"Hey. Did you hear me? I said... I'm not sure whether this is what you're looking for."
"...and why would you even suggest that…?"
Rotsard sidestepped him and spoke out a bit louder, making Syon tilt his head and ask him back with a sulky expression.
"Well.. because…"
Rotsard furrowed his brows and hesitated only for a moment before explaining the circumstances of how he achieved that weird state to Syon.
"..."
The vice headmaster seemed so invested in listening to every single word that at one point he started leaning against Rotsard without standing up… ending up resting his chin on the side of Rotsard's hip… which instantly made Rotsard shake him off and sidestep him the other way before finishing the explanation.
"..."
By the end of it, Syon plopped down, his brow furrowed, deep in thought.
"...then, if I want to attempt recreating the circumstances in which you first accessed the perfect mana unity, I should go and ask Young Lady Vultress about the potion she gave you?"
"Don't you dare try to harass her."
Syon took a deep breath and pointed out, getting instantly retorted by Rotsard.
"I…! I would not be harassing her!"
The vice headmaster gasped, honestly taken aback by the insinuation…
"..."
"...I'm sorry, I swear that I will not trouble Young Lady Vultress in the slightest with my selfish research…!"
…but when Rotsard glared down at him, and the circle and wings of light disappeared, Syon folded immediately, understanding the allusion, bowing his head all the way to the floor as he apologized.
"..."
Rotsard kept glaring at him, but the circle of light spread out from beneath him once more, and the ephemeral wings spread out from over his back anyway, showing the youth's begrudging willingness to cooperate as long as Syon would adhere to certain boundaries.
"In the first place… why are you so certain that this… is what you're looking for? You talk about that mana unity thing as if it is almost impossible to achieve, but you can recognize it at a mere glance? Something doesn't add up."
The bleached-blond-haired youth took another step to the side, almost as if he was encircling the vice headmaster, and inquired with cautious expression.
"I can see the flow of mana within your body, and it is nothing short of perfection. Yes, even with your internal injury."
"What about my inju-? Oh…"
Syon straightened his back and changed the way he spoke, going as far as answering Rotsard's question even before the youth voiced it properly.
"...and I can do it thanks to this…"
Syon continued, raising one hand just to point at his left eye with his index finger.
"As you may know already, the Royal Magician is an individual born with Mana Sight. To assure my usefulness for furthering his research, my father has transplanted his own eye into me, assuring that I too would share his ability…"
"...wait, did you know that I used the ice golem disguised with illusion during my duel with Justin, then? Also, about me sitting so close while within illusion? And you said nothing? You're a way better actor than I expected, but also, why would you keep quiet about that?"
Syon spoke up all high and mighty, but suddenly, Rotsard interrupted him with great confusion.
"...you… you used a golem….? A-and hid yourself…?"
Unexpectedly, instead of puffing out his chest and boastfully revealing his motives back then, Syon ended up blushing heavily while stuttering, switching back to how he originally spoke.
"..."
"N-no! Wait! I can explain!"
Rotsard's silence was as heavy as it was telling, causing the flustered Syon to reach forward and flail his hands as he called out.
"Mana sight is an ability within my eye! Without properly focusing, I can only vaguely discern that something's suspicious! But mana fluctuation during a duel is perfectly normal, I just mistook your golem with you simply using internal strengthening spells!"
The vice headmaster hurriedly explained, on the verge of tears and shockingly desperate to clear things out.
"It was my personal mistake, okay!? That's not diminishing the ability within my father's eye!"
"Alright, but then what about you not noticing me hiding only a couple of feet next to you?"
Syon cried out, lowering his hands and clenching his fists… instantly prompting Rotsard's follow-up question.
"..."
"...ngh…!"
The two stayed silent for a moment during which Syon started squirming under the stern gaze of the beastly yellow eyes.
"W-were you… by any chance… hiding on my right…?"
"Are you saying that your amazing ability is rendered COMPLETELY useless with someone just constantly keeping to your right!?
Soon enough, Syon cracked under pressure and asked in a pitifully small voice, causing Rotsard to call out in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, okay? It is in my LEFT eye, okay!? I can't see through my own head because it is made out of both mana-enhancing and disruptive materials!"
It would appear that the comment had greatly bothered Syon, as he started actually crying in embarrassment before hiding his face in his hands.
"Then why not just turn your head!?"
"Why would I!? Everything important was happening either in front of me or to my left!"
Rotsard couldn't hold back and called out the obvious, making Syon's face turn even more red as he cried back, very much aware of his own shortcomings.
"A-anyway! I can tell that whatever state you are in is the closest to what my father believes to be perfect mana unity! So, please, let me study it…!"
Syon was so upset that he was shaking and even interrupted himself by sniffling a couple of times, and he even bounced a bit right by the end, very much like a child throwing a tantrum.
All while still half-kneeling and half-sitting on his feet.
"Fine, seeing you be such a crybaby does make me want to help you out."
"...it does…?"
Rotsard rolled his eyes, but ended up taking one more look at the teared-up face of the vice headmaster and smiled wryly before nodding, causing Syon to freeze up, stunned by the response.
"You're not… going to tell me to act my age or something…?"
"No? But I will have some conditions about those while studying. And what we will start with are some clear boundaries."
Syon fidgeted and asked awkwardly as if it was something that bothered him, but Rotsard merely tilted his head and said in confusion, almost immediately moving on to a more important subject.