Linfel and Alvin came out of the Diagram, giving the next students their chance to check their compatibilities as well. They didn't care about it anymore, though. They had to think about the consequences of that result.
Felia quickly approached them and also whispered. '71%! Linfel, how did you do that? No, first of all, what about that 99%? Was that real?!'
Linfel nodded. 'It was real. I was so concerned that my compatibility with Alvin wouldn't be even a single percent that I did my all to match his soul waves' frequency and merge our magic energies. I truly didn't expect I would be able to achieve a 99% compatibility.'
Alvin added. 'I had to ask him to tone it down; that's why you saw 71%. I wanted it to be much, much lower. Unfortunately, that was Linfel's Limit if he wanted to have a fixed compatibility number. He couldn't go lower than that without exposing himself.'
Alvin didn't want to stay there anymore, so he quickly dragged the two. 'Anyway, let's get out of here. Linfel also has his own test to become an independent Familiar, so it is better to get over with it.'
However, before they even had the chance to give a few more steps, Linfel's group was quickly surrounded.
"Bro, that was incredible!" It was one of the students who had tested his MFC before Alvin and Linfel, a guy called Ravio, who was about Alvin's age. "How did you do that? Please, tell me what kind of training you did!"
"This..." Alvin thought about what to answer, but he didn't have the chance before another question came.
"Forget about the training! I want you to tell me what kind of configuration you used when your Familiar's Soul was created! I'm sure it has a lot to do with this result! Can you tell me? I can even pay you some Academy Credits. Hell, I can give you everything I have in my Academy Account!" Her name was Grafria, seeming to be three or four years older than Alvin.
"The... the options?" Alvin still hasn't figured out an excuse for the previous guy...
"What?! Is payment enough?! Then I definitely have much more than this woman," Jumanhi spoke. "I'm not exactly talented or anything, but I'm quite old already. I definitely had time to accumulate quite a few credits."
"Forget them, Alvin," Vohei, the third student to take the test, spoke. "You don't need to tell me anything. Let's be friends instead!"
Alvin looked around as everyone looked back at him. Why are they looking at him? It was Linfel! He was the reason for all of this! Ask him! Alvin then glared at Linfel.
Yet, Linfel was looking away, pretending he wasn't seeing anything. 'You are the master, aren't you? I know nothing...' Linfel whispered in his ear, using his Magic Energy to redirect his voice even though he was looking away.
Alvin felt like giving the wisp a beating, but that wasn't the place or the time. Besides, it was indeed Alvin who suggested they should attempt the Master Familiar Connection, not Linfel. He was indeed more at fault here.
Felia worked with Alvin, both trying to calm down the crowd while they tried to move forward.
Linfel, as Alvin's Familiar, also received many questions, but he only made things worse. That wisp was terrible at finding excuses.
Saimon looked at Alvin and Linfel from the distance. He selected this specific time because he knew none of the other top students had anything planned for the Master Familiar Connection test. It was his chance to take the limelight and receive a commendation, but it was all for nothing. Even his own 'friends' seemed to have forgotten he existed.
Finally, he lost his patience and came forward. "All of you, out of my way."
The other students surroundings Alvin's group heard that and quickly spread open. That left Linfel and Alvin facing Saimon and his emotionless Familiar. "So you two managed to reach 71%, right? That's good. How about a little spar?"
Linfel an Alvin were taken aback. Linfel heard that the academy was all-encompassing. It had everything from normal studying classes up to combat classes. Maguses not only made the most important working force on the Planet, but they were also the strongest defense against other Maguses from other countries. Although there were no wars going on against their country, no one could guarantee it would never happen. That said, the Magus Academies of all nations put absolute top priority on training their maguses for combat as well.
"No, thank you. Goodbye!" Linfel was the very first one to answer and turn around to leave, surprising Alvin and Felia. Let alone Saimon.
"Hahaha!" Saimon laughed out loud. "And here I was wondering how good a young Magus with a 71% compatibility was. In the end, it is useless. The master had to have his Familiar speak for him."
The Wisp indeed had no common sense, but he wasn't an idiot. He heard that and simply whispered in Alvin's ears. 'It is a trap. Don't fall for it.'
Alvin understood that as well. Yet, he was young, and being provoked like that wasn't exactly easy to ignore.
"We accept!" Yet, it wasn't Alvin who answered. Instead, it was Felia. She just couldn't take Saimon humiliating her Master.
Alvin looked at her angry expression and sighed. Indeed, his Familiar wasn't Linfel, it was Felia. If he truly had to fight, it was only right to use Felia instead. First of all, they had been together for much longer, so Alvin was indeed stronger with her than Linfel. Alvin didn't even know how to go around if he tried to fight while connected to Linfel to start with.
Saimon narrowed his eyes. Felia obviously wasn't the Familiar Alvin acquired 71% compatibility. "Are you telling me you got two familiars with over 70% compatibility?"
One of his 'friends' quickly shook his head. "No, young master Saimon. This other Familiar is already registered under Alvin's name on the academy's website. Their compatibility was only 43% at the start of this year. I highly doubt they got one or two extra percent since then, and two percent is already a stretch."
"Hmph!" Saimon snorted. "What is this, a joke? I don't have time to fight trash."
Felia dropped her head while Alvin gritted his teeth. Felia was very important to him, so he couldn't hold back anymore.
However, just as he was about to accept the challenge with Felia, another voice echoed behind Saimon. "Indeed, they should not waste their time with trash like you, Saimon."
