Valerian, The Legendary

184 *Surprise*

Valerian was sitting on the back of the Thunder Falcon. They were headed to the Imperial Academy. Fortuna was still keeping the boy on silent treatment. After apologizing for a bit Valerian gave up on it. He did not want to irk her even more.

Soon, the Imperial academy appeared in the sight and Valerian patted the back of the falcon and said, “Linea, land here.”

The thunder falcon followed the directions and they landed in front of the academy gates. The guards were alerted by the sudden appearance of a magical beast and they were prepared to attack, when Valerian jumped in front of them and said, “Apprentice Valerian returning from a vacation.”

Then he took out his identification token. The guards relaxed, while the leader said, “Please get an identification token for your beast when you enter the academy later. Use this when temporary one till then.”

Valerian was handed a temporary token for Linea and they went inside. Linea was a flying beast and it was not convenient to walk on ground, so Valerian kept him inside the beast magic bag. He also wanted to carry Fortuna but the princess did not give him a chance, she walked ahead on her own.

The silver haired guy shook his head as he followed her. On the way, a lot of people saw him, while few nodded to him in greeting, few whispered to each other about his identity. There were not any other battle mage in the academy.

Valerian first came to the administration wing located outside the educational campus, and registered Linea as his magical beat companion. The process was simple and smooth. Then he headed straight to the battlemage tower. He needed to see Fallax and discuss something with him, while he also wanted to check if the old man had any artifact for covering the aura emitted by Fortuna.

The amount of aura that she emitted has increased a lot ever since that trip to the river of time, and Valerian did not want to be troubled by some old soul getting greedy over this walking treasure trove. Fortuna may not have grown into an adult yet, but she was no less precious.

The battlemage tower was the same as always. Valerian came to the entrance door and found it to be locked. His eyebrows furrowed and he exerted strength. The door did not budge. He was confused, the door of the battlemage tower was enchanted and will only open when pushed by a student.

.....

Since that did not happen, the only explanation was that the old man had gone out of the academy. He needed to gather information, but he had not methods to do that. Battlemages were practically outcasts of the gifted community. After much thought the boy went to the cultural pavilion to spend time and wait for the old man to return.

They arrived at the pavilion and Valerian found Lilian to be standing outside, with her back facing him. He asked, “Teacher Lilian, what are you doing here?”

Lilian was surprised and gasped as she said, “Val, you surprised me.”

Valerian smiled faintly and asked, “What are you standing here for?”

The lady shook her head and said, “I was wondering if Magnus Magister Fallax will correct the spelling on this signboard.”

Valerian was surprised to hear her mention the old man and asked, “Where is he?”

Lilian said, “Inside, he came over here a few days ago and then he began to learn the art of music and painting. I was so surprised by his visit, and scared as well.”

Valerian smiled and said, “Yes, I can understand your fear, that old man is quite a nuisance.”

His statement shocked Lilian, she could not accept this guy talking in such a carefree manner when mentioning a Magnum Magister. Just when she was about to reprimand him, a hoarse voice sounded, “Brat, I see that your wings have hardened after a few days outside.”

Valerian saw Fallax walking out of the building and he said, “Old man, you closed the battlemage tower to chill. You sure know how to enjoy your life.”

Fallax sensed a familiar twitch developing on the corner of his eyes and said, “You want a beating?”

Valerian scoffed and said, “I need to discuss something with you.”

Fallax nodded and said, “Come in. Only if you can defeat me in music art comparison, I will listen to your thoughts.”

Valerian nodded and said, “If you lost, do not shame me by writing the wrong words in the signboard of the pavilion.”

Fallax clenched his fist when he heard this. This boy saw through his intention and even dared to uncover it so ruthlessly. Lilian froze when she heard this and a blush appeared on her face. Valerian did not mind these two mingling with each other but he did not intend to let this grumpy old man go away easily.

Lilian sensed the tension between the two and said, “Umm you can compare in the music room. I have some other things to do.”

She wanted to get away from this awkward situation but Valerian did not intend to let this matter go away so easily. He said, “Teacher, who will judge us if not you? I do not trust this guy, what if he bullied me behind your back?”

Lilian was put into a tough spot by this. Fallax also wanted her to be involved and said, “Yes, this brat is cheeky and sneaky, what if he cheated? I do not trust him. Lilian, you should be the one judging the competition.”

He wanted to impress the lady by defeating a child. Well, gifted people lived longer than the commoners. Thus, age was not a barrier between the two of them.

...

Inside the music room, Valerian sat in front of the old man with his Filum Vita, while the old man was using a tube type instrument. The two people were ready to compete when Lilian said, “First, Magnus Magister Fallax will play his piece.”

Valerian had no opinion on this, while the old man smirked thinking it was a good thing as, Lilian choose him. He nodded and with a tube pressed against his lips the old man blew air through it. His fingers moved over to cover the holes in the body and melodious notes began to emerge.

The young man had to say that this old fellow had some skills. However, this much was not enough to impress him. The music continued and he could tell the piece was about love of a couple that was separated by fate. Fallax was good, however, he missed out the emotion of partition and agony in the climax part.

Lilian gazed at the old man and wanted to say something, but his sparkling eyes stopped her. Valerian was different from her and said, “Teacher Lilian will you give it to him, or shall I give it to him?”

Fallax frowned and wanted to say something when the lady said, “You missed up on the climax part, which ruined the effort.”

The old man frowned but there was nothing he could do about this and nodded as he said, “I will do my me best to improve.”

Lilian nodded with a faint smile. It was like an oddly aged student was seeking the blessings of a young teacher. Then recalled Valerian and blushed slightly as she gazed at Valerian.

The young man nodded and his fingers moved over the strings. The notes he struck were similar to Fallax, however, they all the people like arrows. While Fallax played the part with blooming love, Valerian displayed the sorrow hidden deep in his heart with vigor.

He thought about the people who were worried about him in the recent days, how Fortuna saved him from impending death. This was something he has not been able to put into words. Fortuna had been keeping a distance from him over what happened in the battle that night.

Now that she heard the music, the paper window in her heart was poked through. Valerian displayed his apology to her with the music. Just when the performance was about to end, the notes picked up pace, that small part in the end displayed how he wished for those near him to stay happy with him.

Valerian put his heart in front of everyone, this was something none of the three imagined, Lilian was shocked beyond belief, to think that this guy did not know what music was till a few months ago, and now he was able to create notes that resonated deep inside their hearts.

After the music stopped the three inside the music room did not react for a few seconds, they were engrossed that deeply in the piece. Valerian cleared his throat and the people woke up. Lilian was about to declare him winner, when Fallax said, “I will correct that signboard later, but tell me what did you wish to discuss with me.”

Valerian looked at him, and hesitated. Lilian was smart and caught the hint, and said, “I still have work to do, you can talk in peace.”

The commoners did not know much about the magical world, and the lesser they knew the better. Valerian looked at the old man after Lilian left the room and asked with his signs, ‘How to steal a dragon treasure guarded by a Magnus Magister?’