Everyday, I Fight! 23 Chapter 21: Principal Adel's Decision

I can finally relax a little knowing that someone is not stalking me anymore.

Yet, the more laid-back I am, the more I'm reminded of back home. I'm worried, angry and scared... is this what they call 'having a heavy heart'?

"Whaccha doing?" A familiar voice startled me from behind.

"O-oh," I replied to the insensitive friend of mine, "No-nothing. Just thinking about home."

"That's normal." Lucy popped up from behind a.n.a.lise, "Take it slow. I'm sure your family has already been notified by the school. Think about it this way, once new letters from home start arriving, you can reply back to them without worries!"

"Your using easier words now?" I asked Lucy, my eyebrows raised.

"I've been bribed." Lucy's mouth widened and she held a box of licorice in front of me. "You can see, but not touch."

a.n.a.lise showed me a thumbs up and pretty soon the three of us began bickering about chocolates and laughing together.

Perhaps being reborn as a girl isn't all that bad?

...

I think I'm beginning to discover Lucy's weaknesses little by little.

"Miss Lucy," our resource teacher asked, "have you been actually practising at all?"

"Y-yes, of course!" Lucy insisted, "Mr. Depps, I've been to the library and read a few books on 'how to grow plants within three minutes!' I've also studied some extra..."

Before Lucy continued any further, Mr Depps raised a hand for her to stop talking.

"I think you are misunderstanding the point, Miss Lucy..." Mr Depps sighed a little before regaining his calm and collected demeanour. "At this rate, I don't suppose you'll be ready any time soon. I suggest you group up with friends or other cla.s.smates."

"B-but..." Lucy teared up at his sudden proposal.

In M.T.S, it's normal for each and every student to individually train and improve themselves. On the other hand, it is very frowned upon if someone has to be supported by pairing up with others, unless the task in question is a group project.

In Lucy's case right now, she has to be supported by others.

"I doubt that cla.s.smate Lucy is so weak as to be paired up, Teacher Depps." a.n.a.lise intervened suddenly, while pulling me along.

Ah, this situation is so embarra.s.sing. a.n.a.lise just pulled me into the centre of attention... everybody's watching, d.a.m.n it!

"Who says that student Lucy is weak?" Mr Depps asked. "In fact, you two have good timing! I'll a.s.sign both you girls to help Miss Lucy with her task."

"Eh?"

Everyone was surprised.

"I have come to the conclusion that everyone here must pair up in groups of two or three people. The task is growing a plant in three minutes, but here's the catch, the plant you grow, must bear a fruit. You may not ask for help from me, but from the library instead." Mr Depps went on, "I expect good teamwork. You'll be evaluated as a team, so one person's error will sink the ship of three. Understand?"

Within moments after Mr. Depps left, everyone began pairing up like crazy. The three of us quietly sneaked away.

Mr Depps is a very unusual and quirky teacher. Although I don't think he is a bad person... just slightly eccentric sometimes.

"What should we do now?" a.n.a.lise asked, confused.

"That's what you say after being the instigator of all that?!" I shouted at her.

"Well what was I supposed to do! My friend was in trouble!" a.n.a.lise shouted back.

This girl... is she brave or just plain stupid?

"C'mon guys, stop fighting. I don't want to suffer like before, all over again." Lucy sighed. "Besides, if we all fight, how are we supposed to train together? Don't forget, this is a group work. Not to mention... I'm the weak link."

"Doubt it." I instantly replied to her, "I'm bad with teamwork."

"It shows on your face." Lucy exclaimed.

...And this girl really knows not to be subtle huh? Oh dear Lucy, my friend, why do you always have to stab people, where it hurts the most!

"Lets finish cla.s.ses and go back to our dorm room first. How's that for a plan?" a.n.a.lise suggested.

"Alright." Lucy and I agreed.

_______

___

"...?"

Questions just kept piling up and muddled my thoughts. "Why now?"

"Students, this is a new transfer student. Miss Carmine Anna Vehement Windstorm." Mrs. Stapleson introduced. "Please give her a warm welcome."

Everyone stood up and clapped after Carmine introduced herself.

"Royals receive special treatment here, not even n.o.bles are allowed to have." a.n.a.lise whispered from my right.

"How do you know whether she is royal or not?" I asked, remembering that I have never once mentioned anything about Carmine and Charles's engagement.

"I'm a gossip queen." a.n.a.lise smirked.

Lucy, who was sitting right behind her, smacked a.n.a.lise on the head with her textbook.

