"I have news," Mr. Garet spoke up, alerting all of them within the room. "News regarding the tournament, Simon Windblade, and even William himself…"
News about William?, Allen immediately thought, his eyes widening. Could this be good or bad news?
With the final round of the duel between Allen Fleming and Simon Windblade around the corner, the members of the small resistance have met up in Mr. Garet's office for one final discussion. Everyone was present except for August, who still remained doing whichever prince duties his father wanted him to do.
"News about my father?," Stephen immediately cut in. "Is he okay? Is he being released?"
"Yeah, we haven't heard anything about him for awhile!," Allen brought up. "Please tell me he's-"
"Quiet down, both of you!," Mr. Garet raised his voice, before clearing his throat. "Let me explain, but I need all of you quiet, not just Stephen and Allen. Do you all hear me?"
"Yes sir," everyone else within the room replied, not wanting to get on Mr. Garet's bad side.
"Allen? Stephen?"
"We understand, Mr. Garet," the two of them replied, leaning back into their seats.
"Good. Now, let's get down to business, alright?," he replied, getting several sheets of paper from his desk in front of him. Ms. Florence only breathed a small sigh with her arms crossed, while Mr. Lyon remained silent but attention remained focused.
The first topic Mr. Garet decided to go over, was the one everyone was collectively worried about the most - William Windblade, their former head director, Stephen's father, and Allen's former mentor.
With assistance from Ms. Clark, their former other vice director who was removed by Ellen Marion, they have been managing to keep tabs on William's current predicament as best as they can. As far as they are both aware, William will most likely be found innocent, and will be released.
However, this remains to be fully confirmed, and the situation can change at any time. Most of their information is based on rumors, and very little factual information. Mr. Garet does not inform them how Ms. Clark gets her information, but it's the best source they have so far.
As far as William returning as their head director goes, this decision will remain and fall on the Triumvirate's decision in the end. They will have no control over their decisions, but may be able to persuade them, based on the plans and goals they have been forming since day one of the resistance.
With the first part of the discussion finished, Allen and Stephen breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Allen's former mentor and Stephen's father is in a better position than what could have been. With the chances of William returning higher than before, this all just makes Allen's desire to do his best in the tournament grow.
"I'm honestly surprised you've been managing to keep in contact with Ms. Clark," Rose spoke up, breaking the silence in the room.
"I will admit it hasn't been easy, but we have our ways," Mr. Garet explained, with Ms. Florence nodding behind him. "While Martha and I don't see fully eye to eye, this is one matter we fully intend to continue cooperating on"
"That's at least a little reassuring," Rose nodded. "I was expecting you two to bicker like you always have"
"Bicker?," Mr. Garet asked, slightly appalled. "I'll have you know that I-"
"Walter," Ms. Florence interrupted him. "We have more important matters to talk about"
Mr. Garet sighed before speaking. "You're right Danet. But Rose, just because you are the student council president, doesn't mean you can have a sharp tongue"
"Hmph, I have no idea what you are talking about," Rose crossed her arms, looking the other way.
As Mr. Garet sighed, everyone else within the room had awkward looks on their faces, fully knowing Mr. Garet was right.
"Anyways, let's continue where we left off," Mr. Garet spoke up while clearing his throat, gathering everyone's attention once more.
The next topic Mr. Garet brought up was information regarding the final duel itself, and the various differences it would have compared to previous duels.
The obvious everyone knew was that since it was the last duel of the tournament, it will have the most people watching, mages and non-mages alike. All eyes will be on both Allen and Simon, as they compete for victory of the tournament.
But what almost everyone wasn't aware of, was the fact that there would be special guests from the Triumvirate themselves. Ellen had received an official letter from the Triumvirate, alerting her that Solomon Windblade, the leader of the Triumvirate and head of the Windblade family, will be in attendance alongside other various important Triumvirate officials.
While it wasn't all that uncommon for members of the Triumvirate to be in attendance to watch the final duel of the tournament each year, it was rare for Solomon himself to be in attendance. However, with Solomon's own son Simon competing against Allen in the final round, Mr. Garet wasn't all that surprised in the end.
"Wait, Solomon Windblade himself will be there?!," Thomas asked, completely bewildered.
"It's not all that surprising," Rose spoke up. "Remember just as Mr. Garet mentioned, his own son is participating. It's not all that surprising, is it?"
"Yeah, I suppose you have a point," Thomas agreed with her, a little embarrassed he didn't connect the dots sooner.
"Besides, isn't it good that my uncle will be in attendance?," Stephen brought up a point. "If you're looking for Allen to stand out, what better way for him to stand out in front of the most important person within the Triumvirate?"
