Chapter 24: Respite

"I'm a bit confused." William admitted as he leaned back in his chair within the confines of the large café, the boy addressing and glancing Ruby's way. The girl was seated next to him, while Mikoto sat across from the two, the masked boy leaning his head against his hand. "So you happened to come across a Chaosmaw and you managed to survive?" William questioned a bit confused.

"Is it that surprising?" Mikoto asked, as the prospect of Ruby having actually survived seemed surprising to the boy.

"Well, my knowledge of demons is not that impressive." He started, taking a short break to take a sip of his tea before placing the cup back on the table. "But from what I understand, Chaosmaw's are insanely powerful."

("That blue guy was throwing around some pretty advanced spells, I guess.") Then, again, compared to him, the blue demon was not anything too troublesome.

"I even heard that even the weakest of them could pose a huge threat." William murmured as a smug look adorned Ruby's face.

"I suppose I am just that good for surviving." The girl boasted.

"Sure." William just wryly smiled at the girl.

"Sure, you didn't just have some help?" Mikoto questioned Ruby as she just furiously shook her head.

"Nuh-uh, I'm just that fantastic. Hence, I survived." She stated it matter-of-factly.

"Riiight." Mikoto was not quite convinced by that. But considering Ruby actually had a pretty refined mana signature, there might actually be some proof for that. She had a decent amount of mana, but what really stood out was just how refined it was. She had perfected control, and by extension, complex spells like curses should be easy for her to use.

"But barring that, have the two of you witnessed that enormous spell that eradicated nearly all of the forest near the academy?" William suddenly asked.

"Yep, what kind of maniac would be capable of such magic?" Ruby asked as she frowned. "I was still in the forest when that spell was unleashed; I nearly got caught up in the explosion."

"Yikes." Mikoto winced; of course, before he unleashed that spell, he had made sure no one was nearby. It seemed he had somehow missed Ruby's mana signature.

("Guess I really should refrain from using destructive spells like that.") He did not even know why he thought it was a good idea to use such a large spell in the first place. That Chaosmaw was powerful, true, but he could have easily dealt with it without such a flashy spell. Hell, he could have killed it without even making use of any magic.

("Kill?") He really did not think much of it when he unleashed that spell. But he had killed that Chaosmaw, right? He felt as though he should have been a lot more bothered by that fact. Sure, it was a demon and looked so inhumane, but still, it was capable of speech and thought. Like any rational creature.

"But I heard your sister was injured by one Chaosmaw." Ruby spoke, throwing a glance at William. "Is she doing well?" She inquired.

"She's fine; I just couldn't visit her. I think she left the nurse's room." He informed as Mikoto nodded.

"Well, I saw her prancing around the market earlier." Mikoto confirmed.

"Seriously?" William muttered with a sigh. "That girl should be staying in bed."

"She looked fine, actually." Mikoto informed, Agatha did not seem the least bit fatigued or injured. Just her usual self. "I did invite her to come with us to this café, but she refused."

"Yeah, she was never one for social interaction." William looked like he wanted to sigh once again, but he refrained. "But I noticed she seems to talk with you a lot." He murmured after.

"You think so?" Mikoto questioned. Sure, they had talked a few times, but not so much as to be considered a lot.

"Well yeah, Agatha usually is not one to converse a lot. Regardless of who it is." William informed as Mikoto hummed.

"Must be my immaculate riz-charm." Ruby merely looked at Mikoto questionably.

"I fail to spot the charm." The girl stated it in an all-too-blank tone.

"Thanks Ruby."

"My pleasure."

"But anyway, I know this is weird to ask..." William started as Mikoto turned his attention back to the blonde to hear him out.

"What is it?"

"Well, I know we've only been acquainted for a few weeks, but I can tell you're a good person." William continued with a smile. "So I was wondering if you could keep an eye on my sister." He heaved a small sigh as he frowned while his brows furrowed. "I would like to do it myself, but as you might have already guessed, Agatha and I are not really on speaking terms." It seemed the hate between the two was only one-sided; William still cared for Agatha, and that much was obvious given how genuine the boy was being.

