When they returned to the classroom after the lunch, everyone else was present. Their homeroom teacher, Yayuna, was also there.

When Yayuna confirmed that they took their seats, she started talking.

「Everyone is finally here. I will explain the content of the next lesson. The next lesson is a duel. You are free to pick your opponent. Please, everyone, decide on your opponent. Of course, you are allowed to refuse. The fight is one on one, the location is the training field, you. Well then, everyone should proceed to the training field」

Yayuna finished her explanation and walked away first.

And as soon as she left the classroom, two people walked up to Seiya. They looked like a leader of the fan club and the royal guard.

Then, they said in a loud voice.

「「Fight with me!」」[¹] 「All right」

Seiya somewhat expected that and readily accepted.

「I will release Yua-sama from you」
「For the sake of Yua-sama, I will defeat you」

It seems that these two people or these two organizations still thought that Seiya was forcing her to do this and that.

The training field of Arsenia Magic Academy wasn’t particularly different from Senabia Magic Academy.

The only difference was a stream of water flowing through it.

The training field was divided into sixteen segments, 20 square meters in size.

When Yayuna finished explaining, the fifth lesson finally started.

For his first fight, Seiya entered the space number 6.

Seiya’s first opponent is the leader-like girl from the royal guard. The moment Seiya entered the field, she started introducing herself.

「I’m the captain of the Yua-sama’ royal guard Elen Naberia. I’m from an advanced magician clan, so if you want to apologize this is your last chance」

If it was still in the past, hearing that she is a member of an advanced magician clan would have made him prostrate. But now, it is different.

After the monsters from the dark territory, a member of an advanced clan isn’t worth mentioning. Just like the girl before him.

「Mm, I see」
「Keep your attitude while you still can, soon, you won’t be able to」

The girl with long silver hair, Elen, stood opposite of Seiya, and with the start of the battle, she immediately started to chant.

「My soul of ice, right now, in my hand『Bliss』」[²]

In the next moment, an ice blade appeared in her hand.

Elen, holding Bliss in her hand, immediately closes in on the weaponless Seiya.

「Ha!」
「Slow」

Seiya chose to avoid her slash by jumping back. However soon afterward, he noticed that she had a smile on her face.

「The shrine maiden of ice, answer my call『Ice Coating』」

Immediately after that, the ground behind Seiya turned into the ice and he lost his balance.

Elen grinned and slashed at Seiya again.

「Chi」

Seiya turned midair, landed on his left hand and propelled himself outside the ice floor.

Seeing his impressive movements, Elen said.

「You are quite capable. But you won’t be able to defeat me with just that」

Elen slashed with Bliss again.

Seiya stepped back, Elen cast the same spell and he lost his balance again.

However, Seiya performed his acrobatic movements in the same fashion and propelled himself outside. [³]

Looking at his display, Elen’s mood worsened.

「How long are you going to keep dodging?」
「I see. It seems you can’t cast this spell continuously」
「Hee, so you noticed. Yes. So what? You have been avoiding me since the beginning. Could it be that you aren’t able to attack? 」

Elen tried to provoke Seiya into action. However, Seiya wasn’t so immature as to go along with it.

「Maybe」
「Then I will chase you until you have nowhere to escape to!」

Elen came slashing at him again, but this time, Seiya’s movements were different.

Instead of jumping back, he dodged the Bliss by a paper-thin margin. From this distance, she couldn’t use the『Ice Coating』, unless she decided to harm herself too.

Seiya was able to see through her movements and easily avoid the attack. And because of this dodge, Elen’s stress started to build up.

「Stop dodging, how about you attack me already?」
「There is no need」
「Hey, you!」

Her swordplay was becoming increasingly wilder. Looking at such an Elen, he decided to launch the counterattack.

Facing her slash from above, he dodged to the right while wrapping his left fist with the mana of light. Then, he punched Elen in the belly with considerable force.

The dull sound was heard.

With the raised power of his hand, Seiya punched Elen in the stomach the moment she was performing an overhead strike.

「This is the end」
「Uuu….」

Having accepted his punch, Elen wobbled and lost her consciousness. The moment she fainted was the moment of Seiya’s victory.

The members of the royal guard were watching Elen with stunned expressions.

After all, Elen was at the top of the class and she lost without even putting a scratch on her opponent.

No one could utter a word.

Following that, Seiya carried Elen out of the dueling space, handed her to the still stunned members of the royal guard and headed for his next duel.

When he arrived, the leader-like person from the fan club was already waiting for him.

「I’m the vice president of Yua-sama’s fan club, Brick Steashmer, the second son of an advanced magician clan. If I win, stay away from Yua-sama」

The male student that called himself Brick said so while staring at Seiya. Facing such a Brick, he asked. [⁴]

「And if I win?」

To his question, Brick muttered “no way” and answered while laughing.

「Hahaha, no chance. But if you somehow win, the fan club won’t bother you anymore」
「That would be nice」
「Even though I said that I watched your fight with Elen. It seems you can only evade. There is no way I will lose to someone like you」
「I see」

Already convinced that he won, Brick faced Seiya with a relaxed attitude.

He was surprised that Elen had lost, but it looked more like a duel of warriors than magicians, so Brick made a speculation.

He speculated that Seiya wasn’t able to use magic.

There is no proof, but Brick had already accepted it as a fact.

That’s why, he, who can use magic, won’t lose to Seiya.

Seiya looked at Brick with annoyed eyes.

Two groups tried to approach Yua. He can still forgive the women-only royal guard, but the fan club consists of male students that try to get close to her.

Therefore, Seiya will not be lenient towards the members of the fan club. Yua is a precious person to him and he doesn’t want to hand her to anyone, especially to men.

That’s why he decided to end this fight in a moment.

There are 10 meters between them.

The two quietly waited for the start of the duel.

Silence wraps around the surroundings, the students were holding their breath in anticipation.

And in the next second, the duel started.

「I, who received the divine protection of fire….」

With the sign to start the duel, Brick started to cast his spell, but in the next moment, his head fell off from his body.

「!?」

And Brick, being unable to say another word, becomes dust and disappears. He lost his consciousness and was transferred to the seat close by.

The students in the surroundings were frozen.

They were unable to understand what happened as well as were surprised that Brick lost.

Under the stares of the frozen student, Seiya left the duel space.

What Seiya did is very simple.

At the start of the battle, he casted『Single Light』on his feet and raised their strength, closed in on Brick and slashed at his neck with Hollins, which he summoned chantless.

Both are simple spells, just without the chant.

With that, Seiya’s training came to an end.

The students around him were discussing his earlier performance, but he didn’t care.

Then, Yua approached such a Seiya.

「Good work….」
「Ou」

This marked the end of the first day after his transfer.

When Seiya returned to his classroom from the principal’s office, it was already the 3rd hour.

He thought that he would manage to return before the end of the break, but Selena took too much of his time.

When he entered the classroom, all gazes gathered around him. Yua also noticed him and came close.

「Welcome back, Seiya … How was it…? 」
「It was fine」
「Then that’s good…..」

The whole class was paying attention to them.

Usually, everyone was busy with their own activities, but today was different. Everyone wanted to know about the relationship between Seiya and Yua. Therefore, the classroom was full.

Seiya and Yua completely ignored them and continued with the conversation.

「You aren’t going to self-study?」[¹] 「I’m together with Seiya…..」
「I see, let’s go then」
「Un……」

The two decided to do self-training together and left the classroom.

The remaining classmates looked at each other and unanimously got up from their seats and followed them.

「How annoying」
「Should we run…..?」
「It seems so」

The two arrived at the fountain where Nari and Lily were just recently. However, they were not here to do self-training.

The two looked at the annoying classmates and cast their spells at the same time.

They cast『Single Light』on their feet to raise their power and jumped on the gym’s roof.

「「「What!?」」」

The classmates looked at two people and rushed in the direction of the gym.

However, Seiya and Yua weren’t so kind as to wait for them. They cast the same spell again and jumped on the academy building.

「I think this should work」
「Un…..」

Having jumped on the roof, the two relaxed for a while.

Like in the Senabia Magic Academy, students were prohibited to stay on the roof. However, if no one finds out then it’s fine. The two decided to train on the rooftop.

The classmates tried to look for them, but they failed.

Seiya and Yua successfully evaded them.

「We did it somehow」
「Un……」
「By the way, were you all right while I was gone?」
「Seiya is a bully…..You left me…」
「Sorry about that」

Apparently, Yua was a little angry that she had to deal with her classmates while he was away.

Seiya patted Yua’s head to calm her down, but this time it didn’t produce the desired effect.

After all, Yua wanted something else.

「Seiya…..kiss…」
「Here? 」

Seiya became confused at her sudden request.

Seiya was slightly apprehensive of doing it on the academy ground. However, to fix her mood he gently touched her lips with his. [²]

「Will that do?」
「Un…….」

The two smiled and proceeded to train.

Yua practiced Seiya’s『Mantle of Light』.

Yua suffered from Lily last time, she wanted something to easily dodge powerful attacks. Still, it wasn’t that easy and she struggled quite a bit.

For Yua’s sake, Seiya was helping with all his power.

As a result, she achieved a small success. From now on, it is just a repeated practice.

Seiya decided to try a few things too, but as Yua, he didn’t achieve much.

What he tried to do was to summon Lily’s Gedo-chan. [³]

He tried to summon the dragon with mana of the water element that he received from the contract with Lily.

Nevertheless, all he could produce were small animals, forget about the dragon.

Seiya and Yua both needed some special training.

The two trained until the end of the 4th hour and went to pick up Lily.

While they were walking towards her classroom, a lot of trainees directed their jealous stares Seiya’s way, but he ignored them.

Seiya wasn’t a child to exert his pressure on the trainees.

When they arrived at Lily’s classroom, she was already waiting for them.

「Seiya! Big sister! 」

She was her usual self. Apparently, she got along well with the class.

「Oh, Lily」
「Lily, let’s have lunch」

Seiya and Lily came here to pick her up and have lunch together. Then, a certain girl asked.

