"Kota?" There was a tone of worry in Sura's voice when she asked that. But I didn't care. I needed to vent.
Somehow this small occasion has opened a lid to a bubbling rage inside me. Why? Not sure, out of anything I've seen in this world, this pissed me off the most. Needless to say, these three boys looked frightened by me. The first boy was still in pain as the other two got up, looking prepared to fight.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" One of them said, "you really want to pick a fight with us?"
"Kota, we should really not be doing this!" Sura exclaimed. "I'm fine, there's no need for anything rash!"
"She's right, but like…keep going!" Griffin shouted, he seemed interested in the whole situation more than sura. " I kind of want to see Kota in action."
"Griffin!"
"What? Aren't you curious? This might be a bad situation, but it's also a good time to analyze him."
"That's absurd, If anything, this whole situation could've been averted!" she hesitated her response, thinking it through. A smile creeping over Griffin's face. "On second thought, maybe I should…take this opportunity…to take notes…"
I didn't pay too much attention to the rest of their conversation, as my focus was on these three boys. The first boy finally got back to his feet, pulling out his staff from his back holster.
"You little prick! We'll show you!" He pointed the staff at me, as did his friends. They all proceeded to block the road we were on, Halting traffic. People started to gather around as they watched with Curiosity of what was transpiring.
Just looking at them reminded me of my old friends of my past, it made me sick. It really burned a fire in me that I kept dormant since I came here to this world. I didn't do anything before, and now I'm going to this life.
"Hah, a one on three fight. Get fucked!" The first boy smugly said. Then he started chanting a beginner fire spell, his friends both chanting a earth and Wind spell.
"Uh, kota? That is a major disadvantage for you!" Sura said. "Griffin, help him!"
Griffin immediately readied his staff, taking a step forward. "Y'know. In hindsight, this was a poorly done decision made by us. Kota, I'm coming to help!"
But I held out my hand, which stopped him. "I'm doing this alone!" I raised my voice. That caught them both by surprise.
"Aww, lil man wants to challenge us by himself?"
"He's just acting tough, you're only in this school because you're special. Special needs! Haha!"
By the looks of these three, they don't have a proper stance in doing magic. A firm grip of the ground for any magic that'll launch. Their laidback stance makes sure that when they do actually fire their magic, it'll most likely be horribly aimed or even worse that staff will blast right out of their hands. In a situation with a swordsman? Death. This isn't a situation with a swordsman, but I've been with two of them to know how they are able to tackle a mage.
As angry as I am right now, I still have to think carefully and not let that control my focus. So I steadily made a plan in my head.
Pressing my hand down to the ground, I casted Quicksand. As soon as I did, the floor around the three liquified. Causing them to stumble. And as I Thought correctly, their stances collapsed along with the spells they were making. The snow around them drenching their clothes. These three were basically even worse than me.
"So quick…no chanting or the usage of a staff." Sura held the notebook of hers up as she wrote down notes. "The usage of his hand is just enough for the mana to channel efficiently. That's impressive."
"Damn, Kota!" Griffin shouted. He was really being a good hype man. "Sunk them in the ground!"
The three boys struggled to get out that spell, stumbling over each other, which gave me a chance to use another spell. I held out the palm of my hand, aiming it towards them while Giving them an angry glare.
I quickly casted another spell, jet fire. This spell immediately emanated from my hands, a burst of heat rushed through as I fired it above the boys, scaring them.
"Hey, woah! Stop! Alright!" I heard them all say. The crowd around us panicked and backed up.
Griffin and sura seemed to be more worried than excited about my display of magic as I could overhear them behind me.
"Woah, relax Kota! That could really hurt them if that hit." I heard Griffin say.
Sura chimed in, sounding more worried. "Kota, don't hurt them!"