"Yeah, right." she raised an eyebrow, "Listen Gloria, transfer students are abnormal. So most of them are royals."

"What about me?" I asked.

"You're delayed, not a transfer." Lucy replied.

"Royals from overseas are not unprecedented. However who knew the crown princess of Felue kingdom would come visit?" a.n.a.lise's eyes were shining.

"Oh my G.o.d, you knew?" I asked, feeling ashamed by my actions and slightly more for sounding more and more like a girl day by day.

"Of course." they replied in unison.

"I'm pretty sure everyone in school knows you have some connection to the royals of Felue Kingdom. The Windstorm Tribe is quite popular, you see. However, even if there are people who view you guys as outsiders... no one will fight you head on. Not here in this school, mind you." Lucy winked at me with a sneaky smirk.

"For some reason, I feel chilly all of a sudden." a dry laugh left my throat.

"Happy to see me?" A light tap came from behind.

I flinched to realize that Carmine had already sat behind me.

"What the-"

But before I could even utter another word, Mrs Stapleson began her lesson. I sighed and continued cla.s.s like usual until FINALLY, it was lunch break!

...

"No way!"

My eyes were deceiving me. It had to be! Right in front of me stood Helen.

"Am I missing something?" I asked. My brain refused to play detective any longer.

"Its a long story." Helen was reluctant to say anything properly, "But there's nothing to worry. Carmine was bored back home and wanted to come here... persistently."

"What about you?" I asked, refusing to just take in whatever my elder sister threw at me.

"I have to watch over her. There was no other way for her to come here." Helen sighed and glanced into my eyes, long and hard, "Then there's also y.o.u. The recent incident with the Secretary and how only your letters were burned. Charles asked me to look into these things a bit from the inside. It's safer that way."

"Why?" I raised an eyebrow, filled with discomfort, "Are you both suspecting him to be here? Is that why you came... to check up on me?"

"In theory." Helen neither denied nor confirmed anything.

"I'm certain that it's impossible." I argued.

"Still." Carmine hugged me, "Helen would've been here anyway. She is in third year now. At least I'll get to be here for the next two years..."

"Why?" I asked, surprised.

"Its not safe anywhere for her other than near her husband-to-be." Helen insisted, "There's eyes everywhere. It's disgusting!"

"Oh."

"Before I forget." Helen reached out her hand, "Here's a s.p.a.cial ring. Charles 'requested' it to be given to you. See everything in it when only inside your dorm room alone, okay?"

"Right," I replied, slightly suspicious of the specifics.

_______

___

The room was empty. a.n.a.lise was out with Carmine, Olivia and company for another gossip, while Lucy went to the Library to borrow more books. Helen had to unpack her stuff too and mingle with her own cla.s.smates.

I opened the s.p.a.cial ring with a rhyme Charles had taught me before I came to MTS. "As a part of training. It's a lock." As he would put it in words.

The rhyme went like so:

"There are only two words,

Where the Sun and Moon meet,

To overcast all shadows

And for humans to sleep.

Dawn and Evening!"

As I suspected, the s.p.a.cial ring opened. s.p.a.cial rings are nothing all that special in this world. However, due to security reasons, only students, n.o.bles and royals are allowed to carry them on hand. On the contrary though, everyone from the Windstorm Tribe are allowed by birthright to carry a s.p.a.cial ring with them. It's something like a tradition, I suppose?

I wasn't really allowed to have one though. Especially not after mom and dad knew about my abilities. They've always been overly overprotective of me. This habit has increased a lot more ever since Fred's unnatural switch to the enemy's side.

"The mark of 100 is imbued in this ring. That must mean that about 100 things can be placed in here. Oh wait..." I examined the ring carefully, "It changed to yellow? Hmm... I'll have to ask Helen later."

u003c Author's POV u003e

Gloria wore the ring on her thumb, since it did not fit any of the other fingers. She was disappointed, but it was still better than nothing.

"I'll just need to gain some weight." she mumbled.

Then she locked the dorm room, just in case and hopped onto her bed. Slowly she concentrated her innermost mana and connected them all the way to her thumb. The process for the first time was so slow that by the time her mana reached the thumb, it had already been three hours!

Sweat dripped all across her small delicate body. In physical terms, it was as though she had to carry a person of 50 kg and run about a mile, non-stop until they reached the finishing line. For G, it was no big deal... but for a 6 year old girl, this was not exactly an easy thing to accomplish.