「Lily’s friends?」
「Un! Seiya and big sister! 」
「Big sister? Yua-san? 」
「Right!」

The girl with short red hair, Nari, stared at Lily in surprise.

All of the students seemed to be the same, alternating their stares from Yua to Lily.

「Is this girl your friend?」

Seiya asked Lily and she nodded.

「That’s right!」
「Ah, my name is Nari, I am the class head here」

Nari politely greeted Seiya and Yua.

「I see. My name is Kiritsuna Seiya. Thank you for taking care of Lily」
「My name is Yua Arunia, my little sister was in your care」[⁴] 「No, I didn’t do much…….」[⁵]

Nari tenses up in the face of Yua, so Seiya gave her a way out.

「We are going to have lunch right now. Do you want to come with us? 」
「Ehh, ah, etto, is that okay?」

Nari looked at Seiya with a surprised face.

He is a student I met for the first time and she is the number one beauty of the academy, and, and, Lily is her little sister.

Nari thought, is it okay to go with these three? However, Seiya had no way to understand her troubles.

「Ah. Lily is okay with it, right? 」
「Un!」
「It’s decided……」
「Then, then, I accept your offer」

In that way, the four people came to a somewhat high-class restaurant outside the academy.

Although there were no other students of the academy inside, the customers still paid a lot of attention to them.

There was a lot of jealousy toward Seiya who was able to eat with two extremely beautiful girls and a cute neighbor girl.

But Seiya was already accustomed to the stares of jealousy and didn’t bother with them.

Facing such a Seiya, Nari asked.

「By the way, Seiya-senpai, are you going out with Yua-san?」

Nari’s question was normal.

The two always have their arms linked and stick to each other all the time. They should be going out however you look at it.

But Yua’s answer was way above her expectations.

「Seiya is my fiancé……」
「Kh, fiancé!?」
「Yes…..」

Nari blushed at the word; it seems it was still too early for the 14-year-old girl.

However, facing already blushing Nari, Lily delivered another bomb.

「And I am his mistress!」
「M-mistress?!」
「Right!」

Nari froze with her mouth wide open.

And the customers around them stared at Seiya with bloodthirsty eyes.

Seiya thought of them as annoying and, just for a moment, released his pressure. The customers immediately averted their eyes.

Their instincts told them that it was dangerous to continue.

Then, while Nari still wasn’t able to process the information or say anything, Seiya followed with:

「Calm down, Nari」
「What were you thinking, senpai?」[⁶] 「If Lily wishes for it, that is fine with me」

Those were Seiya’s true thoughts, he thought that as long as Lily wished for it, everything is fine.

The contract didn’t matter. Seiya just wanted Lily to be happy.

However, Nari, who didn’t know the circumstances, glares at Seiya.

「You are the worst」

He could read「This womanizer! 」from her eyes. But from the standpoint of a 14 years old girl, it was easy to reach that conclusion.

Nari directed her next question to Yua.

「Are you fine with this, Yua-san? Your little sister is your fiancé’s mistress」
「No problem…」
「It can’t be…」

Receiving an unexpected answer, Nari froze again, but after some time she regained her mind and asked Lily.

「Are you fine with this, Lily? You can’t marry your lover」
「Un! After all, I want to stay with both, Seiya and big sister! 」
「Lily……」

Nari made a surprised expression. But in the next moment, she seemed to understand something and apologized to Seiya.

「If three people are of the same mind, then I don’t have the right to say anything. I apologize for my previous behavior」
「No, no. Thank you for caring about Lily this far. I’m counting on you from now on」
「Yes」

Nari vigorously nodded toward Seiya and made a resolution to protect Lily from the boys of her class.

After that, the four people finished their lunch, left the restaurant and returned to the academy.

「Senpai, sorry for eating my fill at your expense」
「Don’t worry」
「Yes, until we meet again」
「Bye, Lily」
「Un!」

Seiya and Yua parted from Nari and Lily, returned to the classroom and prepared for the next hour.

When Seiya knocked on the door of the principal’s office, there was an immediate reaction.

「Get in」

He heard a voice from the other side of the door. This was an authoritative voice.

「Excuse me」
「Excuse me!」

Seiya and Lily entered inside.

「You are finally here」

When the two entered the room, there were two men inside.

One of them held an aura of power and was sitting in the chair, the other one was standing by his side.

When Seiya and Lily entered the room and closed the door, the standing man started talking.

「Nica to meet you, Kiritsuna Seiya-kun, Lily Arunia-san. My name is Zadman; I am the head teacher of Arsenia Magic Academy. This person is」
「Leonardo, the principal」

The muscular man with scarlet hair sitting in the chair is Leonardo, the principal of the academy. You can even see his muscles through his clothes, he had quite the presence.

And the man with black edged glasses and blue hair standing next to Leonardo was Zadman. Although Zadman was not muscular, his atmosphere was powerful.

To these two people, Seiya and Lily introduced themselves.

「I’m Kiritsuna Seiya, currently staying with Arunia family」

After Seiya’s introduction, Lily continues.

「Lily Arunia!」

When they finished introducing themselves, Zadman immediately started explaining.

「Regarding the two of you, I have heard about the circumstances to a certain extent from Raiga-dono. Seiya-kun is the only one left of his family and is now under Raiga-dono’s protection. Lily-san is an orphan and was adopted by Raiga-dono as his own daughter. Am I right up to this point? 」
「Yes」
「Yes!」

The two nodded at Zadman’s question.

However, this was a fictional story prepared by Raiga, Seiya’s parents have disappeared a long time ago and Lily was not an orphan.

Nevertheless, they could not tell the truth and had to go with this version.

After confirming, Zadman continued.

「Understood. With this, I have confirmed everything」
「Yes」

Seiya was surprised that everything was finished rather quickly and tried to leave with Lily.

But just before Seiya opened the door, Leonardo, the principal, called Seiya.

「Kiritsuna Seiya, please stay for a little longer」
「Seiya?」

Being called by Leonardo, Seiya was alerted.

Lily looked worriedly at Seiya, but Seiya smiled reassuringly to calm her down.

「All right, Lily, return to your classroom. You have a friend now, right? 」
「Un!」

Lily nodded and ran off to see her friend Nari in the classroom.

Confirming that Lily has run away, Seiya turned around and faced Leonardo.

In the next moment, Leonardo exerted a powerful pressure.

This pressure came attacking Seiya.

As expected from the principal of Arsenia Magic Academy, his pressure was quite stifling for Seiya, even after his experiences in Great Dalis Canyon.

Still, although it was somewhat strong, he swiftly adapted and grinned.

That smile appeared on him unconsciously and held no particular meaning.

Leonardo looked at Seiya and nodded as if convinced of something and said.

「Well, for now, sit down」
「Understood, please excuse me」

Leonardo pointed at the table in the middle of the room and encouraged Seiya to sit down. [¹]

After Seiya sat down, Leonardo also moved to the same table and sat across him.

After he took his seat, he immediately continued.

「Who the hell are you?」
「I don’t understand the meaning of the question」

Because his opponent was the principal of Arsenia Magic Academy, he decided to be careful with his answers.

But Leonardo’s question was quite straight.

Seiya did not expect that and decided to play dumb.

Facing such a Seiya, Leonardo changed the attacking method.

「Let’s change the question. What kind of power do you have? 」
「The power, is it?」

Seiya thought for a moment that Leonardo was aware of his dark element but swiftly discarded it.

If he knew about the dark element, he would not have asked in such a roundabout way.

Besides, it did not seem that Leonardo knew about the dark attribute in the first place.

Sure enough, Seiya was right.

「Let’s see. You are staying with a special magician’s family. They didn’t adopt you like a trainee from a while before, right? The reason is simple. You are currently the head of the family」[²] 「That’s true, but…」

As Leonardo said, the reason why Raiga could not adopt Seiya was not only because of his identity as Yua’s fiancé but also because Seiya was the current head of Kiritsuna family.

As a rule, the head of the family couldn’t be adopted. He had no choice but to let Seiya be a freeloader.

The reason that everyone opposed Edward adopting Seiya also came from that rule.

Although there was also a question of Seiya’s ability.

「You have enough ability to stay in the special magician’s house, so you should have some power, right? I feel bad, but I looked into Kiritsuna family and found nothing. The only thing I uncovered is that there was a student with the same surname in Senabia Magic Academy, although he died after being kidnapped. Besides, that student was rather weak」

Leonardo told him about the results of the investigation, but he paid no attention to that.

「I see」

At this point, Leonardo doesn’t think of Seiya as a magician from Windistan.

According to his information, the magician from Windistan was an amateur; there was no way for a special magician to pay attention to him.

However, at the same time, there was no other information, maybe, due to some unusual circumstances, the magician from Windistan arrived at this point.

Either way, Leonardo wanted to hear the truth from Seiya.

「If you are that student, then why did you come here instead of returning to Windistan? Not even as a transfer student but a new one」 [³]

Leonardo suddenly shared his guesses.

But Seiya had nothing he could tell him.

「I can’t talk about it」
「Why so?」

Leonardo intensely stared at Seiya.

Strictly speaking, Seiya was not a transfer student, but a new one.

Seiya thought that there was a reason for that and decided to stay silent.

The silence continued for a while and Seiya opened his mouth first.

「I can’t answer, but I have a request」
「What?」
「I want you to keep the information about Senabia Magic Academy a secret」

It was the same as telling Leonardo that he was the magician from Windistan, which was the highest concession he could make.

Seiya won’t tell any more than that.

Why did he say that in the first place? The reason is simple. It was for the sake of his wish.

And he had only one wish.

That is, to protect his new life.

If the fact that he survived was known in Windistan, the church and the Holy Church will come with an intention to interrogate him.

If they somehow discover his dark attribute or Yua’s holy attribute, it will become a big problem.

He wanted to avoid this situation by all means.

In the worst case, Seiya can do something with brutal methods, but he didn’t wish for that to happen.

Leonardo looked at him and asked.

「Is this your request?」
「Yes」

There was no reason for Leonardo to comply. In the first place, this was their first meeting.

Therefore, Leonardo asked him.

