"Yawn, morning, Imeki."
I woke up expecting to see my summon, but she wasn't there. In fact, she wasn't even in my room. I opened the door and knocked on Kerfern's door to see if he knew her whereabouts.
"Arnes, have you done something weird to Imeki that made her runaway?" Kerf rubbed his eyes, still half-asleep as he answered.
There was no way she would run away. I could use my summon magic to summon her instantly, but I wanted to know what she was doing and where she had gone with my own eyes. It's been a week since we crashed into the principal's office with Griffin, and we have been living together since the first day nowdays we are practicing together for our upcoming tournament. Not a single morning has gone by without her.
"Anyway, Kerf, I'm going to find Imeki. You need to find a battle partner for the upcoming Inter-Academy Mage Tournament."
"Sigh, I know..." Kerf scratched his head and closed the door, seemingly ready to go back to bed.
Kerf and I had developed a good bond over these weeks. We hung out together, and I even introduced him to Tsuki. The four of us, including Imeki, were often seen together at the academy. I was having a great time as the tournament approached. Imeki and I practiced daily to sharpen our skills. I headed out of the dorm to look around for her.
***
"Body Synchronization!"
The blade she was holding disappeared without a trace as she chanted her ancient magic.
"What are you doing in the garden alone? I never commanded you to practice."
Imeki was a lich who had lived for more than 300 years. While she was once human, she is now a puppet. But she was strange these days, she did what she liked, even practicing desperately without telling me. She spoke often too. I guess even puppets can form bonds, even if they aren't human.
"Master, I want to retrieve my memories. I want to become stronger." She noticed my presence and got to converse.
My eyes widened at her words. I stepped near her and hugged her gently.
"I'm sorry, Imeki, for being selfish. I always thought of myself and not how hard it was for you."
Imeki may have been a puppet, but she had her own will, and she wanted to know what she was like when she was human. After bonding with Tsuki, Kerf, Rebecca, and me, she probably felt left out from the human experience.
"Master, what is this you are doing?" Imeki asked with her usual robotic expression.
"It's a hug. When you hug someone, it relieves stress and feels good," I explained, still hugging her gently.
"Uwah, pervert..." Tsuki's voice rang in my ears as I hugged Imeki, which looked really misleading.
"I swear it's not what it looks like... Tsuki... trust me..." I pleaded, backing off and feeling embarrassed.
Tsuki Ernie was heading towards the cafeteria and coincidentally met us in the garden. We decided to head to the cafeteria together for morning tea.
"Imeki, why don't you sweat even after practicing? You don't even smell."
*Sniff* *Sniff*
"Tsuki, are you saying I don't smell like a human?" Imeki tilted her head, asking Tsuki.I smiled, watching them. They seemed much closer than before, and Imeki was engaging in full conversation.
"By the way, Tsuki, you're participating in the upcoming tournament too, right?"
"Yep, and today I'm going to practice with Kerf. He agreed, but we need to see if we're suitable as a duo."
I nodded. "Hey, we've been friends with Kerf, but we still haven't seen his magic...I am concerned."
"Oh yeah about Arnes's magic I hadn't thought of that... but I heard he has ice magic and that's all."
Ice magic? That's impressive. But their pairing might not be suitable since they're both long-range users, and explosions with magic don't seem like a good combination.
***
After our tea, we met up with Kerfern at the fountain near the academy gate.
"Why don't you two battle at the academy's stadium today?"
"That's a good idea," Kerfern agreed to my opinion. He had been practicing alone, hoping to find someone with fire magic, but eventually, he had to go with Tsuki as his duo.
"Hah! I'm participating only because of Kerf, since he had no partner. Now, fall at my feet and beg me for a duel, and I will accept," Tsuki said with her usual haughty personality, making fun of Kerfern.
"Sorry, I don't have a foot fetish. You can ask Arnes for that," he pointed at me with a disgusted look.
"Oi... I don't have any fetish like that... Also, why are you raising your feet towards my face, Tsuki? Your panties are almost visible."
