"Headmaster Connor, what bring you to the classroom like this? Is there anything I can help with?" Professor Ek bursts in, his face etched with alarm. "Normally, a headmaster of your stature wouldn't be here unless it was a matter of life and death."
The headmaster chuckles at the professor's comically panicked demeanor. "I'm not here because of any calamity, but there's a necessary matter to attend to." His voice is calm yet carries the weight of seniority and respected scholarship.
His gaze settles on me, unreadable. For a fleeting moment, I think I see the same smirk he wore that night. He points at me with unwavering certainty. "I have business with that dog and its owner."
The headmaster's words leave both teacher and students in bewildered silence. Naturally, the young man with the large snake draped over his shoulders complies without protest. The snake hisses defensively, but at the old man's touch, a gentle stroke to its head, the reptile stills instantly, a strange calm washing over it.
......
The headmaster's office resides at the very peak of the tower connected to the main school castle. Anya and I trail behind the elderly man in his dark grey cloak, his pace almost forcing us into a run. The corridors are deserted, it being between classes; night or day, it seems, makes little difference. Torches, mounted some three meters overhead, cast an eerie glow.
Silence hangs heavy between us. My short frame trembles, a mix of fear and apprehension. Anya, however, remains utterly unfazed.
"Endeavour," the headmaster murmurs, placing his hand on an old, dilapidated wooden door. In mere moments, flames erupt, consuming the wood entirely, revealing another door, this one carved from stone.
Our eyes widen as the stone door swings inward on its own accord. He gestures for us to enter. "The headmaster's chambers. Few are granted access. Come in, now!"
A flicker of unsettling familiarity towards this headmaster stirs within me, despite never having spoken to him before. I follow Anya inside.
The room is vast, lined with towering oak bookcases filled to bursting with books. A long wooden table dominates the center, adorned with antique writing implements: a golden quill, a ruler, a compass, and other unfamiliar tools. Then there are the various contraptions, a bizarre mix of ancient and... contemporary?
A white console sits in the corner, wires snaking towards a large flat-screen television. My eyes bulge. A PlayStation 5, impossibly out of place in this world. And beside it, a Nintendo Switch.
"Do you have an iPhone too?" I blurt out, without thinking.
She furrows her brow. "An iPhone? What nonsense is that? Have you been listening to Professor Steve's outlandish theories again?"
"N-no! It's just... the headmaster has equipment that's in my Science vs. Magic textbook. L-like this! This thing!" I gesture wildly towards the now-vanished white console and the red and blue gaming device, along with the flat-screen TV. I'm left looking like a fool.
"Such a short-legged dog with a truly relentless bark," the Headmaster remarks, conjuring my form with a spell and placing it on the table. A sly smile plays on his lips before he lets out a chilling chuckle. Then, with rough hands, he caresses my fur, sending shivers down my spine. "Don't you remember who I am?"
"You know the Headmaster..." Before Anya can finish her sentence, her body freezes, immobile.
"What did you do to her?!" I draw my wand, aiming it, and unleash the most potent curse I know. "Even if you're the Headmaster, I won't let this go! You monster!"
"Such foul language, aren't you? Just because I'm the Headmaster, you think I'll let it slide?" The old man turns to face me, his hands clasped behind his back, which only makes me more uneasy.
"What are you hiding behind there?! Show me!" Fear and fury churn in my chest. I can't think of a curse strong enough to take him down. If the Headmaster defends easily and counters first, things will turn ugly fast.
"You weren't this sharp-tongued in your past life," the old man's words make me falter. "Were you, Tom?"
Past life?
Tom... my name from before...?
Or perhaps...
"The System Creator?" I narrow my eyes at him, distrust swirling within me. My mind races, unsure whether to trust him. "How can I believe you? No way..."
"No thanks for the help, huh? A month has passed; you've probably forgotten," he says cryptically, gesturing with his thumb towards my master before placing his hands on his hips. "If I hadn't intervened, she would have been punished."
"You're talking nonsense..." But thinking back, a month ago, when we used levitation charms to hide from the janitor and teachers, this Headmaster cast something that made us invisible. I lower my guard and steady my breathing. "It was you... Thank you."