「I see. Even if I asked for a reason, you will not answer? 」
「That’s how it is」

Leonardo made a troubled face and asked the important thing.

「Let me ask the important thing. Are you my enemy? Or the academy’s enemy? 」
「Both are wrong」
「I see. Then, are you an ally? 」
「It depends, I’m an ally of Arunia family」
「I understand」

Leonardo heard his answer and smiled.

What Leonardo felt from Seiya was a loyalty to Arunia family. Seiya probably acts with Arunia family as a top priority, and he will never become an enemy unless Leonardo goes against the Arunia family.

Leonardo was convinced of that.

As long as he wasn’t an enemy, that was fine for Leonardo.

「All right, you are free to go」
「Then excuse me」

Seiya said so and left.

After he left, Zadman asked Leonardo.

「Principal, so he is after all?」
「Yes. As you expected, he is the student from Windistan」
「Just what is his purpose? 」

Zadman asked that, but he didn’t expect to receive an answer.

「I don’t know. I wonder who is he really. He has enough power to easily overwhelm the teachers but attends the academy as the student. I have no idea what Raiga is thinking」
「I will continue to investigate」
「Yeah, I will leave it to you」

Zadman left and Leonardo once again perused through the information he had on Seiya.

Arsenia Magic Academy is as large as Senabia Magic Academy, so you can’t see a lot of people in the corridors.

However, even if there is almost no one around, someone spotted Seiya and Lily walking hand in hand. Therefore, this someone calls out to them.

「Hey, you two over there」

Seiya and Lily thought that this person wasn’t calling for them and continued to head in the direction of principal’s office. However, the owner of the voice raised the volume and called again.

「Wait a little. Hey, you two, who are holding hands」

Seiya became aware of the voice and looked around.

There he found a few students, but Lily and Seiya were the only ones who were holding each other’s hands.

He understood that the voice was calling for him and turned in its direction. Lily also stopped and looked back.

There was a girl with beautiful red twin tails and yellow eyes like topaz.

However, her face looked angry for some reason, and the students who saw that girl swiftly left the scene.

In addition, the girl with twin tails stared straight at Seiya and Lily.

「Do you mean us?」

First things first, Seiya decided to confirm. And the red-haired girl with twin tails answered with an angry tone. [¹]

「That’s right. Who else is here? 」
「You have a point」

As she said, no one except Seiya and Lily walked with connected hands.

「All right, what can I help you with?」

Seiya inquired about her intentions and the girl answered while in a bad mood.

「I haven’t seen you here before. Are you an intruder? 」
「Nope, I’m a transfer student」
「Transfer student? Why was I not made aware of this? 」
「When you are in a different class it’s hard to meet you know」

The academy is spacious enough in the first place.

Therefore, it is natural for other students to not be told about every new student, and it is natural to see an unfamiliar face from time to time.

Just what is this girl saying? Thought Seiya. And the girl declared her reason soon enough.

「It is different. I will know when a new student appears」
「Who are you? 」

Facing this unknown entity, Seiya, for a moment, thought that she was hit in the head. But seeing her serious face he understood that he guessed wrong.

Although her aura felt weaker than Seiya’s, she was quite powerful.

Just when his thoughts arrived at this point, the girl revealed an unexpected reason.

「I’m the Vice President of student council of Arsenia Magic Academy, Selena Phoenix」

The student council of the Arsenia Magic Academy

So this is the representative of the student council right here. The student council of a magic academy is different from the one in a normal academy.

The student council of the magic academy has the right to pass judgment. They are also the gathering of top class magicians of the academy

A student council also existed in Senabia Magic Academy and they were quite powerful.

By the way, Jin belongs to that same council. They are the students with impressive abilities; they also have a lot of authority in the academy grounds.

In that student council, this girl is the vice president. Thinking that her level is quite high, Seiya introduced himself.

「My name is Kiritsuna Seiya, from now on I’m a part of class 2-A」
「So your grade is the same as mine. I’m from 2-C, best regards」
「Best regards from me too. This girl is Lily; she is a trainee in the second grade. Similar to me, she is going to attend this academy from this very day」
「Oh? Glad to meet you, Lily-chan」

Selena calmly greeted Lily, despite her cuteness, and Lily greeted her back. [²]

「Nice to meet you!」

She became very friendly at this point. Selena was in a bad mood at first, but now she is the gentle vice president.

But her mood suddenly dropped again.

「By the way, are you two engaged? You were holding hands earlier」

Seiya hesitated to answer that question.

She is a part of the student council.

If he gives a wrong answer here, there will be an additional faction against him, adding to that the fan club and the royal guard.

It will be quite troublesome and Seiya wanted to avoid it.

Nevertheless, while Seiya was contemplating the answer, the beautiful little girl dropped a bomb again.

「Wrong! I’m his mistress! 」[³] 「Eh…….」

Selena suddenly solidified. It’s understandable. After all, the little girl of 14 (temporary) years old said that she was his mistress, not even a fiancée.

「This was a fun one, Lily-chan. But it is bad to joke about that」

Somehow, Selena was able to produce an answer, although with a trembling voice.

「This is not a joke! Lily is truly Seiya’s mistress! Seiya has a fiancée! 」

Lily kept revealing their circumstances. At this point, not only Selena, but also Seiya became paralyzed.

And Selena glared at Seiya while trembling.

「What is the meaning of this?」
「Etto…….」
「Even though you have a fiancée, this little girl is a mistress?」
「About that…..」

Seiya desperately searched for a way out but couldn’t find one. Because it was a fact.

「Are you a lolicon or something?」
「It’s different」

Being labeled as a lolicon, Seiya tried to come up with an excuse. But before that happened, Selena asked Lily.

「Does Lily-chan knows the meaning of the word “mistress”?」
「Un! They are doing improper things with married people! 」

Seiya’s HP was being depleted at the fast pace and Selena’s eyes were spinning in circles.

「Li-Lily-chan, does his fiancée knows about you?」

To the flustered Selena, Lily continued dropping bombs.

「Un! Big sister knows Lily! 」
「Eh, oh…Big sister!? 」
「Slow down Lily, you will cause a misunderstanding……」[⁴]

Somehow retaining a little bit of his HP, Seiya tried to stop Lily. But right after, he felt an intense contemptuous stare.

「Just what were you thinking about?」
「Well」
「Being intimate with your fiancée’s sister and she is even so small」
「Wait, wait, wait」

Selena’s eyes were getting increasingly threatening.

As a result, Seiya’s HP further decreased. There, Lily released her final bomb to finish him off.

「Lily is fine with that. Big sister properly accepted me too! Besides, we are already connected! 」
「C-c-connected!?」

Lily was talking about the complete contract between them, but Selena completely misunderstood her.

But to tell the truth, her adult version…. (I will leave the rest to your imagination)

Selena glared with an incredible scorn.

「I swear in the name of the Arsenia Magic Academy student council’s Vice President Selena Phoenix. Kiritsuna Seiya, the enemy of all women. The student council will not acknowledge you. Be prepared for things to come」

She left it as her final words and ran off somewhere.

Seiya headed for the principal’s office filled with indescribable emotions.

There was a heated atmosphere in class 2-A.

That was due to Yua-sama’s fan club and Yua-sama’s royal guard, of course.

For a while already, Yua was resting on Seiya’s lap and receiving his head pats. And Seiya was glad to oblige.

Of course, the two groups won’t stay silent forever.

So the two groups questioned Seiya.

「You, what do you mean about being Yua-sama’s fiancé?」
「That’s right!」

Said the members of the royal guard, while intensely staring. Apparently not just the royal guards, but the fan club was interested to hear an explanation.

「Hey you, what are you planning to do?」
「That’s right, for you to be Yua-sama’s fiancé」
「Yua-sama, if he blackmailed you, please say it!」
「The royal guard will protect you, please tell us the truth」

The fan club and the royal guard interpreted it as a blackmail and were awaiting the “truth”.

However, Yua just closed her eyes pleasantly and completely ignored them.

So the two groups had no choice but to direct their eyes at Seiya.

「Hey, immediately release Yua-sama」
「If you do that, the royal guard will let you off」
「Make a decision quickly」

Hearing the words of the royal guard, Seiya made a troubled face.

「If you want to approach Yua-sama, enter the fan club. That’s the rule of this school」
「For those who break the rules, the fan club will administer punishment!」

The two groups demanded Seiya to follow their unreasonable rules.

They even tried to scare him with punishment. But from his point of view, this punishment can’t hold a candle to the monsters of the Great Dalis Canyon.

But still, he couldn’t just erase these two groups. Erasing your classmates on your first day is rather inappropriate. [¹]

In the end, the troubled Seiya turned his eyes towards Aruna pleading for help.

But Aruna looked away with a “please spare me” face, Connie and Glenn also followed suit.

Seeing Seiya’s behavior, Yua said:

「You just looked at another woman…..」
「Wait, Yua. This couldn’t be helped」

Seiya was further troubled by her unreasonableness. In response, Yua puffed her cheeks and made a displeased appeal.

「Muu….」
「Forgive me」

When Seiya started patting her again, she immediately narrowed her eyes and relaxed. They really looked like a good couple.

However, the mood of the fan club and the royal guard was worsening by the second.

「You even called Yua-sama without honorifics…..」
「Have more respect」
「That’s right! Stop patting her head!」
「Why are you not answering?」

Being told so far, even Seiya thought of this as troublesome, so he decided to say just one thing.

He already lost his peaceful life after all.

「You are annoying」

Facing his stare, the two groups faltered for a moment. There was a faint killing intent in his eyes.

But they were magicians after all, so they immediately replied

「What do you mean by annoying?」
「Yes, we were just warning you」
「We can still protect you from the fan club」
「That’s why hurry up and release Yua-sama」[²]

Apparently, the royal guard proposed to protect him from the fan club. But he couldn’t just release Yua.

In the first place, if the two groups really fought with Seiya, the possibility of winning would be zero.

Seiya was in a completely different league from them.

However, it is difficult for adolescent boys and girls to calmly analyze his abilities. So they refused to withdraw.