Tsuki backed off, embarrassed by her own actions.
Ugh, what was even Tsuki Trying to do...what a weirdo.
"Master, what's a pantie?"
Imeki's innocence was endearing. She was a human 300 years ago and wore a kimono, an ancient outfit. It was common sense she didn't wear any modern undergarments. We looked at Imeki, saying nothing, respecting her own fashion and privacy.
We headed to the academy's stadium and talked to the referee, who accepted our request for a friendly duel. The stadium was empty, as the match wasn't announced, so only Imeki, the referee, and I were there to watch the battle.
***
"Battle, start!!!"
As the referee gave the signal, Kerfern Karshatsuha made a pledge sign with his right arm, and a magic circle formed on his palm. Frozen ice crystals, approximately nine inches long, floated around his body.
*Kaboom!*
Tsuki smoked the battle ring to hide and find an opening to use her explosion magic on Kerfern.
*Skink* *Skink* *Skink* *Skink* Kerfern attacked with long-range ice bullets towards the smoke but missed. Taking the chance, Tsuki emerged from the smoke, closing the distance. A red magic circle formed around Kerfern's leg. Kerfern dodged her attack, dashing to his right and creating an ice wall.
"Oho, you're playing defensive now, Kerf," Tsuki mocked. Kerf knew Tsuki had no defensive measures, so she could only keep attacking. But he could create a defense against Tsuki's explosions.
*Shine!* The whole ring suddenly glowed with a red magic circle. Tsuki intended to blow up the entire ring.
*Kaboom* *Kaboom* *Kaboo* She used explosion magic thrice to go mid-air, and the magic circle's glow increased rapidly to explode the whole stadium ring.
"Oi, Kerfern Karshatsuha will die, Tsuki Ernie! Stop the battle right now! This isn't a friendly challenge anymore!" the referee warned, but they didn't listen.
*KABOOM* The recent blast was much larger than previous attacks.
The entire ring filled with smoke, obscuring the view. Imeki and I watched from the seats.
"I wonder if Tsuki got Kerf... Ah well, Kerf is probably in a coma after that explosion," I sighed.
"Not yet, master," Imeki exclaimed, pointing at the ring who was standing beside me.
As the smoke cleared, Kerfern Karshatsuha emerged, having shielded himself with thick ice blocks on four sides. Tsuki was frozen up to her hips.
"C-c-cold... can't move..." Tsuki's teeth chattered as she froze.
Kerfern used his ice frost to break the blocks shielding him and slowly stepped towards Tsuki, pointing an ice frost at her neck.
"..." Kerfern didn't look satisfied with the winning outcome.
The referee made his decision. "Kerfern Karshatsuha, A-rank, wins against Tsuki Ernie, AA-rank."
***
Outside the academy stadium, a commotion ensued.
"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO HOLD BACK AGAINST ME?" Kerfern shouted at Tsuki.
"I just didn't want to hurt a dear friend..." Tsuki mumbled, unable to deal with Kerfern's ranting.
"So you're telling me I'm not even worth a challenge? It's pointless to win a fight against a weakling?"
Tsuki Ernie hurt Kerfern Karshatsuha's pride. She was holding back, but Kerfern wanted to see her real power, his duo. As a mage it was disrespectful for him as someone was holding back while fighting.
"Can you both shut up for a second? You're both supposed to be a duo. Winning or losing didn't matter in that friendly match, and yes, Tsuki is right. She didn't want to blow you up. If something were to happen—" I looked at Tsuki, who had tears rolling down her cheeks, just like she did when I was targeted by an assassin. She never asked why I was targeted, but seeing her cry saddened me. I feel bitter.
*Boom* *Kaboom* *Boom*
Tsuki Ernie used her explosion impact to fly away, hiding her tears.
"Master, Kerfern, let's go to Tsuki," Imeki urged us to follow the crying Tsuki Ernie, and we started dashing towards the way Tsuki flew away, following the explosion smokes as a trail.
To be continued...