"What did you say? You showed them one of your techniques during teaching?" - Devin nags J after he lets his father knows that he performed an ability faster than the top teachers at LMS.
"Well...It is what it is. I have nothing to say about that, but it is not like they can do similar things in a day or two, Dad." - J said.
"This is not about performing. It is about your identity. Who would have thought that a new professor who just came to LMS a few days ago can do something that not even the headmaster of the school can do?" - Devin keeps on complaining.
"Do not worry, Dad. I can cover this up. Right now, I want to show you this, and please give me some more information about the Families." - J pulls the letter from his coat and shows it to Devin. After finishing reading it, Devin has no choice but to give J details about the Families.
...
A long time ago before LMS became one of the top-tier schools, there were several factions from several areas of the country that served and protected the country from external forces. These factions showed their loyalty and respect to the kingdom so much that the King and the Queen decided to bestow them the title of "Family". After the war, each Family was given a specific land around the capital with hopes that they could prosper and become a much sturdier shield for the land.
However, there was one thing that the King and the Queen did not know: The Families did not like each other from the very start. Although they did not say it out loud, but their tension grew every time they headed into battles. From trivial things such as who got the most kills, who received the most praises from the King, etc. to serious matters such as lands, people, power, etc. After the war, the Families got themselves even busier as there are people in each Family who wanted to take care of the next generation. Each of them was smart enough to realize that the way for young talents to shine was through education, but educating with other Families is a no-no as they firmly believe that learning with each other will contaminate the soul and body of their youths.
Several schools were open in each area that tried to match up with each other, and only a few of them stood out. They quickly became the pride of the Families. Things got heated so much that they sent their students to the Royal Palace annually to show the King that their school got the best education of all. All of these things that they did was just to get a nod from the King to establish further schools in other areas, and from there they could make it part of their land.
...
"Hmm...Seems like a common conflict. After all, they are just schools. I mean if I was the King then regardless of what Family I chose, I would always have to final option to demolish it if it was not up to my standards?" - J analyzes the story.
"That may sound logical to us, but that is not the case here, Son. Their titles are not for show. When a school opens then it automatically becomes the property of the Families, and not even the King or the Queen can do anything about it. That was what they asked for after they got their titles. In other words, the moment they get their access to an area then it is hard to get rid of them without powers." - Devin explains further.
"Then why didn't they make it into a civil war? I mean just bring your army and invade. Whoever wins the battle, wins the land." - J complains
"Do you think they don't want to? There are two main reasons: First, to get to another area the Family must go through the land of the Royal Palace. That means everything they do must go through the King first. Second, although the war is done the external forces are still there, and the Family must put someone out to get rid of them. They do not have enough people to make the invasion happen. At first, I wanted you to get rid of some of the forces, but in the end, this mission is more important to us, so I had to make a choice there." - Devin talks while showing J the map of the entire country, pointing to where each Family is located at.
"But you could simply send me to assassinate the Family. Why LMS?" - J asks Devin one more time.
"Because this place... was where your parents lied down while protecting their target." - Devin confesses.
Listening to this part, J starts to freeze. He cannot help but thinking about his actual parents. However, he cannot recall everything for some reason. His memory is blurry, but at least he is able to remember part of it.
...
In a night full of fire around, a man and a woman are running through a forest with a child on the man's back.
"My son, please stay here and be a good boy, ok?" - A woman's voice appears in J's memory. It seems to be his mother.
"Darling, let us go now! The princess is under attack. We must hurry before they get to her." - Another man's voice appears, and that is J's father.
"Hey, hey... What a lovely and bright boy you are! Listen here, Mom and Dad will be busy for a while, ok? I want you to stay here until we come back. You are smart, so you should understand that right?" - J's father smiles and looks at him. They leave the boy back in the forest and go back quickly. The boy keeps on waiting and waiting until the morning comes. He cannot help but fall asleep during the night.
3 days go by quickly when the boy opens his eye. He is on another man's arm. The boy looks just as confused as the man.
"Captain! The boy just woke up." - A soldier informs the man.
"Oh, hi there young man! Glad that we found you early. Let's take some rest and get you all dressed up. Soldier! We have done it. Let's go back now!" - The man laughs at the boy and orders his soldiers.
"W....Who...are...you?" - The boy asks him.
"My name is Devin. I am the boss here. From now on, I will take care of you....Son" - Devin's first time meeting with J ended just like that.
...
"But why? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" - J hurts his head the more he tries to recall. Tears start to fall from his eyes.
"You have to get yourself stronger first. That was what I agreed with them before. They knew something will happen to them during that night, so they looked for my help to protect you away from their own enemies. They did a great job covering you for all those years, but that mission cost us everything." - Devin sighs when he talks about the past.
"Please tell me about that mission." - J tries to calm himself down.
"In another time, Son. Right now it is about the letter that we are talking. I will let you know more about your parents when both of us are free, but I will tell you this: You can find your parents' past within the school. Like I said, this school is where your parents lied down. People may not know your parents, but there should be books and records talking about that night. Go and see for yourself." - Devin keeps on talking to J.
"Does it have anything to do with the Families?" - J unintentionally releases his power so much that it covers the entire space with complete darkness.
"Yes and no. That's why we need to deal with this letter first. I need you to keep on teaching at LMS till the later events. The subjects must be on their way to Loran. We need to..." - The channel abruptly disappears.
J starts to sense a similar Mana. He recalls his power back and rushes to the mana's location silently. J arrives at an old bar a little outside of Loran. The bar looks really old and rusty. There seems to be no one around, except for 3 shadows.
"Mokir? Why are members of his group here? Did Dylan and Mokir have anything to do before joining LMS?" - This familiar Mana is nothing new with J as he dealt with this before.
"So you are that Dylan, huh?" - One shadow starts talking.
"Yes, it is me Dy..." - One shadow charges right when J speaks up.
"You will die here. So stop the nonsense!" - The shadows aim directly at J's head.
It seems like another battle has begun.
Episode 5 - End