「You want to have a fun school life, right?」
「Kind of」

Seeing him ignore the royal guard, the fan club asked. And Seiya answered the truth.

「Then you should enter the fan club」
「That way, we can talk to Yua-sama equally」
「Ha?」

Seiya found this rather incomprehensible.

He couldn’t understand why he, a fiancé, should lower himself to their position.

This proposal was an absolute b̲u̲l̲l̲s̲h̲i̲t̲, but the two groups prompted him to answer.

「Just decide already」
「Will you accept the protection of the royal guard?」

The fan club wanted an answer. The royal guard wanted it too.

「Enter the fan club」
「Right」

The whole classroom was wrapped in an unusual atmosphere.

Students outside of the royal guard and the fan club took their distance from Seiya, Aruna’s group included.

The two groups surrounded a student on his first day. But Yua ignored the commotion and continued relaxing.

But this atmosphere was blown away by a vibrant voice.

「Seiya!」

A beautiful blue-haired girl with a cheerful voice entered the classroom. And as soon as she discovered Seiya, she immediately hugged him from the back.

「Good job finding me, Lily」
「Yup! Amazing, right?!」
「Yep」

While clinging to Seiya’s back, Lily noticed Yua sitting on his lap.

「Ah, big sister!」

「「「「「「「「「「「「Big sister!?」」」」」」」」」」」」

Classmates were surprised at her statement and closely looked at her.

Certainly, Lily is a beautiful girl like Yua, but her appearance is quite different from Yua, so their stares were justified.

Not caring about her classmates, Yua talks to Lily.

「How is the academy, Lily?」
「It’s fun! I made a friend!」
「I’m glad…..」

Hearing that she found a friend, Seiya and Yua made a relieved face.

Seiya and Yua were worrying about her being a fairy and attending the academy, so when they heard that she made a friend, they were glad from the bottom of their hearts.

After they calmed down, Lily said:

「Seiya, let’s go to principal’s office, quickly!」
「Come to think of it. Yua, I will go meet the principal」
「All right……」

Said Yua and returned to her seat.

Seiya and Lily left the classroom, on their way they heard a voice saying「Since when does Yua-sama have a younger sister? 」[³]

Feeling sorry for Yua, Seiya heads to the principal’s office.

As they left the classroom, Lily immediately grasped his hand. And holding each other’s hands, they proceeded to principal’s office.

Arsenia Magic Academy is located in the middle of the Aquaristan region in the center of Moru city.

Moru city is filled with beautiful waterways and fountains. And among the entire Leiria Kingdom, it is known as a famous sightseeing spot. There are plenty of tourists here all the time.

And currently, inside the Arsenia Magic Academy, the second lesson was in progress.

However, since there were no teachers in the trainees’ classroom, trainees were free to use this time for self-study.

But although it was in the middle of the lesson, the class was unusually noisy.

Most of the boys were desperately trying to talk with a girl in the center of a crowd.

A young girl with blue eyes and beautiful blue hair was in the center of this crowd, and she was looking around anxiously.

「Hey, Lily-san, where are you from?」
「Arunia is Yua-sama’s surname, right?」
「What magic can you use?」

They were burying this young girl under an avalanche of questions.

「Would you like to study with me?」
「Do not step ahead of everyone, how about studying with me?」
「Then how about me?」

They were trying to get close to this young girl.

And the name of a beautiful blue-haired girl was Lily. [¹]

Boys were trying to approach her and start a conversation.

If you are to do something like this during the lesson, the teacher will get angry. However, there are no teachers in the trainees’ classroom.

「Etto, etto」

Lily didn’t know how to answer all these questions. That was normal. After all, Lily was living in the Great Dalis Canyon and rarely met people.

Even if someone came, adult version of Lily dealt with them, so she had no chance to converse with anyone. Especially with men.

If she switched to her adult version right now, the conversation will proceed, but then everyone will know that she is the Undine.

If that happens, there is a possibility that she will be forced to drop out. So Lily had promised to Seiya that she won’t become an adult version in the school.

「Hey, let’s train together. I am from an advanced magician family」
「I am also from an advanced magician family. Let’s work together, Lily-san」
「I am from an intermediate magician family but let’s do it together」
「Please study with me, Lily-san」

Without noticing her flustered appearance, the boys invited Lily to do self-training with increasing vigor.

The young girl, surrounded by the swarm of boys, was incredibly troubled.

「Etto, etto」

Then, a certain girl saved Lily from her predicament.

「Hey, boys. You are troubling Lily-san. As a class head I will guide her around, so you should continue your self-study」

This girl had a short red hair. She reached with her hand to Lily and said.

「Lily-san, let’s go.」
「Un」

The red-haired girl tried to save her from the horde of hungry beasts.

Her eyes were as red as her beautiful hair. If you call the blue-haired Lily a sapphire, then she is a ruby.

But the boys didn’t let her escape so easily.

「Oi, wait」
「That’s right. Lily-san will study with us right now」
「Yes, even if you are a class head it’s too tyrannical」
「Right, right」

Male students complained to the red-haired girl, that tried to save Lily.

Apparently, they already decided that Lily will study with them. The girl with red hair says as if looking down on them:

「Control your urges. Or do you want to have a duel? 」

Suddenly, strong pressure was released from the girl with red hair.

It was quite powerful for a trainee, and the boys easily got intimidated.

The red-haired girl ignored the boys and brought Lily out of the classroom, into the courtyard.

There were many fountains with benches around them, and the two sat down on one of them.

「Are you alright, Lily-san? I’m sorry for our boys」

There was no pressure emanating from the red-haired girl, she looked very kind.

Lily wanted to thank the girl, but she remembered that she didn’t know her name.

「Etto, thank you. Etto….」
「Oh, sorry. I didn’t introduce myself yet. I’m your classmate and the head of the class, you can call me Nari」

The girl with red hair introduced herself as Nari.

「Thanks Nari! I’m Lily, you can call me Lily! Also, don’t be so polite! 」 [²] 「All right, best regards Lily」
「Un!」

Thanks to Nari, Lily regained her previous vigor.

「By the way, did you transfer from somewhere?」
「Wrong」
「Then this is your first time in magic academy?」
「Un!」

When Lily answered that she was attending a magic academy for the first time, Nari suddenly assumed a sister-like atmosphere and proposed to Lily.

「I see, then I’ll show you around」
「Really? Thank you! 」

After that, they roamed around the school for the whole 2nd hour.

On the way, they were found by their homeroom teacher, but with a guidance as a reason, they were permitted to walk around.

When the two of them finished walking around the school, the chime, signaling the end of the second hour, just rang.

「It’s break right now. Let’s return to the classroom, Lily」
「Yes!」

Hearing the word “break”, Lily remembered a certain matter.

「What’s wrong, Lily?」
「Lily should head to the principal’s office. It’s entry greetings or something」

As she said, Lily and Seiya were called to the principal’s office for a talk. Nari made an understanding expression and asked.

「Do you know where it is?」
「I don’t know, but I have a place to go before that!」
「Where?」
「Etto, class 2-A!」

Lily was asked to go to the principal’s office together with Seiya, so she wanted to find him first.

「I see, do you know the way?」
「It’s more or less fine!」
「Then I will go to the classroom, so please come to the classroom when you are finished」
「Thanks Nari!」
「It’s okay, we are friends after all」
「Un!」

After saying their goodbyes, they split up.

Nari returns to the classroom and Lily tries to locate Seiya.

Because they are bound by the contract, she can sense his location. [³]

And she found him pretty easily.

Seeing Yua walking up to Seiya, sitting on his lap, hugging herself with his arm, the classmates became paralyzed.

Aruna was the first one to start moving.

With a surprised expression, she asked.

「Se-seiya-kun and Yua-san’s know each other!?」

It’s too late to play a fool now. So Seiya decided to tell everyone that he is staying at her house.

But before Seiya managed to do so, Yua, sitting on his lap, dropped a sudden bomb.

「Seiya is my fiancé…….」
「…………Eh?」

Aruna was stunned at Yua’s statement. Judging by her face, she didn’t seem to understand anything.

And the surrounding classmates, although already surprised, completely froze.

Seiya ignored them and complained to Yua.

「Yua – 」
「Seiya is a bully……」

Seiya tried to complain, but Yua was the first one to do so…

Facing such a Yua, he retorted.

「No, you just made quite an explosive declaration」
「Explosive declaration?」
「It is about fiancé. In the morning, Raiga explicitly told us to not tell anyone」
「Come to think of it……」

I remembered! Facing her enlightened face, Seiya expresses his dissatisfaction.

「Thanks to you, my fun school life came to an end…….」
「It’s fine…….You can have fun with me……」
「That’s right……」

Seiya answered with a depressed face. It was the first time he thought that his fiancée was such an amazing person.

There, Yua, sitting on his lap, made a seductive appeal. But in the face of her appeal, Seiya just dispiritedly patted her head.

She received Seiya’s patting and made a happy expression, then she relaxed and entrusted her back to him.

At this moment Seiya completely gave up and continued to pat her head.

And while Seiya was stroking Yua’s head, the classmates finally woke up. Their eyes seemed to ask just who the hell he was. [¹]

Classmates saw the relationship between Seiya and Yua and most of the students looked at them curiously, but some students were watching with a different emotion.

That is, Yua-sama’s royal guard and Yua-sama’s fan club, that were fighting just a minute ago.

From these two groups, a lot of bloodthirsty stares were directed his way.

Seiya felt slightly uncomfortable facing their bloodlust, but compared to the magical beasts in the Great Dalis Canyon, it was like a spring breeze.

Then, a chime for the second period rang, and classmates were forced to disperse.

Everyone returned to their seats with somewhat weird facial expressions.

The royal guard immediately tried to question Yua upon returning, but she assumed a dismissive attitude.

Curious eyes were directed not only at Yua, but also at Seiya. Of course, his neighbors included.

「Seiya-kun, what was that?」
「You…….fiancé……..」

Aruna and Glenn pressed Seiya for an explanation, but Connie was still frozen for some reason.

Seiya wanted to give them the answer, but he had a hard time picking the right words.

