“So… are you a wolf or a Half-Elf?” Simon asked after he observed my transformation for a short while.

Hm, I don’t know the answer. I know what makes something a wolf or a Half-Elf but both descriptions can apply to me. Wouldn’t I be both a Half-Elf and a wolf? Then again, I also became a rabbit for a short time. What exactly am I?

“Well? What are you?” Simon asked again and forced me out of my thoughts.

“I am a wolf, but I can be a Half-Elf, a rabbit, and maybe other things I haven’t tried but I can’t be a Human.” I responded over the [Telepathy] all of the people in the room were connected by.

“This is quite amusing. I never expected for you to take a creature you don’t understand at all as a companion.” Maria said and I felt a bit of laughter from her end of the [Telepathy].

“It’s amusing is it? Then why don’t you explain your own story while I think about this whole situation.” Simon replied and I felt something that was either anger or annoyance.

“Hm, alright, well you know my name. This is my student Nomi. Now where should we start? Well, to start with, I don’t believe in killing people. However, I am not a pacifist. I never have been and never will be. I merely believe that people should die from natural causes rather than anything I do.” Maria said.

That description makes no sense. If she’s not a pacifist then why does she think that everyone should die from natural causes?

As if sensing my confusion, Maria continued speaking and explained, “I give these natural causes a way to influence someone but I do not influence people directly. You see, time is natural, gravity is natural, and breathing is natural. By speeding up someone’s time I cause them to quickly die due to age. By sending someone into the sky they usually fall to the ground and die. If I remove the breathable air then people can’t breathe and suffocate.”

Oh, so she does cause people to die but claims she doesn’t. I wonder why…

“Hmm, what else? Ah, right, as you probably saw, I am the General of the Silver Army. Do you know about the various armies? Both in this kingdom and Levayin?”

I had seen some things in the library but I didn’t find any books about them specifically.

“Judging by the look on your face you haven’t. Not very surprising as you were only on the first floor and most of the important records are kept on at least the second floor. To start with, the Silver Army is also known as the Mage Army, it is made entirely of mages. Since you destroyed the Levayin forward camp I assume you saw the Supreme General of the Highest Army. The Highest Army is the most elite military group of Levayin and is feared throughout this part of the continent.

“In our kingdom we also have the Gold Army which is our elite group and the Bronze Army which is made up of the more expendable soldiers. Levayin has the Forest Scouts, who are expendable, and the Druids who are mages specializing in Earth and Nature magic.”

So there’s three armies for both kingdoms. One of elites, one of mages, and one of expendable soldiers.

“As the General of the Silver Army, I am somewhat responsible for the mana shields surrounding cities. That’s most of my story. Now I have one question for you, would you be interested in becoming one of my students?”

Oh, this is odd, I didn’t expect this. Hm, a student is someone who gains knowledge from a more knowledgeable person called a teacher. This seems like a good thing.

Simon reacted while I was debating if it was a good choice to become a student, “Are you trying to steal away my companion?”

“Of course not, you gave them a task anyways and don’t really care when it gets done right? Otherwise you wouldn’t have let them wander into the archives.” Maria replied.

“I did but that doesn’t mean you can just take them as a student. Actually, why are you trying to take a monster as a student?”

“I won’t have them as a student forever, besides, what’s wrong with taking a monster as a student? It’s not like it isn’t sentient. It can even become a Sentient Race.”

“And if someone sees Salem transform back into a wolf? What will you do then?”

“That’s your problem, you are Salem’s companion. Why do I need to take responsibility?” Maria said with a smile before turning to me, “So, do you want to become my student?”

I don’t really have a reason not to. I get knowledge and I don’t have to make any promises.

“I will become your student.” I told Maria while Simon shook his head.

“Wonderful! Now we just have to make it finalized. You will need to turn into a Sentient Race however as I don’t think it will be allowed if you’re a monster.” Maria replied.

“You have three months to finish your teaching. If you aren’t done by then I will be taking Salem back anyways. This is non-negotiable, you can’t wiggle your way out of this.” Simon warned Maria.

“Oh? What happens in three months? It’s not like you to have a deadline.”

“In three months I have been told to attack The Fortress. I plan on taking Salem with me.”

“Ah? The Fortress? The king wants to finally deal with that? I thought it would be at least a few more years. Good to see that something is getting done.”

“Um, what exactly is The Fortress?” The mage Nomi asked.

“Glad you asked, it’s the ultimate defensive structure in existence for this war. The most perfect position, the best materials, the greatest architects, and hundreds of officers, thousands of elite soldiers, and hundreds of thousands of regular soldiers. It would take millions of regular soldiers to even take over a small part of The Fortress. So, the king has wisely decided to send his best soldiers to attempt to deal with it once and for all.” Maria replied with a happy tone.

“I- isn’t that just a suicide mission?!”

“Of course, that’s why it’s exciting. It’s also why the mission was assigned to Simon.”