Everyone began to look at each other, wondering how they didn't think of this sooner. Everyone's worries began to turn into a slight bit of hope. After all, this is what they wanted, right?
"A very observant eye, Windblade," Mr. Garet said with a small smirk on his face. "Yes, this is exactly what we want. Under the assumption Fleming does at least somewhat well, the Triumvirate's most important set of eyes will surely take notice"
Everyone's attention towards Allen, almost staring at him.
"What?," Allen asked, looking at all of them in confusion. "You all know I will do my best"
"If Allen can defeat me, I'm sure as hell he can put up a decent fight against my cousin!," Stephen grinned, throwing an arm around Allen.
"Hey, let go!," Allen raised his voice, as he tried to retaliate.
Stephen gave him a small grin, but in the end let go. Rose gave Stephen a large glare, which really contributed to him leaving Allen alone.
As everyone began to talk amongst themselves for a moment before continuing with the main topics, there was something bothering Allen. Was Solomon Windblade showing up for the reasons they expected?
After Allen's duel against Rose, ending with his victory, the triumvirate official Edmund had made an appearance. At the end of their conversation, Edmund had advised Allen that the Triumvirate will be watching him, whether as a statement or a warning.
Could it be a coincidence that Solomon Windblade, the leader of the Triumvirate, will be in attendance? Will he simply be there because of his son, or because it's natural for him to attend? Or perhaps, for other alternative reasons regarding Allen himself?
Nah, that can't be true, Allen thought to himself, as he weighed all of the possibilities. Why would the leader himself be watching me specifically? He's there for his son, no doubt. Edmund will be the one with his eyes on me, for whatever reasons he may have.
"-understand. Regardless, Simon will most likely do everything in his power to take Allen down, and prove his worth, especially with his own father in attendance," Mr. Garet spoke, finally bringing Allen out of his own thoughts.
"That's true," Stephen agreed with him. "My cousin's strength is on a whole nother level, nothing compared to whom Allen has faced in the past, even including myself…"
"Yeah, and Simon completely wiped the floor with me," Thomas brought up. "I'm still a bit annoyed that I couldn't even do anything to him. It frustrates me still, but that's just how strong he is"
Everyone went silent in the room, as they once again realized the predicament Allen is put under. If Thomas couldn't do anything to him, and even Stephen is aware of how much of a gap he has to him, what chance does Allen have?
Before Allen could say anything, Mr. Garet jumped in.
"To be honest Fleming, I do not expect you to win against Simon at all," he sighed. "Simon is superior in magic in every way, and I doubt your unique ability to cut through magic will do much good against him"
"But that can't be true, can't it?," Allen asked, almost in disbelief. "If I can cut through his magic, can't I-"
"If I may," Stephen cut in, getting everyone's attention. "Allen, not to sound too harsh, but remember how you managed to barely cut through and dodge mine, still taking damage nonetheless?"
"Yeah, I remember that," Allen recalled. "They weren't that bad of cuts, but they still hurt like crazy"
"Let's just say, the amount of magic output my cousin can do is insane," Stephen explained. "Imagine trying to cut through or dodge spells coming from everywhere. Do you really think you can manage to cut through enough spells without taking damage if there's no room to dodge?"
"I-," Allen started to say, but didn't have any words. Just how was he supposed to respond? That he'll just try, no matter what? That it will all just work out in the end?
"I don't really want to discourage you Fleming, as we still have an objective to fulfill that falls onto you," Mr. Garet spoke up.
"Gee, thanks," Allen rolled his eyes.
"It wouldn't kill you to be a little nicer about it?," Ms. Florence asked, as she elbowed Mr. Garet.
"Like you're any better, Danet," Mr. Garet snorted.
"Now's not the time, both of you," Mr. Lyon spoke up, surprising everyone. "As Allen is currently my student, as his teacher it's my job to encourage him to do his best"
Finally, a teacher that's supportive!, Allen thought, as he smiled.
"I know the two of you are looking out for both your and Allen's interests, but sitting here and talking solely about the negatives won't help anything," Mr. Lyon argued. "Remember, Allen's objective is to stand out. If he can stand out long enough against Simon Windblade of all people, we will all have the highest chance of getting the Triumvirate's attention, and setting forth a possibility of opening up to negotiations. Our goal can be closer to completion, even if Allen does not win against Simon"
After a moment of thought, almost everyone in the room nodded in approval. While Allen winning would be the best outcome, it's not the expected one, and Allen even knew that himself.
