The Day of Scholars

Making their way into the main building, the two slowed down having made sure that there was ample time to reach their destinations.

"Today is the day allocated for learning about non magical pursuits, I am somewhat curious about what you chose as one who is extremely battle orientated" asked Cyrus.

"Simple, I chose geography. While it has no direct relation to anything battle orientated it is actually an important military asset, anyone who is familiar with the lay of the land is at an advantage. Yet those who can predict how the land will be in an unknown area will succeed where many others fail" explained Minerva, her tone oddly cheery and her face expressive at first but it quickly chilled over to a frozen block as she glanced around her surroundings.

Following her line of eyesight to learn the reason for the sudden change, he spotted all the other students looking at them. Some spotted Cyrus and recognized him either through his mask or his badge, but most of the eyes were drawn to his partner walking next to him.

"You attract quite a few eyes, even more so than the famed ruthless killer and eater of innocent girls. The hell did you do?" asked Cyrus in confusion.

Minerva rolled her eyes, which immediately caused a ruckus amongst the peanut gallery. Clicking her tongue in annoyance she explained,

"Follow their line of sight closely and you will have your answer"

Doing as he was told; he analyzed every single person who was looking at Minerva and was able to recognize that most were looking in one of two places while the rest were looking at a third.

"What is so special about these three places" wondered Cyrus aloud, looking directly at Minerva's chest for awhile in confusion and then at her rear and finally her face.

"At least looking at your face makes sense, its integral to be able to read someone from their facial expression. Even those who are decent at hiding what they feel will still make some small mistakes, or so I have noticed. Such as a twitching of the eye or lip, or of a specific muscle. Yeah, like that. It is clear that even though you appear frosted over there is a clear amount of embarrassment, surprise, and slight frustration. That's odd, why would you be feeling such emotions right now?" wondered the masked Cyrus.

Resisting the urge to pummel Cyrus, Minerva calmly explained in a low voice with a tone that felt like it was capable of freezing over hell.

"It is clear that these young men have little control over themselves, looking at me and imagining what I look like without my clothing in the way. Perhaps even engaging in some kind of fantasy, treating me more like an object for sexual relief rather than a person."

"Hmm, really?" said Cyrus, looking intently at Minerva.

"I will admit that you look a little better than average, but is this school not full of other females? Is it really necessary to engage in such pointless acts just because you are perhaps 30% better than the rest?"

"Slightly better than average? If only everyone thought like you, perhaps my troubles would never had happened" sighed Minerva, who began pointing out a few girls in the crowd.

"Compare them to me" she ordered.

Deciding to play along Cyrus brought out the figures she pointed at out of the thick fog of his total disregard, taking the time to remember their features for more than a microsecond.

The more he looked, however, the more confused he became.

"This is weird…why are all these females so plain looking? Al the ones I had met up until now looked far better…" thought Cyrus, who had begun to reflect on every girl he had ever met and remembered up until now.

"First there was Adara…then Lilly…then Minerva…then Cilla. Oh… I see what went wrong" thought Cyrus, realizing that the sample size of women he had remembered was most likely completely skewed.

"It seems I have only known women who were already easy on the eyes, to say the least. Even if I rationally do not notice such traits, my body on the other hand is a different matter" concluded Cyrus.

Looking back at Minerva with a new realization he responded,

"So you are, ah what is the word? Drop dead gorgeous?"

With a slight smirk, Minerva replied, "Well, so long as you finally understand."

The two continued their slow walk to the class, but as they walked forward the halls started to become cluttered with humans.

By extension, the attention Minerva was getting increased which resulted in her mood worsening with every passing second.

"This is essentially wearing down on her mind each and every day. This cannot be healthy for her in the long run, especially given how averse she is to it" thought Cyrus.

Creating a coil in all of his limbs, Cyrus sported a maniacal expression and spoke to Minerva.

"Tsk, tsk Minerva. Why allow such filth to bother you so? Did I not tell you the solution to all your problems the other night?"

