Paley flipped through a short textbook as the History teacher dragged on and on about the greatness of the Moon's church. It was about the flow of magic in your body, though it only had theories such as that magic is the soul of the body.
There were a few useful parts, like a page that detailed the feeling of mana in the body for most people. That page helped Paley become more aware of his mana, though it didn't make his magic stronger. At some point, the boy in front of him passed him a folded note that read: Open me, please.
Paley looked around to check who the sender was, but no one was making eye contact with him. He opened the note, unfolding a message: Meet us after school, behind the building. Make sure not to be followed.
He folded up the note and tucked it away in his blazer pocket. After school ended, he went to meet whoever sent the note, telling the others that he was going to the toilet. In case this was an ambush, he prepared a sharp blade of ice behind his back, though he quickly dissolved it upon seeing them.
There were two boys and three girls waiting for him behind the school. Two of them were in stage 6 and the rest were in 5.
"Hello, Paley. I'm Nova," Said the one on the left; he had short brown hair and wore big round glasses. He was slightly taller than Paley and was in stage 6.
"I'm Diz," The next three were girls. Diz was short and chubby with black pigtails hanging below her neck. She was from the middle class but was nice nonetheless.
"I'm Liba," Said the girl with short brown hair and bony fingers.
"Megora here," She was slightly shorter than Paley, slightly awkward, and slightly leaned forward too much. She had long black hair and wore a family ring on her left hand.
"And I'm Ponna, a pleasure to meet you," The last one was a guy with blonde hair, extremely polite, shaking hands with Paley, who shook it quietly.
Paley stared at them for a while, waiting for them to say something before asking: "So, what do you want from me?" There was a hint of impatient rudeness in the question, but they didn't pay it any attention.
"We want you to join the magic club," Nova said.
"The magic club?" He asked.
"Yes, the magic club. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You should join while you can." Diz boasted with pride.
"Right... What's in it for me?"
The question made them go silent. "We... Do cool stuff with magic?" Diz replied.
"Sounds like fun." Paley said sarcastically, "But I think I'll stick with training by myself." He began walking away before Ponna decided to speak up.
"We have access to whatever books we want." He said, lying slightly, but it reeled Paley back into the conversation, "As long as they're affordable and allowed." He hit the jackpot. He'd always seen Paley reading a different book on magic every lunchtime, so he assumed that he was a bookworm.
"I'm in," Paley said suddenly.
"T-That fast?" Ponna was surprised.
"I'd have to be a madman to turn down access to any book I want. I'm in. When and where do I have to be?" He asked.
"Come to the principal's office every lunchtime but on Thursdays. She's our supervisor." Ponna instructed, still shocked.
"Alright then. I'll see you all in two days." He left them and hurried back to the orphans, leaving them speechless.
"That went... great?" Megora asked doubtfully. She was somewhat scared of Paley.
"I like him. He's a very straightforward guy." Nova said.
"I like him too. He's very authoritati-tive," Liba mispronounced.
"It's authoritative," Diz corrected.
Paley rushed out to find only Dillie waiting for him on the deserted playground.
"Hi," She waved.
"Hey, where are the others?" He approached her, and they began walking.
"They already left. Are you okay? That was a really long time you spent in the toilet." She asked.
"I didn't go to the toilet. This group called me to the back. They invited me to join the magic club."
"Ohh," She said, glad for him, "that's really cool. They're going to be so surprised when they find out you're a Quimnia."
"I'm not going to tell them."
"Why not? They'd pretty much worship you."
"Do I look like I want to be worshipped? I want to relax and live a normal life."
Dillie pouted at that, frustrated that despite his great potential, he'd rather live a boring, normal life than a life full of praise and power. Though, in a way, she liked that about him.
"Hey, I'm going to use the Awakening ring today." She stopped once they reached the alleyway they normally took flight in, "I-I want you to be there when I use it. Will you...?" She asked nervously. She didn't mention that it was her birthday for a reason she didn't know herself.
