Mere Tool

"Remember when I told you how there were summoned creatures scattered around the school? As you can see, this guy was one of the Summoner's. Felix the Puppeteer was an antagonist in the ancient Greek novel, "Masque of Moirae". I'm not really fond of reading, so I don't know all the details. But then again, knowing doesn't really matter. After all, we only have but one job..." Hal started, voice unnerving due to how stern it was.

"...Indeed, we, Metis's Champions, have one sole purpose. That is, to get rid of these pests and put them back to where they truly belonged."

Eli slightly stiffened at how steely his gaze was. The dim lightings of the auditorium only highlighted the portentous glint in his golden irises.

In every passing second, the atmosphere subtly thickened around them, temperature dropping at how icy his face was.

"Didn't I tell you, Allen? This girl isn't all that bad," he added, turning to face the Student Council President who just changed back into his school uniform.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I still can't figure it out," Allen replied with deference, much to Eli's surprise.

It's her first time hearing someone call Hal like that, which only made her more nervous.

"Ever since the summoned creatures came to this world, we had a hard time tracking them down, all because of their so-called Realms. If it wasn't for that troublesome magic, they're exposed in the open. With them using their Realms as some kind of a hide-out, we couldn't make a move unless they showed themselves first. But this time, it's different," Hal explained, a knowing grin splattered on his face.

"Now that His Majesty said it, I do recall that the last time we defeated a villain was a month ago... Then, could this mean that Angelica Claes made one come out this time?"

"That's right. Like how we are able to sense each other's presence, I figured out that villains also have that kind of telepathic ability. As antagonists, they're capable of acknowledging one another's existences. Using that ability, they'd naturally want to form some kind of partnership with the others to take us down. Now, after Felix the Puppeteer recognized her as competent and a potential comrade, he went out and showed himself to us."

Then it finally clicked in Eli's head.

She remembered how Felix tried to talk her into forming a pact, their roles as good and evil, and her sensing his presence at the beginning. Hal's passing comment about how Venus's presence was easy to track probably had something to do with these Realms as well.

Hearing the explanation come out of his mouth, however, gave her the impression that all of these were meticulously laid out by Hal himself. It's as if he already predicted everything and tried to take advantage of it.

"See? She's a useful tool, ain't she?"

Eli's eyes widened at that.

True to her guesses, Hal did make use of her like some kind of a bait.

Felix the Puppeteer, whose presence was almost forgotten, made one last remark to Eli before his entire body was completely devoured by flames.

His dead eyes strayed to her inscrutable face before he laughed maliciously.

"Didn't I tell you? Everything was only but a huge play. Your so-called friends only see you as a mere tool. How laughable, indeed."

As he was about to vanish entirely into the book, Hal stepped on it with a cold expression before firmly slamming it shut with his foot.

Eli only stared at this in bewilderment. He then locked eyes with her and muttered, "You can go home for today."

With that, he picked up the book and left her and Allen in silence, not sparing another glance.

Felix's victims who were lying unconsciously on the ground began to stir. They woke up one by one, utterly puzzled as to how they ended up like that.

Allen, after taking a glimpse of Eli's enigmatic reaction, put on a smile and returned to being the accommodating Student Council President. He immediately approached the perplexed students and assisted them in regaining their bearings, making sure to avoid any more uproar.

Eli was startled when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

Turning around, she was relieved to see Leah awake again. She then suddenly pulled her into a hug, much to Leah's surprise. Realizing that it was Eli's first time acting this affectionate to her, the brunette couldn't help but feel delighted and return the gesture despite her confusion.

"Looks like someone's feeling cuddly all of the sudden," she teased, a soft smile gracing her features.

"I'm happy you're fine, that's all," Eli replied, still nestling in her embrace.

Leah wasn't able to learn the reason behind those words as the day ended with Eli staying silent for the rest of the afternoon.

---

On the next day, the ash-haired girl was walking down the hallway with a downcast gaze.

Her mind's somewhere far from there, however. She was thinking about her strange, yet eye-opening escapade yesterday. Despite understanding the whole ordeal between the Champions and the summoned creatures, she remained unenlightened about one thing.

There's something about Hal's words that she couldn't quite put a finger on.

Ever since learning about Hal's secrets and forming a deal with him, it's the first time that she clearly saw her current position. She's no longer befuddled as to why he's acting the way he is.

After all, it's obvious that if he wanted a propitious hand on this battle, he'd be close to his friends, but closer to his enemies.

"Good morning, Angelica," a familiar voice of a female suddenly greeted, snapping Eli out of her daze.

Absentmindedly, she turned and found Carla along with a few more from the Performers Circa Club. She then smiled at them before greeting back.

After enduring another series of the President's bluffs on how lovely she looked when she smiled, which made her want to gag for a second at how absurd it sounded, the topic about the script was brought up again.

"Actually, we'd like to have it by the end of the week if you don't mind. It turned out that we needed to start rehearsing as early as possible. We're sorry for the short notice."

Eli felt a bit down at this.

Aside from her new schedule of self-study, she had her hands full with library duties. She's not sure if she could finish writing in such a brief amount of time.

Then again, she willingly took the task upon herself as a favour from Leah. She had to repay her good intentions for inviting her to hang out all the time, in one way or another.

"No worries! I got this," she assured her, making Carla beam at her in joy.

After expressing their gratitude and exchanging farewells, the club members left Eli in deep thought once again.

She then resumed her previous mental endeavour when she suddenly bumped into a warm body. The impact sent her a step backward and made her look ahead in surprise.

Standing before her with an unamused expression, the Student Council President peered at her indifferently.

"I could've guessed that you're a bit of a klutz, but surprisingly, you're quite a pushover as well," Allen commented out of nowhere.

Flabbergasted, Eli could only make an unintelligible reply in the form of a confounded gasp.

"I'm talking about that script. I was the one who moved the deadline to an earlier date, though the Club President failed to inform you," he flatly continued.

"O-Oh, it's fine. I'm still going to do it no matter what, anyway," she replied, a bit surprised that he actually heard them.

"You're not part of their club, right? How come you're writing it?"

"A friend asked me to. It's natural for friends to give something to each other-"

Eli then suddenly paused at this, which Allen noticed.

She seemed to have realized something and was now in the middle of having an inner monologue.

Holding her chin with her fingers, eyebrows meeting in the middle, she continued to leave him hanging for a few more minutes before facing him again.

"Sir President, can you tell me how exactly I will lure the summoned creatures out?" she asked out of nowhere, genuine curiosity laced in her innocent-sounding voice, catching Allen off guard.

Upon seeing his baffled expression, Eli added, "Honestly, I don't get why Hal was doing this in a roundabout way. I mean, isn't it natural for friends to give to each other? Of course, I'll be more than happy to help him."

Allen was dumbfounded.

He couldn't believe how clueless she was.