As we go out to meet Nora, the idiotic Coldhearth brat stop me and challenge me to duel.
"Nope, what's in for me to do this pointless duel. If it's about Eve, she is likely to stay with me so I can't help it right? Especially since it was a request from the royal family."
"But, if you make a bet every time you challenge me I will gladly accept it. How about 100 gold coins per challenge? As a duke son, you have this much money right?." As I keep provoking and propose a bet without giving him a chance to talk.
As I thought this stupid brat is quite greedy and immediately agree. Then, we took 100 gold coins respectively and gave it to Eve to keep it. Before the duel starts, Eve gives me her cheer which I like quite a bit and earns ire from the duke's son.
We go to our position and ready to duel. Each of us, don't take a battle position. As for this idiot brat, he feels he will win easily without his battle stance. While for me I don't need to move to defeat him.
As the battle started, I immediately instant cast a whirlwind spell, a 2-star spell, at below his feet. He immediately goes up to the sky and falls down in a horrible way unconsciously.
Then, I announced winning the battle and approached Eve who was surprised at my strength. At this moment, the Coldhearth brat wakes up and curses me while saying cliché sentences like will bring back with his brother or something.
I just ignore him and walk away with Eve toward Nora's position. Nora also already finished her class and seems absentminded when we meet her.
Eve hugs and apologizes to her while I just do all the drama from the sideline. Finally, Nora cheered up and glared at me. After watching all their dramas, I ready myself to leave the library.
But, at this instant, "Wait, it seems Eve already takes a like to you and I can't change her thinking now."
"But, I still don't acknowledge you. If you want to stay with Eve you need to defeat me first." As she pulls her sword while Eve persuades her that I am a strong person.
Looking at her resolute to defeat me in her eyes I sigh, "After I defeat you will you really acknowledge me?"
She responded, "N-Naturally.."
I interrupt her, "Are you sure? You are already being told that I am strong from Eve. You also know by yourself that Eve is great judgement when it comes to people."
"You know you could probably lose but why do you still try to fight me rather than just acknowledge me?" I keep asking her.
Nora wavering while I continue to push her, "Look here, I know you will not surrender even if I beat you so stop this pointless battle." I am saying more as I already predict her mind.
As I guess correctly her way of thinking, "Stop talking already and prove it you can defeat me. Pull your sword and take your battle stance. I don't want to attack unarmed people." She argued me back.
I looked at her expressionlessly, "You know... You want me to defeat you but you will never surrender even if I beat you to death. That's quite stubborn for you. But, I can still tolerate that."
"However, you have created a great sin by telling me stay away from Eve if I can make you surrender. No one, not even God, can separate me with Eve."
"That's why I will kill you even if Eve will hate me forever but at least I can still protect her properly." My killing intent raises absurdly and bombardes Nora.
"Also you don't have qualification for me to pull my sword and for me to take a battle stance as you are already dead by that time." She fell down with a pale face and wanted to run away.
Right now all her thought was to run away from this place. But, her feet are already limp and I keep approaching her slowly.
At the end of her despair, Eve stops the duel and protects Nora with her body in front of me. Looking at this, I only sigh silently and patted Eve while my killing intent is disappearing.
"Protect her with your own life or I will be the one that ends yours." Said Josep towards Nora
Later, I walked away toward the school library leaving both of them. Nora started to cry and apologize again to Eve.
After both of them, calm down. "Eve, are you sure you want that guy? It is not like I want to change your mind but he is different from his brother who is narcissistic and the battle freak."
"He seems to be more dark and that dreadful killing intent. It means he is already killing a countless number of people which means he is definitely a bad guy." [Nora]
"Actually, I already know he is not a good guy from the start. His eyes are so cold and dark. But, something inside me tells me he is the safest place that I will ever have."
"Also I don't know why I feel comfortable by his side. There is also this incident he was in so much pain last night and I really want to help him not from pity but I feel I am the only one that can save him." She looked again at where I went.
"I see… if that case… wait you said last night? What did he do to you last night? Tell me in detail Eve this is important." Nora was suddenly surprised and asked seriously.
Eve is blushing remembering the event but she still tells her best friend all that happened last night in detail. "Eve, you have your enchanted protective spell in your ring. Why did you let him do it to you? Do you know the consequence if he did to you?"
"I know… I know but I will still let him do it. If I could I want him to take my body and soul as his belonging. That's why I already decided this morning I will accept all what he does to me as long as I can be with him."
"It may seem absurd but I feel safe and warm near him." She gets more blushing as she remembers the last part.
"I guess you have already completely fallen in love with him. I just hope his majesty doesn't know about this." She gives a hopeless expression.
"It's okay. When my father knows, he will be too late to stop Josep from being with me. My intuition told me in the next few years he will become a lot stronger. Then, they started to depart from that location.
Third Person POV
In the main building area, at a certain office, "Did you find who and what the spell that yesterday being used yesterday?" an old man with white hair asks sternly to a group of people that seems like scholars.
"No, Headmaster, the spell is so big but camouflages neatly. We can even determine which direction the spell comes from. All we know is cast into the entire academy ground." One of the scholarly guys answered his question in a hopeless tone.
"Judging from the scale it may be a high level spell.. This means the caster must also be a high level magician." The headmaster gives his own judgement.
"Watch carefully everyone who is above the level 3 in the magician path inside the academy and make sure to increase the security without notifying the student. Now, you're all dismissed." As he orders the group in front of him.
After all the group left the room, "What do you think, Nero? about this incident?" as he looks at the certain corner in which there is a cat beast person.
"Nyaa.. I don't like this and have a bad premonition about this. But, the other person also uses high conceal ability which means he doesn't want to be discovered now Nya.." A black cat person replied to him with cat dialect.
"Still I think we need to call the guardians just in case. Nya.." Nero added more comments.
"The guardian? But, why.. don't tell me? It…" the headmaster having more cold sweat.
"Calm down Nya.. We still don't know if this person will target "that item" Nya.. However, yesterday, after that large scale was casted. I checked the entrance just in case and I found that the spell also covers that place Nya…" he looked seriously at the headmaster.
Hearing this headmaster also breathing down and sigh, "W-what kind of spell that can penetrate all the isolation and defensive mechanism in that place."
"Alright, just in case, I will call the guardian as you suggested. For now, it is better we guard the entrance in turn." The headmaster sighs hopelessly at the situation.
The reason why the academy could become one of the best academies in Moreva is because of their top notch of defensive mechanism from the outside and inside.
Even if the Rosewood kingdom collapses, the academy will be standing still. That's why everyone from the other kingdom trusts more on academy security to protect their children learning there.
However, the truth is this defensive mechanism is built to protect against certain items that Josep wants. The item is so dangerous and evil. Every time it comes out into light in Hirth, it always creates history about disaster and destruction.
Long years before the Rosewood kingdom was built, some powerful magicians use ancient spells by sacrificing their life to seal this item.
The next generation of this group also vow to always protect this item to come out into the light again. They call themselves the guardian, a group of very powerful people that scatter around the world to protect dangerous items from coming out to light.
They consist of many high end specialty people and have the strength of a thousand men. Every time, they assemble together that means there will be another huge incident that is going to happen.
Then, Nero left the headmaster room to guard the entrance and headmaster also back to his work. However, little did they know that every single detail of their conversation is being monitored by Josep as he goes to library direction.
Josep may not listen to their conversation, but he can read all their lips when they talk from his scanning spell.
This also is a heavy task for his mental since he needs to focus every detail of their lips movement and interpret it. However, his hard work is paid by getting this guardian information which can change his plans.