I still wasn't satisfied with their humiliation. I needed them to feel what I felt. See how it feels to go back to school and be laughed at and bullied. The vivid memories of my past riled me, I even lowered the aim of the spell to get closer to them. It even managed to burn one of the boys' cloak as he desperately tried to pat it down. This still wasn't enough, so I broke the spell and watched as the the boys still laid on the ground, looking more frightened than ever.
I silently chanted My own creation, Dry ice. The white ball instantly formed in front of my hand. I ignored the freezing cold of it, aiming it right at them. One good shot of this could really do something to them, but I didn't mind. I don't mind at all what'd happen to them at this moment…
"…!"
I heard rapid footsteps approach me as Something caught me off guard.
Before I could even launch it, a dark skinned hand gripped my hand and pulled it upwards. The spell of mine launching right into the air, closely zipping past the blue hat of the person. The magic exploded in the air, the wind taking the mist from it away from the crowd.
"What's this? A King ranked magic spell aimed at a couple of boys? You know this'll kill them…right?" They said, looking down at me with a disappointed face. "That's not something we trained in class. Stand down." They quickly pushed my hand away, the force of it pushing me to the ground.
"Tera!" Sura quickly shut her notebook and panicked.
Griffin started sweating and looked nervous as now Tera stood in the middle of the crowd along with me and the three boys. She must've rushed past the crowd to see the commotion and saw me.
"What's the meaning of this?" She demanded, her tone was assertive and loud.
"Uh…those three boys were harassing Sura a-"
"Not from you. I need this answer from Kota." Tera interrupted Griffin who was trying to answer. "Answer."
I got on my hands and knees as she said that, and I looked back at her in anger. She observed me for a moment, the disappointed look on her face beaming right through me.
"They…were harassing Sura and…I got angry. Is that what you wanted to hear?
Tera's frown deepened, she looked at the Three boys for a moment and then towards me. She seemed to have gotten down to a conclusion as she palmed her face in disbelief. "I give you a three day break and somehow you manage to get yourself into trouble twice."
Tera turned to the boys and grabbed the first boy by his shirt. "Listen here, I've seen you three at the University. And if I EVER, see you three Harass that girl or any of my students. I will personally have the principal suspend you all. And you'll get an ass whooping from me. Got it?" The boys stared at her, frightened to say anything. So she doubled down. "Got it?!"
"Y-yes ma'am!" They all stuttered out. They were trying to get to their feet in the quicksand spell. The spell was slowly dissipating, reverting the ground into solid. And quickly as ever, the three boys stumbled away in fear.
Tera then looked at me. "I'll need to speak with you personally, With kale." She then whipped around towards Griffin and Sura. "And you two…well at least you two didn't start a fight."
"I almost did. anything for my friends." Griffin said.
Tera looked at him with a blank face. She just seemed more glad that he didn't do anything. "You might be pushing it."
The crowd around us slowly started to disperse, though it was clear this was something they were talking about. Which meant this would be talked of at school.
…at school. The thought of that suddenly rushed into my head as I covered my head with my arms. Holy shit, am I really going to end up in the same damn situation as my past life?
No, not quite. But it was similar enough to make me overthink it. I found myself breathing harder and faster. What if I get suspended from the school? Wouldn't the students there all of the sudden see me as a threat? Goddamn, Travis!
Why'd I let this one slip up be this??
As I was on the ground with my head to the floor of the road and hand covering my head, a hand patted my head. I could tell just by the hand movement that it was Tera. She knelt down beside me and patted me.
"Is this something you can talk about with Kale and I? When I rushed through the crowd, you seemed to have a killing intent on those boys. Is that right?" She asked. "…Kota, have you…seen someone harassed like this before? I've heard of Lilith abuse and how you met her. Is this related to that?"
Huh? She's got the wrong idea, but…somehow thinking of the events I've seen in my past life and what I've seen with Lilith in this life, they were similar enough. The harassment of a woman. Only difference was that one of them ended up having things go awry the second I helped.