It takes a long time to explain, and his explanation involves a lot of secrets. So he decided to tell the abridged version.

「It’s just as she said」
「Oh, I see」
「Even so, that was a big surprise」
「Is it rare for a student to have a marriage agreement?」
「Well, it’s not that uncommon….」

It wasn’t a rare occurrence to have a marriage agreement while being a student.

Magician families are often interacting with each other, and they meet a lot of people since a young age. Among them, some are matching each other, while others aren’t.

If they want it, they might be allowed to engage with each other.

After the engagement, the two people will belong to one family, usually to the one with higher status.

For example, in their case, Seiya is an elementary magician, while Yua is from a special magician family, so after the marriage, he will belong to the Arunia family.

「Then isn’t it fine? 」
「It is certainly normal, but this is Yua-san we are talking about」
「That’s right. She is treated like a goddess in this school. And you are her fiancé…. 」 [²] 「Well, a lot happened and that’s how it ended up」

Aruna and Glenn’s eyes were saying「Who is this guy? 」. And Seiya was calmly waiting for the start of the 2nd lesson.

Although the chime rang, the teacher still wasn’t here. And until he came, Seiya was subjected to a variety of venomous and curious stares.

Some girls who thought of him as cute in the beginning were completely stunned right now.

And the boys of the fan club were trying to kill him with their stares.

In the meantime, the teacher finally came and the second lesson started.

The second hour began, and Seiya finally relaxed.

But Seiya didn’t know. During the next break time, a certain blue-haired beautiful little girl will bring him a new headache.

There was a commotion in Seiya’s new class right now.

「Hey, it seems a transfer student is coming today」
「Really?」
「Male? Female? 」

It seems that the rumors about the transfer student have already reached the classroom.

「It seems he is a guy」
「I wonder who he is」
「Is he a pretty boy?」 [¹] 「I don’t know that much」

The transfer student was a hot topic in the classroom. A lot of people were looking forward to seeing their new classmate.

When the chime rang, Yayuna entered the classroom and the students took their seats.

Of course, there was also Yua, sitting in the back row, close to the window. And around Yua, there were girls sitting as if surrounding her.

Then, as Yayuna was sitting, she declared to the students:

「Today I will introduce to you a new friend. He is Kiritsuna Seiya-kun. Please come in」

Hearing Yayuna, Seiya obediently stepped into the classroom.

Looking at the new transfer student, the boys thought that he was kind of normal, and the girls thought that he was somewhat cute. A lot of people directed their eyes at him.

Then Seiya faced the class and said his greeting.

「I’m Kiritsuna Seiya, I will be in your care from now on. I’m an elementary magician of light attribute, best regards」 [²]

As a matter of course, Seiya said that he specializes in the light attribute, and failed to mention his dark attribute.

Classmates were curiously eyeing Seiya, but he didn’t care. Only Yua, the girl in the back row, was in his line of sight.

「Seiya-kun, please sit there, it’s empty right now」
「All right」

Listening to Yayuna, he sat in his new seat

Seiya’s seat was in the second row close to the corridor. When Seiya took his seat, students around him wanted to approach him, but they were in the middle of the class and restrained themselves.

The system in Arsenia Magic Academy was the same as in Senabia Magic Academy, six hours a day. Therefore, a sufficient amount of rest was provided between lectures.

During the break, students tried to approach Seiya.

「I’m Aruna, best regards」

An orange-colored girl with a short hair sitting on his left named herself as Aruna and shook his end. Seiya felt that she was an active type of a girl who always smiled.

「I’m Glenn, hello」

The boy that named himself Glenn was sitting in front of him.

Glenn had a short black hair and was wearing a refreshing smile on his face.

「I am Connie. Nice to meet you」

The student seating diagonally to the left of Seiya was Connie. He had yellow hair and was wearing glasses. He seemed to be the knowledgeable type. [³]

When Seiya finished re-introducing himself, everyone around him fired a barrage of questions in his direction.

First of all, Aruna asked a question.

「Kiritsuna seems like a rare surname. It should be a pretty famous name, is there anyone with the same surname?」
「Only me, it’s no wonder you didn’t hear about my surname」
「Oh, I see. I’m sorry」
「It’s fine」

Aruna immediately apologized, but Seiya didn’t mind.

She apologized because she thought that Seiya was the only one left. In fact, however, he didn’t know much himself.

The next to ask a question was Glenn.

「Where are you from? Do you live in Aquaristan?」
「I’m from Windistan」
「That is quite far away. How rare」
「Kind of」

It is rare for people to transfer, but it’s not like this never happens.

Sometimes people transfer because of their work, but even then it is in boundaries of Aquaristan.

So in the end, students like Seiya were quite rare.

Because Seiya answered Glenn’s question, Connie wanted to ask next but was interrupted by a loud angry voice.

「Huh? Why did that happen? 」

The voice was resounding from the back of the classroom. There three boys and four girls were arguing with each other, and Yua was behind those girls.

Seiya looked at the quarrelling people, while Aruna and Glenn said.

「They are doing it again. They never tire」
「Well, both parties are stubborn after all」
「Even so, I would have got bored already」

Facing the two, Seiya asked.

「What are they doing?」
「Oh, you don’t know yet」
「You better not involve yourself in that one」
「Yeah, you should be careful around them Seiya-kun. Otherwise, you might get some troubles on your head」

Three people said that it is better not to involve yourself, but he had to. It seemed like Yua was involved one way or another, and Yua was his fiancée.

That’s why he asked them for details.

「So, is this a fight?」
「Seiya-kun is quite curious~」
「Well, I guess it does not matter if you know」
「I also agree」[⁴]

Looking for confirmation from Glenn and Connie, Aruna explained the circumstances.

「Fine then. Um, Seiya-kun, there is a beautiful white-haired girl behind them, right?」
「Yeah」

Seiya was convinced.

It was Yua, she was the cause of that argument. And he was about to be involved too.

「Her name is Yua Arunia. A member of a special magician’s family」
「Oh」

Seiya knew but pretended to be unaware to avoid questions.

「And the four girls around Yua-sama are her royal guards」
「Royal guards!?」

This was something incomprehensible, for them to be her guards of all things.

Raiga said that she had no friends, but she had a royal guard for some reason.

Seeing his surprised expression, Aruna explained further.

「Those girls will crush every boy that tries to approach her」
「And what will happen if someone does approach her?」
「Are you planning to get close to her? You’d better quit. You will throw away your future school life」
「I see……」

Apparently, it was his destiny to throw away his calm school life.

His happy school life ended on his first day after transfer, he thought it was somewhat funny.

「That is dangerous…..」
「Certainly Yua is cute, but you will die before you get closer. Some of the members of the royal guard are advanced magicians」
「That’s too…….」
「Well, the best way is to stay away」

Even if they say to stay away, Seiya is already too close.

Seiya thought what to do from now on, while Connie and Glenn continued their explanation.

「There is also a fan club in the name of Yua-sama among the boys」 [⁵] 「Fan club?!」
「Yes, it is a club that is formed from 80% of the male population. Of course, there are also advanced magicians, like in the guard」

Yua-san, you have a fan club and a royal guard, why can’t you make any friends? This question suddenly floated inside his head, but he then remembered her trust problems.

「And what kind of activities does this club do?」
「They are trying to approach her」
「I see」

Having learned about the existence of this fun club, Seiya somehow understood a lot about this academy.

In other words, men are trying to approach her, while women are trying to prevent it.

「Is it always so intense?」

It was a bit too intense for a fight. Seeing a glimpse of his own bleak future, he asked that question.

「That might not be true」
「It’s usually calmer」
「Then why?」
「That’s because Yua-san came to school after a long absence」

Seiya finally understood everything with Aruna’s explanation.

After being kidnapped, she spent all her time beside Seiya, until they reached Aquaristan.

Meanwhile, the academy was still active, but Yua wasn’t able to attend it.

That means that Yua wasn’t around for a while. [⁶]

「I got it」

After he said that, Seiya looked at Yua. And their eyes aligned.

Apparently, Yua was watching Seiya, and Seiya’s eyes seemed to say「You are a bunch of problems」.

Receiving his eye contact, she puffed her cheeks and emanated a pouting appeal.

Seiya wanted to rescue her, but because he didn’t want to cause problems on his first day here, he looked away.

Yua understood that he won’t rescue her, so she made a move herself.

She stood up and walked towards the corridor.

Seeing her move, the members of the guard and the fan club also tried to follow her.

But just before Yua entered the corridor, she suddenly turned to the left, and proceeded towards the front of the classroom.

（Yua……no way….)

What if she wanted to approach him? Thought Seiya.

And as expected, Yua walked to Seiya’s seat and sat on his lap.

「「「!?」」」

The whole classroom was stunned by Yua’s behavior.

But her expression of love was not over yet.

Yua lifted Seiya’s arm and positioned it as if he was embracing her. She seemed to say that she was already claimed.

I’m finished……. [⁷]

Seiya understood, his calm school life has ended.

With the morning sun shining through the window, Seiya opened his eyes and looked around.

Right now Seiya was staying with the Arunia family in his new room. He was supposed to be alone here, but his hands were enveloped in something soft.

Even if he tried to get out of the bed, these two “restraints” didn’t let him. Having no other choice he said:

「Yua, Lily, wake up. It’s morning already, we will be late」

When Seiya said so, the restraining force vanished and two beautiful girls opened their eyes.

A beautiful girl with white hair and red eyes was hugging his right arm.

Another beautiful girl with blue hair and blue eyes was hugging his left arm. [¹]

It wasn’t an exaggeration to call these girls absolutely beautiful, and these beauties were emerging from his bed. Moreover, they were naked.

「Get a grip you two. What are you doing here? 」
「Because I missed Seiya……」
「Because my sister was in your room」

Hearing their nonsensical reasons, he made a wry smile, and they skillfully diverted the topic.

「Seiya……If you don’t hurry up you will be late…..」
「Right, Seiya! Let’s go to school! 」[²] 「Don’t pull on me, wear something first」

After dressing the two naked girls that tried to leave the room as they were, Seiya headed to the dining room.

