The high tension lowered as silence filled the air. Eirin's eyes were wide open and quivering as she continued huffing and puffing for air.
"Tsk."
Shade clicked his tongue as he pulled his fist from the ground, letting Eirin hear the ground cracking. The teenage girl's mind went blank upon the realization that it could have been her cracking instead of the ground, but what stopped Shade Cromwell?
"Eirin!" Link rushed to Eirin's side, making her look to her left and she gasped. A huge hole on the ground where Shade's list landed, only centimeters away from Eirin's face.
'That jerk really planned to kill me,' Eirin thought with her mouth wide open.
"What in the world is going on here?"
All eyes went to the school director and the class's adviser, Regina, and Mr. Blade. Hearing them made Eirin stand up from the ground, but she was still unstable because of how great the impact was on her back, causing Link to support her.
"Are you okay? Are you feeling dizzy?"
Eirin could not even hear what Link said as her attention landed on Ms. Hockenbury. The teacher balled her fists and rolled her eyes.
"Ms. Hockenbury, could you explain the situation?" Regina's firm tone caught Ms. Hockenbury off-guard. As one of the oldest teachers in the academy, Ms. Hockenbury felt disrespected by the young school director's tone. "Why was Shade Cromwell beating Eirin Luxfield?" Regina was taken aback by the situation, she almost forgot about the formality.
Ms. Hockenbury scoffed. "We were only testing Miss Luxfield's capability. How will she be accepted into the academy if she cannot do the bare minimum? Even protect herself?" the teacher said.
Regina could not believe her ears while Mr. Blade held her arm, trying to calm her down. "How? How could you do something so irresponsible? What would you do if one of them got extremely hurt?" Her tone was calm, but you could hear her words trembling. "I could not believe you, Ms. Hockenbury. You're not young, and you're not an amateur. How dare you do such a thing?"
Everyone was taken aback by what the Queen had said. It was the first time they had seen her lose her calm and composure.
"Shade Cromwell and Eirin Luxfield, come to the office. RIGHT NOW."
The other students were dismissed, and they could only look at Eirin and Shade as they followed Regina. "I'll take care of the other students and talk to Ms. Hockenbury," Mr. Blade reassured Regina before leaving. Eirin could feel cold sweat running down her back the moment they arrived in Regina's office. Shade and Eirin were forced to sit beside each other.
Regina went into another room, leaving the Shade and Eirin sitting side by side with silence enveloping them.
'The silence is killing me, and so does my back!'
Eirin could feel her back throbbing in pain, she fell too hard on the ground after all. It was amazing she didn't break a bone after what happened. She grimaced while trying to ease the pain by rubbing her back with her left hand. Her gaze then landed on the man sitting nonchalantly beside her.
'How could he look so relaxed!? As if he didn't try to kill someone in front of the whole class.'
The more she thought of what happened, the angrier Eirin got, making her glare at the man beside her.
"How did the two of you end up like that?" Eirin flinched after hearing Regina's voice and the sound of her heels touching the floor on her way to her desk. Her voice sounded calm, and she took a seat on her chair. "Were you using your flair at Eirin?" She turned to Shade and asked that.
Eirin fiddled with her fingers, worrying about the man who almost killed her, thinking that he didn't deserve to be scolded for following orders. 'But he should have at least controlled his power and pretended that he didn't enjoy what he was doing. He almost killed me!' the teenage girl thought while glaring at Shade Cromwell. 'Still...'
"Ms. Hockenbury told us to test our abilities," Eirin said after Shade just clicked his tongue and kept his mouth shut. 'Is he not aware that he's about to get punished if he doesn't explain things properly?' frustrations filled the teenage girl's head.
Regina sighed, causing Eirin to flinch. "Anna, would you please call Calixta to my office."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
When Anna Welkins left the room, Regina's gaze went back to the two. This made Eirin anxious as she didn't know what to do, or how to explain what might have caused Ms. Hockenbury's decision.
"I... I still don't know my ability. I might not even have one," Eirin could just not sit around and say nothing. "I came here to get answers, but I haven't got anything. About my grandmother, myself, and what might have caused my friend's unusual—"
Eirin halted and hesitated to speak the word 'death'.
"I want to know how and why my friend got hurt."
Still unable to face the truth, Eirin swallowed the word she almost spoke.
"Shade, you may go for now. You shall meet me later," Regina said which Shade quickly obeyed. He obviously showed how much he did not want to stay in the same room as Eirin Luxfield. When the young man left, Regina approached Eirin.
"I don't know where to start," her voice quivered and was filled with uneasiness.