Still, she took a few short breaths, relaxed her shoulders and continued to concentrate until finally, the s.p.a.ce inside revealed itself.

The s.p.a.ce was practically empty, except for a single letter. It stated:

"Dear Gloria,

I hope you have been in good health lately. Father and mother-in-law have been extremely worried about you. None of us could've comprehended about the letters never reaching you... not even I. Therefore, Helen and Carmine went to you directly. If I go to see you now, things might get too complicated. I'll visit when the timing is appropriate."

"He sure loves idle chatter." Gloria muttered, frowning her eyebrows.

"Despite the trivial everyday troubles, hopefully MTS is still much better in comparison to Felue Kingdom, currently. Especially the inner palace, where there's a lot to cleanse. Right now though, you should mainly focus on your self-training and socialize."

"Why is he informing me of useless s.h.i.t if he doesn't spill the details?" Gloria became annoyed.

"One final thing you will definitely find helpful. Good thing I never mentioned any of this in my previous letters though... since you never replied. However, there is an ally in MTS. That person is..."

"No way. Am I reading this right?" Gloria glanced over the sentence once again.

"That person is the headmistress of the school, Princ.i.p.al Adel Lilith de Malvolia."

With a knock on the door, Gloria's concentration collapsed and she couldn't finish reading any more.

u003c Gloria's POV u003e

"...!"

Quickly, I jumped out of the bed and unlocked the door, heavily panting.

"Wh-who is it?" my voice broke a little because a tickle in my throat.

"It me! Carmine, your big elder sister." The voice on the other side of the door proclaimed loudly with pride.

"Hahaha... is that so?" I was trying to act normal, but my dry throat was itching for water.

Carmine entered our room with twinkling eyes.

"Ah, ah~" she faked sorrowful look on her face, "You're so lucky Glow! You get to have actual roommates and not share a room with a certain sibling."

"Thank you for pointing that out." I replied, laughing a little bit, "Poor you."

"Yeah, woe to me." She grinned and then we both began giggling.

"You're always getting into trouble everywhere you go. I was worried, but now it feels meaningless, seeing you laugh like the baby you are." Carmine showed maturity, which honestly surprised me.

"Here. A present from mom."

She cheekily smiled.

"Wow, really?" I gladly accepted.

The wrapping was done with such grace that it couldn't be anyone else but Serene... I was so touched! I'm even starting to miss her demonic lessons from h.e.l.l.

"I'm going mad." I thought, embracing the soft (?) present tightly to my chest.

"Hehehe, surprised?" Carmine exclaimed, "Its a cloak imbued with magic."

"... AGAIN?!" I practically jumped up.

"Yep. Mom was very persistent to send this, y'know? Anyways, before I forget, let me tell you this cloak's three specialities. Invisibility, Adaptability and Single-Owner." Carmine continued, looking all smug, "Invisibility allows you to be completely invisible for about as long as an hour. Adaptability allows the cloak to adjust to whatever temperature, both outside and inside. And finally, Single-Owner means that the cloak will have only one owner until it is destroyed or the owner dies... but that's not all this ability does! Since you are the cloak's only master/wielder, if you happen to be separated from it, it will automatically get back to you."

"Whoa. That's a lot."

"Hmm... I think she mentioned a few more things, but... oh well." Carmine's forgetfulness made me anxious for some reason.

"Ye-yeah." my fatigue returned.

"Well, that's all, so if you need anything... anything at all, Elder sister Helen and I are in R:002, okay?"

"Alright." I nodded with a fake smile.

The door closed and I jumped onto my bed, trying to slowly forget about everything.

"But still... she's become slightly more mature now... how long... has it be..en...?"

Exhausted, I dozed off into slumber.

_______

___

Everything was covered in complete darkness when I woke up. I heard a.n.a.lise snore and Lucy gritting her teeth while they slept.

"Hahaha," I thought to myself, "they didn't even confirm whether I was alive or not, silly girls."

It was a funny feeling, knowing just how peaceful, yet dangerous this world was... just like Earth. Being alive, felt mysterious somehow.

After relieving myself in the washroom, a random thought crossed my mind. No need to call myself a genius, thank you.

"That's brilliant!" I gave myself a pat on the back, while searching for that cloak. However, something unusual happened just before I turned on the bedside lamp.

"Strange... even in the dead of the night, why is everything so vividly visible?" a strange, almost nostalgic sensation overcame me. "May be it's something related to my powers growing?"

"Anyway! I'll just search for the cloak first!"

