It was extremely rare to see the infallible President Victoria acting melancholic, but I felt like I had to do something to cheer her up.
“Um, if you’re going to meet with Ca’al and El, would you like to join me? I’m actually on my way to the infirmary right now.”
“Oh, if that’s okay with you. It’d be better to see the two of them sooner rather than later, especially since I have something I need to report to the two of them as well.”
“Of course I don’t mind. They should both hopefully be awake as well, so this is good timing.”
“Excellent. Then let’s be off.”
After hopping into the nearest portal, we arrived at the infirmary in no time.
“El, Ca’al, how are you two doing? It’s a relief to see the both of you in good health and on the mend,” President Victoria said, drawing back the curtains to their beds as we entered.
“Seriously. Thank goodness both of you are okay,” I agreed.
“What’s good about this? I can’t move,” El complained. “Also, I was trying to sleep. Do you mind?”
“Yeah, seconded. This situation kinda sucks. I’m starving,” Ca’al complained. “I was going to tell Doctor Paunsasoy, but I didn’t want to take the risk... She seems like the type to stick an IV in your arm and feed you all kinds of things without your consent.” He shuddered.
“Nobody asked you,” El snapped.
“Um, no, she did ask,” Ca’al said, dryly chuckling. “Thanks for coming all this way to see us, President Victoria. I’m sure you’ve been busy.”
“Well, I can always make time when two of our precious students were injured fighting a violent criminal—under my watch no less. I have a responsibility to make sure you’re both okay. I truly apologize that I wasn’t there to ensure your safety, but the fact that the two of you are simply exhausted rather than gravely injured is a very welcome surprise.”
“It isn’t to me,” El scowled.
“Well, don’t worry; you’ll both be back to normal in a day’s time, which brings me to the next topic. There’s something else I wish to discuss with the two of you,” President Victoria continued. “As you both know, the placement exam was interrupted. Normally, I’d have El rechallenge Ca’al, but given the circumstances, I’ve decided to allow for a special exemption, meaning the two of you won’t need to fight one another anymore.”
“Huh...?” El’s eyes widened with surprise.
It made sense though. One might’ve interpreted this as El getting a chance to skip a difficult opponent, but at the same time, said opponent was someone whom she’d fought alongside in a life-and-death battle. Though she might want to test her skills, it was normal to think she wouldn’t want to fight against her comrade so soon after the ordeal they’d gone through. I could tell that this was the exact sentiment in El’s mind. I felt touched by how much she’d grown. It was hard to think she was the same arrogant, angry elder dragon who’d appeared here just a few days ago.
“As long as Ca’al approves, we can have El skip to the fourth level,” President Victoria said.
Ca’al paused before answering. “Sure. I don’t mind. I mean, I wanna duel her again, but I think it’d be better if there wasn’t anything on the line, like her placement. Besides, in my opinion, her skill’s honestly good enough to have her skip to the fifth level.”
“That far?!” I found myself exclaiming.
“Hmm...” President Victoria folded her arms and closed her eyes. “I’m not sure about her skipping to the fifth level...”
“Do I have no say in this?” El asked. “I’m more than happy to retake the third-level exam.”
“There’s no point,” President Victoria said. “You’ve already proven you’re strong enough to pass the third level.”
“But...” El weakly protested.
“Unless there’s another reason why you’d like to fight him,” President Victoria said.
I swore I saw El’s eyebrow twitch at her words.
“Besides, from the looks of things, you two are as thick as thieves.”
“What gave you that ridiculous notion?!” El snapped.
Then, President Victoria pointed at the knife on El’s lap. “If that’s what I think it is, then it’d be a conflict of interest for the two of you to fight when there’s something on the line. Though I trust Ca’al, there’s no saying that he wouldn’t pull punches if it meant allowing you to advance. The opposite is true as well; with how friendly you two are, it’s possible that El might hold back in order to not hurt Ca’al’s feelings if she’s stronger than him. Truthfully, while I’ve said that Ca’al could decide, that was more a formality than anything. I trusted he’d make the right decision.”
“But...” El looked heartbroken but also, at the same time, incredibly frustrated.
“I’m glad that you found yourself a partner though, Ca’al,” President Victoria said. “Here I thought it’d be Karen, but there you go exceeding my expectations.”
“Why would he choose me? I’m a Guardian—”
“In training,” El, President Victoria, and Ca’al said in unison.
“Yeah, in training! Anyway, even if he’d offered it to me, I wouldn’t be able to accept. Besides, I’ve still got a long way to go with my training. I wouldn’t really be bringing much to the table. I still kinda need more time to mature...or something,” I grumbled, remembering my master’s words.
“That’s true. You certainly lack the maturity that other bodies your age have. I’m sure what Ca’al prefers in a partner has more to do with their assets,” President Victoria said, crossing her arms under her boobs to emphasize them. “And also, the assets they can physically bring—no, rest on a table, if you know what I mean.”
I could feel a vein popping in my head. Here I thought I could go a day or two without these weird and annoying backhanded comments from her regarding my supposedly underdeveloped figure. I’m normal, you damn bloodsucking, one-note lust monster!
“I really don’t like your assumptions about my decision-making process,” Ca’al exhaled. “Besides, it’s as Karen said: I can’t choose her because she’s a Guardian—”
“In training,” El and Victoria unnecessarily interrupted in unison.
“In training,” Ca’al continued. “But also, I never really considered myself the Blade Saint until now, so I didn’t think the knife was really mine to give out. Fighting with El sparked something in me though. I don’t know how to explain it, but...choosing her just kinda felt right.”
“Humph,” El scoffed.
“Oh, I see. What a cute story. Good for you, El. You’ve made a wonderful new friend,” President Victoria giggled.
“Shut up,” she hissed.
“Well, at any rate, El, your placement exam will continue at a later date when you’re all healed up. For now, I’ll consider if you should skip the fourth level or not. I’ll let you know my decision once you’ve fully recovered. At any rate, I’ve taken enough of your time, so I’ll take my leave now.”
“But...” El seemed incredibly defeated. I wasn’t sure why though.
“Cheer up, El! Don’t worry. You’ll always have a place with us at this school. After all, it’s not like you’re in a rush to leave or anything. You can stay here and grow alongside us without any fear of being kicked out,” I said, reassuring her.
Maybe I was just imagining it, but these words, meant to cheer her up, seemed to only further depress her. I had to have been imagining it. After all, the start of the school year was just around the corner. She’d have all kinds of new experiences and be able to live a normal life.
Who knows, we might even become best friends. But maybe I was getting ahead of myself. At times like these, it was best to take things one day after another. I look forward to getting to know you better, El!