When they arrived in the dining room, Yua’s parents were already there and greeted them.

「You finally got up」
「Good morning Yua-chan, Seiya-kun, Lily-chan」
「Good morning……..father, mama……」[³] 「Good morning」
「Good morning!」

Having finished their morning greetings, the trio arrived at their seats.

From the right to the left, the sitting order was: Yua, Seiya, Lily. Soon, servants brought the plates and breakfast officially started.

As soon as breakfast began, Raiga, sitting in front of Seiya, started talking.

「From today forward, Seiya and Lily will be attending Arsenia Magic Academy with Yua. As I said yesterday, we adopted Lily as Yua’s little sister while Seiya was registered as our retainer. Understood?」
「Yes」
「All right!」

Actually, today was Monday and at the same time, it was the first day of their new school life.

「And Seiya will be in the same class as Yua」
「As expected from you」
「My dear is overprotective after all」

After Kana said that, as expected, Lily asked a question.

「And Lily?」
「You are registered as a trainee. You are free to do what you want and can visit Seiya during breaks. However, during the classes, it’s prohibited」
「All right!」
「Thank you, dad……」
「Don’t worry about it, Yua」

Yua thanked her father with a happy look, and Raiga and Kana were looking at her with a gentle expression.

「Also, Seiya. Don’t flirt too much at school」
「I know」

Seiya eyed Raiga with an annoyed look, but thinking about everything that happened already, he discovered that he might just do it.

After all, Lily and Seiya stayed in this house for a whole week already.

After they finished breakfast and dressed up, Seiya headed for Arsenia Magic Academy ahead of Lily and Yua.

According to the family register, Seiya was lower in status compared to Lily, who was adopted by Arunia family.

And just like that, the academy first decided to test Seiya. The test was scheduled for the morning of his first day.

Yua already taught him how to get to the Arsenia Magic Academy, so Seiya was able to arrive without any problems.

It was a large school building with a big fence surrounding it. Compared to Senabia Magic Academy, the design was different, but the general outline stayed the same.

Seiya entered the academy and talked with a guide.

Seiya learned about the location of the faculty room and proceeded to climb the stairs to the second floor. While he climbed, Seiya thought of the past.

When he was climbing the stairs of Senabia Magic Academy back then, he was filled with nothing more than disgust and reluctance.

But right now Seiya was excited, it was the start of his new life.

While thinking about his future, he arrived at the faculty room.

「Excuse me. I’m Kiritsuna Seiya, here to join the 2-A class. I was told to come here first thing in the morning」

When Seiya opened the door, everyone inside looked at him.

There were a lot of disappointed eyes that seemed to be saying「Is this the retainer of a special magician? 」,「He doesn’t look that strong」,「He feels somewhat normal」, but Seiya ignored them and patiently waited. [⁴]

Then a woman walked towards Seiya.

「You are Kiritsuna Seiya-kun, right?」
「Yes」
「I’m your homeroom teacher Yayuna Laniskale. Best regards」[⁵] 「Treat me well」

The woman who introduced herself as a homeroom teacher gave off a gentle and kind atmosphere.

Yayuna had long pink hair and pearl-like eyes, she seemed to be a direct opposite of his previous homeroom teacher Lamia.

Seiya though that she is definitely popular with the students.

「All right, let get to the test then」
「Right here?」

Seiya was surprised at the sudden development, but Yayuna answered with a never-changing smile.

「That’s right. The test’s content is simple. Try to release all of your mana, but do not target objects, only teachers」
「I see. I just need to release it without aiming at anything in particular?」
「By the way, if you hit the majority of teachers here, you will pass」

Said Yayuna with an amused expression. Seiya was a bit confused watching her. [⁶]

Full release, as the name suggests, means that the magician has to release all of his mana at once.

As an example, during the battle with the lightning beast in the Great Dalis Canyon, 『Holy Law』used by Yua and『Dark Tremor』used by Seiya were close to full release.

Full release is used as a method to roughly gauge the ability of a magician.

But Seiya was confused, he didn’t understand to what degree he should release his mana.

After he awakened his power he always fought with magical beasts or the lightning beast or Undine. But they definitely shouldn’t be used as the measure.

So, if he makes a mistake, a teacher might be injured or even lose his life.

If he kills a teacher here, he will be refused admission 9 out of 10. Thinking along those lines, Seiya released about 30% of his mana. [⁷]

「Understood. Release」
「Eh?」

Yayuna was surprised at his words, as were the rest of the teachers.

Because Seiya released all of his mana without a chant.

Normally, full release requires a chant belonging to one of the four attributes, and without it full release shouldn’t be possible.

And Seiya made a full release without a chant. [⁸]

But that wasn’t everything that surprised them.

At the next moment, several teachers fainted, facing the mana wave.

Normally, if a magician receives a wave of mana, there should be a mana wall surrounding his body. It’s not common for people to faint because of that.

However, Seiya’s mana entered their bodies and affected their organs and brain directly.

As a result, some of the teachers succumbed to the pressure.

Seiya didn’t understand this and further raised the amount of mana, but in a panic, Yayuna stops him.

「All right, Seiya. That’s enough」
「But it’s only 30%……」
「T-that was 30%?!」
「Eh, kind of」
「Just how much mana do y-you have?」
「I do not know that myself……」

Hearing his words, the teachers received a shock, but Seiya didn’t mind and said:

「By the way, do I pass?」
「Yes, no problem here. You can’t possibly fail if you have the power to make the teachers faint」
「I see. Then everything is good」

While he was filling necessary papers in the faculty room, the chime signaling the start of classes rang.

And along with Yayuna, his homeroom teacher, Seiya went to his new classroom.

Bagil and Gris left the Gursber family and entered the dark territory to investigate one of the locations on the map.

The magicians of the church detained the magicians of the Gursber family.

And Bagil, Gris and a few people from the church want to investigate one of the facilities.

However, they found a giant crater instead of the said facility.

「Just what happened here….」
「Captain, this seems to be the right place」
「There is nothing h ere though」
「But this hole proves that there was something here」
「What the hell…」

The big hole before him proves that there was some kind of facility here.

But it looks like the facility just disappeared into thin air.

To this unbelievable sight, Bagil lost his words.

「What should we do, captain?」
「Let’s return to the church and hear the story from other victims」
「Understood」

He received the news from other teams that the victims were successfully liberated and escorted back, so he decided to return to the church in Freestan.

Upon coming back, they compared the information and came to know that only this facility disappeared.

Bagil thought that it was strange and returned to the scene on the next day to carefully examine the area. He managed to discover the remains of something resembling a building.

Of course, there was no one there. Bagil increased the range of the search but still returned empty-handed.

He only discovered the skin of a magical beast with all its internal organs disappeared. It had a nauseating stench and he could determine what it was when it was alive.

In the end, unable to discover anything else, they closed the case. But there were still people that weren’t convinced. Bagil was one of them.

Three days later, Bagil returned to the central kingdom and reported to the seven sages.

「This crater is definitely the remnant of the facility. But why did it disappear? If you think about it…could it be the dark attribute?! 」

Thinking about it once again, this place really fits the description of the aftermath after the dark magic.

「Then, could it be a person from Dakuria? Then what is with that beast’s skin? There is the Great Dalis Canyon in that direction….it’s hard to imagine he had some business in that place. But why…」

While Bagil was thinking that, his subordinate, Gris, entered the room.

「With that, the incident reached its conclusion」
「Yeah, good work, tell that to everyone」

The case is still ongoing. Bagil though so, but couldn’t tell Gris who didn’t know about the dark attribute.

「Understood. By the way, do you know what kind of people the special magicians are? 」
「Why do you ask?」

Why the special magicians all of the sudden, though Bagil. But in the next moment, he became shocked.

「It seems they allow their daughters to venture into the dark territory」
「Daughter in the dark territory?」
「Eh, the gatekeepers met a boy and two girls coming from the dark territory. It seems they are affiliated with a special magician. The family head claimed that they were subjugating magical beasts」

Judging by common sense, there is no father that will send his own daughter into the dark territory, but Bagil was rather sensitive to the words “dark territory” recently.

That’s why he asked for details.

「Which family is that?」
「Etto, Thunder God’s, if I remember correctly」
「I see. There are some interesting people in this world」
「You’re right. Well then, I will excuse myself」
「Good work」

Gris left the room and Bagil was left alone again.

Remembering what Gris just said, he started thinking again.

「If you follow the line from the facility to the corpse, there will be the Great Dalis Canyon ahead. And once you pass it, there will be the Aquaristan…..The gatekeepers said that they didn’t remember them」

Thinking about that, for a boy and two girls, it is impossible to pass through the Great Dalis Canyon. But if they belong to the special magician’s family it is a different matter altogether.

And if you add the dark attribute into the mess, the situation changes again.

「This case still hasn’t ended after all. I guess I should take a break and return to Aquaristan from some time」

Bagil said and quietly made his decision.

At the same time as the giant appeared, the Gursber family’s magicians attacked the rest of the squad.

Although they were wearing the attires of butlers and maids, their levels as the magicians were quite high.

Members of the Bagil’s squad were talking while being protected by the seven Moras’『Wall of Light』.

Outside, the magicians were trying to break through the walls and attack them directly, but managed to barely destroy one.

Moreover, the destroyed wall was quickly restored again.

「What is that, Eliera?」
「Do you think I should know, Gris?」

Gris asked the fire magician, Eliera, about the giant that appeared from nowhere, but she wasn’t aware of anything like that.

「Maybe it’s not a fire but a flame」[¹] 「I think Waltz is right」
「So Paul thinks the same」

Paul agreed with Waltz, to the relaxed duo Kain said.

「Sorry to interrupt, Waltz. Can you make some fog? Moras seems to have some troubles」
「Relax, Kain. Moras will be fine」
「No, Waltz, it’s a little hard for him. It would be nice to have a fog」
「Can’t be helped~. God of the water, I’m your subject『Fog』」

When Waltz finished, thick fog started spreading around the『Wall of Light』, protecting the squad.

