The Old Scholar

As the month of vacation came to an end, there was a week given to students to allow them to come back and be ready for the next set of classes for the next term. This week was called "Arrival Week" and this saw a lot of activity in both University Town and Teleportation Town. As the week continued, the influx of students increased and the local military garrison was ordered by Veryat II to assist in keeping security and peace, giving Leilani full jurisdiction over them in however way she wanted. 

Leilani usually found herself in her office filling out paperwork and reading up reports from the garrison troops keeping the peace and the letters from her staff regarding the departments and staff. She sighed and frowned as she learned that the Combat Professor Department had to retire one of their professors, an elderly man known as Professor Linholt, a human whose age was catching up on him. 

"Another one leaves...such is life I suppose" Leilani sighed to herself as she finished the letter and put it aside

Given her age and years of experience, this was nothing new to her. She had seen countless students and staff come and go but it has never been easy. Growing attached to her staff and students was a natural thing and letting them go was also a natural thing, but it never got any easier but slightly harder. She sighed as she stood up from her chair and looked out of her window, staring down at the campus below and seeing students with luggage going around to their respective dorms on campus, with the prefects and staff also going about and doing their duties. 

"Hayss. Will need a new professor to help in the tournament in the coming month" She muttered to herself as she flicked her hand and made her pen on the desk begin to write a help wanted poster. 

"Feisha, come in here please" Leilani called out to her arachnia secretary 

"Yes Master?" Feisha answered as she entered the room and scuttled towards her, stopping right before the desk

"On my desk is a job opening form for one of the combat professor slots. The requirements I need is that they should know how to fight and that they have had a lot of experience doing it. Adventurers or ex-military are the most requested. Can I ask you to handle this?" Leilani asked as she turned to her

"Consider it done Master. I will spread this and see what I can find, and how long does this opening last?" 

"Until the end of next week. I need a teacher for the senior year and someone to help in managing the Springtime Tournament that is to occur a month from now" Leilani answered her 

"I see. I shall get back to you soon Master" 

"Thank you, you may go now" 

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A week later as Leilani was filling out some more paperwork, there was a knock on the door. 

"Come in" Leilani said as she continued to write 

"Master. We have an applicant" Feisha said as she poked her head into the office 

"Applicant? Just one?" Leilani asked as she looked up from her papers 

"Yes Master, just one. Apparently, no one is willing to apply out of fear" Feisha answered as she entered the office 

"Really? I would have assumed with them being adventurers and ex-military they would not be shaken by fear....wait what fear?" 

"Well, the unifying theme is that they fear about their performance in front of students..."

"wHAT?!" Leilani shouted as her eyes were staring in disbelief 

"That was the unifying reason" 

"For goodness sake!" Leilani sighed as she leaned into her chair and pinched her nose bridge 

"So. Where is this applicant?" Leilani asked after a few minutes of silence 

"Umm, she is right outside Master" 

"She? Right outside?!" The Scholar of Santomin asked in disbelief, her eyes widening with Feisha nodding 

"Very well, send her in then" Leilani told her 

"At once Master" The arachnia nodded as she turned around and scuttled out of the room 

"What is with today?" 

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A few moments later, Leilani had cleared her table and swapped some furniture around, creating a small table with two chairs on either side with her taking the chair facing the door and then awaited the applicant. After pressing the button underneath her desk that was linked to Feisha's desk outside, the door opened, and in came the applicant. What Leilani didn't expect was that the sight of the applicant suddenly stole her breath away and left her in awe despite her unreadable expression. 

The woman who walked in had curly and flowing silver hair and crimson red eyes that complimented her fair white skin. She wore a navy blue military suit with golden accents and trim with a matching navy blue military cap over a white dress shirt and a black vest, with a matching pair of black gloves then a pair of navy blue slacks and black dress shoes. The left side of the coat of her suit was adorned with several medals. Her face was beautiful and had a small smile resting on her cute lips all while carrying a suitcase.

'Oh fuck she's hot!' Leilani thought as she looked at her as she continued to walk in before sitting across from her, still keeping up her unreadable expression

"Welcome to my office miss?" 

