Chapter 3: rivalry. the princess and jester
we opened the door and to our surprise, multiple armored knights and fighters are all dueling inside... some spectating while some are tagging... I have a question, two actually... one: why is it so organized and two... how?
after being amazed for quite a while, a person jumped in in front of us and introduced himself
「Greetings! are you here to spectate?」 a really commanding aura... I'm not used to it... thankfully I have Analisse with me...
「we're here to fight too! can we join in!?」 straightforward as always... although I am quite curious as to how you register to spar...
the guy was quite disappointed at a response though... 「I'm sorry but it seems that we have limited time here... considering that this is their final matches, we might be closing down until 70 hours...」 although he says that... Alice is not having it... she really wants to fight huh?...
with a determined face she begs to have one quick sparring match, no matter who it is, she wants to fight, it took about a minute for them to finally stop and agreed to fight although since we are somewhat running out of time, organizing a match wasn't an option, we had to fight with unorganized rules, I doubt they'll cheat... but I have to be cautious about it still
with that, he called everyone who was currently sparring and asked to back away from the match, sit in the sidelines for now... so this really is happening...
Alice in the last second said that it's supposed to be a two on two match since I am participating too. they agreed to it without any problems and formed a temporary party... it seems that Alice is expecting a good fight with that excited look on her face... I'm somewhat excited but at the same time...
「only 35 minutes left... we need to be quick... and take a quick wash after this too...」Alice looked at me for a second and realized something else... she's wearing that devilish smile once again... now I know something bad is going to happen...
she whispered in my ear, silent enough so they won't hear .「hey, Osiria. don't tell them your last name alright? I'd like to see them with such a destroyed face once this is all over」she starts preparing her fists and entered the ring. this girl...
「hey! come one! we're in this together!」she yelled, well... looks like I'm fighting without Omi... this will be great...
they organized the rules quite quickly after the small talk they had; no 3rd party involvement, all kinds of weapons are allowed and so is Ether usage so I'm not totally out of it... that's everything...
after we entered the ring (which is the entire gym) the guys started to introduce themselves. I didn't really bother with their names so I mostly forgot... but as soon as they finished, they asked what our name is... as Alice suggested, she hid her surname.
「I'm Alice, I hope you won't hold back」soon after, I introduced myself also
「Fei, just that...」well... I was hiding my whole name... so did Alice since she used her own nickname that I always call her...
a long silence filled the room. tense, both of us all readied and steeled our bodies, prepared our weapons and-
with a large bang in the area. the fight starts and Alice immediately attacked without question- with light speed movement, she charged at them with multiple barrages of punches. as a battleroid, it's nothing special but it seems that she's hiding the fact that she can use tons of weapons and even Orato isn't even supporting her just yet...
even in the middle of a fight, she can still converse to me just fine, even if it looks like she's barely managing, she's still hiding her trump card.「Osiria! you can borrow Mathius for a second! he already accepts you as her secondary master so it's alright!」she seems to be barely dodging every sword slash she's receiving...
I look at Orato and it looks like she's quite excited to fight... well, it seems that this is the best way to hide her power too.
「well Orato? will you be fine with my guidance for a second?」with a small screech, she immediately blocked an arrow that the enemy was using... heh... even I know Orato isn't that stupid...
「I need to take that owl down, Cevil! I'll handle the other one! seems like she's weaker than her anyway」
as he made his own remark, Alice was devilishly grinning, I already know what she's thinking about... with a short glance at me as if time slowed down for a mere fraction of a second, she silently said 「fool them!」. that, I shall do
「Orato! split and delay the enemy!」with a short order, Orato immediately created a clone and attacked the opponent I was facing
"thankfully, I have trained this for this moment..." I thought to myself. silent cast, my mother's specialty...
I take a large, deep breath... a sky ever so fluid, streaming in the current. windy days pass and give in to serenity...
"command the air into my will". . .
an arrow, straight through my head, traveling through the wind, disrupting the ever so fluent stream.
as soon as it nearly touched my head. ever so suddenly changing its direction to the opponent Alice was targetting,
with a smile on her face, silently whispering "you did it", she moves an inch barely hitting her and somehow also dodging both the incoming arrow and the sword just brazenly going through just almost hitting her...
「gah-!」Alice's opponent groaned in pain, receiving an arrow to his abdomen. thankfully he was protected and the arrow was blunt enough to not pierce
「Cevil!」his partner screamed and somehow, bearing through the pain he just received
「tch- you got me there... didn't know your partner can fight...」
「hah! you haven't seen anything yet!」
Alice wasn't giving him any more chances, every punch was easily predicted by him but her target wasn't incapacitating him.