Then, with their vision worsening, the magicians stopped their aimless attacks.

『Fog』is an elementary spell of fog attribute, the thickness of the fog can be adjusted by the caster.

「This is the thick one, I can’t see anything」
「Do you have any complaints, Gris?」
「Nope. Anyway, what should we do now? 」
「It that is the flame, you should know」
「I guess, this is probably the Gursber’s unique spell,『Ogun』」

Answered Gris to Eliera, who was playing dumb just a while ago.

「So this is『Ogun』」
「So Kain knows too」
「I don’t know the details. All I know is that it’s a fire humanoid」

The six people could feel its aura even in the deep fog.

「But our captain should be okay」
「Yeah, Waltz is right. It’s fine in it is only to that extent」
「By the way, maybe we should launch the counterattack already」
「I they are this bent on attacking us, I can presume that they have no intention of giving up. I will leave it to you, Paul」
「All right. My soul, wrapped in the divine protection of earth, scream『Soil Flow』」

When the spell activated, the ground started flowing around the walls of light, swallowing the Gursber’s magicians.

They weren’t able to respond and were swallowed by the stream; about 80% of magicians were rendered unable to fight.

Intermediate spell of the earth attribute『Soil Flow』makes earth flow, as its name suggests.

It is difficult to use on the flat ground, and since he could use it at the same time in all directions, Paul’s level was quite high.

The six people dissolved『Wall of Light』and『Fog』and looked around.

「As expected of Paul」
「Waltz’s fog was also not bad」
「Maiden of the wind, dance and rage on this land『Wind Fang』」
「Hey, Kain! Don’t use magic all of the sudden! 」

Kain casted his spell on the magicians who still showed the will to fight. And Eliera was angry with him.

You can’t feel the tension of battle from these people.

「Sorry, Eliera」
「Flames of the abyss, descend upon this land『Flaming Breath』」
「Gris too, don’t just suddenly do that」
「Ah, sorry, Moras」[²]

Like with Kain’s case, Eliera got angry with Gris. However, thanks to that, all enemies were defeated.

「I seems the enemy was annihilated」
「Yeah, let’s go meet with the captain」
「You’re right」

Saying that, the six people wanted to go to their captain’s place.

They annihilated the resistance of the advanced magician’s family with just six people. As expected of the Holy Church. And the moment they dissolved the『Wall of Light』, the giant, 『Ogun』, disappeared too.

Going a few minutes back in time, before the white-armored Bagil stood the flame giant.

「How is that, Quickmaker? This is the unique spell of our clan」

Bagil observed『Ogun』with narrowed eyes. However, Koul interpreted it as if he was frightened and got increasingly arrogant.

「I don’t mind sparing you if you will stay silent about this case」

At that moment, he thought that he caught him in a trap and wanted to acquire a collaborator inside the Holy Church.

If I acquire a collaborator inside the Holy Church and thirteen apostles, I can act brazenly across the whole kingdom, thought Koul.

「Just how low have you fallen? I don’t mind sparing you if you release all hostages, you know」
「Don’t get carried away just because you are an apostle, you brat, don’t be so arrogant just because you can make things a little faster, Ogun! 」

With Koul’s orders, 『Ogun』swings his ax at Bagil.

Since『Brunak』was melted by『Ogun』just a while ago; Bagil had no weapon in his hands.

I won, Koul was convinced of that.

「Suck『Ice Rose』」

Immediately after his words, ice strings wrapped around and restrained『Ogun』, who tried to swing his ax.

Afterwards, thorns appeared on those strings and stabbed into the body of the giant. The figure of『Ogun』wrapped in the spikes was just too pitiful.

『Ogun』raised a scream and started shrinking, while more and more roses were blooming around its body.

As they were blooming, the giant kept shrinking. In the end, there were only roses left.

At the sight of the giant being extinguished in the matter of a few seconds, Koul lost his words. And to such a Koul, Bagil said, while emitting killing intent.

「Ogun…..」
「Tell me the location of the victims. If you do that, you won’t become a pray for my roses」
「Hiiiii! I understand! I will tell! I will tell you everything, so forgive me! The hostages are divided into three groups. They are all in the dark territory. The locations are on that map」

With his strongest spell easily destroyed, Koul had no choice but to tell.

「I see」

When Bagil picked up the map, his killing intent disappeared.

I’m saved, thought Koul. However, he didn’t notice. The rose made of ice was slowly creeping in his direction.

「Captain!」

While Bagil was studying the map, his squad gathered around him.

Therefore, Bagil immediately relayed the location of the kidnapped people to them.

「The hostages are divided between these three facilities. We will split into three teams. The division is the same as usual. After that, we will gather in the Freestan church. Everyone should hurry up and rescue the hostages, feel free to request for reinforcements from the church」
「「「「「「Roger」」」」」」

After receiving the orders, everyone except Gris headed for their respective destinations.

And Koul asked Bagil.

「A-am I safe right now?」
「Yeah, but you have to receive a punishment. As one of the thirteen apostles, I will determine it. And you receive the capital punishment」
「Aah…but you saidGuuaaaaaaa」

Koul screamed and dropped dead. On his back, there was a single rose.

The Gursber family was situated inside a big mansion, which was currently expanding. Almost like, they were expecting an influx of people.

When landlord learned that they were from the Holy Church, he immediately granted permission to enter, but he wanted to meet with Bagil only.

The rest were put on standby in the guest room.

Bagil was told to surrender his weapons before the meeting, so he passed his sword to the servant. [¹]

When Bagil entered the meeting room, he spotted a slightly plump man in his late forties. The man saw Bagil and stood up in greeting.

「Nice to meet you apostle-dono, I’m the head of the Gursber family, Koul Gursber」
「Nice to meet you, I’m one of the thirteen apostles of the Holy Church, Bagil Eight」
「Please take you seat, Bagil-dono」
「Excuse me」

When they took their seats, a servant entered and put some tea on the table. After he left, Koul started talking.

「By the way, Bagil-dono, what brings you here?」
「Are you aware of the kidnapping incidents happening across the kingdom, Koul-dono?」
「I am, what about it?」

Bagil looked at his face but failed to notice any changes in his expression.

「I managed to uncover their purpose」
「Their purpose, is it?」
「Yes, do you want to know?」
「Eh, about that」
「I see」

Bagil noticed that, for a moment, Koul’s face flickered with agitation. It was unlikely to unearth anything else this way, so Bagil changed the question.

「The mansion seems to be expanding, are you expecting an increase in personnel?」
「Eh, well」

Koul started sweating. [²]

「Oh sorry, I digressed. It seems that the perpetrator wanted to mass-produce the magicians」
「Ho, that is」

Koul is sweating bullets, but Bagil pretends not to notice. What he was going to talk about now, was only his speculation.

「It seems that they moved around using the base in the dark territory」
「That is…….Why are you telling this to me? 」
「That’s easy. The culprit was receiving orders from you」
「T-that can’t be true! I never mentioned my name! 」 [³]

Of course, it was a lie. The criminal didn’t know the name of the mastermind. However, Koul got agitated and made a slip of the tongue. He was the mastermind.

「B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲, you tricked me」
「Not really, you said it yourself」
「D-don’t care. Since you know the truth, you have to disappear. I, who inherited the will of fire, give me the power『Fire Slash』」

Koul took out the hidden katana and immediately cast a spell toward sitting Bagil.

「Hear my call『Ice Wall』」

But in the next moment, the wall of ice appeared before Bagil and protected him. 『Ice Wall』is a popular elementary ice attribute spell used for protection.

「No chanting!?」

Koul was surprised that Bagil cast his spell without chanting.

Koul tried to sneak attack the weaponless Bagil, without giving him the time to chant. He didn’t expect his『Fire Slash』to fail.

If only Bagil couldn’t cast without any chant.

「I can’t do something like the chant omission, I have just shortened it」
「What!? To shorten the chant to this extent…」
「Even if I look like that, I’m still one of the thirteen apostles. Besides, this is the reason I was chosen as one in the first place」

Chant shortening, as its name suggests, allows you to shorten the chant to a certain extent.

Bagil was able to do it since he was 18 years old.

The seven sages came to know about it and offered him the position in thirteen apostles. Other magicians can shorten their chant too, but Bagil is particularly talented in this regard.

「Anyway, you admitted your sin. Come out『Brunak』」

Bagil held the ice spear in his hands.

Bagil grasped the ice spear, Brunak, and stared at Koul. There was perceivable anger in his eyes; Koul finally recognized that before him stood one on the thirteen apostles.

And he remembered Bagil’s surname.

「It can’t be, are you the Quickmaker?」
「Yeah, there was such a name」

Quickmaker, that’s how people called Bagil, before he became one of the thirteen apostles.

A person who could make any armor or weapon with a short chant. That’s why Bagil was called as the Quickmaker. [⁴]

But after he became one of the apostles, this name was no longer around, therefore it took some time for Koul to remember.

「Well then, here I go」

Bagil pierced Koul’s left shoulder with Brunak in his right hand.

「Damn….」

Koul hits the wall with his back and grips the Brunak while enduring the pain in his shoulder.

Facing Koul, Bagil asked with a loud voice.

「Where are the hostages?」
「Did you think I will tell you?」
「You have a point, the shrine maiden of ice『Ice Flower』」
「Guaaaaaa」

When Bagil activated the spell, many ice flowers came out from the tip of the Brunak and tried to engulf Koul.

「If you stay silent, you may become an ice statue」

Koul glared at Bagil and tried to cast a new spell.

「Oh, god of fire, now protect me, the soul of the fire god『Ogun』」

In the next moment, the fire giant appeared next to Koul and Bagil; he was tall enough to pierce the roof of the mansion. He also melted the ice that was about to envelop Koul.

「Gursber family’s guardian deity, unique spell『Ogun』, right?」
「Yes…..This is the end of you」

Koul was convinced of his victory.

At the same time, the appearance of『Ogun』served as a signal for a fight between Gris’s squad and Gursber family’s servants.

After five days, the group of five arrived in the city of Wokka.

Because they arrived at night, they decided to meet Paul and Kain in the inn.