"This strain in your relationship is no doubt due to Professor Ass hat." Ruby stated, her words gaining a small chuckle out of William as the boy could immediately guess to whom she was referring.

"Yep." William confirmed. He did not really have a problem with telling others, especially if they were friends of his. He might not have known them for long, but he had a good read on Ruby's and Mikoto's personalities. "Well, as you might have heard, I don't possess the blessing of the Goddess Isadora, despite me being a Gregory. I won't bore you with any of the details, but seeing as only Agatha was born as a spawn of Isadora, the pressure was placed on her the most." He explained.

"I'm guessing she wasn't always this recluse then." Mikoto deduced as William nodded his head.

"Yeah, we used to be pretty close when we were younger." His expression grew slightly darker as he continued. "But as soon as her training began, she changed."

"I see, you don't have to explain any further." He imagined it was not fun for the boy to be recalling the past. "And I'll be keeping an eye on her, don't worry."

"Thanks, Mikoto." William thanked him with a smile. "It means a lot, really."

"Yeah, no problem."

--------------------

"Well, that was nice." Mikoto muttered as he stepped through the lush green grass that stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with colorful wildflowers. Majestic oak trees line the pathways, their gnarled branches reaching towards the sky. Ornate stone statues and fountains decorate the landscape, depicting mythical creatures and legendary heroes. The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of blooming roses and the faint sound of lute music drifting from the distance. A park.

After parting ways with both Ruby and William, he just decided on a stroll. There was nothing much to do back in his dorm anyway. And he had a lot to ponder about.

("I guess family drama is a thing no matter where you go.") He mused. He was not really going to get involved in whatever problems the Gregory's had. But it was no skin off his back to continue conversing with Agatha.

"But still, is it okay to be this lax?" He thought to himself that he was still no closer to even achieving his goal. He had not even found a way through those ward's just yet, and just thinking about how garbage his progression has been was dampening his mood.

"Oh, hush, it's not that bad."

"But it really hurts."

"Don't be a baby, Gwendolyn. Tis but a scratch."

Mikoto's thoughts were promptly halted as he turned his attention to the two voices. It was two small girls; one had golden blonde hair that fell to her back and perfectly styled bangs. Furthermore, she had radiant blue eyes and wore a black dress adorned with blue. She was holding the two small hands of another girl. She had dark blue hair and deep, dark blue eyes. And she wore a darker blue dress; both looked around, maybe ten or eleven.

The blonde-haired girl seemed to have a small scratch on her knee, though it was deep enough to draw a small measure of blood. She already had tears forming in her eyes and was sniffling. The blue-haired girl seemed to want to actually comfort her, but just looked stressed.

"Come now, Gwendolyn. You are a noble; nobles do not weep." The blue-haired one informed the now-named Gwendolyn.

("Kids will also still be kids regardless of where you go, huh?") Mikoto mused as he prepared to leave, but he was promptly stopped.

"You there! I command thee to stop!" He heard the squeaky voice of the blue-haired girl. So, turning back to the duo, he quirked up an eyebrow at the two behind his mask.

"Are you talking to me?" He questioned.

"Yes, you. I, Princess Valerie, bid you come." She ordered, and with that introduction given, he supposed she must have been related to Mirabella. What was a princess doing in a park? But shrugging and not really having much to lose, he approached the two. Gwendolyn slightly shrank in fear at his approach.

"Need something?" He asked, and the blue-haired girl just huffed.

"Is that how you start a conversation with a lady?" Valerie questioned with a judging gaze. "You are supposed to introduce yourself first." Mikoto held back a scoff. Was she not the one to call him over? But he supposed he could cut her some slack, seeing as she was just some stupid kid.

