Shortly after Allen left the classroom, Thomas had gotten curious as to where he was headed.
"Do you think he's heading to the Head Director's office again?," Thomas asked Cecily.
"Most likely," Cecily responded as she was reading. Class was over, so she wanted to quickly finish what she was reading.
"He's been going to the head director's office many times, and we're only two months into our first year. Don't you get curious what they talk about there?," Thomas asked, crossing his arms.
"Maybe a little, but what Allen and the Head Director discuss there more than likely has nothing to do with us," Cecily pointed out.
"Even so, I'm still curious. After all, he is the Head Director of the academy, and one of the most powerful mages in England. Are you sure you aren't more curious about what they discuss?," Thomas asked again, a smirk on his face.
"If you're going to do what I think you're going to do, that would not be a good idea Tom," Cecily advised him as she closed her book and looked up at him with an annoyed expression.
Thomas just stood there, smirking. The two of them just stared each other down, as if they were communicating without words.
"Alright Lily, I'll see you later!," Thomas said as he began to leave the classroom.
"No, I am going to follow you," Cecily said as she hurriedly put her stuff away and started following behind him.
"Ah, so you finally decided you wanted to come too, huh?," Thomas smirked as they began heading towards the head director's office.
"No, I'm following you to make sure you don't get into any trouble," she said as they continued walking down the halls.
"Oh, we'll be fine as long as we don't enter his office, right?," Thomas asked.
"Knowing you, you'll do your best to get as humanly close to the door as you can," Cecily sighed.
"You're absolutely right!," Thomas grinned as they got closer to the office.
As they arrived outside William's office, both of them could faintly hear what was being said inside. Thomas made his way as close to the door as possible, putting his ear up against the door to listen in.
"Bad idea Thomas," Cecily whispered as she got closer.
"Shhhh!," Thomas reminded her to be quiet, but ended up shushing her louder than she had whispered.
Cecily rolled her eyes and made her way closer to the door, also curious about what was being said inside. She also wanted to monitor Thomas to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.
They thought they heard something from inside, but they couldn't get any closer to the door, so they tried their best to listen in better.
"You two can come in," a voice from inside the room was said, loud enough to be heard from outside the doors, conveniently where Thomas and Cecily were.
"Wait, was that the Head Director?," Thomas whispered. "He can't know we're here right?"
"I don't see anyone else nearby he could've said that to," Cecily whispered back as she looked behind them.
"Well, if you two aren't going to come in yourselves, then I'll open the door for you," the voice from within said as the door suddenly swung open. Thomas and Cecily fell down onto the floor inside.
"Tom? Lily? What're you two doing here?," Allen said with a surprised look on his face.
"H- hey," Thomas awkwardly said as both Thomas and Cecily were on the ground, looking up at the three of them.
After getting up from the floor, and with Cecily giving Thomas a dead stare for a moment, the two of them got their own seats, sitting next to Allen. The entire time Allen and Rose looked really confused as they had taken their seats.
"So, mind explaining who these two are?," Rose said as she crossed her arms.
"Rose, these are my two friends from class. Thomas and Cecily," Allen answered, moving his arm in their direction.
"Nice to meet you, Student Council President," Thomas awkwardly said.
"A pleasure to meet you, Student Council President," Cecily respectfully answered. She was trying her best not to act shy in front of her.
"Ah, so you two are the ones Allen has talked about before," Rose said as she relaxed a bit. "Nice to meet you two"
"Well, I don't believe I need to introduce myself?," William asked as he leaned forward in his chair. "I believe I've met the two of you before?"
"Excuse me what?," Thomas looked over at William, confused.
"Thomas, you're being disrespectful in front of the head director!," Cecily aggressively whispered at him.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Head Director," Thomas apologized.
"Ah, no need for formalities," William told them. "While I am the head director of the academy, I don't mind if all four of you refer to me by my name, as long as you only refer to me by my name when it's just us in my office"
"Ah ok, then I shall call you William," Thomas said, awed by the fact that he is speaking to William. "But, where have we met before?"
"I believe it was when you two were younger, back at your family's house Thomas," William responded, as he thought back.
"You mean back at my family's household? The Terrastone household?," Thomas asked.
"That would be correct," William responded, adjusting his glasses. "I would occasionally speak to your parents, as well as Cecily's parents at her family's household. Although, I would usually find both of you together at Thomas' family household"
"Ah yes, I remember," Cecily said as she thought. "Although, we were much younger. More than likely around the ages of four or five"
"That does sound about right," William responded, as he brought up his hand to his chin in thought.
"Wait, you two couldn't possibly be a Terrastone and a Rivertide, could you?," Rose said as she looked at both of them in confusion.
"Yep, my full name is Thomas Terrastone. Lily over here is Cecily Rivertide," Thomas responded.
"Wait, that can't be right. A Terrastone and a Rivertide both in the F ranked class? How did this happen?," Rose asked in utter confusion.
"Yeah, Cecily and I are both in the F class with Allen," Thomas laughed nervously. "We both don't possess much magic"
"A Terrastone and a Rivertide possessing low magic? I haven't heard of such a thing," Rose said, confused.
