aquila. Her explanation lacked nothing and pierced the core.

However, it was still insufficient to persuade Aquila.

-Pyoooooo!

"...I know. Just these words alone can't reverse a relationship already gone astray. So I'll make a new proposal. How about building a new relationship with me, Flora Lumos?"

Aquila looked at Flora wondering what she was talking about.

This audacious human was now saying to create a new relationship not with Lumos, which had continued for so long, but with Flora herself.

Truly insolent and arrogant. However, Aquila couldn't rashly get angry.

It was because of the human behind Flora.

Probably the magic that shook the earth and heaven just now was his. Though it had come in anger, now that it actually faced him, that human was powerful beyond imagination.

It couldn't act rashly just because it was angry. As a result, it could analyze Flora a bit more calmly.

She was still young. Compared to the family heads it had met so far, she certainly had lacking parts. She probably hadn't been family head for very long.

But her spirit was strangely intense. Was she truly of Lumos blood? Aquila saw not the current Flora, but her future potential.

Her appearance of confidently making a proposal even facing itself without fear reminded it of the first head of Lumos who had first come to greet it.

It was a nostalgic and distant memory from the past that could no longer be seen.

As time passed, that generation weakened, and the family heads' abilities also didn't measure up, which had been inwardly disappointing. In the midst of that, Aquila felt some flow of destiny in the fact that a person of this caliber had appeared before it again.

"How about it? Aquila Lumos. Will you accept my proposal, Flora Lumos' proposal?"

Aquila snorted at Flora's appearance. Still traces of being a greenhorn remained. That was certainly displeasing. No matter how she tried to act confident, there were marks that couldn't be erased.

Still. If she was perfect from the start, it wouldn't be interesting. Watching that change would be its own kind of fun.

Aquila slowly lowered its majestic body. Then it met eyes with Flora.

It meant it would accept her proposal.

Flora placed her hand on Aquila's head. Perhaps because it held the wind of cold highland regions, the sensation touching her palm at first was bitingly cold.

But soon, Aquila's body temperature was conveyed through her palm. And along with it came a certain flow of magic. That was proof that Aquila had accepted her proposal.

Flora looked back at Rudger with a brightened face. Rudger nodded contentedly at Flora's appearance, as if congratulating her for drawing closer toward becoming a proper family head.

A banquet was held at the Lumos ducal house. Such banquets had been held before, but now the level was different. The invited people whispered among themselves.

Most of them were those who had doubts and complaints about Flora becoming the family head.

"I don't know why Duke Lumos suddenly invited us." 

"Indeed. Is she trying to somehow win our favor by holding a lavish banquet?" 

"We're not upstart nobles, we have our own history and principles, so how could our hearts be swayed by something like this?"

They ridiculed Flora's behavior. They thought she was indeed young and foolish. Since she hadn't officially become the family head, it was easy to mistake this as desperate struggling.

Even so, they too were high-ranking nobles. Though they spoke complaints to each other with smiling faces, they decided to enjoy the banquet itself without disparaging its value.

It was a banquet held in the Lumos duchy. The beautiful mountainous landscape spreading beyond the outdoor garden was not a view that could be easily seen.

Just then, the protagonist of the banquet revealed herself.

Flora Lumos. Wearing a beautiful and elegant dress the same color as her hair, she appeared receiving everyone's attention.

Even those who had looked down on Flora were momentarily captivated by that noble bearing, their hearts stolen.

"Thank you all for attending. The reason I invited everyone here is to share good news with you all." 

"Good news. Is there such an occasion?"

Heiback Kadatushan asked. Though he had now retired, he was still the power behind the Kadatushan family, that old man.

Flora nodded with a gentle smile.

"Yes. Of course." 

"Saying you'll share it means you can show that good news here at this gathering."

Freuden Ulburg, the new head of the Ulburg family and a man who had been Flora's classmate at Theon, too attended and led the conversation.

"That's correct. It's to show that I am a proper head of Lumos."

The nobles watching this process couldn't suppress their gradually rising curiosity.

What could it be that made Flora Lumos so confident? Did it mean she had such a card that would make even those with complaints acknowledge her? If such a thing existed, what exactly was it?

That question didn't continue for long.

"I will introduce you all. The divine beast that has been closely associated with the Lumos family for generations."

With Flora's declaration, people saw a single streak of starlight falling majestically from the sky.