"Fine, it's Mikoto." At his short introduction, Valerie quirked up an eyebrow, while Gwendolyn herself looked confused for whatever reason.

"Your name sounds very feminine." Valerie mused.

"I imagine it would; it is unisex." He informed them, and instantly their faces went beet red.

"S-sex!" Gwendolyn shakingly uttered

"Y-you p-pervert!" Valerie accused as Mikoto looked at the two as if they were idiots. "W-why did you say that word!?"

"Oh right, dumb kids and all." Mikoto reminded himself. Valerie looked like she wanted to say something about his comment, but he interrupted her quickly. "Look, kids, clearly you don't know what unisex means, as you seemed to have only heard the latter part and not the former. Basically, the word means something that's both for a girl and a boy." He swiftly exclaimed as the two blinked in confusion.

"I've never heard such a word before." Valerie muttered with a thoughtful look adorning her face, and Gwendolyn seemed to be of the same mind as the blue girl.

"But I feel like we're just getting off track here. You called me here for a reason, no?" Mikoto questioned.

"O-oh right." Valerie blurted out, seemingly slightly embarrassed at having forgotten her goal. "Do you know recovery magic? I wish for you to heal her wound." She said, pointing at Gwendolyn's scrape.

"Could've started with that." He merely murmured as he kneeled down to their level. Hovering his right hand over the scraped knee, a radiating green light came to life on his palm and extended to her knee. In an instant, the small wound immediately closed up, the only thing left being the small amount of blood on her now-healed knee.

"W-wow...." The blonde-haired girl merely muttered out as she moved her leg a little to see if it still hurt to move.

"There, all done." Mikoto murmured as he stood back to his full height.

"Satisfactory, I suppose." Valerie uttered this as she examined the wound.

"Ungrateful little-"

"T-thank you!" Gwendolyn's gratitude cut off his words as he threw her a glance. Her slightly jumping at the action, no doubt due to the mask. It really was a troublesome accessory.

"No problem, kid."

"Ah, there you are, princess." A new voice suddenly cut in. Mikoto glanced to the side to take note of a boy that seemed to be only slightly older than him. He had a sculpted face with slightly spiky black hair and piercing blue eyes. He was outfitted in a suit of dark blue armor.

Of course, seeing a masked individual near the princess, he immediately tensed as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Who are you?" He immediately ordered, and Mikoto saw how his legs and arms were ready to spring to action.

"Calm yourself, Lukas." Princess Valerie immediately interjected. "I bid him to heal a wound of Gwendolyn." She quickly clarified but that did not diminish the suspicion in his eyes.

"If you say so, princess." He merely murmured as he kept his eyes on Mikoto. "But we should return to the castle now, princess. Lest your father be worried." Lukas advised.

"What a shame." Valerie seemed dissatisfied with his words, if the pout on her face was any indication.

"You're leaving?" Gwendolyn questioned, a bit of sadness laced in her tone, which made Valerie frown.

"Why must you look like a kicked puppy?" Valerie muttered with a sigh. "We will meet up here tomorrow, okay?"

"O-okay." Gwendolyn merely uttered, still looking down.

"You there. Escort her home." The princess suddenly ordered

"Why?" Mikoto merely questioned, and the princess just looked at him in slight disbelief.

"Because it is what a gentleman would do, you dolt." She informed.

"I'm like fifteen, and are you sure you want strangers escorting your friends?" He merely questioned. Maybe he could just chalk it up to her being a dumb kid, but somehow he doubted that.

"My intuition is strong." She boasted. "I can tell you are not that kind of man. Even if you were, your mana signature is pathetic. Gwendolyn here would have no problem putting you down." She confidently claimed "Now come, Lukas, let us be off. Goodbye, Gwendolyn, until next time." Without another word, she and Lukas walked off, not before he received one last glance from the black-haired boy.

"So..." Mikoto threw a glance at the shuffling blonde. "Shall we be on our way?"