“And you too, everyone! No fighting!”
“Right...” Natalia’s followers gave half-hearted replies, sitting stiff-backed behind their leader.
When the lightning had struck Allen, his barrier had come undone. Chris and his gang fled for their lives, shouting behind them the corny line, “You’ll pay for this!”
Allen stole glances at Charlotte giving a stern lecture to everyone, and let out a thoughtful, admiring sigh. “Ah, to think there’d come a day when you wallop me with a spell and sit me down for a lecture on top of that... The young girl who couldn’t even punch a sandbag has grown so much...”
“Well, it was impressive that she managed to cast the spell so perfectly on the spot, on her very first try...but why do you look so satisfied?” Natalia looked a little creeped out by Allen’s fond praise of Char.
“I wonder, though,” Roo murmured, cocking her head. “I would’ve thought Allen could dodge Mommy’s spell. She wasn’t very sneaky about it.”
“No no, Young Roo... That’s something you shan’t ask.” Gosetsu shook her head with a sagacious look and put her paw on the pup’s shoulder. “There are things in this world that we don’t need to know. This is one of them.”
“Aww, how come? I wanna know. I could’ve dodged it too.”
“Hmph... Isn’t it obvious? I did it to give her the experience of success,” Allen said quietly.
“Experience? Huh?” Roo was still baffled.
Allen smirked at Roo. “The most crucial thing for using magic is a strong, resilient mind. Believing in your own abilities gives you power. The experience of knocking over a veteran wizard like me with one spell will definitely give her confidence. Next time she’s up against an enemy in a scuffle, she won’t be afraid to strike out.”
“So you’re saying...you got hit on purpose? For Mommy’s sake?”
“Exactly.” Allen nodded casually. He still felt tingling in his body, but it was a small price to pay in exchange for boosting Charlotte’s confidence. He thought the girls would shower him with praises for his commitment, but instead—
“It makes my skin crawl. What kind of twisted love is that?” Natalia shuddered.
“You were right, Granny. Wish I never asked...”
“I’m glad you understand, Young Roo.”
The three of them eyed him coldly. Allen couldn’t understand their reaction at all.
Charlotte, oblivious to their conversation, was continuing her lecture to the followers. Since they could tell that she was only doing all this out of concern for their safety, they listened solemnly. But eventually, they exchanged looks and let out a heavy sigh.
“It’s hard not to fight...” they mumbled. “Usually, it’s other people trying to pick fights with us. We’ve never started anything from our side.”
“R-Really?” Charlotte blinked and looked at Natalia.
Natalia gave a leisurely nod. “Oh yes. Everyone here is an academy misfit.”
In a closed community like a school, outsiders like them—who stood out for things like coming from a poor background; being born with different fur or scales from others in their species; or being extremely bad at a certain kind of magic—became an easy target for bullies. Natalia’s followers, too, had been harassed or scorned by other students. They certainly hadn’t been having a smooth school life.
“So I helped them out of their predicament. I loathe anyone who bullies the weak,” Natalia said.
“But thanks to that, a lot of people hold grudges against Boss,” a follower explained.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Boss...it’s all our fault...” another choked back tears.
“Do be quiet! I got involved by my own will! You have no business apologizing to me. How many times do I have to tell you that?” Natalia barked at them.
“I see now. You were just protecting them,” Allen said. Come to think of it, it was true—both in the scene they saw in the mirror and in the cafeteria today, the other side was the one picking fights.
“That’s right.” Natalia hunched her shoulders wearily. “All I want to do is to hone my skills here. I can’t wait to get stronger. Chris and the others are useful for combat practice...but they just keep coming back, no matter how much I beat them down. These days, I’m getting quite tired of it, to be honest.”
“Hmm, I’m finally starting to see the problems you’re dealing with,” Allen remarked. Her overflowing talent, her noble sense of justice, and her ruthless measures against her opponents the moment she recognized them as enemies—the combination of these qualities in her must have inflamed her clashes with others in the academy. “How did you respond to them each time they challenged you to a fight?”
“Normally we’d just fight it out like we did today. If someone comes at us, we just beat them up. I’m good at any kind of magic, but I often fight with my bare hands, using magic to boost my physical strength.”
“Hm, you have good taste. As expected, I must say.” Allen nodded slowly.
“Fought it out with your bare hands...?” Charlotte paled. As an older sister, she was worried sick.
Allen stroked his chin. “In that case, the solution is simple. There’s just one thing you have to do, Natalia.”
“I doubt you would but...you’re not about to tell me something ridiculous, like go and make friends with them, are you?” Natalia frowned.