"It's pointless. It will happen no matter where I go unless I cover myself in a burlap sack, but why should I have to change how I am because of others. Yet it is also a natural reaction, one that will never cease no matter what I say so why not just ignore it?" replied Minerva.

"You have much to learn, much to learn indeed. Observe. I, as a gentleman, shall enact justice"

With such words said, he tapped the ground with one foot and launched himself towards a student that was hiding amongst the crowd.

He was carrying a large carrying sack in front of him, both his hands carrying it in front of him, all the while he looked at Minerva with bloodshot eyes.

Cyrus even detected a slight forward and backwards motion from behind the sack.

Arriving in front of the miscreant, Cyrus did not say a word but instead made the student's chin become extremely familiar with his palm. The strike, having used all of his forward momentum from his run over, was so forceful that just one strike from him rendered the student out cold.

Kicking the sack side, he laughed in mockery and spoke aloud so that all could hear.

"A human or an animal in heat, I cannot tell the difference I assure you. Those who are unable to control themselves, to retain their dignity as humans. Allow me to castrate you then, just like one would an animal" exclaimed Cyrus.

He then went from person to person, rendering them out cold. At first he targeted just the few male students who were clearly on the verge of committing a crime, but he got so enamored with the feeling of crushing people left and right that he just ended up targeting whoever was in his sight.

Eventually he stopped though, not because he suddenly developed a conscious or even that he listened to the whining in his head from his not so violent other half, but instead it was because everyone had fled the area.

His fun now over, Cyrus returned back to the side of Minerva who had an unreadable expression on her face. Yet he could tell that she was desperately holding back laughter, as evidenced by the twitching of her facial muscles.

"You…" started Minerva, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"You call that being a gentleman?" asked Minerva, pointing towards the several female students who got caught in the crossfire.

"I guess my care for the fairer sex does not extend as far as I had thought" said a shrugging Cyrus.

A short burst of laughter later the two then resumed their walk, eventually catching up with the students that had fled but this time not one dared to look at Minerva in an untoward way.

"See? Even when killing is unfortunately off the table, fear is a decent substitute. Problem solved" declared Cyrus.

"While I dislike being looked at so, and am disgusted by the actions of people like that first student you rendered unconscious, wouldn't taking out anyone who looks at me in such a way be counterproductive in the long run? We do not live in isolation after all, not to mention any number of these students could go on to become someone of relative importance in the future" analyzed Minerva.

"That is true, but only so long as you do not overdo it. In the wasteland the men of the Sultan were all powerful and able to do whatever they wanted, but even they could only do so much as their power and reputation afforded them. If one of the local leaders was weaker in power and reputation, he would only resort to minor things like beatings or setting fire to a building that refused to pay its dues. Yet if the leader were strong then he would defile, pillage, and kill whoever he wanted without care. The current situation is much the same, just the look of the game is different and the rules are more careful."

"For example, if you only go after students like the first one I took out then the level of Ire raised will be lower than normal. Then, if you produce strong results and allow everyone to witness your martial and magical might…all the rest of the ire will disappear at once. For the strong have that kind of allure, one that attracts awe and respect but most importantly reputation and reputation begets fear. A rather roundabout way to achieve exactly what I just did to all those students, but one that plays by the rules of the Empire."

Minerva frowned slightly, considering any flaws in the argument crafted by Cyrus but could not find any major ones.

"That makes sense, in the future I will do as you say. Especially if I see that animal again, I think I even saw the lower half of his robes wet with something…"

"Ahh, you do not have to worry about that guy. While I was at it I decided to give him and a few select others a special service, doing just as I had promised at the start" assured Cyrus, a cruel look on his face.

"What you prom- Oh, I see. Thank you then, but also nasty. I don't want that kind of imagery in my mind, ugh" lamented Minerva.

"There is no need for thanks as such actions between us who have gone through thick and thin is only natural. Besides, I was just removing a source of discomfort. Those guys just really rubbed me the wrong way, which is odd as I do not really tend to have unique feelings about random people" wondered Cyrus aloud as he took the lead, causing him to miss the sparkle of realization that dawned on Minerva's face.