The first combined lesson of Magic Perception between the two classes started off with a simple overview of what to expect for the next few months from Hal-sensei, the teacher responsible for them.
"What can anyone tell me about our first chapter?" Hal-sensei asked her class, looking up from her textbook.
"Yes. Introduction to Magic Elements refers to us about the types of Magic that is available as well as their characteristics, both physical and magical," one student from the corner of the class raised his hand and answered the question.
"Good. Next student, what are the sort of Magic elements are present?"
"We have two classes of Magic elements: the common and the rare. From there, there are a few sub-classes of magic that fall under different elements," another student answered. "The common class contains fire magic, ice magic, water magic, wind magic and earth magic."
"Now, we know that the rare class has both light and dark magic," Hal-sensei began drawing a diagram on the board. "We don't classify them as common or rare because of how many people are capable to using it or how hard it is to learn to use it. For anyone who forgot, you should have learnt how we produce magic back in middle school. The Aristle-Bolten Theory, remember?"
Nods and murmurs of agreement came from the class as most of them understood what Hal-sensei was talking about, including Kaze. While he might not be familiar with the name of the theory or the contents, he did understand the fundamentals enough to proceed with the lecture.
"I will be explaining about the reason for the classification then," Hal-sensei clapped her hands to get back their attention before continuing. "This is because of their nature. We all know that us species aren't born with magic powers but merely the ability to control them. Magic exists in the form of magical particles which we call Nox, another story for chapter 3. What you do have to understand now though, is that we rely on borrowing the magical particles from the atmosphere and channelling it through our body to convert its form into something we want it to be, like fire magic."
"If that is the case, then what is it that causes us to have to have two different classes?" Hal-sensei continued. "That is because of the nature of the magic subclass. We know that water extinguishes fire, wind amplifies fire, earth works well with water to fortify and so on. For this reason, we look at how each class of magic behaves when faced with another. Because the five magic of the common class has very clear results with each interaction and can form certain different combinations of magic field, we put them under the 'common' class, also meaning that we can predict with ease about the results."
"As for the rare class, we don't call it rare because we can't predict the results of light magic and dark magic clashing, but because of their interaction with the common class," Hal-sensei pointed this out by connecting a dotted line between two circles on the board. "Whenever one class of magic clashes with the other, their effects vary based on the output strength of the caster. Of course, we will learn this theory later on too along with practical work, so you guys can rest assured we won't be talking about theory the whole time."
"Excuse me sensei," Lunaria raised her hand at the end of Hal-sensei's sentence. "But doesn't the outcome for the clash between both classes get affected by the level of magic output as well?"
"I think we all know that Lunaria-hime," one student arrogantly spoke out his mind to the princess. "It would be dumb if a Beginner-class water spear can take out an Intermediate-class fire magic."
"Erm, I don't think Lunaria here is referring to the level of Magic output that is determined by how much magic we focus into each different casting, but rather the density of magic particles that one is able to gather," Hal-sensei made a wry smile while pointing this out. "Is that right Lunaria-hime?"
"Lunaria is fine, Hal-sensei," Lunaria nodded at this. "And yes, to clarify, Hal-sensei is right. What I meant is that by controlling how much Nox density we can input into our spell casting, we can create enough dense force that is required to channel a magic based on its complexity and amplify its original strength, hence why it is not just theoretically, but very possible a Beginner class magic can outdo Intermediate class magic."
"Well well, seems like the princess outdid you on this class," Hal-sensei laughed as the students of the class were just wondering what Lunaria meant earlier and thought of it as stupid, only to realize she was right. "The explanation provided by Lunaria is correct. While it is possible to further elaborate on this subject, we won't be needing to understand the principles behind it just yet until Year 2."
At Hal-sensei's words, everyone seemed surprised that Lunaria was already capable of understanding Magic Perception theory that was more advanced than what they were learning now. Yuuji let out a low whistle while Lunaria's three friends just smiled knowingly like it was natural that she knew of this.
"Living as a dragonkin helps when you are several decades ahead of your classmates, sensei," Lunaria humbly replied before sitting down.
"I see. I won't question another woman's age because it would be rude of me, so let us proceed," Hal-sensei smiled wryly at Lunaria's response and turned back to face the board.
"Does that mean sensei is also old too?" Another student suddenly asked, causing mainly the boys of the class to burst into laughter while some of the girls just sighed at the attitude and maturity displayed.
Needless to say, all the boys who were caught making fun of their teacher received a beating as well as extra homework.
When it was time for lunch, Kaze thought it would be a normal quiet lunch but instead got dragged off by Yuuji once more as they received an invitation to join Lunaria's group.
The two quickly met up with the dragonkin princess and her friends at a reserved table. This was also one of the functions of the bracelet, allowing students to make reservation at tables that lasted for up to 10 minutes. If no one was back at the table by the end of the 10 minutes, their reservation would disappear and end up being available once more. Of course, students were only allowed to book one at a time and only during breaks to avoid there being restrictions or unfairness issues.
