The two of them had been worried enough to come check on Mia a second time.
“A-are you okay?!”
Mia’s cheeks were red and streaked with tears, and she looked up at Lily and Abel with such a strange expression that they knew something was not right. In truth, though, there was nothing wrong with her. Luke’s touch had triggered a number of different emotions within her to explode, and she was in a kind of stupor—but having only just arrived on the scene, Lily could hardly have been expected to know that. What she did see was Mia slumped in a sitting position on the floor of her room, looking distinctly not okay, with Luke standing beside her.
“You! Luke, right?! What have you done to her?!”
“Nothing. You’re so damn loud. Stop shouting everything, girl.”
“Wh-what did you just say?!”
Luke determined that he had accomplished his goal and had no need to engage with the loud girl in the doorway. He walked past Lily and out of the room, ignoring her as she continued to wail and moan at him. He walked by Abel, who had been watching him in silence.
“You came here because you were worried about her too, right, Luke?” Abel said as he passed him by.
“…Huh?”
Luke was surprised, but Abel chose to faintly smile at him. Abel offered nothing more, as if there was no need for anything more to be said between them.
What’s with that look he’s got on his face? Like he knows what I’ve done… He doesn’t know a thing…
Luke responded with silence too, but simply because he was exhausted. He descended the stairs and returned to his own room. Once he was there, he lay down on his bed and lost himself in thought for a while.
It’s going to take a surprising amount of work to create these pawns, isn’t it…? The task is guiding their minds through words and actions to the desired state of loyalty towards me. I might even have to stage a tragedy to accomplish that.
The experiment had come at a very convenient time. One of them had to lose, though it hadn’t mattered much to Luke whether it was Mia or Lloyd. The point was, the loser would be emotional and shaken by their defeat.
Better still that this was her first defeat. People adapt, and so I don’t suppose the second and third time she loses in the arena will affect her as greatly. That’s why this first duel was the perfect opportunity for my pawn experiment.
But the results hadn’t quite been what Luke had expected. He had been confident that he could make Mia one of his pawns, but it hadn’t worked.
“Well, I suppose I did well for a first try. Tch, it does irritate me, though.”
The experience had also demonstrated Yolande’s worth, much as Luke was loath to admit it.
A pawn that can create more pawns is a valuable piece indeed. I cannot afford to let him go so easily.
Luke sighed. “Maybe I’ll do some sword practice.”
Training always helped him to clear the fog from his mind. He took up the sword that hung on the wall of his room and left the dormitory once more.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next morning, just as the milky-white light of the dawn began to chase the dark away, a visitor arrived at Luke’s door.
“Ahem… I don’t mind. I’ll be your pawn, Luke.”
She looked a little hesitant and shy as she spoke. He was left speechless for a few seconds—he’d thought his experiment had been a failure after all, and it was so early in the morning, his head was still a little fuzzy.
It was all due to the appearance of Yolande.
That meeting, with a man who did not feature at all in the original work, sparked within Luke an interest in gathering pawns. This spark led him to an experiment—an attempt to create a pawn for himself. As a result, the young girl who was meant to eventually rise to the position of Magic Knight had chosen instead to become his pawn.