I decided to dive deeper into this situation later on. If I think about useless things now, I might not get a second chance for this awesome beyond brilliant plan of mine!

It had to be tonight. If what Charles had written was indeed the case, then I needed to confirm the truth as fast as possible.

"To the princ.i.p.al's office."

I wrapped myself in the cloak just like I'd seen in a movie back on Earth, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'.

Too bad I never got the chance to read any of the books or see any sequels of this movie later on. Once Vel knew me watching a movie like that, he never let me have a single day off.

"Magic itself is a mystery. But the thing called 'fantasy' doesn't exist. If you watch illusions, your head will be full of nothing but useless thoughts." - Vel would put it in a sweet voice, but a ferocious facial expression.

It was weird. No matter how I thought about it. Almost as if he wanted to prevent me from realizing something... since Vel was never an individual who lost his cool.

...

"If you have something to say, then please say it, Miss Windstorm." Princ.i.p.al Adel exclaimed with a soft chuckle.

I stopped still on my tracks.

"Even if you hide, I'm afraid you do not know how to fully function your... 'device'." She smirked, seemingly confident in her detection skills.

"Ahem!" I coughed out loud a little, before unfolding myself from the cloak. "How did you...?"

To my baffled face, she giggled a bit, until her outright laughter filled the room. I felt I saw a clown in myself, being showcased in a circus.

"Miss Windstorm," she warmly stared at me, our eyes affixed to each other's.

"Please, call me Gloria. Otherwise it feels foreign, hahaha." I interrupted her, trying to get the tension off the atmosphere.

"Very well, Miss Gloria." The princ.i.p.al beamed with satisfaction. "It seems like you have slowly grown accustomed to MTS's rules. I am proud of you."

My cheeks flushed and there were b.u.t.terflies fluttering in my stomach. "Is this how it feels to be complimented?" I thought to myself with a foolish simper plastered all over face.

It's not as though I've never been complimented by my parents, but I wonder why this situation fills me up with pride and joy...?

"Perhaps." I replied proudly, not completely understanding what she meant. After all, I didn't really ready past the first 25 rules in the handbook.

"Well I'm glad." The princ.i.p.al nodded and hinted at me, offering me to sit.

"I wonder why she's here so late at night?" I thought to myself, though it didn't seem right to pry into anything too deeply.

She was the princ.i.p.al after all. Maybe there were too many tasks all day and she had to do overtime? It's not impossible. I mean, Charles was always in the his study back at the Castle unless he was sleeping or training with the knights.

"There are better ways to use a cloak rather than using it as a blanket." Miss Adel pointed out, "Please allow me to show you."

As I sat on top of the chair, the princ.i.p.al casually walked behind me and carefully adjusted the cloak on me. The way she gently fixed the cloak around my neck, sort of reminded me of my mother, Serene.

"The golden b.u.t.tons in the middle should be pinned to each other like this. They are each, a half. Once co-joined, the shape becomes from 2 to 1." The princ.i.p.al explained.

"O-oh." My mind returned from homesickness.

As soon as I heard a 'click' sound, wind mana enveloped me and everything felt as light as a feather.

"Interesting." The princ.i.p.al, who was still hugging(?) me, commented, "This cloak doesn't seem to be a blood bound, so you are safe. Oh, but it is rare for an Invisibility spell to be of such high quality!"

"Is that so?" I dodged the question, pretending to be foolish.

"If you open the golden pin, then the Invisibility of your cloak will be finished and you will be seen by the naked eye once more."

"Wow."

"Now, miss Gloria," the princ.i.p.al went back to her seat and gave me a confident stare, "must I ask the obvious, or are you willing to admit it yourself?"

"I came here with a purpose in mind."

Miss Adel's confused stare gave her away. She seemed taken aback, but quickly returned to a more calm and collected behaviour.

Since I couldn't tell her everything, it was better to tell some truth, but keep the rest of it hidden. The princ.i.p.al is witty and wise, so I'm pretty sure she will not question me of unnecessary details... hopefully, so let's roll with this idea for now and see how things end up.

From where I'd left, I continued on, "As you might already know, I am probably being targeted by some people."

The princ.i.p.al nodded.

"I require your a.s.sistance in this matter." I landed straight to the point."

"Why?" The princ.i.p.al snickered.

"She's testing me." I guessed.

"Miss Princ.i.p.al, do you care for your school?" I asked her.

"Are you threatening me?" Her eyes turned dull, as though the topic became boring all of a sudden.

