Students started gathering near the premises.
The incident was pulling a curious but passive crowd
The hero walked up to the young boy lying prone on the floor, nose bleeding
Using his right leg, he smashed the boy's head to the ground, forcing him to eat dirt
"Urk!" the boy coughed out, spit mixed with blood
"One last chance, I give you one last chance," Emile said,
"The spirit juice, or I make sure you never see that sweetcheeks of yours the same way again, you read me?" he threatened the poor boy
The intimidating aura exuded by the hero dared anyone to intervene; no one had the audacity to, and they could only whisper among themselves:-
'poor boy'
'Somebody do something, help him.'
Naki noticed his sigil was beeping red, followed by a warmth within him
"(!? Is the sigil...enjoying this?)" he wondered
"Speak, freshmeat! Do you read me?" the hero smashed the boy's head in again, rephrasing the same question.
"(hmph, this somehow reminded me of Nopheal and the village chief)"
Naki recalled Nopheal using a spike whip on the village chief, with bruises and cuts all over his body
"(Who would've thought my personal guard then was the village chief's brother...)"
"(Funny how the world turns on you, hero Emile. I would let karma handle this, but we can't have you getting into too much trouble just yet)"
Naki wanted to step forward and put a stop to the charade, when a voice called out from behind
"What's going on here!" The voice carried with it a certain degree of authority as the crowd made way
Up stepped a well-dressed boy, with a well-ironed uniform and even hair, holding a red grimoire. He had put on glasses and depicted the image of a smart-ass.
There was an artificial flower affixed on the right side of his chest. It represented a distinction in class.
Besides him was another freshman, a young girl. Her eyes widen in despair upon seeing the beat-up state of the young boy.
"Oh my god! Nat!!!" she cried out, running towards him
"crap, it's Vice President Jhun," one of the delinquent girls cursed, gritting their teeth in disgust
Jhun stared at the boy called Nat and the injuries he'd incurred.
Then, using his index finger to reposition his lenses, and turned towards Emile.
"Emile, what's the meaning of this?" he asked, peering into the hero's eyes.
Jhun had a motto - 'eyes do not lie' and everyone knew this.
So whenever he stared you down, you're either out of all other options but the truth, or you've got guts like Emile.
"Tsk, it's you. What do you want, four-eyes?" Emile said, avoiding his gaze.
"An explanation. Why's there a group of roughed-up boys by your feet, and a spectating crowd in the training grounds when we have study hall going on?" he asked bluntly.
"Who gives an eff about study hall when we've got a demon war coming!!" Emile said
"(Demon war? Interesting... I will have to ask Habiki about it later)" Naki pondered the relevance of this upcoming war.
"It is precisely for that reason we have a study hall, Emile. And-" Jhun replied, then sighed heavily.
"Huhh, you shirking your responsibilities is making things difficult for everyone you know," Jhun continued
"Geez, can't someone have any FUN AROUND HERE!?" he shouted, spreading his hands wide in annoyance.
"At another's expense, no," Jhun frowned, folding his hands.
He was unaffected by Emile's threatening aura.
"Screw this! Come on, girls, let's blow this joint and check out the factories."
Emile kicked the ground in frustration and turned to leave
"I've grown sick and tired of his face already!"
"Sure thing, doll."
The girls replied, joining Emile as they exited the vicinity.
A short while later, Jhun started handing out the next instructions.
"The administration does not tolerate passengers, so you're either studying or helping."
Then he turned and ordered 2 random students
"You two, help her get the injured to the infirmary."
"Got it", "Yessir," the students responded respectively and rushed to the boys.
"The rest of you, disperse." He ordered as the students scattered, his word carried weight, more so than the hero's.
But Naki stuck around watching the young girl before tending to Nat
"I'm so sorry, Nat, I wish I got to Jhun earlier! You wouldn't have been..." she said, crying as she removed her handkerchief, tending gently to Nat's wounds.
"(So she brought the VP here. Seems like someone who knows her way around the place...I could use some directions right now)" he thought.
"Tsk, I didn't ask for your help!" Nat slapped the girl's hand off his shoulders. "I can handle myself, I don't need your pity!" he added, groaning in pain as he struggled to get up.
"Nat..." the girl murmured, watching him drag his feet towards the direction of the infirmary, and couldn't do anything to stop him.
Jhun saw the entire thing, but ignored it and returned to his business.
Naki did not, as he walked calmly up to the girl.
"For what it's worth, you have my thanks for bringing the VP here," Naki opened, with a subtle and comforting smile.
"*sniff*, I didn't do it for you," the girl said, wiping some of the tears off her eyes.
"I know. You did it for Nat, and I think that's admirable of you." he said
"Y-you do?" she asked, her tears building up again
"Yes. And so does Nat."