「damnit...」suddenly, tailwind came out of nowhere from the windowless gym that we were in
「Osiria! watch out!」an arrow suddenly spawned just outside of my field of view, I trust you on this partner-
* * *
... blocked... the sound of a wooden stick echoed menacingly and suddenly, what's in front of me was-
「tch- damn it Osiria... I could've lost the bet you know?」that's what she cares about? haha... well... I can't really blame her about that, but somehow, it didn't matter. I somehow feel like she made another bet, with them...
I didn't notice this earlier but Orato was now a form of a short buckler, pitch black with a glowing orange center and a shining brown on the back... she trained this hard just to transform her this quick huh?
「I didn't know you were training when I wasn't looking?」 I uttered when I stood firm. smirking, she responded-
「well of course, can't be losing to you always right?」
honestly... in a one on one fight between you and me, you'd win by a landslide...
the battle isn't over yet... our opponent realized who we are and somehow breathed deeply...
「haaahhh-... fine then, no mercy Qual」
「gotcha partner.」
seems that they're going full force this time, thankfully Omi finally arrived
「oh! here you are, I was quite worried that you'd disappear from me. sorry, but can you help me in this sparring match right now?」
she roosted and gave me an approval. well, I'm glad you're still with me...
「Omi's finally here? that's great, I don't think I need to fight as of right now right?」
「you planned that part huh? if I somehow get hurt then it's m win in this stupid bet」
she laughs, gives me a pat on the back, and gave me a thumbs-up, the same Analisse as always...
* * *
I step 5 steps forward and Analisse steps out completely, it seems that it's my turn huh?「please don't go easy on me」
with smiles that resembled fear, saying things like 「heh, we won't」 won't help you,
「alright then, Omi, if you please?」
Ethereal butterfly, shimmer in the wind and create illusions, be one with the mind and tell me everything you see
----------------
tch... she really grew huh? well... I'm gonna lose if I fight her... as always... it can't be seen by the naked eye but thanks to the upgrades that my mother gave me to be highly compatible with Osiria, I'm now able to see her moves and Ether... that's cheating really...
Osiria created an illusion of herself, it seems that the illusion is walking towards them and they both haven't noticed it's fake.
hmm... that butterfly can somehow scan one's Ether and use it for itself, although the only downside is it's extremely long cooldown... from what I heard from Osiria, you can use it indefinitely and won't have to trouble yourself with Ether either. the problem over there is Omi needs to rest in Osiria's shoulders where it can take and gather Ether to recharge, while yes it uses indefinite Mana pool, it doesn't come from the butterfly itself. it comes from the residue of Ether that was exerted in the field, no matter what you do, continuous battling against her while using Ether is dangerous and will only fuel her if need be...
she's a scary gal for sure...
... our opponents suddenly attacked each other... is she creating illusions on them? wow... who owns this Ether veins? it's quite powerful but I haven't seen anyone use them... is it Mother's? or probably Aunt Theia's... who knows?
-------------------
the illusionary field continued for another 10 minutes until both of them yielded
「that was a great! thanks for sparring with us」both of them stood and asked for a medic, it was mild injuries thanks to them seeing a girl rather than each other...
「I actually feel kind of cheated since the time you stepped in, what's that? does your familiar do it?」 I took a glance from Analisse telling her that I can't simply reveal it-
thankfully she came to my rescue... 「sorry boys, it's a lady's secret. well after that sparring match, Osiria! you only have around 20 minutes left! we need to rush right now!」
20 minutes is still a bit long but I can never be too early... I feel like that saying will disappear in my head...
we both took a short bath together and dashed through the door with 10 minutes remaining,
「c'mon Osiria! you'll be late!」late is an overstatement... why are we running anyway?
somehow, I found the girl who took my scarf... I stop and- 「huh? is something wrong Osiria?」 Analisse stops and the moment she took a glance at where I was looking at, she realized that that was my scarf...
「wh- isn't that yours?!」yes... I gave her a nod and she started to stomp to where she is oh god please don't...
-
「you! give that to me right now!」 Alice started yelling suddenly at her... that... is not how you talk to another person...
「what the? this isn't yours, it's mine!」oho? now I'm pissed...
I walk to where both of them are and immediately lost my nervousness to talk to people... 「yours huh? now tell me, where did you buy this?」I am not having any of this, I heard from Phaedra that this scarf is the only one in existence, having both integrated with both wind-blood Ethereal crystals and also being upgraded by my one and only Phaedra!
「I bought this at the store! go and see for yourself!」
「oh really? then I might as well call my parents then」
「hah! see if they even believe you!」oh they'll believe me- huh?