"Very well put, Mr. Lyon," Ms. Florence agreed with him. "There are sometimes simply opponents you cannot defeat. There are those born with more amounts of magic than others. With a high gap between those born into the higher families compared to those born on the countryside with almost nothing, it becomes difficult to bridge the seemingly endless distance between the two"
She's right, Allen thought, as he processed her words. No amount of training I do will ever increase the amount of mana I have. That's simply how it is.
"However, as an idiot I know once put it," Ms. Florence sighed before she continued. "It is not a matter of how much magic you possess, or even how powerful your magic may be. It's a matter of will, and how hard you work to push forward"
William's words, Allen thought, recalling the memories of his past. The very same words he used to encourage me to try harder, no matter how much I wanted to give up sometimes.
"Very surprising Danet," Mr. Garet spoke, looking at her with a small grin. "Since when did the one who hates magic the most suddenly have an interest in him or his ways?"
"Hmph, no comment," Ms. Florence replied, looking away from him.
"Ms. Florence has a point," Rose finally spoke up. "This may sound strange coming from me, as you all know I have both skill and talent in magic. I've seen plenty of students from all sorts of origins do well despite their weaknesses. But the best example in my opinion is sitting in this room with us"
Everyone's attention turned towards Allen, who was by far the strangest when it came to anything magic related.
"And once again you all look at me like I'm some sort of strange object"
"Well, you kind of are," Stephen shrugged.
"You're definitely different, but in a good way!," Thomas said with a grin.
"Allen's way of magic and fighting doesn't match anything in the textbooks," Cecily remarked.
"My rival is definitely better in every way!," Charles declared, nodding.
"Allen strong," Alice remarked, with the same usual never forming a complete sentence.
"Seriously?," Allen asked, looking at all of them, while his friends gave him an assortment of looks.
"As I've said before, and plenty times since then Allen: you are simply an outlier," Mr. Garet spoke up, getting everyone's attention once again. "Nothing about you makes any remote sense, in the grand scheme of things. Your strange weak amounts of air mana, unable to cast elemental magic circles, using a sword that can cut through magic, and using mana directly"
"I will point out that I use a sword too," Rose remarked.
"And I am starting to figure out mana usage!," Stephen added.
"And I can put earth magic around my fists!," Thomas pointed out.
"And I, Allen's best rival, can-"
"Alright, alright, I get it! Quiet down!," Mr. Garet commanded, as everyone leaned back in their chairs. "All of you are strange in your own ways, none of us can deny that. But out of everyone here, Allen is definitely the strangest. Whether that is for good or bad, he by far stands out the most"
"But the idea here is we are putting that into practical use," Mr. Garet explained. "With Allen's strange ways that confuse everyone else, we shall open up a path to a future where plenty of mages can succeed, despite their differences"
"I thought your plan was to return William as head director, more out of conscience than anything else," Ms. Danet remarked. "After all, he's a better head director for you than Ellen-"
"Hmph, I get it," Mr. Garet interrupted her. "Regardless, our discussion is finished. Allen Fleming, your objective will be to stand out as much as possible in front of the Triumvirate. Show them what you are capable of. Confuse Simon and show that absolute strength isn't always everything. Prove to not only yourself, but everyone else, that even the 'Weakest Mage' is capable of much more than D or F rank"
"Right!," Allen raised his voice, agreeing with him. "I will show them that what William taught me isn't useless! That even I can become a magical knight! My goals haven't changed since the beginning, and I will pave a way for my future!"
"That's the spirit," Mr. Garet replied, and couldn't help but smile a little.
"And, if I manage to pave a way to victory, I will fight for it!," Allen declared, standing up from his seat.
"I-," Mr. Garet started to say, but was immediately interrupted by all of Allen's friends within the room cheering him on.
"Alright, that's enough!," Mr. Garet yelled. "All of you, out of my room, now!"
Everyone's excitement turned towards disappointment, as they realized what they did. They listened to Mr. Garet's command, as they did not want to see him angrier.
With one final goodbye from everyone, they all wish Allen best of luck, and they will all cheer him on when the duel finally comes.
Mr. Garet had also pointed out that August Lionheart, their dear friend, should return from his prince duties shortly and make it in time for Allen's final duel. Allen was glad to hear that he'll at least have all of his friends cheer him on, no matter the outcome.
But before Allen could make his exit out of the room, Mr. Garet stopped him, as he, Ms. Florence, and Mr. Lyon had serious looks on their faces.
"Wait just a moment Fleming, we have something important to discuss before you leave. There's a certain… plan, we need to discuss"
With a quick nod from Allen, he returned to his seat, and awaited Mr. Garet to explain his plan of action. With Allen's duel just around the corner, just what did Mr. Garet have in mind?