"Yes, sometimes children from the three main families sometimes end up with a lot less total mana compared to their siblings and parents," William explained. "Unfortunately, Thomas and Cecily happen to be those children. However, I can accurately say that they both possess potential if they try hard enough"
"Do you really think that?," Thomas asked, while both Thomas and Cecily looked over at William, awaiting his response.
"Of course. Almost anyone can become a great mage if they put the effort in. Allen is one such example," William noted.
"I suppose you could say that," Allen laughed.
"Then again, Allen is a bit different compared to all the mages here," William chuckled.
"He certainly has a knack for being an idiot," Rose remarked.
"Wh- what did I do?," Allen exclaimed.
"Thomas and Allen are both idiots," Cecily remarked as well.
"What did we do?," Thomas and Allen both exclaimed.
All five of them in the room laughed.
"Well aside from that, there is a very important matter I wish to discuss with all of you concerning Allen's duel before it happens," William said with a serious look on his face.
"And what might that be?," Allen asked.
"Was there anything else we needed to cover for Allen?," Rose asked.
"I am aware of Nathaniel's… habits," William sighed. "As such, I've heard a bit about the stunts he's pulled, especially on Miss Cecily here, and I heard what initially caused Allen to accept Nathaniel's duel"
Suddenly Cecily got quiet at the mention of Nathaniel's name. Normally Cecily is rather quiet around people she barely knows, and can be strict with those she does know (especially when Thomas is getting sidetracked from his studying). However, anytime she is near Nathaniel or hears his name, she suddenly goes dead silent.
"Isn't there anything we can do aside from Allen trying to win in this duel?," Thomas spoke up. "He's been pulling things like this on not just us, but on other students too, right?"
"Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do," William sighed. "He gets favoritism for being a Rivertide, especially since he is the first son of the current head of the family. Rose and I have already tried different methods to quell his acts, but to no avail"
"My aunt, Susanna is his mother," Cecily actually spoke up. "She is… not the friendliest of people. She has been keeping a blind eye to Nathaniel's acts for a long time, as she is focused on making her second son, Charles, her next head in the distant future"
"You're serious?," Allen spoke up, a bit furious. "His own mother would permit him to do such acts? To harass fellow students at this academy, or anyone in general?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that his mother specifically permits him to do such things. As Cecily said earlier, it's more of she turns a blind eye to what he does," Rose explained.
"Even as kids, there wasn't much Cecily and I could do against Nathaniel. The main Rivertide family holds more power in England than the Terrastone family, and that's just how it's been," Thomas said, clenching his fists.
"So let me ask this then," William spoke up. "Allen, what was it that made you accept the duel with Nathaniel?,"
"I was frustrated by the way he treated Cecily and Thomas, especially with Cecily," Allen explained.
"And what do you hope to gain from this duel?," William asked.
"What do you mean by that?," Allen asked, confused.
"If you win the duel against Nathaniel, is there something specific you want from him? Or even if you don't win, is there something you hope to gain or have happened as a result of this duel?," William asked leaning forward.
"I want Nathaniel to leave Thomas and Cecily alone. I couldn't stand watching Nathaniel treat them like that, especially how he treated Cecily. It may be my first duel, and I intend to win. That's what I hope to gain, if that's what you meant," Allen explained.
"So your goal, or what you hope to gain from this, is for Nathaniel to stop his acts of mistreatment with Thomas and Cecily here, yes?," William asked, reconfirming.
"Correct. I couldn't stand watching Nathaniel treat them like that," Allen responded.
"Did you ever consider if this is what Thomas or Cecily would've wanted? Or would have asked for?," William asked in a serious tone, awaiting Allen's response.
"What?," Allen asked, caught off guard.
"Did you ever ask them if they would want you to duel Nathaniel? Did you ever ask them if it was a good idea? Is this what they would've really wanted?," William rephrased his question.
"I-," Allen started to say, but wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know how to respond to that. He started to think.
"William!," Rose raised her voice. "What're you trying to do? You do realize Allen is just trying to-"
"Yes I understand," William cut her off. "But this is something that is important that we clear before Allen has his duel. This is why I am glad all five of us are here to talk today"
"Yeah, but you don't have to be rude about it," Rose said with concern in her voice.
"It's fine, Rose," Allen said. He looked over at Thomas, who was confused at what William was trying to get at. Cecily was looking down and probably thinking or in her own world at the moment.
"If I may be blunt, while Thomas and Cecily are both of your friends, this issue is primarily between them and Nathaniel. I understand that you want to watch out for your friends and those you care about, but you also have to consider what their feelings are and what they want," William explained.
"William-," Rose started to say, but William looked at her for a moment and she quieted down.
Allen looked over at Thomas and Cecily again for a moment. Thomas looked like he was clenching his fists again and Cecily was once again avoiding eye contact. Did he really ever ask them if he should've dueled Nathaniel? Now that he thought about it, Thomas told him it was not a good idea to duel Nathaniel. But, he couldn't stand how Nathaniel treated them. After he accepted Nathaniel's duel, Thomas and Cecily have been cheering him on for his training so he could win. But were they truly wanting Allen to duel Nathaniel in the first place?