"Always a pleasure." He snaps his fingers, snap! In a flash, he transforms into a young man in his mid-twenties, with short, dark hair slicked back. He's dressed in a full red suit with matching slacks and a jarring yellow bow tie. He conjures a tall black top hat from thin air and then transforms it into a woman with long red hair and matching sparkling eyes. She wears a white off-the-shoulder dress that reaches her knees, looking like a university student. She smiles at me gently, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Tom, meet your old friend."
"It's me, Philosopher," she says, "or you can call me Phila, Tom." My eyes widen, my jaw drops, and my wand clatters to the floor. I can't believe how beautiful Phila is, perhaps even more so than Anya.
"Hold your thoughts right there, don't even think about hitting on my Philosopher," the young man says possessively, putting his arm around Phila's shoulders. "She's my wife."
"Dream on, buddy! Who'd marry someone like you? I only agreed because I was desperate!" The petite woman retorts sharply, her dark eyebrows furrowing, her face flushed. Finally, she holds up her left hand, revealing a wedding ring, making me recoil slightly. "But hey, I'm thousands of years old. If I didn't marry soon, I'd be a spinster for eternity."
"Well… that's her. My wife is the type who'd spend five baht and listen to the whole album," the System Creator fondly strokes his young wife's head before getting to the point. "How's it been, being in a dog's body? Seems like the past month has gone well. You even managed to swish a wand and cast a few spells. Quite talented, actually. I wasn't wrong to reincarnate you into this world."
"Just make Anya go back to normal," I ignore him. "Or I swear, you will not have my forgiveness!"
"I only stopped time outside. If I reverse time, you'll only feel like a second has passed. Meanwhile, we can sit and talk endlessly, for all eternity," he spreads his hands, that annoyingly smug smile making me want to curse him. "Alright, let's get down to business. Dark magic is brewing. The people I sent from another world are useless. You're the only one who still holds some hope."
"I learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They're just good-for-nothing trash," I sheathe my wand before plopping down on the floor. "Professor Aek said the Demon Emperor is gathering followers to control the entire world. But for what? What's there to control in this world? What will he gain from it? Even Professor Aek, who used to be a demon, couldn't answer those questions."
"This time, the dark magic is stronger than before. It has a hidden agenda," Fila replies in a low voice, her long, fiery red hair swaying. "No one knows what they're planning. But we know they want something here. It's the 'God's Scripture.' It can grant any one wish."
I make a confused and shocked face, accidentally biting my tongue.
"Do you think this is Hogwarts?!" I shout in anger. "Keeping something like that here would turn this place into a graveyard for thousands of students! Don't you even think…" Suddenly, something dawns on me. "You're the System Creator! You could just vanish and get that crazy God's Scripture right now! Why don't you? Once you have it, you can hide it anywhere far away from innocent people."
The System Creator stands still, his expression unreadable.
"It's gone…" he says in a dejected tone. "Even after searching with the entire system, it seems to be somewhere the system can't detect."
"This is getting ridiculous," I raise both front paws to my forehead. "The God's Scripture, for crying out loud! Not a pen!! A magical artifact with enough power to bend reality shouldn't be under the responsibility of someone as incompetent as you!!"
"You could say that," Phila adds. "So clumsy… but I love you…"
"A kiss after kick huh?" The System Creator sighs. The smug smile on his face vanishes, making the atmosphere in the room change drastically. "But no matter what, the war is approaching. The government definitely won't hand over magical military forces, and the Grand Mage probably won't bother to join. You're the only one who can protect this place and end the war between the wizards and the dark magic."
I fall silent for a moment.
"Why the hell did you send me to this world?!" I roar. I've always thought that reincarnating into this world wouldn't require me to bear any pressure other than being a dog who can use magic. But the story takes a turn. "I wanted to be a nobody, but I have to be somebody?! I don't want to!!"
"It's too late. Everything has been written."
"You're the one who wrote it," I argue back. "Being the System Creator, you're no different from the god of this world."
"I can give you a human body."
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To Be Continue Ep.13