「what seems to be the matter here ladies?」 a black man clad in a black tattered cloth... robotic arms... it's uncle Juren!
「aiiee! mister Juren! please sign this scarf for me!」
apparently, after the whole world jump, uncle Juren turned into a celebrity, being the hero of the human race while also being chosen as one of Aunt Theia's private scavenger and field researcher... his popularity boosted thanks to Aunt Theia apparently...
「sign this scarf? hmm...」
「no!!」I quickly grab hold of MY scarf, but suddenly- it's... gone?
「I see what the problem here...」
「aiieee!!! please sign it with your full heart!」I'm really getting pissed at her...
no! uncle Juren! please! don't!
「well well... look what we have here, little miss Rose, how're you doing?」
ehh?「I-... I'm doing fine thanks... that aside, can I have my scarf back?」
he looked at us and took a glance at the symbol of the scarf and both at us after a short while, he gave it to me. haahhh... thank goodness... I've never been so happy for something to return to me...
「what! that's mine!」 the girl yelled at me and immediately took it back, only realizing that it was in Uncle Juren's hand again
he sighed, wrapping the scarf around me quite... sloppily and gave her a little scolding... I don't know what he said because-
「good, you got your scarf back. now let's get going! you'll be late!」Analisse was holding my hand and dragging me across the hallway. I didn't even get to thank Uncle Juren...
* * *
we ran for quite a short while and just barely arriving. it didn't seem like anyone was still inside so we still made it...
Alice sighed- 「that was close... you really got to take care of that scarf you know?」she uttered. I gave it a long look... I know it's important but I didn't know that she was going to take it...
「look, if someone asks you to give them some of your precious things, you should go with them no matter what. officials or not, the only thing that will happen if you leave it alone with some rando' is your things gon」
your things gon? what?
「yeah... I learned my lesson... thank...」I really have nothing else to say... that aside... 「why are you still here?」
I didn't know if she's even allowed or not... she only responded with a- "oh you'll see~" and nothing else... I can't help but think that she's planning something again...
after a while, some students finally arrived, all wearing similar uniforms too... am I really the only one different here?
「you shouldn't really think about that right now Osiria, try to take a closer look」Alice whispers, closer look? I do as she said and thanks to a little bit of Omi, I noticed a few enchantments... all of them are different too...
「not that you fool! haahh... fine... we'll just start with the introductions later...」
a few of the students noticed my different uniform and some were confused, some were just laughing at me silently... big bro actually said that it's fine that I use this but I'm not allowed to wear the usual uniform because of Aunt Theia giving me extra care... all it's giving me is extra attention though...
the homeroom tutor arrives- it really is miss Flora, my mother's top apprentice. she looks quite mature than the first time I saw her.
「good morning class, it seems that we have a mother batch here... I assume all of you are in Class 1-A and Class 1-S?」she asked in monotone... doesn't fit her...
all of them around me said yes. I didn't follow in though, I don't even need to, it's not like someone not belonging here would be in better circumstances anyway
「very well then, like I told everyone in my class yesterday, I'll be introducing someone as a role model for Ether control and Manipulation」she took a glance at- me? no... Alice?
「miss Analisse Mei, would you kindly please stand at the front?」
「why, of course, miss Flora.」so that's why... was she excited about this? a surprise for me? if so then it wasn't obvious.
Alice stood right beside at miss Flora, all happy and excited... so this was her plan...
she looks at me with such excitement... it's as if she's saying if I'm surprised or not...
yeah... sure... why not. I give her an exhausted smile. quite appropriate too...
「alright then, first off, I'll explain everything for the other students who haven't been up to date to our lesson-」
*(this part can be skipped)*
「as you all know, we have different Ether veins and formation, it's like everyone having different palm formation or how everyone in of it itself is unique in their own.
for the floran race, there are 2 different individual formations. for the reptilian race, there are 5 different formations and for the Fallen race, there are 3 different formations. the extra contents will be given in the library so I suggest borrowing books over there. right now, I'll show the different formations of a floran race and another one from my class while the rest will be shown from other students not from my class and a special from miss Analisse」
she ends her introduction and ordered us to follow her to the open forest in the school's property. the place wasn't as wide as the gym but it's wide enough to do some stunts...