"Lunaria, you can go," Rena said, referring to her leaving the table to buy her food. "I will be here."
"Kaze you go too," Yuuji smirked at him. "Remember to be nice to the princess."
"Oh, shut up," Kaze sighed but followed his advice and went along with Lunaria to buy their lunch.
"Well, that's a long line already," Lunaria commented when they arrived at the food distribution booth. "It has only been a short while."
"I suppose first day of school for everyone has been enjoyable," Kaze shrugged as they got in line with the rest.
When standing in line, Kaze thought it better to switch places by allowing Lunaria to be in front so as to not seem rude, but Lunaria seemed fine with being behind him.
"Its alright. Just help me to pick the dishes that are placed at a higher shelf," Lunaria giggled, referring to her height being one head shorter than Kaze.
"Hmm, alright then," Kaze eventually agreed with it, also finding it rude to argue with her. "Are you going to be fine without your friends?"
"Well, you are my friend," Lunaria rebutted with a cheeky smile.
"No, not that," Kaze gulped, wondering why everyone kept teasing him. "I mean, I'm glad to be your friend, but I thought Sera or Rena or Shoko were meant to be your escorts?"
"Its not like I can't live without them," Lunaria tilted her head at his question. "Do you think I am so incapable of taking care of myself that I have to rely on them all the time?"
"Well… I don't know, just curious," Kaze shrugged as he felt it dumb to doubt Lunaria. "It just seemed like a better idea to rely on people you know when in a place you are unfamiliar with yet."
"Then, I shall take up your advice and rely on you," Lunaria giggled once more. "Third from the right, the salad bowl please."
Kaze and Lunaria were left by themselves at the table when they returned. Since Shoko wasn't there yet, Yuuji went off on his own while being followed by some of his 'fans' and the two elves entrusted Lunaria to Kaze. If anything, Kaze found it a little strange that Lunaria, who was ever so cautious about being around people as showed during class and lining up earlier, would place so much trust in someone like him whom she met a while ago. Perhaps this was attributed to how she determined him to be a 'good' person, or perhaps she was just being friendly to him.
As Kaze pondered on his little issue, Lunaria had attracted a crowd surrounding their table without knowing it. The students noticed Lunaria alone with one other guy student and decided to take this chance when she lacked being guarded by her friends. Kaze tried his best to chase away the students that were bombarding Lunaria with questions and praises, but it only felt as though they were ignoring his presence. Even Lunaria, who had already anticipated this outcome, was having trouble satisfying the crowd's curiosity. It wasn't like she could just blow them away with magic.
"Lunaria-sama!! It is a pleasure to meet you!!"
"Do you want to sit with us at our table? We would be honored if you- hey asshole, stop pushing!"
"I can't see her, move!"
"Lunaria-sama, please sign my clothes-"
"Lunaria-sama-"
"Lunaria-"
"Thank you, thank you, no thank you," Lunaria ended up switching from person to person within seconds, trying to settle this problem on her own.
The crowd continued to rain questions on her, pressuring her such that she couldn't even lift up her spoon to eat. Lunaria herself felt hungry but her face value as a princess wouldn't allow her to ignore the students surrounding her. Kaze himself felt hopeless that he couldn't even do a simple job entrusted to him by her friends.
Things took a turn for the worst when some of the more touchy students began getting closer to Lunaria.
"Please, everyone, move away- hyah?!" Lunaria let out a cry when she felt someone touching her tail.
"Woahhh, guys look! The princess's tail is so soft!" One of the students gasped in awe as his fingers trailed down her scaly white tail.
This prompted an even bigger mess when everyone now wanted a chance to touch her tail. Lunaria, who would usually easily deal with problems like this, was unable to move away or cast magic as she didn't expect the students to be so pushy to the point they would even touch parts of her body without permission. It got worse since her tail was directly under her skirt, meaning that the students would have a chance to reach all the way up inside to her panties if things persisted.
As such, she could only glance at Kaze through the thick layer of bodies surrounding her with pleading eyes. Tears were already welling out the side of her eyes, Lunaria trying her best to stop herself from moaning. Anyone with enough knowledge knew that dragonkins were especially sensitive with their tail and ears, which was usually most protected by them. At this point, even her wings were going to be fondled by indecent hands that didn't know or showed sufficient respect to her.
Kaze caught on to her message immediately from eye contact alone. To prevent the situation from worsening, he was going to have to resort to force. With both hands, Kaze pushed aside the students at the outer edge of the crowd and forced his way through to the middle where Lunaria was. Even if he got yelled at or shoved back, Kaze chose not to fight back because that wasn't his priority, but instead to get Lunaria out of this place as fast as possible.
"Lunaria!" Kaze yelled, reaching his hand through the densest part of the crowd for her.
Feeling her hand gripping his tightly, Kaze yanked her out of the crowd which caused the people holding onto her tail to suddenly crumble on top of each other. Without support in the middle with all the pushing that was happening, Kaze and Lunaria swiftly escaped from the commotion just as teachers showed up to the table as well.
