The Prince Of Magic

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Hadrian closed his eyes briefly, suppressing the urge to muse over his actions in the island.

He already had plenty of time to pour over his thoughts on the recent event. But, seeing as he was standing in front of his mentor, it was not the time for him to recall the situation again.

Thinking deeply on matters of importance was something that became a habit of his in his first life, of which had transferred over in his second life as well.

Compartmentalizing his thoughts to carefully analyze certain situations had helped him greatly in solving problems, and it was an ability that increased his chances of survival throughout the Moon Holy Grail war. But, the downside of possessing such a habit was that it tends to make him oblivious to the things happening around him.

There were many times that Hadrian would just be in his mind; internally focused on analyzing anything that was of interest to him, to the point that everything else becomes background noise.

For example, if someone came up and stood beside while he was thinking deeply, they would just be ignored and unacknowledged. Unless said person takes the initiative to break him out of focus, Hadrian would remain oblivious to their presence until he comes out of his musing on his own. It didn't help that the Moon Cell would only break him out of focus if there was malicious intent sent in his way.

His retainers, for one, had been subjected to such a treatment many times before.

Most of them would be amused by his strange ability of being able to single-mindedly focused on his thoughts, using the fact as ammunition to tease him from time to time. Some of them, however, would downright complain that it was annoying habit for him to have. Charles and Astolfo were usually the most vocal with their complaints, seeing as they would seek his attention sometimes for fun.

Opening his eyes, he was just in time to see his mentor speak.

"Hmm… it is good to see that you acknowledge the Spider's true power, even if you have not confronted that thing head-on." Lorelei paused, thinking before she asked, almost cautiously and slowly. "You did not confront that thing, did you?"

Hadrian smiled wryly, slightly amused by his mentor's inquiry.

"No, I did not." The Schweinorg scion answered. "I would not have been able to leave that place whole if I did."

"Yes, indeed." Lorelei hummed, nodding in agreement to his words. "You certainly would not be able to, regardless of your abilities and lineage. There's a reason why the Spider is among the strongest beings in this world. Even your grandfather and I are wary of its existence."

Hadrian remained silent, not knowing what to say in the face of such an admission.

"But enough of that, I wish to know you're experience with the Spider's spawns and your impressions of them." Lorelei stated, focusing on him.

For a few moments, Hadrian was in thought, choosing his words carefully.

"I was nearly overwhelmed." The blonde-haired young man began, appearing thoughtful as he continued on. "I thought I was prepared for the encounter, but the spawns were faster, stronger and far more durable than any enemy I have encountered. The conflict started in a chaotic manner, but it had settled down somewhat when the spawns were stopped by the bounded fields I had set up in the vicinity."

Hadrian paused, taking a moment to breathe before pushing on as Lorelei maintained her silence, waiting for him to continue his explanation.

"When Arash got caught by one of the spawns, I kind of panicked and went after him." Hadrian admitted, almost sheepishly.

He glanced to the side to avoid meeting his mentor's reproachful gaze.

Fortunately, his mentor didn't utter a word and merely waited for him in silence.

"Then I gave chase, and made contact with a spawn." Hadrian said quietly.

"And you got several broken ribs for it in return." Lorelei finished, lips curving into a small smirk.

Her tone was gentle, yet the words were enough to make Hadrian's shoulders slump slightly.

The Queen of the Clock Tower chuckled, lightly amused by her student's somewhat despondent posture.

"Come now, apprentice, surviving an encounter with a spawn of the Spider's and leaving the island is quite an achievement on its own. Perhaps even more so than that princely title of yours." Lorelei said, rubbing her chin in thought.

Hadrian frowned.

He knew what title she was implying.

The title 'Prince' was one that was bestowed upon him when the news of his apprenticeship under Lorelei Barthomeloi had been published throughout the moonlit world. Hadrian did not really care for the things that came with the title, but he would appreciate it if his mentor would not use the title as ammunition to tease him from time to time.

"I thought opa had already informed you and Lord El-Melloi II of this?" Hadrian asked instead of reacting to her rare teasing.

"He certainly did, but not in great detail. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to understand that man's words while bawling his eyes out and sniffing over the phone? That man had made it as challenging as trying to learn the art of 'Unified Language', and not in a very good way either." Lorelei retorted, looking a bit irritated.

"Point…" Hadrian relented with a sigh.

"Now, what else have you noticed while you're there?" Lorelei asked, moving on with the subject.

"The island was dead." Hadrian answered after a moment of thought. "It was very hostile to life, and more suited for the Spider's spawns to live, which – I'm sure – was intentional on the Ultimate One's part. If not for my circuits, I would have a difficult time to breathe in there. I also notice that the isle was protected by a powerful bounded field. And no, it's not the one that opa had set up."

"Elaborate." Lorelei said, brown eyes narrowing into focus.

"The bounded field that opa had left there was large enough to cover both the island and the Watch's headquarters. But, the one that I'm speaking of was within the outlines of the land and above its sky. If my guess was correct, it might be the thick fog that permeated in every parts of the island since it was literally everywhere." Hadrian explained, eyes glazing slightly in thought.

"You think it was purposely weakening you and the others?" Lorelei asked, wanting to hear her student's opinion.

"It's highly possible. I was there, after all. That spawn hit me to the point that a whole side of my ribs nearly got pulverized, and that was not normal." Hadrian wore a wry expression as he said this.

"Oh?" Lorelei raised one delicate eyebrow.

"I'm not entirely sure since everything was going too fast for me to keep up that time, but now, after giving it some thought, I feel like that was the case." Hadrian admitted. "It also made sense since all I've felt after entering the island was nothing but dread. That time, it felt like the fog around the island was both a giant powder keg and a poison gas, and bursts of prana would light the fuse."

"And the Spider's connection to the fog would be the fuse to accelerate its awakening. A terrifying scenario, really. I suppose it's a good thing that did not occur." Lorelei ended with a grim smile.

Silently, Hadrian nodded his head in agreement, feeling relieved that things had turned out okay in his favor.

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