A "Ladies Man"

Malphas looked at the blonde girl, clearly confused.

"And who are you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

Julia's eyes twitched in irritation. "This is your last warning—move!"

Malphas sighed, dropping his head. 'Caelen told me not to cause trouble,' he thought, casting a glance at the frightened girl behind him. He gritted his teeth, ran his hand through his hair in frustration, and took a deep breath, seemingly ready to walk away.

"That's right," Julia sneered, stepping forward. "Obedient mutts are rare these days—"

Suddenly, her legs flew out from under her. Before she even realized what happened, Malphas had his leg extended, having deliberately tripped her. Julia went crashing forward, landing face-first on the pavement.

"Agh!" she shrieked, pushing herself up as thick red blood dripped from her nose, smudging her lipstick.

Her two friends rushed to her side in a panic. "Are you okay, Miss Julia?" one asked, while the other turned angrily to Malphas.

"How dare you!" she shouted.

Meanwhile, Lillian, still on the ground with scraped knees, looked up at Malphas in awe, a single thought passing through her mind: ' He was… so fast.'

Malphas plugged his ears, pretending he didn't hear the indignant cries.

"Are you listening to me?" the friend yelled, pulling her hand back to slap him.

Malphas, unfazed, caught her hand mid-air and pushed it away, then returned her slap with a swift one of his own. Her face twisted to the side, tears welling up as blood trickled down her nose.

"Let's go!" the other friend whimpered, urging them both to leave with Julia.

The three hurried off, leaving Lillian stunned.

"Academy students sure are weak," Malphas muttered, bending down to gather Lillian's belongings. He collected her binders, pencils, and papers, stacking them neatly.

"This should be everything," he said, handing them to her.

Lillian finally snapped out of her daze. "Ah, y-yes, thank you," she stammered, staggering to her feet.

She was about to leave when a voice came from the nearby gas station.

"Malphas, who's this?"

Lillian turned around to see Caelen towering over her.

"Oh, yeah, uh…" Malphas glanced at her with a bit of nervousness, noting her headshake. "She, uh, fell and dropped her things, so I helped."

"Ah, I see," Caelen said, observing her uniform. "You're from the Science Department at Academy Z, right?"

Lillian stiffened, and Malphas mumbled, "Science Department?"

"Oh, yeah," Caelen realized. "I forgot to mention—the academy has three departments. Grey uniforms are for Support Faction students."

Malphas remembered that Julia wore a grey uniform. 'Support, huh? She seems like the type to request compliments for it,' he thought wryly.

"Black uniforms," Caelen continued, "are for Combat students, the largest department. And finally, white uniforms"—he nodded toward Lillian—"belong to Science students. They're the researchers and creators, providing potions and support items that we Fateweavers rely on."

Malphas nodded, absorbing the information, while Lillian looked at their exchange with surprise.

"Well, um, I have to go now," Lillian said, her words quick and flustered. "Thank you again."

"It's no problem," Caelen replied, scratching his head.

"The thank you wasn't for you," she said with a small frown, turning to Malphas.

"Oh—my bad," Caelen chuckled.

'What a strange man,' Lillian thought. Glancing back at Malphas, she asked, "Will… will you be attending the academy?"

"Yeah, in about a month."

'or so I think' Malphas added within his head.

She seemed to relax slightly. "Right, then I look forward to your arrival." She hurried off, disappearing into the evening.

Malphas watched her run off. Caelen gave him a nudge and a smirk. "Never knew you were such a ladies' man."

"Ladies' man?" Malphas looked at him, puzzled. "What's that?"

Caelen laughed. "I'll explain later. Let's just head home."

Malphas nodded, and Caelen noticed something missing. "Hey, where's that pendant you're always holding?"

"Oh, yeah." Malphas felt around his neck, revealing a chain with an X-shaped pendant that he'd been wearing instead. "Figured this would be easier. I can't always hold it in my hand."

"Hm, well, just keep it hidden. Wouldn't want any Collectors getting ideas."

"Collectors?"

"They're rich kids who collect items from other worlds brought back by Fateweavers. It's the closest they can get to experiencing travel themselves, so they pay high prices for it."

"Like an emergency bank?"

"Exactly!" Caelen patted his head. "You catch on fast, as usual."

They walked through the vibrant, shadowy city together, the night quietly buzzing with its kind of life.