When the meal was over, Bagil gathered everyone in the wide room borrowed from the inn, and said, while desperately restraining his anger.

「I understood the aim of the criminal」
「Is it true, captain?」

Asked Paul, who wasn’t informed until now.

「Yeah, the mastermind behind this case is probably a member of an advanced magician family」
「Captain, that is……」

Gris wondered if it was okay to say it, but before Bagil managed to answer, Waltz asked:

「Captain, so what is the purpose of the criminal?」
「Mass production of magicians」
「No way….」

Moras noticed something and made a surprised face. Kain also seemed to notice, so he asked Bagil:

「Magicians and girls….」 [¹] 「That’s probably true」
「Something…..So terrible…」

Hearing Kain’s words, Eliera, the only woman, understood the criminal’s purpose and showed an anger on her face. Gris also seemed to understand and lost his words.

「Probably, the criminal is committing a crime under the request from the Freestan’s advanced magician clan. In Freestan, your position is determined by your ability」

Bagil’s conclusion was: mass production of magicians.

The criminals are trying to raise the fighting power of their clan by making magicians breed with kidnapped girls. Then Bagil said:

「The mastermind if a member of the clan that uses fire magic」
「Why?」

Waltz inquired Bagil, he was also interested how he managed to narrow it to this extent.

Therefore, Bagil properly explained the reason.

「There were many magicians with fire attribute among the ones who were kidnapped. Perhaps they tried to raise loyal children with fire attribute」
「This might just work…」

Eliera agreed. However, she doubted that it was just that.

To his puzzled subordinates, Bagil said that he would explain everything tomorrow.

「I will go to church tomorrow and investigate advanced magicians, mainly of fire attribute. If found, we will head there and free the hostages. In the worst case, we will need to battle it out, be prepared」
「「「「「「Roger」」」」」」

The meeting ended at this point and everyone dispersed with complicated expressions.

The next day, when Bagil went to the church, the top brass of the church had a meeting.

When he learned about that, he told everyone to standby and entered alone.

Restraining his anger, Bagil opened the door with a loud noise.

「Please excuse me」[²] 「Who are you? We are in a meeting now」

The five men who were in the room raised a criticizing voice.

Of the five people, two were dispatched from the Holy Church and the other three were representatives of the Freestan. One of those three, a man of fifty years old, said.

「Outsiders should stand back. There is an important meeting」
「Toz-dono! This person is one of the thirteen apostles, Bagil Eight-sama! 」
「What?」

Hearing Torban’s words, the man named Toz looked at Bagil with incredulous eyes.

His attire was precisely of one of the thirteen apostles. Immediately changing his attitude, he said:

「That was rude of me. What brings you here? 」

Seeing his change in the attitude, Bagil goes straight to the point.

「I want a list of advanced magician families adept at fire attribute」
「Why would you want that?」

Toz was naturally interested why one of the thirteen apostles needed such thing, but Bagil could not answer.

「I can’t say. Nevertheless, this is my request as one of the apostles」
「I understand」

Having said so, Toz left the room and brought something like a file.

This was a list of advanced magician clans of the Freestan.

There were quite a bit of the families, but Bagil only chose those of the fire attribute.

However the was still a dozen left, Bagil had no choice but to narrow it further.

「Which of these clans have abundant funds?」
「These six」

You need funds to establish a criminal organization. Toz pointed at the six clans, but it was still too many. Bagil further asked:

「Which of these six clans are capable of operating in dark territory?」
「Only these two, sir」

It came down to two clans. With this, he can proceed, but he still asked.

「Were there any suspicious movements from one of these clans?」
「Yes, the Gursber family is behaving suspiciously lately……How did you know? We just planned to discuss it during this meeting………」
「A lot of thing happened, so how could I reach this clan?」

Bagil thought that this was it. With a strong desire to save the kidnapped victims, that is why he immediately asked that.

「In this case, it will be easy, they are quite close」
「Then can I ask you to guard the surroundings of Gursber family」
「Why?」
「In the worst case scenario, I will have to eradicate the Gursber family in the name of thirteen apostles」
「That is….」

Hearing his words, everyone understood. Is seems that Gursber family is in the center of a very big case, big enough to attract the Holy Church.

「Understood」
「I appreciate your cooperation.」

Bagil said so and left the meeting room.

Then he rejoined with his squad and headed for the Gursber family.

On the next day, early in the morning, Paul and Kain went to investigate, and Waltz, Moras and Eliera headed to the Orna city, where Senabia Magic Academy was located.

Then Bagil and Gris went to the church and decided to gather information.

They failed to get any new information, but in the afternoon, a message came saying that the criminals woke up.

Bagil and Gris hurriedly headed to the hospital in the Orna city where the criminal was hospitalized, together with Harris and a few escorts.

They arrived at the hospital after a few hours, but the hospital personnel said that they wished for only two people to visit the criminal.

Bagil and Harris were the ones to go inside. When the two entered the hospital room, a man around 40 years old, who seemed to be criminal’s boss, was sitting on the bed.

「Are you church’s people?」
「We are indeed」
「That’s right」
「I don’t have anything to say to you, go away」

The man didn’t realize that he was talking to one of the thirteen apostles and the top of Windistan church. Harris said to him with a helpless attitude. [¹]

「But we still managed to catch  you」 [²] 「Uh-huh. I will only speak to the top of the church」
「Why so?」

Bagil immediately asked.

「Unimportant people won’t understand」
「So you will speak to the top person?」
「That’s right」

When a man said so, he averted his eyes from the two. He was implying that he wasn’t going to talk to unimportant people and wanted them to leave.

Seeing his behavior, Harris says with an amused voice.

「Then you can rest assured. I am Harris Tuberculin, one of the top people from Windistan church」
「I am Bagil Eight, one of the 13 apostles of the Holy Church」
「The top of the church and an apostle?!」

After learning their identity, the man seemed to receive a shock.

The man was going to call an important person simply to buy time, he was not going to tell the truth even he actually came.

So the man tried to activate something hidden in his right hand. But Bagil didn’t seem to mind and simply said. [³]

「The magic circle you were hiding was already erased. Just stop your useless resistance」
「What? Damn it」

The man was surprised that his hidden magic circle disappeared.

The man tried to cause them injuries and escape, but the other party was a top class magician, it was natural for it to fail.

「Well than, let us talk. I really want to know a lot of things」
「Do you think that I will talk if you say so?」
「Such bad manners. Think about it, I am at the top of the church. If you answer my questions, your sin might get lighter」

Although Harris tried to convince the bad-mannered man, the man was not stupid.

「Do you think that I will believe such obvious lie?」
「Hmm, I see. Let’s change the method. What if I let you escape, and say that you captured the top of the church and used him as a shield? You will probably face a lot of trouble」 [⁴]

Harris changed his approach from temptation to threatening. Facing Harris’s aura, the man finally makes a slip of tongue.

「They I will just go elsewhere!」
「By the way, where is this elsewhere?」
「Freestan. You shouldn’t have any authority there」
「I see, but you forgot something」
「I am one of thirteen apostles」

Even if you go to other places, thirteen apostles can freely move around, escaping in Freestan is useless.

「Damn, is it fine for the top of the church and one of the apostles to threaten people in broad daylight?」
「Well, this is certainly a bad thing」
「But we need to solve a problem at hand, can’t help it」

The two immediately admitted, and one even said a frightening thing.

「There is also a torture」
「Yes, the Holy Church will deal with the aftermath」
「I u-understand. I will talk. I will talk, so please stop」

Facing Harris’s menacing aura and Bagil’s sharp gaze, the man gave up.

「So you finally decided to speak」
「I will talk. Please have mercy」

Looking at the man who tried to escape the torture by any means necessary, Bagil said.

「Just say it already. Although, if I have to guess, your employer is from the Freestan?」
「How did you?」
「You previously said that you will go to the Freestan. You probably wanted to return to your employer, right? 」

Bagil was concerned, why did the man want to go to Freestan of all other places? But the reason was quickly found. It also goes well with Bagil’s speculations.

「As you have guessed, my employer is a magician from Freestan. I don’t know his name, but I heard he is in the Freestan」
「And what is his goal?」
「I don’t know the details, but I remember him talking about mass production of magicians」
「Mass production?」
「I don’t know about his methods, believe me. We were just told to collect girls」

At this time, the picture inside Bagil’s head was completed. And the anger welled up inside of him. The anger caused by criminal’s heretical studies.

「I see, I understand」
「Did you figured something?」
「Yes. I will head to Freestan right now」
「All right, I will stay here for a while then」
「Understood. Until we meet again」
「Be careful」
「Yes」

Then Bagil left the hospital room. Gris who was on standby outside the hospital room, seeing angry face of his superior, immediately became serious.

「Captain…..」
「Gris, contact Waltz’s team. We will meet and head to Freestan」
「Roger」

Gris understood that interrogation bore fruit, but didn’t ask.

Because he knew that he shouldn’t ask, Bagil will tell him if he decides so.

Gris have immediately contacted Waltz’s group, that was heading towards Senabia Magic Academy.

He used a special kind of stone called thought transmission stone. By pouring mana inside the stone you can transmit your thoughts to a specific person

Gris poured the mana into the stone in his hand and initiated a contact with Waltz.

Tsun~n~n~n

With this sound, he successfully connected with Waltz.

（Waltz?）
（What’s wrong, Gris?）
（Please come to a hospital in the Orna city right now. Captain and I are waiting for you here）
（What!? Why are you even there? ）

Waltz was surprised that they were in the Orna city, but Gris didn’t have time to answer him.

（Yeah, come as soon as possible. It seems captain understood the criminal’s goal and is very angry right now）
（Is it true!?）[⁵] （Yes, it’s true）
（Understood, we will be there soon）

Then, 30 minutes after the contact, Bagil and his four Captains gathered in front of the hospital.

There, Bagil relayed his orders.

「I uncovered the criminal’s goal, we will head to Freestan immediately」
「「「「Roger」」」」

Five people rode their horses to Freestan. The biggest kidnapping incident in the history of Leiria Kingdom was finally coming to an end.