"Thom-"
"No, it's fine," Thomas cut Allen off, figuring what Allen was going to say. "Although I told you that you shouldn't duel him, you dueling him was still your choice in the end. Nathaniel was also the one who tried to initiate the duel between you two, not yourself"
"Yeah but, you still told me that I shouldn't duel him. I think William did bring up a good point," Allen explained.
"Yes, and I'm not mad at you. I'm glad that you're willing to try to help Cecily and I out. I'm just mad at myself that I'm not powerful enough to face Nathaniel myself, while you are powerful enough to stand a chance against him," Thomas explained, his gaze towards the floor.
Allen had no idea Thomas thought that way. He didn't think that something like that would be bothering Thomas. But as he thought about it, he realized how much Thomas loves to try to get stronger and train. Perhaps he wants to train so hard because Thomas thinks of himself as weak?
But from what Allen could remember, Thomas isn't weak in the slightest.Thomas has a unique ability which allows him to use his own magic on his fists and fight that way. It's only his magic that is a bit on the weaker side. But Allen could understand what it's like to have extremely weak magic. Allen himself can barely cast a spell of his own.
"Thomas, you know that you are still strong yourself? I don't think you're weak in any way. Cecily isn't weak either. I think you both have potential," Allen explained.
"Yeah, I understand that Allen. It's just… there's a lot I wish I could do that I can't. Sure, this unique power I have to fight can come in handy, but it doesn't amount to anything when being powerful in magic is attributed to how much magical power you have," Thomas explained, looking at Allen.
"Don't mean to interrupt, but that is in fact one of the things I am working to change as the director here," William added in. "I want to change the system that determines a mage's ranking solely based on their magic casting abilities. There are many other ways to use magic effectively if you become a magical knight"
"Wait really?," Thomas asked.
"Yes really," William responded. "As head director here and working with Rose, the Student Council President, I aim to change many things here at the academy, although the progress is unfortunately slow. I was the one in fact who added the duel factor to the entrance exam"
"That's correct. William, and those of the student council, including myself, are aiming to change many things here at the academy," Rose confirmed. "Also William you totally interrupted"
"Well, my bad then," William scratched the back of his head.
"It's not a big problem. I'm just glad we have a head director like you, and you live up to your name William," Thomas grinned.
"Well thank you Thomas," William smiled back. "Well, we haven't heard from Cecily yet, have we?".
"Yes?," Cecily raised her head and looked up.
"What is your response to what we were talking about with Allen?," William asked.
"Well, I'm also glad that Allen wants to help Thomas and I. I wish for Allen to do his best in his first duel, and I do hope that he wins. No matter the outcome of his duel, win or lose, I won't be mad at Allen," Cecily responded.
"Thank you Cecily. And thanks Thomas," Allen said.
"Of course," Cecily responded, giving him a smile.
"Yeah, I'm just glad we could get this covered, so no problem here," Thomas grinned again.
"Glad you all could get that sorted out," Rose smiled.
"Well, it was nice meeting the both of you again, Thomas and Cecily. However it appears we are running out of time. Allen's duel should be happening shortly," William reminded them.
"Wait, it's almost time already?," Allen exclaimed.
"So it seems it is," William said. "Now then, Thomas and Cecily, I believe you two should be able to find your way out on your own, yes?"
"Yeah, we should be able to find our way out," Thomas said as he and Cecily got out of their chairs. "We'll be watching your duel, good luck!"
"Thank you!," Allen said as they began to walk out.
"Good luck Allen," Cecily said as they waved goodbye.
"Thanks!," Allen said one more time as they closed the door.
"Now then Rose, would you be as kind as to escort Allen to the dueling grounds?," William asked nicely. "I believe he might get unwanted attention if he goes there alone"
"As opposed to the unwanted attention he'll receive with me walking him there?," Rose said, lifting one of her eyebrows.
"Well with you with him, the students are less likely to pull anything funny," William chuckled.
"Fair enough," Rose agreed. "Very well Allen, are you ready?"
"As ready as I will be," Allen shrugged.
"Well, I'll walk you over. After that, you're on your own," Rose noted.
"As expected of the Blue Rose," Allen laughed.
"I-, I may just decide not to walk you at all if you keep those remarks coming," Rose glared at him.
"Alright, alright. I'll keep them down. Thank you," Allen grinned.
"I may not be able to watch the duel myself due to my duties I must attend to, but I will be looking out for the result of the duel when I can. I wish you the best of luck!," William waved him out the door.
"Thank you!," Allen waved back as he and Rose exited William's office.
Allen's first official duel is now coming up. He may not be as prepared as he could be, but with Rose's training with him, he's definitely stronger than he was before. He looked down at his sword sheathed at his side, and made a reminder to himself to do the best he could, no matter what tricks Nathaniel may try to pull. He will ensure that Nathaniel won't ever bother Cecily and Thomas again.
"Now, let's head out shall we?," Rose said as she motioned him to keep walking.
"Alright, let's go!"