How could she make Eirin, who grew up in a world where magic does not exist, understand the other world revolving around mana and magic?
"The world we live in has two separate parts, the Infirmus and Proprius. In Proprius, there are all different kinds of magical beings, and humans wield a unique ability. That unique ability is called flair. Most of us have flairs but cannot store mana in our bodies. Others can store mana but cannot acquire a flair."
Eirin remembered Ms. Hockenbury's words.
"This school, the Senerra Academy is one of those schools that nurture and train flair users to control their abilities and teach them ways to never stray from the right path."
'Seeing a guy like Shade Cromwell here makes me think that most teachers aren't doing their job,' Eirin thought.
"Have you ever heard of mermaids?"
"Like those from fairy tales?"
Regina nodded. "In the Proprius, mermaids, elves, dragons, fairies, giants, and all creatures people of Infirmus deemed as mythical roam this world freely. Some are dangerous to humankind, but some co-exist with us. They are called ligmas. They were once hated and chased off, often brutally slayed, but we all learned to be accepting of one another." The Queen showed a gentle smile. "The world where you came from, we called it Infirmus. And the people who lived there are often called inops."
"What does that mean?"
'The way Shade Cromwell said that before sounded like an insult, but coming from Miss Regina, it sounded so sweet,' Eirin thought.
"I remember Ms. Hockenbury saying it means inferior."
Regina's expression confused Eirin. "That is what it truly means. It might be because, in olden times, the people in the Proprius or what we call prius thought highly of themselves. They see people who cannot control magic as insignificant. That way of thinking still influences the people of Proprius till today."
"What if I'm just a normal person like them? Am I not allowed to be here?" Eirin felt Regina's hand on her shoulder and saw that calming and gentle smile of the Queen.
"You might still not know it, but you are different, Eirin," Regina said as if she knew everything about the teenage girl. "I might also not have all the answers you need, but it all will come to you... that day will come."
"Then may I ask something?"
"Yes? What is it?"
Eirin balled her fist. "Why were those three so desperate to bring me to this place?" Eirin asked, referring to Shade, Link, and Cali who were put on a mission to bring Eirin to Senerra Academy.
Regina was taken aback, but she soon took a deep breath. She opened her mouth and was about to let out words, but the door opened letting Anna and Cali get inside the room.
"Your majesty, Ms. Hockenbury wishes to have an audience with you," Anna said while bowing to Regina.
The Queen knew that she could not escape the old thinking ways of the elders. "I must go for now. Calixta, would you please tend to Eirin's wounds," she said.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Eirin almost forgot that the school director is the Queen herself. 'Was I too rude with my questions? I don't know how to act with royalties,' she thought while bowing to the Queen before she left the room. That leaves Cali and Eirin alone inside the huge office with nothing but silence.
'It's us again,' Eirin thought as she roamed her vision, trying to ignore the awkwardness in front of her. Cali took the initiative to sit beside Eirin.
"Your hand."
"Oh— sorry."
As soon as she placed her hand on top of Cali's palm, Eirin felt that familiar cooling sensation. Her throbbing back started calming down and it soothed the pain all over her body.
"T-Thank you," she stuttered. Embarrassed by her own mistake, Eirin chose to keep her mouth shut and silence filled the room once again. However, ...
"You should not apologize too quickly."
"H-Huh?"
Eirin was taken aback after Cali suddenly said something random.
"You and Cromwell are the new talk of the school," Cali said, ignoring Eirin's confusion. "The whole school saw your battle with him," she added, which made Eirin blink in disbelief.
'Everyone saw me struggling to escape death and yet no one tried to help?' the teenage girl thought, as she eyed Cali. "Were you there too?" She stared at the top of Cali's head as she was looking down at Eirin's hand.
"No."
Eirin could not comprehend why she felt relieved after hearing that. Was it because she would feel disappointed if Cali, the only person that kept saving her chose to just watch her struggle?
"Cromwell is a notorious student."
"Notorious, huh?" Eirin's forehead creased. "I can see that. Does he try to kill people whenever he has the chance?"
Cali shrugged and held Eirin's hand tighter. "Despite that, Cromwell has a huge fan base," she looked up and saw the look of disgust on Eirin's face. "Because he is good-looking."
"Fan base? Him? That psychopath?" Eirin scoffed with her mouth agape. "No offense, but is it normal in this place for people to attempt murder in broad daylight?"
Eirin flinched after hearing a small laugh from the cold and apathetic woman in front of her. "Must be because he is good-looking," Cali said, but Eirin's mind was too occupied to even hear her.
'Am I seeing things, or did she just laugh?'