"…yes." I slowly said. It was an answer that seemingly answered for both problems. One that Tera didn't know and one she knows of.
"Hm…Sura, are you fine?" Tera asked her. "They didn't do much with you? We can always take it up to the principal and have him deal with it."
"Uh-no! No! I am fine thanks to Kota. I mean, I would've been fine if Griffin actually did what he said." Sura said.
"I-why are you so uncertain I wouldn't protect you and Kota? I would've knocked the three out with my hands." Griffin chimed in. "Luckily, Kota stepped in…though he was pretty extreme."
"I believe Kota has a trauma of some sorts." Tera lifted me up from my position, making me stand up. "We'll speak about this later. But…" she hesitated. "Just know all of us are here for you. Even when Sura acts like she doesn't care." She said that in a much warmer tone.
Snow began to fall In Prusha, I wonder if Lilith and kale would be coming back now since it would be snowing. The reassurance in Tera's voice motivated me to get moving. We should really get out of this area before any of the guards start looking for the commotion.
"I-uh…can I continue hanging out with those two?" I asked. Tera frowned at that question, maybe that was a weird question after I just almost tried to humiliate three other boys.
Instead of lecturing me more, she just gave me a weak smile. "Sure, I'll deal with those boys at the university. It is your day off. Anyways, where is Lilith?"
"She's out training with kale in the forest."
"Hmph, and I thought he was going to maybe slow down with the training and let her relax." Tera sounded disappointed at that, but quickly lightened her mood. "I'm going to annoy them. You three make sure you don't get into any more trouble, seriously." She began to walk off before being interrupted by Griffin.
"Don't you want to join us?" He asked. "I mean, you're here right now."
"What? And ruin the two of you having fun babysitting Kota? Shame on you." She then turned and winked at Sura. Her implications were read all over her face. To her, this was a date for Griffin and sura. Even if it didn't feel like one at all.
"Hey! Don't get any ideas! I'm here to research!" Sura shouted, her cheeks red. "I wouldn't want to be with that green haired weirdo!"
Griffin looked taken aback from that, who wouldn't want to be with this man? He's like a loyal dog! He began to sulk behind her. "That's a bit rough, ain't it?"
Tera saw it in another way, she had a smile creep along her face as she looked at sura. Sure was being a complete tsundere with him. And she saw through it easily. Tera has her own experience with this sort of thing, and this was a very easy thing to see for her.
"Ah well, if you say so. I'll be heading out now. Thanks for the…pit stop. And I'll be preparing a talk with you, Kota." And she quickly made her leave. She headed for the direction of the southern gate.
As she walked away, I cleaned myself up from the floor. Wiping off snow and dirt from my cloak before Griffin and Sura rushed to me. I hadn't had someone talk to me like that in awhile. I've calmed down since, but I still felt like I was in the wrong somehow. And inevitable feeling that seemed to have transferred to this life.
I must've been making a sad face of some sort as Griffin patted my back in reassurance. "Hey man, we got you! Listen, let's not let this ruin our fun! Right, sura?"
Sura knelt down in front of me, handing me the doll I got for Lilith. "I hate to say it, but I too am enjoying this now. I've got quite a bit of info just from watching you. And I'm impressed."
"You are?" I asked.
"Yes! If I made the right calculation, your mana output is enough to make a beginner spell look like a king ranked spell! That's absurd!" She smiled crazily, her notebook clinched closely to her chest.
The perplexed look on Griffin's face said it all. She doesn't use magic, so how was she able to make a good calculation? Maybe from our past class time when I practiced with griffin? But I rarely used much of my mana in that. Maybe it was this fight that I had with those three that gave her the go ahead of 'yeah, he's got good magic powers'. Either way, I'll take the compliment and observation.
"Soo, let's keep going? Let's explore that one spot!" Griffin put his arm around Sura and a hand on my head as he forced both of us to trot along with him. Sura made no qualms with this, surprisingly.
