It was the end of the day, classes were over and everyone had left for their dorms but Aradia was still on the training ground with Lir, practicing sword art
Lir had told her a few things that the red head needs to learn to use mana but since Aradia doesn't even have any mana to try the said techniques on, they were practicing sword art instead
Apparently learning the sword will also help the red head, because Aradia can use magic while using the sword if she knows how to use it first of course, which is really effective but more easier than only relying solely on shapeless magic
Aradia took a break and sat down on the ground, Lir was near her floating around in mid air
"Hey.."
The red head called out, she wanted to talk to him about something that has been bothering her for a while now but she hasn't had the time to think about
"What?"
"Um.. i don't really know how to say this but like-"
"Your sister is here!"
"Huh what-"
The red head turned around and saw a pink haired girl coming their way, Lir instantly flew away, still close enough to listen to their conversation but far enough that no would notice him
Aradia looked at the pink haired girl, her sister, Clara, she was also wearing the gym uniform and had her hair tied in a high ponytail, her face a little red probably from exercising and a little sweaty but even so she looked really beautiful
'damn protagonist..'
Yeon Haa never thought she would say the same phrase as one of her favourite characters from a webnovel in real life but here she was
It really was unfair how good Clara looked in the most simple clothing
Clara came up to the red head and looked down before speaking
"I.. have managed to convince Ellen.."
"What..?"
Aradia was surprised by just how fast Clara had managed to convince him, it took only a day!
"Yeah.. he was intrigued by who this person was, that, and I quote, demanded his help, demanding help from THE Ellen without even an ounce of mana"
Clara personated Ellen saying his words, she did an amazing job at it though, like teacher like student, truly
"But, I don't help just anyone, I will need her to prove that she is worth my help, that's what he said"
Clara finished and looked at Aradia
"Prove huh? Alright, how should I prove myself?"
"I don't know"
"Excuse me?"
"He didn't tell me, he will meet with you and tell you, as for when I don't know, he will tell me before the meeting"
Clara continued, she sighed a little as she spoke, like she was done with everything
"I see.."
Aradia wanted to ask more but decided to save the questions for Ellen himself
The red head noticed how Clara seemed as though she wanted to say something and face was a bit reder than before
'is she hot or something?'
Aradia couldn't help but wonder
"I.. wanted to ask something.."
"What is it?"
Aradia questioned and finally got up from the ground
"So um.. I did what you asked and before the deadline so.. will I get my lessons from the person you said now or..?"
With each word Clara's face seemed to get more red from embarrassment
Aradia tried to suppress a chuckle, and looked at Lir, he gave her a nod
"They will start teaching you from.."
"Tomorrow, after classes"
Clara's face lit up and she looked like a happy child
"Oh..! Okay"
Her excitement showed a little in her voice but Clara instantly got herself together
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Lir and Aradia were now back at the dorm, the red head had freshened up and Benjamin prepared a plate of cookies and a cup of tea for her after that he left
Yeon Haa sipped the tea, happy that it wasn't too sugary, Lir, still in his pixy form sat on the table near the cookies and lifted one with two hands and started eating it
"Does the amount you need to eat change with the size?"
Aradia asked, interested in learning more
"It changes with size, with my current size I only need one of these cookies to be full but if I was in my full form then I would probably need the whole plate to myself"
The two then sat in silence enjoying their snacks before the red head spoke up again
"Yeah so remember the thing I wanted to talk about before Clara came during practice..?"
"Yeah, what did you want to say?"
Aradia took a deep breath before putting down her now empty tea cup and starting to explain
"So after I woke up for the first time in this body, I noticed something strange"
Lir perked up, the only reason he had made a deal with the red head was because he wanted to know more about how and why she took the body of someone from another world and where the original owner went so of course he was interested in listening
"Aradia had tightly wrapped bandages around her forearms, legs and neck but that wasn't the strange part"
Lir subconsciously looked at her arms and neck, they didn't have any scars or anything at all
"When I took the bandages off, there were no wounds or anything at all"
Lir stiffened at the mention of there being no wound
"Before I could think about the reason someone came into my room and I didn't know anyone at that time so I hid the bandages under the blanket but later that day, when I was going to bed I noticed the bandages were gone"
"What..?"
"Yes, and no one seemed to notice anything strange, you know? Like it was as if no one even knew about the bandages"
"Then.. did you ask anyone about it?"
"No, I was scared to talk to anyone else other than myself and another reason is I didn't know who was the one that took the bandages"
"It wasn't that old man?"
"I thought it was Benjamin too, but if it was him, he would have reacted in some way right?"
Lir hummed in response, the red head had a point, there was no telling who was really at fault here, it was better to be safe then sorry
"Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?"
The albino questioned instead
"Well I just wanted to tell someone about it, it's been in my mind for a while now"
The two sat in silence before Aradia spoke up with a sigh
"Alright, let's forget about this-"
"Did you search the room for clues or something?"
"I did, but there was nothing"
"I see.. alright, I'll try to see what this could be about.."
"Aww-"
"I'm not doing this for you! Keep that in mind, I'm only doing this because It piqued my interest!"