After running away from the area, Kaze brought Lunaria with him aimlessly through the school halls until they arrived at an area without anyone around. At first Kaze didn't realize it since he was too preoccupied with getting Lunaria safe that he was holding onto her hand the entire time. Lunaria, who was relieved to have finally left the crowd, was now occupied with the fact he was holding onto her hand so tightly. This caused an awkward staring contest between the two as Kaze was trying to find out why Lunaria was staring at him while Lunaria wondered when he would let go of her hand.
"U-Um… my hand…" Lunaria muttered, looking away shyly.
"Huh? Oh," Kaze dropped his head to where his hand was clutching hers and quickly retracted. "S-Sorry, I didn't realize."
"… Its fine," Lunaria then glanced back up at him. "Thank you for getting me out of the mess."
"I felt bad for not realizing I should pull you away in time," Kaze sighed before removing his uniform blazer to cover her body. "Your clothes got dragged off of you as a result too."
"No, I should have chased the crowd away before it was too late," Lunaria accepted the blazer from him modestly. "Thank you."
"Now what do we do? We can't go back to the lunch room and we don't have food anymore," Kaze looked around him as though searching for someone or some place they could go.
"Allow me to express my thanks to you then," Lunaria said with a sly smile.
Waving her hand in the space next to her, she stretched it forward and her hand disappeared into a magic circle. Upon returning, Lunaria brought out two lunch boxes and placed one in front of him.
"Woah, what was that?" Kaze asked, staring in awe as the magic circle disappeared.
"A dimension storage," Lunaria simply said so as she sat down on the floor and began to eat. "I actually made my own lunchbox but wanted to try the school food. Who knew it would come in handy like that?"
"Wait, no, you can create a dimension storage?" Kaze stopped her from so casually brushing it off. "Isn't that supposed to be high level magic?"
"Yes, but I am capable enough of it," Lunaria giggled at his reaction. "Well, it is hard to get used to people constantly freaking out at what I can do."
Yuuji and Lunaria's friends found the two shortly after and decided it was probably best to join them for lunch here as well. The students involved in the commotion were being sorted out by the teachers since no one confessed anything nor realized what happened when Lunaria got dragged off, so it was best not to return to the lunch hall. While they went back to get their lunch, Kaze and Lunaria got into a little chit chat as they waited for their friends.
"In Aravel, where I'm from, touching a dragonkin's tail or wings is enough to get you hated," Lunaria explained to him with a sigh as she stroked her tail gently. "It is considered a tradition that I'm sure no one knows of since Aravel strictly regulates who gets to enter our nation or not."
"Oh… I see," Kaze slowly nodded at this, realizing the severity of the situation they were in earlier. "What are you going to do about this?"
"I will file a report to the principal myself," Lunaria said so firmly while munching on her food. "It is unacceptable that people here are so loosely advised and uninformed. I won't cause a commotion this time since people don't know."
"… I know its not my place to ask, but why are you relying on me?" Kaze asked softly, feeling a little embarrassed. "I don't deserve much of your attention, especially when there are people better than me here."
"Really? You saved me back there," Lunaria pressured him by narrowing her eyes. "Are you saying that you don't want me to rely on you?"
"N-No, that's not what I mean," Kaze gulped. "What I want to say is… I'm a little worried to be relied on by a princess like you. Everyone would die to be in my position."
"At least you are aware of that," Lunaria smiled at this. "Then all the more you should make me rely on you. Is that alright with you Kaze?"
Holding out her hand to him, Lunaria inched closer to Kaze.
"I request this of you not as the princess of a nation, but as myself and a friend," Lunaria further elaborated. "I will make it up to you."
"… That doesn't sound like something a princess would say," Kaze muttered, shaking her hand. "I accept."
"Good, now let's eat," Lunaria turned back to her food. "I'm starving."
"… Lunaria, you said earlier that it is considered taboo to touch a dragonkin's wing or tail because it was equals to disrespecting them, right?" Kaze asked.
"Yes, but that applies if they didn't have permission," Lunaria nodded her head. "Why?"
"What does it mean if the dragonkin themselves have their tail touching another person?" Kaze glanced down to his left arm, seeing the tip of her white tail placed on his lap.
"… It means I trust you."
Their conversation ended there as their group of friends had returned along with Shoko from the lunch room. Towards the end, Lunaria's cheeks showed a shade of pink as she didn't tell Kaze the true meaning of her tail touching him. If what she said was simply trusting Kaze, it certainly was a long way from directly involving a dragonkin's tail. Lunaria herself wasn't sure why she blatantly lied like that either, to the point that she couldn't even look at Kaze when she answered.
'Lunaria… what were you thinking?' Lunaria questioned herself silently, her fingers squeezing the utensils tightly.
Even though Kaze and Lunaria didn't have any further interaction for the remainder of their lunch, Lunaria's tail remained gently resting on his lap.