Bear School Astartes

”No need for a waitress?”

”No need.”

”And no need for academy apprentices either?”

”No need.”

”Banquets, fine wine?”

”...Could you just let me have some peace and quiet, Tishaya? That’s what I need right now.”

”Alright.” Tishaya nodded, somewhat surprised, ”You truly are beyond my experience.”

Lann stood up and walked towards the dean’s office. But he hesitated as he opened the door.

”Tishaya, a suggestion for you...”

”What?”

”When you meet with me alone, could you remove this?”

Lann’s finger pointed to his face, showing an embarrassed expression.

”It makes me feel a bit, uh... strange.”

”Okay, I understand.”

Tishaya nodded earnestly, bearing Margaret’s face.

That’s what made Lann feel strange.

He always felt that Margaret putting on that expression seemed odd.

-----------------

Lann couldn’t rest long at Airetusa, in fact, after spending a day gathering materials for his alchemy pouch’s magic potions, bombs, and herbal ingredients, he departed immediately.

Having been in intense and prolonged warfare for a long time, he told Tishaya that all he needed was a good rest.

But in reality, it’s as if he had lost the ability to rest peacefully. When he had nothing to do, his mind would inexplicably feel restless and anxious.

The slightest noise would make him tense up alertly.

Thus, although the Lady of the Lake did not directly urge him through the conical crystal, Lann nonetheless moved towards Vizima.

He knew this state wasn’t normal, but he was unable to calm himself.

Maybe keeping somewhat busy at lower intensity would improve it?

That was Lann’s thought process.

The battlefield memories of the Sons of the Emperor gave him experience, but the initial experience and adaptation to stepping onto the battlefield had to be something he undergoes himself.

A week after Lann had left, Margaret finally returned to Airetusa.

All levels of personnel at Airetusa expressed admiration and congratulations for ’Lady Tishaya’s’ outstanding performance in the war.

But because they understood Tishaya’s character, they didn’t go to the trouble of hosting a welcoming banquet.

Normally, Margaret would be dissatisfied with such a joyless arrangement, but now she was anxious and exhausted.

With Tishaya’s face, as soon as Margaret stepped into the dean’s office, she turned and closed the door, taking a deep breath of relief, and let the illusion fade from her face and hair color to return to her original appearance.

Tishaya, sitting behind the desk, also discarded the appearance of her student.

”Where’s Lann? Where is he now?”

Before she even sat down, Margaret hastily questioned her mentor.

”He’s gone,” Tishaya calmly organized the papers on the desk. ”He left a week ago.”

Margaret’s eyes widened.

”Didn’t you at least have him wait for my return? No... at least he relaxed, right? Did what I arranged before I left ease his mind a bit?”

”I told him about the hot springs, the courtesans you arranged, but...” Tishaya shook her head. ”In actuality, he didn’t go at all, he only spent a day preparing supplies and then left.”

”He had just come off the battlefield!” Rarely, Margaret lost her temper at Tishaya, shouting.

”Why didn’t you stop him? He’s bound to be tense right now! He needs comfort and companionship.”

”Stop him?” Tishaya remained unemotional, rationally unmoved by Margaret’s fury.

”Are you suggesting I forcibly keep someone who’s nerves are tense, capable of reflexive retaliation, with the combat power to single-handedly wipe out an entire Niflgaard’s mixed brigade, in the academy?!”

”Would you like the entire academy flattened by the next day?”

”I also want to help him, to comfort his mind and body, but that requires the right approach, Rita!”

Even with Tishaya’s extensive lifetime and experience, she could not help but rub her temples.

”This war record has already spread among the mages, while the ordinary people’s channels may take months to cause a stir, but...”

”Forget about other mages, even I find it hard to believe someone in this world could achieve such a feat!”

”If not for the joint signature of Veltrest and Vizimir’s countries, no one would dare believe what’s described in this war record actually happened not too long ago... just like a myth.”

”After this war record circulated among the mages’ communications, Airetusa’s accounts in various banks received massive funds under various names. Charity, scholarship sponsoring... who knows why those people thought to do charity for the female warlocks?”

”And numerous research projects at the academy also received large investments at the same time, especially the crystal cultivation project I’m leading.”

”People who didn’t even know the project’s existence learned that I’m leading it and began pouring money into it aggressively without a word. And those warlocks I intended to recruit now scramble to get in.”

”I haven’t even had the chance to tell them the project’s research direction, yet they say: If it’s a project led by me, it doesn’t matter... I’ve never seen anything like this!”

Upon her mentor raising this, Margaret’s expression suddenly turned peculiar, and she instinctively averted her head.

”The purest form of violence... I thought humanity had moved past an era dominated by violence, towards rationality and logic, or at least steadily approaching that. But now it seems, I was deceived by my long life and experience, humanity is still following violence.”

Tishaya laughed bitterly.

”I know you don’t see Lann as a danger, no matter how much strength he shows. I feel the same.”

”But I’m saying, while we care about him, we must also pay attention to the method. Like this time, can you imagine if I forcibly kept him at the academy, using feelings, using relationships, how miserable his mental state would be now?”

Margaret looked down in silent thought.

Tishaya stood up from the chair behind the desk and came to her side.

”You both have long lives ahead of you, this war is an important time point in your lives... but that’s all it is. Broaden your view, learn to wait, Rita.”

”Come on, let’s visit Triss and Yennefer, they’re both recovering well, maybe the four of us can have a little drinking party tonight.”

”But first, you need to tidy yourself up, Rita. Especially in front of Triss. How does that saying go again? ’Don’t lose the battle, even if you lose the ground’.”

”Hmm?!” Margaret immediately became alert. ”What do I lose to that Green Pool?!”

”No, don’t be so nervous, it’s just a saying.” Tishaya waved her hand lightly, but this did nothing to alleviate Margaret’s vigilance.

”I’m just saying, Triss probably won’t be as easy to deal with this time as when we were in Vizima... her willpower is quite astonishing now.”

”Ha.” Margaret sneered, tidying up her long golden hair. ”Looks like Merigold has grown some skills. Let me remind her who was top of the class!”