Saimon's expression turned darker. He turned around, about to retaliate, but he soon saw who it was. A young woman, followed by several bodyguards, entered the room. There wasn't anyone there who didn't know who that girl was. Yet, no one expect the wisp's next words either.
"Hey, it's Alvin's wife." Linfel couldn't help but comment.
The room went completely silent again. Everyone looked at Alvin and Milia Frondor. Wife? What wife? Since when were they married?
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Alvin immediately grabbed Linfel's core. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
Linfel got puzzled. "But... didn't Felia say-" He couldn't finish his words as Alvin cut him again.
"She said nothing like that!" Alvin wanted to cry. Milia was kind of a goddess within his age, with very few women capable of comparing to her. The wisp's words pretty much would make all the maguses at Alvin's age his enemy.
Truth be told, Linfel didn't even know what a marriage truly meant. There were no such things two billion years ago. He thought it was just a way to describe someone's partner for procreation and nothing more serious.
Milia's expression immediately turned dark. "What kind of joke is this?" Even her bodyguards were ready to jump forward and teach Alvin and his Familiar a lesson.
"Please, ignore him, Miss Milia!" Felia also jumped to the front. "My master made this Familiar with a weird sense of humor. Trust me, we truly didn't say anything like that."
Suddenly, the wisp had a revelation. "Oh! Right, right! Felia indeed didn't say you were Alvin's wife, sorry for the misunderstanding."
"Hmph!" Milia wasn't in the mood to entertain such bullshit anyway. "It is good that you know."
Alvin and Felia sighed in relief. At least the wisp knew when to step back... or so they thought.
"Yes, yes!" Linfel nodded. "What Felia said was that you were Alvin's future wife. You aren't his wife yet. You just came to pay a visit to his father yesterday night."
Alvin and Felia dropped their heads to the ground. Sure, Felia did say 'Future Wife,' but that was supposed to be just a joke to tease Alvin. The fucking wisp took it seriously! (Chapter 15)
That wasn't all. He even mentioned how Milia paid a visit to Alvin's father. Wasn't that the same as saying she was meeting her future father-in-law? Everyone was even more shocked by the revelations. Have the marriage preparations gone so far already? How did Alvin manage to do this? Well, Milia's visit had absolutely nothing to do with what everyone was thinking.
The leader of Milia's bodyguard stepped forward as his Magic Energy circulated around his body. A brown color quickly spread as several diagrams began to take form in midair. He was definitely a Level Three Magus. "Lady Milia, it is our duty to uphold your honor. I'm sorry, but we need to eliminate these troublemakers here."
Alvin released buckets of cold sweat. He had the impression the wisp would cause some trouble, but he didn't think he would die on the very first day because of it.
"Stop." Surprisingly, Milia ordered the guard to step down. Instead, she looked at Alvin and asked. "I'll give you one chance to give an explanation." Yet, it was pretty clear she was also holding her anger. The only reason she stopped her bodyguard was because she did indeed visit Alvin's father yesterday. She needed Alvin to clarify the real reason for the visit.
Alvin felt like he was pardoned and immediately got up. "Yes, yes, yes! Everyone, ignore my Familiar. He just has some problems with his sense of humor. Please, think about it straight. Do you truly think someone like ME could marry someone like Lady Milia?! That is absolutely ridiculous! Her Frondor family would get rid of me before she could even entertain such an idea."
Sure enough, Alvin's words were very intelligent.
"Now that you say that..."
"Yes, there is no way goddess Milia would care about someone like him."
"Phew... For a moment, I thought everything in this world was possible."
"But... what about that visit the Familiar... Errrr... Linfel was his name, right? Anyway, what about that visit to Alvin's Father?"
Such questions and words appeared all around, giving Alvin the chance to explain himself.
*Mmmhhmhmmhhhh...*
Linfel also wanted to talk, but Felia was making absolutely sure the wisp didn't say a single word anymore. She used her Magic Energy to stop Linfel's voice generation through his own Magic Energy. 'You stay quiet! Master will end up dead if you talk anymore.'
"Ahem!" Alvin quickly spoke. "The visit had nothing to do with the nonsense my Familiar, Linfel, spoke. You see, my father is a fisher, and his boat was attacked by a Level Two Magic Beast yesterday. Lady Milia took the mission from the academy to investigate the reason for a Level Two Magic Beast to appear there. Naturally, she went to visit my father to inquire more about the event. It was all a coincidence."
Alvin quickly bowed to Milia after that. "I'm terribly sorry for Linfel's lack of common sense, lady Milia. Let everyone know that I and Lady Milia have absolutely no relation with each other. Yesterday was truly the very first time we even exchanged words."
Finally, the bodyguards and Milia's expression eased a little bit. That was definitely a very thorough explanation that left no room for misinterpretation. Well, even with everything clarified, that definitely would be the talk of the academy during the foreseeable future. "I heard yesterday that you modified your Familiar during its creation, so I will let it slide this time. It can't even do normal chores, after all."
"So he truly changed his Familiar..." Jumanhi commented. They all thought Alvin did something to Linfel for them to reach that level of compatibility.
The others also nodded. Having Milia mention this fact made them sure Alvin did something completely out of the norm to get that result. Could it be that making nonsensical Familiars would give them a higher compatibility level? Some of them made a mental note to try it in the future.
Alvin finally calmed down a little, and the Wisp came to his side. He glared at him, angry. "Don't try to kill me this time, will you?"
Linfel was still puzzled, but he nodded nonetheless. "Well, I'm not really familiar with the concept of what a wife is anyway. Let's forget it. So, Lady Milia, why the sudden visit?"