"M... Mister!"
"Eloise?"
While I was helping the professors clean up the mess Ancano had left behind, Eloise came running toward me.
"Are you hurt? By the way, where have you been?"
"I have so much I want to say to you...! I don't care how urgent it was, how could you just leave me alone and run off!"
Listening to her explanation, it turned out that after I went to find Savos, she had tried to stop Ancano—who had caught on to my movements—from reaching the Eye of Magnus. She ended up getting knocked out by a shock spell.
—Huff, huff.
Eloise seemed genuinely upset, crossing her arms and turning her head away. I quickly offered an apology to soothe her anger.
"I see... I'm sorry."
In the heat of the moment, I had completely forgotten she existed. Abandoning your own healer... I didn't have a leg to stand on, even if I had ten mouths to explain myself.
"It's fine. Anyway, what on earth happened here...?"
"Miss Eloise, you seem to be safe. That is a relief."
Savos, who had been directing the site cleanup, approached us.
"A... Arch-Mage!"
Eloise stammered, clearly startled.
"Um... may I ask what happened..."
Savos kindly explained the disaster Ancano had attempted to orchestrate. Upon hearing it, Eloise's eyes went wide with shock.
"So... it was true. Ancano actually did that...!"
"Wait, so you didn't believe me?"
"To be honest, I was a bit skeptical..."
Well, I couldn't exactly blame her for how she felt.
If someone suddenly told me something that absurd, I probably wouldn't have believed it either.
Still, if she hadn't stalled for time in front of Ancano's room, my plan could have gone completely off the rails.
"Anyway, thanks for the help, Eloise."
"I... it was only natural...!"
She reacted bashfully, clearly embarrassed by the praise.
"It seems our college owes you both a great debt. I express my sincere gratitude for preventing this catastrophe."
Savos thanked both of us for stopping Ancano's scheme. He even went so far as to give a slight bow.
—!!
"You don't need to bow...!"
Startled, Eloise tried to stop him.
"I would bend my back a hundred times to express my thanks for such a deed."
Contrary to my expectation that he would be an authoritarian figure, Savos was a remarkably humble man.
"Of course, I won't just offer words of thanks."
"Huh?"
"I hereby appoint Miss Eloise and Mister Batte as Second-Mages of our college. Furthermore, I will provide full support for all tuition fees for future classes, free of charge."
"Whoa...!"
Savos offered an extraordinary reward: the position of Second-Mage, the highest rank below the Arch-Mage, and a full scholarship.
While Eloise jumped for joy on the spot, I had to interrupt the touching moment.
"I truly appreciate your kindness, Arch-Mage, but... could we receive something else instead?"
"W-What are you talking about right now...?"
Eloise asked, flustered as her sudden promotion threatened to vanish into thin air.
Regardless of her reaction, I continued with what I had to say.
"The truth is..."
"I see, so that is what happened. I did find it strange that your Elven companion was nowhere to be seen."
"I believed that if anyone would know a way to solve this problem, it would be you, Arch-Mage."
After hearing my full story, Savos expressed his regret and fell into deep thought.
"Hmm... what would be best..."
After pondering for a moment, Savos cast a Conjuration spell. A massive display case materialized through a portal.
Savos began searching through it.
Telekinesis from Alteration, and now Conjuration too?
"Excuse me, but how many schools of magic can you use, Arch-Mage?"
"I am capable of wielding the magic of all five schools."
—!!
As expected, you didn't get to be the Arch-Mage for nothing. Though, in the game, the player could technically use every school too.
"Mister, you didn't even know that? Master is already quite famous throughout Skyrim...!"
"Uhh..."
I couldn't exactly say I didn't know because it was different from the game, so I just kept my mouth shut.
"Ah, I've found it."
A moment later, Savos pulled out a silver circlet from the display case.
"What is this?"
"It is a prototype I made while researching artifacts. If you place this on the target's head and flow holy Magicka through it, it will remove all status effects."
This is it!!
I had finally found a breakthrough to break Choi Ha-neul's hypnosis.
"Thank you!! Thank you so much!"
"Hoho, I am glad I could be of help."
I grabbed Savos's hands and shook them with enough intensity to be burdensome, expressing my profound gratitude.
"Hmph... my position as Second-Mage..."
"Miss Eloise, there is no need to be impatient. You are still young; there will be many more opportunities."
"Yeah, you can always try for Second-Mage later."
"Fine..."
Eloise looked a bit sulky, but she wasn't childish enough to argue about it.
***
With the circlet in hand, we left the college and regrouped with Lydia.