「alright then. everyone, please stand back since it will be dangerous to come in contact with Floran Foliage, is that alright?」everyone gives a lousy confirmation and continued along the way.
with beautiful form, roots started emerging and connecting miss Flora, flowers forming and her whole physique changing... a Floran's formation, mainly for the Treant family are Foliage formation and transformation, a method of turning and connecting your Ether veins to trees and plant-life. the tutor, miss Flora's total body transformation is due to her training with the princess of the Floran Kingdom and the mental training from my mother. if somehow the blend of the plant's empty vein and the user's Ether vein merges, the damage will be detrimental and catastrophic to the user as it means being one with nature.
speaking once again in a commanding form, miss Flora speaks
「the other one is whisper, a way of the Floran race to converse with the spirits of the forest and nature. this time, I'll call someone from my class. Fro, stand over here and display your control and the command」
with a demeaning posture, the Floran nods and stands in the front.
Whisper, this time, commanding nature to its will. mainly for the dryad family, this kind of technique rarely uses large amounts of Ether exhaustion, if need be, a Dryad can turn a simple wilting plains into a nurturing, healthy scene just by giving it a small amount of Ether. if the number of Ether overdoses then it will cap in a certain number as a defense mechanism and will overflow and excrete the excess Ether as residue or a byproduct, that's where the fruits of the forest of the Floran race comes into mind.
* * *
「alright then. the Floran race will return to class or is now allowed to wander the schoolyard, as for the others please wait here,」
every Floran race left... seems like they didn't care much huh? no, there seems to be a few...
「well then, for the Reptilian Race, I'm afraid that we won't have enough time to explain everything so best to review those in the library, train and then spar with one another, those who win will be exempted in the quiz while the others will have extracurricular tests, you are now allowed to leave」
while there are quite a few that leaves, there's a hefty amount that stays. I heard from my mother that the reptilian race are dedicated and prideful of themselves, it's not the best to oppose them as it will be the same as arguing with a wall.
「for the Fallen race, I'd like one of you to show your capabilities by sparring in the middle here. if any problems occur, I will have miss Analisse and I to stop the battle immediately. any questions?」
one raises its hand... it's a girl-
「what about the people who aren't in the same class? will we still be given grades?」
「why of course, although, I'm not the one who's going to give the quiz papers, that will be your homeroom teachers independently, are there any more questions?」
no one raises their hand...
「good, now who wants to spar in the middle? those who win will be given a day off while the other stays, it's a safe bet isn't it?」
it is... but I don't plan to-
Analisse started glaring at me... 「you know I can't use him right?」
「just use Orato! I know you win!」
we traded glances and knew what the other was thinking. right then, miss Flora found us out and gave us a menacing look... yeah...
one raises his hand, a boy around my age, probably older...
「well then, who will be your opponent?」no one raises their hand.
whispers lingered the area, from what I heard, he was the strongest that was capable of passing the entrance exam without any problems... currently named as the strongest student in the magic academy...
「no one's going to fight him? well then, how about you point at someone who you want to spar with, 」
a dangerous choice... I can't imagine who he'll pick...
standing in the front, the boy has been deciding for a few seconds. I don't like to spar right now, I'm tired... plus, I need to refrain from using Omi as much as possible to avoid any more attention.
「I choose...-」randomly picking, he looked behind him and lo and behold... it was Alice... the worst choice possible...
「*ahem*... I'll have to disagree with that, Analisse is going to be displaying a different kind of techniques and I'd like her to be undamaged- excuse me, uninjured for the show, please pick someone else」
oh? that's too bad... I would've wanted to see Alice show off again to fend off a few more attention towards me. thankfully, he didn't pick me as the second choice...
Alice walked to where I was standing silently, is she calling me?
「hey, Osiria, wanna go somewhere with me as soon as this finish?」she asks, I want to remind her that I am in school but...
「why not... it's getting kind of boring anyway... I already know all of these thanks to my mother and father」. she smiled gleefully, walking to miss Flora. I assume she's going to ask for permission? well... I'm glad it's her doing it rather than me...
* * *
the class finishes without any problems. once again, I'm with Alice gathering all of the attention again... I don't mind that much if I'm with her...
「hey? what did you think?」as soon as she finished her display, the reptilians took note of everything miss Flora said, the Fallen not giving much care but I can sense a little bit of rivalry between them at each other... the Floran race isn't really that much special here... most of them are in class 1-A at arts
I gave Alice a sloppy reply and she just smiled... I still don't know what she's thinking... most of the time, I'd just let her be.
walking to the garden that's surrounded by the halls of the building, we spot miss Flora and miss Juren with each other... I wonder what they're talking about?
「hey? why don't we buy some juice right now? you don't have that much lessons right about now right?」Analice asked
「I don't... well, there are some mandatory classes that Aunt Theia ordered me to attend so I need to be back here by around 24 hours later... what about you?」
Analisse shrugs, walking through the large garden, we were spotted by some... random guy... a teacher perhaps? he waved at us and we just wave back until he comes walking in with a book
「are you both Analisse and Osiria perhaps? I've heard all about Osiria from sir Phaedra, telling me that you were quite curious and quiet? well, that aside, it's nice to finally meet the daughters of the trio」with a long goatee and a black and red coat... he also has horns... does he know Phaedra?
