Ascension Of The Failed Mage

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Tension ran amok in the office.

Both teacher and student stared at each other in uncomfortable silence.

On one end was Ciara--her eyes displaying some form of anger, perhaps indignation. Her lips were pursed in a frustrated manner, and her eyes never left Noir as she repeated her question.

"Why are you here?"

Noir's unfazed expression made her a bit more upset. His deadpan expression unnerved her, while his sigh made her heart jump slightly.

"I don't understand your question." His voice calmly echoed across the room, and his expression showed how serious he was.

"You... don't understand? You just suddenly appeared as our teacher--and only a few days after that whole incident, for that matter. Are you saying it's all a coincidence?"

"Ah. So that's what you meant. I have my reasons, but--"

"I want to know!"

Noir's calm demeanor despite the rising tension made Ciara look foolish, but she didn't want to relent at this point. She was troubled--no, confused.

Noir didn't seem to have much of an interest in her outside the usual interactions they had in class. Even Serah and Sam didn't believe it when she told them of their prior relationship. It almost seemed like Noir didn't remember her.

Or perhaps...

"... Are you even Noir?" She whispered silently.

The fact that Richard had an imposter made Ciara consider whether the same could happen to Noir. It was a terrible prospect, but would she rather have the real Noir act like she didn't even matter to him?

"Of course I am, Ciara. I see what's happening here, though." He nodded, leaking another sigh from his lips.

"You do?"

"Yes. Do not worry. I haven't forgotten our arrangement. I am here to protect you. That's the reason the Archmage decided to allow this exception."

Ciara felt speechless at this point.

'S-so, he really is here for me, after all!'

But that begged the question... why wasn't he even talking to her? Beyond the classroom, it almost felt like they were strangers!

"I know you're meant to be impartial as a teacher. I get that, but... that doesn't mean we can't relate beyond the usual bounds of lecture hours."

"I understand that. I never prevented you from coming to my office to discuss. As you can see with the case of Mia... I'm not averse to accommodating students who wish to discuss after classes."

Ciara found herself unable to give a direct response. Noir's answers were direct and accurate, yet they felt unacceptable--or rather, inadequate--to Ciara.

"W-well, are you saying I'm just like Mia? You view us the same way?"

"Not at all. Like I said, I came here to protect you. It is my duty to defend you and prevent harm from coming to you, per my agreement with you."

From Noir's perspective, he couldn't have gone so far for other students. Sure, he did his best to be competent enough as an educator. However, he wasn't bound as their protector.

To him, the difference between Ciara and Mia should have been clear as day. It wasn't that he didn't understand what Ciara's questions meant--but they were unnecessary.

"T-then... I have more priority than Mia and everyone else, right?" She added.

Noir nodded calmly.

"Since that's the case, then you'll help me out, right?"

He nodded once more.

Ciara's face brightened up instantly. It seemed she had been worried for nothing, after all. It wasn't that Noir didn't care about her, or that it was a pretender disguised as Noir.

No... it was simply the way his personality was.

'He has always been like this, after all.'

Since this was the same Noir she remembered, Ciara felt relieved. In this case, she could finally achieve what had been troubling her for some time now.

"I need something, Noir. I need to get stronger... more powerful." Her eyes were fixated on his pale face and pitch black eyes.

"I see. You've been training?"

"Yes. With Serah and Sam. But it's not enough... not in the slightest."

Ciara remembered the words of Richard's imposter. She recollected how helpless she had been before his power, and how he reminded her of the many who had been sacrificed for her sake.

The man had a valid point.

"T-the way I am now... I'm too weak. I want the ability to stand on my own. To protect myself and the ones I care about."

So far, Noir hadn't lost. He always came through for her, and he always won. But Ciara remembered how he had passed out during an assassination attempt many months past. If she had been more capable, wouldn't she have been able to assist him?

Besides, it was her desire to stand by his side--not to be a liability, but an ally.

"With the level of power I have now, it's impossible." Ciara understood the implications of her request, however...

... She had run out of options.

"Can you tutor me privately once more? I... I want to--"

"No."

"--U-uh...?"

Noir's steely answer, and his cold expression as he made the declaration, gave Ciara an idea of how uninterested he was in her request.

"My answer is no." He added.

Ciara's eyes widened even more.

The Noir she knew was quite cold--the young girl was well aware of that fact. However, this had to be the first time she had felt such a firm, unyielding, and completely detached version of Noir.

"W-why...?"

"You know why. I'm not meant to give you an unfair advantage over the others. I can guide you and teach you. But I can't actively train and show you how to be even more superior to your classmates."

Ciara was already a Tier 3, while practically everyone in her class was still in Tier 1. Mia was the only exception--a genius at Tier 2. If Ciara obtained even more power, just how much further would she have ahead of her peers.

"B-but I need to be able to--"

"Protect yourself? No, at least not at this point." Noir interrupted her, both hands locked together through his fingers.

"You're still young. You're meant to be learning and having fun. You don't need to worry about obtaining power, or be overly concerned for your safety."

"B-but I--"

"Ciara... there are certain beings in this world... that you wouldn't be able to defeat--even if you trained under me for a million years."

At this point, the young girl was silent. She just watched Noir with unexplainable frustration.

Ciara thought Noir understood her desire to grow stronger. Why else did he train her alongside Galand and Lorna? She understood what she was proposing was against the rules, but Noir's top priority was her, wasn't it?

'All I want is to be able to protect myself... so others don't have to sacrifice themselves on my behalf.'

Why couldn't Noir understand that? This was for his own good.

"I-I just..."

"You broke down when Richar's imposter was saying all those things to you. You appear better now, but it seems his words are still haunting you."

Ciara's eyes bulged as soon as she heard Noir say this. She truly wasn't expecting this!

'H-how did he--?!'

"Even if I train you, you wouldn't be able to face men like him until after a few years, at least. Why bother when I can just handle them for you?"

Ciara bit her lip in frustration and stifled emotions. She didn't know how to explain things to Noir. He was both right and wrong.

"You don't understand... you can't understand." She finally spoke, her eyes filled with a strangely hostile glow.

"You're strong. That's why you can speak this way..."

Noir's expression remained unchanged, thus making Ciara even more agitated. However, from her experience, hurtling words at Noir always yielded nothing. As a result--

"Forget it!"

--She decided to let it go.

"Forget I said anything."

"Okay."

"I'll do it on my own."

"Alright."

"Have fun teaching Mia, and everyone else!"

"I will."

"Thanks for nothing."

"You're welcome."

Ciara was fuming at this point. Having nothing more to say or do, she resorted to the only reasonable thing left.

Retreat!

"Tch... whatever..." She murmured, walking to the exit.

"Ciara." Noir called out, causing her heart to jump a little.

Ciara swiftly turned to look behind her, wondering what Noir would say. Did he change his mind? Would he apologize? Or...?!

"I'll be carrying out a survey in the next lecture. Make sure you inform your classmates."

Ciara's eyebrows literally twitched once she heard the reason behind his call.

"I-is that all?"

"Yes. Thank you. And please close the door on your way out. Thank you."

More eyebrow twitches, as well as a dissatisfied grunt, leaked from Ciara as she angrily left the office.

Of course, she swung the door wide open without closing it.

"Typical." Noir sighed.

Usually, students would be punished for such rude behavior, but he was going to let her off the hook. Wasn't he being merciful and partial enough, now that he thought of it?

"Or should I punish her...?"

As he considered what choice to make between the two, two students suddenly entered his office.

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