"So, all we have to do is put this circlet on her head."
Lydia spoke while examining the silver circlet.
"Yes. And then we inject holy Magicka into it."
"Pardon my ignorance, but how do we obtain holy Magicka?"
Lydia, lacking in magical knowledge, asked, and Eloise was the one to answer.
"Don... don't worry about that. I can do it, since I'm a healer."
"Fufu, you are quite competent, Miss Eloise."
"Hehe."
Having secured the circlet, the atmosphere of the team lightened considerably. However, one problem remained: how to actually get in contact with Choi Ha-neul.
"Hmm..."
Think. Use your meta-knowledge!
I didn't know if things would play out exactly as they did in the game, but once you chose the vampire path, you would learn the Vampire Lord form from Harkon and then perform the quest to fill the Bloodstone Chalice.
And after that... right! The Moth Priest!
Both the Dawnguard and vampire paths required contact with a Moth Priest to read the Elder Scrolls.
The Dawnguard would persuade the priest to join them, while the vampires would kidnap the priest and then hypnotize him with Vampire's Seduction—just like they did to Choi Ha-neul.
That would be the moment the two factions clashed. Choi Ha-neul would undoubtedly be deployed for that operation.
I'll have to go to Isran first.
It was time to pick up the quest.
***
Arriving at Dayspring Canyon, where Fort Dawnguard was located, we left our horses at the entrance and walked toward the fort.
Hmm? Was there a fence here before?
New structures began to appear, unlike my last visit, and eventually, the renovated fort came into view.
"Wow, it's changed quite a bit in the meantime..."
"The walls seem to have been fully repaired as well."
"Indeed. Isran must have spent a fair amount of Septims."
The cracked and pitted walls were now neatly patched, and barricades and wooden fences had been erected near the wide-open entrance.
Banners bearing the crest of the Dawnguard hung on both sides of the fence entrance.
"Halt!"
—Thwip!
As we approached the fence, a bolt fired from somewhere slammed into the ground right in front of my toes.
"Eek...!"
Eloise jumped back in surprise.
Looking in the direction the bolt had come from, I saw Ingjard, a member of the Dawnguard, aiming her crossbow at us.
It seemed she had fired a warning shot because we were armed and approaching too quickly.
"Hold your fire! We are Dawnguard members!"
"Your attire seems a bit... liberal for that?"
She was indeed wearing full Dawnguard heavy armor, while we were dressed in typical adventurer gear.
"I wasn't aware there was a rule about strictly adhering to a uniform."
"True enough. Then how am I to verify your identities?"
Tough crowd.
I told her to check with Isran. Ingjard disappeared behind the fence for a moment before letting us in.
"Sorry about that. Honestly, vampires attacked the fort a while ago. They were disguised as refugees from the war."
"Those bastards are cunning."
"Tell me about it. Fortunately, they were just low-level fodder, and we had the Boss here so the damage was minor, but security's been tight ever since."
"I understand."
Just as I was talking to Ingjard, the fort doors opened and Isran stepped out.
"It's been a while. Did you find your companion?"
"Well, the thing is..."
"Ho, so this is the circlet you were talking about?"
"That's the one."
"But why did you come back to me? Shouldn't you have gone straight to find your friend?"
Isran voiced his confusion. In a normal situation, there wasn't much reason to come here first.
"I'm well aware that going into a castle teeming with those monsters would result in nothing."
The power gap between us and the Volkihar clan was still too vast.
"So you want me to help? I'm sorry, but our situation isn't exactly great either."
The Dawnguard only had about ten members currently, including Durak, Isran, Celann, and Ingjard, and their funds were drained from fort repairs.
"I know. That's why I've come back as a member—to contribute to the growth of the Dawnguard's strength."
"You..."
Isran looked at me with an expression that seemed slightly touched. Though, of course, it was barely visible on his face.
"A fine mindset for a member. Very well. As soon as our forces grow, we'll go and wipe out those creatures who have turned their backs on the world. And save your friend while we're at it."
"Thank you. On another note, the fort seems quite sturdy now."
"The loot from clearing out those vampire dens was quite profitable. Well, we spent almost all of it already, though."
That was fine. Vampire dungeons usually yielded high-value loot, so it wouldn't take long to earn it back.
"At any rate, is there anything we can do to help?"
"You've come at a perfect time. To expand our power, we must first increase our numbers."
I already knew exactly what Isran was going to say next.
"I have some old acquaintances. I'd like you to bring Gunmar and Sorine back here."
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