Alice blocked him as if she was protecting me... she uttered 「isn't it proper etiquette to introduce oneself first rather than dashing and suddenly talking to a couple of strangers?」. Alice was serious... I don't know why but I have another reason for being curious... he has no Ether veins... is... he hiding it?
「ahh- please excuse my fault, I am Sataniel Lucy, a pleasure to meet you」he bows. on that brief moment, I saw a small glimpse of flame... red... blood? did I imagine it? Alice didn't notice it though... so I was imagining it...
「I assume that you already know us, I'm Analisse Mei, my partner over here is Osiria Rosa, now would you please explain yourself for being a nuisance and a danger to her...」
with a wicked smile, he dramatically poses while talking... in a rather monstrous fashion... 「ahh- it would seem that I would need to apologize. I came here introducing as I heard from sir Phaedra that I come bearing a message and a mail to her, both of you actually. please don't misunderstand this as me bribing you, I just came here for my job」I didn't notice this at first... his fashion is quite similar to those from the other world we were just in... so he's not from here? if so... who is he?
he flicked his finger and smiled wickedly... 「I have done my quest, If you two will be willing to talk to me, I live in a run-down house in the human district, you can invite how many persons you need if you feel ever so endangered. well then, I shall form my leave. it was nice seeing you miss Rosa」he bows once again and disappears into nothingness... was that a hallucination? no... illusion? Magic?
Alice lowered her guard 「weird guy... best not to get involved with him...」
agreed... but I feel like that won't be the last time I meet him... I got a few questions for him since he knows where Phaedra is...
「let's just forget that ever happened. so? what do you want to do?」
* * *
we returned to the house Aunt Theia gave us, packing everything that was missed...
「wait, where are you going?」Alice doesn't need to pack... what's she going to do?
「I'm going to move to where you are obviously, girl's gotta need her partner and you're really not safe when your alone, like... at all...」
please spare me... I don't want to get reported every time you have to do some ruckus...
huh?... did... something happen? 「hey- Alice, look at this...」my scarf which I put in my bag had a new stitch. did... someone do this?
「woah... that looks cool... how'd that get there?」more like... who did this? was i-
「did someone managed to stitch it while you weren't looking at your belongings?」 no... I don't think it would be that... I think it was-
「ehh... I don't have a clue about this... hey- Osiria, do you know anyone who can do this? you've been awfully quiet...」did... she somehow forget who S-
「S-... no... I don't think anyone could've done this... I think Mei? maybe Uncle Juren could've done this... he was in the park when I found him so... probably?」both of us were in question... how'd this happen?
the scarf got ano- it's gone... but I can still feel it somehow... it's like... something's still there hiding...
「oy! Osiria! don't get yourself too indulged with that! let's start packing!」Alice was shouting across the room... maybe I should forget about this...
* * *
forgetting about that mysterious stitching, we finally finished packing everything that we needed... even the candy stash that I hid from Analisse a long time ago... it's still ripe for tasting!
we walk back to the dorm to set everything we have. the walk was the most tiring of them all having to walk for around one kilometer every time we travel... thankfully, Analisse can carry most of my stuff but we had a servant to do the heavy lifting for us.
we arrived back and immediately put down everything we had... that was tiring...
「thank you again sir Veq, sorry for being a nuisance to you」
「oh please lady Rosa, it is a duty of a servant of the highest one to help her niece. I'll go and help with the unpacking if you need to.」 sir Veq is quite nice. he's pretty reliable and weirdly convenient when we need to do something... it's like he knows when we need help... Analisse went and asked him continuously and got an answer but... the only reply she gave me was "don't... it's not good for your innocence..." what does that mean?
we finally finished unpacking... that was tiring... thankfully sir Veq was with us. he left when we finished unpacking all together, we just need to organize everything now... well... it didn't take that long though... we may have some heavy stuff but we left it in the corner for the meantime, now we just have a mountain of box heavy enough to probably dig a hole itself to the ground floor...
「well! that's done and dusted... I'll accompany miss Flora for the other classes she has, you should head to your class right about now too...」
we still have 16 more hours... maybe I should take a small rest? 「are you going to be busy today?」 I asked. I would've loved her to stay with me though... I want some company with me...
she left waving at me... I guess she really is busy today... haahhh... what to do... I guess I could go visit the adventurer's former guild estate...
Weekly Power Status
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