“No. Exactly the opposite.” Allen put a hand on her shoulder. He peered into her youthful face and said, with a warm smile, “Natalia. You should conquer this academy.”
“What...?” Natalia and the others stared with their mouths hanging open.
“You know why the enemy keeps coming back to challenge you, no matter how many times you beat them up? It’s because you’re being too soft on them. I’ll teach you the most efficient way to fight. That way, you’ll quickly be free of enemies here.”
If Allen could lead her to victory, Natalia would be able to spend her school days in peace, and Allen might be able to gain her full trust. Two birds with one stone.
But Charlotte fretted over them, looking pallid. “F-Fighting is bad. If Natalia gets hurt... I’m so worried just thinking about it...”
“Don’t worry, Char. What I’m proposing isn’t a simple brawl. I’ll make sure the risk is kept to a minimum. Even if things have to get a bit rough, she’ll be safe—I’ll give her thorough guidance on how to protect herself,” Allen explained. Of course, he didn’t have any intention to push a seven-year-old girl to do something reckless, regardless of her competence. He grinned boldly. “If you still judge that it’s too dangerous...you can try to stop me again, like you did back there.”
“Oh! U-Um, well, I don’t really want to do it again... I think I went a bit too far too...” Charlotte mumbled, hedging.
“Hm. Are you saying you can’t?” Allen gave an exaggerated shrug. “Is that how flimsy your resolve was? I thought you were determined to confront any enemy, no matter who they are.”
Charlotte drew in her breath sharply, and her face stiffened. She looked back and forth between Natalia and Allen. Eventually, she swallowed hard and gave a deep nod. “I understand. I’ll leave it to you, Allen. But when something looks bad...I’ll stop you with all my strength!”
“Mwa ha ha ha ha! Good, that’s the spirit! You’re the only one in the universe who can pull the reins on me! Take that to heart!”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
“Uh, would you mind not getting all fired up with me in the middle? Something’s weird about Char’s resolve too...” Natalia muttered dubiously. It was no wonder she was frowning—two people she’d just met were getting into a heated argument about her education as if they were her guardians.
“Anyway, what say you, Natalia? Will you join hands with me?” Allen asked, holding out his hand to her, just like before.
Natalia stared at his hand. “Hmph. Conquering the academy with the Dark Overlord, huh...” Her hesitation was gone in an instant. She grasped Allen’s hand with her small hand. A villainous smile tugged at her lips. “That sounds interesting. These skills might come in handy in the future too... I’ll go along with your scheme for now. But if I see that you’re useless, I’ll void our pact straightaway. Agreed?”
“Agreed. You can tremble in fear at my prowess!” He met her speech with a roar of laughter. Thus, an alliance was formed.
Supportive to the end, Natalia’s followers were getting pumped up too. “Whoa... Good luck, Boss! We’ll be rooting for you!”
A cool voice rang out from behind them. “Tsk tsk. What business do you have speaking as though you are bystanders?”
“Huh?”
They spun around to find a supremely beautiful woman with a large scar on her forehead: Gosetsu in her human form. Unlike the other day, she wasn’t in a dress. This time, she wore an austere military uniform and a heavy trench coat. She held a shinai sword in one hand, striking her other hand with it in light thumps. She was the very picture of a hellish drill sergeant.
“Your weakness is at the root of the problem, isn’t it? You’re the reason Natalia made so many enemies. A vassal who can’t even clean up their own mess is nothing but an encumbrance. Thus...” Gosetsu pointed the training sword at them and flashed a spine-chilling smile. “I shall train you so that you may be of some use in the future. No need for thanks. In the grand scheme of things, this service is for my own sovereign.”
“Uh... Who are you?” the gang murmured.
“All right, I’ll trust you with the group! But be careful not to kill them!” Allen said to Gosetsu.
Gosetsu chuckled. “Oh yes, I shall bear that in mind. Ah, how many centuries has it been since the last time I trained youths? I can hardly wait.”
“Count me in! Sounds fun! I’ll help out, Granny!”
“Um, Gosetsu and Roo, please don’t overdo it...?” Charlotte gave a timid warning to the pair, who were already bristling with excitement.
♢
A few days later, a young boy’s desperate yell rang out in the cloudless sunset.
“Crap...! I’ll get you next time! You’ll pay for this!” Spitting out the usual line, Chris and his gang scuttled away.
“I’ll probably forget by nighttime,” Natalia called after them, casually waving at their receding figures.
Natalia was standing in front of a long staircase leading underground. The signpost next to the entrance read “School Training Dungeon (NB: Students MUST contact the office before use!).” Magical beasts roamed free inside the dungeon, which acted as a training ground where students could test their skills.