"Alright, alright"
Aradia tried not to laugh at his actions, it was shocking just how close the two had gotten in the short amount of time they spent together
Yeon Haa never had any siblings, she was an only child but with Lir she feels like they are siblings or best friends but he will probably throw a tantrum if he knows that
Speaking of which the red thought of Ceil, and how the two had hardly gotten any time to spend together before she came to Rain Academy
'i should bring back some gifts for him..'
Aradia thought and leaned back against the couch, summer break was approaching, and during that time everyone could go back to their homes to spend time with family and friends
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Two days later the meeting with Ellen was finally happening, during these past days, Lir would make Aradia write instructions for Clara and then she would practice them and write her experience and the problems she had while practicing then Lir would make Aradia write where the problem was and what the pink haired girl was doing wrong along with more instructions
In the middle of all this the red head was the one suffering, she was the one that had to deliver the letters to both parties and write everything Lir told her
Why? Because spirits don't know the human alphabet, and every spirit clan has different alphabets, then how can elves and humans communicate with spirits? Spirits can adapt the language the elf or human is using to talk with them but writing would mean learning it from scratch
Ellen and Aradia sat facing each other in his office, every teacher of Rain Academy had their own offices'
The room was minimal but still looked expensive with gold details etched onto the door and ceiling, the room was spacious with a large window that let in a lot of natural light
Clara stood behind the couch Ellen was sitting on, deja vu huh? He had his legs crossed and his hands rested on top of his crossed legs
Two cups of tea and a display of snacks were placed on the table in the middle, Benjamin was outside the office, Aradia had asked him to stay outside
Ellen, a really powerful and good looking character, he looked beautiful with his long titanium white hair that fades to a baby blue and then a peach pink, crystal like blue eyes that almost seem to be white because of how light the colour is
Ellen took a sip of his tea, Aradia stayed quiet, waiting to see what he would say
"So.. you are the one that demands my help, huh?"
'rude as always'
The red head thought, it was mentioned over and over in 'The Survival' just how rude, cocky and straight forward he is
"I wouldn't say demand, it's more like a favour but if you want to call it that then sure"
Clara glared at her but Ellen smiled enjoying this
Indeed it was mentioned how Ellen liked people who would talk back with the same sass as him as it was «really fun»
"I like that attitude of yours, let's hope it won't break after the test"
Ellen said and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest
"It won't don't worry but what is this test you need me to do, hm?"
"Ho.. it's simply a price you need to pay for this little favour you need"
Ellen smirked as he looked at the red head, looking for any signs of anger or annoyance
"A price, huh? That's fair, so what is this price I need to pay?"
Aradia was annoyed to tell the truth but she would not let it be shown, when Ellen couldn't find any signs of annoyance on her face he frowned
It was now the red head's turn to smirk though she didn't show it too much, it was just a small smirk
"you know what witches are, right?"
Ellen said, his demeanor completely changing, it was now serious no more funny business
"Yes, what about them?"
Aradia also got serious about this conversation
"Well there's a certain witch up in the northern part at the middle point of the one of the forbidden places, magic forest and the witch tower"
Aradia stiffened at the mention of one of the three forbidden places, as the name suggests they are places that no one is allowed to enter
"To be more precise, the witch is dead but she still exists but she can't cause chaos to anyone outside of her illusion mansion"
"And does all this have to do with me?"
The red head asked, Ellen smiled again and finally said
"I need you to find the core of her existence and end her once in for all"
"What..?"
"Yes but to make it a bit easier, Clara will go with you as well"
"Huh-"
Clara who had been quiet up until now gasped surprised
Ellen didn't say anything just looked at Aradia with a look of interest
"I'll do it"
The red head said confidently, this made Ellen smirk and Clara worried
"You do know I won't give you a golden finger[1], right?"
Ellen asked, the smirk still on his face
"I know"
"Very well then, I look forward to seeing you after the test is over, hopefully you'll be alive"
"Don't worry, I will come back alive and well to take my favour"
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Clara and Aradia arrived at the illusion mansion Ellen had talked about, apparently time works differently inside the mansion, one hour in the real world is one day inside the mansion, even so Ellen gave them a special two day leave for this test
The two sisters walked to the large gate Infront of the mansion and noticed someone else standing there, it was Mei and Issac!
Issac instantly came over to them, Mei looked at Aradia but she looked away like she didn't see anything, ignorance is bliss
Suddenly there was a familiar voice that called out to Issac, it was Astolfo
'great...'
Bounas:
Ellen: I just ended a four year relationship...
Clara: I'm so sorry..
Ellen: it's okay, it wasn't my relationship *does hair flip*
To be continued...
Hi it's me Yan, if you have read the last chapter then you know that this is the last chapter I'll post until August because of exams
I don't have anything to say today because my day is bad and I'm trying not to cry right now
Once again please forgive this lowly author for any grammatical mistakes
Anyway, have a good day, afternoon, evening or night
Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I liked writing it
And I'll see you all next month
Oh and a side note, we will start our second arc~ aka the violet witch illusion arc so yeah- I'll tell you all about the different arcs after my exams are over
Bye.
[1]A golden finger meant something like a boost, he basically said he won't give any mana to Aradia before she can complete the task
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