***
Soon we were at the Barbados cafe. This cafè was hidden amongst the aisle in the Market district, it was a really hard spot to notice at first until you saw a bunch of teens cram into the one alleyway. This particular area of the Market district seemed older too, its whole building layout was different from the building we've seen earlier. Their windows were large and wide that ran across the building. Some had doors that were visibly molding, this area was old as hell.
The cafe we were in was particularly cramped as well. When seated, The three of us were crammed up against another group that were already sitting. I had no difficulty getting in the seats, But Griffin and sura did. Once we sat down, a waiter came by to take our order. I only got some water as Griffin and Sura got different drinks, sura also getting a dessert. Sura got a pink milky looking drink which I think was strawberry milk? And Griffin got a Green looking drink that smelled of cream soda. For a world that feels like it's in the medieval times, they certainly have some tales on food that remind me of my past life.
"So…this is it? This is a cramped hell." Sura exasperated. Her seating was behind a bunch of boys and the uncomfortable spacing between us was getting to her.
"If anyone touches you, we'll leave. Or we'll have Kota yeet them out…or I beat them, which do you prefer?" Griffin offered. But in return, he only felt the pain of his ankle as she kicked him under the table. "Ow! Hey, at least I'm trying to make some choices."
"You heard Tera. We can't make any more problems. And Kota shouldn't be…well he isn't in the condition to fight."
I was still somewhat fumbling with my thoughts ever since we started moving again. My thoughts lingered on what I did, particularly when Sura was getting harassed. These two were just trying to lighten the mood for me, which I commend them for.
"You know what is a problem? You getting a cold ice cream dessert in the middle of the winter." Griffin sipped on his drink. "That's weird."
"You're weird."
"Stop playing footsies with me then. You know how many pe-Ow!" There was a large thud under the table as Griffin reached down in pain.
"I'll keep kicking." Sura squinted her eyes as she said that. "Only reason my feet are hitting yours is because it's crowded. Luckily Kota is small enough to not be affected by this."
"Yeah, yeah…I don't mind playing footsie with you." Griffin smiled at her, but that just prompted another swift kick at him. Maybe I'm starting to see what Tera had meant more clearly when she winked. I believe I'm in a situation called 'Third wheeling'.
As Griffin was mending to his leg, a waiter came by with a bowl of ice cream. It looked very much the same as in my old world. There were three flavors on it. vanilla, strawberry and what I think was orange. A very strange combination of flavors there. The bowl also had candies spread around it and a piece of sweet bread snuggled into the ice cream.
"Ah yes, ice cream to soothe the heated heart. Something a hot headed person like you needed. Dig in, sura." Griffin teased her. She didn't properly respond to him, only an audible groan was heard as she started eating the ice cream.
"So, what do you want to do after this, kota? Griffin looked at me. "Wanna continue wandering around? I don't really mind, but we can always head back."
Hmm, well Tera said she wanted to have a chat with me and kale. She's most likely talking with those two in the forest about it right now. Plus the snow was falling outside, and I really didn't want to be out in the open when it was. But at the same time, I really didn't want to have a conversation about what had happened earlier. That just means I needed to lie to them. Arael made it clear to not say anything of my past, who knows what'll happen if I do that.
So I decided to have the two escort me back home, but not before sura finished her dessert.
She seemed so cute when she went hungrily at the ice cream, it had Griffin in a daze as he watched. And luckily, no one else bothered us in the cafe. Even the people in this place had more respect than those three boys.
About an hour later, I finally made it back to Kale's house. But as we were walking back, I noticed three other figures coming from behind us.
It was Kale, Lilith and Tera. They came back at the same time as I did? Well it must've gotten snowy out there and with the serious face that Tera had, it was time for a serious conversation.
Griffin and Sura quickly made their leaves, saying goodbye to me. Leaving me at the gate, waiting.
And I am very nervous about this.