"Of course. I've got plenty of time." Paley agreed, took her to her home, and went inside with her, greeting her usual overexcited parents and taking a seat in the living room as Dillie got the ring. Her parents stared at him the entire time with anxious smiles.
He tried his best to ignore them. Now and then, they'd exchange a mutual glance and go back to looking at him. Dillie came down a few minutes later, holding the ring carefully in the palm of her hand. She handed it toward Paley, motioning for him to take it.
"You want me to put it on your finger?" He asked, and she nodded with speechless eagerness, "Alright," He stood up from the pillow on the ground and took the ring, sliding it onto her ring finger.
The room fell silent, Dillie trying to process the fact that Paley just got engaged to her, and her parents screaming with their mouths shut while trying to hold each other back. Paley assumed the ring finger is named that way because that's where rings are supposed to go; he didn't know that it signified marriage.
"Oh, right, that's the marriage finger. Sorry." He went to remove the ring, but she pulled her hand away. Her face turned a deep red as she said quietly: "It's fine. I'll remove it later anyway."
"Okay," Paley said and took a step back, waiting for something to happen. The ring suddenly tightened, and Dillie felt something click inside her. Her mana was flowing, unlocked, but all of it flowed to the ring, making it tighter and beginning to hurt her.
The wind around her quickened and took some objects into the air. Blood began to seep out from beneath the metal of the ring. Paley jumped forward to help her, but her parents held him back. "Just a bit more!" They yelled over the now howling winds.
Dillie felt a sudden chill down her spine, followed by unbearable cold. Noticing her shivering, Paley stepped forward and placed his palms on her shoulders, heating her body with fire magic. She smiled at him gratefully and gritted her teeth as she bore through the rest of the pain.
At that moment, Paley felt her mana, intense and almost frightening. It all dissipated as the ring loosened and everything settled down. Her parents, overcome with excitement, hugged her and pulled Paley in too.
"Thank you! Thank you, so much!" They suffocated him under their gratefulness. "You're welcome," Paley said, muffled by their embraces. After they calmed down, Dillie took his hand and walked him outside.
"Where are you going?" Her father asked.
"Somewhere private." She grinned, the private place being right outside of their house. Once they were outside, she found that she couldn't find a way to phrase her gratefulness.
"You okay?" Paley noticed her squirming nervously.
"Yeah, I just... I'm really thankful for what you did for me." She said finally.
"The ring? You're very welcome. It wasn't easy getting it, you know?" He teased.
She laughed lightly, "Okay, well, thank you again. A million." She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. A thought occurred to him as he hesitantly hugged her back.
"Would you like me to teach you some magic? You know, since I'm a Quimnia, and all?" He asked.
"I'd love that!" She stepped away and walked back to the door, stopping when Paley wasn't following her in, "Are you not going to come back in?"
"No, I still have to sell the Weynsoo." He began taking light steps away.
"You still haven't done that?"
"Nah, turns out you need a monster hunting license nowadays. Also turns out it was because of me that that rule got added. I met this strange guy who helped me with that, but I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," She waved, "See you, Paley."
He waved back and quietly flew into the sky.
"He can fly!?" Dillie's parents suddenly rushed out of the house. They'd been watching the entire time but not listening.
"Yup, he can. I'll tell you all about it later if he's okay with it!" Dillie ran upstairs in excitement. Her parents exchanged a look of surprise. Dillie was never one to socialize much, she'd always stick to her family and preferred the company of adults than other kids. She'd keep to herself in her room most of the time, drawing away and coming downstairs now and then to spend time with her parents.
The headmistress of Hillred School, Mrs. Lachi, is a friend of her parents, so she'd always spend her lunches with her instead of with other kids. Though, ever since the magic club began to use that room as their club room, she stayed in the corner, sketching her usual hot guys.
Dillie wasn't a miserable girl. She was just slightly antisocial. But, ever since she met Paley, that changed for the better.