Seventh chapter of last week...
...
Isabella Castor.
Virtually every person in Academy City knew about her.
At just nineteen years of age, she was the second strongest student in Academy City. Something amazing when you considered that some of the students in Academy City were in their late twenties.
She was an unrivaled genius even in a place full of geniuses such as Academy City. Her talent was something praised by teachers and students alike.
In fact, most people thought that her talent surpassed Mu Quan's.
After all, though Mu Quan was currently the strongest student, he was twenty-five years old, six entire years older than Isabella.
Many people believed that Isabella would be able to surpass him and get the title of the strongest student after one or two years more.
Bloed could understand why people thought that. Through his eyes, he could see how the mana in the surroundings seemed to bend to her will.
Moreover, he could not help but be surprised when he saw her hovering over the ground so easily!
You must know that flying was something reserved only for demigods, with very few exceptions.
And although Isabella's technique could not be considered flying yet, it was practically the same!
But she was not a demigod yet!
Just the fact she managed to do something like that spoke volumes of her talent.
Plus, Isabella was a beauty.
Purple hair and clear blue eyes combined with exquisite features comparable to the most beautiful elf made her one of the most beautiful girls in Academy City.
Even though her body was not very developed in certain parts, it did nothing to diminish her beauty. Quite the opposite, it gave her an innocent and delicate look like a lively and mischievous fairy.
She was worthy of being the dream lover of many young men in the city.
And right now, such a girl was looking at Bloed with a surprised and curious expression.
"… Senior Isabella, nice to meet you." Bloed bowed slightly after he saw her.
Isabella narrowed her eyes. She looked at him and then at the books on his table and tilted her head.
"Magic? I thought you specialized in close-combat and controlling golems."
"I do. But I have always liked to study magic."
A suspicious look appeared on Isabella's face, but she soon shrugged and stopped caring about it.
It was not as though it was her first time seeing someone interested in magic despite not being able to use it.
"… Just to confirm, you are not a dual user of magic and martial arts, right?"
Bloed was startled before shaking his head.
"Of course not. I'm not that talented."
Isabella nodded in agreement.
"You are right. Using magic and martial arts at the same time is impossibly difficult. Not even a genius like me can do it."
Although Bloed was slightly speechless when Isabella called herself a genius, he had to admit that she was right.
Even though he could not wield mana, he had read about how difficult it was to use magic and martial arts simultaneously.
It was described as writing something different things with each hand at the same time, using two different idioms, and two completely different topics.
Unless you trained it for many years, it was impossible.
Of course, occasionally there appeared one or two geniuses able to do that. People able to do the impossible without any difficulty.
And each time someone like that appeared, he or she would become someone unmatched in their generations. They could easily fight someone a few levels stronger than them.
In fact, Bloed knew someone like that.
His little sister, Eres Skysword.
Since she was a child, she showed the ability to wield magic and use martial arts at the same time.
An unrivaled talent that the gods themselves envied.
Compared to the 'talentless' Glenn (Bloed), she was like the chosen of the world.
'I guess that some people are just different, huh…'
Bloed shook his head with a wry smile and looked at the purple-haired girl in front of him.
"Do you need something from me, senior?"
"Mm… Can I call you Bloed? I'll call you that. Hey, Bloed, your demon girlfriend, is she a princess?"
Bloed was inwardly startled, but his expression remained impassive.
"Unless she is the illegitimate child of some king I don't know, she is not."
"Is it so?" Isabella furrowed her brows slightly. "How weird. I'm sure you were trying to deviate my attention from her when you mentioned you were a prince."
For an instant, Bloed could not help but feel cold sweat on his back.
In fact, if not that he was already wary when he saw Isabella, he would have looked at her as though she was a ghost and revealed the truth with his expression.
'How sharp…'
Bloed smiled bitterly in his mind. He never expected that his attempt to cover Liu Ying made Isabella more suspicious instead.
Fortunately, she did not seem sure about it.
"She is not a princess, Senior Isabella. But, senior, don't you think it's very unsavory to try to dig into the secrets of others?"
Hearing the sharp and accusatory tone in Bloed's words, Isabella stiffened.
She then looked at Bloed with an awkward smile.
"Sorry?"
Bloed glared at her and sighed.
"Senior Isabella, nobody likes it when someone digs his secrets. I'm sure that you also have some things you don't want others to know."
Isabella fell silent before nodding with an apologizing expression.
"… You are right. It was my mistake."
"As long as you understand it." Bloed accepted her apology, though his voice was still slightly cold.
A complicated expression appeared on Isabella's face. For an instant, she could not help but feel slightly ashamed.
"… How about it, if you want, I can explain to you a bit about magic as an apology. I don't want to brag, but nobody below demigod knows more about magic than me."
Bloed looked at the purple-haired girl beside him and sighed. Then, he shook his head.
"Sorry, but I would prefer it if you leave me alone."
"R-Really?" Isabella's expression was stiff. In fact, she seemed as though she wanted to cry.
But she quickly nodded and looked away.
"I-I understand. I'm leaving then. Enjoy your reading."
With a soft snort, the purple-haired girl hovered away.
Bloed shrugged indifferently.
Even though he knew he had probably displeased her, he did not care. Anyway, he was already a man with two girlfriends (and several girlfriend candidates). Why should he care if he offended a girl?
He had other things to care about.
Like the books on the table.
But before he could start reading, he was interrupted again.
This time, it was by the person he was waiting for.
"Poor little Isabella. Don't you think you were a bit harsh with her?"
"Headmistress." Bloed stood up and was going to bow respectfully, but Headmistress Wave stopped him
"Hehe, there is no need to bow, boy. I don't mind these little things."
Bloed nodded and did not insist. He did not care for these formalities either.
"You should not be so harsh with Little Isabella." Headmistress Wave laughed and said. "She is just a bit curious, but she is not a bad girl, and she will never try to harm you."
Bloed raised an eyebrow.
"You seem to know a lot about her."
"Well, not many people know about it, but she is my disciple." Wave smiled softly. "That girl's story is a bit tragic. I can tell you if you are interested in her, though."
Bloed was surprised by the news Isabella was Wave's disciple. Although thinking about it, it could explain a bit about her monstrous talent.
However, he was not interested in learning more about her.
"I don't like to intrude in the privacy of others."
"Is it so? So you don't like her that way, huh. Well, of course, with so many beautiful girls around you, it's normal if you don't care about my little Isabella."
Bloed was speechless. As expected, this woman was trying to act as a matchmaker...
"Please don't joke about it. I have enough women's troubles already. Why are you here headmistress?"
"I need to talk with you about something. Come with me."
With a smile, Headmistress Wave waved her hand and a magic circle appeared below Bloed and her.
Then, before Bloed could give his opinion, he was teleported away.
To the top floor of the Great Library.