"..." The girl looked down, she was not quite sure about the correctness of that last phrase
"You see, the hero Emile threatened to harm the ones he cared about. It is simply for that reason why he's trying to push you away, he doesn't want you to get involved." Naki continued
"What? Nat is ..." the girl muttered, face stricken with shock.
"He is trying to protect you, in his own way."
"But...but that is unfair!!! How wicked a person would I be if I just up and leave him when he's in trouble like this!!"
The girl turned towards Naki, protesting her case forcefully
"I can't! I'm just trying to help! Why won't Nat let me help him?" she cried out, tears flowing down her cheeks like a sudden waterfall
Then she goes down to her knees, hands to face, and bawling her heart out.
"I feel your pain. A man's pride is a very foolish thing indeed."
Naki said, placing his hand softly on the girl's shoulders as she made a mess of herself.
A short while later, the girl finally pulled herself together and wiped her tears.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this," she muttered
"It's no trouble. Are you fine now?"
She nodded, "Sorry I took so long, you must think me really weak right now haha" she said, letting out a fake chuckle.
"On the contrary. Sometimes all we need is a good cry and a shoulder to lean on. It takes a strong person to recognize this."
Naki said, lips curled into a gentle smile
"(Something Lionel needed, but never did)" he remembered
The young girl's eyes got watery again, but she held back the tears.
"You're too kind, senior."
Her feet pressed on the earth as she was about to get up,
Naki helped her in the process.
"My name is Jay, I am a freshman here. Might I ask who you are?"
"(She seems a sweet girl, too gullible but sweet. Sadly, I'm not here to make friends right now)"
Naki nodded and replied, "I'm just a guy in need of directions, Jay."
"Huh?"
She was confused and rightly so, for she had never heard such a vague introduction from anyone.
But she complied eventually..
Fast forward to later, and we find Naki and Jay walking through the corridors of a training facility building.
They spotted an instructor a fair way ahead, standing by a door
"Ah, that's instructor Samantha. I would take you to the hall itself, but I can't have her see me here."
"Why's that?"
The second batch of freshmen is having their first magic lesson today. Given that I have already participated as the first batch and all that; I can't show up"
"Ah, I understand."
Naki turned around and offered a slight bow in gratitude
"Thank you for your help, Jay." he said
"No, thank you!"
Then she let a cheeky smile and asked, "So...can I get your name now?"
Naki chuckled and turned around, heading towards the instructor
"A lesson in trust, Jay. Never trust what anyone says."
"Aha, I knew it!! You were lying to me!" Jay pouted and turned around, leaving.
Before she exited the area though, she cast one last look at Naki's back, whose hand was up in the air, waving goodbye as he walked on.
She smiled, "Some people just love being mysterious, don't they?".
She whispered before exiting the facility.
"(Alright, how are we going to play this. I'm a freshman but late? I'm looking for a student called Maya? So many options, bad options)"
Ahead, Samantha heard footsteps approaching
"Hm!? Is that?" She looked to the right and spotted Naki
"(Eitherway, if it all goes south, I can always cry foul and say I'm lost)" he was calculating his opening move,
But-
"Ah, there you are!"
Samatha quickwalks up to him and drags him by the arm, heading towards the hall.
"Huh! Wait, miss-"
"No no, I don't want to hear it! We've wasted enough time already!" she interrupted
"Huh? No, I mean-"
"Honestly, to think we had to rely on a student-instructorbecause of our staff problem! Anyways, I'm glad you showed up in the end, the students were getting impatient."
Naki was in utter shock as she wasn't listening to a word he was saying.
"(What is up with this woman? is she confusing me for an instructor?)" Naki didn't like the direction this was going.
Then they reached a door, and Samatha let go of his hand, turning around
"Now, I understand you've been given a difficult task and I know we promised to give you the best help we can, but things didn't go to plan and the headmaster needs them ready like yesterday!"
"Our prodigy - the student body president - refused the task, saying, and I quote - 'I already have a troublesome child to take care of, I don't need another 20 on my plate'"
Naki's nerves twitched, visibly on his face
"(The nerve of that girl!)" he was agitated, but did his best to hide it
"I mean, she can be so argh!!" Samantha unknowingly shared in Naki's frustrations
"But don't worry, I've got you the next best person for the job. You guys will get along just fine, and I'm sure the freshmen will love you!"
She said, opening the door to the hall as Naki reluctantly walked in
A group of 20 freshmen magicians, all cloaked up, eyes immediately planted on Naki.
He immediately felt like an outsider.
"(Oh crap, I don't like how this is going...)" he tensed up, teaching a bunch of newbies was not in the agenda today.
Then a soft, familiar voice addressed him
"Welcome, I'm glad you could make it."
"(That voice!!?)"
He immediately turned to the direction of the voice and saw a face he's been dying to see for 3 years now - it was Maya.
"Let's both do our best today", she said, with a charming smile.