"Martha, Martha Sinclair" The silver-haired lady replied with a smile as she shook Leilani's hand, taking off her cap

"Right, let us get down to it. Can you introduce yourself please?" Leilani asked 

"Sure thing. I am Martha Sinclair, former General in the Royal Army of Addahare, I am thirty years old and have been in service ever since I was eighteen. I graduated the middle of my class in college, high school and grade school and I am superbly competent in combat as I have fought in the recently concluded war with the Kingdom of Hru for the last thirteen years of my life. I am an expert in hand-to-hand combat, combat magic and in the implementation of anti-magic manipulation techniques" 

"I see, quite the resume you have there" Leilani remarked with a still unreadable expression but internally 

'hOLY ShIeT! She is not only a beauty but a fighter too? Damn! It's like everything I want in a partner!' She thought as she struggled to keep her composure, using several layers of camouflage magic to hide her true expression 

"I believe it is sufficient enough to show you that I am a capable option for the job opening" Martha added 

"Hmm. That remains to be seen, tell me. You said you were thirty years old correct? But by the looks of it you are barely even above twenty" Leilani stated as she looked her applicant up and down 

"I thank you for the compliment about my looks but it is true, I am thirty years old, my records in this birth certificate will prove it" Martha added as she handed over a piece of paper that Leilani began to read

"Hmm...seems to be in order. But I have another question, since when have you been released from military service?" She asked as she leaned into her chair 

"It has only been a week since I gave them my retirement letter and it was accepted. I learned from a friend that this position was open and so I am here to apply for it and hopefully get it" 

"A week? Really? Ok. Follow-up question, why Imperia? Why my Academy? I know for a fact that the Kingdom of Addahare has its own Royal Academy so why not apply there?" Leilani asked as she was getting a strange feeling in her mind 

"Umm, to be completely honest. I always wanted to be a student here in Imperia but my parents would never let me, so I thought if I can't be a student I might as well be a teacher" Martha answered with a blushing face, looking at Leilani's unmoving face 

'Dammit, her blushing face is cute. Shit! Get it together Leilani!' The Dean of the academy however was trying her best to keep her composure  

"Hmm I see....ok so. Here is my verdict. I will not hire you" Leilani said

"What?" Martha gasped, her face flushed with red and her eyes beginning to water

'WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING LEILANI?! THIS GIRL IS LITERALLY THE WOMAN YOU HAVE BEEN WANTING FOR SINCE FOREVER WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' Leilani's internal self shouted as the emotional side of her was screaming in disbelief 

"Look, for all of this. I find it b.s as I have lived long enough to figure out people who were recently discharged and wishing to join my academy are one of two things. One, they are liars who are hoping to get into an academy that is prestigious and pays well or they are agents for the nation's intelligence agency and wish to learn the secrets of my academy" Leilani said as she leaned into her chair and crossed her arms 

'FUCKING SHET LEILANI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING GIRLY?!' Leilani's internal side screamed louder after hearing her practical side voice itself 

"But..what...I..." Martha stuttered as she heard the reasons

{!} 

To the surprise of Leilani, Martha began to cry. Tears flowed down her snow white cheeks and her sobs filled the soundproofed room. 

"Hey wai" 

"Please! Please.....just read my memories to see that I am not lying" Martha begged as she suddenly grabbed Leilani's hands and looked up at her 

Swallowing a gulp, Leilani nodded and placed her hand on the head of the woman in front of her. Leilani's vision flooded rapidly with memories of Martha's life, she saw everything from beginning to end, her numerous hardships and victories and saw that what she had been saying was true all along including some ulterior reasons as to why Martha was here as well. The moment Leilani removed her hand from the young maiden's head, she blushed uncontrollably as she recalled the scene of Martha receiving a pair of rings from Santomin herself. 

"You..." She muttered 

"Yes...Hello...I...am your wife" 

{!}

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An hour had passed since Leilani read Martha's memories. From her childhood to now and everything in between, it was all there in her mind and she had been looking over it multiple times, all the while the woman she was learning about was sitting in front of her, eating a blueberry cheesecake that Leilani had materialized to give to her to calm down. 

"Soo...are you sure you love me? Like sure sure?" Leilani asked as she looked at the woman in front of her 

"I am sure...I have never seen anyone in the same light like you...when I look at you it feels as if my heart wishes to jump out and embrace you" Martha answered her with a straight face after calming down 

"Hmm...but we only just met though?" Leilani said, with Martha shaking her head 

"I saw you in the birthday party of King Veryat II a few weeks ago, when I laid my eyes on you when you entered...I felt that you were truly the one for me, and when the Goddess of Wisdom herself the night before told me I was to see who my future wife would be, I instantly knew it was you" Martha told her, causing the usually unreadable Leilani to blush and cover her face 

"By the Gods this is unfair" She muttered into her hands as she looked back up at the ex-general 

"So what will you do?" Martha asked 

"I do not know....I...this....it's all so fast I have barely time to think" Leilani confessed as she looked at the woman before her

Although she had not said it yet, Leilani too felt the same romantic feeling Martha had described, ever since she entered the room. Leilani had been fighting the urge to just immediately sweep the woman before her off her feet and call her "Mine!", the two sides inside of her were unsure of what to do and how they should proceed, at least that was an hour ago. Since now, Leilani had finalized what she would do, she would not reject the love of the woman before her, and she would hire her, she would use the fact that she is a new hire and someone who loves her to her advantage and get to know her properly without having to rely on the memories she just saw, deleting them from her mind in preparation for her task ahead. 

