A Trial, Approaching (1)

"And thus, you were forced to break the charm I'd given you." A woman's beautiful, bewitching voice sounded in the room Aether shared with Seth.

"Yes." Aether raised his eyes to look at the illusion of the woman before him. She was as beautiful as always. She twisted a lock of hair around her finger as her bright red lips curled up with a gentle smile.

"It's alright, I will make you a new charm." She chuckled, but then her expression darkened. "What about Lord Soren Ladran Doirioth? What are your thoughts about him?"

"He was unaware of Lady Iris' presence until they ran into each other. And he knew nothing about me." He chuckled. "He now knows who I am but has no intention of taking action against me. I believe I can safely say that we've come to an understanding."

Madam Yotsura's lips formed a thin line. "Remember, you are there to protect the young lady. Do not get distracted, Aether."

The young man looked the illusion right in the eye. He said nothing, but Madam Yotsura seemed satisfied, nonetheless. "Good." She said as a smile appeared on her lips. "In that case, until next time."

"Ma'am." Aether bowed his head as the illusion dispersed.

Only when the last strands of magic were gone did he sigh a breath of relief. Talking with Madam Yotsura was always exhausting. He remained seated on his bed for a short while, then put his stat bracelet on and headed outside.

Iris stretched her arms and enjoyed the warm sunlight.

"I love this…" She mumbled, then glanced at Erika and the other as they chuckled. It was the day after the Wildmagic Anomaly incidents, and the girls in the class had decided to do a picnic, to share their stories and enjoy their free day.

"Why don't you come to the sun, Erika?" Mara's voice sounded. The petite girl was as shy as always, and even now, Iris could see how difficult it was for her to speak up. She had clenched her fists with such force that her knuckles were white. Her eyes were wide open as she awaited Erika's answer.

"No way – it's way too hot!" The class president exclaimed. "How can you sit under the sun for more than a minute is beyond me!"

Mara seemed shocked for a moment, and Iris felt her body tense up. For a split second, she worried about the shy girl misunderstanding Erika's words, but a sudden chuckle made her realise her worries were for nothing.

Iris also chuckled, then pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Oh please, Erika dear, it's not quite as bad as you make it out to be. Even I can enjoy it." She would have spoken more, but her voice faded away as she noticed Aether walking in the distance.

"Ah, umm." She scrambled to find an excuse. "I'll have to excuse myself for a bit. I'll be back!" She quickly got up and ran after the young man as he disappeared behind the treeline. She followed him, but by the time she stepped into the shadows of the trees, she had already lost sight of him.

"What is it?" His voice sounded all of a sudden. Startled, she let out a low yelp. "You scared me!" She hissed right afterwards as she looked to the side, where the young man was standing. "I told you not to do that!"

Aether grinned. "It wasn't my intention." His expression quickly returned to normal – emotionless and neutral as always. "What can I do for you?" His formal tone startled her again.

"Did you speak with the Lady of the House?" She asked as a lump formed in her throat. "What did she say?"

Aether nodded. "Nothing of any importance. I simply reported the incident to her. She was… fine with your decisions. Supported them even." His lips formed a thin line. "You have nothing to worry about." He stepped away from the tree he was leaning his back on and motioned to walk further into the woods.

"Wait." Iris's sharp voice stopped him. "Will you tell me what happened too?"

Aether sighed. He closed his eyes and leaned on the tree again. "Why?" He asked, but then shook his head. "Whatever…" He took a deep breath. "Fine," he said, and began telling the events of the other day.

Erika fiddled with a loose strand of hair as she watched Professor Cross walk towards the group.

"Class President, a moment of your time." She said, then turned her back on the group and walked away. Erika rolled her eyes before jumping on her feet. "I'll be back!" She said to the girls before running off after the Professor.

When she caught up with her, Professor Cross only hastened her steps. Without a single word spoken, they headed to the Professor's office. Only when they arrived, and Erika closed the door behind her did Professor Cross finally speak.

"What do you know about the upcoming event?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

Erika hesitated. "Enough to know that the first-year students don't participate." She furrowed her brows. "The tournament is for the second-year students and onwards, and it's being held in Japan this year. Unless something changed…" She shot a questioning look at Professor Cross.

"Something did change." The woman replied with a grin. "I will give you all the details later, but we need a male and a female first year students to join the tournament, and one more student to accompany our second-year representative." Her expression darkened. "The second year is a transfer student that will arrive tomorrow – she will make the choice herself by the end of this week, but as the class representative, I want you to present her with the best options."

Erika took a deep breath. "Alright, I can do that. What do we need for the two first years? What do they need to be skilled in?"

Professor Cross smiled. "The male needs to be both physically adept, and magically strong. The female, I already have someone in mind, so you don't need to concern yourself with it." Her lips formed an almost wicked smile. "Just find the guy and the accompanying student."