"Well," I dismissed negative thoughts and continued on my previous plan, "This is not a simple matter regarding Felue Kingdom only... but the continent as a whole. More importantly, there's a possibility that MTS might be in danger-"

Miss Adel's hands slammed loudly on the table as she stood up immediately, her eyes filled with a spark.

"So you see-" but before I could continue, Miss Adel raised her hand and stopped me.

"Very well." She suddenly agreed. "I cannot fully back you up, as I am the princ.i.p.al of this school and everyone is equally innocent until proven guilty. However, I may be able to show you something that you might or might not find useful in the near future."

She caught on fast. Charles was right to trust her, I suppose. No wonder she is the princ.i.p.al of a chaotic school like MTS!

"Here," the princ.i.p.al went towards the sconce.

"...?"

I stared at it, then to Miss Adel, not sure whether she was in her right mind or not.

The sconce was dimly lit and if you didn't notice carefully, anyone from Earth would be easily tricked into thinking this was a normal wall-lamp provided by electricity... but no, it was possible because of fire magic.

"How convenient." I thought to myself.

On the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder how fantastic it would be if magic and science (from the 21st century) were combined together... it's not impossible for further discoveries, but people in this world seem uninterested, or rather, they don't bother about these things.

"Such a shame." I muttered and sighed.

The princ.i.p.al had a smug look on her face. She took hold of the sconce and turned it to the right, twice. The fire in the sconce flickered and made a 'hzz' sound, before the wall slid out of the way to reveal a secret pa.s.sage behind it.

I stood up, flabbergasted.

"Surprised?" The princ.i.p.al chuckled, "This pa.s.sageway leads directly to the front gate of the school. However, it is not the only pa.s.sageway... there are more. Some of which even I don't know about."

"Is it alright for me to know this? I'm pretty sure it's meant to be a secret." I asked, feeling skeptic.

"Yes, it is. After all, other than myself, only the royal family know of this. No one else."

The tone of her voice was quite strict, despite sounding gentle and polite.

"I understand." I nodded.

My intuition screamed loudly inside me that this was not a secret, but more likely a burden placed upon my shoulders. I couldn't fight back that thought.

"Also," the princ.i.p.al continued, "I'll be allowing you to use this seal. It is meant to allow entrance to the Upper Section of the school's library. You can use the secret pa.s.sages to go to the Upper Section any time you please, but just in case you get caught and I'm not available, use this seal for justification."

"Why are you helping me like this?" I caught the seal and began my interrogation.

It was weird right from the start. She didn't question me for trespa.s.sing and didn't even hear me entirely. It was as if she knew exactly what I needed.

But most is all, something felt off about this situation and I didn't like it. How did she know that I'm suspecting an inside man? Whether or not it's the Secretary or someone else... I haven't yet told her anything. Being clever was one thing, but reading someone's mind without a spell was impossible, even for her.

"Do you really take me for a fool if you think you'll just hand over some royal secret and I'll suddenly be grateful?" I smirked, looking down on her.

I felt disappointed and upset that she took me for some kid who would melt away at the sight of candy.

"My, my," princ.i.p.al exclaimed with a broad grin, "it seems I've truly underestimated you, dear student Gloria... you're indeed as clever as he stated."

"Who was that?" I felt my blood boil. If by chance she says the name I'm thinking... then what?

"Here," Miss Adel handed me the envelop that contained the royal seal, "His highness, the Crown Prince of Felue Kingdom sent this to me. I cannot show you the letter due to certain issues, but I do hope you get it. I'm not your enemy."

"Eh?" My mind went blank, "O-oh... I see."

I couldn't help sighing in disappointment. I actually believed that the princ.i.p.al was somehow connected to my brother. That's crazy.

I wanted to omit this thought out of my mind.

"Hmm? Why, were you hoping for someone else?" Miss Adel asked, curiously eyeing me from head to toe.

"No! Not re-really." My nervousness increased. "Thank you, Princ.i.p.al."

"Your welcome, child." Princ.i.p.al Adel stated with a very gentle and warm smile. "You are a student here. Need not behave like an adult... someday you will end up missing these childhood years, so please remember to relax. This school is here to protect its students from any harm. Now go back and sleep."

"Ah, yes. Of course!" I said, somehow feeling embarra.s.sed all of a sudden.

"Honestly, she's very sweet. And reminds me... reminds me of my mother back home..." I thought to myself, waving good night to the princ.i.p.al and leaving via the secret pa.s.sage. "Maybe I should write a letter to Serene? I feel so homesick these days!"