"Hmmm...ok...I have come to a decision" Leilani stated as she stood up from her chair, with Martha doing the same 

"I will hire you for the position of the new combat professor. And since I...too have romantic feelings for you I cannot explain, I will require us to get to know each other" 

"But you have my memories already" 

"I deleted them from my mind. I wish to know you properly...Martha Sinclair, as a person and as a partner" Leilani stated despite her blushy state, with Martha's face also going red and her knees weakening 

After saying that, Leilani moved closer to the woman and stood beside her before she looked her up and down. She took the cap that was laying on the table and placed it on Martha's head. She leaned into her ear with a small smile 

"You will need to be ready for anything" She whispered with a soft seductive voice that made Martha blush, before planting a kiss on the woman's cheek and then interlocking their arms together

"Let's take a walk around town then, to start us off" 

"Y..yes.....my love" Martha weakly replied, still overwhelmed by her love and the things going on 

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After allowing Martha to change into more comfortable clothing, the duo walked around University Town. Leilani showed her some of the shops and sights, all the while using a distortion spell to mask the duo as a pair of elderly walking around. The two of them walked together and they both felt that this was natural for the two of them, it was as if the two of them were perfectly meant for one another and it was something both of them felt. Leilani found it strange that the woman she had just met already made her heart swell and swoon, she had been alive for over five thousand years and numerous people have tried to court her yet none succeeded, but here was a woman she just met that managed to do what thousands before had failed. She truly felt that Martha was the one despite their small time together as they walked along the town. 

Martha as well was in a state of pure bliss, ever since she saw Leilani on that night she had felt her heart beating uncontrollably whenever she thought of her, and now she was walking side by side with her and she couldn't be more in love. The day passed on with the two enjoying each other's company and getting to know each other better, she learned about how Leilani was a vampire that relied on magic to stay alive instead of blood and that amazed her, leading to hours of talking on the discussions of species and the history of the world, she even managed to tell Leilani the numerous war stories she had inside her, stories that she vowed to never share with other people. It was if Leilani truly was the one for her and she took that fact and accepted it into her heart. 

As the day was winding down, the duo decided to go back to the academy, with Leilani inviting Martha to stay with her for the time being until a unit in the inn was ready for her, an offer that Martha accepted without a second thought. The two of them then walked back to the academy hand in hand and arm in arm, with a feeling that both were enjoying that burned like a fire through their bodies that did not burn them but gave them life. A feeling called Love. 

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As the duo walked back to the academy, high above in the clouds that overlooked the entire region there was a trio of Goddesses looking down at the lovey-dovey duo in complete bliss 

"Hmm, it seems your end of the deal has been done Master" Armenakis said as she smiled at a happy Leilani 

"Indeed it has. I thank you for your help both of you. I am very pleased with the results" Fortuna said with a smile 

"Grafting Martha into the timeline of the world was not hard, I just had to rearrange and rewrite some things, other than that she has done everything on her own. Although I gave her the rings you told me to give" Santomin said as she looked up at her creator before looking back down at Leilani 

"And erasing that portion of memory from Leilani's mind was a bit tricky without her noticing but I am glad it worked out in the end" Armenakis added 

"Indeed, she said she does not want to see her wife coming, so why not just make her forget about her request in the first place" Fortuna finished as she opened up a portal back to her office 

"Keep this world running, you are all doing well" She said as she patted the two goddesses on the head and disappeared into the portal 

"Thank you" Santomin and Armenakis finished as they bowed their head and then returned back into their own realms, pleased to have pleased their creator. 

A/N: HAHAHA! And after this, it is the actual Tournament Arc. I had to rewrite some shit and move them around as I find this arrangement much much more satisfying than the older one which was soo eh in my eyes. If you have comments or thoughts leave em below and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much fun as I had making it! Also, will take a small break before showing the Tournament Arc and seeing that Christmas is almost here I have a special chapter set far far in the future for both this series and my main series that is releasing the first chap of the 2nd volume next month! Anyways, as always Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day! And p.s: Even if the main series starts again, I do plan to release chapters for this, I plan to finish the tournament arc by the end of the month so do not worry!